The World I Was Supporting Was Real

Episode 14. Ophelia, Linnea, and One More (1)

* * *

The day I left to enter the academy.

Today was the anniversary of my father’s death.

My father was an illiterate old man who didn’t even have a surname.

To make a living, he would chop down nearby trees and sell them where needed, or carry heavy things for others.

Despite his meager earnings, whenever he bought potatoes, he would always give me an extra one.

It wasn’t just potatoes. Whether it was carrots, turnips, or eggs, he would always buy three and give me two.

It was only later that I realized he was getting three for the price of two.

“Father, please have two potatoes. I’m not hungry.”

“No, Luca. The younger you are, the more you need to eat. I already ate while working outside.”

If I had been a bit more considerate, I would have insisted, but I was only seven years old at the time.

Believing that “Father already ate” was easier and simpler than giving up food to him.

He was always kind to me, but there was one time when he scolded me so harshly that it felt like the sky was falling.

It was the day he couldn’t bring home any food, and I stole bread because I was hungry.

He hit me a few times, then sat down and cried like a child.

Then, wiping away his tears, he held my hand tightly and took me to the dock where the evening sunset was beautifully falling.

――He is always watching over us from above.

Who? ―God.

My father, who didn’t even know God’s name, said it with unwavering conviction.

“He is watching over everything. Always, at all times. Day and night, He is watching us. So, there is no such thing as an evil deed that goes unnoticed. And, there is no good deed that goes unrecognized. Do you Do you understand, Luca?”

The one who watches over everything from above, God.

So, is that why Father doesn’t take payment when he works at the orphanage, because God is watching from above?

I wanted to ask that question, but as a child, I was overwhelmed by the look in my father’s eyes before I could even speak.

Clear and transparent eyes. Like a cat’s, so clean they seemed like they would burst if touched.

After that day, I never did anything bad again, including stealing.

I avoided even the smallest actions that anyone might do. Because God was always watching from above. Because in the end, God sees everything.

While my father worked, I would often go to the orphanage where he volunteered and helped with various chores in exchange for education from the nuns.

At first, I studied writing, but for an ordinary child, it was never an easy task.

I could progress to the point of reading letters, but my body naturally wanted to run and play.

One day, after I threw myself into stopping the boys at the orphanage from fighting and managed to settle the situation, the nun spoke to me in a serious tone.

“Luca, why don’t you learn how to use weapons instead?”

Whether it was a sword or something else, learning how to use weapons seemed to be a way to make a living.

Even so, it was not an easy decision to make. No matter how long it had been since the last war, becoming a soldier was a difficult decision even in those days.

If possible, I wanted to become a wizard. A wizard who was respected and earned a lot of money, so I could buy plenty of potatoes and eggs to share with my father.

In the midst of this, my father was severely injured.

It happened when I was thirteen.

It was an accident. It seemed to be a landslide. He got hurt while cutting down trees.

I heard words of consolation saying it was an unfortunate event, but I couldn’t understand. ―Weren’t you watching everything from above?

My father always gave up his food for me.

He even volunteered for free at the orphanage. But why?

My father was taken to the hospital attached to the church that ran the orphanage. It seemed that a few priests were also involved, but… I was told that the wound was too deep and that I should prepare myself.

After hearing the words ‘say your final goodbyes,’ I went to the room where my father, in a terrible state, was barely breathing.

“Father. It’s me. Luca. Can you hear me?”

I asked several times, but there was no answer.

I could only hear an answer when I fell asleep next to my father, exhausted from crying.

“Luca. The truth is, I am not your real father.”

Was it a dream, or did I wake up and talk to my father?

Anyway, in the dream, my father was telling me something quite shocking.

“I found you abandoned in front of the orphanage that day. I just had a strange feeling and brought you in. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn’t. God is always watching over us… Sometimes, you have to do something just because it’s the right thing to do…”

“I thought raising you was the right thing to do. So don’t worry and pursue your dreams to the fullest. You didn’t inherit my blood, so you can become a much better person than I am.”

Even while crying, I instinctively realized that this was my last chance to speak to my father.

“Father. No matter what anyone says, you are my father.”

I tightly hold my father’s hand in the dream.

It’s warm. Even in the dream.

“I…”

I may not have your blood flowing through me.

But I have your noble soul flowing through me. The soul you lived with, without shame before God, even without anyone recognizing it.

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Father. I will never forget. That your spirit is engraved in me.

I will never forget that God is always watching over us… …

I should have told you that.

As a child, I was not mature enough to think of such words.

“If I say my last words―

――Don’t forget that I am always watching over you.

Even when you face injustice, even when you are swept by difficult trials… … Always, always, God will be watching your decisions.

‘… … !’

When I woke up from the dream, what I saw was—a hand.

Father’s hand.

The Father was pointing to the sky with his finger. With his eyes closed.

