Chapter 10: Distance

I turned 9 just a few moment's ago.

My celebration for my birthday was very abrupt. My sister clapped for me before going back up the stairs, and my mother served me a tender and juicy steak that she'd been saving for. No one else came to my birthday. I was a bit dispirited because of that. Actually, maybe I'm the one who's at fault.

I wasn't such a social goon this past month since I'm still getting a feel for this world. So why would I expect some friend's I didn't know to visit me? I entered my room after staring at my sister's door for a while. She wasn't very social either. Actually, I've never even seen her outside. I did glimpse her a few time's when she got out of her room, besides eating and bathing etc. She would either go to the basement or read the book's in the living room. So her having friend's is over me. The only person she could probably consider her one friend, was me.

I fell onto the bed and sighed. My life wasn't going so well more than I'd like it to. I played with my feet as I read book's on the bed. I'd probably learn a thing or two if I had some sort of guide or... A teacher! Although the cost of making one tutor me wasn't going to be cheap. My magic is considered to be the lowest of low's, affinity with or without. I doubt that I would cast spell's on the get go once I've understood the theory. But right now I just can't seem to wrap my head around it.

Just then before I dozed atop my book, I heard my mother call out to me.

"Richard. Someone's come to see you!" Her tone of voice was enthusiastic and I sprung up from my bed.

Someone? Me? Someone came to see me? I could blush at the gesture. In all honesty I've no clue who it is. Judging from her gleeful step's as she walked away it was someone special.

"Coming!" I tuck away my book's and headed downstairs.

"You won't believe who came Richard!"

"...Eh?"

What stood in the doorway or actually who stood in the doorway was a young and bright girl, her golden hair reached her shoulder's. The light flaps of her dress was serene. Behind her were two adult's who wore quite the maid dresses. Both of them had black hair. My eye's widened at this sight. An angel has befallen this household. Perhaps she has come her to spread her wisdom?

I knew who it was of course. She was Fukitsu Arthur. Her name was quite catchy, her Arthur surname was powerful and of high nobility. She lived in a mansion near the river. I passed by that place commonly, and they weren't strict with their ground's. I'd spot her having tea time with her friend's on their terrace. Somehow she always managed to spot me looking at her and shot a warm smile.

'But what is she doing here?' There was absolutely no valid explanation as to why she would bother visiting a lowly place. She gathered too much attention whenever she went outside. I'm sure were going to be the center of gossip for a long while.

"What? Am I not allowed to visit a friend on his birthday?" She read my face.

"O-oh No it's not that."

A friend. Yup that's me. I've become friends with a princess, when and how? Don't know. I've never had too many deep conversation's with her to consider her as an acquainted friend. She always started small talk and my sore ass couldn't keep up. She always displayed a tough and elegant strength, that made you feel warm and tingly inside. Actually having her calm demeanor be that convincing could snatch her a few good contract's in the future, being taught persuasive speech should make her a more underlying force of nature.

There I go again. In the end I just planned to use this girl in the future to land myself a high position in royalty. I'm truly rotten. I got rid of those ideal's by swiping my hand in the air.

"Ohh! You're so cute... If I could just pinch your cheeks I would!" Mother clasped her hand's together and squirmed.

"Oh... I-I don't mind, since you're Richard's mother after all..." She looked away and scratched her cheek.

"Too cute!" She took her in her arm's and squeezed her tightly. The maid's reached for her being visibly concerned.

"Hnng... N-no don't worry...I'm fine." She breathed in a controlled manner while her rib's are being crushed.

"Mother. I think that's enough."

"Hmm? But I want to hug her more!" She sniffed her hair and I sighed.

"Please?" I gazed into her eye's, "Hmph, fine."

...

"Err..."

"..."

I kept awkwardly glancing away, trying to desperately spark conversation. She fiddled with her hand's and wore a flushed expression.

"Oh I know! How about you two enroll in school together?" She mischievously pointed her finger.

Apparently I'd go to school this late.

I haven't really thought about that actually. Since I was of royalty back then I was home-taught, the teacher's I had, quit almost a week later because their lessons were so easy. That's probably because I was a prodigy. It also has it's advantages as I didn't have distraction's like class chatter. But it meant I'd be pretty lonely at that age, but I ended up as king a few year's later. Maybe I can improve on that in this world.

"Mother, are you sure?" I asked her, "Of course! We can even bundle your sister in!"

Welp I guess it's about time for her to get dragged out of her room and experience life. She'd also get new friend's there and stop relying on me all the time. 'Wait' On second thought I don't mind that, it'll be sad if I pushed her away all the time. My sister from another world was an iron woman, she remained tough with her family, otherwise she was a cold and harsh person all throughout her life. I'd like to change that as well.

After the dust settled. Fukitsu nodded and left while her maid's followed suit behind her. The news also arrived to Miyu's room and she replied with an echoing "Fine." Apparently mother had a stash that her and father saved for our enrollment. It was enough for at least two people. It was a prestigious school just outside this village and in a rather popular city.

