The boy Deian had a dream. Waking from sleep, Deian rubbed his eyes with a half-asleep face. The content of the dream was hazy and he couldn't remember it.
"Ah, that's right!"
As if remembering something, Deian suddenly lifted his head and hurriedly moved.
"Mom! I'm going out!"
"Deian! You need to eat breakfast!"
"I'm busy! Today is the festival!"
Deian shouted this and immediately left the house. His mother's nagging chased after him from behind, but it couldn't catch his footsteps.
Deian ran through the streets. Tirna, the golden city, that magnificent city always boasted a new grandeur.
Deian was an ordinary boy staying in District 38 of Tirna. District 38 was unusually crowded with people. The same would be true for other districts. Today was the festival commemorating the end of the war.
[The Day of Ascension]
People had given this name to commemorate the day after ending the great war that occurred five years ago.
The world changed after the Day of Ascension. As the existence of the outside became known, the world faced a major turning point, whether it wanted to or not.
Nevertheless, the chaos was brief, and humanity joined forces to adapt to the changes. Even nations that had been fighting each other with hostility until then had to suppress their antagonism toward each other.
It wasn't just humanity. The treatment of the other races, who had been minorities before, also changed considerably.
Thud!
"Ow."
"Hm?"
Deian looked up at the large figure he had bumped into. Due to the crowded throng, he hadn't been able to avoid it in time. Looking down at him was an orc with a fierce impression. Deian instinctively shrank back.
"Oh my, I'm sorry. There are so many people that I didn't notice below."
The orc offered an apology to Deian with a benevolent smile. Deian stared at the orc intently, then bowed his head.
"No. It's because I wasn't looking ahead properly while running. I'm sorry."
"Haha. I see. It's a festival so I understand the excited feelings, but still, don't push yourself too hard."
The orc exchanged these kind words and moved along with his companions. It was a group composed of an elf, beastman, and human. Deian looked at such a sight as if it were fascinating.
Deian was now 11 years old. And five years ago, he was 6 years old. His memories from that time were hazy, but there were still a few things he knew for certain.
In Tirna, the other races were subjects of discrimination. If they had ability they would be acknowledged, but still, looks of contempt would subtly follow them.
But now, such sights were not visible. Right away, everyone on the street was composed of various races and species. They laughed together and achieved harmony in the excited atmosphere of the festival.
Deian continued walking. The smell of delicious food wafted from stalls set up here and there. There were also those showing off various devices made with mechanical clockwork, and people who raised the atmosphere to its peak by flaunting their skills.
Among them, what caught the eye most was a tin robot moving with creaks and squeaks.
[Hahaha. Everyone enjoy yourselves. Would you like a glass of ether water?]
The thing offering jokes with laughter was an automaton. If one had to say what the biggest change in the world was after the Day of Ascension, it would undoubtedly be the evolution of automatons.
Automatons, created for human convenience, began to develop self-awareness after the Day of Ascension. This caused a great ripple in the world.
An artificial robot made to be just a tool had gained self-awareness. Discussions went on about whether to treat them as individual personalities or not.
However, this debate didn't last as long as expected.
'Automatons ultimately became part of society, the teacher said.'
Since Deian was quite a model student, he recalled what he had heard in his teacher's history class. Automatons joined the flow of the world as a species.
There wasn't no opposition to it. But the world still remained where the vast existence of the 'outside' remained a mystery. Within that, automatons gaining personality was a relatively trivial matter.
To have discrimination and conflict over such things, they were living in a world far too vast. There was once a time when humanity was conceited that they were the pinnacle of intelligence. They had to thoroughly realize how small a well they were living in.
The outside world. Outside beings. And the outer gods. Existences that could not dare be perceived and were impossible to even understand.
In such a world, automatons with human hearts were not a big deal. And there was also a reason why they couldn't simply be looked down upon.
It was because among automatons, there were quite a few who had become knights.
'Knights.'
Just thinking of that word made Deian's heart race.
In this era, if you asked children what they wanted to be when they grew up and asked about their future aspirations, most would give the same answer in unison. They wanted to become knights.
Knights were no longer people you could only see in old stories. They existed in reality and weren't outdated at all. They were those who had grasped tremendous fame and power.
Paladins and northern warriors who closely followed such knight orders were also spotlighted professions. However, in the case of paladins, there was the stuffiness of having to believe in god, and due to the existence of outer gods, the influence of the Petra Order had somewhat diminished compared to before.
The case of northern warriors was similar. Some people who disliked them called them barbarian warriors as a derogatory term, and there was sufficient reason for that.
It was because the behavior they usually displayed was quite rough. Conversely, there were also quite a few people fascinated by such intense charm.
Mages and dark mages received good treatment then and now as before. There were also professions that drew cult popularity, called rangers and rogues. Those who wore shadows and hid in darkness looked quite cool to Deian.
'Still, if I had to choose what I most want to become, I would definitely be a knight.'
Deian had seen the appearance of knights from afar.
The Starlight Knights passing through the crowds were all people wearing softly glowing white armor. Deian was captivated to the depths of his heart by that elegant light that didn't lose its radiance even under the sun.
Wanting to become a knight wasn't simply because it was cool.
'Because knights were the ones who saved the world.'
In the great war that occurred five years ago, it was knights who achieved the greatest victory. The world did not perish because Sky Knight Osian drove away the Primordial Void and expelled the army of void that he led.
Deian stopped his steps.
The street, where vehicles were restricted, was crowded with people. Over the heads of such people, a statue could be seen standing tall.
