Chapter 2: Bullying

Now that I was starting to get used to this world, I had another goal. To speak the language of this world as if it was my mother tongue. However, to do that, I had to speak to other kinds of people. 

So I asked my parents if I could play with other kids. They seemed delighted by the idea, and before I could say anything else, I was holding my mother’s hand while she escorted me to the park at the center of the town. 

Usually, I didn't go out often from the house or from our large garden. Maybe it was why my parents and everyone else thought I was shy. That and the fact that I didn't talk much. 

Anyway, as I was walking together with my mother in the small streets, I couldn't help but ask her questions about the town. 

She told me that we lived in Tegralle in the Human kingdom of Dorell. It was a small town with around two thousand people residing in it. It was located in the east part of the Eastern continent. 

The other two Human kingdoms were Vifalm and Ledrack. 

They were located respectively in the northern and southern part of the Western continent. It seemed weird to me to be separated from other Human kingdoms to the point of being on an entirely different continent. 

“So are we far from the other kingdoms?” I asked while making a complicated face. 

“Yes, we are, but not to the point of not having any connection. We can exchange or travel by boat with them, especially by using the Strait of Nalle.” 

I really needed to look at a map as soon as possible.

As I pondered about my lack of information, we finally arrived at the park. 

A little wooden palisade separated the place from the rest of the town as to not let kids wander outside. As soon as I entered, I could hear the happy laughter of children all around me. It was a suitable place for kids to play, but to gather knowledge or to improve my language… not so much. 

There were at least twenty boys and girls running everywhere under the attentive look of their parents sitting nearby. Some were playing on a swing while others were playing ball games with each other. I could even see in the corner, a lonely child playing in a sandbox. 

This scene unfolding in front of my eyes felt really familiar. It was just like in my old world.

It was intriguing and disturbing at the same time.

While I was still lost in my thoughts, several older women suddenly approached us. 

Two, in fact.

One had long dark hair with eyes just as dark. She was quite young with a perfectly smooth white skin. As she approached with a beaming smile, her slim and curved silhouette made my mind waver a little.   

“Hello Seledia, it’s rare to see you here. Hello, Sillath. How are you?” 

I was a little taken aback by her sudden greeting. The more I looked at her, the more I was sure that I knew this woman, or at least, I was sure she already came to our house. 

“Say hello, sweetheart. This is our neighbor, Miss Amanda Finley” 

Under the encouragement from my mother, I greeted her with a shy smile. 

I couldn't blow my cover after all.

“H-Hello.” I stuttered. 

“Waaaaaa! He’s so cute!” 

The sudden shout made me jump a little by surprise. It didn't come from the dark hair beauty Amanda but from the blond woman next to her. 

She had long blond hair down her waist. She seemed a little older than Amanda and my mother, but her face was still quite beautiful, even if it didn't have the same mysterious glow as Amanda. 

“Can I hug him, Seledia?” She said in an excited and joyous tone. 

“Are you alright with that sweetheart?” 

“…” 

I remained silent, as I was clueless about how a normal child would act and respond.

After hesitating for a few seconds, I finally shyly nodded. In an instant, her imposing chest enveloped my head. 

Despite my struggle, I was being suffocated by her massive breasts. 

I will die at this pace. Well, I experienced a death worse than this one, but not as ridiculous.

After finally noticing my suffering, she loosened her embrace, allowing me to catch a breath of fresh air. 

After escaping from her deadly clutch, I still remained on guard as she seemed ready to try again at the next occasion.

“Sweetheart, go play a little with the other children.” 

The gentle voice of my mother helped me gather my thoughts after this traumatic and strangely pleasant experience. 

“Yes, mommy.” 

I quickly left for fear of being caught by this fierce blond beast once again. 

I looked around in search for some child who wouldn’t be a pain in the ass until a group of boys suddenly caught my attention. There were five of them, and they all looked much older than the other kids.

Thinking that I would at least be able to talk normally with them, I approached the one who looked like their leader. 

It was a kid no more than ten years old with blonde hair that shone under the sunlight. Even I could tell he was handsome. His blue eyes were filled with intelligence while his teeth were white and perfectly in place. 

Good, this one will do.

As he was talking with his friends, I approached unnoticed until I opened my mouth. 

“Hello, my name is Sillath. Nice to catch you.”

Crap, I misspoke. 

They all looked in my direction and suddenly burst into laughter in response to my pathetic self-introduction.

I immediately realized my mistake while resisting the urge to facepalm and curse at their childish reaction. I felt my face becoming redder with each passing moment. 

They’re just kids, don’t take it to heart.

I kept repeating this sentence in my head while tightening my fists and resisting the urge to teach them a lesson.

However, they didn't stop.

They kept laughing while pointing at my face with their small fingers.

The shame slowly made room for anger as I unconsciously took a step toward them.

Finally, they stopped laughing and looked at me.

I was sure that they could tell that the little boy in front of them was angry. 

However, in the end, I was just a brat half their age. 

The stupid and confident smiles on their face didn't change.

