The boy peeked around the corner, waiting for a certain street urchin to come by. Gripped in his arms were a chess set and a lunchbox containing warm meat buns his Mom baked earlier. He did his best to ignore the fragrant aroma wafting from the container. He already ate three in their apartment earlier, but the constant assault of freshly baked buns on his nostrils tempted him.

He checked his wristwatch decorated with cartoon characters to check the time.

5:28 p.m.

The boy fidgeted in place, his knees starting to ache after standing in one place for almost fifteen minutes. Right before he resolved to return tomorrow and eat the meat buns for himself, he heard the soft pattering of footsteps.

A quick peek around the corner revealed a small girl dressed in rags walking wearily in her rugged sandals. She was carrying a small sack on her shoulders, and her tired eyes were glued to the sidewalk as she tried her best to keep her feet moving.

The boy stood right behind the corner while wearing a large smile. When the girl entered the alley and spotted him, the boy saw her face scrunch up in annoyance as she immediately rushed her footsteps and walked around him.

“Hey, wait! I just want to talk to you!” the boy cried.

The girl ignored him and kept on walking towards her small shack. When she heard the boy's footsteps following behind her, she ground her teeth in frustration.

“Hey, I just wanted to say sorry for yesterday!”

‘Just ignore him,’ the girl thought quietly. Her stomach rumbled loudly in agreement. The girl's most recent meal was yesterday's breakfast, which only consisted of plain bread. The girl went to work today on an empty stomach, and now her body felt like it was on the verge of collapsing.

The girl was nearing her shack when the boy said something that caught her attention.

“I brought snacks as an apology!”

The girl immediately froze in place, her hand caressing her flat stomach where she felt the contours of her ribs jutting out. She contemplated which fate was worse: listening to a spoiled brat drone on and on or going for a third day without eating.

Her groaning stomach easily convinced the girl, and she turned around to face the boy following her from behind.

“Finally!” he exclaimed. “It seems all I had to do to get your attention was mention food!”

She stared at the boy, which made him fidget awkwardly in place. Then she spoke, her voice quiet and raspy, but with an edge of hostility. “What do you want?”

The boy's face frowned in confusion as he tried to figure out what the girl was trying to say. “What do you mean? I don't need anything.”

The girl cast him a suspicious look before asking again. “In exchange for the food, what do you want?”

Understanding dawned on his face, and he immediately shook his head. “No, no, this food is for you. Like I said earlier, this is an apology for yesterday.”

He offered the lunchbox he was carrying towards the girl, who stared at him for a few seconds. After a few more moments of hesitation, the girl snatched the lunchbox from his hand and quickly walked over to her shack.

The boy didn't know if she wanted him to follow, but he did so anyway. He followed the girl inside her shack, and when he saw the interior of the small dwelling, it left his mouth hanging open in awe. The boy couldn't believe it. He thought that his room, which always had toys and clothes scattered all over the floor, was messy. But the scene lying before him was on another level.

Newspaper scraps and pieces of cardboard littered one corner of the shack, while a small hill of cans and plastic bottles occupied another. Beside the door was a mess of rusted pans and pots, while on the last unoccupied corner, bundles of firewood and sticks were piled up.

“Wow, this place deserves an award for the messiest room,” the boy muttered.

The girl heard him and glared. “Not everyone can be a spoiled brat like you,” she said with intense emotion.

The boy realized his blunder and immediately apologized. “Oh, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Please, go ahead and eat.”

He retrieved a piece of cardboard from one corner and placed it on the floor, where the girl sat on her own cardboard piece.

He watched the girl slowly open the container with trembling hands and rip off a small piece from a bun. The meat filling oozed out, and greed flashed in her eyes as the girl immediately devoured the meat bun. The boy watched quietly as she ate, wondering what it felt like to be a street urchin.

She stopped eating after a few minutes, making sure to leave behind three meat buns for her breakfast tomorrow. She wiped her mouth with her arm, then stared at the boy, who smiled awkwardly at her.

“Um, I didn't get to introduce myself yesterday. My name's Brogen. What's yours?”

She stared at the boy with a frown, thinking. After a few more moments of awkward silence, the girl spoke.

“My name's Tin Tin. Now get out of my house.”

●●●

Helen wiped her forehead with her arm as she finished shoveling compost onto the crops' soil. Although the Erfeld chapel called it a garden, Helen believed ‘a small farm’ was a more accurate label. She looked at the spacious walled ‘garden’ around her filled with greenery. Beans, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, and all other sorts of summer crops covered the entire area behind the church. I wish there was a flower or two to at least bring some color other than green to this garden, Helen thought.

She picked up the sack lying by her feet and returned it beside the tool shed. Her job in the chapel mainly involved tending to the garden. Removing weeds, eliminating pests, watering the plants, and maintaining the tools were some of her usual work, and she loved it. The simplicity of it all always calmed her heart.

As Helen picked up her ragged basket to harvest some vegetables for dinner later, she heard a chorus of voices echoing from the chapel's back door. The loud, high-pitched voices told Helen that a group of children was making their way to the back. She sighed and walked towards the door, preparing her usual speech to chase away naughty children from loitering around the garden while she worked. Then she heard a familiar voice.

“Not really. I always find something to entertain myself with so I don't get bored while waiting for Mom.”

“Like what?” a cheerful girl's voice asked.

“Er, like playing board games, I guess?”

“Ooh, teach me how to play someday!”

“Sure, Maly.”

Hearing her son's voice sent a tingle of joy down her spine as usual. Helen always wanted to keep her son in her sight at all times, just like she did during his infant days, but she knew she couldn't keep him by her side every second of the day. If she could, she would, but Brogen was growing up at a fast rate. He needed to explore and learn things by himself, her presence needed only if he committed some mistakes. Just like how parents should act towards their growing children. But Brogen wasn't exactly normal when compared to other children.

Her son was smart, and he always knew what he should and should not do. Helen didn't have to stress herself like other mothers when their children hurt themselves or made a mess in the house. Brogen behaved, always doing his best not to burden Helen with more responsibility. It warmed her heart, but Helen couldn't help but think that her son was too behaved. An occasional childish mistake would have been alright because it would then give Helen a chance to personally impart some knowledge to her son.

