A side story! Meaning, a short chapter! Also meaning, earlier release! Woohoo 😀
Ok, so, enjoy!
Side Story [The weak Hero] Side Al
When I first met Itoka, it was a shock. I was forced to face the reality that black-featured people really existed. To us, black is the colour of salvation, and something to admire. And yet, for such a small child to have this colour.
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At first it was just out of curiosity. Bringing up the idea of getting Itoka as a comrade, adding a black-featured to our group was to help us stand out and, more than anything, gain fame. It was, just for appearances sake.
White and black.
A pair of opposing existences.
And above all, black was the colour of my, no, our encounter.
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But now, it’s different.
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I don’t know when, but my feelings toward Itoka have changed. It may have been when I realised she was a girl, or it could have been long before that.
Because we needed each other, we worked together without knowing the other’s goals. It’s a little ironic.
Itoka is travelling with us while trying to meet her own objectives, but it’s not clear what those objectives are. I just thought, that I wanted to help her out.
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2 years ago, after being saved by the Black Earth Dragon, I only thought about that. It’s a completely different existence, but if I saved that Itoka who had that same black, it would be like showing my thanks to the Earth Dragon.
…It’s just self-gratification. I know it for myself. But I can’t just let it go.
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Ever since I was born, I’ve been weak. You wouldn’t imagine I would look the way I do now with how scrawny I was, always lying flat on the floor. The doctor also told me that I wouldn’t have long. Trying to cling on, my life changed when I went to Casp Do Kingdom, known as the capital for commerce.
The day when the Black Dominator came, I figured since I don’t have long anyway, it wouldn’t be too bad to just die here together with the world, I smile self-deprecating.
That was when, I met Celia. Her hair was gray, and it was obvious she was living while trying to hide it. It was the age where black was a dreaded and avoided colour. Especially in this Casp Do Kingdom, where all sorts of people gather. When the Black Dominator came that day, others were afraid out of their minds, but Celia faced the Black Dominator and attacked. She probably just tried to hit and deal with whatever was nearby out of anger.
Even though you can’t save anything if you do that.
Stop it, someone screamed, so she used force to deter the adult coming towards her. Other people had already run away, not wanting to be involved in this situation.
I also didn’t want to be involved, I don’t want to hurt my weak body any more.
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However.
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If the world is ending, I can at least try to be an ally of justice right? How comical, a weak Hero.
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The result was a crushing defeat.
With my weak body and low stamina, the most I could do was drive them away.
At the end, I was stabbed. Sharp pain runs through my abdomen. My blood was flowing out freely. Oh dang. My constitution makes it hard to stop the bleeding.
“I’m, sorry. It’s my fault”
She looked at me, who was lying on the ground, with tear-filled eyes.
“Don’t cry. You’ll ruin your beautiful face you know? Ahh… it hurts”
“Why did you help me… You should have just ignored, someone like me”
Long, long gray hair. Looking closely, it’s tinged with red. But it’s really pale, so all you see is gray. It must have been difficult to grow it out this long. To grow your hair out, even though it’s a colour close to the taboo, you must have had some good reason for it.
“Black-ish, or weak and sickly, why is society so harsh for the weak”
Even if I look at the sky, it’s pitch black. At this rate, it’ll swallow up the whole world. Either way it’s fine. Since it looks like I’m about to die anyway.
“I can only pray that I’ll have a durable body in my next life. The world is going to end soon, so why don’t you wish for something too? As a ‘weak’ comrade, let’s get along?
“How, can you think of such things. Don’t you think about, wanting to live?”
A tear silently drops from those sky-blue eyes. It looks as if the sky is crying.
“Ahh, I want to live. Live, and I wanted to travel”
I’ve dreamt of adventuring since I was a child.
“Then, I’ll go with you. You’d be lonely, if you’re by yourself right?”
Although you look like the one that’d be lonely if you’re by yourself. But if that’s what you wish for, why not.
“Hmm yeah, that does sound like fun too”
Travelling the world, as 2 weak people. Seeing and experiencing new things, enjoying everyday with the 2 of us.
If such a wish came true, how blissful would it be.
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But reality is cruel.
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The Black Dominator descended, and the world is heading to its end. At least at the end, I should smile, so I tried to move my cheeks, but I wasn;t able to control it well. My awkward smile must have looked pretty funny, because she laughed. It was beautiful.
Ahh, this kind of end isn’t too bad, or so I thought.
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But reality had more salvation than I thought.
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Thinking it’s the end, I look up at the sky with her.
Right then, a Black Dragon flew out from Casp Do Castle, flying straight for the centre of the Black Dominator. At that moment, the surroundings were flooded with blinding light, forcing my eyes shut.
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When I finally opened my eyes again, the Black Dominator had disappeared, and the sky became as clear as her eyes. From that wide blue sky, black crystals were falling, and when I unconsciously tried to hold it, it got absorbed by my body and vanished. In that instant, my body became amazingly light, and my stab wound has been healed.
From that day on, my body became the same, no, it became more durable, stronger, and more disease-free than a normal human.
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Looking back, those black crystals were probably the scales of the Sacred Beast Earth Dragon that saved the world. Besides myself, rumours that others also had incurable diseases healed, their back aches healed, had been rejuvenated, had their children’s illness cured, and more, were spreading around. That Black Dragon gave it’s life to not just save the world, but also our futures.
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After that, I travelled around with Celia. Since we promised.
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We were touched by things we saw for the first time, became stronger, laughed between the 2 of us, well we did fight too, but that was also fun.
Celia was also overjoyed that people’s perception of black had changed.
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That was when, I met Itoka. Apparently, she completely lost her memories of the last few years, and she doesn’t believe that people’s idea of black has changed.
She overlaps a little with Celia.
Black-featured people from before 2 years ago did not receive good treatment after all. It might not be so for all the country, and Itoka was extremely conscious of it. She was probably greatly troubled by that.
But, I didn’t ever think that she’d be acquainted with the Heroes. What’s more, his older sister? The Hero’s older sister? That means she, is a person from another world.
However, there was a contradiction. She said she’d bring them home, and Itoka came to this world later than the heroes were summoned.
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If that’s so, where did Itoka get memories of being in this world?
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Maybe it’s not yet time, to tell us yet.
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But putting all that aside.
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“Can I, bite?”
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She, who said that, had her eyes dyed blood red, and her pupils opened like slits, almost as if, right, like the eyes of a reptile.
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What in the world, was that?
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Translation Notes:
[1] I also think I don’t have a knack for naming things. oh well. If anyone remembers the previous translations, lmk!
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Sonachim Stories 
Gracias x el cap!!!!
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Thanks for the chapter
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So that’s why black became popular so quickly…makes sense now.
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