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The City Of Brytally was a center for trading in between and to Arealis. It was located near the port to the Arealis continent. From our little Funade village, it would take a pretty long trek to that city on foot or by carriage. Around 4 month's speaking. That is if we didn't consider weather condition's, the terrain, or even Krimmin's, it would be around four month's if it was smooth sailing but realistically it would be nowhere near. Fortunately the horses in this world weren't horses, they look very similar but there are some notable differences.

First of all their stamina, it's simply extraordinary, it could run for day's without sustenance and walk for week's at a time with almost no breaks. They were the first domesticated Krimmin, they obey word's to no extent and had decent intelligence. One time it carried an injured boy and took him all the way back to his village and somehow didn't get lost.

Second was their resilience, they could withstand/use magic and terrestrial climate. In the burning summer heat it would use magic to cool themselves down otherwise for winter. Their pain tolerance was out of this world as well, if it had somehow been injured it'd use it's saliva as some sort of healing ailment, but they'd still push through while being in visceral pain.

They were some of the most impressive creature's on this planet. If I had those horses instead of the horses my cavalry used maybe I'd still be alive in that world. Dream's aside, I could only hope this would all go well without facing any catastrophes on the way. Also I could learn so much more than the book's at home by being taught by an actual living, breathing person.

This way we'll be able to arrive sooner than we would with traditional means. It's a massive gold mine for merchant's alike and they'd probably come galloping around sooner once they've got product, so these horses were a tremendous help to them. I'd be exposed to some cultural harvest these people will bring. It's a learning experience one way or another.

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Opportunities come and go but this isn't something I can let pass. It'll be a way for me to possibly gain more information about magic and maybe I can find a way to use it to go back to my world. I miss them too much. Hmm... I'll try to not get too attached to this one. Minor relationship's are fine though. 'Illia will kill me if I had fun in another world.'

...Miyu...

When I woke up I heard big brother scream loudly next to my room. It's so late I wonder where he finds his energy... I can't be disturbed by this honestly... Well... Fine I guess I am a little curious.

I tip toed outside my room and peeked inside his subtly opened door.

There were multiple scrolls laid out on his desk and he was grasping the top of his head looking a bit distraught. Is he making this much ruckus because of a couple of scrolls? No no no. I need to think this through. I've been hearing him complaining about not being able to cast any spells without a spell scroll. Well, that's unsettling.

Before his well... Awakening you can say. My brown haired big brother used to cast spell's with ease and was actually pretty arrogant about it. He used to teach me late at night, all his method's and how to's. I admired him so much, when he got sick I always hosted a protective attitude and made sure he didn't push himself. But in the end, he ended up dying and was replaced by another person.

I wanted to avoid him because of that. I thought he wouldn't be the same brother I knew. I always worked hard alone to improve, just so that my dead brother would be at least happy that I'm a better version of myself. Over this past month though, I grew to respect him and realized the similarities they both had. All the part's I disliked about him merged with the brother I once adored.

He picked me up when I'm low. He wasn't angry when I broke the gift I made for him. He patted me and talked it through. I thought I was hallucinating when I saw his face with brown hair and then I woke up.

I should repay the debt.

"A-are you having a problem?" I opened the door slyly.

He turned his head to me with a deadpan expression, his eyes were sunken and his cheek's were hollow. It's like he turned into a mummy. I gasped after snapping back.

"No Wait, Are you okay!?"

"...I'm fine ." He bent back on his chair and his pupils turned white. It looked like he loss consciousness.

Before I could speak he limply passed out on the spot. Jeez, such a troublesome brother. Though, I am truly grateful to him, because he gave me another reason to work on myself. I can expect to tease him about this in the future.

"Sigh..." I poked his head and glimpsed over his work. It looked like the beginning of a worry some theory that'll lead to some misconceptions. It was full of unnecessary this and that's. Ehehehe... I couldn't help but burst into a chuckle after knowing I've had surpassed my brother in smart's. Well to be fair this person isn't my brother, and second he's been thrown in a world full of magic. That's bound to make anyone break, but yet he's managed to hold on for this long. He was fully dedicated in figuring this out, there were group's of paper in the corner of his room. He's built upon his mistakes and made the next one more meticulous.

In doing so, he'd gotten this far and won't be too long until he'd eventually crack the code. If I had as much work ethic as him then I'd probably saved brother from his illness. Uuu... What's this feeling? Contempt? It's like I wished for everything that happened so far. I can't deny, I'll forever carry the debt of him saving my brother from his misery, but it's not like I hate him for that. Nope, not at all...

For now all that I can do is at least give him a few hint's on what he should do next. Until then I'll figure out these feelings.

...Richard...

Ugh... What a terrible headache. I could barely open my eye's and the shining light through my window's are almost blinding. Oh right, I'd been trying to find the connection's between spell's and mana. I rummaged through the scattered paper across my desk and reached my scrolls. I found an unfamiliar piece of white cloth that was tucked beneath my desk's drawer, It looked like a handkerchief and upon further investigation...Sniff..Yes, yes... I've confirmed that it had come from a girl. There was a dabble of ink in the middle, I recognized the pattern's and realized it was our language.

