Volume 3: Chapter 020: Thor (Torque) – First Memory
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
Gumihou: Adjusted some details to make the dramatic moments flow more smoothly
Approximately 2200 years ago.
Northern Kingdom of Sidelmund
Torque: 10 years old
My name was Torque Sidelmund.
Long, long ago, there was a small coastal nation located on the Northern Continent called the Kingdom of Sidelmund.
This very small country no longer exists today.
I was born as a pair of twin boys in that kingdom. My brother Alec and I were identical twins with white hair and pale skin, as was typical of the people from the Northern Continent.
My father was the king, and my mother his queen.
I should say that as a young prince, I was well-behaved with no particular issues outside a typical young boy’s behaviour. [1] Perhaps I was even more well-behaved than normal boys since the king had me take royal education in preparation to take the throne as the next king, which meant I had less time to play around or act out like a typical child.
My younger brother, Alec, was the playful, mischievous type, often playing pranks and causing problems around the palace. I get the impression that Queen Mother often scolded him for being naughty.
Far from being stupid, Brother Alec was just more honest and childish.
When scolded, he would act remorseful and shy, but would often return to his pranks almost immediately. Many of his pranks felt more malicious than funny, but all of them were actually quite ingenious. Though I did wish that he would apply all that energy to his studies.
Whenever Queen Mother was shocked by one of Alec’s pranks, she would turn around and praise me for my good behaviour.
“Torque is such a wonderful child. He is well on his way to becoming a wonderful king. What a fine prince worthy to be the son of a king and queen.”
I enjoyed Queen Mother’s praises and receiving warm hugs from such a wonderful, gentle and beautiful mother.
Perhaps that was why I tried even harder in all of my endeavours. As a ten-year-old, I already enjoyed martial arts and studying. After being praised by the Queen Mother and having my efforts recognised by the King, it practically became my purpose to become even more competent.
As for my younger brother, though he excelled in pranks, he could not do as well as I did when it came to studies and martial arts. Even as a child, he must have recognised this and gone in the opposite direction to attract Queen Mother’s attention through his pranks instead.
That’s because even though Queen Mother often scolded Alec for his pranks, she never forgot to hug or comfort him afterwards, and say things like: I’m sure you can do it. You are my son, and the son of a king after all.
In fact, I did think that Alec received more attention from the Queen Mother. Perhaps it was because she understood Alec more, or sympathised with him more. He must have been more approachable than I, [1] the son who had not seemed to need her at all.
Though we were identical twins, we were given different sets of lessons in education and martial arts. Which meant we rarely interacted with each other growing up.
In fact, whenever we [2] crossed paths, Alec would often look away from me out of hatred.
Once, when a valuable ring belonging to the Queen Mother disappeared. [2] As it was a gift from the King, Queen Mother had all the palace servants look for it, but no one could find it.
It was Alec who had hidden it away.
[1] Though I knew this, I never said anything to the Queen because I could not bear to see her sad face. However, I made sure to look for the ring during my [1] first break between studies and training.
I found it almost immediately. It was tucked inside a chimney.
For some reason, Alec did not like the fact that I could find the rick easily. The next thing he did was hide a small chalice from the royal chapel. [2] This chalice was only used on rare occasions when priests from the Southern Continent came to offer Holy Water from the Tree of Spring, otherwise known as the Great Tree.
As expected, the king and his retainers were understandably flustered and ordered everyone to search the royal palace. [1] Especially since the religious contingent was expected to arrive soon in their pilgrimage to share this Holy Water with the people from around the world.
I joined the search and found the Chalice on top of an old bell tower next to the Royal Palace. It had been hidden under a broken brick.
Even though winters in the Northern Continent were cold, the water held within the Chalice remained mysteriously still and unfrozen.
The moment I found the Chalice, Alec appeared. He must have hidden himself nearby.
“Brother, how is it that you can find everything that I have hidden away?”
“So, it was you, after all?” [1] I replied instead.
