Prologue       

My name is Ichitami Takigashi. I'm a Japanese man born and raised in New York, Brooklyn and I am thirty-two years old. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a big birth mark on my neck. I was currently wearing dirty white shirt, black sweater, and black pants.  

My mom and Dad died in a car crash a week ago. I also have heavy mental problems. I have been living in my car for the past few days, and I was going to ask my ex if I could live with her. Sure, she barely knew me after dating her for a couple of days, but I still needed a place to live, yet no one answered, and no one was at her place.  

I've just been a poor guy out here trying to survive. I’ve been trying to find a job, but no matter how many jobs I see, I wasn’t hired. I found a few jobs that were paid very poorly in my opinion, so I didn’t take the offer to work those jobs. I only had a bit of beef jerky this morning, and I'm still starving. It was raining and thundering outside in the night. 

I was in a convenience store, seeing if I could buy a snack. I looked in my pocket to see only two dollars' worth of coins. Damn, I said to myself as I clenched my hand that had the coins in it. 

I grabbed a bag of potato chips and went up to the checkout counter, where I placed it.  

"That will be four fifty," the cashier said. I placed down the two dollars. "Sir, that's two. I said four fifty." 

"Oh, cry me a river and take it. You're just missing an extra two and couple cents, so what?" I said as I was slowly getting frustrated. took the bag of chips and turned the other way.  

"Sir, if you take those, I’ll have to call the cops." 

I turned around and looked back at him again. "You’re going to call them for a bag of chips!?" I said as I got more frustrated. "You know what? Fine, take your stupid ass chips, you fatass." I threw them at his face, took my two dollars’ and walked out the door. 

The rain did not slow down, and it continued thundering. "Can’t just help someone that is dying of hunger over here." I scoffed. "Bastard." 

As I got to my car, I took out my keys, but before I could open it up, I looked at myself in the mirror, growing a small beard, and saw my dirty white shirt. "Hm, guess I do need a little cleanup." I opened up the car doors with the keys and got inside. 

The chair got a little wet, and the inside of the car was messy. Before I could start up the car, my head began to hurt. "Ah!" I said as I grabbed my head. I started hearing ringing. I opened my eyes, and I was starting to see things in blue.  

I was hearing a weird language that came from a woman and a man that was talking. "Ah, what the hell did I take..." I said as I had my eyes closed and I opened them again, and I saw the inside of a carriage. "Ah!" I blinked again, and my vision was back to normal, and the ringing was gone. 

I looked around, a little confused about what happened, but I calmed back down again. Guess I took some intense shit earlier. I shrugged it off and started up the car and backed up. 

                                                               *** 

A few minutes later, I was now driving on the road. Damn it... What can I do? Who would let me stay with them? I tried to think of someone who would let me live with them, but no one came to mind. I started to sigh. "I don't know anymore. I really don’t."  

I stopped at a red light and looked at a house window where I saw a happy family. I felt more anger and sadness.   

If only I had that. If only I kept that. While I'm out here lost. In the house, a boy looked out the window right at me, and I quickly looked away. It's been three days since she kicked me out.  

My ex was just some random girl I met on a dating site a few days ago named Camila Flay. I was just a guy trying to finally see what it's like to get a real girl for once, but that didn’t go well for me. I tried to ask other people I knew if I could live with them like friends of mine. Still, mainly my ex, my brother, and ex-friends said stuff like ‘I was a degenerate’ or ‘not welcome there.’ I was mainly thought of as an immature brat or perverted freak by my brother and others before he moved out, and another reason was that I didn’t respect our mom and Dad, but that was because they didn’t treat me equally, and he lost his respect for me.  

And I was already too late to ask my now ex-friends of mine if I could live with them since I ignored them often and left them on read and stuff.   

My life first started to go downhill when I was a kid in elementary school and high school due to bullying over my clumsy mistakes and the birthmarks and being just a total fatass. It wasn’t super bad bullying at elementary school, but high school was the worst. 

The younger brother I once had was three years old. He died by falling off the balcony of the house right on the cement ground.  I felt sad, of course, but I'm over it now. 

The rest of my life, I became a weeb and watched porn and became a drunk mess just staying in my room all day, only going outside fifteen or so times a year, and kept wasting my money on a bunch of light novels, snacks and more.  

I turned right into the highway once the light turned green. I'm not that bad; why didn’t she just let me live there for a day? Sure, I was only a little mad and a little dirty, but it seriously had to have been when I heard my parents died. I mean, it's not that hard to understand. I should’ve known having a girlfriend was a bad idea, and donating to a sperm bank years ago for money isn’t that bad. It's not like I had sex with someone else; and it was before! I just needed money. 

I was robbed of my money when I left my door unlocked one night. Now, I barely eat. They didn't steal my guitar and light novels despite that, so I see that as a small win. I enjoyed playing guitar then and there. I got it a year ago, and it was just lying outside the sidewalk. I thought of selling both of them because I was more than starving at this point.   

I took a deep breath to relax and looked at my empty wallet on the seat beside me for a split second. 

I yawned as I looked back at the front window. Then, an amber alert was heard on the car radio about a missing woman. "Does it look like I care for some lost chick? Jesus, turn that shit off. This is like the second or third amber alert this week," I said as I looked over at the volume to turned it down. I accidentally turned it up. "No, no! That isn’t it!" Then I heard the name Camila Flay. "Wait, who!?" I shouted as my eyes widen. 

I looked over in front as I heard a car honking. I saw the car nearly drive right into me, and I quickly turned the wheel. “Holy shit!" I looked back for a split second, and I felt adrenaline rush through me. I looked back at the radio as the alert stopped. "Wait, what, Camila? what even happened to her? And that was scary as shit, but not the time to think about what just happened."  

As I glanced ahead, the vehicles in front of me were driving backward as if they were in another lane. "The hell, why are they?" I suddenly realized something. "Wait hang on a minute... I'm on the wrong side! Was I really that unfocused? Shit, shit, shit, shit!"   

I heard the honking of a truck right in front of me, and I noticed at that moment that there was a truck right in front of me. "Wait, shit, shit, shit, slow the hell down! Can’t he see me!?"  

I pressed on the brakes and looked down at the gearstick. I tried to put it in reverse, but because I wasn’t calm, I kept putting the shift into the wrong gear. "Oh, come on, come on! dumbass, Put it in reverse!" 

I looked back in front of me, and the truck that continued to honk eventually crashed right on top of me. 

The cargo behind it fell behind a car, and about five other cars crashed into the truck and cargo. The crash didn’t look so bad to the other vehicles, but my car, on the other hand, was basically crushed like a pancake. 

people were screaming, and I opened my eyes to see some debris and the puddles in front of me. My body was lying on the car window and in half as it was smashed to the ground. The rain was getting a little bit stronger, and the puddle on me was turning red and smelled like metal, and it was coming from me. "Camila... I saw her that night... I swear..." I coughed up blood. I feel weak... I... Please... 

A few seconds later, sirens were heard. My weak head looked behind me to see the other half of my body crushed with a pool of blood coming out. I felt very bad pain and felt very tired.  

I couldn’t keep my eyes open. My vision was blurring as I heard people screaming and talking in front of me. I guess... No one can help me... No, come on, let me try a little longer... Camila... 

I heard people coming close to me. It was hard to tell how many there were when my vision was blurry. Hmph, who am I kidding? My whole life, I have just been a depressed nerd stuffed up in my room. I was probably gonna end it anyway, but this just feels painful. I probably don’t even care about Camila for who she is. This is probably my horny side, just wanting to be with her for her body, so I guess if I go, I won’t be causing more pain. Ha... I guess this is all right. "I'm sorry... " I closed my eyes as blood continued to flow out of me, and that's when I died. 

                                                                  *** 

As I died I started to see some orange, red and darkness and I "Wake up." I heard in a female voice. 

                                  Chapter 1: In Between 

I woke up in a dark void for what felt like a minute after I died. Ah!  

I looked around, feeling confused and still shocked after what happened. I... What just... I'm, okay? 

I had to make sure my body was still intact, and I realized something didn’t make sense. I couldn’t feel any part of my body, even my hands; it wasn’t painful, but I couldn’t feel any part of me. The place I was in was dark, and I saw no light source. 

Wait... Where is my body? Huh!? I was even more confused and shocked. It was like being a first-person video game character who couldn’t see his own body. I looked around the area.    

What the hell even is this place?  

I was perplexed; I didn’t know what was going on.  

All I knew was I was in a dark room, having no idea how big it was, and I couldn’t see my body.  

It's like I was only a pair of eyes. Am I in some dream, or is this some prank? Wait, but then what would explain what happened... Maybe a dream in a dream? I'm... So lost. I was thinking what it could’ve been, but I completely forgot. Hello! Anyone here!? I shouted as my voice didn't sound as clear.  

It sounded more like I was talking in my head, and nothing else was heard. Huh, that's weird. Do I even have a mouth? I looked around again.   

This place is interesting. It's just completely dark. Maybe I'm in a lucid dream? Hmm, I could test out trying to summon a harem. Cat girl harem... 

I started thinking of cat girls to appear right in front of me, but nothing popped up.  

Okay, damn it. Maybe this isn't a lucid dream. 

I was questioning what was happening. Okay, think for a minute. You were driving your car and got distracted from an amber alert, and then you almost crashed into that car, and you saw that truck in front of you, and the last thing you saw was a pool of blood and feeling a lot of pain, and some colors... That's it? 

I was still thinking what could've happened, and then I concluded something. Wait... I'm not dead... right? I let out a sigh. If that's the case, then I guess heaven and hell weren't a thing to begin with. At least silence and being alone is better than being in the real world. I wish I had a body right now. Wait a minute. If I'm dead and can't see or feel my body, then I must be a soul. That explains it. I'm just a flying glowing orb, probably." I looked around the area again.   

I probably am dead; I guess this is just my life for eternity. I mean, what can I do? I couldn’t do anything else but float in this void in this so-called soul form, but I still tried to admire the good side of things. Well, shit... It's fine, though. This is the freedom I wanted, and I think I'm gonna get used to this... 

As five seconds passed, a glowing figure appeared right before me. "Huh?"  

The glow slowly faded to reveal the figure, a beautiful woman in a white and yellow-looking robe.  

She looked gorgeous. She had white hair, and yellow eyes. Definitely someone my type. The woman smiled softly and started talking, "Apologies for being late. I tried summoning you after you died, but I guess it was delayed for some odd reason. " 

I was feeling confused but also admiring her cute appearance. 

"Oh, I forgot, sorry!" She exclaimed. She quickly snapped her fingers, and my body returned from top to bottom.  

I felt in control of my body, but it was very light and felt good, or like I had no problems with my body in general. I was also able to see my hands. I kind of looked like a ghost. 

"Thank god," I said as I looked at the palm of my hand. I looked back at her "I guess I say thank you." I said while scratching my head.  

"You're welcome. Now, let's focus on our discussion." She summoned two chairs facing each other, took a seat, and gestured for me to do the same. "Well, are you going to sit?"   

"Uh... Sure?" I walked over to the chair and sat on it.   

"Now, let's get into our discussion."  

"Uh, wait. I'm... dead, right?"  

"Well, I guess I didn't have to explain that and watch you freak out, but yes, you're deceased from your world."  

"...Thought so." I looked at her top to bottom. Huh, I can't help but wonder why she's here. She seems to have some strange abilities, such as summoning chairs and making my soul have a body again, except it looks see-through. Could she be more than just a random dead woman? 

"I am a goddess to answer your question." 

I was shocked not at the fact she was a real goddess, just the fact she read my damn mind. Holy shit. Did she hear what I said in my head? If she can see that, then... Here is what was going on in my head. I was thinking of her in a swimsuit or her as a cat girl, and in a swimsuit. 

I was embarrassed, but I was also worried that she could go deeper in my head and find all the stuff I have been doing my whole life If she's a goddess, what could she do to me if she knew my every thought? Everything I have done. Could I go to hell? I pondered. 

Maria sighs. "Listen." She said. "I don't care what things you have done, and can you stop thinking about me looking like that if you don't mind?"  

 "Oh right, okay, okay, sorry," I said as I stopped pondering 

"Right... So, my feelings about you are not determined by your actions. However, it does depend on what it is, and me with cat ears or a revealing outfit like that isn't something I like, but it doesn't change what I do to you, basically." 

I was still embarrassed since she knew everything in my head; I always kept a bunch of those things to myself, of course. I took a deep breath. I was hoping she wouldn’t mention all my thoughts. 

 "Sorry about that. Can we move past that, please?"  

"Yes, but there's still a bunch of other things we’ll have to discuss."   

"Oh... But hey, if you don’t mind me asking, what is this place?" I scratched my head as I said my question, even though there was nothing to scratch. 

"I was just about to get to that. Let me introduce myself. I am Maria, the goddess of the in-between, which is the place we are in currently. This is where souls go once they die." 

I looked down at the ground and thought for a second and pondered, "Souls go when they die, huh?" I muttered. I then faced her again. "What is this place in-between, though, like the real world or what?" 

"Oh no, the real world is actually outside the in-between. This world is actually in between the gates of hell and heaven, which is where the name came from."  

I sighed as Maria said that, "Oh... So, that does exist... Let me guess. You're here to tell me whether I go to hell or heaven. Are you?" I already knew I was going to hell. 

"I can tell you thought that, and yes, you have no spot in heaven, unfortunately, but—"  

I stood up from the chair, my fist clenched beside me. "To shit with that! I mean, there is nothing I can do. I'm just wasting our time right now. There is no need for talking. I know what will happen." I didn’t want to go to hell, but I was smart enough not to fight or argue with a deity, so I just accepted my faith. 

"I can read you clearly, and obviously, you don’t want to go to the deep dark of hell." 

I sat back down on the chair and had my head down. "I mean, who would? It’s an endless pain and torture, right? I’ve already been in my own hell that just ended. All I wanted was to live happily, and all of this was on me for giving up so easily. If I could go back in time to change everything, I really would, so this shit would never have happened in the first place." 

"I know you would. But you didn’t let me finish talking." 

I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," I said with my hands on my face,   

“Don’t worry, it happens, and I understand your pain. You and I both know you have no spot in heaven, but there is a third option.”  

I lifted my face back up to face her. “What do you mean by that?”   

"Well, there might just be a little, little something called reincarnation"  

"Like coming back to life and stuff? Wait, hang on, pause for a second!" 

Maria cleared up her throat. "Ichitami Takigashi. I'm offering to give you another chance at life. A second chance." 

I was trying to process this because reincarnation was a fantasy dreamed of ever since my trash life and getting into novels and anime "Can you actually do that? Reincarnation!?" I said as I stood up. 

Maria gestured for me to sit back down as she chuckled. "Relax, relax, sit back down."   

"Oh, uh, sorry," I quickly sat back down on the chair. "So. Is it possible?"   

"Mhm. When mortals are sinners, they have two options," Maria held two fingers up. "To be reincarnated to change for the better." Maria puts one finger down. "Or they can still pick the option to just go to hell, of course, but a minimal amount does that." Maria puts her finger down. "And from what I can tell so far, you're definitely going to take the option of reincarnation, I bet." She chuckled. 

I thought of it for a second. "But... What if I still can’t do it? I mean, even if I know I could go to hell, I—" 

"Trust me, you’ll be fine," Maria said as she interrupted me. "Many think it's hard at first, but I promise it isn’t. All that matters is you being more kind to others and actually making a happy, growing life for yourself. Of course, not everything will end up being good; you may have your bad times here and there, but you’ll have to push through it and die a good and happy person in your last moments." 

"...So all I have to do is be a better person, that’s it? what if I have a harem, or I continue jerking off to porn here and there. No problem?"  

"Is that really the first—" Maria didn't finish her sentence and just sighed, "Yes, you can do that if you can, of course."   

I raised my hands in a cheering manner and said, "Yes..." I whispered.  

Maria facepalms, "Yeesh, your one perverted man-child."  

brought my hands back down and looked back at her again. "Okay, so all I have to do is be a kinder person and not be a pain in the ass. Got it. But wait, what's heaven all about anyways?"  

"Oh, just looking off into the sunset with your loved ones and having unlimited happiness so you won't lose your sanity or wish to get out. It does sound boring, but trust me, the unlimited happiness is worth it." I stayed quiet and felt a little hesitant about it. "I promise you it's worth all the time and effort. I would teleport you there just so you can get an example, but unfortunately, the higher-ups wouldn't allow me the last time I tried."  

I tilted my head because I was confused about what she meant by that. "Wait, so you're not, like, the main god?"  

Maria shook her head. "Nope. I'm simply here to just send souls to heaven or hell or reincarnation."  

"Huh, I wonder what they are like." Of course, I would be curious about who this main god was, but I didn't bother to think too much about it.   

Maria stayed quiet and just looked at me for several seconds as her smile faded. Then she shook her head and snapped back to reality with a small smile. "Uh, so you still want to go to hell?" 

I looked back at her, "Maria. I think I'll take the third option. I don't wanna be in endless torture in hell, and I do wanna have my own happiness up there. It's worth a shot, right?" I said with a small smile. 

"Great, let's get started." Maria grabbed my hands into hers. For a second, I thought she had a thing for me, and I had a small, smug face. "Don’t get the wrong idea."  

My smug face went away as she said that, "Well, what are you doing then anyways?"  

Maria took her hands off and sat straight on the chair again. "I was reading what world is most suitable for you to be reincarnated in." She summoned what looked like a book in her hands. 

I was confused. "Wait, Another world? I thought I would be summoned back to my world as a toddler as someone else."  

Maria looked back at me and said, "Well, yes, is that a problem?"  

"Nope! Just hoping I get isekai’d to the world I always wanted to be in..."   

"Haha. Well, of course, there are. It's basically infinite. After I had a feel for your energy when I had my hands out on yours, this book should now tell me what world is suitable for you."  

"Wait a minute, there are fantasy worlds, right? Like I'm talking sword and magic stuff like the anime and novels I've seen"  

Maria looked back up at me. "Hm? Well, I guess you could say there is magic, I guess. The laws work differently in other worlds even a little, so things that make sense in your world might not make sense in others. You understand what I'm saying?" 

Magic, exactly what I wanted to hear. I guess I get to live my dreams as an isekai protagonist. I really tried to hold my excitement in. 

Maria looked back at the book. "But I can’t guarantee you're going to be sent to the world of you so-called dream of. So, I suggest not getting too excited."   

"Right, right, don’t get too excited, got it." I took a deep breath as Maria looked at the book.   

"Man child..." she muttered.   

"What was that?" 

She ignored me, and she stopped flipping through it. "There. Here is a world for you." Suddenly, the book flipped all the way back to the first page. "Not again." Maria tried flipping all the way back to the page she was on, but the book kept going back. "Come on, stop being a pain." Maria kept trying to fight it, but she gave up.  

"Is... everything all right?" I asked as I looked at the book. 

Maria ignored me and pondered as she looked at the book. "Why again? In all my eons of living, this never happened. Other than..."   

"Uh, hello?" 

Maria stopped pondering and faced me, "Huh? Oh, right, sorry, I guess there is a bit of a bug, you could say. Uh, don’t worry. Your world is already selected, I guess," 

I thought something was a little weird with her, but I shrugged my shoulders. "Okay, well, what world am I being sent to anyway?"   

"Don’t really know anything about that world. there's only so little I can tell you. Either way, I couldn’t tell you if I knew anyway since you have to grow into that world and figure everything out yourself." 

"Can you at least give me a little something on how it's so bad?" Maria was thinking of what she could say. I really wanted to know as much as possible before I go to a whole ass another world 

"Okay, I can’t. Well... Yeah, I don’t know what to tell you, but I’ll keep an eye on you more than the others if that makes you feel better. Just curious myself on this." I didn’t know what to do, so it was just silent, with both of us thinking. 

"Are there any other options?" I asked.   

Maria shook her head. "I could try to talk to my lord, but low chance he will care, so I just put my trust in the book, and so does he."   

All I did was sigh. "So, it's still either hell or this, is it?" 

She nodded. 

I didn’t hesitate to speak, "Then I'm going to that world even if you won't give me enough information. I’ll try to get back on my feet if something goes wrong. I know it won’t be easy, but I wouldn’t dream of spending an eternity in hell."   

"I know you won’t, and according to the rules of this world, I have to offer you something along the way there."   

"Wait, you can do that?" I asked as I looked suprised. 

"Well, yes, I mean, I think that's the book is telling me to give you this. Anyways, standup" 

I was a little confused about why I should stand up, but I did anyway. Maria also stood up and snapped her fingers, and the chairs were gone.   

I looked back to where the chair once was and back at Maria. "Uh?" 

Maria put her hands out, and one orb was floating above her hand. One looked like a glowing white orb floating on her right hand, and her left hand had nothing. "On my right hand is the power of light, and on my left hand is nothing. You can pick either one of these on your journey in your new life." 

Now, I was completely shocked but also excited and confused. I mean, how can you not be shocked after hearing someone offering you power? 

"Wait, hang on, timeout, timeout really quick, you're giving me your godly power in the new life you're reincarnating me in?" I asked with disbelief. 

"Oh no, this isn’t my power."   

"Then who’s is it!?" 

"I'm not too sure exactly, but apparently, it's meant to come with you."   

"You stupid goddess, how do you not know!?" I said with a hint of frustration and confusion. 

"Rude." She said with a pouty expression.  

"Holy shit, this is going on fast. Okay, think for a minute, you are being offered some powers you have no knowledge of, or do you go on with nothing, hmm." I started muttering and thinking to myself as I shuffled in circles for ten minutes.   

Maria was watching me shuffle, and she took a deep breath. "Is it seriously that hard to pick?"   

I stopped and faced Maria. "Listen, I'm not some god or goddess like you; I'm just a, what do you call it? I'm a mortal, and I also have to worry about the fact I'm going to a whole other world with barely much info. Give me a break here."   

"Okay, okay, take all the time you need then." 

After five more minutes, I stopped and faced Maria with a positive look on my face. "All right, Maria, I'm ready."  

Maria sighed with relief. "Finally. What have you chosen?"  

"I pick the power of... Nothing... Nah, I'm just playing around."  

"So, light? Good choice. Okay, if you're so sure, then here you go."  Maria aimed her right hand at me, and the orb of light flew right into my chest. 

my astral form had a small glow. "Holy shit..." The light would then go away. "What?" I was confused because I didn’t look any different.   

"Oh, it doesn’t affect your astral form, so you’ll have to wait till you get reincarnated into the other world." I looked at my hands, and I was thinking what else to say. "So, is that it?"  

Maria nodded. "Mhm. whenever you're ready, I'll send you right over there."  

"Huh, so this is really it. This is where I start my adventure, my second chance. I know this won’t be easy, but I have to try. I'm still sad and pissed and angry and still have this trauma, but I'm not going to somewhere worse than the life I had. I'm gonna try my best and have my happy ending, hopefully. Or I’ll end up having a bad ending. Who knows?" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I opened them again. "Maria, I'm ready. To start my new life now and begin my journey."  

"Then I'll send you there right now. Are you sure you don’t have any more questions?"  

I shook my head. "Don’t get me wrong, I do, but I know you can’t answer them, so I’ll search for those answers myself."  

Maria nodded. "Very well, I’ll see you the next time you die. Good luck. And I hope you find those answers and have your ending."   

I closed my eyes. "I'm not sure what will happen, but I'm determined this time to find the life I want. All right, Maria. Send me there!" Maria snapped her fingers, and I was teleported away "Here goes... Till next time." 

I was teleported away, and it was just dark at first, and the last thing I heard was the same whisper: "Wake up…" 

                                    Chapter 2: Genesis 1 

I had my eyes closed. I felt moist and cloth around me; I was being what felt like I was in someone's arms. It felt cozy. Ugh, that trip over here felt weird." The weird thing is that I couldn’t feel my teeth, which was strange. Wait, hang on, where are my teeth? I questioned as I licked around my mouth. I looked to have been in a room that didn’t have much of a modern aesthetic; there were some candles lit. 

I heard voices; it was a man and two women. 

The woman who was on the bed had yellow eyes, black hair that was a bit short, a necklace holding a yellow stone, and a white robe. 

The other woman standing had the same hair color, and her hair was in a ponytail, green eyes, a green bra under her leather jacket, thigh-high black socks, and brown shoes. 

The man had blonde hair, dark blue eyes, a cowlick, a lace-up red vest over his white shirt, black pants, and brown shoes. 

I opened my eyes just to see some big breast in front of me. Holy, titties! Those things shine and are rounder than a metal ball, but they are definitely softer than one. I might have to have a feel for myself later. 

The three people talking sounded like they were talking a whole different language I didn’t know. What are these people even saying? Sounds like some gibberish. Maybe it is German? No, German sounds more different than this. It’s like German mixed with Spanish and Japanese." 

The other woman in the bed picked me up as she smiled at me. Oh, and cutie over here looks just as good, too. Actually, she looks cuter. 

She looked slightly mad at the other woman, like the woman who first picked me up had done something wrong. But what is even happening? 

The second girl who picked me up mentioned the name ‘Seris’. Their short argument stopped, and the woman who had me in her arms smiled softly. She is definitely happy to see me, though. Maybe I was teleported to a world where I have a harem. Oh boy, just having two or more rules! But who is blondie over here? He kind of looks like me, only a little bit. The man wiggled his finger right at my face. What the hell is this guy's problem? And why are they big? Was I reincarnated in a world of giants or a harem? I don’t have a fetish for giant people! That also doesn’t explain the dude, though. He’s not some guy I'm supposed to know, is he? 

I was freaked out, especially because his finger looked big, or the three of these people just looked big in general, not in a fat way, but like they were giants. 

The woman carrying me currently and the man talked to each other. The woman mentioned the name ‘Taren’, and the man said the name ‘Ria’. 

This is one nice blanket, but why am I so small? 

The man carried me into his arms as he smiled and said some stuff I couldn’t understand.  

Okay, that's it. Maybe I should use that light stuff on this guy if I can figure it out. I tried to punch the man, but my hands were too small to reach. My hands looked small in a weird way, and I didn’t have any clothes on other than this white cloth covering me. 

Then I came to a realization of something. No, I wasn't reincarnated with my own body, was I? Am I... reborn!? "Awawah!" I shouted. 

                                                               *** 

hours passed, and it was now the evening, which was now my bedtime; even though it still felt quite early, the house looked quite nice. 

It felt very homey, the woman who I thought was my mother carried me to my crib and sang a lullaby till I fell asleep.  

Just leave me alone already. Maybe if I just... I closed my eyes, and I made it look like I fell asleep. 

I waited till the woman left the room. She did so I opened my eyes and sat up. So I'm reincarnated as someone. Guess I had that right. But I thought I would be sent to a world with my normal body or as some light god, or whatever, but I'm actually reborn as I'm not sure, but I'm definitely human, but I don’t feel special in any way. right now, I'm just a baby. I guess those two earlier were my mom and Dad, and the other one was, I'm not sure, maybe a friend or some other family member of mine. It's just... 

I looked out the window. I can’t believe I'm starting my life back to zero. I'm not sure what kind of world this is, but from what I can tell, my father has a couple of swords, maybe for collection; what if this is an actual fantasy world? 

I gasped. Oh my god, I get to be an Isekai protagonist! Wait. Don’t get your hopes up, Ichitami. Maybe this is just a world randomly obsessed with swords. 

I looked closer out the window as I stood in the crib, and I saw two moons in the cloudy and starry sky, which looked so cool to me while the snow was falling from the sky. Wow, I can see colors and stars up there. I never saw that stuff in my life other than seeing them online. Topping it off with the snow is a chef’s kiss, the night skies I saw in the cities back in my world were mainly dark and nothing special because of how many city lights there were. 

I smiled and laid back on the bed. I was only imagining what new stuff could be out there waiting for me. This world probably has a lot in stock for me. I will probably lose my sanity without most of my valuables. Aw man, I forgot there was gonna be a new season of that one— damn it. I sighed. Wait, didn’t Maria say I would have the powers of a light god? Where is that crap? I feel normal as hell. Was I lied to? Hmm... Well, I really hope this is a fantasy world, so maybe I can go on awesome quests and do some cool stuff. Even if this is a fantasy world, it's not like I can go as a baby. Damn it. Well, I hope I this will go as I want. 

All I felt was my heart feeling heavy. I didn’t know if this would be a fun new life or just another world where I lose everything again. Second chance... This world was the first pick for a reason... I'll try. 

                                                               *** 

One month has passed since and it stopped snowing. I was still not too sure if this was a world that has magic. I thought maybe this was some normal medieval times world around, and outside, it looked like just a regular grassland with some trees.  

There's a forest a little out there from what I saw out the window, but it is mainly just grassland with a few trees over there, and the air here was so fresh. 

There wasn’t much electricity, so lighting was more dependent on the sun with the windows opened, candles, oil lamps, or even the hearth. There are a lot of bows and swords here, too, but I still don’t see anything magic-related. As I was looking out the window while I was on a chair. 

I saw Seris holding her bow as she was training her archery skills, and she’s always been hitting perfectly in the middle. Wow, that’s cool. I guess that explains the bows. If I were to guess, then Taren is the one who likes the swords. Now, I did figure out my name, and it was Tenshin, Tenshi for short as my mom calls me. 

I mean, the family here seems pretty nice and caring, but I do miss my phone, computer, and light novels. Not as much as before, though, so that might be a good sign. 

I made a small smile. Maybe it is easy to actually have a life for once. Maybe this world is my therapy, I said to myself as I picked my nose. 

I carefully got down the chair and I started to go downstairs and start crawling around there. I would find a shiny vase and I saw myself in the reflection of it and saw my eyes, hair, and skin color. Dark blue eyes, baby! With my other hand, I touched my hair.  

I stared at the top of my reflection. Is that triple cowlicks? I don’t think Ria has any cowlicks. Taren has one, but not three. Did Ria cheat on Taren? well, if so, I have to get ready for that drama. My face would have a frustrated expression and went back to normal. But I still have some of his features, like my eyes looking like Taren's. hmm, maybe it's just some rare coincidence. 

I turned my face to the left and right and looked at myself further. 

I then looked directly at myself. I'm definitely gonna be a looker in the future. Hope I can keep in good shape then. I mean, imagine getting all the women and just building a harem. Even though I'm a one-month-old, I can already see it. I have a small good knowledge of the language here. I still didn’t understand too much, maybe about five or ten words. The house here looked not so modern. It looked very old but not in a bad way. 

It had some stoney-looking floors, the house was mainly built with wood, and we lived in the middle of nowhere it seemed, but it was livable. There was no electricity at all. Ria walked in, and she set the plate back on the table and carried me in her arms.  

"Now, what were you doing crawling around, hm, Tenshi? we're looking for some food. It’s okay, baby; I’ll start feeding you." She said with a smile. Ria was back in her normal outfit, which was a dark blue button vest, a white shirt underneath, a dark blue skirt, black thigh-high socks, and black heels. 

For the past month, I have had a lot of Ria’s breast milk, and I loved it, but I was starting to slowly feel less turned on by it since she was my mom.  

Probably in a couple more weeks, I'm not gonna think of Ria as someone I have a crush on, but hey! Let me enjoy it now!  

                                                               *** 

Let's jump ahead five more months. It was the morning, and Seris was currently trying to find me, 

"Tenshi! Come on, it's just a little bit of something new!" Seris shouted. She had some food in a bowl, and it wasn’t breast milk, and it's not like I only wanted breast milk. 

I mean, I would basically kill for a burger or just something I would find tasty, so here’s what she had for me: Some mushed-up vegetable of some kind that was heated up in a pot, so it was just a chunky stew of only vegetable, and it was purple. 

No thanks, lady. I think I would rather starve to death, I said to myself. My sneaking skills were really good. It was something I learned not to get caught stealing snacks back in my other world. 

I made it to Taren’s and Ria’s room. Ria was out in the village getting some groceries while Taren was out getting the water from the well in the yard. I looked around the room since I don’t come here often. Seris was still looking around with a small worry.  

She sighed. "Sister is going to be mad at me. Come on, Tenshi, just come out," she said as she continued looking around. 

I slowly closed the door, and it was a little tough with my baby strength, but I managed to almost get it close, so as long as the door didn’t show the room, I was fine with it. 

I crawled around the room, Huh, so this is their room. and there were a few candles that were not lit, but one was. I started to explore the house. I then got on top of the bed and I opened the top drawer "Huh, it seems pretty dusty in here. It seems like Taren and Ria barely used this drawer, but wait, what's that?" I noticed something square. I tried to grab it, but the door swung open with a kick, and Seris came into the room. 

"There you are, Tenshi!" She exclaimed as she picked me up.  

"Ah, ah, ah!" I shouted. 

