Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 11

“Grandpa! Tell us the story of the hero!”

The children swarmed around him.

The old man, who was sitting in front of the fountain in the village square, chuckled.

He was the grandfather of the village chief and the oldest person in the village.

“What? What story?”

The old man put his hand to his ear and asked.

He was very wise, kind, friendly, and smart, but he had a problem with his hearing.

The leader of the children shouted again.

“The hero! The story! Please tell us!”

“Oh, the story of the hero?”

“Yes!”

The children gathered around the old man and sat down.

The old man was not only smart, but he also had a knack for telling stories in a very interesting way.

“That’s not a very old story, you know.”

“But you’ve lived for so long, grandpa! Mom said you’re a wizard!”

The old man had experienced those things just the other day, but the children knew how old the story was.

The old man pretended not to hear, or maybe he really didn’t, and continued the story.

“When I was a little younger than you, the village was very peaceful. There were no monsters for years. It was a very peaceful village.”

The old man was lost in his old memories.

“When I went to play in the nearby forest, I found a small wooden box under a tree.

I thought it was very pretty, so I quickly picked it up and brought it to the village.

The villagers also admired the pretty and curious box. But then the box suddenly opened with a bang. What was that?”

It was a monster, a mimic.

“But the villagers didn’t know what it was. Inside the opened box, there was a tiny tooth and a tongue the size of a hand. On the lid, there were two round eyes. The people wondered what it was. Then they heard a rumbling sound from the wooden box. I quickly went and brought my snack and gave it to the box.”

After that, the wooden box lived in the village with the name Mimmy.

At first, the people gave it the food they ate, but soon they started to give it the food they couldn’t eat and threw away instead of burying it in the ground.

Mimmy ate it very deliciously.

“Sometimes Mimmy pretended to be a box, and then I really wanted to open it. I was very curious and wanted to have what was inside the box.”

“But that was Mimmy!”

“Yes, whenever I opened the lid, it was always Mimmy. Sometimes I gave it as a birthday present. It was a very fun prank.”

The old man laughed very happily. Then he lowered his voice.

“And a few years later, a very scary monster appeared.”

The old man still couldn’t say the name of the monster. He was the only person who had survived that incident and lived until now.

The old man remembered it very clearly. It was a very high-ranking demon.

He didn’t know why such a terrifying demon appeared in this small village. He was just a village elder.

The hero, who was chasing the demon that flew with a cackle, was covered in blood. Even the great hero couldn’t defeat the demon.

Fortunately, the day dawned and the demon hid in the darkness. The hero received treatment from the villagers.

“What kind of monster was it? An orc? A troll?”

“A werewolf!”

“Well, it was a very terrifying monster.”

The old man didn’t reveal the identity of the monster for a long time. He was afraid of being cursed if he said it. The children were curious, but they soon gave up.

“The hero said, ‘Help me. We have to get rid of the monster right away.’”

The hero said so, but what could these bumpkins do?

The only thing the villagers could do was heal.

That’s when it happened.

‘Mimic! Mimimic!’

It was a mimic, Miming. The startled hero shouted.

‘Mimic?! Why is there a mimic here!’

The villagers tilted their heads.

To them, Miming was just a wooden box for disposing of food waste.

The hero, who had drawn his holy sword, explained.

‘That’s a monster. It lives only in the dungeons of the demon race, in the very depths! How did it get here?!’

‘No! Miming is very nice!’

The old man who was still young cried out. He quickly hugged Miming with both arms. The hero yelled.

‘Put it down right now! That’s a very dangerous monster!’

‘No! Miming is! Miming is!’

The villagers blocked the child’s front as they watched the quarrel between the hero and the child.

The village chief at that time, the old man’s grandfather, said.

‘Hero. The important thing right now is not this child.’

The hero, who had frowned at the chief’s words, sighed.

‘I see. I understand.’

The hero put away his holy sword and nodded. He could deal with the mimic anytime. The problem was the marquis-level demon.

Then, the mimic jumped out of the child’s arms and bounced to the front of the hero.

‘Mimic! Mimimic!’

‘…What?’

Miming closed the lid and turned into a wooden box.

The hero, who had the purpose of defeating the demon king, felt it.

This… Why is it so pretty?

The small box was very shiny and glossy.

What was inside, what did they put in such a beautiful box? He was curious. He wanted to open it.

The hero, who was lost in the box, reached out his hand.

‘Hero!’

‘…!?’

The hero came to his senses at the chief’s call.

The hero was at his wit’s end. He shook his fingers and pointed at the mimic.

‘What the hell is that!’

He had destroyed many dungeons and eliminated all kinds of mimics, but… There was no mimic that had tempted him to this extent.

As if it knew the hero’s mind, Miming opened and closed the lid, shaking with excitement.

‘Mimic! Mimimic!’

‘But why has Mimmy been acting like that since earlier?’

‘That’s right. It’s usually quiet…’

Mimmy jumped up and turned into a box again in front of the hero.

The hero, who knew the temptation of the mimic well, had no choice but to succumb.

The hero realized it after being tempted three times.

‘I see. This mimic is…’

“The hero suggested to the villagers. Let’s lure the monsters with Mimmy. And he would get rid of them while the monsters were distracted.”

“Mimmy is in danger!”

“Monsters are scary!”

The children screamed, even though they knew the story. The people passing by smiled and looked at the children. They had been like that too.

The villagers loved Mimmy very much and hated the plan. But brave Mimmy decided to side with the hero.

In the end, the villagers entrusted Mimmy to the hero.

The hero placed a small box on the table and said,

“…I don’t know if you can understand me. But I think this is why you came to me. I will bring the duke here. When he comes, I want you to use a skill that will tempt him. I will get rid of him while he is distracted.”