And not long after… … with a thud, the outstretched hand fell onto the bed as if it were flowing down.

Even at this moment, don’t forget that God is watching over us―

That was my father’s will, which resonated not in my ears but in my heart.

* * *

After learning to read, Luca finally learned the name of the orphanage she often visited.

Heavenish Adelia.

Luca, who had made her father’s grave and was left alone, was adopted by the head of the orphanage who took pity on her situation and was given the name ‘Luca Heavenish’.

It was said to be the surname given to all the children of the orphanage.

“Sister. I want to learn the sword.”

Fortunately, Luca had quite a talent for the sword.

Since Luca was about five years older than the other children in the orphanage, she naturally took on the position of the big sister and at some point naturally took on the task of disciplining the children of the orphanage.

It wasn’t that hard. Although there was the reason that they were like family, in the end, everything would be watched from above.

She naturally taught the children of the orphanage the teachings she had learned from her father.

“Stealing is not allowed. God is always watching over us from above.”

“God? Was it… Igogoten?”

“That’s right. So you always have to live kindly. Got it?”

“How can you forget God’s name? Didn’t Mr. Refiton say that? A plain fact?”

“I don’t care about plain facts! I prefer bread that I can eat!”

The children listened well to Luca, and her swordsmanship was improving day by day.

Then one day.

When she turned eighteen, very good news reached Luca’s ears.

“Free admission…?”

“I mentioned you to the academy, and they said if you have the talent to pass the test, they would like to nurture you. Isn’t that great news, Luca?”

It wasn’t a top-tier academy, but it was a place quite renowned for its swordsmanship, and they had sent a letter.

Even if it was an unknown place, where else could you get free admission?

‘Really… You were watching over me!’

Yes.

God had always been watching over me. Even in this situation, I didn’t lose my dream and worked hard!

“Luca, you have to come back safely! This is a gift!”

“This is…”

A white ribbon.

It looked a bit rustic, but it seemed sturdy.

A corner of her heart tingled. What was this feeling?

Family?

The children, who had grown up so much, wiped their noses and said.

“You can’t let your hair get in the way when you’re using a sword!”

“We didn’t steal it, sister! We saved up our allowance to buy it. Hehe.”

“Thank you, Amon. Freya. I’ll cherish it.”

With the ribbon tightly tied in her hair, Luca went to her father’s grave and spoke.

Father. It seems you were right that God is watching over us.

By living kindly and righteously, a real opportunity has come.

I will never become arrogant. I will always remember that God is watching… Just like when I was a little girl, chatting away to you.

And today is the day she leaves for the academy.

That day was the anniversary of Luca’s father’s death.

* * *

Lufrantia Academy.

Luca was fortunately able to pass the test prepared by a place that had produced quite a few famous knights.

In that place, I was able to meet my roommate, Irina.

“Luca! Let’s get along well from now on!”

She was different from Luca in many ways.

A beautiful blonde girl.

She grew up in a bright family without any wrinkles, and she was a friend who cheerfully whispered her dream of joining the Royal Knights and becoming the captain of the knights several times.

Luca thought it might be a stroke of luck to have her as a roommate. Irina knew a lot about the world that Luca, who had only stayed in an orphanage in a rural village, did not know.

Listening to her, she said that if you join the Royal Knights, you can earn a lot of money and gain honor.

She also added that if you have talent, you can be hired as a royal guard regardless of your status, and in that case, you can practically achieve all the wealth and honor you can achieve as a knight.

Money.

Eating and living were issues, but I also wanted to give something back to the orphanage that raised me…

“Then shall we both join the Royal Knights?”

“Sure!”

Everything Irina talked about was a learning experience for Luca. Because you have to know a lot to live a life without shame under the sky.

Because God is always watching over me from the sky.

* * *

Time really flew by.

What Luca felt over the three years was— in fact, that she had been living a very unlucky life, and it was still ongoing.

It was a fact she realized as a result of her broadened perspective after entering the academy.

During the three years that passed, almost nothing went as she wished. From very trivial matters to slightly important ones, all of them.

But Luca did not despair.

After all, God is watching over everything. From one to ten, all of it.

Was it because of that? Before she knew it, Luca overcame her misfortune and became a promising talent in the academy, taking the top spot in her grade.

If nothing else, Luca’s talent with the sword was real. It was the moment when the nun who recommended the sword to Luca proved her discerning eye.

Her roommate, Irina, was also becoming an outstanding knight, taking the second spot in her grade alongside Luca as a promising talent in the academy.

It was not strange that news about the two female knights spread within the academy.

One day, while walking the path of success.

At the age of twenty, when they became third-year students and were about to graduate.

“Is that really true…?”

No matter how unlucky life continued, as if to prove once again that God was constantly watching over her—

A timely message from the state was heard.