Seris then picked me up in her arms, and she saw the drawer open, and she closed it with her hip. She then looked at me. "Seems like someone was snooping around Mommy and Daddy's room, huh? Now let's get you seated on the table before this yummy food gets bad." 

Oh, come on, it feels like I was left on a cliffhanger. Now I need to see what that was. Let me go!                                                                                                                                                                                        ***                                

One day went by, and I couldn’t get that drawer off my head. I really wanted to see what was inside. So, I crawled upstairs. No matter what, I’m going to see what’s in there... Man, this really shows how bored I am. I then got to the room. Seris was just cleaning her bow downstairs and Ria and Taren we’re in backyard, after Ria was done collecting some vegetables, and Taren was just swining his sword around as he was shirtless. she stood up and looked over at Taren. 

"Hey, Taren," Ria said. 

Taren stopped swinging his sword and wiped off some sweat on his head as he looked over at Ria. "Yeah, what is it?" 

"You think Tenshi is like. Okay?" 

Taren stabbed his sword into the ground and leaned on it. "It depends. I mean, what could be wrong with him? He seems pretty natural to me." 

Ria would have a hint of worry on her face. "Well, the way he acts, I mean, he never cries, and he's not so energetic, and when I breastfeed him, he never bites even though his teeth are already growing. I don’t know, maybe it's normal. I mean, Tenshi is the first child I ever had, after all." 

Taren pondered "Okay, maybe that is a little odd for Tenshi." Taren would stop pondering. "But you don’t think of him badly, right? Is he not the child you wanted?" 

"What, no, of course he is! Just thinking if he’s okay up there." 

"Like I said, I am sure he is fine. Let's just leave it at that. Even though he is a little strange, I'm sure he's going to be a great boy in the future. In my opinion, I think he’s pretty healthy. Just try not to think about it too much." 

"...Okay," Ria said with a small smile. 

                                                                *** 

Back to me, I was getting on top of the bed, which did take a little bit, but I got it. I reached over to grab the handle of the drawer, and I kept failing because I felt like I was about to fall off the bed,  

Come on, just work with me here, come on I then got it open, but I also fell off the bed at the same time as I heard something drop behind me, and with this fragile child body it did hurt, but I got up, ow... Oh shit, that was loud. I looked behind me. 

I saw the thing that was drop was a lit candle, and it lit the floor on fire, and I started to panic. 

Oh crap, oh crap, what do I do? Who even lights a candle in the daylight!?  

Seris downstairs heard the noise What was that? Seris questioned to herself. As she got up to go upstairs. I started to panic "Oh my god, Tenshi!" Seris quickly grabbed me. 

Ohhh, I messed up. Ohhh, I messed the hell up! 

Taren would barge in the room. "What's going on!?" Ria shouted as she was beside him. 

"What has even happened here?" Taren questioned as he saw the fire. 

"I was downstairs," Seris said. "And I think Tenshi came in here and dropped a candle on mistake," Seris said. 

"Why were candles even lit in the morning in the first place!?" Ria exclaimed. She sighed and looked at the fire. "Okay, just give me a second." Ria then aimed her hand at the growing fire. 

...Yeah, I’m done with this stupid superstition bullcrap! I said to myself. 

"Ha!" Water then came out of Ria’s hand, and it stopped the fire from spreading. 

Wait, w-what was that? I looked over at Ria with confusion. 

"Heh, I haven’t done something like that in a while. Guess I have gotten a bit rusty as well. Tenshi is safe, and my." Ria then reached over to the drawer and grabbed what looked like a book that was in the drawer. "There it is. My old magic guidebook is still safe." Ria would look behind herself and looked at Seris as she was holding me. "And Seris, we really need to talk about having candles in the morning, especially with Tenshi around them."  

"Right, right," Seris said while looking down. 

"Tenshi hasn’t even fully grown yet. He's still just a baby, and he could’ve gotten seriously injured." 

"Yeah, that was completely on me, I apologized." While they continued. 

I was still shocked. T-that was, I said. I was processing the water that came out of Ria’s hand earlier, and that's when I proved my theory. "That was... magic, right? I mean, If so... I smirked. I guess my point has been proven, and now it's gonna be my time to learn it myself... 

                                                               *** 

Three years passed, and I’ve been three years old for a bit now. I had a button light green vest and a white shirt underneath, with black shorts. I woke up, got out of bed, and yawned. "All right," I said as I fixed my hair and I opened the shutters and opened the window and took in a big breath of fresh air, and the window had a small hit on my face. I looked down there and saw Taren swinging his sword in the backyard. "Always early in the morning, huh? Dad can never catch a break." I started walking out my room to head downstairs. 

I started to get out of my room and made my way downstairs. I definitely looked more grown-up. I’ve been living life regularly and healthily, and I haven’t really told anyone about my whole reincarnation thing. 

I learned that Seris and Ria were victims of a kidnapping a long time ago, but I only heard it from some conversations they had together or when Ria talks with Taren. 

Speaking about him, Taren wanted me to be a swordsman, so I kept my wishes to be a mage on the down-low because I was not sure if I was going to be punished for something like that or not, and I didn’t know how bad the punishments were in this world. 

Another thing is we live on the northwest side of the world in the West Hilima continent and in the country of Dalria, and it hasn’t been as bad as I thought here, and the beautiful views out the window just make me feel more alive, and not even the old shut—in version of me would believe that. 

My sneaking skills were getting better; not even Seris noticed me staring at her in the bath, and yeah, that did become a hobby. 

I noticed Ria cooking some breakfast in the kitchen on the cooking hearth, and she was just on her knees while cooking whatever is in the pot. Well, there is another familiar face. when I was going downstairs, I also noticed Seris was already training with Taren out the window. Wait, she was out there with him? I didn’t even notice her out there. Taren was just swinging at the arrows shot by Seris. It looked pretty fun to watch, and I then looked over at Ria. "Good morning, Mother." 

Ria looked back at me with a smile. "Well, good morning, honey. How did you sleep?" Ria said, 

"I slept good, and I saw Father training with Aunt Seris out there." I said with a smile. 

"Yeah, just going at it as always." 

I wonder if Ria gets jealous of Seris training with Taren too much. "Well, Mother, I have a question." 

"Oh, really? Well, what is it?" 

"How come I don’t see you use magic often?" 

"Well, I just don’t have much of a use for it anymore." Ria then took out the pot of food in the hearth and closed the furnace door so the fire can lose oxygen, and then she set the food aside. 

"But why would it be bad? I mean, having magic sounds awesome." 

Ria chuckled. "It is, but there's no need to get stronger. Your father trains because he never wants to lose that strong side of himself, and Your aunt just never wants to lose her skills as an archer, and me, well, it's not like I am an adventurer, I stopped trying to get stronger ever since I had you. You know what? It's not that important. Go call your father and aunt that the food is ready." 

"Oh... Okay." I walked to the outside door, and Taren and Seris were still going at it. "Uh, Aunt Seris, father! Breakfast is ready!" Taren and Seris stopped as they looked toward me, and Taren then replied,  

"Oh, already?" Taren said 

"Well, I'm not complaining," Seris said. "By the way," Seris looked back at Taren, 

"Hm, what is it?" "You are getting slower. It seems like someone has been slacking off a little." Seris grinned. Taren stayed silent as he didn’t want to admit the truth, but he answered back. 

"Let's just go eat." Taren walked past her, and Seris followed him through the door. 

                                                               *** 

a few minutes went by after the food, and I was heading to my room, but before I could get there, my name was called out, 

"Hey, Tenshi!" I looked back to see who it was, and it was Taren. 

"Yes, Father?" 

"Come outside with me. I wanna show you something." 

I was confused, but I just listened, "Uh, okay." I began to follow Taren. Am I in trouble for something? No, I haven’t really done much wrong other than trying to see Seris change in her room, but why go outside then? Well, I guess I’ll find out. 

we were now outside the house in the backyard. 

"Sit down there," Taren said as he pointed to a stone on the floor. 

"Oh, uh, okay." I went over to sit on the stone, and Taren pulled his sword out. 

"Now, I want you to watch closely." 

I stayed silent as I nodded. 

"Good," Taren then took a deep breath as he started swinging his sword in front of me, and I watched him. 

...Huh? 

Taren took one last swing at a tree, and his blade did not touch it; it just snapped in half. 

I was shocked and at a loss for words. Did he just... lag? How did he do that!? 

Taren looked back at me, and he stabbed his sword into the ground. "And that, Tenshi, is called Wind Slash, one of the many swordsmanship techniques created by the Sword God. What do you think?" 

"That was so cool! but why did you want to show me that?" 

"Well, one day, you're gonna be a swordsman yourself, and in a few years, you're going to start training with me. So, about a few times a week for a few minutes to an hour, you're gonna be watching me train on my own, so you get a little of what to do once I truly start trainng you. You get what I'm saying?" 

Wow, I mean, I just wanted to be a mage but I might just have to be a swordsman to. Tenshi, the mage swordsman. It's not so catchy, but It would be so cool at the end of the day. I nodded "Yeah, I get it. I can’t wait!" 

"All right, now, keep watching!" 

                                                              *** 

About four days went by, and nothing had changed other than watching Taren swing his sword then and there. That sword technique was still something that I couldn't get out of my head because it felt like something straight out of an anime. I was currently sitting on top of a tree, and these branches smelled so good. I wasn’t sure why, and I kept sniffing it. 

"Man, it smells so good." I got back inside my room through the window and did a quick stretch. 

As I walked downstairs, I noticed Seris cleaning a lot of things and doing much more than usual. 

"Uh, Aunt Seris, is everything all right?" I said. 

Seris  looked back and nodded. She had a smiled as she was cleaning the table. "Mhm," she said. "I am doing perfectly fine, I just wanted to clean around the house a little. I also cleaned up your room." 

I was still a little confused since Seris was usually the less organized one around the house, other than keeping her bows all clean and tidy, but I could tell everything was okay with her, so I didn’t mind what she did. "Okay, Aunt Seris." I smiled. just went downstairs to the basement. 

I wanted to see if it was cleaned there also, and lo and behold, it was still dusty, but things definitely looked more organized. 

The chest I opened up even had some small amounts of gold and gems in them that I looked through. "Wow, Dad really did make a lot unless this came from something else, hmm." I closed the chest, roamed around, and just had a lot of fun. Sure, I'm about thirty-five years old now, but being in a child's body really does something to me. I then looked over to a corner to see a book that had fallen off the shelf. A book? Why is this here and not on the shelf or drawer's downstairs? Wait a minute. 

I picked up the book, and something about it looked familiar, but I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I then picked up the book. Then I remembered something from three years ago. 

I remembered Ria saying this was her old magical guidebook. "This was the book that taught Mom magic!" But wait, what is this thing doing down here? The book was big and had a brown—colored cover on it. This thing was old, and this was my first time having it in my hands. "Maybe I should bring this to my room better." I took the book with me and went out of the basement. 

I made sure the coast was clear first, and Seris was still just cleaning. I then rushed upstairs to my room and slowly closed the door. All right, made it here without being caught. 

I placed the book on the bed. "Man, this thing is heavy." I knocked on the cover. This thing is hard, but it's definitely a book and not some prop. I wonder how helpful this book was to Ria. I mean, if she learned magic from this, then I can, too. But hell, I’m excited! I mean, I've waited so long just to make dirt out of my hands or make fire or water or other stuff. Things are about to get real. I grinned. 

I opened the book to the first page, and I skipped a few more. "Wait, what does half of this say?" I started to slowly freak out as I continued flipping through "I... I don’t speak this language..." My eye twitched. I don’t speak this language!!! 

                            Chapter 3: How to learn magic 

One whole year an a half has passed, and it was spring and a cloudy afternoon. I was lying on my bed as I started to read the book. I think I've gotten to know the human language much better since Ria has been reading me a lot of storybooks. They weren’t really much of my interest. 

Apparently, every human here speaks the same language, and that actually makes sense. A lazy guy like me would see not learning another language as an absolute win. I just had to learn this language, and bam, there is no need to worry about any language barriers. 

And Seris has even started to be much more organized, and she has even started to wear a maid outfit quite often. Here's what I got from the book so far. I learned that not all the magical elements are connected; they are separate when learning them. For example, learning one element doesn’t mean the other elements grow as you learn that single element, so if I want to get better at others, I would have to learn how to use those elements too. 

I guess I’ll be doing multitasking if I'm gonna be equally as good with all of them. "How nice, more work." But this book was so properly made. I really started to wonder who made this. 

I mean, this had so much information. There was stuff like magic circles and magic incantations. "It feels weird that I'm this much of a reader now." 

There were also stories on a lot of things, and some stuff about these gods, though it didn’t interest me. So, I didn’t bother looking through that, and there was some stuff that worried me. 

See, I might not be able to do too much magic or no magic at all till I'm older. 

The reason why is because anyone can be born with different amounts of potential, so for all I know, I could be as strong as a god, or maybe I can’t do magic at all. 

and sometimes this usually comes from the genes of a mother and father, but rarely, you could have more or less than what your parents have. 

I mean I’d say I have a high potential. I'm getting excited already with the thought of having mana and some inner potential stuff, man. I still can’t believe all this is real, but will this work out, though? "Well," I said as I got out of bed and stood up. "How am I going to know if I don’t try?" I pulled the opened book and settled it on the edge of the bed as I was standing on the floor beside the bed. 

Okay, guess I should start with a novice class spell. I flipped through the pages until I found some novice class spells.  I wanted to go with something easy. 

I definitely want to try the lightning magic stuff, but I'm afraid that would be too hard on my body. Hmm. 

I was thinking about it, but I shrugged my shoulders and stopped hesitating and went for some lightning spells. "Aha, here." I started to look through the page. My face had a hint of surprise. "Wow, it's got a lot of instructions." Seems like using this weird thing should help me grow my lightning magic better. I saw a drawn image of something that looked like a lightbulb, but it wasn’t. 

It was called a Mana Bulb. That sounds cool. Maybe Ria might have one of these. Eh, whatever. Anyways, I'm here to do some spells right now. I began to look through the pages, and I found a simple lightning spell. Here's one, so all I have to do is focus all my energy on the target and just shoot out a burst of electricity out of my hand. 

My face had a hint of worry. Though, there's another thing that worries me. if I use a larger amount than my body is used to, then I would either feel the shock or even be toasted to bits, but I should know how much it would take for that, right? "I think I’ll be fine." I made sure to look back at it many times so I remembered the incantation. "All right..."  

I walked over to the opened window and stood up on the chair in front of it.  I aimed my hand at the stone outside. "Just flicker the light inside; this kind of feels ridiculous, but I got this, I got this." 

"I call upon the power bestowed by Alucelia. The electrifying energy within me surged forward, striking the enemy before me with a painful thunderbolt." As nothing came out, I continued focusing as I grunted, Come on, just like the RPGs you played, just let it out and you unlock the next level... I felt the energy go from my feet to my hand, and I started to feel something. And shoot! "Ha!" A glow from my hand started to appear, and it just shot out a beam of lightning to the stone. 

As Taren swung his sword outside, and he grunted with each swing. He heard my shot and stopped to look behind him, seeing nothing. "What the hell was that?" Taren questioned as he looked around. 

I dropped to the ground, rubbing my head. 

"Jeez," I said. I got up and looked out the window to see the burnt stone. Wow, that was... Way more than I expected... Holy shit... "What if I add more mana into it?" I aimed my hand at the same stone, and all my hand could do was spark as I started to feel dizzy. "Oh god, am I really that tired?" Oh wait, I know why I'm like this. I'm already out of MP... And then I dropped off the chair, to the ground, and fainted. 

                                                               *** 

A few hours went by after I launched a huge amount of lightning out of me, and I woke up to see myself in Ria’s Thighs. The sensation did feel great and not in a perverted way. This time, I’ve been a good boy now.  

"Aw, my poor boy, what happened, Tenshi?" Ria asked. I was quickly trying to remember what happened. 

"Huh...?" I said while my eyes were still opening. Wait, hang on, what happened again? Oh, right, that. "I was—" Wait, I can’t tell her I was using magic. I mean, what could Taren think if she told him? He wants me to be a swordsman. Do I tell her or not? 

"Is something wrong, sweetie?" 

"Oh, uh, I just... fell off the chair and hit my head, but I’m fine." 

"Oh boy, you hit your head? Would you like some healing magic?" Ria asked with concern. 

I shook my head. "No, I think I am perfectly fine," I said as I got up from Ria’s lap. 

"Hm, well, okay." Ria definitely felt off about this, but she believed me, and got up. "Well, if you need anything, your sweet mother is always here for you, honey." 

I nodded with a smile. "Okay, Mother." 

"Don’t cause too much trouble like hurting yourself more, okay?" I nodded and Ria left and went downstairs. 

Seris then noticed her as She was cleaning some dishes in a small tub of water on the floor. 

"Hey, Ria?" Seris said. 

"Hm, yes?" 

"You didn’t happen to hear any lightning or something loud by chance, right?" 

"Huh, no, why do you ask?" 

"...Never mind, maybe I just heard Taren swinging his sword outside," Seris said as she went back to what she was doing, and Ria just shrugged it off. 

                                                               *** 

while in my room. I was still processing what happened as I laid on my bed. That was a novice class spell. That's not the craziest part. The craziest part is I did that low-class spell as a five-year-old. Is that seriously a normal amount? How much mana do I have in me? I mean, holy shit. I looked shocked as I quickly sat up "Wait, did mom see the book!?" I looked beside me and saw the book still on the bed under the blanket. It gave me such relief. If Taren was here, it would probably not end so well. I got up from the bed. "Heh." I learned magic, and I actually did it. Maybe my future as a mage is closer after all... 

                                                                ***                                 

A day had passed since I last used magic, and it was the evening. Seris, Ria, and Taren were busy doing their own things. Heh, now I have time to myself to look through some chest in the basement. I opened the door downstairs without being caught. The reason why I was sneaking down was because I planned to use the Mana bulb if It’s here. 

I started to look around at a few crates and chests. But where is that stupid mana bulb? Come on, Ria had to have tried lightning magic at some point in her life, right? I looked through another chest, and it had barely anything in it, just some old accessories and small weapons. Holy crap, is that a machete or a short sword? I picked up the and I flipped the short sword and inspected it further. 

But why would he put something as cool as this in a chest? You could probably get a few from this. I mean, that's one sick design. I thought the sword looked cool, but I remembered what I was doing. Oh wait, I'm getting distracted. And I would rather not drop this thing and see my flesh and bones with blood coming out. I carefully placed the short sword back in the chest and carefully looked through the chest so I didn’t cut myself. 

Something then immediately caught my eye, and it was none other than the mana bulb. Holy shit, I actually found it! "Yes!" I shut my own mouth and looked at the upstairs door, hoping no one had heard that. 

"Phew..." I looked at the mana bulb on my hands. Looks like it, best get going to my room now. I took the mana bulb with me and slowly went upstairs. 

I opened the door just a little bit, so it didn’t make much of a creek as I started to slowly walk off. I knew I had forgotten to close the door, but I didn’t care. This house gets rats often anyways, so what is gonna stop them from thinking a big ass rat opened the door? Either way, it wasn’t fully closed in the first place. I started to sneak off upstairs right when Ria and Taren got back inside. Shit, shit, go, go, go... 

I quickly ran to my room. Seris was still out getting groceries and whatnot, but as long as I made it to my room and slowly closed my door, the mission went smoothly. "Phew, glad mom and Dad didn’t hear that." I looked at my hand to see the mana bulb, and excitement filled me. And this. is the next step to lightning magic. Hehe. 

                                                                *** 

While I was back in my room, in my bed, I was currently reading how to use the mana bulb, and it was quite simple. 

All I had to do was grab the bottom silver part of the mana bulb, and so I did. Okay, it should be like this, then what? I looked back at the book, and it said to make sure to not let go because if I did, the lightning magic would just fly everywhere unless I had a good amount of speed to stop myself. "Don’t want to burn down the house. That wouldn’t be nice." Okay, stop hesitating. I took a deep breath and 

pinched the bottom part as hard as possible and continued reading the book. Now all I have to do is release my mana into this. So just try not to blow up the house, got it. I took another deep breath. "Maybe to be safe, I should start small." I closed my eyes and focus harder. It's like what I did when I shot that stone. Just bring out a spark of electricity out, just think about it sparking, and turn that spark into a branch of lightning. Focus... I kept trying and eventually felt a small spark come out of my hand, and the bulb started to flicker. 

As it flickered, I opened my eyes. "Working..." I mumbled I tried to put more into it. 

The bulb started to stay on, but it wasn’t giving off perfect lighting. It was still a little hard to control, so it kept giving off some small dims here and there, but I was starting to get used to it. There, there, there, I think I'm getting the hang of this. Maybe I could put a little more. I put a bit more into it, and I started to sweat. 

Then, I heard a knock at my door. "Ah!" I shouted as I dropped the mana bulb and set my pillow on fire from the small branch of lightning, but I quickly patted it down. 

"Hello, Tenshi. Can I come in?" Seris said as she knocked behind the door. 

I turned the pillow around so it didn't show the burn mark and hid the mana bulb under the bed. I quickly sat up on the bed. "Uh, yes, you can come in!"  

Seris opened the door and looked around and back over at me. "Huh, I swear I heard something. You didn’t hear something weird, right?" I shook my head. 

"Nope, nothing at all, Aunt Seris. All I heard was mother and father making noise." 

Seris flushed as I said that. "Uh, well, not those noises." 

"Well, all I'm saying is that's the only noise I hear. Maybe you got it mixed up with that."  

Seris thought about it for a moment and probably thought I was right. "I guess that's all it could be. But if you hear them making those noises, try knocking before you enter." 

"Oh, yeah, sure, Aunt Seris. I will remember that." 

"Okay, Goodnight now." 

"Goodnight, Aunt Seris." Seris nodded and closed the door. She looked over to Ria and Taren's door and sighed as the moaning was still going in there. 

"I'm never gonna stop being jealous, am I? And never gonna be with anyone like Taren." Seris sadly walked back to her room, and while I was back in my room, I took a deep breath of relief. 

Thank god she didn’t notice anything. I guess making an excuse for my parent’s sex noises did work. "Phew..." I was going to go under the bed, but I stopped for a moment. Hmm, should I still do more... Nah, I can do more and get it tomorrow. "And all of that made me super tired." I laid myself back on the bed and blew out the candle. But man, that was so cool, and it’s only going to get better... 

                                        Chapter 4: Light 

a year has passed since I started training my lightning magic by using that mana bulb. It was afternoon, and I was running and jumping around my room happily. "Yes, yes, I did it, I did it!" I shouted. I've been training many days during fall, and winter. 

The mana bulb I trained with heated up during my training on it, and since it did, that means I was finally an advanced class magician already, which is why I was looking excited. I finally ran out of energy and jumped on the bed. 

"Haha." Finally, I made it this far, and all this happened in a few months. God, I’m awesome! All the magician levels or classes were. 

Novice class, Intermediate class, Advanced class, saint class, Master class, King class, Emperor class, and last but not least, God class. 

It felt amazing to think I had gotten up three of each class. I felt like a special type of prodigy. I’m such a child, but Maria really did me a solid on this potential. I feel like a god. I could even be an actual god if I keep going! "Oh man, that would be so cool!" 

I got up from the bed and took a deep breath to calm myself. I kept my smile and summoned some electricity out of my hands. "This is so much easier now." I stopped using the lightning magic due to overusing it. Wow, cool it, Tenshi. I burnt a lot on the bulb already. 

I went over to grab the mana bulb that was only my bed, and I accidentally grabbed the top of it. "Hot, hot, hot." The bulb was steaming hot, so I quickly grabbed the bottom of it. Ouch, but now that I'm an advanced class, what's next? I also need to go downstairs and put this back in the chest, but I’ll do that later. "Maybe I should learn the other types of magic." I put the mana bulb in my small pocket on my shirt. Or just keep working my way with lightning, but fire and earth magic do sound quite cool... But wait... When Maria reincarnated me, she said I would have some light powers.  Well, that is what I picked, I think. 

I looked down at the palm of my hand. What if I actually try to... Nah. "She was probably lying either way." 

I sat on the bed and started to think about it harder. But why would a goddess play that trick on me? I mean, in a light novel I read, there was this absurd crybaby of a goddess who was a lazy piece of crap, but she wasn’t really like that. What if there was something I was missing? I got out the bed and went in front of the window, and I stood still and looked at my hand. 

I was thinking for a moment, and then I had an idea. I aimed my hands at the window. "What if I do the same thing I did when trying to summon lightning magic? I just need it to be light." What is a good substitute for light? I know when I want to create lightning magic, I think of electricity sparking. Maybe like a star of light, I should think of that maybe. 

I would check the books, but I read every page, and there was nothing on light magic or light god powers or any of that. 

"Well, how about I try." I closed my eyes and tried to think of a shine of light. Come on, it's the same as before. Just find that shine and start to tap into the power. Just release it. I kept continued trying, and I started to see that white spark. "There!" As I continued to aim at the window, unsurprisingly, nothing happened, and I opened my eyes and sighed "Well, just as I thought. Nothing." I was about to put my hand down, but I started to feel an itching feeling on my hand, and then. The wind slowly rose inside my room. 

                                                                *** 

While that was happening, Seris and Ria were doing things around the house downstairs while Taren was out getting some water in the well. Ria finished washing some clothes outside and brought the clean basket of clothes, placing it on the table while Seris was cleaning a few dishes. 

Seris looked over at Ria and spoke, "So Ria, I was thinking about just being a maid and quitting archery." 

Ria looked over to Seris, "A maid?" She questioned. "I mean, you want to retire your archery for being a maid? I didn’t expect to hear that from you." 

"Well, you barely even use magic now, so maybe and I can start stopping my thing to." 

"Yeah, but I have Tenshi to raise, and Taren keeps going as much as possible because of his job and protecting us." 

Seris thought about it for a moment and focused on cleaning the dishes again. "I guess you're right on that. I barely even wear my normal outfit anymore, and I’m also not enjoying it as much myself and getting slower. I not sure, guess I’ll keep it in the back of my head." 

"I think you should," Ria said with a smile. 

Some noise was heard upstairs 

"Hm?" Ria questioned as she looked up. The noise was coming from upstairs to my room, and the wind was getting stronger inside. 

                                                                *** 

I started to think it might’ve been working, so I kept my hand up and kept it directly aimed at the window. "Wait, this is working! Yes, come on, I'm just right there!" The feeling went from itching to some small amounts of pain. "But wow, this is starting to hurt. What's the deal with that?" I was trying to calm it, but I couldn’t stop it. It almost felt like I was edging myself, except it was pain. "Wait, stop, stop, oh god, this hurts!" My fingertips started to look bruised. 

I was starting to feel even more fear. Aw shit, this wasn’t the plan! Okay, okay, what do I do? Should I let it out or keep holding it? My hand started to glow white. 

As Taren was outside and was done filling the buckets of water from the well. He looked at my window and heard a gust of wind inside. 

"What the hell?" Taren said. as my room started to glow inside. "Okay, now something is off." Taren put the buckets down and ran inside while I was torturously screaming from the pain. 

My hand was now fully bruised, and white, glowing veins started to appear on my arm to hand. Okay, shit, I can’t hold it anymore Shit, shit, shit!" "Haa!!!" An energy sound started to sound on my hand, and before I knew it, I shot out a massive beam of light that broke my whole wall. once that was over, most of my left side was fully bruised, adrenaline rushed through me. 

What... What the... hell... was even that? I... I can’t feel... Anything... And that's how I discovered my possible light powers if that was that. I would fall to the ground, completely paralyzed. Well... this feels familiar... 

Taren kicked my door wide-opened "Tenshin!" Taren shouted as the dust cleared away. Taren saw my half-bruised body on the ground. 

A lot of my shirt was completely gone and I was out cold, and there was a hole in the wall where the shutters and window were. 

Taren stood still as he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was completely in shock. Ria and Seris also showed up as they were behind Taren. 

"What happened? We heard something." Seris said. 

Ria walked over to Taren to see what had happened. Ria was shocked to find my body just lying there, half bruised. "Oh my lord! Tenshi!" She shouted. 

Seris was in shock and didn’t say a thing. Ria quickly ran over to me to see if I was awake. She checked if I was still breathing. 

Taren ran over to look out the hole. Has there been an attack by a beast? No, that doesn't make sense; it's usually during nights, Taren said to himself. As he was trying to figure out what could have happened, Taren then saw a book on the ground and noticed it was Ria’s magical guidebook. 

"Oh my lord, please be okay, Tenshi, please!" Ria shouted with worry in her voice. 

Taren looked back at Ria, who was using some crying and using healing magic on me, but I was already knocked out. I wasn't dead though. Ria was using some healing magic on me, but I was already knocked out. I wasn't dead though. 

"Is Tenshi all right, Ria?" Taren asked. 

"I-I'm not sure. he is still breathing, b-but his bruising isn’t going away. Am I... Am I weaker?" Taren went on one knee and put his hand on my chest to see if I was still breathing and had a heartbeat, which I had both of those. 

"He should be fine. Just calm down." Taren rubbed Ria’s back. "Take a deep breath. He’ll be okay." Taren then looked over at Seris, who was shocked, too. "He's fine, Seris. Get something so we can clean this up." 

Seris snapped out of it. "R-right," Seris said. She ran downstairs to go get some stuff to clean the debris. 

Taren carried me, and Ria followed behind. 

"W-where are you taking him?" Ria said with a shaky voice. 

"I'm going to take him to the guest bedroom since his bed was destroyed."  

Both Ria and Taren got to the room, and it was just a simple bed with a desk and a window. 

Taren carefully laid me down on the bed and looked back at Ria. "If he doesn’t wake up tomorrow or stops breathing, then we’ll take him to the infirmary, but I think he should be fine." 

Ria was still shooken. "Fine, I trust you, Taren..." 

Taren looked back over to me. Please be okay, Tenshi. I won’t let my son die. I still have more to teach you and to show you, and I can’t fail being a father. 

                                                                *** 

I would begin to see my past life. 

It would be two days after my parents died, and I did know, but I didn’t care, really. I did at first, but it went away quickly. I was currently playing some games, and I set the controller down to dig through the trash in my room. "Come on, where is it?" I said. 

I then picked out a bottle of beer. "There we go," I said as I opened the bottle since I had already drunk half of it. I drank the rest and threw the bottle in the other corner of the room. "Okay..." I mumbled.  

grabbed the controller to continue my game, but then I heard a knock on my door, but I didn't care. 

"Hey! Open your fucking door!" The man said behind my door. I knew that voice, and it was my older brother. 

"Just leave the food outside; I’ll get it," I said while completely focused. 

My brother got more pissed off behind the door. "I’m not sending food, idiot! Why weren’t you at the funeral!?" 

I ignored him and said nothing. 

"They cared about you, and this is what you do!? We tried everything to get you out of this room to have a normal life, and this is what you do!? Now I’m done helping." He banged on the door. "You have one day to leave! Or else. I’m going to kick you out by force." 

I stopped the game and looked over at the door but shrugged it off and continued. 

"One day, you degenerate!" He shouted and banged on the door one last time and left. 

I grabbed my right arm as it started to feel weird. "Ah. The hell?" I spoke. As I blinked my eyes, I started to see dark 

"Ah!" I shouted as I opened my eyes. I was panting, but I quickly calmed down. I looked to my left and in front of me, and I saw the room was different. I was back in the body of Tenshi. 

It was dark and thundering rain outside. I looked to my right to see the window of the thundering rain, but I also saw my mother, Ria, asleep on a chair. Crap, more nightmares, what a classic. But man, I feel like I'm aching. What happened again? I questioned as I scratched my head since it was itching. 

I was thinking for a moment, and I remembered the whole light thing. Oh, right, but wow, I thought I died that time. I had a tear drop fall from my right eye. I wiped it with my right hand, and as I put my hand down, it felt like I had seen something off. "Was that... my hand?" I looked down at my hand, and it was bruised, and not just that, but my entire arm and right side of my body. 

"Huh...?" I was shocked, and then I panicked. "Ahh!!!" I started panting, and that made Ria wake up. 

"Oh my. Tenshi? Tenshi!" Ria quickly hugged me with a frightened and relieved look on her face. "You're okay. In Maris's name, thank you." I was nestled between her breast, but I wasn’t complaining other than it was hurting a little bit. "Ah, Mother, Relax, that hurts..." 

Ria loosened the hug. "Sorry, sweetie. I was just... So worried." Ria looked like she was about to cry.  

Guess it was that bad. Couldn’t even imagine what it looked like in her eyes. I hugged Ria back. "I’m sorry, mother; I didn’t mean to scare you like that." 

"No, don’t be sorry. It's my fault for not checking on you more often. I assumed you were capable of handling things by yourself. I realize now that I was being a poor mother." 

Wow, that is just sad. I forgot that I’m a child in this world and guess I did look like I was an adult already. Seeing Ria freak out like this... I’m so sorry. 

