Normally I wouldn't bother coming to the village without any intentions in mind,

But this was an exception.

"Ah Mr. John, Have you heard of the news yet?"

When I came into the village along with Gildot, The village elder came to greet me at the entrance of the gate.

"Yes and I'll go there immediately"

Before I could brisk past him, I felt my left arm tugged by something.

It was the village elder.

Now don't start me with this shit so early.

"What do you want? You aren't thinking of making me talk my way to her to come into the capital aren't you?"

The village elder stared at me quite intently. He was... an average old guy. His hair was now silver and his skin was very wrinkly.

Yet behind those thick eyebrows, I could feel his greedy gaze.

The village elder then approached Gildot

"Gildot. I think I would need to talk to Mr. John for a second."

Gildot didn't say anything.

He walked towards the direction of their home.

The village elder then started walking towards the direction of the church.

Naturally, I followed him.

Why? Because if I don’t then there will be more issues to come

Then when we came into the church and walked in front of its altar. It was normal looking by countryside standards. It was small and compact yet all the village people can fit inside

"Mr. John, I know you realize what being a hero means."

Of course I do.

But...

"That isn't a reason to just give a child for the sake of this village.”

I told him with a cold look.

I know what it means. But it isn't because I was attached to her, It was because she was a kid.

"How do you expect a child that came from a far countryside to just come into the capital without any support?"

This was what I meant when I said that you can become a hero from the countryside.

From a reader’s perspective it might be thrilling to think about but from a standpoint in reality it is different.

They expect you to just blindly follow the priests from the capital just because you are a hero.

This was the dark side of getting your fate revealed.

This is one of the reasons why this world was cruel to children. Because they give a responsibility they haven’t decided yet.

When your village gets to know it, they would place a fixed expectation on you.

An invisible burden that the child would carry as they grow up.

And that's why this world was very prejudiced.

You can't just become what you wanted because if you do, They'll mock you for being that.

'Isn't he supposed to be a mage? Why is he trying to become a knight?'

But this world does not take rebellion lightly. If by any chance you start to drift away from your “fate” then people will give you a scorned look and you’ll be treated as an outcast.

What do you mean by “fate reading”? Even if such a thing exists, the decision should still be on the person itself.

That is how society works in this world and it sickens me more than anything.

My ideology is simple: Be who you want to be.

But deluding children into thinking that they have a predetermined destiny is not okay from someone who lived in the 21st century on Earth.

"Then what do you expect from that child?! Just play around the fields doing nothing and not fulfilling her calling?"

The calmness of the village elder that I saw earlier was gone. Now I could see his eyes filled with anger.

But I won't back down.

"Do you want an 8 year old kid to just blindly agree to what her calling is? What if she doesn't want to do it?”

"That's why we are here! To show her the true meaning of the calling that the almighty god gave her!"

He stood in front of the altar with both hands upwards.

This shitty village elder. From the beginning when I came here, you hated me because I was an outsider.

But when I showed my worth, You immediately began flattering me.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Of course he also tried to persuade me to make this village prosper.

But I did not listen to his advancements even once.

Just helping this village is enough. I don't want it to be known because I was here.

And I also didn't want to ruin the peaceful mood here..

"Think about it! Our village will prosper if we send her and defeat the Demon King"

"Village Elder. Do you even realize what you are trying to say?"

Being a hero is a large responsibility.

It's no joke that a Hero was essential to beating the Demon King who will plague this land.

But Aria was just 8.

Sure she might get support, but I don't want that kid to get such a heavy burden at a young age.

And even knowing her, I'm sure she'll get lonely.

"All heroes are like that! She should be proud that her village is cheering for her! It is up to her to fulfill the expectations of the world!"

This delusional old fart wouldn't listen to me.

I'm sick of hearing him justify his own irrational thoughts.

"I'm tired of persuading you."

I just walked behind him and left the church.

I'm really not acting based on my personal emotions.

