Dust

My memory of my early years is a bit hazy… Probably for protection purposes.

My mother, Hana, is the strongest sorceress in the kingdom, although there are some people who say she’s probably the strongest human sorceress. On a personal level, she’s my overly loving parent, who’s willing to go to great lengths to take pictures of me, including developing the magic to save scenes into her mana by herself, on impulse, because she wanted to be able to see my baby form at any time.

My father, Darius, is the strongest human fighter. He’s basically made for my mother, and he’s an idiot. When he’s not fighting, I’d say 90% of his mental capacity is focused on admiring and loving me and my mother.

As nice as they are, sometimes it’s a bit embarrassing when your mother uses a unique spell to take pictures of you and then run off giggling like a schoolgirl.

I swear to god if I was in danger, she’d destroy kingdoms to help me out.

With those parents, you can only imagine how hectic my life would be, but it seems that they’re cursed with bad luck, as well. As the strongest people in the kingdom, rumored to be in the whole human population, they had tons of enemies that had to find ways to bring them down without fighting them.

One thing I do remember from my childhood is one of those times. This one was particularly bad.

Specifically, we were accused of stealing the Queen’s pendant, which is worth a castle or three, since it’s encrusted with high-grade mana crystals, instead of diamonds.

At the time, I was 1 year old.

“Hana, Darius, for your crimes of stealing my pendant, you’re sentenced to death.”

Now, at a year old, most children wouldn’t even be able to think of the fact that it seemed off. For once, though, I could consider myself to be odd in a good way.

“Your majesty, I believe your sentence is misplaced!” I yelled out, standing up from where I was seated on the floor.

It was exceptionally tiring to stay standing. I’d have to get this over with quickly.

“I believe that my parents are being framed for taking that pendant,” I stated my claim. I ignored the camera shutter sound from my side.

“And why would that be? Other than you saying that you didn’t see them steal the pendant.” The second part was added with a bit of a sarcastic tone.

“Well, obviously my parents have lots of enemies, so I wouldn’t consider it to be too much of a stretch for somebody to frame them for something like this. I mean, death penalty? Isn’t that a dream come true to whoever’s the second most powerful? They suddenly have the position of the number one.”

The hall was silent.

Except for the rapid fire camera clicking. I don’t think my mother was paying attention to my words anymore.

“So, I’ll say it again. I think somebody framed my parents, and I’d like another investigation into whether or not they really stole the pendant.”

I steeled my voice, hoping no argument would be raised against me, as I had no defense.

Please don’t disagree… please don’t disagree… please don’t disagree…

“Do you have any proof against your parents stealing the pendant?”

My mind went wild, running through every scenario of what I could say and the counter arguments.

The main problem was that I had very little reasoning as to why anyone would give up the pendant, even if it meant they became number one.

The pendant was worth multiple castles. There’s no reason to give it up just to become number one.

“Wait, did your pendant have any distinguishing marks? Something that wouldn’t be noticed without a careful inspection?”

The thought hit me like a freight train, and the smile on my face showed it.

“Hmm? Well, I suppose there was a crystal that had red roots, compared to the rest of them being blue…” The Queen seemed confused, but my smile only got wider.

“And is it on that pendant?”

I could see the gears in her mind turning. She immediately put her focus onto the mana crystals.

She carefully looked at each and every one. I sat down, tired both mentally and physically.

It took a minute, but finally, there was a little ray of hope.

“I can’t find it.” She muttered.

“So, my question is, is that really your pendant? Is the pendant found in my family’s possession yours?” While I said this, something crept into my mind.

A sliver of concern.

Something’s not quite right.

The pendant, given to my parents. It was to send them to the gallows, right? So the next in line could get the glory of being called the strongest…

But that means there’s only one suspect, right?

What if it wasn’t him? What if somebody else did all this?

Then, what was their plan for gifting this fake to my parents?

Something’s about to happen.

“Mother, what types of shielding spells can you do?” I quietly whispered, knowing that she was paying attention.

I can cast any spell you want me to, sweetie!

Telepathy too, huh? Interesting. I want you to prepare a shield that can stop an explosion that could destroy this castle.

That strong? I’ll try…

Even my mother seemed doubtful, but I could feel the air begin to move as she gathered mana.

“Your majesty, drop that pendant.” My voice was shaking as pieces fell into place in my mind.

High-grade mana crystals. Sure, it’s for accuracy to the original pendant, but they could have easily used lower grade crystals and shined them to make them look just like it.

Without a probing into it, nobody would notice the difference.

But those were most definitely high grade. I could feel… sense the mana in them? They held enormous amounts.

Danger

My mind whispered, a voice like a snake, chuckling at what was about to happen.

“Your majesty, quickly.” My voice was urgent, seeing as how she wasn’t doing anything.

No, she couldn’t do anything. There was something wrapping around her arms… nearly invisible, but certainly there.

“Mother, is the spell ready yet?” I asked, my mind going much faster than I could handle. I felt my body heat up.

“Not quite! Another few seconds!” Her voice was out loud. She had no mana to spare.

“Too slow!”

DANGER

Something in me shook, and I disappeared.