Ria let go of the hug and had her hands on my shoulders and still had worry on her face. "But you're feeling better, right? Do you feel like you need more healing? 

"Uh, no, I think I'm okay, Mother." I said with a small smile. I looked down at my arm. But why do I still look bruised? How does healing magic even work? I mean, it must be for healing, obviously, but I'm still bruised. I looked back at Ria with a smile again. Either way, I am glad to still be alive. 

"Okay then, that's good." Ria hugged me again. "But you can't scare me, your father, and Aunt Seris like that." 

I looked down with guilt. "I know, I'm sorry. I was just..." 

The door to the room creaked open, and it was Taren with a face of worry but not as much as Ria was. Ria and I would let go of the hug as Taren walked into the room and stood in front of the bed. 

"So... Are you feeling all right?" Taren asked. 

I nodded as I looked at him. This... Won’t be good to explain to him I bet... I thought. 

"Tenshi seems okay," Ria said. "I'm just confused about why my healing magic didn’t heal his bruising. It’s either I've gotten weaker, or this takes a more saint class or master class healing." Ria sighed at herself in disappointment. 

Ohhhh, guess that makes sense. 

Taren stood beside her and patted her on the back with a reassuring smile. "You did your best, and what matters is that Tenshi is alive." he then looked back at me with a more serious face. "Now, Tenshin." 

Oh crap, he said my actual name. 

"I want you to explain to me how this happened expect the truth." 

I hesitated for a moment, but then I spoke up. "I was just being stupid, and I hit myself on the floor very hard-" 

"Don’t lie to me." Taren spoke over me as he gave me a deadly stare. "When I was outside, I saw something through your window. It was a light, and I came into your room to see your body on the ground. Wanna know what I found?" I stayed silent. My heart felt like it was racing. Taren gave Ria a book, and it was none other than the magical guidebook I took from Ria. 

"Huh, what's this?" Ria asked. 

"It's your old guidebook; your guide that taught you magic." 

I was frozen, not knowing what to say next. All that was going through my head was, Annnd I am screwed. I’m hoping he doesn’t kill me, or I get kicked out and lose a family again. 

"So... You read through this book and learned magic?" Ria asked. 

I nodded with guilt. 

"What... What kind?" 

I don’t want to lie, but I have to do it. But who knows, I might tell them the truth one day. "It was... Lightning magic... spells." It was quiet for a short for a few seconds. 

Ria slowly started to smile and her mouth went opened and looked very happy. I was confused because only a few seconds ago, she was frightened about what happened to me. Ria then looked over at Taren with excitement and stood up. "Taren, can you believe it? All the destruction, and he's only five years old! Don’t you understand. Our own son is an actual magician prodigy! that was at least an advanced or saint class! He has so much potential to be even the world's best mage." 

Both Taren and I looked in shock at how happy Ria got in this situation. "Wait, hang on, we can’t just skip the subject," Taren said. "Don’t you realize Tenshi could’ve died!?" 

Ria sat back down and cleared her throat, "But of course, you shouldn’t lie to us, Tenshi." 

"And, Ria," Taren said. "The plan was that he would be a swordsman, and this is going too fast. Besides, I already showed him so much, I can’t stop now." 

Ria turned her head to Taren. "Yeah, but how was where we supposed to know he would have more potential to be a magician? Don’t you think it better for him to do what he's good at?" 

Taren shook his head, "No way, Ria. A promise is a promise, and as they say. one who learns—" 

"Oh, don’t give me that swordsman talk crap or whatever," she said with annoyance. 

"Uh!?" Taren didn’t speak any further as Ria interrupted him. There was a small knock at the door, and it was Seris. Both Ria and Taren looked over at her. 

"I don’t mean to interrupt, but what if you let Tenshi choose?" Seris asked. "Or even train with a sword in one moment of the day and magic in the other."  

"Listen, Seris—" 

"I think that's a great idea!" Ria interrupted then looking over at Taren. "I think it's best, please, Taren. For Tenshi, our own son." 

Taren looked over at both Ria and Seris. 

"Also," Seris said. "I came in just to remind you that Tenshi’s room no longer has debris, and I just left the destroyed bed there," Seris said as Taren nodded. 

Taren then looked at me. Taren sighed, "Okay, fine... Tenshi. You can freely pick. You want to be a swordsman or a mage." 

"Wait, what? Just like that!? but you treated it like it's a problem, Father. And can’t I just be good at both?" 

"Yes, you can. But being both, you can’t." 

I was starting to tilt my head in confusion. "Huh?" 

"You can train as both, but you can only go as one title, and that title can impact you heavily in the future even if you don’t see it right now. I want you to choose wisely, and I won’t stop you from having the title of a mage, but trust me, a title is bigger than you think, son." 

Huh, so it's kind of like some MMO I played. Once you start the game, pick a race or be a swordsman, mage, or archer and whatnot, you are sometimes limited in the things you can and can’t do. The difference is that I can only use mage items or swordsman items, and usually gives me access and no access to a bunch of different things. So, if it is the whole access thing, then I really do have to choose wisely. I started to ponder, and then I came to a decision. "I think... I think I want to stay as a mage." 

Taren sighed, "Are you sure about that?" 

I nodded. "I think, I mean, I’m sure about this than ever." 

Ria then clapped her hands together. "Then it's settled," Ria said as she got up from the chair. "Tenshi is officially going to start his journey of being a mage, just like his mother," Ria said with a big smile. 

Taren then looked over at her. "Right... So, I guess that means you are going to be the one teaching him?" 

Ria looked over at Taren and shook her head. "I wish I could, but I'm much rustier and busier than I was before, so I think someone more knowledgeable and stronger should teach Tenshi. He deserves the best training with the amount of potential he has." 

Taren nodded and got up. "All right, if you say so." Taren looked over back at me. "But remember, Tenshi, I will still teach you the ways of being a swordsman." 

I nodded, "Okay, father."  I then looked over to Ria. "But, uh, if you're not going to teach me, then who is?" 

"Well, your father over here has some connections." Ria faced Taren. "Can you maybe ask Terits if there's anyone willing to tutor Tenshi?" Taren itched the back of his head for a bit. 

"Well, I don’t think he would give me a hand with the money, but I'm sure it's possible. I just need to tell him to give us someone cheap and proper to teach Tenshi well. All right, guess I’ll be writing a letter to him," Taren said. He looked back at me. "But Tenshi, I have one more thing to say." 

"Yes, father?" 

"I want you to listen well to what I'm about to say." 

I nodded, "Okay." 

Taren took a deep breath. "Just remember, it's important to be confident and stand tall, but there are always bigger challenges out there. We all have our vulnerabilities, so it's essential to approach everything with careful consideration. Remember, never underestimate anything until you've fully assessed it. Got it?" 

Why is he telling me this? Not like I’m going to fight someone anytime soon, I said to myself with confusion. I nodded, "I heard you loud and clear, father." 

"Good." Taren ruffled through my hair 

                                                                *** 

An hour passed by. The candles were out, and I was alone sleeping. It still kept thundering and pouring rain outside, and I still kept thinking back to what happened when I lost control of my light magic. 

The memory was vivid and couldn’t get out of my head. "Well... I think that was it... That was really Light God-type magic, at least, I think." I raised my right hand in front of my face and looked at the bruising. My mind felt like it wanted it to hurt, but it didn’t. It just felt weird. "So much damage to my body, I could’ve... I could’ve died... again." I laid my hand back down, and I kept thinking to myself, "That hug though... It felt more special than any other hug. I'm not sure why." I softly smiled. "Well, that felt nice, but I should get some sleep. I hope I don’t look like this forever." I quietly said. 

I turned around and went to sleep, hoping I wouldn’t get any nightmares as I always do. 

                                                                *** 

Taren and Ria were in their room in bed, and Taren looked like he was thinking. Ria looked at him. 

"Taren, is everything all right?" Ria asked. 

Taren snapped out of it and nodded. "Yeah, sorry. It's just... I did feel overwhelmed by what happened that day."  

"To Tenshi?" 

"Yup. I just thought Tenshi knew exactly what he was doing for his age and then." Taren snapped his fingers. "I just didn’t expect to see the first big problem being something like seeing him nearly taking his final breath." 

Ria got closer and laid her head on Taren’s shoulder. "Yes, I was probably even more terrified. I'm surprised at how well you hid it. It feels like Tenshi became an adult two years ago. I thought to myself, 'I'm sure raising this child will be hard, or maybe something even harder than what I expected, but I'll go through it no matter what.' But it felt so easy, it confused me. It was so easy that it really did make me feel unprepared. Something so intense happened out of nowhere." 

Taren put his arm around her. "I think you did a great job handling the situation. I was just stood there. I'm kind of second guessing myself and wondering if I handled it correctly. I hope I didn't come across as too serious after he woke up. But at the same time, I don't want to overdo it and end up acting like my own father." 

"You know, I've never actually met him, but I truly believe that you're way better than him. Just make sure you don't end up with Tenshi hating you forever. I don't think he does, though. I think he really looks up to you as long as you let him chase his dreams and not just what you want for him." 

Taren gave a soft smile. "Let's get some rest." 

Ria nodded and blew out the candle. 

Ria looked back at Taren. "Seems like someone is too tired for some action. My, this is a first." 

"Then I guess this is a first in a while. Goodnight, Ria," Taren said as he turned around. 

"Goodnight, Taren." Both Ria and Taren closed their eyes and slept 

                                  Chapter 5: The red one 

Three weeks had passed, and it was nearly the end of the afternoon. I had a whole new outfit, which was a white shirt, an emerald green colored laced-up vest, and new black shorts that looked the same as my old ones. I was now six years old. 

I looked as normal as I had been before that incident. It was expected that my tutor would come this week, and I learned that Taren knows a noble who looks after this part of the region. Even though Taren knows this guy, it's not like everything Taren does is for free, which was a shame because I thought my family was more important than I thought. 

I expected this tutor to be some old, wise guy like some retired mage or even some hot mommy with big melons that would have a Seris cup size. 

A knock was heard at the door, and Ria and Taren opened the door expecting it to be my magician tutor. As I squeezed through to see who it was, it was not someone I expected at all. 

The girl out the door itched her head and then cleared her throat as it was silent. She had a big bag behind her back and was also carrying a mage staff that had a red stone or crystal on the top of it. "Good afternoon, my name is Larah. Larah Shirasu." She softly said. 

"O-oh, right," Ria said. "You aren’t the magician tutor, right...?" 

I looked at her from top to bottom. What!? I exclaimed to myself.. She isn’t some old retired man or a hot magician D-cup chick. She, she’s... A loli! She is probably about fourteen years old or even younger. I squinted my eyes. She is definitely five-one in height or even in her fours. I can work with this. Sure, soft chest balls and all of that are cool and all but a small and shy cute girl just gets me all fluttery on the inside, Hehe. 

"Oh, well," Taren said. "We are pleased to meet you, but uh, aren’t you a little..." Taren looked at Larah from top to bottom. 

"We don’t mean to be disrespectful, but aren’t you a little too young?" Ria asked. 

Larah shook her head. "No, ma’am. I am much older than I look." 

I was pondering as I was looking at her, Wait, is she a... Loli hag? Well, it's a fantasy world for a reason, I guess this makes sense. 

"Older... Right, I guess we’ll take your word for it." Taren said. 

Larah would just blink a few times. "Anyways. We should get to it," Larah said. "So, am I training one of you or...?" A small leaf then fell on Larah’s hat, but she wiped it off. 

"Oh, no. Our sweet little miracle here is to teach." Ria said with a bright smile as she rubbed my shoulder. Larah turned her head down only a little and saw me. 

"You want me to teach... Him?" 

"Mhm," Ria said as she nodded with a smile. 

"And those are some... Interesting number of cowlicks when both of you are..." Larah said as she looked up at Taren and Ria. 

"It's just something rare he had at birth. Don’t worry about it," Taren said.  

"Guess that makes sense." "It would only be strange if he had white hair..." Larah mumbled. 

"Sorry?" Ria asked. 

"Oh, nothing, it's just I expected him to be someone much older. What is he like, five?" 

Watch your tongue there, miss. You look five yourself. And I just turned six not long ago. I said in my inner thoughts. 

"Well, first of all, he is six, and second, does it matter how old he is?" Ria said with a smile as she started to feel like the Larah was being disrespectful. 

"Well, it's just I train like children around ten or older because they understand better, and Its not wrong for the kid to learn magic, but I don’t think I do good with young and very energetic children." 

"Well, he's actually a very mature boy. He really just needs guidance to control his magic because he created a big hole up there, as you can see." Larah looked up at the hole in my room wall and then back down at me again, and I winked at her. 

Larah sighed. "You both sure it wasn’t some beast that attacked? I mean, a boy his age I’ve seen usually starting lightning magic just creates a good spark." 

"Tenshi has never lied once in his life, and Taren here made sure to check if any monsters attacked." 

Larah looked at us with zero emotion and looked away. "Great. Parents are just in denial and think their child is some prodigy who could have the potential to be a god. What a classic..." She muttered. 

"Excuse me?" Ria said as her eye twitched. 

Larah looked back at us and kept her composure. "Nothing. All I'm saying is that your son should have a tutor that actually works for children his age." 

"Please, we will pay double if we have to." 

Taren's eyes widened. "Ria..." Taren whispered to Ria. 

Ria looked at Taren. "Oh, come on, it's for our son." 

Larah thought about it for a little longer and made up her decision as Ria looked back. "Fine, I understand. Just know I’ll be needing a room because this will take a couple years till he graduates. A lot." 

"We understand," Ria said as she looked back at Larah with a soft smile 

Guess this is how my first day starts... Larah said to herself. Larah took a deep breath. "And one more thing. You don’t mind I train your son out here in the yard, right?" 

Ria shook her head. "Nope, we don’t mind at all. You could also use the backyard if you’d like. There is more space there. 

"Very well. All right then, so is it okay if I just leave my bag here, or should I go to my guest room? Wherever it is." 

"Just set them down here, and I’ll set them on the bed." 

"All right." Larah left her bag on the porch and then looked down at me. Larah looked down at me. "All right, kid, come on." Larah started to slowly walk away. 

Wait, like right now!? "Wait, miss," I said. 

Larah looked back toward me. "Yeah, what's on your mind?" 

"I just wanna make sure I heard everything right. You are gonna teach me outside but in the yard or backyard, right?" I asked with a nervous expression. 

Larah nodded. "Come now," she said as she turned back around. 

"...Okay..." I began to followed Larah. 

"Be good, Tenshi!" Ria shouted as I followed Larah. I looked back and looked in front of me again. Ria and Taren went back inside the house. As I followed Larah, we made it to the backyard of the house. 

"All right here should be good. More opened than I thought." Larah noticed a wooden stool. "All right, kid, go and sit down there," she said as she pointed at the stool. 

"Okay." I went over to the stool and sat on it. I was a little nervous because the stone fences were not high enough, so anyone walking by could just see me, which I don’t like being stared at by people I don’t know. 

"All right, so I think we should start on getting to know each other better and go over with the specifics on what's going to happen for the next couple years." 

"Okay then." I said as as my finger kept tapping on my knee. 

"So, I'm sure you heard my name is Larah. Larah Shirasu, and I'm guessing your name is Tenshi Trius?" 

"Uh, actually, my real name is Tenshin. Tenshi has just been a short way to call me name." 

"All right then, I’ll just stick with Tenshi. It sounds nicer in my head anyway." 

"Thats fine with me." 

Larah nodded as she scratched her cheek. "All right, I want you to listen to what I'm going to say." 

"Okay," I said as I nodded 

"I need you to listen carefully. I understand you're still a child, but I expect you to manage your energy levels. If you become too disruptive, I will possibly leave and quit being your tutor. I hope we can make this experience go well since this is also my first time being a home tutor or just a tutor in general." 

I nodded again. "I understand. Don’t be annoying, and stay mature. I promise I’ll be a great first student, miss." 

"Oh, so you did understand that," Larah said with a very small hint of surprise. 

I nodded. 

"I see. I guess I underestimated your knowledge just a little." Me and Larah both looked at each other in silence for a bit, and Larah then snapped out of it after she blinked. "Oh, right. Now that we're done with introductions, I’ll be your tutor for probably the next few years till you become a saint class at magic. It's best that I also start explaining what magic is to you. Even if you say you know a thing or two, I'm still going to tell you anyway since I don’t know for sure how much you know." 

"Well, uh. I guess I understand." 

Larah then cleared her throat. "All right, as you may know or not know, there are the five main elements of magic. Earth magic, fire magic, water magic, air magic, and lightning magic. And the others that matter for another time. And there are 8 ranks that say how good you are at using these elements; the same goes for sword, but we don’t have to get into that. These ranks are Novice class, intermediate class, advanced class, saint class, master class, king class, emperor class, and God class. Got all of that?" 

"Mhm." I started to tap my finger on my knee a little faster. God, I don’t think I’ve ever been out this long. Being on the tree doesn’t count. There’s already some lady walking by. It’s fine, Tenshi, she won’t see you. She’s just minding her own business carrying her potatoes or whatever she’s doing. Just keep on moving... I said to myself as I was looking at what looked to be a nice-looking old lady just carrying something in a basket outside the house property, just completely minding her own business, and Larah then snapped her fingers two times in front of my face. 

"Hey, Larah to Tenshi, eyes up here. Did you get what I said?" 

I quickly looked up at Larah and nodded, "Uh, yes." 

"Hm, all right then. So. Of course, to learn magic, you need to tap into your inner power, which is mana, which also depends on how low or high your inner potential is. Some have low potential to the point of none. Some even get high enough getting up to king or emperor class maybe at the age of sixteen or something like that, and if you do ask, I am a saint class magician nearing master class." 

I nodded. 

"All right, now I want you to listen carefully to this part. I'm going to be doing a small Novice class spell that should be at your level." Larah turned the other way. 

"Wait, but I've already done lightning magic before, and I'm not even a novice class. I'm at least an advanced class." 

Larah rolled her eyes and turned her head to face me. "Okay, well, maybe you can prove that later," she said sarcastically. "I just want you to do this specific spell. If you can’t do it as big, then that's fine, as long as you try." 

Hmph, Doubter, I said to myself as I had an annoyed expression on my face. 

Larah pointed her staff in front of her, and a skinny, four-foot-tall stone came out of the ground. 

Wow, that was cool. I said to myself with a hint of amaze. 

"There." Larah would accidentally drop her staff. "Oh, whoops." Larah would bend down to grab it. And under her skirt would be revealed. 

Holy crap, pantie shot! I covered my face from the blushing. Larah had some nice black lingerie, and to me, size didn’t matter. thick or flat, as long as it was still a woman. 

Larah stood back up and quickly looked right at me as she would be flustered. "Oh, I'm sorry you didn’t see that, right?" 

I would tilt my head to look confused. "See what?" 

Larah sighed with relief. "Uh... nothing." Larah turned back around. 

"Hey. I also realized can also do Earth magic?" 

Larah turned her head to face me. "Yeah, also, you seem a bit flustered. And only up to advanced class. You have an interest in earth magic, too?" 

I scratched my cheeks, thinking it would make it go away. I nodded. "I want to learn all the elements. The next one I plan to do would be fire, and then after, it could be Earth and then water and wind. I really wanna be able to do all of those or any other I missed if I did." I said with a big smile, and Larah gave a small, soft smile. 

"Hah, I like fire to." She then looked over at the small pillar she had made. 

"All right, see that over there. I ask of you to cast Lightning String on it. I’ll show you how I do it, in case you’re a little unfamiliar with it because I don’t want you getting it mixed up with another spell." 

I know exactly what I am doing. But hey, at least this first-timer knows the right one to start a child off so far. 

She would aim her staff at the pillar. The wind would get only a little stronger. "I call upon the power bestowed by Alucelia. The electrifying energy within me surged forward, striking the enemy before me with a painful thunderbolt. Ha!" The wind would stop as A bolt of lightning shot right out of the staff and broke the pillar. 

I started to clap, "That was amazing, master!" 

Larah turned around and looked right at me. "Master..." She mumbled. "Oh, Heh. Right..." She looked away and quickly shook her head and looked back at me. "Now, it's your turn, Tenshi." 

I got up from the stool, and Larah aimed her staff at the tall earth magic made stone again, and the it reformed itself back together. Larah then stepped aside, and I walked a couple feet away from me. 

I aimed my hand at the small earth pillar. 

Larah kept eyeing me down, making sure I was doing it right. 

All right, so all I have to do is show her how strong I really am. Well, at least that's what I plan, but should I really do that, though? I mean, this chick seems kind of cute, and what if I use to much power that she would just say I graduated and be done with it. Maybe I should go slow and do intermediate level. Yeah, that should be good. I kept my hand aimed at the pillar and was ready to shoot, but then I realized something. Oh crap, incantations, right. "I call upon the power bestowed by Alucelia. The electrifying energy within me surged forward, striking the enemy before me with a painful thunderbo—" 

The wind that grew around me as I spoke. Before I could finish, the wind lifted Larah’s skirt, revealing an extra bit in between her legs, that I saw those black panties once again with the side of my eye. 

My heart felt a big pound, and I started to feel so flushed that the lightning coming out of my hand immediately came out and shot the pillar. 

It was so bright that Larah covered her eyes, and then the light stopped as the pillar was completely turned into ashes, as well as the grass burning up a bit and leaving a small crater. Larah was left speechless and patted her skirt down even though the wind was already gone. 

...Since when was being horny affect magic!? I questioned with an embarrassed look on my face. I quickly faced Larah as I kept My posture straight. "S-so, um... Did I do good... Master Larah?" 

Larah didn’t say anything and looked completely in shock as she still was looking at the pillar. 

"Uh, Master?" 

Larah blinked and woke back up from her shock. "Oh, um... T-that was... Tenshi, I have a question." 

"Okay, I'm listening." It was silent for a few seconds. 

"I just need to hear from you again. when did you learn lightning magic or any magic, and how quick was the process to get to the point you are in now?" 

I started to think back for a moment. "It was somewhere near..." I snapped my fingers as I remembered. "It was when I was near three and four. I used my mom's magical guidebook and learned lots of lightning magic and trained it by using a mana bulb." I said completely casually. 

Larah was stunned to hear the fact I learned magic at such a young age. "Uhm, hey, I hope you don’t mind, but is it okay if I touch your head?" 

"Touch my head? Why?" 

"Oh, uh, I just want to see something really quick. Please." 

"Oh, well, okay then." 

I stood still as Larah took a step closer to me and put her hand up on the top of my head. The palm of her hand started to glow white. 

Wow, what is she even doing? It kinda feels good, like a tingly feeling when getting a haircut. 

Larah had a shocked face again "Uh!?" she putted her hand back down, and it stopped glowing. "Oh, I see." Larah backed off and looked the other way. "Wow, you have such a high potential. you could even eventually get to my level..." Larah said with a nervous smile and a hint of a shaken voice. 

What? She can read potential? Oh wow. I smiled and felt more pride that my big smile couldn’t go back down. But seeing someone so freaked out and surprised, I actually feel special, hah! I stopped smiling as I started to smell something. It was like a burning smell. "Master, what is that smell?" 

Larah turned back towards me and started to sniff the air. "Huh... Smokey." Larah turned around to where the tall earth magic stone once was, and the burning grass was starting to touch one of the bushes. "Ah! Oh no, no, no, no, I can’t get fired on the first day!" 

Larah quickly ran toward the fire, and she quickly used some water magic, but in the process, she also slipped after making a puddle of mud on mistake. "Ah!" She exclaimed as she fell. The fire was now out. 

I ran to Larah to check if she was okay. "Are you all right, master?" 

Larah just stayed on the ground and sighed. Her face said it all looked like she had the worst day ever. 

I guess she isn’t so fine. I held my hand out to Larah, and Larah gave a soft smile and took my hand, and got up. 

Larah was a mess now, and she cleared her throat and stopped smiling, and kept that professional tone again. 

"Ahem. Thank you, Tenshi," she said as she wiped the mud from her cheek. 

I smiled back at Larah, and there was a small scream behind us. it was Ria with a hint of shock, and both Larah and I looked back down, and the bush was completely charged along with the berries. I started to realize that this was my mother's bush that she just planted to make the other berries. 

Uh oh. I said to myself. 

"Miss Larah! If you're gonna teach Tenshi magic, it doesn't mean you can destroy the yard!" Ria said. 

Larah started to freak out. "I'm so sorry. I-I can fix it." Larah went over to the bush and slipped on mud again. "Ah!" 

"Oh boy, yeah, she has every right to hate her life right now," I said with a fake smile. 

                                                                *** 

a couple of minutes later, Larah just got done with healing the bush and was given a towel by Ria before she went back inside for a moment. Larah was just sitting on the stool and looking down, as she was still a little dirty. She just didn’t have wet mud around her anymore. I was just standing beside her awkwardly, itching my cheek and figuring out what to say, and I put my hand back down. 

"You know, master, at least it’s all back to normal." Larah was still looking down, but she then spoke, 

"Thank you for the reassurance. I’ll need it before I get fired..." 

I stared at her with a guilty look on my face. I then looked up at the sky and itched my cheek a little again. Dang it, Tenshi, you screwed up again. You had one job. How do I make the situation better? The closest thing I did to talk with a girl was the AI girls and with my ex, but it was more of just a friend relationship that was toxic. Think... I thought for a moment and then looked back at Larah. "Well, you still feel like an amazing master. And, uh..." 

Ria was about to come back out, but as she looked at me talking to Larah, she hid on the side of the house and took a listen. 

"I mean, you're supposed to learn through trial and error and to keep going till it all goes well. Even though you did doubt me for my skills, I still want you to be my teacher and teach me till the very end." 

Larah still sat in silence but then had a small smile. "Such wise words coming from you, and something I really needed." Larah looked at me. "You sure you're just some normal little kid? You're not some reincarnation of some old wise man, right?" 

Wait, she knows!? 

Larah made a small chuckle. "Kidding, but thank you. It's still up to your parents to decide if I can stay or not. And it was rude of me on how I acted towards you and your parents a little. You are honestly the smartest kid you're age I know, and it feels embarrassing that I have to take advice from someone like you." 

Well, that didn’t feel nice yet rude. 

Larah looked up into the sky. "But you know, that's truly something special you carry within you. You might be a fortunate individual with a wealth of knowledge, and you deserve to be proud of that. It's a gift that not everyone possesses, and I'm sure it’s wonderful to embrace it." 

I smiled, and Ria did the same and walked over to me and Larah. 

"Excuse me, Larah," Ria said. 

Larah stood up and quickly bowed down. "Oh, uh, I again apologize for what I did, and I won’t argue if you decide to fire me." 

"No, no, please get back up. I appreciate the respect, yet you don’t have to." Larah brought the other half of her body back up, and her eyes looked down into the grass and looked nervous. 

"I just feel like I should. I heard you loud and clear in the first place, and I'm hoping you're not forgiving me because you thought it was Tenshi’s fault. It was completely on me." Larah slowly brought her head up. 

"I'm not sure how you feel, but don’t be so down. It's not like you couldn’t fix it, and I don’t think it’s Tenshi’s fault at all. We all make mistakes now and then. Please, Larah, I would like for you to stay as Tenshi's tutor. I don’t think I could ask anyone else. Unless you don’t want to be." 

Larah was surprised. She looked over at me and back at Ria. "Wait, so I'm not some problem to you or the family? I don’t want to cause any negativity. I don’t even know if I trust myself. I'm always clumsy and make mistakes. Are you positive?" Larah asked with shock and confusion. 

"Of course. We would be happy to treat you as one of us. You still have your own choice to make, but I think you would be an amazing tutor. You could even be the only tutor Tenshi would allow." 

Hang on, what makes her say that? I said to myself. 

Larah would think about it for a moment as she looked down and then bring her head back up. "Thank you for welcoming me in, and I’d be happy to stay Tenshi’s home tutor." 

Ria clapped her hands together. "Great, now let's head inside. We have many plates full of food nearly ready, and you should definitely get cleaned up." 

"Of course," she replied as she nodded. 

Ria walked back to the porch of the house, and Larah followed, 

"You to Tenshi," Ria said. 

"Okay!" I ran over to Larah and Ria. 

                                                               *** 

As we got back inside, Larah took a nice warm bath inside. She came out wearing a nice and comfy black dress, and the food was set on the table, and it was full of meat and vegetables and pastries for Larah’s welcome into the house. 

Larah took her time to greet Seris, and then we all started eating. It was amazing to see how much I saw the others treat Larah as if she had lived there for years.  

I smiled. Man, how was someone like me so lucky to be reborn into this type of world? I feel so happy in these moments. I’m hoping I don’t make the same mistake I made in my old life. All I want is peace and happiness. But even if something bad does happen, I just have to keep trying and to get up and keep on going, and with this family, I might even grow stronger on the inside. 

                                                               *** 

As we all finished eating and talking half an hour later, we all headed into our rooms, and after I said goodnight to Seris, Ria, and Taren, I saw Larah walk over to her room and yawn, and I poked her twice on the arm. "Hey, master." I said. 

"Hm?" Larah looked back and turned around. "Yes, Tenshi?" 

"I just wanted to say goodnight, and I can’t wait to see what you will teach me next tomorrow," I said with a smile. 

Larah smiled back and patted my head. "Goodnight, Tenshi. Sleep well so you don’t get so tired tomorrow." 

I nodded and saw Larah get in the room and close the door behind her. 

I then walked over to my room, and it still had the cloth cover over the wall that I broke with my light magic, but my bed was fixed and fine now. 

I hopped on my bed and took a deep breath, and still had a smile on my face as I took a deep breath. I’ll make it in this life, and I know it. I can’t promise it all now, but I’ll grow to make it a promise in the end, so I can grow to live and be happy and have no regrets. I closed my eyes. To live life at its fullest. 

                                     Chapter 6: Master! 

I was still quietly asleep, and I was currently seeing some moments in my old life. It felt very realistic. It was raining and night outside, and I was currently parked on the sidewalk in a neighborhood. I was in the back of my car, and I was next to my ex-girlfriend’s house. Right now, I was just giving myself erotic pleasure to some saved animated Loli porn I had on my phone. 

Come on, when is this bitch gonna come back already. A woman was currently walking with a brown purse. She had red hair and blue eyes with a few freckles and was wearing a jacket, and was carrying a black umbrella. She was definitely my ex. I looked at her, walking back inside her house. I'm almost done just need a couple more minutes... 

As I was almost finished with my session, my phone died. "Damn it! I was just right there!" I banged my fist against the car door. As I pulled my pants back up, I opened the door and closed it behind me. 

I was soaking in rain, but I didn’t care; I just walked over to the house, and I saw a small flicker of light inside that stopped. But I didn’t think much of it. 

I knocked at the door and rang the doorbell, and looked at the doorbell camera. "Hey, I just want to let you know I'm sorry for being a jerk off. If you still hate me, then all I ask for is just to live at your place for a week and a week only." 

I was waiting for a response, but nothing was heard. I thought it was maybe the rain, but I swear she would be taking off her shoes or something right now. "Hey, at least say something back. I know you in there. I saw you turn on the light and turn it back off." 

I waited for a response, but there was nothing, so all I did was walk to the left and look in the window, and nobody was there. What the hell? "Hey Camila! I'm right here!" Nothing was heard from inside the house. "Fine, if you want to be such a quiet ass already, then so be it! I didn’t need your shit anyways!" I walked back to my car and opened the door, and closed it as I got in. 

I got the inside wet, but I didn’t care and just banged the steering wheel with my hands. "To hell with this shit! I'm going somewhere else." I turned on the car, and as the radio turned on, I heard a familiar voice, 

"Hey, Tenshi... Tenshi... It's time to get up." That is what I heard through the radio, and the voice sounded like Larah. 

As I blinked, I started to see black and heard the sounds of nature, and I started opening my eyes and saw Larah in her mage robe, and staff held beside her and she was just looking right down at me while I was in my room on my bed. 

I didn’t have my vest on since I never wear it to sleep. I took a moment to stare at her beautiful red ruby-colored eyes. 

"Morning, master... Oh, wait, right, I apologize!" 

And yes, I was in my room from earlier that I destroyed on mistake, and the bed was set in the corner of the room and not beside the window anymore, and the hole in the wall was gone and the window was fixed to. 

Larah stood straight and backed up a bit. "You okay? Heard a lot of language and stuff. Nightmare?" I sat up as Larah spoke. 

I got out of the bed and looked right at her. "I'm sorry, it was just a scary dream where I was fighting beast and stuff," I said as I laughed nervously at the end. 

Larah had her eyes on me, and it was silent for a few seconds. 

She shrugged it off and walked away, "Just get ready and meet me outside. Your parents have breakfast set for you, and I already ate, so I’ll just be waiting and catching some fresh air while I wait." I watched her walk out the door. 