If we send Aria into the capital then she'll train there for at least 5 years then she'll be sent to be a crucial fighter in the Demon Frontier

Without any family to care for her.

She'll be trained to become a killing machine to slay monsters.

But who will be standing besides her?

Her comrades? Who are also the same as her as victims of the so-called “fate”?

Who will comfort her?

But that was... against my reasons.

And I might as well try to join her but…

I can't and it's a very long story.

In the end, I couldn't think of a way to delay the inevitable.

Because as the Earth's God has said to me, This world's common sense was different from that on the earth.

The laws here are different from that of my original world.

That's why...

***

I made my way into Aria's house. It was located in the far-left side of the main village.

When I came there, Aria's Father, Gildot immediately approached me

"Mr. John, thank you for coming here..."

But before he could even say more, I quickly spoke and said:

"Mr. Gildot, we need to talk with your wife first."

Gildot welcomed me to his home. It was very average here in the countryside.

The house was made out of wood. The flooring, doors and other things were mostly wood.

I always thought It was hay in my previous life.

But in this world, Wood is pretty much common as a material in homes.

That's why in a way, This world is a little bit more advanced in architecture than that of a generic medieval.

His house was simple. When I entered his house, I could already see the kitchen and the dining room.

A living room is only exclusive to nobles you see.

"Excuse me."

When I made my way into the dining table, I could see Gildot's Wife seated in one of the chairs crying.

When she saw me, She stood up fast and began to approach me with her soaked eyes.

She grabbed my collars and said:

"You must be Mr. John right? Please! My daughter haven't talk with us since morning!"

She began to shake me violently.

I could already see that Aria's parents are very kind people.

"Calm down... Uhm what is your name Miss?"

While she was sniffing, she said that her name was Irmine

Gildot then appeared and hurriedly comforted her wife.

"I'm really sorry, Mister John but we were just shocked to see that our daughter was a hero..."

And before he could mutter more, I immediately stopped him.

"That won't be necessary but... I only wanted to ask you two a question."

And for the love of our God Orsus, Don't utter a background story!

I stood in front of them and said in a straight tone,

"Are you willing to send your daughter to the capital?"

When I uttered those words, The couple began looking at each other with tearful eyes

Then Gildot's expression started to become very sad as he began to shed tears.

"Frankly, No. We could... never send our daughter. We loved her very much but... We can't help it."

He knelt down while his hands were covering his eyes.

"We can't just refuse them flat because she was... meant to save the world. B-but our little angel would be lonely. But the imperial order stated that a hero must fulfill their duty so we can't refuse it." He pulled out what seems to be an intricate scroll adorned with golden handle and jewelry, and a large seal of the empire at its side.

It’s undoubtedly an imperial order. No kind of empire would just make a scroll looking overly complicated other than the Carlisle empire. It’s a way to flex their grandiose strength after all, or they just want to intimidate other kingdoms when they receive one from them.

Nevertheless…

"Give me the imperial order"

Despite his reluctance, he hurriedly gave me the scroll that he read earlier.

'Hmmm, It seems that it was a legitimate one too. But…”

"2 years."

"Huh?"

Irmine, who was comforting her husband, became confused by my words. Naturally Gildot too.

"Give me 2 years to train your daughter."

"But how!?"

Gildot screamed with a very sad tone.

"The imperial order states that the hero must come to the capital to train, right? But it was said here that it was 10 years old and above."

Gildot immediately stood up and snatched the scroll.

He began to earnestly read the contents again.

"It's true...!"

He became shocked at what he saw.

"If you excuse me, I will go meet her now. Is this her door?"

Irmine, who was also shocked at what she heard, immediately nodded.

And so I approached the door and knocked.

But no one answered.

And then I said:

"Aria. It's me John"

I heard footsteps inside the room and the door was unlocked.

It opened but it wasn't completely wide. Only a small portion of the door was showing.

Only a face that I know appeared.

"Big brother...?"