The hero hesitated a bit and continued.

“Make it quick… and stay safe. Be careful.”

“Mimic!”

As the sun set, the hero lured the monster that was hiding. Mimic was on the table in the center of the village. The monster that was chasing the hero saw Mimmy.

“Mimic! Hang in there!”

The hero and Mimmy’s plan was flawless.

“Oh, what is this?”

The duke-level demon was mesmerized by Mimmy. He had never seen such a box in his hundreds of years of life. He wanted to open it and see what was inside. He wanted to have the thing in the box.

“Hahaha! These worms have offered me such a treasure! Good! I will kill you all very comfortably!!”

The demon shouted.

The people trembled in their houses.

The demon was more terrifying than they had imagined.

The demon lifted the box with both hands.

He carefully opened the box with his large and sharp hands.

Then.

Something sprang out of the demon’s chest.

It was a white holy sword. It pierced the core of the demon that was shining in the center of his chest.

“Die! Duke!”

The hero pushed the sword with force.

Snap.

The crack became clearer.

The demon’s head turned back.

The sharp eyes of the duke and the hero met.

“This… this was a trap…”

As his vision blurred, the duke straightened his head. He looked at the box in his hand.

“What is this…”

Even as he was dying, the duke wanted to have what was in the box.

He knew it was a trap, but he was curious.

What did they put in there that made him so tempted?

The duke clenched his hand.

He didn’t care about the box.

The contents were important.

Snap!

“Mimmy!”

Mimic.

It was a Mimic.

The duke sneered as he saw Mimmy screaming in pain.

Just a Mimic.

A lowly monster that couldn’t even become a noble, let alone a knight. He was tempted by it.

The duke felt ashamed and gave more force.

‘I will kill you too!’

The hero swung the sword up.

The duke’s head was split in half.

The duke’s hand lost its strength and Mimic fell to the ground.

The old man who had come out of the house ran and caught Mimic as he fell.

“Mimmy!”

The villagers also came out quickly.

Mimic’s body was torn and tattered.

It seemed like it would break if touched. Children and adults cried.

The hero, who had finished off the duke, walked slowly and knelt down in front of Mimic, who was held by the old man.

The Mimic’s eyes turned towards the warrior, and a soft whimper elicited a nod from him.

“Mimic…”

“Yes, it’s done. I’ve incinerated it completely, leaving no ash behind, not even with holy power.”

The Mimic’s lid rattled, and the warrior and villagers thought it was Mimic smiling.

The old man, who first met Mimic and brought it to the village, continued to weep.

“You’ve done well. Thanks to you, the villagers are safe, and I was able to deal with the Count. Thank you.”

“Mimic…”

The warrior knew, unlike other monsters, this small one was special.

In the warrior’s lifetime, such a kind monster as this Mimic was the first and would be the last.

The breath of the Mimic grew faint. Something rolled out from the broken body of the now-dead Mimic.

Seeing it, a child burst into tears. It was a small, round stone the child had given as a gift to Mimmy.

“And so, Mimmy died at the hands of the monster. The Hero and villagers built a fountain and a statue in the place where Mimmy lay, as a token of gratitude.”

“Mimmy, thank you!”

“Poor Mimmy!”

The children sobbed.

The old man smiled, reminiscing about a long-lost dear friend.

Behind the old man, atop a beautifully spraying fountain, stood a statue.

It was a statue of Mimmy, with its wooden lid open and a bright smile.

The once-small village had grown significantly since then.

The warrior had defeated the Demon King and settled in this village.

He was granted a title and a large tract of land that included the village as his domain, which he governed peacefully ever after.

“Lady Elizabeth is here!”

The children sprang up and ran towards a carriage adorned with the emblem of a wooden box.

They were eager to see Elizabeth, the warrior’s great-granddaughter.

As the carriage window opened, a young girl peeked out.

The old man chuckled, reminded of the Hero’s face by the girl’s visage.

Then someone sat down next to the old man.

“It’s been a while.”

“Indeed.”

“You always come here. Every year on this day.”

The middle-aged man with flecks of white in his hair smiled gently.

He felt at ease whenever he visited this village, this place.

“Today is the day Mimmy died, isn’t it?”

The middle-aged man, the Hero, looked at the old man. The once-small child had aged so much.

The Hero, aging very slowly by the grace of the gods, kept his identity hidden and roamed around, but every year on this day, he returned to this village.

“Yes, it’s already been that long. Time flies as you age.”

The old man laughed.

The Hero’s gaze turned to his great-granddaughter’s carriage.

Seeing the emblem of the wooden box, he felt a sense of pride.

The king had asked, ‘What would you like for your emblem?’

The warrior had replied, ‘A wooden box.’

Unable to say ‘Mimic,’ the wooden box wrapped in laurel became the warrior’s emblem.

“That little one was truly special.”

“Yes, a very kind and good friend.”

The Hero looked up at the clear blue sky, feeling uplifted.

“I wonder what the gods have in store for it in its next life?”

“Another life, huh…”

The old man chuckled.

“Perhaps it’s charming others just as it did us.”

“Yes, that sounds about right.”

The Hero smiled, remembering the precious bond with the Mimmy, however brief it had been.

The Mimic, having charmed both the warrior and the high-ranking demon, is now preparing for its next enchantment.

“Seo-jun, let’s get ready for the shoot!”

Seo-jun clenched his tiny hands, determined to sell out completely.

“So, the next life…”

The old man chuckled.

“Are you still tempting other people?”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

The hero smiled as he remembered Mimmy, a precious bond he had formed in a brief encounter.