"Okay, master!" Larah then fully exited the room, and I was on my own, looking out the window. And yet the same old nightmares keep on coming. 

                                                               *** 

three months have passed, and Larah has been teaching me a lot of newer and awesome spells. I was practicing some water magic outside by watering some plants that I insisted to water for Ria. I was currently done with Larah’s outside teachings for the day. but Larah had some late evening lessons planned, which was new. 

"I wonder what Master has planned for me tonight. I mean some indoor time together? I’m down." I smirked. oh, just imagine some student and tutor fun. That's a classic. I can just imagine it already." 

I stopped smirking. "But then again, Larah’s type probably isn’t a six-year-old boy, so unfortunately, I got to wait." I feel like I'm in a hurry. I mean, anything could happen at any point in time. "Nah, I’ll be fine. She’ll definitely be my waifu, or who knows, like almost every isekai protagonist. I’ll grow a harem!" I splashed water onto the sky, and it started dropping back down on me. Maybe that was cooler in my head. I felt a tap on my back and looked back, and it was Taren, just without his red vest. "Huh?" 

"Hey, Tenshi, just checking up on my boy. Wait, why are you all wet?" 

"Oh... just clumsy mistake, haha..." I nervously said. 

"I see..." Taren mumbled and then walked up closer to me, went on his knee, and pulled me close to his side. 

"Say, it's the end of your session with Larah today, right...?" He whispered. 

"Yeah... well, she actually had plans for me tonight, but it's probably indoor stuff." 

"Ah, I see." Taren got up and pulled his sword out of his waist, and carried it on his shoulder. "Then I guess it's my turn to tutor you." 

I tilted my head. "Come on, Dad, you don’t even know magic." Taren flicked my head. "Ouch!" I rubbed my head. 

"Not magic, Tenshi. I mean sword training, I did say I would teach it to you at some point, didn’t I? You have seen enough of what I done so now its time to use what you saw against me." 

"Huh? wait, really? I kind of thought you forgot about that, but yeah, I guess I don’t mind." 

Taren grinned, "Great, that's what I wanted to hear. Just one second..." Taren took a wooden sword from his right-side waist and put his real one back in his waist. 

"Why do you even carry that with you?" 

"I don’t. I'm just giving it to you, and I’ll go get mine. We are going to start with training with wooden swords, so you don’t have to worry... Yet." 

Yet!? "Oh, okay..." I nervously said. 

"Great! I’ll be back now." Taren would walk the other way and get back in the house. 

I waited outside for Taren to get back. It only took a minute, and he had his own wooden sword ready. 

"All right, Tenshi, let's just go to that area of the yard so we don’t have your mother yell at us for ruining the plants or something." 

"Okay." 

I followed Taren to the corner as we entered the backyard of the house. "Just stay there now." I stopped following and waited to see what Taren would want me to do next. 

He was then taking some distance away from me and turned around to look right at me, and he was doing a stance with his sword. "All right, Tenshi, you ready?" 

I tilted my head because I was feeling confused, but then I realized and was in shock, Wait, he means like clash with him right here? right now!? My legs started to shake. "F-father, what kind of s-sword training are we doing?" I said with a nervous smile. 

"We are going to have a duel. and I’ll go only a little easy because you’d be done for in a second, but come on, Tenshi, I believe in you. You're my blood, so I know you'll do good." 

I gulped took a deep breath and calmed down. "I want to let you know that doesn’t make me feel better, but okay." 

"Heh," Taren said as he grinned. 

I sweated a little, but I kept my composure. Okay, Tenshi, remember what he does and be one step ahead. Just one. I got on my stance, and I looked like I was a character from a horror film right about to violently stab someone. 

"That's going to be your stance?" Taren asked with his eyebrow raised. 

"Y-yeah, I can be in whatever stance I want, right?" 

Taren chuckled. "Well, You can. But I recommend holding your sword in front of you, just like I do. You never know how swift your opponent might be. By keeping your sword ready like I am, you’ll be able to defend yourself easier. Trust me, it makes a difference." 

I was thinking about it for a moment, and I started to think he was right. "Okay than..." I mumbled. I slowly aimed the sword in front of me and got in a similar stance as him, and we stared each other down, and I waited for the signal. 

"Ha!" Taren exclaimed. Taren just ran towards me, and I had no time to think 

"Wait where was the countdown!?" I aimed the sword above my head to defend myself from Taren's slash. 

"Nice one." Taren then kicked me in the ribs 

"Gah!" I shouted as I spat out saliva. I flew to the other side and on to the ground. "Ow..." 

I slowly got up with dirt on my clothes, "You sure this isn’t going too far, Father!?" I said as I looked right at him. Before I knew it, Taren was already in front of me. "Ah!" I exclaimed as we had a clash again, and I could barely hold because of how strong he was. 

"Not at all. You really do have strength in you Tenshi, heh." I quickly used air magic to send him flying. I was only intermediate and basically used almost all my mana to pull off such a blow like that. 

"Hey, no magic while using a sword." Taren got back up, and I quickly ran.  

Okay, what do I do? No magic. What if the classic hit is allowed for the rest of my siblings, or should I say: Hit his family jewels." I turned back, and as Taren was getting inches closer to me, he swung his sword. and I ducked under it. 

"Nice trick, Tenshi!" Taren front flipped, and before I could look back, he hit me right on the head. 

Even though the swords were made of wood, they really hurt like hell.  

                                                               *** 

A few hours went by, and I woke up on Ria’s lap on the couch. The sun was setting outside, and my eyes were half open. I saw her talking with someone. My eyes looked to the left, and I saw Taren sharpening his sword My eyes looked to the left, and I saw Taren sharpening his sword with this big V-shaped thing in his hand. 

"I just think it's going too fast, don’t you think?" Ria said. 

"Relax, this is essential for Tenshi’s growth," Taren said as he spoke to Ria. "If healing magic weren’t available, I might take it easier on him, but if he’s going to thrive in this crazy world and be out there, he needs to get strong and learn to handle the pain." 

"I get that, but... I don’t know. maybe I have just been too much of a protective mother. Looking at Tenshi now, I guess he’s o—" As Ria looked down at me, I had my eyes opened. "Oh, sweetie, you're awake," Ria said as she would be surprised. I moved my head out of Ria’s lap and started to sit up and stretch my arm. 

Taren looked over at me. "So, how's the head, Tenshi?" Taren asked as he paused to sharpen his sword. 

"Well, It’s just a little sore, but jeez, you’re quick. I don’t even know how you expected me to best you at that. That didn’t even feel fair." 

"It wasn’t supposed to be," Taren said. "I was just testing you. I believe our next class should focus on teaching you some basic novice and intermediate class skills. To be honest, I see you as already being at an intermediate level. Yes, there was a minor mistake in your stance at first, but other than that, you’ve surpassed the novice class. When I went half easy, I anticipated you would be knocked in an instant, but your excellent reaction timing impressed me. If it felt fast, know that it’s a testament to your abilities, and you should feel honored. 

I stayed silent and just kept looking at Taren. 

"Is something wrong?" He asked as he looked confused. 

"No, it's just that I’m not so used to your formal speaking, but I guess I thought wrong about what I said." 

Taren smirked. "Heh, so I guess that means you’ll continue letting me train you?" 

"Of course. And now that I think about it, I think this will help me with a bunch of other things, and not just being a swordsman," I said with a smile and looked over at Taren. "So, Dad, I wanna continue being taught by you." 

"Good to hear, Tenshi. Magic can look cool and all, but trust me, the sword can be way better at its moments." 

I made a small chuckle. "Right..." I think Taren is losing me again, I said to myself with a hint of doubt on my face. 

"So, may I speak now?" Seris said behind me and Ria. 

"Ah!" I shouted as I looked behind me to see Seris. 

"Ah!" Seris also shouted. "Oh, I apologize, Tenshi, I didn’t mean to scare you." 

"It's all right, he’s fine," Ria said as she looked behind the coach. 

"Sorry, Aunt Seris, I didn’t see you there." 

Taren then looked up at Seris. "And yeah, go ahead, Seris," Taren said. 

"Okay." She cleared her throat. "So, Larah wanted Tenshi upstairs, and if you three are too busy, I can just ask her to wait a bit if you need me to." 

"Oh, right. Tenshi, you said Larah had some plans for you, right?" Taren asked as he looked back at me. 

I looked back at Taren. "Oh, right. Is it fine if I go now?" 

"Sure, guess we are done with this discussion anyway." 

"Okay." As I was about to get up, Ria grabbed my hand. I stopped and looked back at her. 

"Tenshi, just one more thing before you go," Ria said. 

I raised an eyebrow, "Sure, what is it?" I stayed to listen to what Ria was going to say next. 

"You know I love you so very much, and I just want the best for you. I know I’ve not been the best mother. I’ve been going back and forth on treating you, just relying on you taking care of yourself but also being overprotective. I apologize." Ria looked down, but she wasn’t crying. She just let out a deep sigh. I felt this feeling in my heart, as well as guilt. 

I was a bit suprised, wow, she is still on about this. "Hey, mother. I don’t think you are bad. I love you so much that I can’t even think about having another mother." I said with a smile. 

Ria gave a soft smile back, "I'm glad to hear that, sweetie. You should get going. I'm sure Larah wants to teach you more amazing things." Ria ruffled my hair. "Now go on." 

I nodded and walked out of the room and upstairs. 

After I went upstairs, Seris looked over at Ria and back to Taren. 

"I’ll get back to folding the clothes." Taren gave a thumbs up, and Seris walked away. Taren got up and placed his sword and sharpener down on the sofa chair he was just sitting on. He sat next to Ria and put his arm around her. 

"See that? He's doing just fine," Taren said. 

Ria leaned her head on Taren's shoulder. "I... I guess he is, but I still worry if I'm doing anything right." Taren moved his head a little down to look at Ria’s face. 

"Hm? You're talking about yourself? ay, I mean, that's something every parent feels, so that's normal. He's only six years old, and you see him happy, right? I'm honestly happy to see him like this. He has a massive potential for magic and even a sword. I mean, who knows? He could be one of the eight gods one day." 

Ria chuckled. "Right... Thanks again, honey." 

"No problem. What's a good husband here for," Taren said with a smile. 

Ria smiled and laid her head back on the couch. "Well, just hold your pervertedness and keep it on me and not others."  

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"Well, that was random. You’re saying I haven’t changed?" 

Ria looked back at Taren. "I'm just saying, try not to be that husband that get tired of their wife." 

Taren would be shocked. "Of course not. I still have all my love only for the best." 

Ria chuckled. "Relax, I was only kidding, but I'm glad." 

Taren let a deep breath out in relief. "Well, I'm glad to." 

                                                               *** 

As I got upstairs, I knocked on Larah’s guest room door. "Master, I'm here as you asked!" 

Larah opened the door. She was still in her mage outfit, just without the black cape around her. "Tenshi, you're here. Come in." 

                                                               *** 

Thirty minutes went by, and apparently, all she wanted was to teach me some stuff about magic, history, or other things like that. I was currently hearing her read some of that stuff. 

It wasn’t necessary for her to teach me this, but since she asked so nicely and since wanting to see her more often, I did say yes. History wasn’t my thing, but I also didn’t mind learning things here since this would probably be more interesting than hearing the stuff back in my world. 

Larah continued with the story as I looked at her for her because of how cute she looked. "And the lightning god Alucelia and the air god Kairen were actually related," Larah said. "Which is why they have the same last name. Kairen is weaker than her since his rank is eight among the eight gods and both Kairen and the Sword God Greyat Vendalian are also rivals." Larah looked up at me and noticed my stare at her as I was on my knees on the chair that was facing behind me. I started looking at Larah’s skirt and Larah flicked my head. 

"Ow," I said as I flinched. 

"Did you get that?" She said as she looked at me. 

I rubbed my forehead and nodded. "So, what, are they both the creators of air and lightning magic or something?" 

"Of course not. They just had a strong and high potential and mana capacity for magic. There are more strong mages in the eight to, earth and the other one being fire and water." 

I looked in suprised. "You're telling me that the earth magic one is stronger than kairen!? And did you say Fire, and water? or fire and water?" 

"Fire and water. The fourth rank in the eight strongest is Vitela Faros. Most of these gods just roam around the world every now and then or just sit on a throne in some castle and whatnot. The oldest ones are third rank and second rank, but they don’t matter." Larah gets up and does a quick, small stretch. "Anyways, that should be it for today this time." 

A small owl noise was heard outside. 

"Wait, I wanted to know a few more things!" 

Larah walked over to the bed and sat on it. "All right, all right, go ahead." Larah was curling up her hair with her finger a few times. 

"Well, I just wanna know what is this world all about? like just a bit more on the race out there, maybe." 

"The amount of races in this world? Well, Even living so long, there are a few I probably don’t know, but I do know that there are humans, demi-humans, elves," 

I started to fluster and smirk. Oh. My. God. Yes, demi-humans. The cuteness of a demi-human cat girl, oh, or an elf with big tits, oh my god, having someone like that as a waifu would rule! 

Larah rubbed her eyes. "and dwarves and demons; the mostly known demons are us yuriba demons. And some of the races you might find could even be rare hybrids like a demon and demi-human hybrid for example," she continued. 

I was impressed. "Wow, demons, too? Wait, us?" I looked in confusion. 

"I'm a Yuriba demon myself," she said as she pointed at herself for a second. 

I looked at her with amazement, "Wow, really? You're a demon!? That’s so cool!" 

Larah smiled. "We actually have double the lifespan of a human, so most of us live up to one hundred and seventy to two hundred. I'm actually eighty-nine." 

"Damn!" Both Larah and I looked at each other in silence. "Sorry about that." 

Larah would be confused. "What are you apologizing for?" 

Oh, right, this is another world.  

Larah shrugged it off. "Anyway. We are mostly known to have purple hair and eyes, but some amazing lucky demons have the red color like me." Larah had a small smile and looked away. Her smile went down, and it looked like she was thinking. She looked back at me and had a soft smile again. "Sorry, but yeah, a very small amount have a fear of red ones like me, mainly because we resemble the demon lord or god, whatever you call him. And this one witch." 

Of course, there are demon lords. Let me guess. My goal is to kill him, and that's how my story ends. Probably not, but that's many isekai novels or anime go. But what's up with Larah’s backstory?" "And they hate you?" I asked, my expression filled with a hint concern. 

"Nah, it's not so bad, I'm still happy," she replied. "The demon god is named Desratch Kratis, and the Witch, I am not so sure, but she goes by the Witch of Death. They both were very powerful demons. Desratch was actually the first rank among the eight gods. He gained control over many beings using mind control to commanded a vast army. It sparked a great war that resulted in the deaths of many gods from the past. The third ranked god, Hildros, sealed the demon god away during the conflict and was celebrated as a hero. He was known for his sword of light, but that sword was ultimately destroyed through the sealing process. I don’t know much more, but if you encounter the second and third rank, they could likely share some lesser-known details. Some say the second rank is either dead or no longer exists, so it may be rare to find him, or perhaps one of those claims is true." 

My mouth was wide open; I was speechless. Something tells me this is actually real stuff and not something out of a religion. "Wait, so these eight gods are... Alive?" I said with curiousty. 

"Well, of course they are. the demon god Desratch is sealed in another world. His title is still a thing because he isn’t dead. Many say he will either be reincarnated or summoned back one day. It goes to show that people are still scared since he could or not be alive wherever he was sealed. What's worrying is that there is a myth that Hildros was not even a part of the eight before the war, so if that demon does come back, we are all most likely screwed, but I have my doubts, and even if he does, I'm sure you’ll live a long great life before he makes his return." Larah shook her head. "Sorry, forget that part." 

...Holy crap, this world has some massive lore! 

Some moaning was then heard outside the room. It was clearly the sounds of Ria and Taren having their way in bed. 

Larah started to fluster a bit but kept a calm tone "Anyways, me and you should head to bed. We have another long day tomorrow." 

I looked out the door Dang, they are already at it? I look back at Larah and nod and got out of the chair. "Okay, master, goodnight." 

"Goodnight, Tenshi." 

I walked away and closed the door only a little bit, and took a peak inside. And now it is time for the show. 

Larah stood up and walked to her drawer. I couldn’t see since I would have to open the door more, but it was obvious she was changing. 

Aw, come on, this stupid door! 

Larah went back over to her bed and had a black nightgown, and this one was a little more see through, but you couldn’t see the private areas. As Larah blew out the candle, she turned around and put the blanket over her. 

"Well, that's it for the show..." I whispered and yawned quietly. But I guess I'm tired to. Before I could walk to my room, I started hearing some quiet moaning inside the room. Hm? I went over to take one last peak inside, and it was hard to see from the dark, but I did see the blanket move a little, and I started to piece it together. I-is Larah...?" 

Larah was indeed giving herself pleasure. 

I looked to my left to see a small dim light on the wall and footsteps, and it was getting closer. Oh, come on! I'm just starting to realize what Larah does in here free time, and I haven’t seen porn in ages! Why can’t I have some fun!? "Damn it..." I whispered. I quickly sneaked to my room before Seris saw me. This isn’t fair... I successfully made it. Seris was just currently walking to her room. I was about to walk out again, but then I stopped. "No, I would definitely get caught. Plus, it's fine for a guy like me to be a gentleman sometimes, and I'm trying to better myself... Why am I making excuses for myself? Ah, forget it. may as well just go to bed right now." I got on my bed and put the blanket over me. I wonder how I’ll feel again after I hit puberty another time, though, hmm... After that, I turned around and fell asleep 

                                                               ***           

One day had passed, and it was the middle of the afternoon, and I was currently training with Taren. Larah took more time off to help Ria grow some plants since Larah had some gardening experience, I heard, and this time, Taren was going a little softer with me and also teaching me some small tricks he had learned. 

Taren currently has his sword held against mine. "Come on, Tenshi, I want to see more power now!" 

"I'm trying!" I jumped back as Taren had more strength against me. "Wah!" I shouted as I tripped and fell on my bum. 

Taren would walk up to me and stop as he aimed the wooden sword right at my face. "Nice reaction timing, I'll give you that. If these were real swords, and you didn’t react like that." Taren turned his sword so the flat side could mirror me. "Then that face of yours would’ve had the biggest scar to take your life, and we wouldn’t want that now, do we? So good one." 

I laughed nervously. Wait, did he try to mirror my face with a wooden sword? I snickered. I wound got up from the ground. 

Seris came up behind me and put her hands on my shoulders. She had her other outfit, which was this same brown leather jacket, and green bra, and so on. "Relax, Taren," she said. "Don’t give him a scare. If you want him to learn the sword, then don’t have him fear it, you know?" Seris said.  

Taren rolled his eyes. "You always know everything when you have nothing to do with the situation. With all due respect, you're an archer, and I'm trying to make Tenshi mentally stronger to, not have more fear. Look at how I turned out." 

"A pervert with so much trauma. Just imagine if Ria left, would you still be you even in front of your child?" 

Taren looked down at me and back at Seris. Taren sighed. "It's not like I'm going to turn out to be as bad as my own father. Just trust it, all right?" 

Ria, in the far back, giggled, and Larah wasn’t really focused on the situation. "Oh my," Ria said. "I'm hoping you're not that into me, Taren. I love you, but I don’t want you turning out all evil if something were to happen to me," Taren and Seris and I looked at Ria as she spoke. 

Taren made a small chuckle. "Nah, I'm cool, and been a new man. got that?" He looked back at Seris. "And you to Seris." 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," 

Larah chuckled as she looked back at the three talking. 

"But also, that outfit I haven’t seen you wear that in a while, what’s up with putting it on now?" 

Seris looked down at herself "Oh, this? I didn’t even think it was that long" Seris looked back up. 

Ria then spoke and said, "Agreeing with Taren, I'm starting to get used to your maid side, and now this just feels like nostalgia," 

Seris looked over to Ria as she spoke and then back at Taren. "Well, to answer your question, I just wanted to go out and help with the groceries. I know I'm not always an outgoer, but I have to face these fears somehow."  

Seris then looked over at Larah. "Hey, Larah! Why don’t you come?" 

Larah looked over at Seris and got up. "Me? hm... I guess it doesn't sound like a bad idea. I don’t think I really have seen the village yet." Larah thought about it for a moment and looked back at Ria. "Is that okay, Miss Ria?" 

Ria nodded, "Yeah, of course, go ahead. I got this from here. You go help Seris; take as long as you need." Ria then looked over at Taren. "And I'm sure that's making him happy to hear that so he can have more time..." Ria muttered for only Larah to hear. 

"Hm?" Taren said as he was confused as Ria and Larah looked at him. 

Larah smiled as she looked Tenshi beside him, and then back at Seris. "Then it's settled. I’ll go with you; I just need a bit to go and grab something." 

Seris nodded. Larah went inside to quickly grab her mage hat, and as she came back, she and Seris left as we waved goodbye. 

Ria went back to gardening and me and Taren looked at each other 

"All right, go get yourself cleaned up now," Taren said. 

I nodded and turned around. 

"Wait, wait," I looked back at Taren. "Stay here. The more time, the better, and it's fine to get a little dirty, just some dirt on you anyways, nothing else." 

I looked at him again and answered, "Okay." 

Taren backed up and smirked. "Now on guard!" 

"Yes, sir!" Both Taren and I got into a stance with our wooden swords. 

                                                               *** 

Both Seris and Larah entered the village of Leafale. It was quite small but had plenty of detail. There were a lot of shops, mainly outside ones, and there were some children just playing around, too. It was looking quite peaceful, and it wasn’t super crowded. "So, Larah, what do you think of Leafale so far, hm?" Seris asked. 

Larah had her hat a little down and looked over at Seris, "Oh yeah, it's a very beautiful village. Just a little nervous, is all." 

Seris scratched her cheek. "Well, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. I have some trauma and trust issues with most strangers myself, but we should be fine out here." 

Larah lifted her hat a bit up. "Oh, I won’t ask, and I'm sorry for whatever has happened. I’ve just had some of my people who were not so liking of me, so it's just a little nerve-racking in a crowded place like this, but it's not like we should go back. These people here seem quite nice."  

Seris gave a small smile. "I haven’t been as out as Ria and Taren have been, but from what I can tell, there is a lot of peace around here. Not everyone is perfect, of course, but it's not so bad." 

Larah nodded. "Right." Larah walked straight, and had her hand back down beside her. She still felt a little nervous. 

"So, what's your story anyways?" 

"Huh? My story? Uh." Larah stayed quiet for a bit and was trying to figure out how to answer "...Well, it's a long story that I prefer not to talk about. I apologize." 

Seris had a small chuckle. "Don’t be if it's too personal. I respect you trying to hide it, now." Seris came to a stop, and Larah did too. "We should start with what we are tasked to do. Now, we could split up, and I only have one shopping list. I’ll let you have it since it's usually the same stuff." Seris handed the shopping list that was ripped off from the corner to Larah. 

Larah took it and looked through it. She nodded as she looked back up at Seris, "Okay, I understand now. I think I’ll just do this top half." Larah would show Seris what parts she was doing, and Seris gave a thumbs up. 

"All right. I say we should meet over at that small fountain once we are finished, okay?" Seris pointed at the small fountain behind her, and Larah nodded. 

"Good, see you soon." Seris would walk away and Larah would be alone. 

She rechecked the shopping list, "Hm, hm, hm. Hm, hm. Yeah, that shouldn’t be much," she said as she put the list in her pocket. "Wait, shouldn’t I have asked Seris to give me some coins?" Larah scratched her head and sighed. "I'll just use my own then." 

Larah started to go around the village, and she noticed this one little girl with blueeyes and orange hair playing a ukulele. She didn’t focus on it too much and continued to look for what was on the shopping list, but she then looked up and saw a shopping stand that was selling a wand crafting kit. Larah’s eyes widened as if she remembered something. "Oh crap, I completely forgot to get it... Well, may as well get it and hope I’ll have enough." Larah walked up to the stand as the shopkeeper was just sleeping in the chair. 

 Larah just started looking through the kits, "Something that he’ll..." Larah’s eyes widened as she found a kit on the table. It was a beautiful wand with a blue gem in it that had to be crafted together. 

Larah grabbed it and looked right at it. This is a beautiful one. Larah had a small smile. "This is perfect." Larah looked up at the shopkeeper. "Excuse me, ma'am," 

the shopkeeper would wake up. 

"I would like to purchase this kit." 

The shopkeeper sat up straight. "Oh, why certainly." She said. 

                                                               *** 

After an hour of shopping, Larah had everything on the list in the bag, and the sun was slowly setting. 

She was carrying the bag on her left arm and Larah was looking at the wooden box held in her hand with a smile, and the box was indeed the kit. "Guess that should be everything," Larah said as she held the box beside her. "I should quickly get to the spot before Seris thinks I got into some trouble." Larah stopped as she noticed another stand in front of her, and there was a bottle there that caught her eye. "No, not the time," Larah said as she shook her head. 

She took a step to the right but stopped again to look back at the stand. "...Maybe just to see," she said as she started walking to the stand. As she got there, she looked at this purple, red and white design bottle. 

It was small, but it looked interesting. The shopkeeper held the bottle in his hand and presented it to Larah, and he said, "If you're interested in buying this, it would cost you at least one gold palm coin." 

Larah was taken aback after hearing this. "One palm gold!? Wait, by chance, is this a potion?" 

The man nodded. "Yup, it came from a rare fruit, and you can’t really find these anywhere now. They have been getting rarer around the country, at least in most parts." 

I guess that makes sense now. Larah inspected the bottle in his hand closer. "Well, what even is it? What's the effect that makes it so rare?" 

"It's made by something called a lustisa fruit. Once you eat it or drink it, let's just say... you’ll have a fun time with your partner in bed. Heh." 

Larah was confused and then realized what he meant, and her face went a little red. "Wait, so basically, it's an aphrodisiac!?" 

He nodded. "Yes, ma’am. Haven’t tried it out myself since I don’t have my own partner, but I'm sure this works. I'm sure you can even hear some rich nobles talk good about it or any of the rich." 

"O-oh, this sounds..." 

Someone grabbed Larah’s shoulder, and Larah looked back and saw that person being Seris 

"I was getting worried," Seris said. "So I tried finding you since you didn’t show up at the fountain." Seris looked over behind Larah "What were you looking at anyways?" 

"Oh, a new customer." The shopkeeper said and cleared his throat. "Would you like the purchase—"  

"It's nothing, Miss Seris!" Larah said as she laughed nervously at the end. "I apologize for wasting your time. I have all the groceries from the top half of the list." Larah looked a little red as she held the leather bags in front of her 

"O-oh, okay, is everything all right?" Larah nodded. 

"Just a tiny bit sick, not a concerning amount, so I shall be fine." 

It was silent for a few seconds, and Seris shrugged it off. "Okay then, I guess we can just head back home. Have the other few of the groceries myself anyways," Seris said as she held up the leather bag and put it back beside her.  

"Okay, I’ll follow." Seris turned around and walked back. Larah turned around and looked at the shopkeeper and bowed her upper body. "I apologize. My friend wouldn’t have been interested, but I’ll keep the offer in my head and tell the people about you. Goodbye." 

"Huh?" The man scratched his head as Larah left. "Hm, strange one."  

Larah ran over and started walking as she was a little behind Seris 

"I apologize again." Larah said. Seris looked back at her. 

"Don’t be. We all have our eye caught on something. So really don’t worry." Larah let out a sigh of relief "So what was up back there? You didn’t have any feelings for that man, did you?" Seris smirked. 

Larah was flustered again. "What!? Of course not, just... I just..." Larah was trying to think of something, but telling the truth would also sound weird. She thought, "It was like I said. I promise it was just a little fever."  

"You know what, I apologize. I mainly talk with Taren and Ria, and it’s mainly me teasing them, so I don’t always talk to others besides them. Sorry about that." 

Larah nodded in a understanding. "Good then, thank you. But I don’t mind you treating me like a friend. I just would rather not be teased like that." 

Seris nodded and understood what Larah was saying. "I understand." 

Larah took a deep breath and focused back in front of her again. Larah looked at a small alleyway and noticed this sad-looking little girl sitting there. She had orange and white hair, fox ears, elf ears, green eyes, a skinny orange tail, and a torn-up black colored dress that had no other detail. 

"Excuse me, Miss Seris," Larah said as she stopped walking, and so did Seris.  

She looked back to see what Larah wanted. "Is something wrong, Larah?" 

Larah shook her head. "I just wanted to stay for a little longer. I’ll meet you back shortly if that's all right with you." 

"Oh, of course, Don’t worry about it. Take up the scenery of this village as much as you'd like. Want me to carry the bags home then?" 

"Yeah, if you don’t mind." Larah gave Seris both bags she was carrying. 

"Oh, and this too," Larah said as she gave the box to Seris. 

"Hm, what's this?" Seris asked as she grabbed the box while looking at it.  

"Nothing, just please set it in my room once you get back, if you don’t mind."  

Seris nodded while looking at Larah. "All right then, I’ll see you soon." 

Larah nodded. Seris waved at her and turned around, and left. Larah pulled out the loaf of bread that she hid behind her back with her hand. Larah looked back to the little girl in the distance and walked over to her. I'm just going to be quick before the sky turns dark. 

Larah stopped as she was right in front of the little girl. Larah kneeled down and placed the bag on the ground. "Hello, my name is Larah Shirasu. Do you have a name, little one?" 

The little girl looked at her with confusion, guess she isn’t much of a talker. Larah pulled out some bread and broke it in half. Larah gave the little girl some of the bread. "Here, eat some. It’s bread," Larah said with a soft and reassuring smile to let her know she means no harm. 

The girl seemed confused but grabbed the bread slowly and looked at it. She sniffed and later took a small bite out of it. 

Poor girl, she looks just as young as Tenshi or even younger. She's one beautiful hybrid too." 

Larah made a small stone cup with earth magic that was filled with some water. She handed it to the little girl. "You should drink some of this; it's just wat—" 

Before Larah could finish. The girl quickly took the cup with her left hand and gulped it down. Larah was surprised but smiled again. The girl ate the rest of the bread finished it as well as the water and she made a small burp, but she looked a little embarrassed. 

Larah chuckled. "It's okay, that's normal." 

The girl smiled as she held the cup. Larah stood back up and took the cup. She waved at her. All the girl did was smile as she watched Larah leave the alley. 

"Well, that was worth all the time. I should buy some more bread quick and fast." 

As Larah exited the alleyway, someone spoke to her, "Excuse me." A woman said to Larah’s left. Larah looked to her left and saw this girl who was quite tall and had blonde hair and red eyes, a black and red dress, and two swords on her waist. 

There was also this man carrying some bags with him, and he just looked like an ordinary man with blonde hair and blue eyes, a small beard, and a short sword on his waist. 

Larah felt a little fear for some odd reason, but she ignored it and answered the woman back. "Can I help you?" She asked as she had one hand in her right pocket, which seemed to have something in it. 

The woman smiled. "Oh, just having a little curiosity on what you were doing in the alley back there."  

Larah was hesitant to respond, so she came up with a lie. "Just came out the other side after buying some bread and fruits. Just casual outside shopping. Nothing else." 

"Oh, but that's a dead-end alley, little one." 

Larah was a little more worried. 

"You see, in there is my demi-human. So let me ask you this one last time. What were you doing in there?" 

"...I was just giving some food and water to her. Nothing harmful." 

"Oh, Was that so hard? It's illegal to interact with a leashed demi-human; maybe next time you ask it’s owner." 

"Hey, Flurisa." The man beside her said. "I think we should get going back. We can just bring the demi-human with us and go. We have no business with this girl." The woman side-eyed the man beside her, and he looked away. "I mean, boss." 

"...Very well, I guess you have a point." Flurisa turned her eyes back at Larah "I have no business with you, so bye, bye." 

The man went over to the little girl. "Come on." 

Flurisa went past Larah, and Larah felt like she couldn’t make more eye contact for the menacing feeling she gives off 

The man would hold the little girl’s hand  hand and the three walked away. Larah looked back at them as they leave now that the woman was no longer making eye contact with her. "That woman... Why does it feel like I know her or have seen her..." Larah turned around. She made sure to get some more bread before it got too late, and she went back home 

                            Chapter 7: Thank you, Master 

Nine months went by, I was wearing a nice brown coat with fur on the hoodie since it was snowing out. Even in the winter, Larah had still been training me, especially on some fire magic since it's good for survival, like making a fire, and it's also equally as good as lightning. 

Funny enough, it's Larah’s second favorite magical element to use, like me. "Okay, Tenshi," she said. "Create the hottest fire you can and combine it with lightning, directing it right to the center. Then, utilize air magic to sustain the fire and ensure it remains in that area, like a tornado." 

I aimed my hand at the thick piece of stone Larah made outside the yard earlier for me to aim at. I looked back at Larah.  

