Three years have passed since my demise and my reincarnation and right now I am living as the child of two simple commoners. My mother, Beatrice, is a nurse. She is kind, compassionate and beautiful. It took me a while to become attached to her but her love and affection for me, her son, melted my wary heart and caused me to love her as my mother.
My father, on the hand is a former adventurer turned hunter for our town. His name is Nelo and he isn’t anything special but his sense of justice is a great source of pride for my Mother and me. He isn’t particularly intelligent but that doesn’t mean that he’s a dullard, either. He cares for me and for the other people of the town and he often takes risks by taking on bigger game in order to feed more people.
Yes, you can call my family poor or common, at least if compared to my previous family, however this is a family bonded through blood and mutual love, something I would have wanted for myself had I lived a longer life. To be perfectly honest, I see a lot of myself in my father. No, I do not regard myself as superior nor do I think of myself as just as he is however, our desire to see our hometown flourish is the same and for that, he has my respect and admiration.
My Mother and my Father earn our keep through my Mother’s healing services and my Father’s hunting. It’s a simple life but perseverance and integrity has made both of my parents stronger and smarter. Admirable, really. We don’t earn much but we earn enough.
I’ve been focusing on our finances for a while now and for good reason. I need finances if I am to put myself through formal education, however unnecessary that is. I have retained the knowledge and experiences I have gained through my education from the Royal Court of the Kingdom of Yamato however, without a formal diploma that knowledge is worth nothing.
Between the time I was born and the now, I have spent my time getting to know my parents and the life that we lead here in this small town of Randgriz, House of the Vermillion Sun. Fancy name for such a small town right? Well this used to be the Imperial Capital of this world, however, a great war took all of that away and quite literally restructured the face of the planet to its current state.
I have spent countless hours listening in to various conversations and gossips just to get a feel of the vernacular spoken by the people here and finally, I am at the point where I can read and understand however I am still unable to write and speak using their tongue. It’s not that I am incapable of learning, it’s just that I have no way to practice since my parents do not really keep any writing materials around. Speaking is a different matter, however. In order to avoid any untoward attention to my family, I have decided to ‘learn’ speaking at a slower rate.
Peering from the window is the sun setting from its throne in the sky. It’s almost dinner time and I’ve spent enough time doing my daily routine – which is to constantly remind myself of who I am and what I need to do. For now, my priority is getting enough money to get an education but before that, I need to learn of this world on my own.
Closing the book that I was currently reading (It’s a boring book detailing the trends and customs of the past Empires of this continent of Glass), I stand up and head for our library which is right beside my parents room. I open the door and look around – it would be strange to see a three year old child perusing books of this level, right? Once I have determined that the coast was clear, I went ahead and visited the area whose books I was currently devouring. Shuffling around, I find another boring book (800 ways to woo the ladies without getting urine splashed in your face!) to study. Sitting in the only desk in in our humble library, I start perusing the book.
It may seem like a stupid and mundane task, however, learning what a woman wants is essential if I am to pursue my end goal. Political subterfuge and wooing a woman come hand in hand, always remember that.
Finishing the 1200 page book took me 20 minutes longer because I had to memorize each and every page but it’s a sacrifice that I have to make. After all, I have all the time in the world right now and I am going to use every second I can to equip myself with enough knowledge so that I may support my family and my kingdom in the future, should my services be required of me.
Standing to return the book to its proper place, I struggle as my height is insufficient to return said book to its proper place. With enough patience and perseverance, I manage to return the book only to find myself covered in dust and some cobwebs.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Great. Mom’s going to be mad at me again but I know I can turn this to my advantage. I run towards my father who is swinging his sword in the yard and I grabbed a stick. Not too big for someone of my stature but not too small to merit my father’s confidence in my stubby little hands.
I start imitating him and I prance around, pretending to fight beasts of old and evil wizards. Let me tell you this, wizards are really hard to kill with their unlimited AOEs and their basically broken DPS. In their strength lie their greatest weakness, however. Yes, the more they rely on their spells, the more they become confident of themselves – which as we all know is the downfall of heroes and villains alike!
Moving forward, I look at my father with a bright look in my eyes as he stares at me in bewilderment. I lunged forward with my stick weapon, attempting to stab his knee. He smiles as he parries the stick headed to his knee only to find that the stick was actually headed to his – well, his important thing.
Mind you, I don’t have much strength, however, getting hit in that area is bad news, no matter how weak the attack is. So why did I do this? Simple. If my mother thinks I got dirty because I was playing around with my father then instead of getting mad at me, she will get mad at him. Now, I’m not trying to create a rift in their marriage or anything but like me, Beatrice is aware of her Husband’s hot bloodedness. That is to say he acts more than he thinks and it would make perfect sense for him to train me as his hunting heir, however, it is much too early, at least for a normal human child to train in swordsmanship at the age of three.
Sure enough, my Mother’s usually calm voice rips through the air like a vortex of wind paralyzing my old man in his spot.
“Nelo! What are you making our son do?!”
“Geh. Honey, he suddenly came at me and knocked me down with a wooden stick!”
“Nelo, even for you you have to realize that what you said sounds ridiculous right?”
“It’s true! He found my weakness and he struck it with his stick!” He pleads.
Nope, my Mother has nothing of it and drags him inside the house by the ear. As she reaches the door of our simple home, she looks back at me with a worried look on her face.
“Honey, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can, okay? I have to attend to your father”
At this, my Father starts shaking in his place and allows himself to be dragged inside by his wife. Now I’m not stupid, I know what they do when they’re alone but this isn’t one of those intimate moments. My father is currently receiving lashes in the form of my Mother’s harsh rebuke. Getting hit would actually hurt less, from what I’ve seen.
Anyway, I pick myself up and continue practicing my swordplay. Nothing too special as my joints and muscles are still in their developmental stages but just enough to get me stronger as I grow older. Devouring the most advanced body building and training books back in the Kingdom of Yamato has given me the knowledge to be a professional physical trainer. Using that knowledge to my advantage shouldn’t be cheating, yes?
I look at the Peppermint tree and noting my growing fatigue, I lie down underneath it and let its natural aroma rejuvenate my body.
“Ah, what a comfortable tree. I would love to spend my days with you, enjoying the cool breeze as I take in your scent.” I say in my mother tongue.
I stood up and notice a sharp pain run from my hand. It seems as though I got my hand cut by one of the trees branches. I wipe my hand on the tree’s trunk and offer it a prayer. I know the tree did not mean me any harm. I walked back into my house, carefully hiding my wound from my all too perceptive mother.
I ended the day of training and a bath as I stared at the Peppermint tree visible to the bathtub from the yard. Little did I know that my fate would change the very next day..
______________________________
Author's Notes:
Hey everyone! How do you like the story so far? Criticism and feedback is always welcome. Thanks for reading! Going to work on Trouble! again soon. Thanks!
PREVIOUS CHAPTERBack to Main PageNEXT CHAPTER