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MK 01. Hero’s Scar
It was many many years ago.
A war broke out encompassing the whole world where seventeen heroes were chosen and raised their swords against the demon king.
The Great War of the Seventeen Royal Heroes.
In this world which is composed of seventeen nations, each and one of them joined the war led by each of their respective heroes.
The kingdom of Yuguria was led by a holy knight called Histor Yuguria
 A prince who demonstrated bravery and stood toe to toe against the world’s adversary. The demon king.
The seventeen heroes and the demon king faced each other in a bloody battle that was so atrocious that more than half of the world’s representatives lost their lives in the hands of the enemy.
From then on, among the descendants of seventeen royal families who stood up for the world, from time to time, a few of them would be born not as a whole; missing something that makes them not of the norm.
It could be an arm, a leg, a finger, or an ear.
Both eyes, or vision maybe — a tounge’s sense of taste, and in some cases, emotions.
Such circumstances are believed to be a curse brought upon by the demon king to the royal families. In these situations, the seventeen nations each had their own interpretation.
In Yuguria, at the very least, such a phenomenon is called ‘Hero’s Scar’.
Those who bear the Hero’s Scar are most likely, if their status and origin of birth would allow, become the heir of the kingdom and would eventually inherit the crown.
However, all of these are stories that had already been buried in the past.
Because for the hundred years that had passed, no one was born bearing the Hero’s Scar.
–Until a child from the current generation of the Gurion was born.
Kunon Gurion.
It is the name of the boy who was born without vision.
Yuguria’s royal family rejoiced and offered him their greatest blessings.
‘We offer our blessings to this child who’s the first one to be born with the hero’s scar since hundred of years ago.’
However, for the person in question, such matters were of little to no relevance.
‘I can’t see.’
‘I can’t see anything.’
‘I don’t even know what my parent’s faces look like.’
‘I can’t even see my caring brother’s smile.’
‘Beautiful? What’s that? I haven’t seen one. Is it dark? I don’t even know what is light. I can’t see anything because I’m blind.’
‘An honor? This ‘Hero’s Scar’?’
‘Who gives a damn.’
He can’t find anything that is joyful about not being able to see. He can only curse his own misfortune, his parents for giving him such a birth, and the heroes and demon kings who’d brought upon this curse.
It was said that when Kunon was born, even the king of Yuguria himself made his way to their mansion just so he could look and speak with Kunon. But even so, nothing else filled Kunon’s heart but anger.
‘What blessing?’
Everyone around him cares for him.
His parents, older brother, and even his hand maiden.
However, what everyone doesn’t know is that he’s hearing things more clearly compared to anyone.
Perhaps due to his lack of vision, his auditory sensory abilities became further developed like some kind of compensation.
But he doesn’t care.
For no matter what people say, the fact remains that he can’t see them so he won’t be able to do anything about it. No one would dare to say such things in front of him anyway so he’d just pretend he didn’t hear them.
And the things he heard that resonated the most, from his parents, brother, and everyone else – were sighs.
In such a small gesture, thoughts and emotions can already be derived.
To Kunon, a sigh made out of pity, out of disappointment, and in times, of irritation.
Hearing such sighs for a hundred times, for Kunon, made it more painful than talking to someone who’s neither warm nor cold.
For he is blind, who can’t take a step without the help of anyone, and causes trouble for everyone.
He won’t be able to live just by his lonesome.
Being aware of such a fate at an early age of seven, Kunon then one day manifested a water’s crest.
The crest proves that Kunon has the ability to wield the power called magic.
And so it seems that Kunon’s magic is of water’s affinity.
As his parents and brother celebrated such an event, Kunon, however, whispered in an inaudible voice – ‘so what.’
So what.
Stoic.
Indifferent.
Nonsense.
That’s how Kunon honestly felt inside.
He’s still blind; he will still need help just to take a step, and wouldn’t be able to go anywhere else.
‘In the end, it doesn’t mean anything.’, or so the boy thought.
For Kunon whose only known darkness from the day he was born, life is already hard enough.
Being unable to see is scary.
Hearing people’s pity, disappointments, and regrets in their sighs leave him terrified.
The number of times he fell and got hurt, even at his young age, is so innumerable no one could identify.
To top it off

[—*Sighs* Haa
.]
Mirika, who is in front of the young boy, sighs.
Mirika Yuguria.
She is the ninth princess of the kingdom of Yuguria whose two years older than Kunon.
The young girl, without the knowledge of the young boy, has been betrothed by her family to Kunon.
They’ve just seen each other for the first time but Mirika wasn’t able to hide her disappointment in Kunon right from the get go.
And so, she sighed.
‘Of course she’d be disappointed.’, or so Kunon thinks.