It read about my research, it presented the flaw's in my theory and had other tidbit's. Honestly it was a studious observation, it criticized my point's precisely and made fixes to them. It gave me more room for thought and this unexpected gift should accelerate my research to the next gear. The question is Who? Mother? Nah, she's too plain for that... My sister? Maybe, but she doesn't really listen to me that often. It'll be out of the blue if she did this.

Well, whatever. Maybe Healva had visited me and dropped some word's of wisdom. Otherwise this is a massive help. I bowed to the morning sun before heading downstairs. I stretched and bent on the way down. I pitter pattered to the bathroom. I came out feeling refreshed and ready for the day, I plan to head out again and organize the stuff I'd bring on the trip. I passed by the stair's and I heard a light creak. I looked up and saw a lethargic girl with red ear's. Had she cried? Don't know.

"Oh... Good morning." I greeted her just like any other day.

"Uh... Yeah." She made her way down and immediately turned to the bathroom. She seemed a bit haggard.

She's only a year younger than me, but she's already pretty indifferent. Am I destined to always have cold sister's? Anyways I went outside without anyone telling me to.

The warm breeze meet's my skin and the orange cloud's made by the morning sun is energizing. I stepped towards our stoned gate and breathed a long sigh. In the next month, we'll be departing for Brytally, I'm uncertain whether this is the right path, but all my year's in kinghood all told me one thing, always trust your gut.

I walked under a brisk mist surrounding me, winter was approaching and I'm sure snow'll arrive just around a month. I passed by the elder's houses that riddled the side street's. I greeted the fishermen who'd arrive at the river. I flared my nostril's to breath in the scent of the flora. Ahh... Such a sweet life. Why would I ever want to leave?

"Good morning to you too." A girl's voice hitched my throat at the unexpected encounter. Apparently someone like Fukitsu were on a stroll.

"Tchguk... Oh yeah Morning..." ahh... Acting so improper in front of a princess... I'd like one kms please.

"Hmm? You look awful today." She studied my face and insulted me like my wife, "Something happened?"

"Right..." Hmm. She's terribly concerned for me, I mean, like, I do look a bit depressed lately, fortunately I'm not though. "Ah... No, I've just been particularly busy about the trip and all."

"Oh? I-I see, there was no need to worry..." She eyed the nearby stable.

"So...Yeah..."

"..."

NOOO! I'm such a loser, how did I manage to make the conversation incredibly awkward? I really need to work on my social skills...

"Oh right... How can I forget..." She stared me in the eye's, "Your gift, for your birthday."

S-s-sh-sh-sh-she prepared something for me? I melted on the spot.

"If you'd like, you can come with me to our manor." She turned around and gestured for me come. I barked and followed behind her.

I'd arrive at their pearly gate and waited patiently while she entered. It reminded me a lot of our palace's gate from my world. A guard opened it for me and I entered their large yard, their grass was nice and trim, somehow the air was fresher here. What caught most of my attention wasn't the large statue or fountain in the middle, but the manor behind it. It had lot's of window's and was symmetrical side by side, the pillar's on it's hanging roof had etched pattern's made by a master at work. It's artistic and metaphorical design's reached my heart. I fell in love at first sight.

"What are you daydreaming for?" She questioned me and I appropriately replied, "I think I... Fell in love." I stared at the manor behind her.

"Wha What are you talking about?!" She burst in a fluster and covered her face as she shrunk.

"Oh... Sorry. Not you." I looked down on her.

"Eh...? Oh right, of course, that was all a blunder, please forget about it." She turned around and shyly stepped towards the direction of the manor.

"Hmm? I know I didn't mean anything by that." I stroked my chin as I walked behind her.

'Wait...No there's no way...' I mean what did she expect from me? I think I'll keep to this to myself for now, It's too vague currently, I need more evidence.

She opened the door and was greeted by at least 10 maid's, they made my cow lick's stand. This is too familiar, am I actually in another world? I'm too confused that I let them take my belonging's off. I stood there as if I was bare naked, but fortunately I was still very clothed. One of the maid's held a cushion and brought it in front of me. There was a wooden box plopped on top of it. I looked to my side and Fukitsu nodded. I laid my fingers on it's slit and opened it. There were two visibly folded pieces of white cloth but their shape was apparent, it were glove's. She'd gifted me a pair of white and sleek gloves.

"Gloves?" I took them and wore it. It was soft and light. After a while it felt like it had merged with my body.

"Yes. Glove's from the Arealis continent, expertly made by a certain craftsman." She smiled after staring at my expression, I had a pretty enthusiastic smile, but it was about to get bigger. "It's supposed to amplify mana sensitivity from your body and it's magic-infused to be as tough as steel."

Amplify mana sensitivity? That's something, I've never read it anywhere but If I had to guess, it had to make mana flow easier through my body and to my hands. If that's true then I would finally be able to cast without a scroll spell. I'm pretty excited what the future hold's right now, this world had piqued my interest now.

After a month passes, We'd finally leave for Brytally.