“My brother can do anything. He can even track down things that others can’t find. He’s like a monster from the Northern Caves.”
“Best not to say such unpleasant things…”
The Northern Cave Monsters were demons that had once existed all over the world, but had been purged by mankind to the point that they only exist in the extreme north.
It was a fact that humans and demons had a difficult time coexisting.
“If the water in the Chalice had disappeared, this incident would have become something beyond a prank.”
[3] Alec tsked and said, “It’s just a prank, I would never go that far.”
Wouldn’t you?
I thought wearily as, once again, I wished that my brother would apply his energy and intelligence to his studies instead of these tricks.
[3] “Well, hand it over now. I’m going to take it with me since I found it.”
[1] I gave him an incredulous look. So, this was his plan all along? To hide valuable things and ‘find’ them when everyone failed?
“You…”
“You know, you should have just stayed in your room with your nose stuck in your book as always.”
Then, without warning, Alec lunged forward to grab at the Chalice. [1] I reflexively moved away, shielding the Chalice with my body.
Suddenly, [2] Alec’s arms pin-wheeled and he started to lose his balance. He had accidentally caught his foot in the hole where the Chalice had been, and was about to fall off the tower.
“Alec!”
I reached out to grab Alec’s arm.
Just then, the old bricks under us started to crumble, and both of us fell from the bell tower.
Ah, I’m going to die.
[1] My thoughts were calm as we fell. Life was short, but I had done my best.
Then, water from the Chalice surged out and flowed into my body. That was the turning point in my life as Torque Sidelmund.
No, rather, even if the incident had not happened, change was inevitable.
Despite the extreme cold around us, it felt like a soft warmth had enveloped my body. The kind of warmth that was akin to dappled sunlight filtered through a green canopy.
The sound of rustling leaves breeze past my ears, a fragmentary vision of a large tree flashed within my mind’s eye.
I had no idea whether these visions were the ones that protected us, but even though Alec and I had fallen off the top of the tower, we still managed to survive. Alec was crying from fright next to me, but me, I was more confused than anything else.
Later, Alec returned the Chalice to the chapel and was severely scolded by everyone, including the King and Queen Mother. It was all a natural result of his naughtiness.
He was later locked up in a dark room, on top of the usual punishment of no dinner that night. I secretly went to the dark room with some sweet desserts and warm milk to comfort him.
“Elder brother…
“Come now, don’t cry. You did that knowing you would be scolded, so why even consider it? Why do it at all?”
“But… but…”
[1] Maybe he was talking because he was afraid of the dark, but the conversation always looped towards
[1] The only conclusion I could come up with was that Alec was just that dumb.
Or, perhaps it was normal for children to do dumb things despite being scolded.
That evening, I stayed with him as he ate the desserts, drank his milk and cried again. It felt like the first time we properly talked. His chatter mostly centred around why I kept finding things he tried to hide when no one else could.
“Hm, I wonder…” I said vaguely, “I just find them when I go looking.”
“That’s too weird, not even the adults could find the things I hid!”
To be honest, I had not really thought about it. We talked about various other things, lots of things, and fell asleep before we knew it.
Perhaps it was due to the darkness, but I did not notice the change overcoming my body.
That was my last night as Prince Torque.
The very next day, I woke up to Mother’s screaming. She had come to fetch Alec and had screamed at the sight of me.
“What happened to your hair and eyes?!!”
“… …” I was confused and looked at my brother, who was staring at me in shock.
The morning sun was streaming into the room, and I could see everything clearly. [4] In the same way, they could see everything, including me, clearly.
“A-Alec… come here, quick!!”
Mother dragged Alec towards her even as she kept her frightened eyes trained on me. I was still confused, unsure what was going on, when my gaze fell upon the silver plate Mother had dropped.
[1] The eyes that looked back upon me were pitch black.
“Ah…”
[1] I stumbled backwards at the sight, and the eye moved as well, widening and… the hair of the boy in the reflection was also pitch black.
It was only then that realisation dawned upon me.