Looking at their smiles, it reminded me of the old geezer and his annoying smile, but it also reminded me of the promise I made that time when I left everything behind me. 

I loosened my fists and stopped my approach toward them. 

What the hell was wrong with me?

I promised in Jordan's name that I would become more than just a brute, but I was still resisting the urge to punch some kids.

I realized that I haven’t changed that much after all.

“I recognize you.” The blond hair boy suddenly spoke with a huge grin on his childish face.

I quickly looked up to face him. 

“You’re that retarded boy!” 

The four other boys looked at me, and once again, laughed to their heart's content. 

“You mean the boy who can’t even speak properly!” One of the boys said. 

“Look at his face, I’m sure it’s him. He looks so stupid.” 

“He can’t even say his name properly!” 

They were loud and soon nearly all the children in the park were coming to see what was going on. They formed a circle around me throwing insults and mockery, joining in on the ‘fun’.   

I didn't really care about the words from a bunch of children. However, this scene still reminded me about unpleasant memories of my past when I was compared to Jordan. 

My plan was a total failure.

I didn't want to lose time with children too young, but I should have known that there was no way older children would be interested in me, other than to make fun of me.

Just like I did so much in the past.

I escaped their circle as soon as I could and ran to the front gates of the park.

My mother was still happily talking with the other parents and didn't seem to have noticed our small commotion.

I didn't want to worry her, so I hesitated a few seconds, but seeing the children heading my way, I quickly chose to leave the park until everything calmed down.

The memories of my past life were surging without control. I wasn't in the mood to confront those little twerps.

I only ran a short moment before stopping and sitting against a tree to catch my breath. 

Even if the roles were reversed compared to my previous life, I didn't understand why I was feeling so bad because of this child's quarrel.

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Like flashes, memories I thought forgotten quickly appeared in my mind.

I didn't know if this was a secondary effect of my reincarnation, but those scenes in my head were extremely realistic and brought along a strong wave of foreign emotions.

I couldn’t repress sadness and shame building up in my heart as images of Jordan and the abuses I made him suffer continued to flow without end as if to accuse me.

This forced reminiscence was suddenly interrupted when I felt two gentle hands grasping me under my arms. I recognized the sweet fragrance immediately and didn’t even have to look at her face to know who it was. 

Before I could react, she gently buried my face into her neck. 

“What happened sweetheart?”

Her voice was gentle, but I was sure that her eyes promised doom for whoever she caught responsible for the grief of her precious child. 

“Nothing, mom. I’m okay. Can we stay like this for a bit longer?” I asked. 

“Of course, sweetheart.” She gently replied. 

She sat on the ground with my small body in her arms. The uncontrollable emotions brought by the visions slowly disappeared under the warmth of her embrace.

Despite being an adult in mind, I curiously felt no shame while being enveloped in the arms of my loving mother.

I couldn't remember if my mom in my old world ever held me like that. It was surely the case, but as I thought about her I could only remember her look of resentment and her atrocious screams after Jordan's death. 

I wanted to have other memories. 

Not painful or filled with regrets. 

I wanted happy memories. The ones that could bring a smile to your face without realizing it. 

At this moment, I understood that I didn't want to waste this chance. 

I didn't want to seek power or adventure in this world. 

I didn't want to fight anymore. I already fought too much in my previous life and each day reminded me of the painful result. 

In this life, I just wanted to enjoy the precious moments I spent with my new family. 

———————————————————————————— 

Just as I feared, my mother was ready to raze the entire town to the ground to find the culprit for my sudden run.

I could have sworn I glimpsed her blue eyes turning red from anger.

Not that it was possible, of course.

Despise my refusal to tell her the reasons for this incident, she didn't drop the matter.

It seemed that after we went back home together, she went to talk with the other mothers and deduced what had happened for the most part.

The night of the incident, I heard my mother’s furious voice coming from downstairs while I was in bed. 

My dad was also quite angry. 

I could understand why. 

His shy son made an effort to meet other people only to be met with mocking laughs. I didn’t quite hear what was being discussed, but I was sure that I didn’t want to find out. 

———————————————————————————— 

It had been three days since that incident and the culprit was finally found. 

I was quite surprised seeing him in the house and even more surprised when I saw his mother; the ferocious blonde breast choker. They both officially apologized in an attempt to cool down the unquenchable fury of my mother.

Even the arrogant kid could see that she wasn’t someone to upset. I found out that his name was Julian, not that I cared. 

After their departure, my parents asked me if I still wanted to go back to the park. 

I didn’t have anything more to do there as I understood that it would be difficult to improve my language in this place. 

The kid may have apologized, but that didn’t mean that he would willingly speak to me. He was their leader so I was sure that it would probably be the same for the other children.

I was ready to answer that I would prefer to stay in the house but, after taking a look at their faces, my words stayed stuck in my throat.

The hint of worry along with their slight smiles filled with hope made me hesitate. After a few seconds of internal struggle, I finally answered with a firm voice. 

“Yes, let’s go back.”

In the end, I couldn’t resist their pleading looks. 

Thinking that I would have to return regularly to a kid's park without any benefit made me want to sigh in helplessness.