The pendant was full of mana. 56 high-grade mana crystals, each filled to the brim with mana.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

That was enough energy to power a city for a century.

But all of it was being used for a single, simple spell.

‘Blast.’

Nobody said it, but I heard the name of it.

My hands reached out, and the pendant came to me. The huge amounts of mana that my mother was building up streamed into me as if filling a bucket with a hole in the bottom.

‘Erase.’

And it disappeared.

DAN-

The warning signs in my head disappeared.

The pendant was gone.

And I was just so tired…

With that last thought, I fell asleep.

I’m not sure what happened after that. I’m sure somebody explained it to me, I remember something about me saving the queen and a reward… But still, the end result was that myself and my family ended up in the Castle, specifically in the royal quarters, until I was of age to go to school.

Which happened to be similar to Earth, in that the age was 5.

There were exceptions, though.

Either way, I ended up in the Castle. Throughout this time, I learned much and experienced much more.

At two years old, I ended up wandering through the castle, talking to people and looking through places that I probably shouldn’t have looked through.

For example, I went through the Courtyard. It was mostly a training area, the rest being a nice looking garden, mostly to decorate the walkway to get to The Tower, a huge 6 story spire that doesn’t seem to serve any purpose. I’ve never seen anyone go anywhere near it.

Anyway, when I happened upon the Courtyard, I was on the walkway. But there were some people training to my right.

They were wearing full plate armor, so it was difficult to tell who they were, but it would seem that one was a female, and the other was a male. The female was shorter than the male and much slimmer to boot.

I sat down, leaning against the wall, and continued watching them spar.

The man was going all out, slamming his sword down upon her as if he was trying to kill her.

But each of his strikes was deflected with a carefully placed sword.

Hmm… Isn’t that a super high-level skill, to be able to deflect each of those strikes like that? She shouldn’t be using much energy at all…

I looked down and found a small piece of broken stone. It looked similar to the last 3 inches of a sword.

I held it in my hands. It was lighter than it looked. Or perhaps I was stronger than I should have been.

Either way, I twirled it around in my fingers, continuing to watch the two fighting.

The woman was definitely much more skilled than the man. His movements were getting much slower.

His sword, with each stroke, got closer to the ground before he pulled it back up.

Then, it hit the ground, and he seemed unable to lift it again.

He must have been exhausted. All that swinging.

In the newborn silence, I could hear the woman’s voice.

“It’s still too early for you to face me.”

She waved her hand behind her and turned to walk away.

Right about here is where he picks the sword up and attacks again, right?

Much to my surprise, he did actually pick the sword back up and try for another attack.

The woman silently turned and began lifting her sword.

Suddenly, the man got much faster.

His sword slammed downwards with more force than when he started. The woman had no time to position her sword properly.

Edge to edge blocking. Here, strength would be all that matters. The strength of the sword, then the strength of the blow.

Both of the swords seem to be the same. So, the attacker, with that type of blow, would probably…

*Shiiiinnnggggggg*

The man’s sword sheared through the incorrectly positioned sword, taking the tip of it and sending it flying towards me.

In a second, my rock had been readjusted in my hand.

The next, it was rising to meet the sword piece.

The two clashed together, and the metal took a new trajectory, flinging the rock out of my hand.

Instead of piercing my forehead, the broken tip of the sword moved a few inches away.

I felt the soft skin of my cheek tear, the pain coming a second or two later.

The woman, who had her sword broken, had finished up the fight. In just the time it’d taken for the shard to hit the ground.

Damn, I lost focus at the most important part…

I guess if I didn’t, though, I probably would have died…

Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk. I guess I should go to my mother. I wonder if healing magic exists in this world?

I wiped away the blood that was dripping down my face with my sleeve before getting up and walking back towards the castle.

Later, I learned a few things.

First, the lady who had her sword broken came looking for me, to apologize, but I decided to let her pass by, as she didn’t know who had gotten hurt. I’d already been healed by that time, tying into the next point.

Second, healing magic does exist in this world, and it’s the only magic that my mother has trouble learning. That being said, she’s still pretty damn good at it.

Third, the swords they were using were actually created by apprentice blacksmiths, which is why the woman’s sword broke so easily. It was faulty, and already had some cracks in it. I suppose that she was teaching the man something about using bad swords and still being able to fight? Or maybe it was something else entirely.

I didn’t really feel like looking into the reason for the fight.

After all, it came to me, instead.

Honestly, Mother is simply too much at times. Her deductive reasoning is enough to become a personal spy, like really. I gave no information but how I got the cut, and she’s already gone and done this…

The scene in front of me was a blonde princess, looking to be in her teens, bowing to me, apologizing for my injury.

“Like I said, it’s fine… Mother, don’t torment her like this, please, it’s slightly embarrassing to have somebody like her bow to me.”

“No, really, I should apologize, I just really didn’t expect him to break the rules at the last moment, even though I should have, considering his personality and everything, but I didn’t and then he decided to use magic, and I wasn’t able to get my sword up in time and then, because of that, you ended up hurt…”

Does this woman even breathe!?

