Foxtails and Fairytales: Reckless Adventures in Another World

Arc 7

Arc 7

Ch. 1 Smiling Man

With many fox fires I lit the room, careful not to light the room itself on fire.

Waving my hand around I created a figure with water magic. I was getting good enough I could almost give them elaborate clothes. Thus, I put on a play with magic like I had done so many times with the children, only on a larger scale.

"There once was a man born with incredible power."

*

Since he was a baby, everything came easy for him. He was the fastest, and the strongest. He could swing a plain sword with enough force to split a mountain without breaking a sweat. He could summon a storm to fit his mood. He never got sick, he never needed healing. He could do whatever he wanted, and nobody could stop him.

In fact, he did. He started wars so that he could be a hero, he crushed nations because its king displeased him. In his boredom he made a mighty empire because none could stand against him. Hundreds of years passed, and he discovered that he could no longer be satisfied.

He was unhappy. He could do anything he wanted. All he had to do was point and a woman would fall in to his arms. If he grew hungry he could grow a tree for its single fruit in moments. Or a wild boar would come and die at his feet. His whole life he had everything he ever wanted. And he never worked a single day to accomplish any of it. In a desperate attempt to satiate the hole in his heart he sent out a challenge. Whomever could name and solve his problem would be given his power.

For one hundred years many came, but none obtained his power.

In a state of depression, he went for a walk. A simple walk. He could do that if he wanted to.

After two weeks of walking. He stumbled upon a curious sight. There was a man who was smiling, singing even. He was a happy man. Who had something that the emperor didn't. A smile.

He followed the smiling man to uncover what the man had that he didn't.

At first, the man chopped down a tree. A single tree. It took him most of the morning.

The Emperor could cut down a forest in an instant. So it wasn't his ability to chop trees.

Next the smiling man went down to the creak and stuck his head in the water to wipe off the sweat. He was smiling still.

The Emperor had many baths and had been in many rivers so that wasn't it.

The man grabbed a nearby rod and fished. It took him another hour to catch the fish, but he was especially happy with it when he pulled it from the river.

The emperor could catch the biggest juiciest fish just by holding out his hand.

He started a fire and cooked the fish, then ate it. He sang about how delicious it was as he chewed.

The emperor had many fish larger and rarer. The man didn't even season it with anything more than a pinch of salt.

Next, the man returned to the tree with his axe. He then began to chop away the branches, prune it, and then chopped it into pieces only a little larger then himself.

Once it got dark the man returned to a small house at the edge of the village. Inside the house the man was laughing with someone.

The emperor peeked into the window. The man had a wife who could only be described as plain and was sitting down for a meal that was plain, while having a plain conversation.