Chapter 25
The Life of an Utterly Ordinary Girl
If one were to summarize Yuna's life before becoming a Hero in a single sentence, it would be this.
Yuna was born into a family that was neither poor nor wealthy. While they couldn't eat whatever they wanted on a whim, they never missed a meal. Considering that most commoners were impoverished peasants, they were quite well-off among the common folk. After all, they even owned a small shop of their own.
Yuna's parents were positive people in all aspects of life. Even when faced with difficult and arduous tasks, they always tried to smile.
Influenced by this, Yuna also grew up bright and positive. When she fell, she got up bravely, and when things didn't go well, she persevered stubbornly.
These traits made her seem a bit more mature than her peers. After all, young children typically struggle to control their emotions well.
Yuna was happy. The fact that she could live smiling with her parents and younger sister.
But the world wasn't overflowing with such smiles. To begin with, commoners didn't have much leisure.
How often could those who lived hand-to-mouth, unable to eat what they earned in a day, find reasons to smile? Perhaps only when they happened to pick up a coin while walking down the street, as rare as finding a four-leaf clover.
Seeing such sights, young Yuna formed a dream. She wanted to make many people in the world smile. It was just a vague hope of a young child. An unrealistic wish.
But even for such a Yuna, there were days when the smile was wiped from her face.
Her father passed away. He lay motionless in bed. His face, which always smiled, was now pale and stiff.
The cause was illness. An unknown, incurable disease. Despite visiting priests for treatment numerous times, it only improved slightly at the time, ultimately failing to stop the progression of the illness.
To be honest, it didn't feel real. While she knew his condition wasn't good, he had hugged her with a smile just yesterday, so she never imagined he would pass away overnight.
She couldn't bring herself to smile at all that day.
And from that day on, darkness began to loom over her mother's face. Having lost her life partner, that path must have been truly lonely and solitary.
But her mother tried to smile. As if carrying on her late father's will.
Yuna found her mother somewhat pitiful. It seemed like she was enduring hardship for Yuna and her younger sister's sake.
So she decided. To make her mother and younger sister smile genuinely.
"Look at this! I caught a huge fish in the river today!"
Yuna deliberately smiled wider and pretended to be even brighter. She tried to share any joyful events with her family and resolved difficult matters on her own somehow.
Yuna's heart was gradually cornered. The negative emotions she couldn't express were slowly eating away at her from within.
But it was okay. If her family could smile, she could endure anything.
Yes, for her family's sake.
Then one day, it happened.
As if the gods had heard Yuna's childhood wish, they bestowed upon her the power to make many people smile.
She became a Hero. The utterly ordinary girl was chosen as a Hero.
It was truly a mysterious power. Despite never having wielded a sword in her life, her movements flowed naturally. All sorts of information flowed into her head.
But there was a problem. Surely a Hero was someone who would defeat the Demon King and bring peace to the world. To fulfill that duty, she had to leave her family behind and set out on an adventure.
Of course, she hesitated. After all, Yuna had been living to make her family smile.
But in the end, there was only one choice. If the resurrected Demon King led the world to ruin, her family wouldn't be able to smile either. To protect her family's smiles, she needed to subjugate the Demon King.
"I'll be back. Mom, Yuria."
"Take care, dear."
"Be careful, sis."
Yuna reluctantly set out on her adventure, leaving her family behind.
Still, once this was over, she would receive a lot of money, so wouldn't her family be able to smile a bit more? Couldn't they live happily in a spacious house with a garden? Ah, it would be nice to have a fountain too.
She tried to think as positively as possible. It was her only escape.
The journey to subjugate the Demon King was, of course, not easy. Along with Franz, Yustia and Hera, she faced countless life-and-death situations. Especially when facing the Four Heavenly Kings, death truly came within a hair's breadth.
But she always tried not to lose her smile. Even when her arm was cut off, her leg was crushed, or her stomach was torn open and bleeding, she smiled and said it was okay.
No, in truth, she was just scared. She felt that if the smile disappeared from her face, she would crumble, and she might hide away in fear, giving up on everything.