“Either way, my mother was kind enough to heal that small wound without much trouble. So, really, no need to apologize… Actually, please get up, I don’t want you bowing down like that either way. Hold yourself high to somebody of a lower social status, even when apologizing. There’s no need for a ninety-degree bow…”

She was, indeed, doing a 90-degree bow.

I sighed, taking a deep breath and sitting down on a nearby chair. It was tiring dealing with somebody stubborn. I can only imagine why this was why I had very few friends in my past life… I was the type to do this, too…

“Well, either way, why were you fighting somebody like that?”

I decided to start up a conversation. It’s rude to hold a conversation with your head bowed.

As expected, she lifted her head and returned to an upright position.

“Well, he was actually a wedding candidate, but I didn’t like his attitude, so I ended up arguing with him, and it turned into a duel before I knew it.”

“Aren’t you a bit too young to be married?”

I saw her face and realized my mistake. The age for marriage isn’t exactly the same in different worlds.

“But I’m already almost seventeen, you know?”

“Ah, I’m sorry, you just seem so much younger than that…”

I looked away in a futile attempt to hide my blush. Then again, I was only two years old, nobody would actually care. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t, though.

I heard a familiar shutter sound.

There was that…

Oh, how I dreaded these photos being shown to anybody else.

“What was that sound?” The princess looked around, confused.

“Don’t worry about it.” I sighed, putting my head into my hand.

There was a small silence, nobody really knowing what to say.

“So, is there something I could do to repay you for your wound?” The princess seemed a bit worried, still.

I stared at her for a second. Her eyes were facing towards me, glistening.

Too… too cute…

I felt a feeling like ice melting near my heart, dripping down towards my stomach. Quite an odd feeling.

I turned my eyes elsewhere, before doing so with my mind as well. I thought about her figure when she was fighting that potential groom.

For some reason, I felt a slight discomfort. I shook my head and looked back to the princess.

“How about you teach me swordplay?”

With that sentence, time, from then on, almost seemed to flow faster. The days rushed by, and special events became commonplace.

I was introduced to the princess’s sister, technically also a princess, who was my age. We spent a lot of my free time in the gardens, talking.

I learned a few of the mysteries of mana, such as the amount you have determined how quickly you mentally develop. That one, in particular, helped me quite a bit when it came to dealing with how I was capable of so much at such a young age.

That being said, the princess (younger) was a one in a million child, with mana storages easily comparing to my mother’s, who had spent her lifetime increasing hers.

Two years flew by, and I was four years old, sparring with somebody nearly five times my age, and quite close to three times my size.

My sword swung wildly through the air.

“Oh, I think I saw an actual attack in there!” My spar partner had an attitude.

“Bah, shut it, Ruby!” It was only fitting that I responded in time, continuing to rush forward with my blade.

Each attack was gracefully turned aside, very little wasted movements.

I smiled, still, as I was simply waiting for the time when I could begin my counterattack.

“Sloppy!”

Now…

With an exaggerated movement, Ruby dug her sword under mine and flicked it to the side.

I lifted my leg, and let the sword carry me, spinning around like a top.

Take the opponent’s attack, and use that power for your own. The basic theory of Revolution.

My blade was on the opposite side of her body in an instant, ready to slash through her abdomen.

“Is what you thought would happen, but I’m a bit faster than you,” Ruby smirked, having blocked my blade with her scabbard.

I sighed, letting my blade drop slowly to the ground, the tip embedding itself a little bit in the dusty earth.

“Just like the past few hundred sparring sessions, I lose.”

The tip of her sword was placed to the side of my neck. She slowly withdrew it.

“We haven’t had hundreds yet, but your words are probably predicting the future.” Ruby laughed.

“Are you trying to imply that I’ll lose the next few hundred matches, too?” I shook my fist at her like an old man yelling at the younger generation.

“Precisely.” She struck a smug pose.

“I hate the fact that I can’t refute it because it’s probably true…” I grit my teeth and fell to the ground in an orz position to lament my defeat.

After a few minutes of that act, we both congratulated each other and went on our way after discussing some of the finer points where we made mistakes.

At the very least, I was able to help her here because my eyes were better than my body. I could see gaps in her moves, but I knew there was no way I would be able to get into them, so I would then tell her about those gaps without being able to act upon them.

Sparring was good for both of us, in many ways.

Develop skills, technique, stamina, and relations all at once.

Good friends are the ones who can beat each other up and calmly have a cup of tea together just afterward.

“Here, a towel.”

“Ah, thank you, Luna. Helpful as always.” I thanked the tiny princess.

Her smile was adorable. As a reincarnator, I still had the mind of my previous self, but I also had the mind that suited my body.

...It’s difficult to explain. Basically, I could appreciate both of my romantic interests while only having the body for one. Complicated thought processes usually started here, but sometimes it’s better not to question things and simply accept them. I’d rather not consider myself a pedophile, after all.

Luna had gone off to give her sister a towel as well, while I draped mine around my neck, wiping the sweat off my face with one of the ends.

I stared up at the sky, tracing the outlines of the clouds with my eyes.

Back then, I remember thinking about how much longer I would be able to continue the lifestyle I was living, before thinking about where my other pieces might be.