1. The Seven Children Abandonded on the Mountain

Before the mountain ever had a name, it had a reputation.

A place for those who could not be raised in the village.

A place for those rejected by their clans.

A place for those born with ill omens.

They said it was a mountain where such people were cast away.

I only learned that after I had begun living on this mountain.

Not that knowing it would change my life in any way.

The mountain is quiet.

There is firewood to gather.

And there are beasts.

A river flows just a little further down the slope.

For someone like me, who isn't exactly good with people, it was actually a fairly easy place to live.

So today, just like any other day, I was walking along the mountain path to check my traps.

And then.

"...Hm?"

I heard the sound of crying.

And it wasn't just one.

Multiple small voices were overlapping.

They weren't beasts.

They were children.

I set the firewood basket I was carrying down on the ground.

"In a place like this?"

I turned toward the sound of the voices.

Just off the old animal trail.

The trees gave way to a small clearing.

There they were.

“……”

Seven of them.

Seven children sat there, frozen in place.

For a moment, I couldn't make sense of it.

Even the oldest among them couldn't have been ten years old.

That child had stepped forward as if to shield the other six.

Silver hair.

Eyes of two different colors.

Their clothes were soiled, and their cheeks were hollow.

Even so, the gaze they fixed on me was sharp.

"Don't come any closer."

They were trembling.

Their voice, too.

And their legs.

Even so, she did not retreat from her sisters.

"I understand."

I stopped right there.

If I approached, I would only frighten them more.

I understood that much at least.

I took another look at the seven of them.

Behind the silver-haired girl stood another girl, with two small horns sprouting from her head.

She had reddish-brown hair, and she was glaring at me.

Next to her was a girl with beast ears.

A girl with pitch-black fur.

Then, a slender girl with pointed ears.

A girl with a small pattern on her forehead.

A young girl with strangely pale skin.

And the smallest one had a single small horn on her forehead.

They were of different races.

No matter how you looked at them, they clearly weren't all from the same family.

"...So that's how it is."

So this was the mountain they called by that name.

I couldn't help but remember.

The Abandoned Mountain.

I hated that name.

But.

I never imagined I would actually end up seeing it.

"Is someone coming to pick you up?"

There was no answer.

Only the silver-haired child in the very front was looking at me.

"What about your parents?"

The child gave a small shake of their head.

"How long have you been here?"

"...I don't know."

"Since yesterday?"

She shook her head.

"Even longer?"

This time, she gave a small nod.

I pressed a hand to my forehead.

"What about food?"

Seven pairs of eyes moved in unison.

Toward my waist.

Hanging there was the dark bread I had wrapped for lunch.

"...You want some?"

No one answered.

But the youngest child's stomach let out a growl.

Gurgle.

...

The youngest child pressed both hands against their stomach.

The fair-skinned girl beside them reached out and gently stroked their head.

The silver-haired girl was biting her lip.

"There's no poison in it."

"...Really?"

The beast-eared girl spoke for the first time.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, 'why'?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"Because I was planning on eating it."

The beast-eared girl blinked.

"I have no interest in carrying around poisoned food."

I opened the wrapper.

Black bread.

Dried meat.

A small piece of cheese.

Seven people.

No matter how you look at it, it wasn't enough.

"Just wait a moment."

First, I broke the bread into seven pieces.

I placed a piece in front of each person.

Every time I drew near, the silver-haired girl grew wary, so halfway through, I decided to set them on the ground and step away.

"I'll be over there. Call out to me when you're finished eating."

"...Aren't you going to eat?"

the silver-haired girl asked.

"There isn't even enough for seven people, after all."

"But..."

"I'm an adult. I won't die if I skip a meal."

He looked at the smallest child.

"That one looks like they're about to die."

A small child with horns stared intently at the bread.

Even so, they didn't reach for it.

The silver-haired girl took a single bite of her own bread.

She waited a moment.

"...It's okay."

The moment she said that,

seven people reached for the bread all at once.

“……”

I pretended not to notice.

It was over in an instant.

The bread, too.

The dried meat, too.

And the cheese.

There was hardly anything left.

They must have been quite hungry.

“Did you drink any water?”

“From the river.”

The girl with auburn hair replied.

“Do you know where it is?”

“Found it yesterday.”

“I see.”

It seemed they had at least managed to survive.

But I couldn't just leave and abandon all seven of them here.

