Chapter 1

"Wow... it's so beautiful...!"

The boy, with mud on his face, picked up a red pebble and his eyes sparkled.

His honest exclamation seemed out of place in this setting.

The battlefield, with its acrid, earthy, and rusty smells, was a place of nothing but unpleasant odors.

Around the boy lay the armored figures who had been fighting just moments ago.

In a place where many had fought for their lives for some cause, the boy was scavenging for various items to survive.

A low-ranking mercenary... or even lower, a "battlefield scavenger."

Anything that might be valuable, or even things that weren't. He would rush into the battlefield after the fighting was over to search for weapons, ornaments, and trinkets.

The mercenary group that had taken him in after he lost his parents and had nowhere to go needed the extra income.

He needed to show that he was worth keeping alive.

...But the red pebbles he collected were purely for his own interest.

"Hey Kanata! We have to run, the mages are coming! We're retreating!!"

"I found three today...!"

"There he goes again, picking up more trash!?"

A girl ran over from somewhere, her dull red hair swaying as she grabbed the boy called Kanata by the hand.

Kanata, putting the red pebble called "trash" into his pocket, started running with her.

Suddenly, an explosion sounded not far from them.

"Roa... it's an explosion."

"Didn't I tell you the mages were coming? It's the mages you like, right? Ha! They must be pretty weak to come to such a remote place! Don't be afraid, it's fine!"

"Maybe I'll find more after the battle there is over...?"

"Who knows! Show a little fear!"

Kanata took the red pebble out of his pocket again.

The pebble, called "trash" by Roa, was indeed nothing more than trash, as she said.

While its color was unusual, it had no gem-like luster and would eventually disappear.

It was a clump of excess magical power left over when a mage used magic.

For mages, it was a sign of immaturity and mental disturbance, and was even shunned by them.

It was truly nothing but trash, serving no purpose and just getting in the way until it disappeared.

Naturally, it wouldn't add to their income.

Still, Kanata liked these magical residues.

"You... only picking up trash!?"

"Don't worry! Look, it's full!"

Kanata patted the makeshift pouch made of rags hanging from his shoulder.

The sound of something inside rattling as he moved suggested that he had indeed collected something.

"Alright, but if you slack off, the boss will be angry!"

"I know... I understand."

"If we get kicked out of here, it's over!"

"...I know."

The sound of metal clashing in the distance, the occasional explosion, and the smell of something burning filled the air.

This was a battlefield. While Kanata and the others were in an area where the fighting had mostly ended, they could still be caught up if the front lines moved or the enemy advanced.

It was a dangerous environment, but they had no choice but to survive here.

They had nowhere else to turn, and the idea of becoming slaves in a country with such a system was out of the question.

Besides,

"I actually like working for the boss."

"Ha!? You're a weirdo!?"

"What's a weirdo?"

"...You're too young to understand."

Kanata liked the mercenary group he was with.

That's why he made sure to do his job well.

The red pebbles he had now... he collected them to avoid being criticized for his scavenging.

He had been a battlefield scavenger for two years and was proud of his efficiency.

He didn't like the battlefield. He just had to be there to survive.

And the only beautiful thing he could find here that no one could take from him was the magical residue.

It was just a leftover fragment of magic, a meaningless piece... but it was beautiful.

"Wow... look, Roa. The fire elemental magical residue looks even more beautiful in the sunlight. Look, look."

"It's just the sunlight that's beautiful, you're still a weirdo."

—Because it was as beautiful as a light he couldn't remember seeing before.

Hello, my name is Ramunabe. Thank you for reading. I look forward to working with you from today.