"Are you sure you're not cold, master?" 

Larah nodded. "I’m sure, now, Keep your focus. We missed many lessons, and we can’t afford to miss more. Now shoot!" Larah cast her hand to the target and waited for me to shoot. 

"Okay!" The fire was shown on the palm of my hand, and some small bits of lightning were around it. I shot it to the fire and used some air magic to keep it still there, and it made a small fire plus lightning tornado. It didn’t look so powerful and lasted very shortly still, but I still found it looking awesome. "Holy crap! I did that, yes!" I jumped up and down. 

"Nice one. You did the palms of your hand like I told you, and not your full hand. We wouldn’t want you burning your sleeve." Larah made a small chuckle, and I giggled. Larah patted my head. 

"Hey, cut that out," I said while feeling a little embarrassed. 

"Heh, sorry," Larah said as she returned her hand back to her side. She looked up behind me and saw the door of the house open. 

It was Seris giving a thumbs-up and she was back in her maid outfit. She went back inside the house and Larah looked back down at me. "You know, this month will be a special one, and it's about you." 

"Me?" I tilted my head with confusion. 

Larah nodded and walked past me. "Follow me. We are done for the day." I was confused. 

Well, this felt a little shorter than usual. I followed Larah. 

                                                               *** 

Ten or so minutes went by, and I was seated at the dining room table, and there was a bunch of food and pastries and fruits and so on. I was seated in the last chair in the back, and Ria, Larah, Taren, and Seris were all there. "Congratulations and happy birthday, Tenshi!" the four of them said. 

"Wait, what!?" I questioned with shock. 

"It's a little celebration for you," Larah said. "You made it so far in training that I and the rest of your family had to do this. And apparently, it’s your birthday. You deserve it, Tenshi." 

I looked at Larah and the rest of them. I really made it that far in training? Well, I feel proud that I won something and didn’t act like a lazy fatass! That's some wild progress, baby!" "Wow, thank you, guys so much!" 

"We missed your birthday by two years," Taren said. "So also think of this as a late birthday. I don’t really think birthdays are that necessary, but Ria felt guilty for a while, so here you go." 

"Oh, really...?" I mumbled. 

Ria got up and hugged me in my seat. "My sweet boy has turned seven," Ria said. "But don’t worry; we won’t miss your eighth birthday and tenth birthday, and fifteen birthday and eighteenth birthday, and so on." 

"Relax, sister," Seris said. "He probably didn’t even know what a birthday was, so don’t be so worried about how he feels about this." 

Ria went back to her seat. "Guess you have a point, and you better not be agreeing with Taren." 

"Oh no, of course not. Maybe the eights are unnecessary, but you definitely can’t miss every five." 

I would be confused, Fives and eights? Why those numbers specifically? 

Seris looked at me. "You didn’t know what a birthday was, right Tenshi?" 

I shook my head. "Oh, uh, no, not really. But I'm happy to finally hear what it's all about!" 

Taren gulped down his mug of beer. "Now, let's dig in!" 

A little after prayers, we all started eating. 

Man, birthdays? This really is nuts. The last time I had my birthday was when I was, what, twelve or something? In my old life, of course. But man, I forgot how good birthdays were, especially with a family. As I was stuck in my thoughts, Larah noticed me. 

"You should probably eat before it gets cold," Larah said. "You're a growing boy, after all," she would bite into a piece of meat on her plate. 

I looked up at Larah. "Oh, right." I started grabbing a fork and taking a bite out of the food on my plate. But however this party goes, I'm still happy to enjoy it with people. Hey, When Ria mentioned the times she won’t miss my birthday and when Seris said the whole eighth year doesn’t matter; could that mean birthdays aren’t an every-year thing? That really is something to think about. Well, who cares? My fatass is just gonna continue enjoying the food!  

                                                               *** 

An hour of eating and talking went by, and it was finally time for my gifts. We were still in the dining room, and I was now standing on the floor. Seris was up first. She went on one knee, and had a smaller-sized bow in her hands. "Here is my gift to you, Tenshi." Seris smiled as she handed me the bow. 

"Oh, uh, a bow..." I mumbled while looking a bit disappointed. 

Seris would look worried, "What, do you not like it? If not, I can try getting you something else tomorrow if you’d like." 

I quickly changed my mild facial expression to a smile. "Wait, no, of course I do, Aunt Seris. It fits me perfectly." I aimed the bowstring at the window to pretend I liked it. 

"Phew, I hope you do. This was actually the first ever bow I had when I first adventured with your mother and father. I know you want to be a mage or swordsman and all of that, but archery has its uses from a far distance. I hope there will be a time when you’ll need it, and maybe I can teach you a thing or two if you’d ever like, of course." 

"I like it, Aunt Seris, and I’ll cherish this gift for the rest of my life." 

Seris felt touched by what I said; she hugged me. Thankfully, the bow in my arms protected me from being suffocated by her breast. "You are such a good boy, Tenshi. You really do have your mother's kindness in you." 

Taren in the back, felt speechless and flabbergasted, and he cleared his throat. "Seris," he said. 

Seris looked right up at him. "Oh, of course." She stood up and backed away.  

I’m not so fond of this gift, I said to myself. But I’m not gonna act greedy about it. Hope I don’t break her prize possession. 

Taren walked up and stood in front of me. I put the bow on the chair, and we both looked right at each other for a couple of seconds. 

Uh... 

Taren quickly took out his sword, and I covered my face with my arms.  

"Good reaction time again. Second, sorry I startled you," Taren said as he grinned. 

"Really...?" I muttered with a hint of annoyance. 

"No, seriously, I apologize." Taren cleared his throat again as he held the sword in front of me. 

Wait, hang on, this is Taren's main sword. 

"Tenshin." 

I looked up at Taren. 

"You have officially become an advanced class swordsman, just without its title. You made it so far that I am giving you your first sword. This sword was something I always kept safe and I felt honor carrying this and you will be to." 

I was shocked as I looked back down at the sword. "Wait, you're giving me the sword?" 

Taren nodded. 

I grabbed the handle, and for some reason, my three cowlicks stood straight up, and I felt goosebumps for some odd reason. 

Taren quickly put his sword back in his waist and took out his short sword. "But not this one yet, this one." 

I was frozen in shock after feeling those random goosebumps, and I shook my head to snap out of it. 

"Is something wrong?" Taren asked. 

"Uh, no, what were you saying?" 

"I'm just saying that this is your official sword. You're not Saint class yet, so you won’t be carrying this sword anytime soon," Taren said as he patted his main sword on his left waist. "But one day, Tenshin. Just keep trying and make me prouder. I want this sword to go down for generations to come, like your kids and their future kids and to their kids, and so on. That’s why I wanted you to be a swordsman, so just promise me you’ll at least keep the bloodline going. Once you enter saint class, you’ll carry this sword and teach your children the way to be a swordsman. As I said, being a mage is cool and all, but Greyat's way will always be—" 

Ria hand chopped the back of Taren’s head. 

"Are you finished?" Ria asked in a pouty mood. 

Taren would rub the back of his head, "Yeah, yeah, okay, just under one minute max, that's all." 

Ria backed off and crossed her arms. 

Taren took a deep breath and set his hand back down. "Phew. Anyway, wanna hold it?" 

I nodded. Taren gave me the short sword, and I took a close look at it. Taren was being such a troll with the other sword, I said as my eyes looked up at Taren with an annoyed expression. but wait, I said as I looked back down at the sword. isn’t this the same sword I saw in the basement a few years ago? either way, it still looks and makes me look sick as hell! But again. Sword isn’t much of me still. I look back up to Taren "Oh, uh, thank you, I guess, Father." 

"Keep the promise?" Taren winked 

"Uh, yeah sure." 

"You done now, Taren?" Ria asked. "I really want to show Tenshi what I have for him now," 

Taren looked over at Ria. "Oh right, sorry." Taren backed off. Larah giggled in the back and I set the sword on the chair. Ria excitedly kneeled down right in front of me, her hands right behind her.  

"Now, this probably isn’t much like the others, but I hope you’ll like it." Ria took her hands out to reveal what was behind her, and it was a book. It looked small and a little familiar. "I know you have been using my old guidebook, and now I give you one that you can easily carry. It's also a newer version, so it's not all dirty, to big, and it has much more added information. Here." Ria handed me the book, and I grabbed it. 

I looked through it, and I smiled more and more as I flipped through each page. "This is perfect! I can carry this whenever I want, and it has everything I ever needed!" I said with excitement. 

Ria gasped. "Really? I thought you wouldn’t like it after having the knowledge from mine and Larah’s teaching." Ria hugged me, "You're such a grateful boy." 

I hugged her back. Ria eventually backed away, and I set my new magical guidebook was on the chair with the bow and sword. 

Larah came up to me and kneeled down. "I know you are expecting a gift, and I really didn’t get anything. I apologize. But I did have to give you something, and I get how that might confuse you. The thing I am giving you was meant to be given months ago." Larah reached into her pocket and retrieved a wand adorned with a stunning blue gem at its tip. "I hope you'll accept this after all your progress even if it isn’t an actual gift. congratulations, Tenshi." She would hand me the wand. 

My mouth opened in shock. I grabbed it, and I was very happy. "Master, this is the best gift ever! And along with the others, of course. But thank you so much for this!" 

Larah would give a small smile. "I know I mentioned that it wasn’t a formal gift you know? I likely would have given it to you regardless of this party taking place. I really wouldn’t mind seeing how you truly feel." 

I shook my head as I smiled. "Well, it's a gift to me, no matter how you think of it. Thank you so much, master." 

I hugged Larah with the wand still in my hand. Larah hugged back and we broke the hug. 

Ria in the back sighed. "I think Larah has something to say to you, Tenshi," she said.  

I looked up at her as she said that and back at Larah "Something to say?" I questioned. 

Larah stayed quiet and looked hesitant. "Well..." She muttered as she felt a weight in her heart. 

I also looked worried and tilted my head. "Huh?" 

"...Two days from now... you're going to graduate. To be honest with you, you aren’t a confirmed saint class yet, but two days from now, we start the official exam." 

Well, that doesn’t sound bad. 

"And, um... I’ll be heading out." 

"...to where?" 

Larah let out a deep breath. "I’ll be leaving this village. Maybe the region. Or even the country. I can no longer be you’re tutor after you graduate, and to be honest, I thought of all of you as a true family, but... In short... I'm going to leave the house in two days." 

I was shocked, and my heart felt like it dropped to my stomach. "...What?" 

                                                               *** 

Hours passed by, and it turned dark. My candle was lit and a leaf fell on the palm of my hand while I was looking up at the two moons in the sky as my shutters and window was opened. It also continued snowing. 

I could only feel the heavy feeling in my heart and stomach. Larah... Leaving? I looked at the dry leaf and crushed it in my hand as broken pieces of it fell to the snowy ground outside. 

I felt like I wanted to cry, but I sniffled and wiped a small tear out of my eye. It all just comes back in my head. These thoughts, these nightmares, no matter how many years pass, every memory of my old life stays in me. It feels like a mental torture that I want to end, but why is it always the redheads that add some pain in me? Now the best master I have ever had is... Is leaving... 

I didn’t hate Larah; I just couldn’t believe she was leaving. 

I could still remember hearing what Camila said right at my face, which was: "Why are you being such a dick? I felt like I have finally found the right one to relate to me but your just some mentally ill, fatass, and a sick bastard. Your life is ruined because of yourself! Yourself!" I remember her saying with tears. 

I could also remember what my four bullies in the first month of high school said. It was: "Hey man, lift that neck up. Show us that burn mark." He touched my neck, 

and I said, "Hey! cut it out. It's a birthmark, not a burn!" I removed one of their hands from my neck, and they all brought me to the bathroom a few minutes after to punch me and kick me. Those days were terrifying memories to me that kept flooding back. 

I tried to take a deep breath to remove those memories. I really haven’t changed; I am just an immature adult. A child. In my old life, I always dreamed of being isekai’d to a fantasy world, growing a harem, and doing awesome quests, and one of those dreams actually came true, but everything still feels misplaced. It's hard to even explain it to myself. I'm still lost... I took a deep breath again. I closed the window and shutters and walked over to my bed. 

I turned around and still felt like I wanted to cry, but I continued holding it in. I have to keep trying. True, I have a fear of going outside and meeting other people other than Larah and my family. But I need to try. Two tears came out of both my eyes. But what if I can't, I said to myself as I clenched my hand on the blanket. 

                                                               *** 

It was the next day, and it was the middle of the afternoon. I was outside in the backyard because I thought a breath of fresh air and the mountain and forest view would calm me down, yet I still had that heavy feeling inside. 

I was trying to calm down, but I kept seeing things from my old life. The small pathway out of the house kept reminding me of the road out of my parent's house that I lived in. 

I started to panic and fall back to the ground, and I started seeing the stone fence become the small fence with the bushes out of the house with also a bunch of people making fun of me and waiting out the fence. 

Those were all my high school bullies and classmates and everyone from the school. That wasn’t real, but it was just a negative imagination I had, but it felt so real "Please just stop, just stop." I still kept freaking out but then I heard a voice. 

"Hey, is everything all right?" Larah said, who was at the corner of the house.  

The bad imagination I saw was gone. I kept my composure and just crossed my legs. "Y-yeah, I'm doing all right..." I replied quietly, averting my gaze to Larah. 

Larah settled beside me. "All right..." She said as she sat down. Her legs crossed elegantly and wore a warm smile. "So, whatcha up to?" I wanted to respond, but my emotions were overwhelming, and my tears wanted to spill right out. "Come on, where's that smile? Your final exam is tomorrow, and you're on the brink of graduation."  

Why does she have to make it sound so positive? "Master, you're going to leave me..." 

Larah's smile went a little down and back up, and she faced in front of her. "I know."  

"Then why are you making this all sound like sunshine and rainbows? Do you even care about me?" 

Larah nodded. "Of course I do," Larah looked up to the big mountains, "But not everything you care about will stay forever. Many things will, but not everything, everything. Some things go, some things stay, and you can never prepare for that, and you’ll learn that more, unfortunately, and it does suck."  

"...But what if I don’t want that?" 

Larah put her hand on my shoulder as she looked at me. "It's nearly impossible to not be happy, so all you can do is be as happy as possible." 

I would look at Larah, "But I want you to be my master forever. I wanna learn more magic and keep learning magic from you..." 

Larah didn’t say much, but she stood up and went in front of me and put her hand out in front of me. "Come on, get up." 

I looked up at her hand, and I grabbed it and stood up as she pulled me up. 

"Come over here," Larah said as she walked to the front side of the house and got to the stone fence over there. She put her arms on top of it. I followed her and looked up at her as she kept admiring the hills and forest up ahead. "You see that over there?" Larah pointed up to a small mountain behind the forest. 

I nodded. "Yeah?" 

Larah put her hand back to her side "All the way back there is the Dalria kingdom also known as the city of Sarula. It's quite far, but the city is big and beautiful. I lived for a while, and I would say it is the most beautiful city I have ever seen." Larah then pointed to the left. "And over there is the capital of the region. The city is all beautiful over there but not as much as the capital of the Rosoa region or the Dalria kingdom, should I say." 

"...Okay?" I tilted my head with confusion about why Larah was mentioning this. She went quiet for a bit. 

However, she later did speak and looked right at me. "You know, back where I was originally born, I lived in the East Hilima continent. I lived in the Demonia country. It was quite dry, and it wasn’t as beautiful as all of this. It was just a bunch of beasts and poor people there. The queen there wasn’t the best and was always greedy as well. Some places there were livable, but many were not... Sorry, that's not the point. Now, back to what I was saying about ahead of that small mountain."  

"Okay." 

Larah looked ahead again. "Over in the Rosoa region, there is a small city, and no, I'm not talking about its capital. This city I talk about is actually home to the esteemed Seria University of Sword and Magic, a prestigious institution renowned for its commitment to inclusivity and diversity. It is a remarkable place that warmly welcomes individuals from all backgrounds, fostering an environment of learning and growth." 

I’m still not understanding why she is talking about all of this. I mean, I'm here talking about her leaving while she is talking about her past adventures and this school. "Did you go to that school?" I asked. 

"No, I'm just saying it's really good that I think you'd fit in." Larah went one one knee and touched my shoulder once more and looked right into my eyes. "I'm just saying I think at some point in time you should go there. You have so much potential to be an amazing mage and maybe a little on the swordsman side, even though you need that title to be in the swordsman classes. But either way, you're a child that needs better training, and I’m not fit for that. I mean, if someone there trained you, you'd probably be saint Class a few months ago, so I really wasn’t the best." 

I shook my head. "That's not a true master. I want you to stay and train me more..." 

"...Look, we could meet again. It would just be a while." 

"But I wanna be with you forever. I never want you to leave! I really do like you, master, please." 

Larah was quiet and tried to think of something to say. She said, "Look, I know we will meet again, and when we do, how about this? By the next, let's say we meet seven to eight years or more from now, if you still remember me, then I’d be happy to stay with you forever and however long you’ll need. So, it depends on you. Do you think that can cover it?" 

My eyes went wide, and the heaviness from my heart slowly faded. 

Is she saying what I think she is saying? If I just wait, then I can actually be with her like I can actually have her as my... "Then... I’ll wait, master." A small smile from me showed, and Larah smiled a little more too. 

She stood up. "Good, now how about we make this moment last with a bit more training? I’d say no, but I guess training with me seems like what you really love." 

I nodded. "Can you teach me some more things, like some more fire magic?" 

Larah thought of it for a moment. "Hmm, all right then. I have faith that you’ll succeed on the final exam anyways, so why not?" 

I kept smiling as I looked at her. I gripped the wand in my right pocket. But seriously, you're nothing like Camila... 

And for the whole day, she and I made the moment last with some of her training me, and I felt sad yet happy. I still felt like my tears wanted to flow right out, but my smile stayed. 

                                                               *** 

It was the next day, and the time had come. It was late in the afternoon, and I, Ria, and Seris were waiting out on the porch. I was currently swinging my legs on the seat, all nervous. 

We were all just waiting for Taren and Larah to come back because they went out to rent a horse. All I could do was think about my fear of going outside and Larah leaving. Damn, today is really the day. the day I go out there and also see Larah leaving... 

I could only keep remembering when I was called many bad names and having disgusted looks in my old life What if... 

Ria looked to her right down at me she was getting worried of how scared and sad I looked she went on one knee and put her arm around me for a hug 

"Tenshi, I promise you’ll be okay. You can do this, sweetie." 

I looked at Ria as she broke the hug. If only you knew why I truly feel like this, but I do admit. Ria has always been comforting. I faked my smile. "Thanks, Mom." 

Ria smiled back as I responded, and a voice from the distance was heard. 

"Hey!" Taren yelled as he held on to the rein of a horse, while having his red cape on, and Larah walked with him. Larah had her full outfit on and her staff behind her back. As the two made it back, the three of us walked down the steps. Taren was petting the nose of the horse and spoke, "This nice demi-human guy and his wife allowed us to borrow the horse for the day. This one was a beauty that I tried to buy it off of him, but I guess it was not for sale." 

"And somehow I’m the one that spends too much on unnecessary things," Ria said. 

Taren stopped petting the horse and looked at Ria with a fake smile. "Aha..." He then looked over at Larah with a normal facial expression. "Okay, she is all good to go. I guess I’ll leave this up to you." 

Larah nodded. 

I was currently hiding behind Ria. 

Larah looked over at me and saw me hiding. "So, are you ready?" She asked. 

I wanted to respond, but I felt too scared for anything to come out. 

"Tenshi has never really been out there other than getting the view here or training with you," Ria said. "So he's just a little shy, it seems." Ria looked down at me. "Come on, Tenshi, go on." 

Larah made a small chuckle. "Don’t worry, Tenshi, if there's anyone crazy or something crazy that goes for us, I’ll keep you as my first priority to protect."  

I sighed, I don’t even care anymore; someone is gonna bring me up to the horse anyway, so may as well. I started to slowly walk in front of Ria and I was now in front of Larah. 

Larah smiled. "You know this is my first time seeing you this afraid, and out of anything else, I don’t think you should be. Just as your father always said. be brave." 

I was still nervous, but I responded, "You sure, sure, we can’t do it here..." I mumbled. 

Larah shook her head. "Unfortunately, no, if we did, then the whole house would probably be destroyed, so we have to go somewhere more open." 

I didn’t say anything and looked back down, and Larah just instantly grabbed me. "H-hey!" I exclaimed as she seated me on the front of the horse. 

She would take off her ring with a brown colored stone on the top of it, and she put it on my ring finger. "Don’t worry, that ring gives you protection, so as long as you're wearing it, everything will be okay, but other than that, as I said earlier, you're safe with me." Larah tried to give me a reassuring smile. 

"You got this, Tenshi," Seris said. It still didn’t change much of my fear. 

"We will be back!" Larah shouted to the three. Larah got the horse moving, and we were nearing the exit. I felt calm as I took a deep breath, but I started seeing the people from my school who were always outside the yard of the house getting ready to punch me or other crap. 

I started to feel goosebumps and felt my heart race. Even though it was not real, it was still a vivid imagination. I backed up a little closer to Larah, and I kept squirming. 

Larah looked down at me as I squirmed. "Hey, hey, calm down. Nothing is over there. Just relax. If you keep moving, then the horse will start acting up. Calm..." Larah said in a comforting tone. 

My breathing got faster. "M-master, no, no, go back, please!" 

Larah kept her right hand on the horse’s bridle, and she put her left arm on my stomach like a seatbelt. "Come on, Tenshi. Just be brave for me and your family." 

I closed my eyes as we got closer, and now we finally exited the yard of the house. I kept my eyes closed as I shivered. 

"Hey, nothing is here. I'm right here with you." 

I hesitantly opened my eyes and checked my surroundings. It felt so different being out here, and it felt very unfamiliar. 

"See, it's not so bad," Larah said and I looked up at her. 

I looked back ahead of me. Maybe... Maybe I did overreact." I had a small smile on my face and gasped when I saw a old woman walking by, and I looked back down. I thought I felt confident being out here now, but unfortunately, I still have a lot of social problems. 

The woman walking past said, "Good afternoon." 

Shut up, shut up. Don’t talk to me. 

"Good afternoon, ma'am." Larah said back as the woman passed us. 

I looked back. ...Oh, never mind... I would look back ahead. 

Larah looked on the right side of my leg and saw my wand half way out my pocket "Woop," she said as she grabbed it before it fell and held it in front of me, "I think you should hold this tight in your hands. We shouldn’t risk it falling, don’t you think?" 

I grabbed the wand, "Thank you, master..." I replied with a mumble. 

Another man was about to pass us, and he was on a horse himself. 

I looked back in front and saw him near us, and my hand started to tap on the saddle. Larah looked down and saw what my hand was doing. 

"Good afternoon," The old man on the horse said. 

Larah quickly looked at the man, "Oh, good afternoon," Larah said as the man went past us. Larah saw my finger stop tapping on the saddle as the man passed us. 

Larah smiled as she thought she finally realized why I was acting like this. Larah noticed There was another man about to walk past us, but before he did, Larah looked at me and put her left hand back on the bridle. "Hey, Tenshi, do you think you can do me a small favor?" 

I looked back at her. "U-uh, a favor? Um... Okay..." I said nervously. 

"Good. I want you to repeat what I say in the next three seconds, okay?"  

"...Okay..." 

Larah looked back in front as the man was getting closer. "Okay, be ready. Three... Two..." 

I tapped my finger on the saddle as the man was getting closer. 

"One..." 

"Good afternoon." Both me and Larah said. 

My face went a little red as she tricked me into saying that to the man walking past us. I closed my eyes out of nervousness. 

"Hm? Well, good afternoon, you two," the man said with a smile as he walked past us. 

"Uh?" I questioned as I opened my eyes. 

Larah looked back down at me with her warm smile. "So, is something wrong?" 

I looked up behind me at Larah and back in front of me. "Well... No..." 

Larah made a small inside chuckle. "Good, then let's do that again, okay?"  

"Okay." I made a small smile as I still looked a little embarrassed. 

"See those two carrying buckets of water? We are going to greet them too, okay? No countdown, just say it when you feel like it," Larah said as she pointed to two guys carrying buckets of water. 

"Okay." I waited as we got closer. My heart pounded, and I tried to time it right and spoke, 

"Good afternoon!" Both me and Larah said. 

"Good afternoon." The two men said. 

I started to smile more. 

"Now, let's keep doing it together when we see more. You think you can do that?" 

"Mhm!" I said confidently. 

"Then just follow my lead," Larah said as she looked ahead. 

Both Larah and I continued saying hello and good afternoon to everyone we saw get near us during those small few minutes. My shivering and fear were slowly leaving. Man, why was this so hard? Because of Larah wanting me to do these simple things, I feel so free; like I feel like I can do whatever I want in life now." I took a good deep breath. 

"Someone is in a completely different mood," Larah said as she looked down at me. 

"I... I guess so." I laid my head on Larah’s chest. Flat as always, but I can still feel that personality. 

"You know, I wasn’t a very social person back then either. I'm sure I told you about my race not appreciating red ones like me. It really made me feel scared to come across other demons. Some hated me, or some even bullied me, but then after I met this one person, he taught me to be brave and taught me a bunch of magic." 

I looked a little surprised. "So you had your own master?" 

Larah went quiet and pointed in front of us. "...Look, we are getting close to the spot now." 

                                                               ***                                                       several minutes went by, and we stopped in this completely random hill. Larah made a small stone pole with some earth magic so she could tie the horse to the pole so it wouldn’t leave. I was sitting on a stone as I waited for her. I was stretching out my arms as I took in the fresh breeze of air. 

Larah walked up beside me with her staff held on her right hand. "All right, Tenshi, I want you to listen up." Larah said. 

I quickly stood up and looked directly at her. "Of course, master." My mood completely changed to confidence after feeling pride for facing my fears. 

Larah made a small smile and went a little serious again and cleared her throat. "I'm going to use a very destructive lightning spell called shockwave strike. I want you to listen and look closely at how I do it." 

"Hm? Can’t I just find it in the book?" 

Larah looked at me. "Well, do you have that with you?" 

I checked my pockets, even though they were too small. I was stupid enough to make sure. "No..." 

"Yeah, as your master, it was kind of my fault anyway, but we can’t go back now, can we?" 

I shrugged. "I guess not." 

Larah faces in front of her once again, completely looking fierce. "I want you to grab onto something. Things will get a little windy." 

I froze, looking right at her. I thought there was no way it would be that powerful. 

Larah turned her face to me and said, "Tenshi." 

I squint my eyes. "Oh, right." I ran over to the tall stone to grab onto it. I gave her a thumbs up, and she looked back in front of her now that she knew I was safe. 

She did a little spin trick with her staff and stabbed it onto the floor in front of her. She closed her eyes and focused. 

I was observing her to make sure I caught everything and saved it in my head. The red stone on the top of Larah’s staff grew bright, and I felt a small drop of rain on me. 

More clouds would slowly start appearing in the sky, and Larah would say, "From the clouds above, I summon the boundless power that was bestowed by the lightning god Alucelia Sentarin. I command the strength of nature to rise and aid me in achieving unparalleled might. I call upon the winds to guide the innocent to safety without hesitation." Larah’s iris part of her eyes went blue as she opened them. A magical circle was also summoned and seen in the clouds. 

Loud sounds of lightning were sounding everywhere in the sky around us. The rain grew stronger, and I was starting to have trouble holding on as the wind grew stronger. The horse was also off the ground but still on the pole tight. I grabbed much tighter. 

Holy shit! I'm going to do that!? It's like I'm watching the main protagonist getting ready to finish off the antagonist! I said to myself. 

Larah took her staff off the ground. "Now, come forth. Eternal thunderbolt and blast away the one before me. Shockwave strike!" Magic circles started to appear in front of Larah int he sky. Larah aimed her staff at the small tree on the ground far from us, and I closed my eyes because I thought it would be bright, but nothing was heard. The wind and lightning calmed down and the circles were gone. 

I opened my eyes, and I was confused to see no destruction. Uh... huh? I said to myself. 

Larah took a deep breath as she set her staff beside her. She looked back to face me. "All right, did you get that?" 

I looked at her with confusion. "T-that was it!?" 

Larah made a small chuckle. "No, I just skipped the final step, so once you did it, there wouldn’t be double the damage. The final step is just to let your mana come out and use up as much of it as you can to blast the target. Don’t worry, once you do it, you won’t fly off since it’s your own magic." 

"Oh... Well, that was so cool, though I think the horse should’ve gotten more protection because it almost flew off." 

Larah was taken aback. "Oh! It did!? Guess I should’ve thought that through, or it could’ve gone bad," Larah said as she looked a little embarrassed. 

I giggled, and Larah smiled at me. She cleared her throat. "Now, your turn before you forget." Larah pointed right where she was standing earlier when she was doing the spell. 

I went silent, but I took a deep breath and took out my wand from my pocket. I felt hesitant because right after this, things were going to change. I took another deep breath and walked to where Larah was standing when she was doing the spell, I looked back towards Larah as she was making some small earth fortress to protect her and the horse "Master." 

Larah finished making the small earth fortress for the horse and she looked back at me. 

"Yes?" 

"...Wish me luck," I said with a smile and a deep breath. 

Larah smiled back and nodded, "I will, Tenshi." 

I looked back at the tree to the far distance at the bottom of the hill. I was locked in with it and aimed my wand in front of me as I looked at the blue crystal on my wand starting to have a small glow. 

Well, this is it. My final exam, the one that will have my adventure with Larah come to an end. Man, Larah was great a great teacher, and it felt like a long yet short journey with her. It's hard to even explain. I aimed the wand right at the clouds. "From the clouds above, I summon the boundless power that was bestowed by the lightning god Alucelia Sentarin!" 

The clouds got darker, and it started to rain, and the wind got much stronger, but it had no effect on me. The journey felt like the best slice of life isekai story ever. I found true happiness with my family and Larah by my side. Though I’ll still cherish my family in this world, Larah will always hold a special place in my heart as my family." The iris part of my eyes glowed blue as lightning surrounded me, looking much more intense than Larah. 

"I command the strength of nature to rise and aid me in achieving unparalleled might! I call upon the winds to guide the innocent to safety without hesitation!" 

I wish I could have more time with her or keep her here forever. However, some people and a specific someone taught me that everything is not forever, and it's natural for us to struggle and have our goodbyes. Even when that special someone is gone, it's important to embrace the joy of the moments we shared and to cherish the relationships we still have. But no matter what, I know I will reconnect with Larah someday and I will always hold the memories we made together." 

Larah looked in surprise, seeing me do so well and possibly better than her. I didn’t expect him to be this beyond... Wow, he's a boy with so much potential. Larah said to herself. 

"Now, come forth! Eternal thunderbolt, and blast away the one before me! Shockwave..." Now, Here goes! "Strike!!!" One spot in the clouds glowed a bright magical circle. I swiped the wand down as I looked right at the tree, and all the memories I made with Larah showed up in my head. Best. Moments. Of my life... 

There were at least fifteen or so lightning bolts connected together in the middle of the circle, and it came crashing right down at the tree, making a loud noise and blowing a few trees away. Larah covered her eyes till the blast stopped, and so it did. The glow on the iris of my eye was gone. 

As it all calmed and the cloud went back to white, Larah walked out of the small earth fortress and walked towards me as everything calmed but the rain, and I fell on my back. It concerned Larah, so she ran to me to see if I was okay. "Tenshi!" 

I was laughing as soon as she got to me and I sat up. "Master, did you see that!? That was—" I ran out of breath and laid back down and I couldn't finish my sentence. 

Larah had a breath of relief. "There, there now, let's get you up." 

                                                               *** 

A couple of minutes passed, and Larah and I were sitting inside the small earth fortress while the rain put the fire on the crater out. She made a fire and gusted me with warm wind magic so I could dry up. "You really had to go one above me, huh?" 

"Huh? I did? I’m sorry, master." 

Larah shook her head as she said, "No, no, don’t apologize. That was impressive." 

I smiled. 

"There, all done," Larah said. She sat back down on the ground, and so did I. 

"Thank you, master." Larah nodded and took something out of her pouch, and it was the yellow fruit. "Here, eat this. It’s called a mana fruit. It should bring your mana and stamina back to one hundred. It costed a fortune but you deserve it." 

"Oh, thanks," I said as I grabbed it from her. I took a bite out of it, and it tasted really bitter, but I swallowed. "Bleh, that tastes terrible," 

Larah chuckled. "It does, but you should feel energized just in a bit. anyways," Larah got up from the ground and walked out the earth fortress to see if the fire was still there down the hill, and it was. Larah looked back at me. "Well, we should get going. The fire down there is still going, so I guess we will have to get wet again in this ran." 