Queen Mother’s reaction finally made sense. In this country, black hair and eyes are considered heretical, and those born with these features were shunned or cast out from their families. Black haired people were bringers of misfortune.
“H-how did this happen? Torque… my Torque has been consumed by the devil.”
Queen Mother was screaming and crying in confusion as she hugged Alec to herself. All I could do was sit there as my mother went into hysterics.
“M-mother?”
I tried approaching her once, but she immediately screamed and backed away with Alec.
“Stay away! Don’t… don’t come near us, you devil child! You’ve already devoured Torque and now want to eat my Alec!!”
“… …”
Perhaps, to my sorrowful mother, it was better to believe that her child had been devoured by the devil than to acknowledge that I had turned into someone with black hair and eyes.
Queen Mother believed that Torque no longer existed. She refused to believe that I was Torque and insisted that her child had died. I was nothing to her.
Some time later, by the orders of the King, I was imprisoned in the underground prison of the imperial palace.
Because black-haired children were considered bringers of disaster, they would often be executed the moment they were discovered. Instead of dying, the official report was that I had died of an illness and was imprisoned instead. My previously luxurious and busy lifestyle changed.
I had nothing to do and no contact with anyone.
Still, I was not mistreated. My father, the King, ensured that my food and clothing were decent enough, even though they were far from luxurious. However, it did little to help me cope with the cold dungeon where neither sound nor light penetrated the gloomy darkness.
How had it come to this?
There was no answer to my question.
I spent my time wondering what happened. Why it happen? I was more confused than sad.
“… …”
How long had I been here? In this underground prison? It must have been about half a year, I think. Behind the dim, cold bars, there was only one way to kill time.
It was an ability that I had gained quite suddenly.
If I held out my hand with my palm facing down, a small cube-shaped image would appear above the back of my hand. The cube would show me things that were happening within the palace.
Though the details were fussy, it was good enough for me to recognise individuals and see what was going on.
“That Alec is skipping classes again. As the next king, he should be more responsible.”
It was easy for me to understand what Alec was doing [4] through the little cube.
He was not in the study where his classes were being held. Instead, he was roaming the back corridors of the castle, trying to find a place to hide from others.
Meanwhile, Queen Mother was always looking for Alec, trying to keep him within her sight. After what happened with me, Queen Mother became overprotective of him and tried her best to keep him with her.
As for the King, he was still doing his job as king. He did not hesitate to confine me to the dungeon the moment he discovered that my hair and eyes had changed to black. After all, if rumours of his heir having turned into a child of the demon, it could cause anxiety and affect the politics of the day.
Back then, it was a time when curses, faith and belief held more power than [5] logical thought.
I was lucky to just be locked up after transforming into a ‘demon’.
I spent my time honing a new [Spatial Magic] skill, evading the eyes of the guards and eventually gaining the power to escape my cell.
[1] [Spatial Magic] is the ability to instantly travel between spaces. A ‘warp’ ability, to use the Earth gaming term. At first, I could only move through spaces that a normal human being could go through, but later, I gained the ability to ‘warp’ through prison bars.
Not that I ever used the skill to do anything other than roam around the palace without anyone seeing me. As extra precaution, I would cover my head with a cloth as I moved through the central square, doing my best to choose places most likely to have the fewest people.
After wandering through the Central Square and the Imperial Training Grounds, I made my way past a series of beautiful sculptures and eventually into the room containing imperial family portraits.
As the kings of the past looked down at me, there was a feeling of nostalgia tinged with a strange feeling of how out of place I was.
This was my home.
“Alec, you must behave. You will be king one day.”
[1] Voices carried well through the stone hallway.
It was Mother’s voice, and it came from Alec’s room.
[1] I made my way to the door and leaned against the wall to listen in on their conversation.
“…you must not shy away from your studies. What happened to your previous diligence?”
“That was Brother Torque.”
“Goodness, what are you talking about? I’m sure you can do it. You’re our one and only prince, after all.”
“You just want me to take Brother Torque’s place!”