“Well then.”

I look toward the seven of them.

“May I ask your names?”

Silence once more.

The girl at the very front hesitated before finally answering.

“...Ceres.”

“I'm Aldo.”

Next.

Reddish-brown hair.

"Ragna."

A girl with beast ears.

"Ferna!"

She seemed to have regained a bit of her strength.

The girl with pointed ears spoke in a small voice.

"...Richel."

A girl with a pattern on her forehead.

"Mirea."

A girl with skin as white as snow.

"Noel."

And finally.

The smallest of them, a girl with a single horn.

"...Yura."

"Yura, huh."

A nod.

"I understand."

They have names.

That alone brought a small sense of relief.

I stood up.

At that, all seven of them tensed up.

"I don't intend to take you anywhere."

Ceres looked up at me.

"Then... are you going home?"

"Yeah."

In that moment,

Yura's small hand gripped Ceres's clothes tightly.

Ferna's ears flattened against her head.

Ragna turned his face away.

I see.

"Come to my house."

"...Huh?"

"It's only a short walk from here."

I hoisted the firewood basket onto my back.

"There's still a bit of food left. I can make some warm soup, too."

Seven people were huddled together.

"As for bedding... well, I'll manage."

"Wait."

Ceres said.

"There are seven of us."

"I can tell that just by looking."

"All of us?"

"Yeah."

"Not just one?"

"That's why I said seven."

Ceres had a look of pure incomprehension on her face.

"Why?"

It was the second time she had asked that today.

Why.

That's not a question I can answer.

"If I leave you here, you'll die."

"But..."

"But what?"

"But we are cursed children."

For the first time.

I heard those words directly from the child's own mouth.

"I am the Eye of Calamity."

Celes covered one of her eyes.

"Ragna cannot become a dragon."

Ragna looked down.

"Ferna is black."

Her black beast ears drooped.

"Richelle has no magical power."

Slender fingers gripped her clothes.

"Mirea is..."

"That's enough."

I cut her off.

Ceres fell silent.

"Are you hungry?"

"...Huh?"

"Can a cursed child survive without eating?"

"...We eat."

"Do you shiver when you're cold?"

"...Yeah."

“Does it hurt when you get injured?”

“It hurts.”

“Then you’re still a child.”

“……”

“There are seven children in the mountains. They’re hungry. I have food at my house.”

That was all.

"Then I'll take them home."

"But... we'll be a burden."

"I'll be the judge of that."

Ceres fell silent.

She must be the eldest daughter.

Despite her young age, she had a look on her face as if she were already carrying the weight of the world.

"Promise me one thing."

Seven pairs of eyes turned toward me.

"I won't tell you not to fight at home."

Ferna's ears twitched.

"Sisters fight sometimes, don't they?"

"...Sisters?"

"Am I wrong?"

No one answered.

"Fine, whatever. Even if you fight, make sure you're back by mealtime. And don't go wandering deep into the mountains on your own. It's dangerous."

"...Is that all?"

"We'll figure out the rest once we've settled in."

I started walking.

Three steps.

I looked back.

No one was coming.

"Not coming?"

The seven of them exchanged glances.

The first to stand up was Ferna.

"Is there food?"

"There is."

"Meat?"

"It's venison today."

"I'm in!"

"Ferna!"

Ceres panicked.

But Ferna was already running toward me.

"Venison!"

"Alright, alright."

Next, Noel.

He takes Yura by the hand and begins to walk.

Richel.

Mirea.

Ragna.

And Ceres, who was the last one remaining.

After hesitating for a moment, she walked over to us.

I led the seven of them back down the mountain path.

Along the way,

Yura kept nearly tripping, so I had no choice but to pick her up.

She was light.

Far too light.

"...Aldo."

In my arms, Yura called my name.

"What is it?"

“You won't throw me away?”

My footsteps faltered.

“I won't.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“...Forever?”

I thought about it for a moment.

“Until you decide to leave on your own.”

It seemed Yura didn't quite grasp the meaning.

But.

"Yeah."

She smiled a bit.

That day,

at my house, where I had been living alone,

my number of daughters increased by seven.

At that time, I did not yet know.

That the seven I had taken in today

Would one day descend from the mountains,

And each become a force capable of shaking the world.

And above all else.

Every single word I casually imparted to them.

They would continue to follow faithfully, even in the world outside.

====== Afterword ======

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