"Oh..." Wait, I should ask her before I forget. "Hey, master, I have a question." 

Larah got back into the earth fortress so she didn’t get too wet. "Oh, Yeah, go on." 

"Do you know anything about something called light magic or just having some sort of light powers?" 

"...Light power, magic?" She questioned. 

"Yeah, do you know anything about that?" 

"...No, other than the third rank with his whole sword of light I mentioned to you, but other than that, not really." 

"Oh..." I looked down. Well, it was worth a shot. 

Larah smiled and patted my head. "You know, you really are strong, Tenshi. On the inside and outside." Larah put her hand back down and looked up to the sky as the rain started to slow down. "And one day, you could even be stronger than me." 

I looked up at Larah. "You really think so?" 

Larah nodded. She walked out of the earth fortress as the rain stopped and the sun shined. She turned around and looked right at me as she stabbed her staff into the ground. "Tenshi, you did it. You're officially a saint class lightning mage. I'm very proud of you." 

"I kn... Thank you, master Larah." I said with a smile and had a small tear running down my right eye 

                                                               *** 

Two hours went by, and we got home. Taren got the horse back to the family, and Larah packed up, and it was finally time to say goodbye. 

Taren, Ria, Seris, and I were all outside, and I was the one right in front of Larah as she stood outside the yard. I had the wand still held on my right hand, and I didn’t know what to say to her as she was about to leave. 

"You're sure you wouldn’t like to stay for one more day?" Ria asked. 

Larah shook her head. "Nah, I appreciate the offer, Miss Ria, but I think I stayed long enough." 

"Well, it was worth asking, but I will respect your decision." 

"Hey," Taren said. "Don’t think I hate you or anything. Just want to make that clear." 

"No, of course not. Why would I?" Larah asked as she was confused. 

"Thought it was obvious? I thought to you it looked like I didn’t want you training Tenshi so I could have the time to train him." 

"Oh no, not at all. I wasn’t against you training Tenshi sword, nor even had a single thought that you wanted me gone." 

Taren had a small smile. "Good. Well, I hope you take care, and we’d love to have you back someday."  

"And I know Tenshi would too." Ria said. 

"Yeah..." Larah whispered. She looked down at me, and I still looked a little sad. She went on one knee "Hey, Tenshi." 

"...Yes, master?" I mumbled. I had my face right up at hers, but my eyes weren’t staring at hers. 

"Hey." 

I hesitantly turned my eyes to hers. 

"Don’t be so down. Just remember what I promised you. 

I lightly nodded "Mhm..." I said while still looking sad. 

"And it's something you have to remember if you want to see me so bad." Larah chuckled softly. 

I nodded again. "Hey, master. I forgot to give this back to you earlier." I took off the ring from my finger and handed it to her. 

Larah was surprised and smiled and took it from me, but instead of putting it back on her finger or pocket, she placed it back on my finger. 

"Keep it. I guess this is my official gift since I didn’t give you anything at the party other than the wand technically. And I'm sorry I was clumsy most of our lessons, and at first not the best and most respectful teacher." 

"No!" I shouted. "That's not true at all! you were and still are the best teacher ever. I really mean it when you're the only teacher, and... I just... I'm just going to miss you so much, master. You changed my life."  

Larah made a small chuckle. "Come on, you don’t have to keep calling me master. I'm just Larah now." 

I shook my head. "I’ll forever call you master or master Larah, master."  

"Okay, fine then." Larah dug through her right pocket and pulled out a red eyepatch with a white X on it. "Here, I have this last gift. I remember when I was younger, I wore this because I thought I looked so cool, and I thought it made me look more powerful. But I matured from that. Here." Larah gave me the eye patch and I took it. "Just don’t act like it will make you powerful, or once you stop, you’ll die with embarrassment every time that memory comes back. Hah." 

I started to tear up a little, and I hugged Larah. "Thank you, master..." Larah patted my back. 

"You're welcome, Tenshi." Larah and I broke the hug, and she stood back up with the bags on her back, making it a little hard, but she stood up strong. She looked back at Ria. "Thank you, Ria, for teaching me some good cooking recipes." Larah looked over at Taren. "And thank you, Taren, for telling me your awesome stories and jokes. Many sounded interesting." Larah looked over at Seris. "And thank you, Seris, for being a good friend." 

Seris smiled and nodded. 

"And Tenshi, I’ll forever be glad to be your master, and I’ll never forget about you. Thank you for making our lessons fun and exciting and making me truly feel happy." 

Another tear fell out of my eye, and I wiped it. "I promise to remember what you said." 

Larah kept her smile as she looked at me. "Good... Well, I'm off," she said as she looked at all of us. "Again, thank you guys for welcoming me in. All of you." 

The others but Taren also had a few tears dripping down but still had a smile. 

"Farewell, Larah," Ria said. 

"Farewell," Larah said as she waved and walked away. I watched her leave as the wind blew on her black cape. 

She did so much for me, I said to myself. And it feels like I have more to say. My hands would hold onto the wand and eyepatch tight. I just wanna say thank you one more time! 

Larah was already quite far, and I knew I wouldn’t make it to her, but I ran in her direction for a few seconds and stood still since she was already quite far. "Master!" I shouted. 

Larah turned her head back to me. 

"Thank you, master! For... For everything!!!" 

Larah was a little surprised but smiled and continued walking away. Whether she believes it or not, she did more for me than she thinks. She gave me the feeling of... Freedom. 

Tenshi may easily forget about me and embark on his own adventures, Larah said to herself as she continued walking. But I hold on to the hope of returning to witness his growth. It doesn’t matter if he fully grasped my message; I’m grateful that my existence still ment something. Larah would smile more as a tear came down her eye. "You will grow to live a good life... Tenshi." 

I gripped the wand and eyepatch on my hand tight. Thank you, Larah. Thank you... Master. I smiled and wiped a tear off my cheek. 

                                                               *** 

A day passed, and I was currently in the guest room, aka Larah's former room. I was picking up some of her hair pieces on the pillow and sniffing it. Seriously, I’ll always remember you, master. God, this still smells like her! I looked behind me as I heard a small noise. 

It was Seris staring right at me in her maid outfit with a mild faciel expression. 

Oh... Well... Shit 

                                   Chapter 8: Feeling nice 

Four days have passed since the day Larah took her leave, and I have just been talking to Larah through her own hair, which was in a small chest wrapped in a small rope since rubber bands don’t exist in this world it was currently the late afternoon, and I was currently sniffing the hair of Larah that was tied together. I set it back in the chest as I was on my knees. 

"Sorry I didn’t start by saying good morning first," I said. "So good morning, Master. And if you are wondering how I have been doing, I have been doing well. I still miss you, and it's a little hard to get used to not seeing you around the house anymore, but I gotta get used to it somehow, right? And yes, I have been training myself, and I am still not too sure about going to the Seria University place yet, but who cares?" 

I would scratch my head. "Anyways, today is the day I go out on my own, so all I ask from you, Master, is for you to wish me luck. And thank you again for giving me the courage to do this." I took a deep breath with a smile, picked up the chest, and got up while sliding it under my bed. 

I got out of the room and walked into the hallway, turned into a corner, and bumped into Seris as she was cleaning one of the end tables. 

"Oh!" Seris shouted as she looked at me. 

"Oh, sorry, Aunt Seris." I said while bowing my head down and coming back up. 

She took a deep breath of relief. "You scared me there, Tenshi. It's fine though. So, what are you up to? Did the rope do well?" 

Seris was actually loyal enough to keep the hair fetish a secret. She thought it was weird at first and did say I reminded her a lot of Taren that day. Seris was okay with it since she thought it was just a simple memento to remember Larah. 

"Mhm, it did. And thanks for the little chest I could put it in." 

Seris chuckled. "Well, it's no problem, and don’t worry, your secret has still been safe with me." 

Man, Seris is the best person to keep secrets with. "Oh, and what I'm up to. I actually plan to go out by myself for the first time." 

Seris put her hand to her mouth in small shock. "Wow, really? That's quite a big step for your age. Most children would never at your age and be forced to do so by their parents. What a brave boy you are, Tenshi." She would put her hand back down. 

I nodded. "Yup, anyways, I'm gonna go ask Mother and Father for permission, so I’ll see you soon, Aunt Seris," I started to walk past her.  "Goodbye." 

Seris waved, "Goodbye, have fun." 

As I walked downstairs, I shouted, "Mother! Father!" I looked around as I got downstairs. I looked to my left to see Ria and Taren a little flustered. Ria flicked Taren's head. 

"Ow," Taren said. 

Ria had a pouty look on her face but went back to a smile as she looked at me, but still a little flustered. 

"Sorry, sweetie, what are you doing down here? Did you need to ask us something?" Ria said as she looked at me with a smile. 

I looked away as I snickered. Yup, Taren definitely almost had fun at the wrong time. "Well, Mother and Father, I have decided to do something today, and I wanted your permission if that’s all right." 

Taren scratched his forehead, not from confusion but because it itched from the flick. 

"Yeah, sure, go ahead," Taren said. 

I cleared my throat. "I plan to go out. You know? Take a nice walk besides the yard." 

Ria looked in surprise. "O-out there? Like by yourself!? You're not afraid!?" Ria looked over to Taren. "Did you hear that, Taren? Tenshi wants to go out on his own, and we didn’t have to get him to ourselves!" Ria said with an exciting smile on her face. 

Taren looked at me with confusion. "Huh, really? I mean, this is great and all, but you really don’t think it's too early?" Taren asked. 

I shook my head. "Nope, I'm ready. Besides, I'm officially a saint class lightning mage, so what is there to worry." 

Taren walked over to me and patted my back. "Now that's my brave son. But I will give you something to protect yourself with." Taren walked away and went past me to go upstairs. I tilted my head.  

Did he not hear what I said? 

Ria cleared her throat, and I looked at her. "Since you're going out for the first time, I think it would be fair if I gave you..." Ria dug through her left pocket and took out a small piece of paper. "This." Ria handed the paper over to me, and I looked at it. 

"What's this?" 

"Just a shopping list. It shouldn’t be much, and I’ll give you the money for it. So, there is nothing to worry about." 

Taren ran back downstairs, carrying a short sword. Ria went past him and also went upstairs. 

"Here," Taren said. He handed me the short sword, which was the same one that he had gifted me during the party. 

"Come on, Dad, would I really need this?" 

Taren nodded with pride. "Trust me, if you get in a bad situation, you can slash them just like that. You never know when you’ll need it more than magic." 

"Yeah, the thing is, I don’t think I’ll need this anyways, but sure, thanks, I guess." 

Taren gave another nod. "Just one more thing." Taren took off one of the scabbards from his waist and went on one knee to attach it to my left waist. 

 Ria walked back downstairs with a pouch in her hands. Taren got up and went a step back. 

"There, now you should be good." He said. 

As Ria walked over to me, she handed the small pouch over to me. 

"That should be enough. Now, just make sure you don’t miss a single thing on the list, but it shouldn’t be that hard." 

Taren turned his face to Ria. "You're making him go shopping? Are you sure that's a good idea? The sun could go down at any moment unless you are fine with him coming late." 

Ria looked over to face Taren. "I would be worried, but Tenshi is too strong to get hurt. How about we wait two hours?" Ria winked and held up the number two with her fingers as she smiled. 

Taren shrugged his shoulders. "I don’t care. It really depends on you." 

Ria lightly clapped her hands and looked back down at me. "So, you hear that, Tenshi? Just be back in two hours, okay?" 

I blinked twice and faked a smile. "Yeah, sure, okay, Mother, I’ll be back before you both know it." 

"Good," Ria said with a smile. Ria went over to the door to open it for me. "Good luck, Tenshi, and make sure to always defend yourself in case of anything." Ria started to smell some smoke coming from the kitchen and started to get worried. "Oh my, the food is burning! uh, have fun outside Tenshi." Ria ran over to the kitchen, and I stopped the door from closing. 

It was just me and Taren together. "Anyways," Taren said. He picked me up on his back, and he stepped outside. "I wanna talk to you for a bit while we have a short walk." 

"Hm? Okay, sure, what is it?" Taren and I started to move very slowly towards the outside of the yard. 

"Maybe just a little small talk. Just wondering if you planned anything specific going out there other than doing groceries." 

"Well, to be honest, I just wanted to explore a little more for once and maybe see if there are any cuties there," I said as I smirked. 

"Heh. Oh, trust me, there are. Don’t tell your mom I said that, of course, but if you are like me, I know you’ll find the one out there or anywhere." 

"Yeah, but I plan to get someone soft and not a tsundere like Mom unless the tsundere is a hottie." 

Taren nodded. "Yeah... Wait, what's a tsundere?" 

I scratched my head. "Oh, nothing." 

"Mhm... Anyway, just remember something. Never let your power get over your head, and especially don't! And I mean don’t fight someone if you know they are much stronger than you. We all have our vulnerable side, if you remember what I said. Once you are older, I allow you to never back down, but you are still a kid right now. Last thing, always follow good instead of bad whether it's the rules or not." 

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Be a good kid, don’t let power get over my head, be respectful to others, and be good." 

Taren nodded. "That's right, how about some dating advice from your old man?" 

"Really!? That would be amazing, father!" I exclaimed with excitement. 

"Ha, I knew you would say yes. Now, if you want someone to love you, I suggest going for the ones in trouble. That way, they would instantly think you are that girl’s hero, and you're the only one for them. Or go for the ones mentally in trouble, and once you make them feel better, it will be a nice slow romantic relationship or fast, too, but no matter how it goes, it will still be a fun experience. And three is the normal way of being friends with someone and seeing how it goes from there. And four is something to use if you're desperate and older, but I suggest not at all, and it's going right there with a random person. It usually works for me, or it did, but that didn’t go too much to my favor at the same time." 

I listened carefully and nodded. "Wow, I could definitely do one to three." 

"Now." Taren put me down on the ground as we got only a few feet away from the yard. "Go get ‘em, Tenshi, and have fun." 

I nodded. "I will. Thank you very much, Father." I started running off. I would look back as I continued running. "Oh, and see you soon, aunt Seris!" I would look in front of me again. 

Taren waved. "Hah... Wait, Seris?" Taren looked behind himself. 

"So what was that conversation all about?" Seris teasingly said. 

"Oh, uh..." Taren would be shocked, "Wait, what the hell did I tell Tenshi!?" 

                                                               *** 

As nine minutes went by after going through the small forest, I was nearing the village. I already saw a small number of people around me, and I started greeting each one that passed me, starting off with someone fishing under the small bridge I crossed. "Good afternoon!" I shouted to the man on the left side under the bridge, 

"Afternoon, boy!" The man shouted back. 

A minute later I started passing by a woman getting some water from a well. 

"Good afternoon, ma’am." The woman looked over at me as she was still getting the water. 

"Oh, good afternoon." She said. 

I looked back ahead of me. As I kept walking, I took a big breath of the fresh air and breathed out, Ha... Nothing better than some pure fresh air. It's not like being out in the state and seeing trash and crazy people on the ground, but don’t jinx yourself, Tenshi. The village might not be as good as I think it will be, but if Larah didn’t complain about it, then maybe I won’t either. 

As a minute passed, I entered the village. It was a beautiful village, and I would be impressed as I took the scenery. "Wow, it feels like the perfect amount of people here. This place really is something out of an MMO." "Oh, what if I could trade something valuable like this gold?" I pondered. I would look at the pouch I was carrying in my hand. 

"Maybe I can get something better than groceries with this." I looked over to my right to see a sad looking girl who looked about my age just sitting on a small crate, and it was a little girl with half silver and orange hair, elf ears, fox ears, green eyes, and a orange tail. Oh my god, a sad girl with cat ears! that girl looks like she was from my dreams! Oh yeah, thank you, Taren for this advice if it actually works. I cleared my throat. You got this, Tenshi. No being scared anymore. I'm a man. 

I started taking a step, and some woman bumped into me. "Ah!" I yelped as I almost fell. 

"Oh, My apologies, boy." the woman who bumped into me said with a smile. She looked down at me, and It was Flurisa. She was carrying a small box with her.  

Dumbass should watch where she is going. I would look up at her with a fake smile. "Oh, it's all right—" Before I could continue, I felt goosebumps around me and a random feeling of fear and a heaviness in my chest. 

"Is something the matter sweetie?" She said as she kept her smile. 

I looked down and shook my head. 

"All right. Well, I’ll be off. Have a good rest of your day." She turned around and walked over to the little girl. "Come now, we can’t be here all day." 

The girl nodded and got up. They both walked away and left. after seeing that, I felt confused, fear, and frustration. I wanted to say something, but it felt like I couldn’t speak with all this fear. 

"Why... Can’t I say anything? My throat feels dry..." I shook my head and slapped my face softly with both of my hands. 

"Calm down for a minute..." I mumbled. I looked over to where the two went, but they were already gone. I looked back down. Who the hell was she? Who the hell was she? And that girl. Was that her mother? No, they don’t look alike... And I was... scared? I looked back up Well, I better get the groceries quickly before Taren comes to find me, and we have our first-ever argument, or would it be second? never mind." 

                                                               *** 

an hour and a half went by, and the sun was going down and right at the edge of turning dark. I had a bag full of stuff in my left hand and looked at the list on my right. "Well, that should be everything." 

I put the list back in my pocket. "I should get back. walking alone in the night here feels creepy." And I don’t wanna end up like a character from a horror film. I mean, out of the village is a perfect spot for a killing to take place, I said to myself as I started walking. 

As I started walking and nearing the outside of the village, I looked to my left to see Flurisa getting inside a two-story structure that was made of stone bricks. So, this must be where that woman lives, huh? Doesn’t look very... Homey I shrugged it off and continued walking, but I stopped and thought back to the little girl. 

I looked back at the structure and shook my head. "No, I can’t right now. I have to get home." 

I made another step but stopped again. A small sweat drop came out the side of my head, and I remembered the advice Taren gave me. I'm always a scared ass, but now I want to be the hero? I looked back at the structure and thought about what I should do. "That girl looked so scared yet empty." Could she actually be kidnapped? I pondered. "Ugh, fine, if things go wrong, then I will blame it on Father since he said what he said." 

I grabbed the bag with my right hand and dug through my left pocket. I pulled out the eyepatch Larah gave me right before she left. 

I put it over my head, and it covered my left eye. All right, time to put all that story mode game knowledge to use. I took a deep breath and looked towards the sun, which wasn’t even there anymore. "Sorry, Mother and Father, but I guess I’ll be a little late." 

I walked over to the left side of the structure and tried to find a unglazed window that had shutters over it that weren’t locked, so I could get inside of. Aha, perfect. I made some stone earth magic at the bottom of my feet so I could get in there, and it worked. The drop was loud, but I stood immediately frozen and listened to see if anyone was coming. 

"Did you hear something?" Someone said behind the door, and it was a man's voice, 

Ah shit, this was a bad idea... I was currently in a bathroom from what it seemed. I heard walking, but it got quieter, so I took a guess that they had left. I exhaled with relief. Phew, now I need to go find that girl. god, I'm gonna be in so much trouble when I get home. Okay, just bring her back home to her family and done." I slowly opened the door, and it only made a small creek. 

No one seemed to be walking up to me or talking about it. As I got out of the bathroom, it was just a few barrels with a hallway to the left and another to the right. "Hmm..." I decided to go left. "Man, this place looks almost like a dungeon and quite dusty as well," I said to myself as I looked a little afraid while walking through the short hall. I saw a room with a table and window, and there were two people sitting on the seats. 

I was hiding in the corner and listened to them talking. One was a man with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a short bear. Same one that Larah met. The other one had long black hair and black eyes. 

"Listen, we just need to keep doing her task, and then we’ll be done and free," the man with the black hair insisted. "It’s not like we’re stuck here forever," he added, sounding very casual. 

The blonde-haired man shook his head, annoyance creeping into his voice. "You’re missing the point, damn it!" He exhaled sharply. "I need a drink. I need something to calm me the hell down with your stupidity." 

"Do what you want." the black-haired man replied nonchalantly, using fire magic to ignite a cigarette. The brief flame illuminated his expression before he took a deep drag, letting the smoke curl into the air.  

With a resigned shake of the blonde guy’s head, he turned and walked away, leaving the tension lingering in the air. 

Now should be my chance, I said to myself. Uh, wait, should I just... Now that I think about it, maybe knocking him out would be more suspicious. I guess this is gonna be harder since these are real people and not NPCs." I made some rocks out of earth magic, and I shot them out the window. 

The man with black hair looked at it but shrugged it off and continued smoking his cigarette. 

Seriously? Fine. I said to myself. I shot five more rocks out the window.  

"Hmph." The man said. He walked over to the window to see if there was anything out there. 

I took a chance to walk to the other hall, and I successfully got there without being caught. I took a small break and exhaled with relief. Weird that they only have a few windows, I said to myself as I had my back on the wall. 

I looked to my left and noticed the man with blonde hair looking right at me as he was holding a bottle of beer. 

We were both just looking at each other for a couple of seconds. Before I had the chance to run, the man grabbed me, covered my mouth with his hand, and took me to a nearby room. I tried to scream for help, but I couldn't. We both got inside a bedroom and as he let go of me, I started gasping for air as he closed the door. 

"Hey, let me—" He closed my mouth again. 

"Just relax. I'm not here to put you in any danger." The man slowly took his hand out of my mouth. 

I would be stood right in front of him. Shit, I messed up. Now I'm stuck with this shithead. I dropped the bag and quickly took a step back and summoned lightning magic that sparked around my fingers. With a fierce glare, I said to him, "Is the girl here?" 

He looked at me, surprise flashing across his face. "Lightning magic? Please lower that hand. And what girl are you talking about?" 

"The one with those cute long cat ears!" I shouted with a hint of frustration. 

His confusion deepened, but after a moment's pause, he replied, "The demi-human? If we’re going to talk, I suggest you put that hand down like I said." 

I hesitated, caught between my instincts and the escalating tension. I thought would lowering my guard bring a truce or just lead to more trouble? "Okay, but if you try anything on me, or I promise I’ll burn you." 

"Such words for a kid, you remind me of an old friend. But you have a deal." 

I lowered my guard and the lightning from my hand would be gone. "Now, answer my question. Please." 

The man walked over to grab a cup and put some bear in there, drank it, put the cup back down, and looked back at me. "First, let me ask you, what are you doing here? This isn’t somewhere safe to be in, and where are your parents?" 

"...That doesn't matter. I just wanna know where the girl is." 

The man looked down into his cup, which was almost finished. "The demi-human is in her room chained up." 

I had gritted my teeth as he said that. 

"But don’t go pointing fingers at me," the man said, taking one last swig of his beer. "It was Lady Flurisa Melia who set this all in motion. She’s, well... quite a strong one. I still can’t wrap my head around why she decided to kidnap that little girl, but here I am, along with a few others, caught in her web, forced to do her bidding until she’s finished with whatever twisted project she’s concocting." He scoffed, a bitter edge to his voice. "And who knows when that will be? I’m just trying to not have my own blood on the floor. So, is that enough to earn a little sympathy from you?" 

I had a surprised expression on my face. "Wait, so let me get this straight. She kidnapped her, and you don’t know why, and you and the others here, except this flower girl, whatever her name is, are doing this for her bidding?" 

The man nodded. "That's right. Of course, I feel bad for that girl, and I try to keep her safe as much as possible. She reminded me of..." It went silent as he stopped talking. "Look, we should get you out of here before someone else spots you or even her. Let's get you out this window." The man walked over to the closed shutters. 

Holy crap, they are all doing this for her? That is just messed up. This dude makes this crazy chick sound crazy, but... I looked down and started thinking. 

The man got the wooden shutters opened that revealed another unglazed window. "There, now get going." 

I stood still and looked at the opened shutters and back at him. "I'm sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be doing that. I'm gonna go save that girl." 

The man looked at me with a sigh and got in front of me. "Listen, kid. You're too young to understand. She isn’t someone to mess with. so, please go." 

The man grabbed my arm, and I gave him a small shock to his hand with lightning magic. "Ah!" He yelped as he looked back at me. 

I walked back. "You can stop me if you want, but I’ll make that shock much worse if you try anything. I have to go save her," I said with a look of determination. 

The man looked at me with a hint of anger, and he scoffed "Fine, go ahead. I'm not even the one guarding the girl, so it won’t be on my head. But what's your name before you go do your suicidal plan?" 

This guy doesn’t know how many story games I played to do the impossible. And I'm a saint class now for goodness sake. "It's Tenshin. Tenshin Trius. Yours?"  

"Herrick Gowell." 

I looked back at the door. I walked towards it. 

"I hope you’ll have a quick death, and trust me when I say that's a compliment." He said. 

I had a hint of worry. Still, I opened the door and got out. 

As I got out of the room, Herrick was sitting on the bed thinking about what had just happened. "Wait, did he just say he was a Trius?" 

As I got out of the room, I continued sneaking. I went to the left and then straight since that's where the hallway continued. Shit that could’ve gone better. If that was someone else, I probably would’ve been dead. I sighed. "I won’t die. I can get her out..." I whispered. 

As I continued, I saw another door in front of me, and it was a small hallway I went to that lead to the right. As I walked through it, to my left was this room, which seemed to have a few chairs and tables, another door, and another door continuing down the hall. There was just one guy sitting on one of the chairs, asleep. 

"Hmm, seems like he's fully out..." I whispered. I started to normally walk past him to get to the door. and as I tried to open it, it was locked. Damn it, I bet that bastard has the keys, I said to myself as I looked back. 

I walked back over to the guy who was asleep, and I saw the key just on the table. I casually grabbed it, and he was still asleep. Guess that wasn’t like the movies. Way to easy. 

I walked back to the door, and as I shoved the key in the keyhole, it made a small, loud noise. Oh no. Maybe I am playing hard mode." I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and carefully turned the key as it kept making noise, and it was a quarter way turned. I looked behind me, and nobody was there other than the guy who was still asleep. I continued turning it, and I heard a click.  

Phew. Okay, this better not lead to someone. Please give me your blessings, Larah. I slowly opened the door, got in it, and closed it. 

I laid my hands on the door and took a deep breath out. "Thank god, that felt hard..." 

I looked behind me, and I saw the girl sleeping peacefully on the ground with chains around her. I thought it had to have been her since I saw her white hair and orange hair mix, those cat ears aka fox ears, and orange cat tail, but there was one thing I noticed as I got closer. on the sides of her head were longer ears. Wait a minute, are these elf ears? Wait, is she a half-breed? Didn’t Larah mention this to me? 

I remembered back to when Larah said: And some of the races you might find could even be rare hybrids like a demon and demi-human hybrid for example. 

The girl slowly opened her eyes and sat up on the wall while rubbing her eyes. I freaked out and waved my hands around the air, not knowing what to do. Oh crap! Okay, what do I do, what do I do? I calmed down and cleared my throat as I settled my hands. "Hi, it’s, uh, nice to meet you. I’m just here to get you out of here, all right?" My tone would sound like I’m nervous. 

The girl looked at me with confusion and looked tired. She tried getting close to me, but the chains didn’t reach that far. 

"Ah!" She yelped. She stood still and stopped trying. 

I looked at her with a saddened expression as I looked at her cuts and bruises and chains around her. Wow, this must’ve felt like one shitty mess for her. I took a deep breath. Okay... As I reached out, gently hovering both my hands on her, she recoiled, fear flickering in her eyes. "Hey, it’s okay," I reassured her softly. "I'm just going to use a little healing magic, all right?" 

With deliberate care, I maneuvered my hands closer to her. She stayed still, but the apprehension in her gaze lingered. As I focused, a warm green and blue glow emanated from my palms. In an instant, her bruises and cuts began to be a little healed but still a little shown. I'm only novice class so this is the best I can do. 

When she looked down at herself, she looked confused but felt more comfortable with me close to her. 

"There, now time to get you out of here before anyone—" 

I heard footsteps behind me, and I quickly ran back to lock the door to listen to it. Damn it. Guess my luck is running out. But I can still get her out. I quickly ran back to the girl to figure out how to free her from these chains "Come on, come on. There must be a keyhole..." I looked around at the first chain on her right arm and noticed there was a keyhole "There!" 

The man at the door started to bang "Hey! Why is the damn door locked!? Herrick!? Are you in there!? Who is it!?" The man out the door shouted, me and her both started to worry. 

I took the key out and it was slipping out of my hands, "Ah, ah, ah!" I accidently dropped it under the door. Shit... 

As I started to hear the door starting to open with a click, I quickly used some stone earth magic to block the door. 

"Hey!" The man behind the door shouted. 

I focused back on freeing the girl. "Okay, just calm down," I said. I grabbed the chain to her right arm and used stone earth magic to break it, and it quickly did it to each chain on her limbs till I got to the last one on her right leg. "There, done!" I exclaimed as I had some sweat come down my head. 

The girl got up and was frightened as she looked at the massive stone holding the door, which was starting to break. "Move, please!" I told her. She moved to the left. 

As I stood where she was standing earlier. I took a deep breath and aimed both hands at the wall. "Ha!" Sharp stones came out of the ground and broke the wall, showing the outside. "Come on!" I reached my hand to the girl, and she held on, and I carried her on my back. 

I jumped out the hole in the wall as she held on tight on my back. There's no way she can run that fast when she is tired and still injured. Okay, I'm not even gonna bother asking where she lives, so for now, I should get us to my home as quickly as possible. 

I ran to the right till I got to the pathway that leads outside the village. I kept running on the pathway for four minutes and I looked back ahead. "Okay maybe we should be good now. I didn’t even know I can run this fast." 

I looked back in front of me and had a small smile but quickly noticed a round sharp looking sword coming right towards me Shit! I dodged to the right but tripped and dropped the girl. 

"Ah!" Both me and the girl yelped. The blade made a small cut on my left cheek, and as I got up, the sword flew over my head, returning to the person who had thrown it. 

In the distance, someone caught it effortlessly. I looked in front of me to see a woman in a black dress with red eyes and blonde hair. 

"My, what a captivating scene," the woman remarked, her eyes gleaming with intrigue. It was none other than Flurisa Melia.  

"My, A young boy rescuing another child? How brave of you, dear. I must admit, I envy your courage," she said, a chilling smile while licking her lips and her two swords held right beside her. 

I felt fear but kept a straight face. Guess that's her. Okay, right now I need to think of a plan. I just need to get me and her out safely somehow... Wait, Now that I think about it, what's scarier is that If I die then once I go back I could go to hell, and... My face started to show fear. Holy shit, I’ve been playing my second chance at life like fire! 

Flurisa spoke and said, "Wait a second, you're that boy I met earlier today. What could you be doing here late at night, hm?" 

I looked at the girl; who trembled on the ground, her eyes wide with fear. I turned my gaze to Flurisa, I hardened my expression. "What do you want with her?" I asked, my voice steady. 

Flurisa chuckled, a cold, mocking sound that sent shivers down my spine. "Oh, it's nothing you need to concern yourself with," she replied, a sly smile tugging at her lips. "You’re just not old enough to understand yet unfortunately." 

I stepped forward, "Come on! Just tell me!" I insisted, urgency lacing my words. "Why would you kidnap her and drive innocent people from their homes just to bend them to your will? It makes no sense!" 

Flurisa looked a little surprised at what she heard me say. "Oh? And who told you that?" 

I smirked. "Oh, no one. You're too stupid to understand. Plus, I’m not snitch." 

Flurisa chuckled. "My, such a sassy one. You're smarter than you look. I bet your family thinks of you as a prodigy, but unfortunately, they won’t be happy to see you in a few eaten-up pieces." Flurisa ran towards me at a high speed, and I barely had time to react, but since my hand was already touching the handle of the short sword in my waist, I quickly took it out to block myself, and so both of our blades collided. 

her strength was so strong it pushed me backward and fell on my head. "Kah!" I got up, but it started to bleed a little. 

"Quick one. I'm sure you’ll taste exquisite," she said while still standing perfectly straight. 

Man, this chick is weird as hell! I got up from the ground and I aimed my hand at her to shoot some lightning strings, but she kept moving while running to me, and as she got to me, I used air magic to dodge since my small body was too weak for this type of fight. 

As she got to me again, I went under her and shot stone-type earth magic at her arm, and as I did, her left arm flew out of her shoulder and onto the ground. 

"Nice!" I looked over to her as I slide ten feet away from her. "Hah, how was that!" 

Flurisa stood still and then turned around to look towards me. She didn’t seem to look in pain even though her arm was gushing out blood. "My, so much blood you made come out of me." She wiped her finger on the blood coming out of her shoulder, and she licked the blood off her finger. I was in complete disgust and shock. "Now then..." She would start coming at me with full speed and punched me in the gut. 

"Gah!" I shouted as saliva flew right out my mouth. The sword flew out of my hand and she punched me on the back, and I fell right next to the little girl. 

Flurisa would walk up to us. 