Unfortunately for Helen, Brogen was the perfect child. Respectful, obedient, and always heeded the advice of his elders. She hoped that when her son finally meets other people in the future, he would also be wise enough to know whether his good nature was being taken advantage of.

The backdoor opened as a group of six children exited the chapel. Helen recognized some of the children's faces every time she saw them attend Sunday School every week, but her eyes disregarded them, searching the crowd until she found who she was looking for. Much smaller than the older kids, Brogen stood out like a sore thumb as he chatted with another young girl.

The sight of her son finally making friends sent waves of joy inside Helen, but she suppressed her proud smile and greeted Brogen. “Hey sweetie! Is Sunday School finished?”

The group of children immediately fell silent as Brogen stepped towards Helen. “Hey, Mom! Yeah, it's done. The other kids wanted to come and help you with your work.”

Helen chuckled at the sight of a six-year-old calling older children ‘kids.’ She faced the group of kids and gave them a warm smile. “Oh, why thank you for volunteering to help. Brogen always comes to help me, but a few more helping hands are always welcome.”

Helen noticed the boys staring at her with stars in their eyes, and she inwardly chuckled. As much as she tried to be humble, Helen was aware of her beauty that captivated a lot of men, and the sight of young boys staring at her was common for her. Well, I can always use it to my advantage, hehehe.

“I still need to transfer those sacks of compost beside the shed, but my back is hurting so much!” Helen's acting was so atrocious that Brogen covered his face in embarrassment while the two other girls in the group grimaced, but the boys were played like fiddles. “Is there anyone who can help me carry those sacks over there?”

The boys looked over to the sacks Helen was referring to and hesitated for a bit when they saw the heavy-looking bags of compost sitting by the side. But when Helen batted her eyelashes at them, it immediately sealed the deal.

“Don't worry ma'am, we'll handle it!” the brown-haired boy exclaimed.

“I'll see to it that you are not burdened with these mere sacks of dirt, my fair lady,” intoned the chubby boy.

“I shall endeavor to assist you in this task, Miss Arte,” rasped the gaunt boy.

“Oh my, you boys are so kind. If you finish your task, I'll make sure to give all of you a reward.” Helen gave them a naughty wink, and the boys immediately scrambled to finish their task.

When Helen looked back to her son, she saw him take a wary step back away from her, while the girls stared at her in awe. She blushed a bit at the girls' admiring looks and beamed at her son. “Hehe, what do you think of my skills, sweetie?”

“You need to work on your acting skills, Mom,” Brogen replied. “You're lucky the boys are a bit stupid.”

Helen chuckled at her son's straightforward response. “All boys become stupid in front of a beautiful lady, sweetie.” She winked at her son, hoping to get a reaction, but all she got was an exasperated sigh from Brogen. Helen pouted at him.

“Well, at least the rest of us don't have to work anymore. Those three would probably finish the rest of the tasks. Well played, Mom!” Brogen said with a smile as he raised his fist with the thumb raised. Helen didn't know what the gesture meant, but she returned it anyways.

“Then why don't you introduce your friends?” Helen directed her smile to the two girls standing a few feet away, still staring at her.

Brogen smacked himself in the forehead as he faced the two girls. “Sorry, I forgot basic courtesy. Mom, these are my new fr— um, classmates.” He gestured to the girl with red twin-tails. “She's Maly,” then he faced the black-haired girl, “and she's Liz.”

Helen clapped her hands as she rejoiced her son finally making friends. “Nice to meet you! If given the chance, he would never take the initiative to interact with other people, so thank you for taking him as your friend.”

“Hello, miss Arte! Nice to meet you!” chirped Maly.

“U-um, a pleasure to meet you, ma'am,” Liz said sheepishly.

Helen patted both girls' heads after she took off her gardening gloves as she basked in their cuteness.

“Hey! I can take initiative whenever I want to!” Brogen said indignantly.

“Of course you can sweetie, but it doesn't mean you will, though.”

Her son had an expression of surrender as he sat down on the floor. Helen chuckled as she opened the backdoor. “I'm going to get some snacks. Stay put and don't loiter around, okay?”

“Okay!”

●●●

“Wow Brogen, your mom is so pretty!”

“Yeah, although I sometimes wish other men would stop looking at her with lustful eyes,” I replied.

The three of us were sitting on the doorsteps as we watched the other boys work with enthusiasm. Wow, I never thought bringing them along would be advantageous. I gotta invite them again next week.

“What does lustful mean, Brogen?” Maly asked on my right with an innocent look.

“What? You don't know what that means? Lustful means a person is feeling horn— ow!”

I looked to my left and saw Liz pinching my elbow. She leaned in and whispered to my ear.

“Maly is just ten years old,” she said with admonishing eyes.

“Oh, haha…” It skipped my mind that my companions were just children.

“What? What?” Maly urged beside me. “What does it mean?”

“Uhhh,” I wracked my brain for a child-friendly explanation. “Lustful means a person is, um, aha! Lustful means a person is attracted towards another person.” I smiled triumphantly, then added a crucial detail. “Aggressively.”

I heard Liz sigh to my left as Maly had an expression of wonder at learning a new word. I just hope she doesn't use it anytime soon.

“How did you know that word, Brogen?” Liz asked with a suspicious look.

“Oh, um, I just h-heard it from other adults.”

“Hmm.” Liz just stared at me thoughtfully for a few seconds. “You're strangely mature for your age, Brogen.”

“Y-Yeah, a lot of people also tell me that.” I tried not to show panic on my face. I didn't expect Liz to be that sharp, so I swallowed nervously as I tried to change the subject. “How about you? You're also very smart for your age.”

Liz looked flustered for a short while before clearing her throat. Looked like she was vulnerable to being praised. Now I know your weakness, hehe.

“I-I'm just average,” Liz said bashfully as she tried to suppress a smile.

I sighed in relief as Liz's attention to my unusual behavior was deflected. I couldn't afford to let other people notice my peculiarities because my survival was on the line. I couldn't have people scrutinize me so closely or else they might discover my secrets. I need to act more childish around other people.

