🟢 Short Stories :
đźź First Story: (An Encounter with the Author)
🟧 Takero's POV:
After finishing my work at the forge, I felt a bit tired, so I decided to reward myself by having some sweets. Valoris is a miserable city, but even a miserable city can have a few positive things.
That's right… the first and best candy shop in the city, called Glikoz Shop. I know, it's a strange name, but the sweets there are honestly delicious—not only that, they actually make you feel full.
It was a small wooden shop; I liked the scent of simplicity inside it. The shop gets customers all day long, so its profits are good.
For two months I kept visiting it, until the staff started to recognize me. As soon as I entered, the shop attendant greeted me with his usual smile:
"Oh, Takero, welcome. We're honored by your visit."
His name was Klener, a cheerful man with all the customers. When I looked around the shop, I found it empty except for one person who had a cardboard box on his head. It was the first time I'd seen him, so I asked Kelner about him:
"Who's that strange person?"
"I don't know. This is the first time this customer has visited us."
"Has this shop started attracting lunatics too?"
I sat in my usual seat, only to find the box-headed man staring at me. His gaze made me uneasy. I didn't hesitate to go up to him and ask about it:
"You've been staring at me this whole time. Is there something strange about me?"
"Ah, no. I'm just trying to draw inspiration for my character from your appearance."
"My appearance? And who are you, exactly?"
"I'm a story author."
"An author? Well, that's nice. But have you modeled your character on anyone other than me?"
He shouted loudly:
"Impossible! You're the most suitable!"
"How annoying… fine. What is your story about? If it's about an awesome hero, I don't mind."
"It's a story about an ordinary boy who is accidentally transported to another world. As soon as he arrives, he's imprisoned. After he gets out, he becomes a hunter—even though he never wanted to—and ends up caught in troubles he never wanted to be involved in."
Prison? Troubles he doesn't want? Why do I feel like he's talking about me? I began to feel suspicious of this man. The box-headed man started shouting again. It was getting on my nerves, so I shouted back at him:
"Shut up, you weirdo! What's your problem?"
"I'm angry… very angry. My story was rejected by the Book Publishing Bureau."
"Of course they rejected it. It's far too strange."
"Oh really? Then what do you say to reading the ending? It'll make your eyes tear up."
"Alright, show me."
He started searching his book for the ending, only to discover that the last page was torn out. Despair hit him when he realized it wasn't there:
"Impossible! The ending of my story isn't here. Where did it go?"
He looked everywhere, and when he couldn't find it, he searched for his pen to rewrite it—but it had dried out. He looked at Klener and said:
"I'll ask the waiter if he has a pen."
The box-headed man went to ask him, and Klener handed him a pen. The man quickly wrote on an extra sheet of paper, then handed it to Klener, pointing at me so that Klener would give me the book. The box-headed man left the shop without looking back.
For some reason I couldn't understand, I felt a strong urge to see the ending of that story. As soon as Klener came over and handed me the book, I opened it quickly to read the ending, but…
"The person who sat with me will cover the cost of the sweets I bought."
That was all that was written on the page. I looked through the rest of the book and found it empty as well. Klener picked up the paper, and after reading it, he smiled at me—a smile that would empty my wallet. That box-headed man had tricked me. If I ever meet him again, I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget.
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đźź Second Story: (The Black Sword Story)
🟧 Haizen's POV:
In this world, I had one goal—to become the strongest swordsman. That was the only way I could find answers to the many questions in my mind.
To become the strongest swordsman, I needed to kill monsters and earn money, and there was no better job for that than being a hunter. So I decided to become one.
Hunter guilds exist in most countries around the world, but all of them have high fees to take the hunter test—except for one country where the test is free.
Many people who wish to become hunters go to that country, called Azmirin.
After researching the matter carefully, I found that they held ridiculous tests every year. However, they made their tests increasingly dangerous so that only true hunters would pass, not the weak.
The truth behind this is that the kingdom possesses forests filled with extremely dangerous monsters, so they made the exam free to eliminate as many monsters as possible. They also wanted to instill a heroic spirit in their citizens, turning them into real hunters.
To prepare for the journey, I decided to train myself while staying in a kingdom called Livia. I wanted to buy an excellent sword to use in the exam, so I went to a blacksmith to order one.
He was a man with massive muscles and greeted me with a broad smile:
"Welcome, boy. Have you come to buy a sword?"