‘‘Hero’s Scar’ or whatever, at the end of the day, it all comes down to the fact that she’s engaged to a blind person.’
‘Mirika must have agreed under the orders of the king. As if she’d be willing to be engaged to me on her own. As if there would be anyone who’d be actually willing to offer herself to a blind person.’
The sigh of the princess was subtle, but it wasn’t able to escape Kunon’s hearing.
And he felt what emotion lies in the sigh that had entered his ears.
Frustration, vexation – dissatisfaction so clear he didn’t have any trouble finding the right term.
And when such emotions overwhelm a person, a desire to torment follows.
[–Princess? Your highness Mirika?]
As both of them take a walk in the gardens of the Gurion household, Mirika suddenly vanishes.
.
.
.
Or so it seemed but she just quietly left to get away from him.
However, perhaps to compensate for Kunon’s lack of vision, apart from hearing, his awareness and ability to detect presence is quite extra ordinary.
So, no matter what ordinary people do within Kunon’s close proximity, he can detect and understand their movements.
Such as Mirika’s subtle footsteps as she moves away from him, her destination from the way she’s walking, and the fact that she’s just nearby hiding.
‘What a bother.’
‘For better or for worse, this is Gurion’s, my family’s, own garden.’
‘Aside from the cane in my hand, with the scent and fragrance of the flowers, I can easily pinpoint where we currently stand.’
‘I’m living here for seven years. Even I can memorize our own garden, at least.’
‘Should I just go back to the mansion? But considering what Mirika wanted to do, maybe I should get along with it for now.’
‘If this is what you desire, so be it.’
‘I can do at least this much for you since you took the trouble to come here.’
.
.
.
‘—but seriously, what a drag
’
Or So Kunon had been thinking.
—
When the water crest in Kunon manifested, magic training became a part of his daily routine.
As his training increased, so did his teachers.
Aside from his teacher who earnestly read all kinds of books for him to learn, now came a mage of water attribute that will become his new instructor.
[—Yeah, that’s it. Don’t ever forget that sensation, okay?]
As something inside him disappears, outside of him, something is happening. Then, his teacher would praise him.
However, as Kunon cannot see what’s actually happening around him, he cannot discern what’s actually praise worthy about what he is doing.
As he couldn’t understand it, he became indifferent. Regardless if he succeeds or fails, he just moves according to what the teacher says.
.
.
.
Three months have passed and things continued to be the same, until one fateful day, Kunon had awakened.
‘I wonder what kind of magic am I actually doing right now?’
Kunon, who doesn’t even have the tiniest bit of interest about anything, became curious about what’s the point of everything he’s been doing right now.
However, contrary to his expectations, the answer his teacher gave him was beyond his imagination.
[–Oh, hm
 about the size of an eyeball, perhaps?]
He was told that there are now several balls of water floating around him of which sizes are about the same as an eyeballs.
‘Eyeballs’.
Due to his teacher’s casual remarks, or perhaps too casual that it might have been a slip of tongue, something inside Kunon finally became alive.
For the first time, he felt a shock and heard the beat of his own heart.
Deep inside of it, his dream that he had thought that would never happen regardless how much he prayed, has finally resurfaced. As his desire and excitement overwhelmed his chest, he raised his head.
[–That’s it. I just need to make an eye around me.]
‘Mana comes inside of oneself and can be manifested outside.’
‘That is how one is connected to their mana.’
‘And mana is connected to magic.’
‘Then, if you’d create an eye using magic, wouldn’t that allow you to see?’
‘Instead of actually hoping for these useless eyes I have to do wonders, isn’t it better for me to gain vision using magic?’
‘Will I be able to do it?’
‘In the first place, is it even possible?’
‘Screw it – I’ll make it happen. Whatever it takes.’
‘It isn’t about whether I can do it or not.’
‘I’ll do it. No matter what.’
Kunon, who wasn’t able to see even the tiniest glimpse of light, let alone the meaning of life, for the first time, found a reason to try.
His newly found desire – no, the desires he cherished for so long as he remembered that he buried deep inside his chest is now burning alight.
I want to see them. Father, Mother, and Brother.
I want to see them. The mansion, the garden, and the terrain.
I want to see them. Everything. Each and all the things this world has to offer.
For someone, such desires may be something that’s pretty normal. But for others, these are dreams that they’d be willing to risk everything as long as they can experience it in their lives.
And from there, Kunon succumbs to the abyss of what they call magic.
Translator’s Notes:
Let Kunon get his eyes and let him see as well One P1ece! xDHi, Everyone! I don’t think I’d be able to release frequently, maybe twice a week perhaps. No fix dates. Please be patient of me. Thanks!