Mom returned later carrying snacks for us to munch on, and after the exhausted boys finally finished their task, she gave them their snacks personally and patted their heads as a ‘special reward.’ The boys looked like they were in pure bliss, and I vowed to myself to never underestimate Mom's feminine wiles.

When everything was said and done, Mom and I bade farewell to the other children as we began our walk home.

“So, did you have fun today, sweetie?” Mom asked beside me. She was holding my hand as we walked so I wouldn't wander off like normal kids. Not like I would.

“It was fine, I guess,” I replied. “I learned a lot of things during Mother Betha's lecture, and I'm looking forward to the next class.”

“I'm not talking about the lecture, sweetie. I was talking about your new friends.”

Oh, so that was what she meant. Honestly, I actually enjoyed their company. I previously thought they would be annoying, but thankfully my new friends were already in their teens, except for Maly. It was definitely easier to interact with older kids than younger children.

“They were alright,” I said as nonchalantly as I could, but I couldn't suppress my smile from showing.

“Good. That's good.” I peeked at Mom and saw her extremely satisfied smile. Maybe she was worried about my social life all this time?

We walked the rest of the way home in comfortable silence, and when I lay in bed that night, I hugged Tedd and Cuddles tightly as I looked forward to meeting my new friends again.

●●●

Mother Betha and the two nuns sat silently in the chapel's meeting room. Although they called it a meeting room, it was nothing more than a glorified storage room set up with a table and chairs. The mana-powered lantern hanging from the ceiling illuminated the small room with its brilliant white light. A nondescript envelope sat atop the round table, and the three women stared at it.

“The Holy See is sending reinforcements,” Mother Betha began. The nuns looked at each other with confused looks.

“What do you mean ‘reinforcements,’ Mother?” Sister Lina asked. “What do we need them for?”

Mother Betha glanced at Sister Tillie, who waited patiently for her to finish what she was saying. “The Holy See sent us a message stating that they will be sending Templars to assist us in our sacred duty.”

“Templars?! Does the Holy See intend to wage a Holy War?!” Sister Lina blurted. Sister Tillie also had a concerned expression on her face as she waited for Mother Betha to further explain.

“Of course not,” the pastor replied. “Instead, the Holy See intends to send Templars to guarantee Helen and Brogen's safety.”

Once again, the nuns were confused. Who were they that the Holy See went to such lengths to extend help? Templars were not the usual run-of-the-mill soldiers. They were highly-trained warriors on par with the kingdom's knights whose sole duty was to uphold the Church's doctrines and accomplish the Holy See's directives.

Sister Tillie voiced a question of her own. “If that is the case, then aren't they going to attract the attention of other… unsavory people?”

Mother Betha grunted in agreement. The deployment of Templars was not simple. Nations that allowed the Holy Mother Church within their borders only permitted a certain number of military personnel from Zurath within their borders. Edria, the kingdom that Erfeld was a part of, only permitted a maximum number of fifty Templars within their borders at any given time. If the Holy See wished to send more Templars into a small town in the kingdom, they would have to seek permission from the king and attract unnecessary attention on Helen and Brogen.

The Holy See could circumvent this problem if they instead chose to mobilize Templars already assigned inside Edria and reassign them to the Erfeld parish, but that also had its own share of problems.

The Holy Mother Church was a powerful organization, but that also meant it had its fair share of powerful enemies. Every cathedral in Edria, where Templars are stationed, was constantly being monitored. If a Templar was sent to Erfeld, it would have the same problem of attracting a lot of attention, which would only put a larger risk on Helen and Brogen.

So the Holy See fell back to more… extreme measures.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“The Holy See plans to,” Mother Betha sighed, as she already knew the next thing she was about to say would sound stupid. “They plan to send Templars to every parish of the Holy Mother in Edria to avoid attention from focusing merely on Erfeld.”

The room was silent for a few moments before Sister Lina burst out laughing. “You know you're not good with jokes, Mother. So what is the Holy See going to do, really?” Sister Lina wiped a tear from her eye, but when she saw Mother Betha glaring at her, she realized the pastor wasn't joking.

“But isn't that going to be interpreted as an aggressive act by Edria?” Sister Tillie asked worriedly.

“Under normal circumstances, it would be an act of war.” Mother Betha looked at them with a serious glint in her eyes. “But the current situation in Edria is far from that.”

Sister Lina swallowed nervously. “Why? What's happening?”

Mother Betha clasped her wrinkled hands together as she answered. “Edria is mobilizing its armies.” She looked at Sister Lina's terrified face. “They're preparing for war.”

“But why?!” Sister Lina exclaimed. “Everything has been peaceful for more than a decade already! Why wage war now?!”

“I don't know, Lina, but there's no doubt about it. The nobility has started conscripting soldiers in their territory, and it's only a matter of time before the press gangs arrive in Erfeld.”

“How is this related to the Holy See's decision to send Templars to Edria, Mother?” Sister Tillie asked with a slightly shaky voice. Even if the nun assumed a calm facade, Mother Betha knew she was terrified as well of a looming war.

“With the current situation as it is, the old geezers in the Holy See used the excuse of ‘ensuring the safety of its clergy’ as the reason for sending in Templars. Even though the Holy Mother Church is a neutral party in all secular conflicts, it is not uncommon for priests and nuns to become casualties in the chaos of war.”

Understanding dawned on the nuns' faces, and some of the tension lifted from their shoulders. The news of reinforcements coming allayed some of their fears.

“Thank the Mother,” Sister Lina sighed. “Looks like we don't have to worry too much.”

Mother Betha snorted. “Only if the reinforcements are permitted by the king.”

Sister Lina slumped back in her chair.

“But you don't have to worry about it for a while. It would take a long time for Edria to fully mobilize its armies. With the current famine affecting the northern territories, the nobles would have to spend a long time twiddling their thumbs before they could gather enough food to feed their growing armies.”

“There's a famine going on right now?” Sister Lina asked with a shocked look on her face. Even Sister Tillie looked like she just learned of this right at this moment.

“Well, the primary supplier of food in Edria comes from Ocrana, and the fact that Edria is mobilizing its armies means it's going to attack a neighboring nation. Who do you think is the most likely target?”