“Goodness… what are you talking about?” Queen Mother exclaimed as she hugged the annoyed-looking Alec.
[1] Not one to take a hint, Alec retorted, “Why do you hate Brother Torque? Why do you lock him up in that terrible place just because his hair turned black? I don’t understand…”
“Don’t say such things, Alec! That child… that child is gone, devoured by a demon…” Mother started to sob, as though a demon had truly eaten her child. “He was such a good child…”
What’s this?
There was an almost unbearable ache in my heart.
To my mother, ‘I’ had already died.
“What do you mean by ‘was a good child’?! Nothing changed, he’s still Elder Brother Torque, who does everything perfectly! A great genius, unlike me. He’s the elder brother who brings me desserts and milk whenever I’m sad… He’s the same Brother Torque. The only thing that changed was his hair and eyes, everything else was the same…”
Alec cried, swept small objects off the desk and stomped his foot, clearly throwing a tantrum.
Mother hugged him desperately, still crying, “My dear Alec… it is alright, Mother will protect you. There is no need to worry about anything, my precious, only son…”
[2a] I should not have come.
[2a] The scene triggered something inside me that I had been trying to suppress. Logical thoughts flooded my mind, trying to deal with the sudden influx of emotions.
Alex was still immature and childlike, unable to comprehend the reason why I was locked up in the dungeon. That was why he rebelled against Mother and could not understand why I was put away in the first place.
As for Mother, she was reacting as a mother would and directed all her love and expectations onto her only remaining son.
There was really nothing to it.
I should not have come here.
I should leave and return to sit in prison to quietly rot away behind bars and be forgotten by everyone.
Tears must have blurred my sight, and in my overwrought condition, I had forgotten to check my surroundings with magic… [1] and bumped into someone.
“Ugh…”
The movement dislodged the cloth covering my head. Even with my vision blurred and my senses distorted, I realised what a stupid thing I had done. I shrank back into the shadows, back against the wall and mumbled, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I- I’m going back to my cell now, I-”
[1a] The fallen cloth plopped over my head.
[1a] “… …”
[1a] What was going on?
[1a] Not daring to believe it, I blinked hard and looked up. It was the King, my father. I wanted to say something, but nothing would come out of my mouth.
[1a] Then, the King gently embraced me.
[1a] “I’m sorry, for locking you up in that place. You must have felt so lonely… Torque.”
[1a] My father, whom I had always looked up to as the king of this country, would never have allowed himself to apologise like this. A monarch’s words carry a lot of weight and should never be given too freely. To think that he would speak to me as his son… the words were low but sincere. I felt like I would suddenly burst into tears.
In truth, I wanted to shout and scream: Why lock me in that place? Let me out, I’m sick of the place!
“No, My King. It is fine. I shall… return now. I will never leave that place again.”
“Torque…”
“Thank you very much”
Thank you for still thinking of me as your son, even as Mother shunned my existence and wanted to forget I was ever alive.
At that time, having Father’s acknowledgement was more than enough salvation for me. Though I had to return to that miserable cell, I resolved not to burden my family with my existence any more than I should.
If becoming a black-haired, black-eyed child truly meant bringing some kind of curse to my country and family, it is only right for me to feel sorry for the King who kept me alive.
I should return. To that place.
And, never to venture out again.
[Gumihou: Woah, that’s tragic… This chapter also strengthens my resolve not to dilute Toru/Thor/Torque’s character just for the ‘eeehhhh!!‘ effect]
[1] Added details for clarification/dramatic purpose
[1a] The identity of the person he bumped into was only mentioned belatedly. Fixed.
[2] Adjusted the language to fit a royal
[2a] Adjusted narrative style to fit the ‘cold stoic’ personality of a crown prince in training rather than a sudden 18 switch to a ‘waah waah sob sob’ child.
[3] Adjusted dialogues to fit the personalities
[4] Adjusted to compensate against the Japanese-style vague narrative
[5] Not sure why they are comparing magic with science of all things when the future is still using science. Changed science to ‘logical thought’
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