The sun stood high in the sky when I arrived at the village’s fields.

I saw a familiar man tending to the crops, but each step through these fields felt weird. Like an angry boy who ran away from home for good, only to come back three hours later when he was hungry. And yes, I had cleared the first hurdles as a recruit, but the small plants on the fields displayed how little time had went by. A few short weeks, just enough to switch seasons, and nothing had changed.

But I suppressed the urge to run away and made my way to the village. If I wanted to change something, have a chance for success with my gamble, I needed to contact the surrounding villages. A task I couldn’t accomplish on my own.

“You’re back,” the man, Uno’s father, greeted me. “We thought it was time.”

“Time,” I asked.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Thea told us everything.” He laughed. “No need to be depressed about it. Not everyone can survive on their own in the city.”

“Uhm?”

“And you even tried to become a blacksmith. No wonder you failed.” He embraced me and patted my back. “But it’s fine, we have a bed and a bowl of soup for you. Thea used your old traps and captured some game, so we can give you a thick slice of meat.”

So Thea really used an apprenticeship at Master Ansgot’s place as an excuse. But was that how I appeared to be? A failed blacksmith? And their reaction wasn’t scorn or pity, but simple support? It was heartwarming, but also amiss.

“I’m not here to return to the village,” I interrupted him. “I need to meet with Elder Rolf.”

“Oh...” He took a step back. “That’s a shame. And here I thought Thea... no, no, not now.” He shook his head. “Elder Rolf’s bones started to ache, so you can find him resting in his house.”

I thanked him and continued towards the village.

Other villagers saw me and waved, while some approached for a few simple words of greeting. Again, no scorn or pity. Instead, smiles welcomed me back to this village. As if it weren’t only a few short months I had spent here. As if I belonged here.

The first big change awaited me inside the village. The central building was completed. With thicker walls and reinforced doors, exactly how I had described it. And standing in front of it, strange emotions bubbled in my chest. Pride that they had listened to me. But also disappointment that they had finished it without me.

This village had been a stale puddle, but I broke through the dam. And now the water flowed without me. Things changed whether or not I was here. This wasn’t about me. Or rather, what was I to the village? Nobody important, just someone who would be forgotten in time.

I sighed.

What was I even thinking? I came here to fight against the leprechauns and save as many of them as possible. I didn’t come here to rejoin the village. So why was I this uneasy? It made no sense.

Elder Rolf rested in his house. Although house was a grand description for it. It was a hut like any other. Neither stone houses nor manors could be found here. Only smaller and bigger huts.

“You came back.” The same reception. “Did you get bored with your struggle in the city?”

“No.” I denied his assumption. “I came to talk with you.”

“With me?” Elder Rolf looked surprised. “But why?”

In response, I decided to come clean and recounted the last weeks. How the sword maiden enlisted farmers, how I didn’t learn under Master Ansgot but joined her troops, how I fought with the leprechauns’ scouts during my first mission, and how no help would arrive. And he sat in front of me, listening.

His back was hunched down, as if the many years were weighting his shoulders down. His gray hair was few and far between. And his body was so slender, even meager, he appeared closer to death than life. But despite all that, Elder Rolf sat there without moving, listened to my story, and digested the news without a twitch on his face.

“So we are next,” he concluded his thoughts with a simple question. “How long?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know whether they’ll attack this village.”

“But you still came back.” He showed one of his rare smiles. “And you came to see me. So what can I do for you?”

“I want to contact the other villages,” I explained. “But I never learned their locations and I doubt they would listen to a stranger.”

“So you need a messenger.” He paused for a moment. “But what should he say? Can we hide in the forest?”

I shook my head. “Their scouts included a Púca. Even if he was the leader, their force should contain at least a hundred men. If he wasn’t, their force could be in the thousands.”

“That’s... not something a starving stranger should know.” He looked at me, but didn’t continue the topic. “So we can’t hide. And if we flee...”

“You’ll lose the harvest. Possibly even the entire village. And then you’ll starve to death.”

“So you want to contact the other villages to...”

“To form a combined militia. One that will defend the attacked village. The women and children can hide in the other villages, but I need as many healthy men as possible.”

“And you would risk your life for those strangers?”

“I...” I noticed the graveness in his eyes. “My mother always told me stories of heroes and dragons. About evil empires and beautiful princesses. And I always loved their courage and wits. So I thought I might...”

He stayed silent, clearly not convinced.

“There is someone I admire.” I sighed and told the truth. “I think she would do the same if she could. And I hope she will acknowledge me when I achieve it in her stead.”

He nodded. “Selfish reasons suit the youth. It’s good if you can protect strangers, but people without a selfish desire will run away and quit. I can’t approve of it, but it is enough for now.”

“So?”

“I’ll send someone to the nearest villages. Although I can’t promise you a favorable answer.”

“Thank you.”

Afterwards we talked about a lot of things. The highest number I could expect, my plans and ideas for the defense, and the latest developments in the village. Someone gave birth, someone died, and someone was pregnant. A peddler had fallen in love with a girl. But that girl left the village to marry someone else.

Life continued, ignorant of the approaching danger.

The trees concealed half the sun when we finished our talk. And he sent me away with simple last words.

“You already have a bed here.”

And so I stood frozen in the middle of the village.

My bed had been with Thea, the one person I didn’t want to see. When all was said, our parting hadn’t been that amiable. So while returning to the village was like a naughty boy returning from his elopement, returning to Thea felt more like a cheating husband confronting his wife at home. I didn’t know what I should say.

My feet moved.

Twilight was near, but I didn’t walk towards Thea’s hut but the village’s border. Towards the ditch I had left behind. Maybe walking would help me find the right words. And even though I understood I was just running away from reality, I continued onwards. Something needed to come. Some kind of excuse.

The other farmers had connected the ditch with the nearby river and planted two oblong fields alongside. All traces of my work gone. As if I hadn’t used a stick to start the ditch. As if it had been here forever. But these traces got replaced by new fields, new possibilities, a new future.

I sat down, playing with the polished stone. The only thing left from the necklace. If only I’ve had been level five.

Laughter escaped my mouth.

Life in another world, a second chance for me, and I already had two near-death experiences. I met the sword maiden, I fought against my first enemies, and I leveled up. But despite all that, this was my biggest accomplishment. I took a stick and dug a ditch. And somehow it was the most meaningful thing I achieved.

Did I waste my time?

Steps interrupted my thoughts. But I didn’t turn around. Out here, in the middle of nowhere, nobody wanted to harm me. And those steps sounded familiar. The first steps I had heard in this new world.

Sure enough, something hard hit the back of my head. But this time without force, more a gentle nudge than an attack. And she sat down in the grass, her back against mine.

“I would welcome you,” she said. “But I don’t want to see your face right now.”