At the age of eighteen, a young man who had never attended school, spent his days managing his family's fields and idly passing time. In a rural area with little entertainment, let alone nightclubs, the population was scarce. What's even more outrageous is that Plantain Village, as an ancient rural area, didn't even have any tourist attractions.
If there was anything distinctive about the place, it was the bananas produced there, slightly larger than usual. Situated on the outskirts of Allen City, it was also the closest village to the Steel Tribe. Merchants passing through rarely stayed overnight in Plantain Village, opting for a quick journey to the larger village of the Steel Tribe in a single day.
Unlike Plantain Village, there was at least a tavern in the Steel Tribe village, something that Plantain Village lacked. Some villagers from Plantain Village had become wealthy from business dealings, but once they had money, they all moved to larger cities, with none intending to return and develop their hometown. The remaining original residents living in Plantain Village were mostly rural folk.
At that time, some soldiers from outside the area became the new favorites in the village. Gudas was one of them, apparently even settling here with his mother for convenience. Having lived in the city before, people brought with them their own stories. When a group of men who didn't read gathered, they would talk about the urbanites' romantic histories.
Cyclone, who had been without a father since childhood, found himself getting into mischief as his hard-working mother was too tired after tending to the fields. Feeling bored and no longer a child, he sought entertainment. In this bare village, listening to the soldier gentlemen chat and play their gambling games brought him the most joy.
Today, however, there was something different as Cyclone found himself back at the barracks, intending to have a game with Gudas once more. But behind Cyclone was accompanied by another young girl.
"Why did you bring your girlfriend along?" joked the young Gudas at the barracks.
"Pfft! I'm only interested in big boobs!" The girl, named Tiny, was extremely shy in front of the older men. When pressed for her name, she even hid behind Cyclone in fear.
"Well, even though we have a unique uncle here, everyone just prefers women with chests, so rest assured," reassured Cyclone, prompting the girl to muster the courage to reveal her name. Her name was Maria, the new resident of Plantain Village.
"Just a moment!" Just as Marcina was reminiscing, Cyclone interrupted once again with a shout. "What's Maria? Isn't it Marcina?!"
"Tsk tsk tsk! My true name has been sealed, which I will explain to you later one by one," Marcina retorted coldly.
"No, let's skip those for now and move on to the main point?" Cyclone shielded his head, wary of Marcina attempting to strike him with her wand. But this time, Marcina just stated coldly, "Idiot, all these details are the main points!"
"Listen, back then, not only did I introduce myself, but I also had a book," Marcina continued, much to Cyclone's confusion. "What… what is that expression for?!"
"Pff! These are all main points! Main points!!" Cyclone rolled his eyes at Marcina and waved his hand dismissively.
"Alright, continue with your story. What book were you holding? A dirty magazine?" joked Cyclone.
"It was 'Elf Chronicles'!"
"Sure, sure, nothing about the figure of female elves, right?"
"Cut it out!" In fact, the book did talk about that, especially about the delicate appearance of female elves, which became the sole topic of discussion during that visit to the barracks. Maria's presence turned a barracks usually focused on women and gambling into one that still revolved around women and gambling.
However, one thing did change, at least to some extent. From the many books Maria brought, Cyclone learned that her family had a lot of books.
"Can I come to your house to read books?" Cyclone suddenly asked one day. And in the following days, Cyclone unexpectedly turned into a bookworm. He waved to wake Marcina up and pointed to the memories above. "Hey! Is this not me at all? Actually, is the man you know someone else?! "
