On the carriage, there wasn't much I could do but stare out the window and hope we made it to our destination soon.
Donald Branson was a sturdy, muscular boy the same age as me.
In the front, he was making funny hand gestures, acting out one of his grandfather's stories that he thought was pretty interesting.
One day, a tower appeared in a place that could have been the den of dragons. No one knew where it came from, but it selected four soldiers out of an army of warriors to go investigate it.
When they came out, they were as powerful as a thousand men. They could clear towns in seconds.
This started the Age of Tower Hunters in our world. Many things could be obtained from within the towers, and people also earned prestige in the outside world, becoming idols for young, adventurous hearts and minds.
"Hey, Rick, you've been looking at us for a while. Is something wrong?" (Erika)
Erika was a beautiful young lady; she had normal proportions, nothing larger or smaller than usual. But her mouth was stuck up and rude at times to those of lower social status.
She saw everyone below her as nothing more than cannon fodder — myself included.
"No, I was just listening to the stories of the tower, madam. I'm truly sorry if I offended you." (Rick)
I apologized, but in the end, I didn't mean it.
I wasn't even looking at her. I was just watching Donald for some entertainment, but I can't even have that in a society like this.
Donald, who was the one telling the stories, didn't seem bothered by her.
He had told the story because a commoner kid was sitting alone, bored; the nobles had crowded him out, making him unable to see.
"I just couldn't resist looking at the beautiful scene of upper-ranked nobles talking." (Rick)
When apologizing to a stuck-up noble girl, you must always bow your head with perfect courtesy.
My mother told me that if you act up or make a wrong move, they have a reason to hurt you. In the end, out of all the nobles, the women were the worst.
Here in the Kingdom of Avalanche, we honor social status and power above all else. Because of this, a lot of harassment is done to people with low social status — especially commoners.
Erika was the daughter of Count Erline. He was one of the first to ever research the heroic spirit summoning circle.
He first made a name for himself as a small merchant in the northern region of the kingdom that surrounds the castle.
He is a war hero, a great lord over his town, and one of the king's most respected foot soldiers.
"Please forgive my rudeness." (Rick)
But none of that applied to Erika. She had no achievements of her own, no medals — just a title that couldn't be taken away unless she did something to harm the kingdom.
In the end, she was just a stuck-up girl with an inferiority complex.
'Tsk, what a prideful brat.'
I grew up in a barren household, so I was, in name, a noble, but that was no better than being a commoner.
Because of this, we were looked down upon many times.
Because of this, I had to learn to hold my tongue from time to time.
Because of this, my mother and father were forced to take orders from the same greedy pigs who run this country.
After a while, I mastered it — keeping a gentle expression while simultaneously hiding my bitter thoughts and desires.
"How pitiful — only the weak bully others." (???)
Who said that? Wait, no — I have to keep my head down until Erika says she forgives me.
"So how long do you think you can keep it up? You know one day you're just going to snap." (???)
'Keep what up? Who the hell is even talking to me? Who let a grandpa on the kiddy carriage?'
"Respond and tell me — why do you not stand up for yourself?" (???)
Who is this? Why do they sound familiar? No, that's not it...
"Okay, you're forgiven." (Erika)
As Erika, Donald, and the other upper-house nobles turned away, I looked around, confused. No one else had heard the voice I was hearing.
After two hours, we reached our destination. It was a giant tree with a door in the front.
This was what we call the Root. In our kingdom, at the age of thirteen, you're sent to the school to learn spells and magic.
"To make it in is so expensive. Don't they have some compassion for the lower class?" (???)
As I looked around, I searched for the voice I had heard on the carriage.
I wouldn't confront him head-on, at least not yet. But I wanted to at least put a name to the face.
"Where are you? Who said that?" (Rick)
"Huh. You can't see me?" (???) "I'm right here, brat. Look in front of you."
No one there. Was the voice part of my imagination? How could that even be possible? Had I finally lost it?
"Listen, if you don't look downward, then I'll hit you in the face with my sword," said the voice.
"Sorry, I'm straight. Please find someone else to toy with. I'll be taking my leave — no, you, thank you." (Rick)
"Hey, at least try to look! Are you telling me you're not at least a bit curious?" (???)
"Nope. I see my own every day, so I'm not interested in comparing." (Rick)
"Hey, wait, back up! No, I didn't mean—" (???)
"It's okay; a lot has been coming out recently. Many nobles want to be paired with the same gender." (Rick)
"Oh, are you one of them?" (???)
"No, of course not, prick!" (Rick)
From below me, I felt something long and pointy. Fine — I decided to look if they wanted me to so badly.
"Fairy?" (Rick)
"Surprised, asshole?" (Fairy)
As I gazed at the perpetrator of my insults, I saw a tiny female fairy with blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore crimson-red and gold armor and held a small golden sword in her left hand.
"You sound like an old man." (Rick)
"Hey!!!" (Fairy)
"Hmm, your voice is kind of funny," I said as I stared at her floating in front of me.
"Hey, don't look at me like that, perv! Aren't you only thirteen?!" (Fairy)
"My mind grew faster than others. At eight, I was already smarter than most adults." (Rick)
This was a lie, but I wanted to get under her skin a little.
"So long as I'm still a fairy, I don't need your approval." (Fairy)
"Of course you sound like my grandfather." (Rick)
Her voice wasn't that bad, but it was really hoarse.
"I can teach you if you want." (Rick)
"Hell no, we just met!" said the fairy.
"Oh, so if we know each other long enough, we can?" I asked curiously.
"Well, ma—"
"Fuck no! No. No. No! NOOOO!" (Fairy)
As the fairy screamed at me, I thought about my situation. Normal humans can't see fairies. They're part of the spirit category, so this means…
"I call BS. You're a normal small old man trapped inside a cute girl's body." (Rick)
I felt something on my leg and froze. The little creature had drawn her sword and stabbed me.
"Yup, I'm gonna kill you." (Fairy)
And like that, I started a fistfight with a fairy.