Ochitekita Ryuuou to Horobiyuku Majo no Kuni: Volume 1 Prologue 1
Prologue 1
On a large ledge that stretched from the bedrock, there was a young man standing up over the edge.
He seemed no more than 16 or 17 years of age, he had loose and disheveled black hair and was dressed in a strange outfit. A field hakama with spread cuffs tied with a thick belt and a flashy colored coat. None of them appeared to be from this world.
He was standing at the top of a smooth and vertical rock cliff without footholds, 300 or 400 meters above the ground, the view that stretched over the horizon was truly magnificent. A normal person would feel dizzy just standing there without even looking down.
Nevertheless, the young man was standing calmly at the ledge's edge staring at the area.
Within his wide field of vision, the undulated land spreads out as its light green and reddish brown mottled patterns intertwine together. The dark green masses that seemed to be forest can be seen from various places. If he raised his head around and gazed upward, over the vertical cliff to the land's deep plateau, he could see the high peaks that extended on the mountain range and continued to the mountain's feet.
A deep forest that covered the plateau. Thanks to the high density of the trees and the dark green leaves, if one would look down at the forest from the sky, it would have probably looked like black earth spreading out over the land.
The young man that was gazing at the view slowly raised his head.
Though it was faint and blurry, he was able to have a good view of the snow-capped peaks in the distance. The ridge was cutting the skyline, separating the white earth and the blue sky.
The youth turned his head as some shadow appeared at the corner of his eye, seeing what appeared to be some kind of small winged dragon flying on the clear sky.
"It's already too late to be saying this, but this really is a strange world."
He still looked at the sky, following the black shadow as it went away.
"Though I say that... I still cannot remember anything of my own world, but I know at least that there weren't creatures like that flying in the sky."
At that moment.
A woman approached the youth's back.
The woman seemed to be in her early twenties. She had long bluish black hair hanging down her back until her waist. She was wearing a long dark dress that wrapped her body till the ankles. The long dress had an opening that showed from both sides of the skirt, from which one could take a good look at the sexy woman's thighs.
The woman stopped before the man's back and called him after taking a glance at his back.
"What are you looking at, [NagaDragon King]-sama?"
"I was just... wait, I told you already to stop calling me Naga-sama. Who do you think I am?"
"Other than Naga-sama, how else should I address the one with the title of [Dragon King]??"
Although a smile appeared on the woman's face, it didn't seem to have any kind of sarcasm in it.
But on the other side, the young man's face had a sarcastic smile.
"It's too grandiose. Firstly, I didn't know that my name had such an outrageous meaning like [Dragon King]."
"You say so but, aren't you going to unite this world? Unite it and bring a new order? Then I believe that being called [NagaDragon King] is very appropriate for you."
"That's my intention, however, I haven't taken a single castle yet. If I begin to claim myself as Dragon King, then how should I call myself when I take over the world?”
"You can call yourself whatever you wished then, like Dragon conqueror or holy dragon emperor?"
"Uha ha ha!, those are certainly pretentious."
Although the youth laughed happily, the woman had a slightly amazed look on her face.
"You're the pretentious one. To unite the divided countries like this, to unite this torn in pieces world, is not something a normal person would think of. Every country has their hands full just protecting their own territory, and for the sake of protecting their country they attack the neighboring ones. It's the same for humans and witches, to protect themselves humans try to destroy witches, and to protect ourselves we witches counterattack them. We have been keeping that unending cycle of wars for hundreds of years. It's already too late to coexist with each other... That's what everyone thinks."
"Then it's useless. If the only thing they do is protect the country, neither the country nor its people will advance forward. If somebody doesn't take the challenge, the world won't change. If nobody is up to the challenge..."
The man turned to face the woman and smiled boldly.
"Then I will take it."
"I'm totally surprised by that way of thinking. How did a young man like you get this sort of idea?"
"I don't know how either but, I feel that it's something I must do. Though I wouldn't say it is... an obsession, it's like a voice is resounding somewhere in my heart, saying that the torn world must be united.”
"I wonder if that secret is concealed within your lost memories."
"That might be possible."
Once again, the man gazed upon the mysterious widening scenery before him.
The vast world.
The abrupt nature.
The many countries.
The diverse humans.
The ones called witches.
The long conflict between humans and witches.
As well as the continuing conflicts between humans.
Can this man really unite this world?
Can he stop the long conflict between humans and witches that had been going for centuries?
To put an end to the people's power struggle that continued for hundreds of years?
"I will do it."
The young man boldly laughed.
"It doesn't matter what kind of world is out there, I was born to unite the world."
The youth stopped smiling and looked at the woman's face with a serious expression.
"So Harrigan Halliway Haindora, the jet black witch of the black forest, will you and the other witches fight alongside me?"
"That's our intention. Though our group lacks strength, we are prepared to give all our power to help your ambition. In any case, it's the light of hope that shines upon our future as we roll down on a slope facing extinction. If we realize your ambition, we can secure our future "
"I hope so."
"To begin with, you saved our lives, so we must return that debt. Didn't you say it before [to certainly pay a night's stay and a meal debt][1]? Now it's our turn to pay it."
"For a witch you're too honorable."
"I'm honorable because I'm a witch. And in the first place, it’s you that risked your life fighting for us because of [a meal and a bed debt][2], would be the one too honorable."
The young man, remembered what he did, just happily laughed.
The youth continued laughing for a while, and soon turned his body.
"Well, let's go back Harrigan. It's getting a little cold here, we will catch a cold if we stay too long."
The young man and the witch departed and soon disappeared into the cave's entrance.
A gust of wind blew over the abandoned rock ledge, making a melancholic sound that resembled the winter wind whistling through a fence .
These are the warring states.
A world where war never ends.
A world covered in the tumults of war.
A world covered by the clouds of war.
Where the ravages of war never cease.
Where the drums of war never stop.
Where battlefields spread over the world.
In which what awaits on a man's path could be victory or defeat, and also life or death.
Can this man really save the witches that are on the brink of extinction?
Translator's Notes and References
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