Sister Lina and Sister Tillie immediately understood what Mother Betha was implying. The Kingdom of Edria was a peninsula, located in the southernmost part of the continent. The west, east, and south of the kingdom were surrounded by the ocean, while two nations shared its northern borders: The Empire of Aglaria in the northwest, and the Kingdom of Ocrana in the northeast. Attacking the Empire, the largest and most powerful nation on the continent, was sheer stupidity, which meant Ocrana was the likely target.

Unsurprisingly, Ocrana decided to stop supplying food to its future enemy.

“Well, in other news,” Mother Betha added lightly, “Ocrana is celebrating the birth of its new princess.”

“What has that got to do with our situation?” Sister Lina grumbled.

“Nothing. I just felt like sharing it.” Mother Betha chuckled mysteriously.

●●●

I once again found myself seated inside the classroom for Sunday School. The only difference this time was the fact that I was the first in class. I glanced at the rustic clock hanging on the wall above the blackboard.

10:32 a.m.

Sunday School classes started at eleven, an hour before midday. I first thought it was quite late for classes to start, but I found out later that it was in consideration for the other children who had to help their parents in their daily work. Then I remembered my situation, where I helped Mom with her work every day to ease her burden. I guess nobody has it easy around here, huh?

While waiting for the others to arrive, I decided to close my eyes and focus on my fabric sense. I found out a few days ago that my fabric sense became more accurate when I focused on it. Normally, I could only detect fuzzy presences of fabric on the back of my mind using my fabric sense, and it only gave me a vague shape of the clothing I detected. But when I focused really hard, the shapes became more detailed and refined, giving me more information like the material of the fabric and its durability.

As I focused on my fabric sense, I detected the nuns moving about the chapel, presumably doing their usual chores. I sensed another set of clothing above me, on the second floor, which I assumed to be Mother Betha. She was probably in her room praying or something.

I switched my attention to the farthest edge of my fabric sense, which reached the streets and alleyways beside the chapel. I could feel the presence of several people's clothing loitering around the area, most likely waiting for the church's daily distribution of free food at midday for the poor.

My focus was interrupted when the door to the room opened and three children entered. Liz, who left her hair untied, Maly, with her usual twin-tails, and Ralf, with his grim face, took their seats at the front. I sat in my previous seat, which was behind Liz's.

“Hey guys, what's up?” I greeted from my seat.

“Greetings, Brogen,” Ralf said.

“Good morning,” Liz greeted.

“Good morning, Brogen!” Maly responded cheerfully. “What does ‘what's up’ mean? Is it another of those complicated words?”

I was about to answer her when I noticed that Liz and Ralf were also looking at me curiously. Oops, looks like the expression isn't invented yet.

“Oh, it's nothing, just my way of saying ‘is there something going on?’”

“Oh, really? Well, not much, I just helped my daddy watch our stall at the market. How about you Brogen? What's up?!”

Maly looked like she was enjoying learning new expressions too much. Well, it's not like it's hurting anyone.

“Nothing much too, I guess.”

“If I may ask, where did you learn those expressions you use, Brogen?” Ralf asked from my left. I always found his formal demeanor when speaking awkward, but to each their own, I guess. Now that I think about it, my way of speaking may also come across as weird for some people here.

“Oh, I just made it up. It's way easier and faster to say.”

“Hm, interesting.”

“By the way, what are your parents' jobs, Ralf?”

The gaunt kid thought for a bit, then spoke. “My father works in the cemetery as the undertaker and gravedigger, while my mother works at our flower shop.”

I blinked my eyes at his answer. The stark contrast between his parents' jobs made me speechless for a moment. But it was obvious which parent Ralf got his… unusual demeanor from.

“Oh, um, that's cool.”

“Cool?” Ralf asked with what I thought was a confused expression. I had to scrutinize his face closely just to spot the difference, which was a slight crease on his forehead. Very hard to spot when his face was set in a perpetual frown.

“Ah, that's just one of my usual expressions. It means ‘awesome.’”

Ralf stared at me for a few seconds, then one of the scariest things I've ever seen came into being. His eyes narrowed as the corners of his eyebrows raised, and his lips contorted as he bared his teeth towards me. I felt the hairs all over my body stand up as goosebumps broke out all over my skin. Oh shit, he's angry! But it was a compliment! A compliment!

Ralf's throat produced a deep, jarring sound, not unlike a demon's call from Hell. It was ghastly. Please don't eat me!

Ralf continued producing that wretched sound for a few more seconds while I stayed frozen in my seat. When he finally stopped, he took a deep breath as his face returned to its usual grim look.

“Ah, thank you for the compliment, Brogen. It's been such a long time since I had a good laugh.”

My mouth was open as I stared at Ralf with a disbelieving look. That was a laugh?! Holy Mother, I thought he was summoning the Devil himself!

I looked at Liz and Maly to see their reactions, but all I saw were strained smiles. It seemed it wasn't their first time hearing Ralf's ‘laughter.’

“U-uh, no problem, Ralf.” I glanced at the clock and saw my opportunity to change subjects quickly. “It's almost time for class, but Terric and Garin aren't here yet.”

“They're likely going to skip today's Sunday School,” Liz responded. “Terric's father just returned from the capital, so his family is probably going to celebrate.”

“What does Terric's dad do?”

“His father is one of the ‘cool’ knights!” Maly offered cheerfully. “They roam around the capital's surrounding area slaying vicious monsters!” Maly mimed holding a sword and swinging it around to kill imaginary monsters while making swooshing sounds.

“Whoa, that's pretty cool. How about your parents Liz? What do they do?”

The moment I asked her the question, Liz's countenance darkened, and I saw Ralf and Maly look away, suddenly finding the blackboard so interesting to stare at. Oh shit, did I just step on a landmine?

Liz had a conflicted expression on her face, probably debating whether she should respond to me like how she would to an adult, or how she would to a six-year-old child.

“U-um, if you don't want to share it with me, it's cool.”

“What's so ‘cool’ about it, Brogen?” Maly asked at such an inopportune time.