I returned to the park the next day and, as expected, I was totally ignored except for the various chuckles following me as I entered. 

With my reputation, it wasn't so surprising since I was just seen as a retarded kid with a crazy and dangerous mother.

I resigned myself to loneliness until I saw a little girl playing alone in the sandbox. She was also there on her own the other day.

After some thoughts, I decided to approach her.

The social outcasts should stick together after all.

When I was close enough, I spoke carefully as to not give any bad impressions. 

“Hello, my name is Sillath. Nice to meet you.” 

This time it was perfect. I practiced a lot after all.

However, I received no answer. 

She didn’t even take a glance in my direction. 

This girl… Was she ignoring me? 

“D-Do you mind if I play with you?” I asked, my voice a little bit louder. 

The girl simply nodded. 

The smile on my face stiffened while I sat down next to her, trying to partake in whatever she was doing. 

“May I ask what is your name? If you don’t mind telling me.” 

I received no response yet again, so I tried to continue asking until she suddenly turned her head to face me and answered in a whisper. 

“Gaya.”

She had electric blue eyes, making a great contrast with her smooth and white skin. She was just a child, but her face was already very beautiful. Her white cap was covering her hair almost completely, but I could still see some locks of black hair. 

After her brief introduction was over, she just continued to play with the sand on her own.

"I'm Sillath."

"I know." 

I was a little surprised that she reacted to my name. Probably because she saw it on my face, she continued with the same shy and indifferent voice while playing with the sand in front of her.

"You're the retarded kid!"

"..."

A direct hit.

Didn't see that one coming.

It seemed that I was preceded by my reputation.

This innocent and shy girl had a sharper tongue than what I initially thought.

Apparently not minding the fact that she was insulting me directly to my face, she continued to play in silence.

I felt a vein popping after I saw her indifferent expression.

Forcing myself to stay composed, I kept thinking that she didn’t necessarily hate me.

Maybe she was just a really shy child.

Maybe.

Probably.

Hopefully...

———————————————————————————— 

During several months, I spent nearly all my afternoon in this sandbox with this strange girl I barely knew anything about. 

At first, I believed she just wanted me to leave, but when I asked her, she said she didn’t mind. She was excessively shy, but at least answered when I talked to her. 

The majority of the children seemed to have gotten tired of making fun of me and eventually left me alone. 

Except for the group of five I spoke the first day. 

I was sure they wanted to skip to the next stage of bullying. 

One day, they tried to hurt me while my mom’s attention was focused elsewhere. One of Julian’s minions tried to punch me when I was playing with Gaya. However, I spotted him and instantly understood his intentions. 

I easily evaded and intended to continue until he got tired of my constant dodging, but to my surprise, Gaya let out a loud scream that instantly alerted my mother. 

She rushed toward us in the blink of an eye before quickly embracing me with one arm. She then gave a murderous gaze toward the poor child who still had his fist raised.

If not for the other mothers around to calm her, I was sure she would have utterly pulverized him. 

After cooling down, she gently placed one hand on Gaya’s head to gently calm her. 

The other kid was severely scolded by his own mother, but he didn't seem to even hear what she was telling him. His legs were still shaking and his white pants seemed to have changed color.

I felt a little guilty seeing him wet his pants in fear despite his constant nagging.

The kid's aggression wasn't a big deal at all for me. It would be weird if it was the case as I spent several years living only for fighting. However, the reaction of my mother was still slightly scary. 

She reminded me of a fierce lioness protecting her precious cub. Also, her speed was clearly abnormal. That and the fact that she was quite a good adept at magic, made me completely sure that the stories my father told me about her were not entirely fiction.

After this incident, the five bullies learned that the next stage of bullying was impossible, so they continued to insult me behind the back of my mother. 

However, I didn’t care in the slightest and I simply ignored their pointless abuse. 

After this incident, Gaya began to speak more often with me. Our little daily chats helped me improve my language gradually. Speaking was the best way to learn a language after all. 

As I began to become more confident while speaking, I asked my parents if I could learn to read. There were quite a few books in the house that I wanted to read by all means. One of them was about the animals of this world. I already spent a lot of time in front of this massive book, but I wanted to do something else than just look at the illustration. 

However, my mother shook her head before telling me that I had to wait a little more. 

Apparently, children learn to read and write when they turn five years old and enter Primary school. 

I was tired of waiting and I was also quite confident in my ability to learn quickly. I already learned to read in my previous world after all. I was confident in myself about that, but I wasn't completely sure of my ability either. 

If I learned to write and read as fast as I learned to speak then I was doomed.

My nickname would become permanent.

Therefore, I used my ultimate ‘puppy eye technique’ on my mother. 

Her gentle gaze froze in front of my pleading look. She seemed to fight internally but, after a few seconds of mental struggle, she smiled at me before agreeing to my request. 

As expected, she may be a scary warrior but she just couldn't resist me. 

I spent the rest of my time with my mother as she tried to teach me how to read and write while I spent the rest of my free time playing with Gaya. 

This calm lifestyle continued until the day of the ‘Elementary test’.