Damn it, now I'm starting to get how much I messed up and how shitty she is. I coughed up a bit of blood and looked at her from the distance. I then looked over at the little girl and reached my hand out to her. "Just... Run..." 

She looked right at me as I spoke, and Flurisa looked right down at her. "Nuh uh, uh, you’re not going anywhere. You know what happens if you do, don’t you remember?" 

She was shaking in fear, but she nodded. 

I aimed my eyes at her as my body was weak. "You sick... Bastard..." 

Flurisa looked back down at me. "Be proud that you've come this far. You have great potential, and you could have become an amazing person, but this is where your time ends." Flurisa aimed her sword to the sky. 

I closed my eyes completely, giving up. I'm sorry to myself, I'm sorry to the family I just made, I'm sorry to the girl I was supposed to bring home safe, and I'm sorry to you to the promise I made to Larah. I guess I’ll be seeing Maria again. As I said my final words to myself, Flurisa slashed her sword down. 

I was there just lying there, but nothing happened. "...Am I dead?" 

I heard a man grunt in front of me I opened my eyes and saw familiar brown boots and beige lace-up shirt. It was Herrick with his sword clashed with Flurisa’s sword. 

"Hey, kid," he said, a hint of relief in his tone. "Looks like I made it just in time." With a swift motion, he pushed Flurisa aside, the blade of his sword gleaming ominously. 

"Herrick," Flurisa said with a smile and while her eye twitched. 

"Listen, you and the girl need to get out of here. Once you’re safe home, get to Taren and ask him about a guy he might know who's in trouble." 

I got up with my arms and had a surprised reaction. "Wait, slow down for a minute. Herrick, you said she was not someone to mess with. Why are you here now!? Wait, my dad!?"  

"Because I see a good kid in you, and I want to help put an end to this for me and the others. I have important people to be with again later, but right now, I need you to trust me and take action. So go now!" 

I hesitated for a moment but quickly grabbed the girl. "Come on," I said to her. 

She looked at me, still confused and frightened, but she listened and got on my back again. 

I quickly ran left so I could get far from the fight. It was just Herrick and Flurisa glaring at each other. 

"So, Herrick," Flurisa said. "You decided to betray me I suppose? Fine. I was gonna eat you anyways." 

Herrick looked at her with a grin. "They didn’t listen, but I suppose I was right. I knew that was your plan all along, and I know I may die, but I’ll die trying, even if I might not see the ones I love again. As long as I saved those two, I'm happy to realize my death will mean something." 

The two stood in silence, but Herrick spoke again as held his sword right in front of his face, "So come at me, Flurisa Melia. I am the advanced class swordsman Herrick Gowell, and I will fight for the ones you have put to suffer, ones that you have killed, and to return to my family!" Herrick ran to her with a battle cry. 

"Oh, I love your confidence just as much as the boy! You're gonna taste absolutely wonderful!" The two clashed and began the fight. 

                                                               *** 

I kept running, and I was starting to get closer to the house. I felt dizzy from the amount of bleeding from my head, and I felt weak from the cuts and bruises. I kept breathing heavily and running as fast as possible. "I... I'm just right... There..." I stopped and went on my knees. 

the girl looked concerned and got off me, and she just looked at me with confusion and worry. The house was just a few feet away from us, but then I saw someone walking right to me. 

"There you are," said Taren, who was right in front of me wearing his red cape, iron chest plate, and iron gauntlets. "I just got back from hunting beast, and was just going to go find—" Before Taren could finish his sentence, he looked at the state I was in and back at the girl, but he kept his focus on me and quickly kneeled down and held me so I didn’t fall. He looked back at the house. "Ria! Seris! Get over here quickly!" He shouted. 

My vision was fading, darkness creeping in, but I fought to keep my focus. I knew what I had to say. 

"D-Dad..." 

Taren turned his head to face me. "Tenshi, stay up for a little longer. What happened?" Worry etched across his face, concern deepening his brow. 

"He's fighting her... Please... help him..." I said with a shaking tone. 

Confusion flickered in Taren's eyes. "Tenshi, who!?" Taren asked urgently. 

With a shaky finger, I pointed down the pathway, my heart pounding as I struggled to make him understand the urgency of my words. Ria and Seris quickly ran outside. 

"Please save him!" I shouted. I started tearing up as blood was still dripping down my head. 

"Taren, what happened?" Ria asked As she was the first to notice me before Seris. She quickly ran to me with concern, "Tenshi!" Ria cried out, dropping to her knees as she gathers me in her arms. 

Luckily, I was still breathing. 

Seris was also visibly anxious, glancing to her left where a worried demi-human girl, resembling an elf, stood. 

"That girl..." Seris mumbled, her brow furrowed in concern. She looked back at me. 

Taren, alert and determined, focused on the path ahead. A cacophony of sounds erupted in the distance, urging him to spring into action. He stood tall and turned around with a steely gaze. "Seris, Ria," he commanded. "Get Tenshi home and heal him. I need you to bring that girl with you to." 

"But where are you going!? Tenshi is injured!" Ria exclaimed, panic creeping into her voice. 

"I’m going to find whoever did this to him," Taren replied firmly, setting his sights on the darkening path ahead as he took his sword out his waist. "And kill them." With a mixture of anger and determination, he stepped forward, leaving Ria, Seris, and the girl to grapple with worry for me. 

                                                               *** 

A couple more minutes went by, and Herrick fell to the ground with a few stab wounds on his chest and stomach and was also bleeding profusely on his head, much more than me. He was coughing up a huge amount of blood and was bleeding all around his body. 

His sword was still in his hand, but he was too weak to get up. 

"You fought well," Flurisa said as she stood right in front of Herrick. "But don’t worry, since you were my most polite subordinate, I’ll do the honors of making your death quick by starting off with my favorite part to eat. Your brain." Flurisa licked her lips. 

Herrick had his eye turned right towards her since he now felt too paralyzed to move. "You... Dumb bitch... Go to hell with Desratch..." 

"Oh my, that's not so kind of you. But I thank you for quenching my hunger, and once I'm done, I'm going to go back to find that boy and girl, and understand that your death will mean nothing." 

Flurisa laughed manically and held her sword up, getting ready to chop his head in half, but before she could, a gust of wind hit her head and cut the top left of her head, even reaching a bit of her brain. 

It was Taren who used his ability called wind slash against her. He quickly kicked her in the gut, sending her flying. 

Taren stood there where Flurisa was just standing. He looked back to see Herrick out cold, not even sure if he was dead or alive. "Seems like Tenshi made it out because of him... Herrick..." Taren looked a little saddened because he felt like it was too late. 

He looked back in front of him to see Flurisa still standing but also covering the flesh wound on the top left of her head, just spewing out blood. 

"My, an uninvited guest." Flurisa said. 

An arrow was shot right at her neck, but it wasn’t by Taren. Taren heard footsteps behind him, and it was Seris still in her maid outfit and carrying a bow. 

"So, was that who I thought it was?" Seris said, referring to Herrick on the ground. Taren looked shocked to see Seris. 

"Didn’t I tell you to stay at home!" Taren shouted. 

Seris turned her head to look at him. "Ria is fine on her own for now, and she allowed it. We will be back soon enough when we finish this and get Herrick to an infirmary." Seris looked back at Flurisa, who was still trying to get the arrow out of her neck. 

Taren was still a little mad but calmed down and took a deep breath. He looked back in front of him towards Flurisa. 

"I’ll handle it from here," Taren insisted, his tone leaving no room for debate. He turned his gaze back to Flurisa, a sense of urgency in his eyes. 

Seris hesitated, uncertainty flickering across her face. "Are you really sure you can manage this on your own?" 

With a confident nod, Taren flashed a reassuring smile. "I promise, I’ve got this. You need to concentrate on our friend who’s in dire need. Please." 

Seris was still hesitant, but she nodded and had a look of determination in her eyes. "Okay." 

Seris put the bow back on her back and quickly grabbed Herrick in her arms with a bit of struggle, but she ran as quickly as possible to get to the village. 

Taren watched Seris leave and looked back at Flurisa, who had finally gotten the arrow out of her neck. "My, that wasn’t a pleasant feeling." Flurisa said while clearing her throat. 

"Now, it's our turn," Taren said with determination. 

Taren rushed at full speed to clash his sword with her, and somehow, Flurisa still kept up as she blocked with her sword. Taren quickly grabbed her neck, threw her right on the ground, and kicked her right up in the air. 

Flurisa kept her composure as she was in the air. 

"My, you're such a strong individual. Your face, too, resembles that child." 

"That's because he is my son that you nearly killed, and for that, you will suffer a painful death as the cost!" Taren shouted as jumped high up to her and kicked her to the ground. 

As Taren landed, her left room for another punch right to her stomach, showing the bump of the punch right behind her back. He stood there thinking Flurisa was finally defeated but just in case, he stood there waiting for the dust to clear up. 

Flurisa, shown as the dust cleared out, put her hand right in front as if she were holding a ball, and in that empty space in her hand, something glowed blue. 

"Unfortunately, this is where I fall out," Flurisa said. The two swords were also back on her waist. 

Taren didn’t know what she was doing, but he quickly ran to her before she could do anything. "Oh, no you don’t!" Taren shouted. 

"Farewell." The glow that was in her hands blew up to create steam all around her and Taren. 

Taren couldn’t see where she was at, but he quickly used wind slash and slashed his sword all around the steam so it could clear up. However, as it cleared up, Flurisa was gone. 

Taren went to the ground and punched it. "Damn it! How could I let her get away!?" Taren was angry and tried to calm himself down. He got up from the ground and looked ahead of him to where Flurisa was earlier. Well. She’ll probably die in a few minutes anyway. There's no way you can heal from that type of wound. 

Taren started to walk back home. Please, Tenshi and Herrick, please be okay... Taren said with a look of worry. 

                                                     *** 

A day had passed since the whole Flurisa incident, and I was starting to wake up. My eyelids were closed, and I could hear the sounds of birds chirping and the sunlight streaming into my room. 

When I finally opened my eyes, I noticed that my vest and shirt was missing, but I felt healed and looked normal again, aside from having upper clothing. 

I sat up in bed, feeling confused as I glanced around. "What happened...?" I mumbled to myself. 

I got out of bed and did a quick arm stretch. Okay, wait a second, let me think for a minute... I focused on my thoughts, recalling the events of saving the girl, confronting Flurisa, and being saved by Herrick. 

"Oh, that's right... But wait, if all of that happened, then..." 

I began to worry about what happened to the little girl. I hadn’t even explained to my family who she was. I dashed toward the door just as it swung open, revealing Taren. 

He looked intently at me, and I met his gaze. It was silent as we both looked at each other in the eyes. 

"Oh, uh, hey... Father..." I started, but Taren didn’t respond; he appeared disappointed as he had his arms crossed. "Uh, how is—" 

"The girl is being taken back home to her family by Seris, If it is them..." Taren interrupted, his tone serious. "And Herrick is in the infirmary getting treatment. He’s currently unconscious or possibly in a coma." 

I was shocked to hear this, and I looked down, recalling what happened again. "Oh... Wow..." I felt guilt wash over me. I recalled back to the time he mentioned Taren's name. I looked back up at Taren and started talking, 

"Wait, Father, he mentioned you when he told me to run to you. Do you know him?" 

Taren slammed his hand against the wall. "Enough about that!" he shouted, his tone serious. 

I was taken aback by his sudden outburst of anger. 

"What were you thinking that night, Tenshi? You didn’t listen to almost anything I said and nearly got yourself killed again!" 

My heart felt heavy with a mix of anger and guilt for what I had done, even though it also felt right. I still had a reason, so I wanted to explain everything to Taren. 

"I was trying to—" Before I could finish my sentence, Taren interrupted me again. 

"No Excuses! All I ask is that my son doesn’t get himself killed and that he listens to his father when he gives him instructions! You didn’t run from someone that could’ve most definitely killed you, and you came home late, and yet again, you nearly died!" 

I looked at him with no reaction. So, this is what my douche of a father is really doing? The stupid excuses trick...  

"Don’t give me that look. Say something!" Taren shouted. 

I wanted to express my anger, but I knew that if I did, I would most likely lose like I always had in my old life. But unfortunately, I couldn’t hold it in. 

"You know what? I did do what you said. Unless I heard you wrong about what you said at the end of our conversation, but if I didn’t, then I’d rather do what is good than listen to you, damn it!" I shouted. 

Taren slapped me across the face, and I fell back. 

Just... Hold it in and keep going... I said to myself. 

Taren was shocked to see himself slap me. He felt guilty, but he stood his ground to try and teach me a lesson. 

I got back up with a small red mark on my left cheek. "If you want me to talk, Father, I need you to stop thinking I'm making excuses." 

"But it is an excuse! You know what you did! Now, later, we are going to that family's home to apologize for bringing that little girl into your mess. So be ready, and after that, you are grounded." 

I wanted to let out more anger, but I took a deep breath and looked back at him. Taren then left and closed the door, and I was just standing there with anger and sadness as I was looking down and clenching my fist. Why, why is he like everyone else... Back then... 

                                                               *** 

A few minutes went by, and Taren would have his armor pieces back off and his red vest. He went to get a mug of beer and drank it alone at the dining table. He looked at the palms of his left hand, and he couldn’t stop thinking if it was right that he slapped me. 

Did I go too far? No, my father did way worse. I went on the right level, right? Taren sighed. I just don’t want Tenshi to do stupid things and lie. I mean, I lived with my own father longer than how long Tenshi has lived. If he dies this early, I’ll... Taren continued looking at his palms as it started to shake. I’ll be worse than him... Taren looked behind himself as he heard the door outside open. 

It was Seris coming back with this basket covered in a cloth. She came back after getting the little girl home. She put the basket down on the random chair beside the door. 

Taren looked up at her, and when she came back, Seris noticed him. "Is Ria not back yet?" She asked. 

Taren shook his head and looked at his halfway-drunk mug. "She is still at the village checking on Herrick. I'm worried if the guy has anything to get back to."  

Taren looked back up at her. "So, was that child theirs?" Taren asked. 

Seris tilted her head in confusion before realizing he was referring to the little demi-human elf girl. 

"Oh, yes, she was." Seris answered. 

"That's great because Tenshi and I will be going there tonight to apologize to them." 

Seris was puzzled. "Apologize? What does Tenshi need to apologize for?"  

Taren got up. 

"For putting her in danger by bringing her into that mess. I have to get him to apologize for that." 

Seris chuckled at what Taren said. "In danger? Well, I don’t think she was in danger; at least, that's what I thought from the parent's reaction and what they said." 

Taren would look confused, "Huh?" 

"When I got her home, they were in tears and said she had been lost for half a year. I was surprised since it had been so long. So, I would say that Tenshi saved her instead of putting her in danger." 

Taren would be completely flabbergasted. "P-please tell me you’re joking, right?" 

Seris shook her head 

Taren's eyes widened at her words. He recalled when he had interrupted me, and his heart grew heavy. 

"But I did tell them that my nephew saved her, and they were so grateful that the basket here," she said as she patted the top of the basket, which was really the cloth cover. "Is actually some beast. The man told me it was a hogfa. We should eat this for dinner tonight when Ria gets back." Seris said with a smile on her face. 

Taren began to feel guilty about the false accusations he had made against me. "Sure, Seris. I'm going to go upstairs and take care of something." he replied. 

Taren walked out of the room, passed by Seris, and quickly made his way upstairs. "Tenshi!" He shouted as he barged into my room. Taren called out as he looked around, but I wasn't there. 

Taren looked around and noticed the half opened-up wooden shutters and window. He walked towards it, hoping I didn’t run away, and as he got to the opened shutters, I was there lying on the branch of the tree as I had a white shirt on, just holding up a fireball and looking at it. 

Taren sighed with relief and got close to the shutters and didn’t know what to say. He knew he had to apologize, but he didn’t know the right way. 

I already noticed him, yet I didn’t take my eyes off the fireball on my hand  

"Tenshi," Taren said 

I stayed looking at the fireball but answered back, "Are we gonna go to that family now? Or are you gonna keep abusing the power of a father and say what else I have done wrong without me explaining?" I chuckled. "Bet that felt really nice earlier, right?" 

Taren didn’t answer back but kept feeling even more guilt the more he stayed quiet for a bit and then spoke. "Tenshi... I..." 

"I'm ready anyway. I just thought it would be more in the evening." 

"No, Tenshi, just... Just say whatever you need to say." 

I clenched my hand, and the fireball blew out. I turned myself to face Taren, and I was now sitting on the branch. "What should I say? They are all excuses anyway. Or maybe I just thought wrong. Maybe it's fine not to be a good person. Maybe I should follow the rules more than being good, right? Guess that's the Trius family, right? Just being a bunch of rude people, and maybe when I grow up, I should also abuse the power of a father, and no matter what my child says, it will always be an excuse. Won’t give him or her one chance; I will just shut 'em up. Isn’t that right, father? You understand."  

Taren looked down and had nothing to say. He knew I wasn’t being serious, but he knew that that's what he was showing. 

"Just... Tell me what happened. I wanna hear everything, and I promise on this whole family I won’t shut you up or interrupt you." 

"...All right then." 

                                                               *** 

hours passed, and it was now late in the evening. After Taren heard the whole truth about the story, I was downstairs with Ria so she knew I was fine. Taren was currently up in his and Ria’s bedroom, just sitting on the bed and drinking the rest of his beer as the candle was lit on top of the bedside drawer. 

Tenshi did something that even I wouldn't have done at his age. Maybe I am becoming just like my old man. Tenshi doing something foolish made me a little happy, and it seemed like he was finally acting his age, and for once, it felt normal. But once again, he didn’t. But it amazed me. I'm out here trying to provide him with a good childhood and teach him to be a decent person at least, yet here I am, being a foolish dumbass. It really highlights how incredible of a father I am. Taren took the last sip of his beer and looked at the door and felt too embarrassed to encounter me again if he stepped out. 

Ria opened the door and saw Taren on the bed. "There you are," Ria said. "I was looking for you." 

Taren looked up at her "Oh, sorry. It's good to see you again." 

Ria walked over to him as she noticed something off with his mood. She sat down next to him with her hand on his shoulder "Is it about Herrick? If it makes you feel better, he's not for sure dead. He's just in a small coma." 

Taren hearing the news made him sigh. "But no, it was... I just had my first argument with Tenshi and... I was wrong..." 

Ria went quiet for a bit after hearing that, but she gave Taren a chance to explain. "About what?" She asked. 

"...About him disobeying what I said about being safe and about bringing that little girl into it. Remember yesterday?" 

Ria nodded. "And you thought it was wrong to be mad at him?" 

"Look, he did disobey what I said, but also obeyed. He didn’t follow my rules but he also did something good like I taught him. Some good I wouldn’t have done at his age." 

Taren looked down to the ground as he continued, "He saved that little girl, and if he didn’t, maybe she wouldn’t have seen her parents again. I feel like a bad father for being wrong on the first one. I don’t even know how he will look at me now." 

Ria wrapped the rest of her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. 

"It's okay," she said. "You might’ve been wrong, and I won’t lie to make you feel better, but I know Tenshi will forgive you; just be a little softer towards him and give him time to talk. I know you will learn from this, that's what being a parent is about, correct?" Ria would give a soft smile. 

"Sure, but—" Taren was about to speak, but Ria shushed him with her finger on his lip. 

"Trust me on that. The whole point of being a parent is to learn from your mistakes, so from now on, you'll learn from this and any other mistakes you make along the way. You understand?" She would set her hand back down. 

Taren nodded with small smile. He then cleared his throat. "And about Herrick, you said he was in a coma?" 

Ria nodded as she backed away from the hug. 

Taren sighed and didn’t say anything. 

"Have you ever thought about whether the rest of our party is, okay?" Ria asked as she looked ahead. 

Taren looked at her. "Well," Taren said as he pondered, "no, not much, really. I mean, so much time has passed. Most of them probably have settled down like us or on their own continuing going on as adventurers or other stuff." 

Ria let out a small internal chuckle. "Fun times. It’s almost been a decade since we all disbanded." Ria side-eyed Taren. "You were one wild beast who couldn’t contain himself when it came to a specific few woman..." 

Taren turned his head to face her. "Oh, come on, don’t be like that. We weren’t so into each other at those days anyway, Ria. I’ve said it more than once, and I’ll say it again. I love you and only you." 

Ria blushed and cleared her throat as she stood up. "Good. Now, we should get downstairs. Seris apparently brought some beast meat, and it’s almost done. I made sure to save the other half for another day." 

"...All right," Taren said with a smile. 

                                                               *** 

We were all sitting at the dinner table, and I was thinking to myself as I was enjoying the food, I'm just happy that all went well, yet could’ve gone better, I said to myself. I'm happy I did something good for once, but was it worth it? Man, I did shit that could’ve killed me. I'm honestly hoping I see that girl again; she was kinda pretty, but other than that, I'm just glad to be alive and continue my second chance. Man, I’m still shaken from her. I said to myself. 

                                      Chapter 9: Reunite 

Two weeks passed, and it was the next month. I am currently just taking a walk outside on a different pathway, the same me and Larah took on my final exam. After those weeks of being traumatized, I didn’t want to keep staying in since I felt like I could return to being the same guy I was in my old life. I had the short sword back on my waist since Taren found it for me, the magical guidebook, my wand, and had my vest back on. 

I grabbed onto a tree and spun myself around it as I continued walking. "Man, I forgot how far the hill was. I'm surprised no one came running there after me, and Master did all of that crazy!" I exclaimed. 

I started to remember each memory I and Larah had together. Those were the good times, as well as seeing her in the bath. Flat yet perfect, and you know she is the best waifu on the inside, at least. heh. I took a deep breath and shouted, "Thank you, master!!!" Some birds started to fly away from my loud shout. 

I took in another deep breath to get some air back in my lungs. And I felt good saying that. 

I heard some noise of people to my left. 

In the forest, I saw two boys throwing some rocks at this little girl, and I waited to make sure it was exactly that; there were two of them saying, "Stupid demi-human! Go back to being a slave!" 

"Yeah!" the other one said. I was getting a little pissed, and I started to walk forward to stand up for the girl. 

Of course, it's racist kids. I know I can’t be talking from my gaming life, but this is too far. So how about I show them a bit of something. I grinned. 

As I got closer, I noticed who they were bullying, and it was the little elf demi-human girl I saved from Flurisa. She was wearing this navy-blue fur coat that had these scratched-up marks on the rib side, which looked to have been the design, and a green shirt underneath or a crop top and also had black shorts, and brown shoes. 

I stood right behind them in an even bigger anger after seeing who it was.  

"Hey..." I said with a deeper tone and my head down. 

"Huh?" one questioned. They looked behind themselves to see me with my head down. 

I aimed my head back up, and my dark blue eyes started to glow bright just. "Don’t you dare hurt her. She has been through enough hell already!" I exclaimed as lightning surrounded me, and I was in complete fury that I wanted to hurt them so bad, but I didn’t since I would get in trouble. So, I thought of threatening them instead. 

The two were already feeling scared enough, and I pulled out my wand and aimed a fireball at them that had lightning surrounding it. "Leave, or I’ll make you both have a painful life in hell." 

The two started to feel even more fear after witnessing my menacing aura.  

"This wasn’t fun anyway, okay? we are sorry!" One of them shouted. 

"Yeah, it was just a mistake. We are leaving, we promise!" The second shouted. 

The two ran off, and I calmed down. "Hm... That felt nice," I said as I smiled, watching them run off. 

I looked to my left and noticed the girl looking at me with her beautiful green eyes. Her hair was filled with small wood chips and dirt. 

I got close to her went on one knee since she was sitting down on the ground, and she covered herself since she was scared to get hit. "Hey, I promise I’m not going to hurt you. Come on, don’t you remember me?" 

The girl slowly lowered her hands, her she tilted her head. She scrutinized me from head to toe before leaning in closer, her nose gently brushing against my arm as she sniffed.  

I was flustered, shocked, and utterly confused about how to respond and said, "Uh!?" Just as I was processing this bizarre moment.  

Her fox ears twitched and she crawled back, gave a nod, and then she said, "I think I do." 

I was really surprised to hear her talking. Wait, she can actually talk!? 

                                                               *** 

A few minutes went by, and I was on my knees behind her with my book set down on the ground, helping her get some of the wood chips that were stuck in her hair as she had her legs crossed. As I was taking off some of the wood chips, I took a look at her fox ears. Wow, so she really can speak. And those are definitely some long cat ears. Maybe she is a fox-type demi-human and elf? No, the tail should be thicker than, or fluffier, should I say. Hmm. 

After I was done taking the wood chips out of her hair, I began to use some air magic so the dirt could come out. "So, how have you been doing ever since what happened?" I asked with a smile. 

"...I'm okay," she said with a basic facial expression. 

"Oh, well, that's good to hear." 

It went silent for a few seconds, and She spoke again, "But I don’t know why bad things always happen to me." She sniffled. "Always me and it’s not fair." She was teetering on the edge of tears. 

I started to panic because I wasn’t quite sure how to help. "Uh, uh, uh," I stammered, gently stroking her hair as I had a nervous smile. "Hey, not everyone has full luck. I mean, everything is good right now, right?" 

She wiped a single tear from her eye. "I guess so..." Her mumbled. 

I let out a breath of relief as I heard her. Come to think of it, I haven’t even asked for her name. I realized, stopping my gesture. "If you don’t mind my asking, what’s your name?" 

"...Lumina." She said as she looked shy. 

"So it's Lumina, got it." I thought it would be shorter and more adorably sounding, like Lily or something. I'm not sure. "Hey, we can continue chatting while we walk. I'm on my way to a nearby hill, and it’s not too far from here." 

Lumina looked back at me "A hill?" She questioned. 

"Only if your free and fine with it, Hah," I said back. 

She looked back in front of her. She smiled slightly, feeling a bit nervous. "Okay," she said. 

I smiled. "Then let's get going!" I picked up my book from the ground I stood up. 

                                                               *** 

Both Lumina and I started walking, and she was right behind me. Her tail was swishing left and right at a normal pace. "I have a question," she said. 

I looked back at her as we both kept walking. 

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked. 

"A while ago, you saved me from that evil lady, and then you looked really hurt but kept going. Why did you do that for me?" She asked as she tilted her head. 

"Well..." I scratched my cheek, trying to think of a way for her to understand, and I snapped my finger. "I just felt something was off, so I went there to see if you were okay, and you weren’t. So, I got you out of there, and sure, I almost died, but it still felt right. My father also would help those in need, so I did the same," I said as I looked back ahead. 

"Oh." 

I smiled. "And you're allowed to be out, or did you sneak out?" 

Lumina shook her head. "I like outside. My papa thinks it's good for me, and my mama thinks so too, but she also wanted me to stay inside for a while, and now I'm allowed to be out." 

"Oh, that's nice." It could also be because Taren told them he killed that bitch, or she has terrible parents. I looked back at her as I continued walking. "Hey, maybe you should stick with me more often. I'm guessing you don’t have any friends?" 

Lumina looked confused by what I said. "Friends? What's that?" She tilted her head. 

She doesn’t even know what the word ‘friends.’ mean!? That's just diabolical. Even my own life sucked, and I knew the word, I said to myself with shock. "Okay... It means like a person you like to be around with, like talk to or share snacks together with." At least, I think that's what friends are about. I only heard that from something I saw in my old life but also had my fair share online, I said to myself, also looking a little puzzled. 

"So, like mama and papa?" She asked. 

"Uh... Kind of. It's just having fun with each other and looking out for each other, you get it?" 

Lumina would look less puzzled. "I think so." 

I started to walk backwards while looking at her. "So then, I guess we will both be each other's first friend? How does that sound, Lumi?" 

Lumina looked at me, confused once again. 

"Lumi?" She questioned. 

I nodded. "Yeah, Lumi, short for your name Lumina. Maybe you should make Lumi a short version of your name. Like mine is Tenshin, but for short, it's Tenshi." Lumi nodded and carefully listened to everything I said, "So you can call me Tenshi, and I can call you Lumi. How about that, Lumi?" 

Lumi was twiddled her fingers and had a small fluster, and she smiled slightly. "Y-yeah." 

I turned around and continued walking forward. "Hehe." First friend in this world, let’s go! 

                                                               ***                                                         

five minutes went by, and we both were finally at the hill, and there was a small sapling in the middle of the hill. Lumi was currently munching on an apple she randomly found earlier on our walk, and as I was at the edge, I took in a deep breath to take in the fresh air. 

I looked at the bottom of the hill, and the hole I made during the final exam, was now a pond. I took out my wand and aimed it at the sky. Feels so good to be back. I really haven’t forgotten you, Larah... Okay, maybe it's only been a month or two, but still. I put my wand back in my pocket. 

Lumi stopped munching on her apple and was wondering what I was doing. I turned around to face her taking a good look at her. Man, she is so cute. Since I was going to shoot my shot during my first encounter with her, I'm sure I can use the advice Taren gave me, hehe. But I’ll save most of it since she's probably going to be confused. Wait and just be friends for now, Tenshi. You can hold. "All right, Lumi," I said as I put my right hand on my hip. "So, what do you want to do today?" I asked. 

Lumi burped, wiped her mouth, and threw away the apple core on the ground. "I dyon’t know," she said. "But I have another question." 

"Sure, go ahead." 

"What was that thing you did last time and today? There was all this cool stuff coming out of your hands that did a zap! And then today to." 

I thought for a moment of what she was saying. "Oh, that magic stuff, you mean? Well, the ones I used on our first meet were lightning magic, air magic, healing magic, and maybe earth magic? the ones today were lightning magic and fire magic. Why do you ask?" 

Lumi shrugged her shoulder. "I dyon’t know. It just looked cool." She said while twiddling her fingers. 

I looked at her, thinking of something. "Wait, now that just gave me an idea." 

Lumi looked back up at me. "Hm?" 

"How about... I teach you magic. Unless you can’t or don’t want to." 

Lumi's mouth went a little wide and closed again. Her tail started to swish faster. She looked away and had a nervous blush. "Well..." 

"Unless you want to learn the sword style," I said as I set the book down and drew the short sword from my waist. 

Lumi's eyes widened in fear. "Ah!" she shouted, then turned and stumbled back, falling to the ground. 

Concerned, I rushed over to her and dropped the sword. "Lumi!" I shouted. She was trembling, her hands covering her head. 

I went on one knee beside her and placed my hand on her back. "Hey, nothing is wrong. Everything is okay," I reassured her. 

Lumi shook her head while remaining in the same position and said, "No... No swords..." in a shaky tone. What the hell has gotten into her? Wait a minute, no sword? I said to myself, and my eyes widened realizing what it could be. 

                                                                *** 

Two minutes went by, and both Lumi and I were sitting at the edge of the hill, and she had her face on her knees. My sword stayed on the ground where it was, and we were both sitting in silence. 

The reason I thought she was scared of the sword was probably because of the trauma from Flurisa. I looked at her and said, "You know, she isn’t gonna hurt you anymore. I promise she is gone." 

Lumi stayed quiet and said nothing. 

I looked back in front of me, and my smile also went down. Who am I kidding? Now I'm sounding like my parents and friends. It really doesn’t matter if that crazy chick is gone; she gave Lumi straight trauma for a year. I looked back at her. "Hey, maybe we don’t have to learn the sword; maybe just basic magic, okay?" 

She wouldn’t say anything back, still shaken. It didn’t feel right that she was still scared, so I tried thinking of something. I snapped my fingers and smiled again as I thought of something that might work. 

I backed away and got on one knee and touched the ground, and five seconds later, many flowers grew around Lumi. 

Lumi looked around with surprise and confusion, and one grew in between her legs and touched her nose. She sniffed it, and she had a smile as her ears twitched. 

"How did you do this!?" she said as her tail wagged, looking back at me. 

"Magic, remember?" I responded. 

"Oh, right," she said as her smile grew. 

"And that's not even the coolest part. Watch this. I summoned lightning magic on my hands and shot it at her. Lumi closed her eyes after my sudden attack, but as the lightning was touching her, it wasn’t even shocking her at all. Lumi tried grabbing the lightning connected to her and smiled more. "That's so cool! More, more!" She said as she jumped with excitement. 

I nodded. "Then you’ll love the next one!" 

                                                                *** 

I forgot to teach Lumi some magic today, but we had some fun during those hours. It was the evening, and the sun was going down and cloud were forming. I had already brought Lumi to her home, and I was currently walking home myself with the sword back on my waist and the magical guidebook being carried on my arm. 

Lumi really is an adorable one; she reminds me of the anime girls back in my world. She really resembles one. She looks like a cosplayer who spent hundreds on their cosplay. I'm just glad I made a friend in this world, though. My first friend was a girl. Wait to go, Tenshi! As I got back home, I opened the door, and I heard complete silence. The only thing heard was the fire in the hearth. "Mother, Father, Aunt Seris, I'm home!" I called out as I walked into the dining room. 