“‘Cool’ can also mean ‘it's alright,’ Maly. Now shush.” Maly pouted at me and crossed her arms while looking away.

“My parents… My parents are gone,” Liz said, her voice almost a whisper.

“Oh.” My thoughts immediately came to a halt when I heard her words. Her face was an expressionless mask, yet I could tell she was remembering buried memories that I harshly dug up in my insensitivity. And the worst part is, I completely understood what she's feeling, and how I was the one responsible for it.

I experienced the same loss in my past life, and I knew how much it hurt every time people accidentally reminded me of everything that happened in the past. Knowing the pain I just inflicted on Liz made me drown in guilt.

“Liz, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—”

“It's fine,” Liz said as she forced herself to smile at me.

Before I could further apologize, Mother Betha entered the room. Haa, looks like I'll just have to make it up to her later.

“Alright, good morning brats.” Mother Betha realized there were only four of us and frowned. “Terric's absence, I understand. But Garin…”

Mother Betha's face promised retribution on the chubby child. May the Holy Mother have mercy on him.

“Hey Brogen!” I jolted in my seat as I felt Maly pinch my side. “Can I sit here?” When did she transfer seats beside me?

“Uh, sure Maly.”

“Alright, let's begin our lesson. Our topic for today will be the geopolitics of our kingdom.”

Mother Betha picked up a piece of chalk and started drawing on the blackboard. I was initially confused at the weird random shape she was drawing, but then I realized she was drawing a map of a continent.

The continent had a rough shape similar to a rectangle with some of its sides jutting out to form peninsulas while some parts were curved inwards to form bays.

She then proceeded to draw landmarks like mountains and forests. The most notable one was the massive mountain range in the middle of the continent. The mountain range was in the shape of a ‘T’ oriented in a horizontal position, with its terminal stretching to the left. The northern and western ends of the mountain range reached all the way to the shores of the continent, while the southern end stopped just above a peninsula that jutted from the continent. This divided the continent into three regions, with the largest consisting of the entire right half of the continent while the left half was divided into two regions.

Mother Betha started labeling the countries on the map, and my eyes bulged when there were only two massive countries on the entire left half of the continent. Holy shit, talk about conquerors on steroids. They're making Alexander the Great look like a novice.

Mother Betha then labeled the peninsula jutting out from the continent's south ‘Kingdom of Edria’ and underlined the name in emphasis. So that's our home country, huh?

It was located right between the left half and right half of the continent and was lined up directly with the southern end of the massive mountain range, although the mountains stopped just outside the country's northern border.

“I'm sure all of us know that we live in the Kingdom of Edria, yes?” Mother Betha asked the class as she kept on drawing. The others nodded their heads, and I nodded along, pretending to know it beforehand. No need to let them know that I didn't know the name of the country I live in…

“But judging from your faces, none of you saw a map of what our continent looks like.” Mother Betha chuckled at our enthusiastic nods.

I realized how much I took the Internet for granted. Back on Earth, I could easily look at the map of the world whenever I wanted with a simple tap of a screen, but here, where technology was still in its infant stages, knowledge of maps was uncommon.

“Before we begin, does anybody know what ‘geopolitics’ mean?” Mother Betha asked the class.

I knew the answer, but I didn't want to stand out too much. Liz was already noticing my weird behavior, so I needed to lay low.

Liz raised her hand, and Mother Betha nodded. “Judging from the word, it means politics based on the geography of a country,” Liz answered with a bit of uncertainty.

“That's right,” Mother Betha said as she nodded. “To be more specific, geopolitics refers to how a country's geography affects its political environment, as well as its relationship with that of other countries, especially its neighbors.”

The rest of the kids murmured in understanding as they nodded.

“Now that we know the meaning of geopolitics, let's talk about the geography of the Gigas continent.”

So that's the name of the continent.

“The mountain range that divides the Gigas continent is called the Titan's Belt, acting as an almost impenetrable barrier,” Mother Betha said as she pointed at the massive mountain range drawn on the finished map. “The Titan's Belt consists of three major mountain ranges: the Northern Belt, Southern Belt, and the Western Belt. Powerful monsters reside in the mountains, making it almost impossible to pass through. Because of this, the only routes available are found at the ends of the three belts of the mountain range.”

Mother Betha pointed at the three ends of the T-shaped mountain range, located in the north, south, and west of the continent.

“The Kingdom of Edria is special since our country itself acts as the southern route. If people from the Empire of Aglaria in the west wanted to go to the Kingdom of Ocrana in the East, then they would have to pass through Edria first. The same goes for people in Ocrana who want to travel to the Empire.”

Now that is extremely inconvenient. I still had no idea about the modes of transportation here in this world, but if I'm right and the fastest method of traveling here was a horse-driven cart, then moving from one region of the continent to another would be expensive and time-consuming.

A person living near one of the three routes would have no problem, but for a guy living near the middle of the continent? They would have to travel hundreds of kilometers just to get around the mountain range.

“Because of this,” Mother Betha continued, “nations which are located near these routes serve as massive hubs for trade. The Kingdom of Edria derives most of its revenue from taxes and tariffs from the passage of goods.”

“Then does that mean our kingdom is actually super rich?” Maly asked.

“Well, we used to be,” Mother Betha answered. “Unfortunately, the current state of Edria now pales in comparison to what it used to be more than a decade ago.”

“Why? What happened?” Maly asked with disappointment.

“That's another story for another day, girl,” Mother Betha said with a wave of her hand. Maly pouted in dismay.

“The location of Edria does not only affect its economy and trade, but also its importance as a strategic military location. If, for example, our neighbor to the northwest, the Empire of Aglaria, wished to march its armies to our neighbor in the northeast, the Kingdom of Ocrana, then they would have to pass their soldiers through Edria first, something that the King couldn't allow.”

“Why? Can't the Empire just ask for permission from the King?” Maly asked.

“If the Empire wished to launch an invasion on a powerful nation like Ocrana, then they would need to send an army numbering in the tens of thousands,” the pastor replied. “If those tens of thousands of soldiers suddenly switched targets from Ocrana to Edria while they were inside our borders, then that would be a recipe for disaster.”