The smile was merely a mask to hide herself.
She couldn't even remember when she had last smiled out of genuine joy.
Then one day, it happened.
Franz, the Magician, said, "Hey, aren't you pushing yourself too hard?"
"Huh? Why do you say that?"
"Just watching you, it seems like you're trying hard to pretend you're okay. Well, if you're having a hard time or something, you can open up to us. We may be strangers, but we've been together for a long time now."
It hit the mark. She was indeed trying hard to pretend she was okay.
But would anything change if she opened up about it? No, it would probably just make the party's atmosphere even gloomier.
So she had to smile. For herself, and for the party.
"No, I'm smiling because I'm really okay. Thanks for worrying about me."
"...I see."
In the end, Yuna decided to keep her true feelings hidden, and in return, she had to endure Franz's cold gaze. She felt terribly sorry for ignoring his kindness, but she had no choice. She felt she couldn't hold on if she didn't do this.
Time passed and passed. The Hero's party defeated the demon army and finally reached the Demon King's castle. And they successfully subjugated the Demon King. There was a crisis at one point, but they managed to overcome it somehow.
Lying on the ground as if collapsing, the sky she saw was clear without a single cloud.
'Now I can go back.'
At the thought of seeing her mom and Yuria again, a smile escaped her lips. It had been so long since she had smiled genuinely that she couldn't remember when the last time was.
Now they could move to a big house, right?
Yuria must have grown a lot too. Ah, but she shouldn't be taller than me.
The happiness she had forgotten in the midst of pain was slowly finding its place again.
Yuna, the main figure in defeating the Demon King, didn't even attend the festival celebrating her achievements and went straight home. Expecting to surprise her mom and younger sister.
But there was no one in the house she arrived at. The warm presence of her family had disappeared without a trace, and a chilly air greeted her instead.
"Mom? Yuria?"
All the items her family had used in their daily lives remained intact. Only a thick layer of dust had settled on them.
Yuna's eyes wandered, unable to find a place to rest. The heart that had been full of anticipation crumbled. A shadow fell over the face that had always been full of smiles.
That's when Yuna noticed a letter. It was on the dining table, as if asking to be read.
Yuna hastily picked up the letter and read through it. Then she gritted her teeth and tore it to shreds.
Duke Ishtar. That person had kidnapped her mom and younger sister. Aiming for the Hero's power.
Filled with rage, Yuna immediately headed towards Duke Ishtar. She taught a lesson to anyone who stood in her way. Though due to her gentle nature, she couldn't bring herself to kill them.
Finally standing before Duke Ishtar, Yuna held her sword to his neck.
"Give back my mom and sister."
"Didn't the letter say I'd return them if you followed my words?"
"Such nonsense...!"
Yuna raised her sword high in anger, but Duke Ishtar paid no heed.
"Kill me. Then your mother and sister will die too."
In the end, Yuna had no choice. Her hand holding the sword slowly lowered.
"If you were going to do this, you should have listened from the start. Such an emotional little brat."
Yuna's hands trembled involuntarily with rising anger. Hundreds of ways to painfully kill him flashed through her mind.
But she couldn't do anything. She had to save her mom and sister. She wanted to see those smiling faces again.
"Leave now. Uninvited guests are not welcome."
Yuna slowly turned to leave. Berating herself for being unable to do anything. In the end, she even regretted leaving to subjugate the Demon King.
And so, in the present.
Yuna remained in the house where she had lived with her family, in a state of devastation.
The gold coins she had received as a reward for defeating the Demon King were scattered on the floor.
Her heart felt like it would tear apart at the fact that she had so much money, but no family to rejoice with.
Amidst this, a letter suddenly arrived for Yuna.
The sender was Duke Ishtar.
The content was simple.
Attend the social gathering.
It seemed he wanted to show off that he was important enough to invite a Hero.
Yuna chewed and swallowed the letter.
Thinking that someday she would mince that guy into pieces.
No trace of a smile could be found on Yuna's face anymore.