Chapter 1: Home Garden?
“Hey, come on, wake up already!”
“Mmm… just five more hours…”
“How long are you planning to sleep? You know today’s the Descent Festival, right?”
I said that as I yanked the blanket off her with no mercy.
“Ngyaaa!”
Rolling out from under the covers with a shriek was my little sister, Sena.
Her bed hair was a complete disaster, but her features were decent enough. Combined with her bright, outgoing personality, she was apparently quite popular among the neighborhood boys—though that was probably because none of them knew what a mess she really was on the inside.
Looking down at her soft, exposed belly—her pajamas having ridden up—I let out a sigh.
“I’ve told you not to sleep with your stomach uncovered. You’ll catch a cold.”
“Kyaa, Onii-chan, you perv!”
“Quiet. Just get up already.”
“Uuugh, fine, fiiine.”
Still lying down, she lazily stretched out her arm toward me.
When I pulled her up so she’d finally sit upright, she simply raised both hands over her head and sat there, waiting.
“At least dress yourself, will you?”
“Eeh~”
Ignoring her whining, I left the room.
Good grief. No matter how old she gets, she’s still a spoiled brat. And to think—she officially becomes an adult today.
Today is the day of the annual Descent Festival.
It’s a sacred day when the gods of heaven are said to descend upon the mortal realm, and the whole city celebrates it with grandeur.
In our little regional town where I, Geo, was born and raised, everyone had been busy with preparations for days.
“Onii-chan, I’m ready~!”
“Then let’s go.”
“Mmhm. Fwaaah…”
Yawning widely, my sister Sena and I stepped out of the house.
Outside, it was still pitch-dark. Normally, we’d both still be asleep at this hour.
During the Descent Festival, it’s customary to gather at the nearby plaza, offer prayers to the gods, and watch the sunrise together.
Our breaths turned white in the cold morning air as we made our way toward the plaza.
“It’s kinda nerve-wracking, huh?”
“You don’t look nervous at all.”
“Well, Onii-chan, you look like you didn’t sleep a wink.”
“Oh? You can tell?”
“Sure. Your face looks about twenty percent uglier than usual.”
“…So you’re saying I’m ugly to begin with, huh?”
She wasn’t wrong—I hadn’t slept much.
The Descent Festival happens every year, but this time, it carried special meaning for us.
Because this year, both of us turned fifteen—the age when one receives a divine blessing from the gods. That blessing marks the moment you’re recognized as an adult.
A blessing. Or as some call it—a Gift.
Everyone receives one at the age of fifteen. What kind of gift you get varies from person to person, and no one knows what theirs will be until the moment it’s bestowed.
But I’d been holding on to one hope for as long as I could remember.
“…I hope I get something useful for adventuring.”
“You’ve been saying that forever.”
“Can you blame me? I want to be an adventurer like Father.”
Our father had once been a skilled adventurer.
Unfortunately, he’d died in an accident a few years back, leaving just the two of us behind—but I’d always looked up to him.
That said, it wasn’t the only reason I wanted to become one. The biggest reason was something else entirely—
“You’re amazing, Onii-chan, having a goal and all.”
“W-well, I guess so.”
“As for me, I’d be totally satisfied just being taken care of by you for life.”
“Hey.”
You’ll be working too, lazy girl. Father’s savings are almost gone, you know.
But ignoring my protest, Sena said cheerfully,
“It’ll be fine. I’m sure you’ll get an amazing blessing, Onii-chan. I can just feel it! …No reason why, though.”
“So you’re just guessing. You’re as carefree as ever.”
“Ehehe~”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
Ever since Father’s death, Sena and I had lived together—just the two of us.
Though we were the same age, she was still technically my younger sister, since we had different mothers and I’d been born a few months earlier.
…Why two different women happened to be pregnant with Father’s children at the same time, I’ll never know.
But it’s safe to assume it wasn’t for any noble reason.
In the end, both mothers had probably grown tired of him and left, dumping their babies on him before disappearing for good.
I admired Father—but that was one thing I definitely didn’t want to inherit from him.
We arrived at the plaza.
A large crowd had already gathered, facing the east with solemn expressions, hands clasped in prayer.
Sena and I joined them.
Please, gods… Grant me a blessing that will help me become an adventurer…
I didn’t know if my prayer would make a difference, but I prayed with all my heart.
And then, just as the sun began to rise from the eastern sky, a mysterious voice echoed in my head.
“Dad! I did it! I got a blessing that’ll really help with the family business!”
“Ugh, mine’s some weird blessing I’ve never heard of… doesn’t look like it’ll be much use…”
As the prayer ended, voices of joy and disappointment rose all around us—people who had just received their own blessings, like us.
“How’d it go, Onii-chan?”
“H-hold on… what about yours, Sena?”
I asked awkwardly, trying to avoid the question. Sena, of course, answered without a hint of suspicion.
“Um, mine’s something like… ‘Blessing of the Sword God’? Or something.”
“…Eh?”
“It sounds all grand and serious, not cute at all.”
Blessing of the Sword God.
The very proof of being loved by the divine god of swords.
It was one of the rarest blessings of all—those who received it invariably went down in history. Even the legendary Sword Saint everyone knew had possessed that gift.
“T-that’s amazing!”
“Huh?”
“It’s an ultra-rare gift! If you become an adventurer, you’ll be famous in no time!”
I completely forgot about myself and shouted in excitement.
“Whoa, Onii-chan, your face is way too close!”
“S-sorry!”
As I hastily backed off, Sena laughed, “Jeez, I thought you were gonna kiss me for a second there,” and then, tilting her head, she asked—
“So, what about you, Onii-chan? What did you get?”
“M-me…? Right. I, uh…”
I couldn’t very well hide it from my only family.
So, with great reluctance, I told her the name of my newly granted blessing.
“H-home Gardening…”
And that was the day… my dream of becoming an adventurer crumbled to dust.