"Blacksmith, show me the best swords you have."
He took me on a tour, showing me the swords he had forged. He had an impressive collection—shining swords of many different shapes and styles. He began introducing them one by one:
"This sword is made of a metal called Belitein. It's extremely rare and can cut through even the toughest monsters. This one is made from the fang of a Tenya beast—it can pierce the hardest defenses. And this one…"
As he continued, one sword alone caught my attention. A sword black as embers, one that gave you the feeling of a true swordsman. I didn't hesitate and told the blacksmith:
"I'll buy this sword."
He looked at me in surprise:
"Uh… are you sure, boy?"
"Yes. There's no better sword than this."
"Actually, that sword is junk. Its metal is worse than ordinary iron. I could break it with a punch."
I ignored all of his words. My eyes had chosen it, and I wasn't changing my mind:
"I'll give you all my wealth in exchange for this sword."
The blacksmith grew annoyed and returned to his work, saying:
"Take it for free, boy… honestly, swordsmen these days don't care about quality."
"Thank you, blacksmith."
I left his shop extremely happy with this free gift.
"With this sword, I'll become the best."
What I didn't know was that this sword would be shattered by the very first competing hunter in the test.
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đźź Third Story: (A Stupid Incident at the Academy)
🟧 Mirai's POV:
The last math class ended, and I felt exhausted. I'd been studying a lot these days. I picked up my bag without really seeing what was in front of me.
Then I suddenly remembered—a simple test was coming up. We had to invent something simple as a business project, and I hadn't made mine yet. I couldn't relax until I did. The projects were to be presented tomorrow. I called mine "The Portable Flying Chair."
With a jet fan at the back, it could take you anywhere. I pulled the paper out of my bag and started checking the list of items I needed to buy:
"A mana-powered fan, a treated wooden base, a cover, hinges, nails and screws, a water tank, etc."
I didn't understand why I needed these things or when I'd written them down, but I didn't care. All I wanted was rest. I went out to buy the items, and when I finished, my savings were completely gone.
"Strange… did this really cost all my money?"
I began assembling it quickly so I could rest and sleep. It took many hours, but I finally managed to build it. I looked happily at my small project, even though I didn't understand its strange shape, and then went to sleep.
The next morning, I woke up excited to see the chair—but instead of a chair, I found a toilet in its place.
"Oh, what is this thing?"
It had a fan just like my idea—it could take you anywhere—but it was… a toilet?
A wave of anger rushed over me. Someone must have stolen my amazing project. I ate breakfast and left the dormitory, determined to punish the culprit.
I felt embarrassed by this stupid project. Who would make something like this? When I arrived at class, I found everyone carrying their projects, covered with cloth.
I went around inspecting the others' projects, but I didn't find anyone with a portable chair. I was stunned. Since I couldn't find the thief, I was about to throw this toilet project away and tell the teacher I hadn't made anything—but she appeared right in front of me while I was holding the stupid toilet. She looked at me with her usual smile:
"Oh, Mirai, you must be excited to present your project. Please, take your seat."
I couldn't say a single word and went straight to my desk. I covered my head in embarrassment. The teacher began reviewing each student's project. Some were good, some were silly—but none were as horrifying as mine.
After everyone finished presenting, it was my turn. She seemed excited to see my project. There was no escape. I removed the cover, ready to accept the mockery.
But instead of laughter, everyone looked amazed. The students began whispering among themselves. I could hear the whispers—some praised me, others were even jealous.
Jealous of what? A portable toilet? Are they serious?
Even the teacher was impressed:
"This is a wonderful project, Mirai. With this, no one will ever be late for work."
What kind of strange ideas do you have, teacher?
In the end, I received the highest score. After class, my classmate Talia, who sat next to me, came to congratulate me:
"Congratulations, Mirai, on your success."
"Thank you, Talia."
She kept staring at my project shyly. I asked her why she looked so embarrassed, and she said:
"Mirai, I want to apologize, but… this project is actually mine."
"Huh? Yours? What are you talking about?"
"Yesterday, when you left in a hurry, you grabbed my project paper and ran off. I tried to stop you, but you were too fast. I wanted to cancel it because it seemed silly to me—but I never expected you to build it."
I searched my bag for the project paper and found that the list matched this project perfectly. Then I remembered that the chair project paper was still in the dormitory.
"I'm going to smash this toilet."