Vol. 1 Chapter 0 - Prologue

“Wow… It’s beautiful!”

 

The boy with dirt on his face picked up a red stone and his eyes sparkled with delight.

 

His candid remark seemed out of place in this setting.

 

The battlefield smelled of burnt earth, rust, and unpleasant odors. Around the boy, figures in armor lay where they had fallen moments ago.

 

In a place where many risked their lives for something, the boy scavenged various items just to survive.

 

At the bottom of the mercenary group… even below that, a “battlefield scavenger”.

 

Whether valuable or seemingly worthless, he dove into places where battles had just ended to scavenge weapons, ornaments, and trinkets.

 

It was to supplement the income of the mercenary group that took him in when he had no one else.

 

To prove his own worth… to survive.

 

…Yet, the only thing he picked up, that red stone, was merely a hobby of his.

 

“Hey, Kanata! The magician’s coming our way! Retreat!!”

 

“I found three today!”

 

“Are you picking up trash again, you fool!?”

 

A girl ran up from somewhere, her dull red hair swaying, and grabbed Kanata, pulling him along.

 

As Kanata tucked the red stone, called magical dregs, into his pocket, he ran alongside her.

 

Then, a short distance away, an explosion resounded.

 

“That’s an explosion, Roa.”

 

“I told you the magician was coming! Isn’t that the kind of trash you like? Don’t worry, they’re probably just amateurs if they come to a place as remote as this!”

 

“When the fighting there is over, will we find more…?”

 

“How would I know! Be a bit more fearful!”

 

Kanata took out the stone from his pocket again.

 

Called trash by Roa, it was unmistakably magical dregs.

 

Though its color felt unusual, it had no shine like a jewel and would fade with time.

 

Its true nature was a clump of magic that was surplus when a magician used magic.

 

For magicians, it was proof of their immaturity and a sign of their disturbed mind, so they even despised it.

 

It was nothing more than a nuisance that served no purpose and would simply disappear.

 

Naturally, it wouldn’t fetch any money.

 

Yet, Kanata loved this magical dregs.

 

“Are you just collecting trash again, ignoring your quota!?”

 

“It’s fine! Look, it’s packed!”

 

Kanata tapped the pouch made of worn cloth hanging from his shoulder.

 

With each movement, it made a rattling sound, indicating a decent harvest.

 

“If you slack off, you’ll get an earful from the boss!”

 

“Yeah, I know…”

 

“If they kick us out of here, it’s over!”

 

“…I know.”

 

The faint sound of metal in the distance, occasional explosions ringing out.

 

The smell of something burning tickled their noses.

 

This was a battlefield. Although they were in a place where the fighting had largely ceased, they could still get caught up if the front line shifted or the enemy moved.

 

It wasn’t a safe environment to say the least, but they had no other place to rely on.

 

They weren’t about to gamble on countries with slavery.

 

Besides,

 

“I actually kind of like working under the boss.”

 

“What!? Are you a weirdo!?”

 

“What’s a weirdo?”

 

“…You’re still too young to understand.”

 

Kanata was fond of the mercenary group he was with.

 

That’s why he always completed his tasks diligently.

 

The red stone he currently held… to avoid complaints about collecting magical dregs, he was quite adept.

 

It had been two years since he was thrown out as a battlefield scavenger… He prided himself on being efficient.

 

He didn’t like the battlefield. He was just here to survive.

 

And in this place, the only beautiful thing he could find, something no one else could take from him, was magical dregs.

 

It was just a leftover of magic, a meaningless fragment.

 

“It’s so… Look, Roa. When you hold up the fire attribute magical dregs to the sunlight, it looks even more beautiful. Look, look.”

 

“That’s just because the sunlight is beautiful. You really are weird.”

 

…Because it was beautiful like a light you couldn’t remember seeing before.