'That statue is of the Starlight Knights who participated in the war.'
Deian weaved through the gaps between people and approached the statue closely. On the statue, several knights could be seen holding swords.
Below it, names were written.
[In memory of Asmer, Gaien, Jonathan, and Berkan.]
It was a statue of four men each taking valiant poses. They were first-generation knights who had died in the great war five years ago.
Many coalition forces had died besides them, but among them, those who had been particularly active and were of knight origin had their names carved even in history books.
'First-generation knights.'
They were people who served directly under Osian, who was the first knight. It was said that at that time, no one regarded knights favorably. Most didn't recognize their true value, and they were sometimes ridiculed like clowns.
But the first-generation Starlight Knights walked the path of knights amid everyone's contempt. They willingly chose to walk the path of romance in a harsh world.
Afterward, as knights became famous and everyone and their dog wanted to become knights, increasing their numbers significantly, even now the prestige of first-generation knights only rose and never decreased.
Being someone who liked knights, Deian studied about knights harder than anyone else and searched for materials. From the anecdotes of Osian starting as a fixer in this city, to the unbelievable path of success he achieved as a fixer.
The Osian Chronicles, which recorded his life story from organizing Osian's activities to the great war, was still one of the best sellers.
The reason it contained vivid descriptions was probably because the people who helped with the writing were fixers belonging to Violet Fox.
Naturally, Deian also had that book. He had read it so much that the pages were worn with handprints.
Deian walked the festival streets.
"Hey! There's arm wrestling here!"
"A knight and northern warrior are facing off!"
He watched a knight and northern warrior, who were competitive rivals, arm wrestle. Even though they weren't particularly famous people, their builds were considerable. They recorded a draw as the table prepared for arm wrestling was smashed.
"It's the elf spirit summoner parade!"
"With mutants too!"
Mutants and elves strolled through the streets, scattering brilliant lights and capturing people's attention.
Occasionally, when incidents occurred in the heat of the festival, black shadows moved before the guards.
"Just because it's a festival doesn't mean you can act however you want and cause trouble for others."
At the words of the rogue in black garb with a bandana covering his mouth, the two men who had been about to start a drunken brawl could be seen nodding with pale faces.
"L-look there! It's David!"
Deian's ears perked up at the shout heard from somewhere. David! The oldest among the first-generation knights who followed Osian, and afterward the leader of the Moon Scar Knight Order that was established! Deian wanted to see him right away, but because people rushed over in a swarm, he couldn't squeeze through at all.
"Ugh!"
Deian looked for a nearby streetlamp and climbed up it. When he climbed higher than the adults' heads, the scenery beyond the crowd became visible.
He had wondered if someone had mistaken David for someone else, but that was a needless worry.
"Wow."
David was a person easy to recognize at a glance. Of course he was, because he was wearing flowing blue martial robes reminiscent of the aurora. They were Moon Scar martial robes that knights who use Moon Scar wear. That wasn't all. Behind David, several Moon Scar Knights were moving together. Their energy was cold yet somehow mysterious like seeing the moon reflected on water.
-Clank. Clank.
To David's left and right, two automatons moved together.
'Ronald and Reginald!'
The story of automatons who gained self-awareness after David infused them with the power of Moon Scar and became members of the Moon Scar Knight Order was very famous.
He wanted to capture their appearance in his eyes even a little, but the Moon Scar Knight Order led by David disappeared beyond in an instant.
"What a shame."
Deian muttered in a dejected voice but he immediately shook his head.
'No. I shouldn't be too disappointed. It's an opportunity to see the appearance of other knights.'
Knight orders were usually busy, but during the Day of Ascension festival, they frequently showed themselves on the streets like now. Deian decided to definitely see the Starlight Knights this time.
And if possible, he also wanted to see Osian, who was at the pinnacle of all knights.
'It's just a dream, but still, I don't want to give up.'
Osian didn't meet people easily because he had become the greatest person in this world. Even high-ranking officials of a nation couldn't see Osian, so how could it be possible for himself, a mere commoner and boy.
Still, anyone was allowed to harbor hopeful dreams.
Deian moved his steps. He headed toward a secluded ridge with a good view. How long had he climbed the observatory stairs while struggling. His view opened wide and the cityscape became clearly visible.
Below, people bustled between haphazardly erected buildings. Above them, airships were moving. Occasionally, the figure of a giant sky dragon crossing between the airships could also be seen.
"Wow."
Seeing the sky dragon, an exclamation escaped him unknowingly. They, who had existed since ancient times, were once a legendary species that only stayed in worlds separate from humans.
But after the Day of Ascension, through Amenora, the representative of sky dragons, they also came to actively exchange with humanity.
The sky dragon flying over Tirna now was one of them. It had probably come to enjoy the festival.
In the blue sky spread above the sky dragon, starlight was abundant.
After the Day of Ascension, the veil of stars disappeared. After the true sky beyond the veil was revealed, stars began to be visible to people's eyes even in the bright daylight.
Deian still remembered that day. The great war day, the spectacle when everything ended and starlight poured down on the world.
'Each of those stars is a different world.'
Today's humanity no longer squabbles in this narrow land. Their purpose was directed toward a higher and wider world.
Precisely the beyond, to other worlds.
And now the world was periodically organizing ascenders and continuing exchanges with other worlds. At the forefront was Osian, who could be called the representative of the stars.
The reason why Deian couldn't see Osian even though he wanted to was because Osian was currently not on this star.