Maly had a look of realization on her face as she understood the implications.

“With the kingdom acting as a buffer between the Empire and the eastern countries, its allegiance is a major factor whether other nations view it as an ally or an enemy. With that in mind, our King has at least two possible courses of action: to ally with the Empire or join forces with the Kingdom of Ocrana. What course of action do you children think the King chose?”

“Considering that the Empire of Aglaria is far stronger than the Kingdom of Ocrana, I believe our King allied with the Empire,” Ralf answered.

“It's obviously the Empire!” Maly exclaimed.

Liz and I also nodded in agreement to Mother Betha's question. Looking at it pragmatically, the Empire would be a far better nation to ally with if I was in the King's shoes. A single glance at the map showed that the Empire's territory was massive, and no country would be that large if it was not capable of conquering other territories. The Empire would be the worst enemy the King could make an enemy of.

“May I ask the reasons behind your answers?” Mother Betha asked the class.

“I believe our kingdom is not strong enough to oppose the Empire, Mother, so it would be in the best interests of our King to ally with the stronger neighbor,” Ralf answered.

“The Empire also boasts a very large population, which means that most of the traffic that passes through our kingdom are Imperial merchants and traders,” Liz said. “If our kingdom antagonized the Empire, the King would lose a big chunk of his revenue.”

Mother Betha nodded after hearing their answers. “Those are very good points you made, and I'm sure our King also put those facts into consideration, but I'm afraid your answers are wrong.”

“What?” Maly muttered in confusion.

“We're also not allied with Ocrana, especially with the current strained relationship we have with them,” Mother Betha continued.

At this point, all of us had a look of confusion on our faces.

“Although the situation appears that our King only has two choices, there's actually a third.”

“But you just gave two choices!” Maly complained.

“I never said the King only had two choices. I said the King has ‘at least’ two choices.” Mother Betha chuckled at Maly's indignant look. “You wish to become a merchant in the future, right Maly? Then you should learn to be proficient when it comes to wordplay.”

Maly's eyes widened in understanding and nodded seriously.

“Wordplay is vital in business negotiations… or scams,” Mother said with a chuckle.

We could only shake our heads at the pastor's words. I knew the old hag had some shady background.

“Anyway, let's get back on topic. Our King decided to be neutral,” Mother Betha said. “Officially, our kingdom does not involve itself with any disputes between foreign nations and has a neutral stance. No matter what happens, our kingdom will not assist any single nation when it comes to war and conflicts.”

“But doesn't that mean the Empire could just attack us without fear of repercussions from other nations?” Liz asked.

“The situation is more complicated than that,” Mother Betha replied. “Although we officially declare ourselves neutral, our King had made it a point that should the Empire or Ocrana move to attack this kingdom, then he would be ‘open to alliances.’ This means that he would immediately establish an alliance with the other country.”

“But establishing alliances couldn't be that easy, right?” Ralf asked.

“It's actually pretty easy in this situation,” Mother Betha answered. “The Empire and the Kingdom of Ocrana has a long-standing feud with each other for the past century. If the Empire ever attacked us, then Ocrana would immediately come to our aid since they know they would be the next target if Edria were to fall. The Empire is pretty famous for its expansionist doctrine. Conversely, if Ocrana attacked us, the Empire would come to our aid in order to have an excuse to conquer their rival kingdom, and claim ours while they're at it.”

The situation between our neighbors is so complicated, but what else did I expect? We're talking about politics here. But more importantly, the discussion had given me some insight about the general situation should I ever need to flee with Mom in case I get outed as an Ascendant in the future.

I looked at the map and saw several other countries that Mother Betha hadn't mentioned yet. I raised my hand to ask the old woman about them. I didn't know the general level of education around here, but I was getting the feeling that Mother Betha knew more than the usual person, and this may be a rare chance to discover more information about this world.

“Yes, Brogen? You have a question?”

“I was wondering about those other nations you haven't mentioned. Do you have any information about them?”

“Ah yes, I was about to mention those. Information regarding those nations is scarce given the large distance between our country and theirs, but I do know some general knowledge about them.”

Mother Betha first pointed to the large territory north of the Empire, separated by the Western Belt. “The large nation here is the Hegemony of Vaspolia. Their territory is composed mostly of deserts and they're infamous for their extensive usage and selling of slaves, especially in the black markets.”

I felt a tinge of anger at the mention of slaves. I knew that the possibility of slavery was high in this medieval world, but getting an affirmation still infuriated me. I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything about it, so the only thing I could hope for was to never witness it first-hand. A bit hypocritical of me, but it's not like I'm a saint or anything. Abolishing slavery is a tremendous undertaking for one man, and even back on modern Earth, where it was universally abhorred, slavery still existed.

“How could they do that?! That's horrible!” Maly exclaimed. Liz and Ralf also nodded in agreement.

“That is true, Maly,” Mother Betha said with a serious look. “But attempts to abolish it so far have been unsuccessful. Vaspolia is the last place on Gigas where slavery is still legal, but there's no chance that they will ever let go of it. Their entire nation functions through the work of slaves, and Vaspolia will practically collapse overnight if their slaves were taken from them.”

Alright, Vaspolia is definitely out from my list of possible countries to flee to. I just realized that I was super lucky that I did not reincarnate in that blasted nation. If I reincarnated as a slave there, I would not hesitate to kill myself the moment I could.

Mother Betha then pointed her finger to the massive forest northeast of the Kingdom of Ocrana. “The large forest right here is the nation of Ylvengard, the home of the elves. Nobody really knows much about what lies inside since the elves are extremely protective of their forest and turn away most outsiders.”

My eyes widened at the mention of the pointy-eared race of fantasy creatures. Wow, this is the first time I've heard somebody mention the existence of a race other than humans. Really drives the point home that this world is way more different than Earth.

“The group of small nations to the north are called ‘The Free States.’ They're basically a union of countries that banded together to stave off any attack from Vaspolia. Although their military might is considered the weakest in the continent, they have the richest and most talented merchants. The Free States possess more riches than any single country in Gigas.”

“Even the Empire?!” Maly asked incredulously.

“Yes, although only by a small margin and only if the riches of each country in the union is combined.”

