Happiness or unhappiness. These judgments are always left to individual thought, and there is no universal value system.

　Happiness for others may be unhappiness for you, and unhappiness for you may be happiness for others.

　Therefore, it is insulting to point to another person's life and say that he or she was happy or unhappy. The life of another person as seen from another person's point of view is nothing more than a morsel of life.

　The life of a girl named Leu has been an extremely unhappy story from the point of view of others, but in reality, Leu herself did not feel so unhappy.

　Leu was born in a rural village, where he did not even have the right to own land or property. There was hardly any furniture, and he usually slept as if he were lying on the floor.

　Because of this environment, Leu remembers being sent to work as a servant before he could remember. At least, she did not remember singing poems and playing around in the flower garden like the other children in the village.

　Early in the morning, she would go around tending to the villagers' horses and cleaning the fireplace. After dark, she would return to her home on the outskirts of the village as if she were being driven out. And so on.

　It was not an easy life. His father went to work and never came back, and his mother was sick and could only earn a small amount of money.

　Of course, Leu does not think that her life was good. However, she did not feel unhappy because it was natural for her to have a hard and painful life.

　Her mother taught her repeatedly.

Live for others. Take someone's hand and save them. If you do, your father will surely come for you someday.

　In hindsight, my mother may have already been distracted at that time. The words that were spewed out night after night were probably not meant for Leu, but for her own comfort.

　For Leu, suffering was natural, but not for her. Perhaps my mother was not originally of such a lowly status.

　But her words were the only lesson that Leu had at the time. That's why she held on to it and believed in it.

　Even if she was insulted for her white hair and red eyes, even if she was given little more than a piece of work. He believed in his mother's teachings and took it for granted that his father would come for him at some point.

　And when he does, life will be a little easier than it is now. Happiness, one might even say.

　When Leu was eleven years old, her mother became ill and died. My mother believed in my father until the end, but he never showed his face. There was no money to hold a funeral for her, so Leu alone buried her body behind the house.

　The day after her death, nothing changed. No one seemed to care that her mother was dead.

　That night, for the first time in his life, he shed tears, but he did not know why they were flowing.

　After that, the same poor life continued for a while, and it wasn't until the era of dead snow that things changed a little. Leu's work changed from dirty and hard work that no one wanted to do, to dangerous work that no one wanted to do.

　Whenever he had to guide a merchant from another village or do some work outside the village, Leu would do it.

　The reason was simple: no one would be bothered if Leu died. In the midst of a demonic snowfall, most of the work that is done outside without warning must be done in the face of death.

It's fine if it works out, and it's fine if that creepy kid dies.

　These were words that Leu had heard many times before. He did not argue or even react. But she knew that everyone in the village thought her hair and eyes were weird and ridiculous.

　Even in the midst of all this, she had only faith in her mother's words. It was the only thing that gave her meaning to life. That is why she never refused to work, even if she knew it was dangerous. The wages were barely enough to buy a loaf of bread.

　One day, while repeating these days, it came as a matter of course.

　I was repairing a canal outside the village with my gnawing fingers. This is something that is beyond my control. Just as Leu was about to return to the village.

　A large shadow covers him. Reflexively, he looks up and sees a bird monster in the air. Its eyes, peculiar to birds of prey, were definitely piercing Leu. Its wings are spread wide and its legs wriggle in their characteristic hunting posture.

　In an instant, Leu realized. It's going to eat me. I can never escape on my own. So he gently closed his creepy red eyes.

　--At least in the end, she wanted to die in her sleep. That was her only wish.

　Would it hurt? Would it be painful? How long would it take her to die? I want you to kill me in an instant anyway. On the verge of death, feeling an eternal moment, Leu prayed.

　Nothing good came of it, but if this suffering was going to continue anyway... It's better to die.

　Just as he thought that.

　Something warm fell on his cheek. At first Leu didn't know what it was. Later he learned it was a piece of flesh from a bird monster that had blown up its entire body.

"I've been thinking-- you're an idiot, you know that? So that's what you want. I don't get it. What's life without bloom and glory?

　It took Leu a moment to realize that it was her own voice.

　But that was natural, he thought he was going to die, and then suddenly the monster exploded in front of him, and yet he could not help but be upset when strange words came from within him.



　The voice that emerged said, as if it were natural, borrowed from Leung's mouth. It was filled with a confidence and dignity that bordered on arrogance.

Miracles and destiny are all mine. The brilliance is my source. I don't know why you think you're such a fool, but I promise you the utmost selfishness when the jewel Bau Agathos takes your body. Living for someone else, like you and your mother, is bullshit.

　For a moment, Leu saw someone with red hair and white eyes in front of her. Her hair was beautiful and shiny, her eyes shone with confidence. A face that was neat and inviting. And yet, someone with an innocent malice - did she refer to herself as a gem?

　Somehow, the sight of her made Leu feel familiar, and he opened his mouth. It was the first time in his life that he had ever spoken out against her. It was poorly said, but it was true, Leu said.

It is not a trivial thing to live for others, to help others.

　It's her faith, something she can no longer let go of. There were very strong words there, not weak ones.

　That was probably the beginning of them.


　I opened my eyes and saw the ceiling.


　When I opened my eyes, I could see the ceiling. After a few moments of wavering in his blurry vision, Leu finally realized that he was being enveloped by something soft. It took him a little while to realize that it was a bed.

　After all, he had seen beds in other people's homes, but this was the first time he had ever been wrapped in one. Leu was astonished that a bed could be so soft as opposed to straw or a floor.

　He felt uncomfortable and was about to get up, when his upper body fell back into the bed. His right arm was so heavy that it felt like iron.

You're awake. Can you tell me your name?　If you can, please don't give me any disturbing names.

　It was a little far from the bedside. Someone was sitting on a chair in front of the door. Leu managed to turn her red eyes and small face to the side and looked at the voice.

　Dark eyes, hair of the same color. The woman who had helped him, Fialat, I think she was called.

　Like himself, her hair was of a very unusual color, but Leu thought the black color, reminiscent of the darkness of night, was lustrous and beautiful. He blinked a few times, then answered the question.

"...... Leu. It's just me, Leu.

　She could feel her voice distorting. After all, she had never spoken a word to anyone but her mother. His tone was always frightened and unsure.

　Fialaert picked up on the sound of Leu's voice and nodded in satisfaction. Then he moved his mouth to say, "Let's have a little talk.

　The tone of his voice was perhaps the most gentle sound Leu had ever heard. The voice was soft and soothing. He had never heard a voice like this before, not from anyone in the village, and not even from his mother, who was often sick.

　But it was precisely because of this that the uniqueness of its content stood out.

　--I know who you are, but... Do you want to live now?　Or do you want to die?