“That's still impressive,” Ralf muttered.

“Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Fjellheim to the east is the home of the dwarves. They mainly live under their mountain fortresses and create the strongest weapons in the world, although they rarely sell them to foreign countries. And last, but certainly not the least.”

Mother Betha pointed to the nation at the northeast corner of the continent with a bit more enthusiasm.

“The Theocracy of Zurath, ruled by the Church of the Holy Mother.”

“Woooah, the Church has its own nation?” Maly asked with amazement.

Mother Betha chuckled as she spoke with just a bit more pride in her voice. “Why yes, and it is even famous for being the most peaceful nation in Gigas. The place is run by priests who swore Oaths to serve the people and protected by Templars.”

My interest was piqued by Mother Betha's words. If everything she said was true, then Zurath would be the best place I could go to if I ever found myself on the run. I highly doubted that Zurath was completely a paradise Mother Betha was making out to be, but there was no such thing as a perfect country. It would have to do. The only problem is the distance.

I didn't know if Mother Betha's map was drawn to scale, but it was still obvious that Edria and Zurath were at least hundreds of kilometers away. I don't even know how large the continent is. Well, that's a problem for future me.

Mother Betha clapped her hands once to gather our attention. “Well, that will be the end of our discussion for today. Questions?”

Wow, that was a pretty fast discussion.

I raised my hand and asked my question after Mother Betha acknowledged me. “How about the leftover territories that aren't under any nation's borders? Who do they belong to?”

“It doesn't belong to any nation,” Mother Betha answered. “At least not yet. Those areas not claimed by any country contain independent city-states or small villages that are run by themselves. Unlike the Empire or the Hegemony, the countries on the eastern side of the continent aren't that hungry for conquering territories, which resulted in large areas of unclaimed land. We call these areas as ‘No Man's Land.’”

That was just the thing that I was looking for. No government to hunt me down, no bounty to encourage neighbors to report me, and the freedom to do whatever the hell I want. Forget Zurath, all I had to do to escape prosecution was to go to No Man's Land.

“As a result of the absence of any law or governing body over No Man's Land,” Mother Betha continued, “most bandits and warlords often make their bases around those parts, which makes it very risky to live there.”

Well, there goes my plan. Looks like the only sure thing I could do to avoid getting captured is to get stronger.

Although my level of power right now was nowhere near useful to protect myself and Mom, the past few years of training had been very fruitful. If I kept up the pace, I was confident that I would get the power I needed by the time I was old enough to work.

“Does anybody have any more questions?” Mother Betha asked the class. When nobody raised their hands, the pastor nodded in satisfaction.

“Then that will be all for today. If some of you are going to visit Terric or Garin, then you might as well share with them what you learned today so we don't have to repeat it next meeting. Alright, class dismissed.”

We thanked the old woman as she exited the room, then Maly turned to us with an excited smile on her face. “Let's go visit Terric!”

I looked over to the other two kids with me to see their responses.

“Hmm, I don't have any more chores to do, so I might as well give Terric a visit,” answered Ralf.

“It's fine by me,” Liz said.

I wanted to spend more time with my newfound friends, but I can't just leave without letting Mom know first. “I'm gonna go ask Mom for permission first, I'll be right back!” I shouted as I ran towards the chapel's garden.

“Alright!” Maly echoed behind me.

●●●

“You can go, sweetie. Have fun!” Mom answered me as she watered the plants with a watering can.

“You sure you don't need my help?” I asked Mom while handing her a bucket of water so she didn't have to walk over to the well to refill her watering can.

“I'm almost done here anyway, so you just go and have some fun with your friends,” Mom said with a cheerful smile.

“Alright. thanks, Mom!”

“Just make sure to be back before sunset, okay?”

“Okay!”

“Do you know the way back home?”

…As a matter of fact, I did not.

My pause must've clued Mom in to my predicament. “Do you know the way back to the chapel?”

“Yes, but I don't know the way back to the house,” I answered with a sheepish smile.

“Then just head back here when you're done. I'll be waiting here with the nuns.”

“Got it, thanks again, Mom!”

“Be careful!” Mom shouted behind me as she watched me with a bit of concern and happiness.

This would be the first time I went to a friend's home in this world, and I was excited.

●●●

“Is this Terric's house?” I asked with just a hint of awe in my voice.

“Yup, we gather here all the time when we play and stuff!” Maly answered as she guided us to a large house.

Before me lay a two-story house that looked way different than the humble abode that Mom and I had. The main difference was that this one was made of stone. Its walls were unpainted, but it was smoothed down, and lanterns hung on some areas to provide illumination in the night, though they were currently unlit at this time of the day.

“What did Terric's dad do for a living again?” I asked absentmindedly.

“His dad works as a knight who slays monsters over at the capital!” exclaimed Maly while swinging her arms around as if she was wielding a sword.

“Not really a knight,” Ralf clarified. “Terric's father works as one of the Exterminators, people who work under the government to cull the local monster population.”

“I thought that was the job of adventurers?” I asked. Mom once told me that adventurers were hired by people to do jobs like killing monsters and whatnot.

“Their jobs overlap, but the main difference is that exterminators are operated by the government while adventurers are independent.”

“Why did the government bother hiring exterminators if they could just hire adventurers? Sounds like a pain to manage,” I asked.

“Well, adventurers are more expensive since their fees fluctuate depending on the job, while exterminators are paid a fixed amount of wages by the kingdom,” Ralf answered.

Oh, so it was a matter of expenses. I guess adventurers charged more since their skills were more versatile, or maybe they were just money-grubbers. Anyway, who cares. I'm ignorant regarding this world's norms, so I'm not in any position to judge them.

“Enough chatter and let's go in already!” interrupted Maly and pulled us along. She knocked on the door and a moment later, Garin opened it.

“Oh, hey guys! I didn't know you would be visiting.”

“Of course we were, but unlike some people, we attended Mother Betha's class first,” Liz said with a condescending look.

“Bah, I could always attend next week. Anyway, come in! We already started the party a while ago.”

The four of us entered after Garin beckoned us in. We entered a large living room filled with rustic furniture, while the walls were decorated with hanging swords, shields, and other implements used in battle. Terric's father could supply Erfeld's entire militia with this amount of weapons…

As I took in my surroundings, Terric entered the room and greeted us cheerfully. “Wow, I didn't expect you guys to come. Everybody's in the dining room eating already.”

I could hear my stomach grumbling, so I didn't hesitate to follow Terric to where the food was. I could already hear chatter and laughter echoing from the dining room as we got closer.

When we entered, the first thing I saw was the long table in the center of the large room filled with an assortment of food laid out on top of it. I could recognize some of the food, but most of it was unfamiliar. Maybe those are food from the capital.

Seated in the chairs surrounding the table were people who were laughing and talking boisterously. I noticed that there were two distinct groups of people seated.

The first group was seated on one side of the table and was what I assumed to be Terric's family: a beautiful woman laughing while hugging the arm of what I assumed to be Terric's father, two kids who I assumed to be Terric's younger sisters, and a boy about the same age as me.

On the other side of the table was a group that I would likely describe as thugs. The large, burly men were drinking ale in large mugs and shared stories with the family. My eyes widened in amazement at the large, rippling muscles of the gruff-looking men. They were ripped.

Everyone's attention focused on us as we entered the room. Terric introduced us one by one. “More of my friends came over! Mother, father, you already know Liz and Maly.”

“Ah yes, I remember them when they were still wee little lasses,” Terric's dad said, who also looked ripped and was as large as the other men in the room. His face was decorated with a thick black beard, and a scar ran down his left cheek.

“Welcome, girls. Come, I hope you enjoy the small feast we prepared,” Terric's mom said. She had the same brown hair as Terric and spoke with a cheerful tone. “And who is the little one hiding at the back?”

The woman must've been referring to me. I wasn't actually hiding. I was just too small, so Liz ended up blocking me from view.

“This is Brogen!” Terric introduced me on my behalf. “He's a new kid at Sunday School, and guess what? His mother is the beautiful lady that works at the chapel!”

“Hi, nice to meet you, ma'am,” I greeted.

“Oh, isn't he so polite!” Terric's mom exclaimed.

“Already gathering followers, eh? That's good, a competent knight has plenty of loyal followers!” Terric's dad said with a loud voice.

Terric and Maly chuckled at that, and even Liz and Ralf were smiling a bit. Hey, I ain't nobody's follower! I'm a free man!

“He's just my friend, father. Although I wouldn't deny Brogen if he volunteered to be my follower in the future,” Terric said while winking in my direction.

“Sorry, but I have no intention of being your follower, Terric,” I said calmly.

The rest of the people in the room broke out in laughter. Sorry Terric, although I respect your dream of becoming a knight, I prefer if you leave me out of it.

Fortunately, Terric didn't take it too seriously and also laughed with them.

After that, the rest of us joined the feast. It turned out that the group of men were members of the exterminator team that Terric's dad, Carson Bluit, was a part of. They were wishing Carson farewell since he was retiring as an exterminator.

When all of us were finally done with our meals, Maly requested Terric's dad to demonstrate some of his ‘monster-slaying skills.’ Carson found it cute and obliged.

Which led us to the Bluit family's backyard. A boulder as tall as Carson was propped up, and the man himself was standing right in front of it. The rest of us were standing by near the house, a fair distance away to avoid any accidents.

Carson's teammates were cheering him on and calling him a show-off, while us kids were looking on excitedly. This is the first time I'm going to see a warrior in action!

I was excited to see what warriors were capable of in this world, although I was dubious about how strong they were given that they didn't have magic as mages did.

Carson gripped his mace tightly and with a loud “Hup!”, swung it towards the boulder. What happened next shocked me.

The front face of the boulder exploded from the impact, sending small chunks of rocks and clouds of dust everywhere. Thankfully, we were far enough that the rocks lost their momentum before reaching us.

When the dust cleared, we were greeted with a grinning Carson and a boulder missing a fourth of its original size.

“That. Was. Amaaazing!” Maly shouted excitedly.

The rest of us were also looking with shocked faces, while Carson's teammates were laughing at our expressions.

Terric faced us with a proud smile on his face. “Pretty impressive, right?”

“That is a big understatement,” I muttered.

I initially assumed that the warriors in this world were just normal humans who had no special powers. I mean, they had no magic, so that meant their bodies were normal, right? But the scene that just played out proved me wrong.

“How did he do that?” I asked Terric. “He can't do magic, right?”

“Well, technically, my father can and can't do magic,” Terric said.

“I don't get it.”

“The magic aptitude test checks whether you have the mana to become a mage, right?”

I nodded.

“Well, just because you have the mana doesn't mean you can become a mage,” Terric continued. “Most people who pass the magic aptitude test can't control their mana when it exits their body, which is what mages do to cast spells. So instead, they use that mana to strengthen their bodies permanently and train as warriors. From what father told me, controlling mana inside one's body is way easier than doing it outside.”

I nodded in understanding at Terric's explanation. So even if I couldn't cast magic, I could still use the growing mana I have to become a strength-based warrior.

“Then why don't mages also strengthen their bodies like warriors?” I asked.

The person who answered me wasn't Terric, but one of the exterminators standing nearby. “That's because strengthening the body permanently using mana makes it even harder to control magic outside the body.”

“Oh, so that's why. Thanks,” I said to the man.

“No worries, kid,” he said while ruffling my hair. It would have been a nice sensation if he tried to control his strength. Instead, it felt like the man was trying to rip my head off. Dude, chill!

After the harrowing experience, we returned to the house and ate some more, until it was finally time to go home.

“Bye guys! Thanks for stopping by!” said Terric.

“Be careful on your way home!” Nola, Terric's mom, said while waving goodbye.

“You can come by anytime!” Carson shouted.

Ralf, Liz, Maly, Garin, and I split up and waved goodbye before going home. As I walked back to the chapel, my mind was occupied by what I just learned. A warrior, huh…

Images of me breaking apart walls with my bare hands and tanking spells and arrows with my body popped up in my mind. That would be cool.

My mind wandered as I tried to decide whether to become a spell-casting mage or a rampaging warrior. A tough decision to make.