I noticed that Seris was crying while Ria sat in front of her, deep in thought and looking worried. Ria glanced over at me and said as she stood up, "Hi, Tenshi. Honey, we need to talk." 

I looked at Seris and back to Ria. Oh boy. Now, I am not sure what is happening, but I already know that I'm gonna hate it. I looked back at Seris. This may hit home. 

                                                                *** 

Several minutes went by, and I was told that Seris was pregnant, which sounded wonderful since she finally had someone to trust and be with, but it wasn’t just anyone. It was specifically Taren's child. 

Right now, I was standing alone in my room when I saw Taren in the backyard, sitting on a stone with the sword beside him while looking down at the ground. 

I looked down at him and worried and sat back down on my bed while looking up at the ceiling. Taren is teaching me better, yet doesn’t know how to control himself... I sighed. I shouldn’t be talking, but I just want things to be normal for once. I couldn’t even imagine Seris leaving; she was the best aunt I have ever had, and I'm not sure if she will get kicked out of the house or not, but without a doubt, I bet Ria knows she has two big hard decisions to make. It was quiet and I continued to look up at the ceiling. 

I clenched my fist. No, almost everything in my life was caused by my lazy ass staying in a room all day and letting things happen. I looked to my right to see the bow Seris gave me during my late birthday hung on the wall. I won’t let the woman who cleans up after my messes, tells me funny jokes, keeps secrets like Larah's hair, and gave me a great gift, maybe not as good as Ria, Larah or Taren's, but it’s still a gift that reminds me of her, and I really mean I won’t let her go or any of this family, not like my last. 

I got up and walked towards my door to open it. I got out and went downstairs. As I got to the living room, I noticed Ria sitting on the sofa, worrying and holding in tears. Poor Ria... Okay, think Tenshi, how are you going to approach this? I pondered and tried thinking of a way to solve the situation, and I sighed after I couldn’t think of anything. I feel so hopeless right now... Okay, I can’t think any longer; just go for it. I walked over to Ria, and I was beside her. 

I was surprised she didn’t already notice me. Wow, she really is so deep in her thoughts. I took another step, and I poked her arm "Hey, Mother?" 

Ria snapped back to reality, her thoughts interrupted by my voice and gentle poke. "Oh, hi, sweetie. Is there something you need?" she replied, forcing a smile. 

I glanced over to the dining room, where I sensed Seris might not be around, though I couldn’t be certain. 

Turning back to Ria, I asked, "Aunt Seris and Dad aren’t leaving, right?" I asked with a look of worry. 

Instantly, her smile faltered, crumbling under the weight of uncertainty as she looked down. "I... Your father or... and her... I'm not sure." Ria looked back at me. "I'm sorry that all of this is happening, Tenshi." 

I looked down and tried to think of what to say and looked back up. "But I love her too. I don’t want her or father to go. And I'm getting a younger sibling; so, shouldn’t she stay?" 

Ria looked at me and was quiet for a moment. "Tenshi, listen, your father and aunt did something really bad, okay? I can’t really explain it to you now. It's just... Tenshi, I know this is tough, but one or both of them might have to leave." 

"Yeah, but..." I tried to think of something else to say. God damn it, I guess I'm just gonna have to spill everything I got in my head to do this; here goes. "But who else is gonna teach me to get stronger like Father? Maybe I don’t wanna learn sword, but he’s the reason why I'm so tough. His teachings were probably how I got away from that intense fight that happened a month ago. I wanna be the good side of him, not the bad side, and I think he deserves another chance." 

Ria looked down at me and listened. 

"And Aunt Seris has been through a lot, right? She wanted this dream, just not originally with Father, but she probably only trusted Father. I bet she felt a bunch of guilt after she knew she had a baby; maybe that's why she is crying, not because she might get kicked out, but because she hates herself for what she did, and I don’t mind having a little sibling from her. I can still be the best big brother. Please, Mother, I don’t want Father or Aunt Seris to leave. I want them to have one more chance, please," I said with pleading eyes. 

Ria heard everything I said. "Tenshi..." she murmured, still uncertain about what decision to make. 

She looked into my eyes for a little longer and finally reached a conclusion. A small smile appeared on her face. "I suppose so," she replied. She got up from the sofa went on one knee to hug me. "Thank you, Tenshi, my sweet boy."  

And thank you for listening, I thought it would be harder. I smiled. "You're welcome, Mother. 

Ria broke the hug. 

"Excuse me," Seris said as she was a few feet away from us. She was no longer crying and had a mild expression, clearly sad inside. Both Ria and I looked at her as she continued to speak. "I apologize for interrupting. I just want to say that I finally made my decision on where to go once I take my leave." 

Ria looked at her and spoke, "No, Seris—" 

"I plan to go back," Seris said as she interrupted Ria. "Back to the Maris region, back to our family." 

Ria looked at Seris in a hint of shock at the mention of their family. "Before I say what I was going to say," Ria said. "Wouldn’t going back there be a terrible idea? You know they don’t care about you." 

"...I know. But I don’t know who else to turn to or where else to go. I still feel like I can barely take care of myself, and I don’t know anyone else to help me with the child I bare but our family." 

Ria looked at her with a serious face. "Seris, you're not going anywhere. I want you to stay; you're my sister and our family not them, no matter what." 

Seris looked up at her in surprise and confusion "W-wait, I'm sorry?" 

"I mean it. You are staying." 

Seris was shaken, confused and started to tear up again. "Are you... Serious?" 

Ria nodded.  

Thank God, I said to myself as I sighed with relief. I really just prevented a terrible situation from happening. Now all I have to hope is that it doesn’t get worse from here. 

I looked to my right after hearing a door open, and it was Taren coming back inside the house. 

Ria turned her head and also saw him, and her face turned into a frown. "Taren," Ria said. 

Taren heard her and looked up at her. 

Oh boy, I said to myself. Hope this will go how I want. 

Ria then turned her whole body to face Taren. "We're going to have a serious conversation about this soon, and I wouldn’t even consider letting you go. So, your punishment is to stay in the backyard for a week." 

Taren looked at Ria in shock. "W-wait," Taren said. "Sorry?" 

"I would say that's being generous." I remarked, smiling at Taren. Ria also smiled. 

"For a week?" Taren asked in disbelief but eventually accepted it with a sigh. "Okay, but... what’s the situation with..." 

"Don’t worry about it," Ria said as she knew he was mentioning Seris. "I’ll tell you more about it outside." 

Taren sighed "Okay..." He mumbled as he went back to the backyard. Ria then turned her head to me.  

"Tenshi, how about you go get Aunt Seris a cloth to wipe herself with," she said with a smile. 

I nodded and said "Okay." I walked over to the kitchen to find a cloth. 

Ria looked at the backyard door and walked towards it. 

I looked back as Ria went outside You better not mess up again, Taren. I cleaned up a little, and now it's time for you to wipe the rest. You better not make it worse, I said to myself. 

I walked past Seris, and she stood there with a few tears, still confused. 

As Ria closed the door behind her and got to the backyard, she saw Taren just sitting on the steps. 

Ria took a step forward, and she was right behind him. "Hey," Ria said with a serious tone. 

Taren quickly turned to face Ria, standing up quickly. He bowed and apologized, "Ria, I'm really sorry for what I did. I made a foolish decision, and—" Before he could finish, Ria pulled his ear. "Ow, ow, ow!" he exclaimed.  

"No more sorry. Unless you can revert what happened," Ria said as she took her hand out his ear.  

Taren stood straight and couldn’t really say much else but have guilt on his face. Ria sighed. "Look, Taren, all I ask for you is for you never to do such an ignorant thing like that again. And I don’t want Tenshi thinking having an affair is cool, and I get you didn’t try to, but what if he did? This isn’t just about me, but it’s also about your own child, our child. You’re going to have another child soon too, maybe two, so you’ll have to take more responsibility." 

"...I know..." Taren mummbled. "Wait, another child? Are you saying that Seris..."  

Ria nodded. "Seris isn’t going anywhere. I don’t want Tenshi to lose someone in the family that he loves. You're lucky he wanted to give you and Seris a chance. Sure, maybe he didn’t know better, but what he said really touched me. Just remember your punishment." 

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Sorry, I broke a promise... Again, I—" Ria put her finger on his mouth. 

"No sorry I said! All I ask is that you guarantee this promise, or there won't be any more chances, understood?" Ria said, her tone firm and motherly, causing Taren to shiver slightly. 

"O-okay, I understand..." Taren mumbled, still feeling Ria’s finger on his lip. Ria pulled her finger away, eagerly waiting for the reassurance she wanted to hear. 

"I promise, for real, and to this family. I truly make an oath to this promise."  

"Good," Ria said with her arms crossed. Taren smiled at her, and Ria stopped making eye contact and smiled a little, too, but went back to her pouty expression and looked completely away as her hands went back to her side.  

"I’ll go fetch you some blankets," Ria said as she went over to the door and opened it. 

"Sure. But wait, you said something earlier on about having two kids. Is Seris carrying two?" 

As Ria walked inside the house, she looked back, getting ready to close the door. 

"She isn’t having two, but let's just say basically you still are having two maybe. I’m going to have a quick visit at the doctor’s tomorrow." Ria chuckled and winked as she shut the door, leaving Taren speechless based on what he had just heard. 

                                                                *** 

A day has passed, and it was late in the morning. Ria was currently out for a doctor's appointment, and Taren was meditating by himself in the yard, continuously saying "Ria..." so he could stop thinking of Seris too much, and Seris was just up in her room. 

I was going downstairs and had my wand in my pocket, sword on my waist and my guidebook. As I got to the door and opened it, I noticed Lumi outside very close to the yard. 

"Hi, Tenshi!" she shouted, a smile on her face with her tail swishing left and right as she saw me. I was shocked to see her here since I never told her where I lived. Wait, is that— "Lumi!?" I said with shock. 

I got outside, closed the door behind me, and ran to her. "How did you even find me?" I said as I stopped. 

"I just sniffed you out," Lumi said casually.  

"Wait, you..." I instantly remembered Lumi sniffing me when we met yesterday. Ohhh. 

As I continued talking to Lumi, Seris, at the window, was looking right down at Lumi and I in her room as Lumi and I continued Talking. 

"Hm, I see," Seris said. "Tenshi has already made a friend. It seems like it is that girl he found a little while back." Seris smiled as she saw us. "Tenshi is doing things that many his age couldn't. He’ll grow to be a great and amazing boy. I remember years back he always would look at my chest with a weird grin; maybe all he wanted was a feeding, but I can’t lie, it was the kind of perverted grin Taren would make." Seris snickered. 

Seris’s smile went back down. But it still feels wrong about what I did. I was a completely lonely woman desperate for a man whom I could truly trust. Taren. I still caused the problem, and it isn’t fair for me to stay. Seris felt guilty and held in tears. 

She took a deep breath to calm herself down. She put her hand around her belly. Maris, faith, I'm not sure what or who gave me this chance besides Tenshi and Ria, but this was for a reason, and I know I’ll be a braver and more of a responsible woman. Clearly, being a maid isn’t enough; I need to learn to do things alone and even to take care of my little one. I hope she or he will be there for Tenshi no matter what he goes through, and that's the least I can do for him. 

Seris smiled as Lumi and I left. To give him another best friend he can always have. Thank you, my sweet nephew. 

                                                                *** 

Four months passed by, and Ria was indeed pregnant. It was quite exciting news, thinking I would have two little siblings. Herrick was still in his coma, unfortunately. I was currently at the hill, growing my earth magic on the two-foot-long sapling. I had my usual stuff on me, like my short sword, wand, and the magical guidebook which was on the ground. 

I grunted while trying to make the sapling grow as much as possible. "Earth growth!" I shouted. The sapling grew a couple of inches longer, and the branch thickened up a little. I started to sweat, and it was because of me using magic, but it was also because it was summer. I fell to my back to rest. "Man, it is so hot..." My breathing started to slow down to a normal pace. "Never knew it could be so hot out here. Other than that, I might just go back home anyway." Only four months and still afraid to miss their birth. God, I hope I don’t miss it. I said to myself while lying my back on a stone on the ground. 

I pulled out the piece of Larah’s hair I had and looked at it. "I wonder what would happen if you did stay because I would really like for you to meet my new friend, Master, and my soon-to-be siblings." 

I started sniffing it hard with my eyes closed. "Haa... I miss you." As I stopped and opened my eyes again, I noticed Lumi right in front of me. 

"Hm?" Lumi said as she tilted her head. We stayed silent while looking at each other for several seconds, and I quickly put the hair back in my pocket.  

"Oh, hey, Lumi! What are you doing here?" I said at a fast pace with a big fake smile. 

Lumi stopped tilting her head and said, "I thought we always come here to play." 

"O-oh, right." I scratched the back of my head. 

I looked at Lumi from the bottom to the top. Wow, Lumi looks even prettier after the past few months. Her long hair really does change her. I like tomboys, but this style really suits her. 

Her hair was indeed a bit longer by an inch or two. 

"Oh, and you said you will finally teach me that cool electric stuff, right?" Lumi asked with a smile as her tail swished left and right. So, Lumi was currently intermediate in earth magic and with air. Not much else she focused on, and I did offer her to do some water magic, but she isn’t a fan of it because it gives her goosebumps when it touches her skin. 

In short, she is a little afraid of water. "Oh, right," I said as I clapped my hands together as I stood up. "Well, I guess you have a good knowledge of how magic works. Now, you’ve been doing good with earth and air magic, so I guess we can get started." 

Lumi grew a big smile and was ready for the lesson. 

                                                                 *** 

Several minutes passed, and Lumi had my wand in her right hand and my magical guidebook on the other. She aimed the wand at an earth magic stone pole I had created, and after saying the incantation of the lightning string while aiming the wand at it, lightning came right out of the wand and struck the pole in half. "I did it!" She said with a smile. 

She looked to her left, and over there was me lying on the ground, relaxing. "Tenshi, did you see that!?" She exclaimed while looking very happy. 

I quickly sat up to face her. "Oh yeah, don’t worry, Lumi, I saw it." I looked a little to the left and saw the pole in half. Okay, maybe I didn’t see the whole thing, but I can tell she grew on lightning magic quite fast... almost as fast as me... 

Lumi ran over to me and sat beside me. She put the book on my lap and pointed at a page. "What is that one?" She asked. 

I looked at the page, and it was an advanced class spell that I had learned from Larah once, but I never really used it since I sucked at it. 

"Oh... This one..." I mumbled. 

I looked back to when Larah taught me this in the backyard.  

"Tenshi!" Larah, in the thought, shouted. "You just have to get it once, at least." The rock she was pointing at was on the ground, and very small amounts of lightning surrounded it, which came from me. 

"I'm trying, master, but all this just feels like I'm knitting for the first time. Ahhhhh!" I said in a whiny tone as I was frustrated. 

Larah facepalmed herself. "Just try saying the incantation better. Maybe your body isn’t used to the no incantations yet." 

I looked back at Larah. "But I did a spell without it!" I exclaimed. 

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but this is a real advanced class spell. Just do it." 

"Okay, okay." I looked back at the rock, took a deep breath, and focused, "Lightning prison!" More electricity started to flow around the rock, keeping it in a cage of electricity. "Hah!" I smiled. I looked back to Larah. "Did you see that, master? I did it!" 

Larah nodded with a small smile. "Nice going, Tenshi. Now, clench your fist like you're crushing something!" 

"Right!" I looked back at the rock and clenched my fist. The electrical cage started to burn the rock with electricity and turn it black completely.  

"Tenshi?" Lumi said as she was on near the side of my face. I snapped back to reality after that thought. 

I looked at her. "Oh, right," I said. We both looked back at the book. "So, the problem is lightning prison is more of an advanced class spell, and right now, you are more of a novice class or intermediate class..." 

"But you're a good teacher. I think you can teach me it now, right?" Lumi said with determination in her eyes. 

I tried to think of something as I looked at the sky and scratched my head. "Well..." I mumbled. I looked back down with a sigh. Oh well, may as well teach her so she can understand how hard it is. I stood up. "Okay, Lumi, I guess today I am going to teach you lightning prison." I said as I looked down at her. 

Lumi nodded with excitement in her eyes. "Okay!" 

                                                                 *** 

A few minutes passed, and Lumi had the book in her left hand while pointing the wand at the rock that was a few feet away from her. "Lightning prison…! Lightning prison…!" She kept saying while aiming the wand at a rock, and nothing was happening. She started to make a pouty expression. "Come on..."  

Guess this isn’t going in her favor, I said to myself as I was lying on the back of the stone, watching her. I wonder if I'm the first seven-year-old child already to be up in the saint class level. Hmm, I don’t know how to read potential, but without a doubt, Lumi has a high one. She might reach saint class by nine. Other than that, I take pride in the fact that I have this awesome potential, and this is coming from a straight nobody, I grinned as I said, Gotta thank good old Maria up there for this. 

I closed my eyes and opened them again as I heard a static of electricity. I quickly sat up straight and saw that the rock was surrounded by a cage of electricity. Lumi held it for two seconds which was shorter then how long I lasted, then she let go of the wand and took a deep breath after expending a significant amount of mana. 

She turned her body to face me. "Tenshi! I did it! I actually did it!" Lumi exclaimed, pure joy shining in her eyes as her tail swished left and right excitedly. 

"T-that was..." I was shocked to see Lumi do an advanced class spell so easily. Lumi dropped the book, wand, and ran over to me, and jumped in for a hug. "Ah! Lumi, chill out," I said with one eye closed since some of her hair was on my eye. Lumi giggled as she hugged me, and while she was giggling, I splashed some water magic on her. 

"Ahh!!!" she shouted. Goosebumps spread all over her body as she quickly stood up and backed off. 

"Haha," I said. 

"What was that for, Tenshi?" she said with a pouty expression. 

I summoned a ball of water magic in my hand, and she squeaked as I got closer. "Ahh!!!" she shouted. She started running. 

"Come on, get back here, Lumi! It's just a bit of water!" I shouted as she ran. 

I started running to her till we ended up in a very open field a few minutes later, and then I tripped. 

"Ah!" I said as I tripped. I started taking deep breaths after that run, and Lumi walked right to me 

As I opened my eyes, I saw her pouty expression right in front of me, and I did a nervous laugh. "Sorry, Lumi, my bad." I smiled. 

"Promise you won’t do that again?" 

"Yeah, yeah, I promise I won’t do that... Anytime soon." I said with a wink.  

"...Okay." Lumi smiled back and lay right down next to me on the grass. 

She let out a deep breath. I looked to my right to see the side of Lumi’s face. 

She really is a looker. To be honest, she looks cuter than the ones in my world who cosplay as kitsunes or demi-humans like I said, whatever you want to call them, I looked back up to the sky. I'm glad to have such a good friend like Lumi, who isn't some rude shithead. I took a deep breath but then suddenly remembered something and quickly sat up. "Oh no, we left the wand and the book there!" I exclaimed. 

                                    Chapter 10: The offer 

Four months passed, and it was the afternoon. Lumi and I were playing in the yard of the house, which was the plan, but right now, all Lumi was doing was trying to catch this butterfly flying all around her, and I was distracted by looking in the house window and seeing Taren trying to make the babies stop crying. Yep, it’s been at least a day since Ria and Seris gave birth, and they had one kid each. 

Somehow, Ria and Seris gave birth on the same day, Ria in the morning and Seris in the night, so it was a rough, long day for Taren. Ria and Taren named their daughter Tara, and Seris’s child is Sara. 

Seris also had the same last name because she was technically Taren’s second wife, and the reason is that Ria thought it was fair since they had a child together. 

Tara had black hair, yellow eyes, a mole on her cheek, and was wearing an all-white layette, while Sara looked the same but with green eyes, no mole on her face, and they both had at least one cowlick like Taren. "Come on," Taren said. He sighed as Tara and Sara kept crying, but Sara was crying the most. "Not even Tenshi cried like this while I was around." 

Ria walked over and moved Taren aside. "I’m sure they will come to like you eventually," Ria said as she reached out to carry Tara in her arms. "Besides, Tara and Sara are just newborns; not every baby will be like Tenshi." Ria smiled. 

Taren just scratched his cheek. "Well, I guess you're right." 

Seris quickly moved Taren and Ria aside. "How is my little girl doing?" She said with excitement in her eyes. She took Sara out of the crib and carried Sara in her arms. Sara laughed as Seris carried her. "Yes, you're my sweet girl. Hmhm." 

Taren had a poker face as he watched Sara giggling as Seris cradled her in her arms. 

Seris looked over at Taren. "Oh Taren," Seris said. "Do you mind going out to the well to get some water? I was planning to wash some clothes, but of course, there was no water left." 

Taren looked at Seris with a small hint of confusion. "You sure we don’t have anymore?" 

Seris nodded. 

Taren sighed. "Fine, I’ll go out and get some." 

Ria also looked over at Taren and said, "Oh, and get some more bread and some veggies that should already be grown in the garden besides the bready obviously." 

"Okay, okay, I-I got it." 

I sighed, thinking about how much of a struggle this would be for Taren.  

"Jeez, Dad already made several tons of mistakes with me, and Aunt Seris barely knows how to take care of herself, and Mom usually isn’t here so often since she does the groceries, gardening, and all that. Mainly Dad I worry about" Hey, I guess this also means I can show my skills of being a good sibling. I mean, my younger brother and I were quite connected those days, and me having sisters... Eh, same thing. Guess I’ll be the big brother they can always rely on if they can’t talk to our parents, and I know I will be. 

I had a small smile on my face, and Lumi accidentally slapped my head. "Ah!"  

I looked behind me, and Lumi quickly put her hands behind her. "Oops, Sorry, sorry, Tenshi! I saw a butterfly, I didn’t mean to do that." Lumi said as she freaked out a little. 

"Oh, no, no, it's fine. Lumi, it really isn’t that deep. You can calm down, haha," I said with a smile. 

"Oh, okay." Lumi said with a bit of embarrassment. 

I looked back at the window. But yeah, that's who I am now. Big brother Tenshi. 

                                                                *** 

A day has passed, and I have been helping around the house a lot more recently ever since my two little sisters came into this world. Seris was currently cleaning around the house, and she was cleaning the living room window as Tara and Sara were crying in the guest room upstairs, which was the same one Larah had when she lived here as my tutor. Taren was busy swinging his sword outside, and Ria was currently out in the yard getting water from the well. 

I just went downstairs and saw Seris cleaning the windows, but she didn’t look like she was enjoying it as much as she always used to. 

"Aunt seris?" I spoke. 

Seris looked behind and saw me behind her. "Yes, Tenshi. Is there anything I can do for you?" 

"Let me clean around the house. I think you should go see my little sisters."  

Seris looked a little surprised. "Really, you’ll clean the whole house?" I nodded. 

"I think you deserve to see your daughter and Tara. Without a doubt, they want some company." 

Seris looked at me with a smile. "I guess I gave you a head start... All right, thank you so much, Tenshi, but if you get tired, don’t bother coming back to me." 

I saluted. "Understood, ma’am," I put my hand back beside me. "But I don’t think I will anytime soon; just enjoy your time with them." 

Seris chuckled. "All right then, I trust you." Seris walked away to head upstairs. 

                                                                *** 

Hours passed by, and I finished cleaning and did go out to train Lumi some more. It turned night, and I was sniffing Larah’s hair, which I had in my hands, as the small chest that was in it was beside me. I also had my own sword hook that Taren made for me for my short sword, and it was near the corner of my wall. 

"Barely smells like you anymore, but it's still smooth as always." I started rubbing the hair on my cheek and stopped to look at it. "Just wish we could meet each other now. I keep saying it, but I really wanna see you again, master..." I mumbled. 

As it went silent, I heard my door creek, and I was startled as I accidentally dropped the hair behind me, and it fell right under the bed. It was Taren who came in. I looked to my left, and I saw Taren. "Hey! It would be nice to knock, you know?" 

"Oh, my bad. Is everything all right?" Taren asked as he held the door open.  

"Uh... yeah, yeah." 

"Really? I could have sworn I heard some heavy breathing," Taren said, sounding curious. 

He could hear that!? I started to look a bit shocked. "Oh no, it was nothing," I replied, trying to brush it off. "Did you need something?" 

"Well..." Taren lifted his right hand, revealing an envelope he was carrying. 

I tilted my head, feeling confused. "Is that from Lumi or something?" 

"No, but I think you’ll most definitely like this," Taren said as he grinned. He walked over to me to hand the envelope. 

I grabbed it. 

"Im just going to go use the toilet now, I’ll be back." Taren then walked away and left the room. 

I looked at the envelope right as he left. My eyes grew wide as I saw who it was from. Speaking about her! The envelope had ink on it that spelled ‘Larah Shirasu.’ "Oh, no way, master!" I sniffed the letter. "Yeah, it's from her, all right..." I mumbled as I smirked. 

I quickly took out what was in the envelope, and it was a letter. "Let's see what she said..." 

                                            Larah’s letter 

Dear Tenshi, 

I'm hoping this letter finds you. It's probably been three months since I wrote this. Anyway, if you're wondering how I'm doing, I am doing just fine. I'm currently in the Zelwesla region and in the country of Shelfala. The capital here is quite nice and lovely, and its forest is quite filled with beasts, so the guild here is quite full of adventurers. 

I'm currently a tutor for one of the princes here, and let's just say he is an interesting one. he kind of compares to you with that perverted spying side and sniffing my clothing, just much more disrespectful and quieter. 

Though I did have the opportunity to meet a remarkable child with immense potential. However, I didn’t have the chance to see him often, because the knight aka his father was not particularly keen on having anyone near his child. The boy genuinely reminded me of you during some of your own challenging times. 

Sorry if I'm saying almost everyone reminds me of you. I guess my favorite student has always been on my mind, and I'm hoping you still remember me. 

I'm actually already a master class and at the edge of king class; by the time you get this, I might already be a king class, but that's probably nothing special compared to you. You are probably king or emperor class by now, and congrats if you are. 

After I'm done with this, I’ll come visit again, and after that, I plan to do this only two more times. If you still remember me, I’ll come back to see if you kept your promise, okay? Oh, and if you are still a saint class, that probably means you have been doing something wrong or have been lazy during your training. So, if you have felt that limit every time you tried, I'm going to ask you again. 

Go to the Seria University of Sword and Magic. Good luck, and I’ll write again if anything important comes up or if you write back. 

From your dear master Larah. 

"Master..." I murmured. 

"King class, is it?" Taren remarked as he looked at the note, standing near the bed and observing me from behind. 

I jumped, taken aback by his sudden presence. "Ah! Knock for goodness sakes!" 

Taren looked back at me. "Oh, right, I apologize again." Taren looked back at the note. "But she's all the way in Shelfala in the capital. Hmm, that really isn’t that far; it would probably only take a couple of small months to get there." 

"A few Months isn’t that far?" I looked back at the letter "Jeez." I looked back at Taren. "What was Larah again? Saint or master class when I first met her. I mean, it's only been a year. I didn’t know getting king class would be that easy." 

Taren shook his head. "No, Nononono, no. I mean, for sword, it's even tougher than you think, and I’d say the same for other mages. Once getting up to the master level, trying to reach king is much harder than the others. When I heard about this from someone myself, I thought there should be a class in between master and king class. But guess that's how it is." 

"Really... Wait, what rank are you?" 

He grinned and pointed his thumb at himself. "Well, I myself am Master class. Just reached it only a year ago, and I don’t think I’ll ever get up to be king class since I have to be here to be a normal father too." He said later, putting his hand back down, 

"Wow, but if I have the potential to go that high or more, then maybe..." I pondered as I stared at the ground. 

"Oh, and one more thing." 

I looked up at Taren. "Oh, what's up?" 

Taren smirked. "The whole... sniffing, what's up with that?" As he said that, I got so embarrassed that I felt like I had one of those manpu faces. Oh shit... He was here that long, huh... 

                                                                *** 

Several minutes passed by, and I was alone in my room. I just got done putting the tied-up piece of Larah’s hair back in my chest and set it under my bed. I hopped on top of the bed and pulled out the envelope in my pocket with the letter placed back in it. 

I noticed something in the envelope, and I raised an eyebrow, wondering what it was. "Hm?" I dug through the envelope and took out another piece of paper that was in it. I looked at it and saw some writing, and I read it. "Seria University of Sword and Magic..." It said as I read it. 

I looked under that and didn’t know what the rest of the writing was, but then I realized what it could be. This must be the address to where it is; well, that's useful. I continued looking at it for a couple of minutes. "The Seria University of Sword and Magic... I mean, she is right; I am still saint class, but if it's a university far from here, how am I gonna contact the others? And Lumi..." I laid my hand that was holding the envelop beside me. I do want to get stronger, though, and what if I get more answers to this weird light power. I stayed there thinking for several seconds. "Ughhhh!" 

                                                               *** 

Two days passed, and Taren and I were swinging our wooden swords at each other. "Come one," Taren said. "You can push harder than that." Both me and Taren had a light clash with each other. 

I quickly backed away before he could do anything else. 

"Ha!" I shouted as I swung my sword at him again, but he blocked once more.  

"You're getting slower. Come on; you are right there on being an advanced class. You can’t stay like this for long." 

"I know, I know, I'm trying!" I backed away and ran at him to swing again, but I accidentally dropped the sword. I tried to pick it up, but Taren aimed the sword right at my neck. 

"Annnd, gotcha." He said as I lost. 

I sat on the ground and crossed my legs. "Ughhhh. You know you can be more childish than me sometimes, Dad." 

Taren chuckled. "I like to think of it as me staying young. I'm not that immature, am I?" 

"...I'm not even gonna answer." I said as I looked Taren right in the eye. In my opinion, he really is more childish. I mean, this guy is a horny freak and not knowing how to use his fatherly powers. I still have a few respects for him. But I can’t be talking; I was probably worse than him in my time. Besides, the guy is training me to be stronger and still protects us no matter what, and those are the parts of him that I aspire to be. 

Taren raised an eyebrow, wondering why I was staring at him. "Is there something on my face?' 

I snapped back to reality. 'Oh, nothing. I'm just thinking how much of an interesting person you are, and I wouldn’t take that too much as a compliment." 

Taren chuckled again and stopped, sitting on the ground beside me. "I guess we can use a bit of a break." 

Seris then came outside to hang up some clothes to dry, but Taren and I didn’t focus on that. 

Taren looked right at me. "So, how are things between you and that girl? What was her name again... Oh, yeah, Lumina." I looked away and closed my eyes. "She's all right. I've been teaching her a bit of magic lately and just having normal playtime fun, I guess." 

"Oh really? Well, how come you haven’t brought her around the house? I mean, I've seen you two in the yard, but barely. You should bring her in; I'm sure she wouldn’t mind coming over for some dinner." I looked over at Taren as he spoke, 

"Yeah, see, here is the problem. Lumi isn’t much of a sword person..." 

"Well, that's a shame to hear, but it’s not like I'm going to teach her sword right when she gets in the house or something." 

I made a light chuckle. "No, no, no, like she is afraid of swords... very, even just the sight of one." 

Taren raised his eyebrow and, confused by what he heard me say, "Afraid of swords...? That's... not what I expected to hear, but why is she?" 

I made a nervous-sounding chuckle. "So, remember that little incident between me and that one crazy lady?" 

Taren sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I remember that." Taren wasn’t a fan of hearing that since Herrick was involved in it. 

"So, I'm sure I told you how Lumi was kidnapped by her for a while, but the reason why she is scared is what I guess is because everyone there was a swordsman, especially that crazy chick. So maybe anyone she sees holding a sword she thinks of her or those men." 

He looked up into the sky. "Wow, poor girl." 

It went silent for a bit and Taren looked right at Seris as she continued hanging up clothes. Taren looked right at her breast as she did what she was doing. 

"So, how are you and Aunt Seris huh?" I asked. 

Taren looked back down at me. "Hm? Why do you ask?" 

I made a small smile and looked up into the sky. "Nothing, just making sure you aren’t planning on making the same mistake as last time." 

"Hey, come on, it was just once and never again. I'm still a cool guy. I mean, Seris has better breasts than Ria, but still, I'm a changed man now." 

I looked at Taren with my eyes half-opened. Man, you are not helping your case. As a melon observer myself, I can see exactly what you were looking at... I thought to myself as I glanced at him. 

Taren noticed my expression, knowing I wasn’t taking him seriously. "Oh, come on," he said. "I'm trying here, all right. besides, if I told you to stop being friends with Lumi, I'm sure you wouldn’t listen, ah?" Taren said as he poked his finger on my arm with a grin. 

"And that's beside the point. If or when I do marry Lumi, she will be my only wife and no one else while you," Taren stopped poking my arm as I spoke. I poked my finger on Taren's arm. "Went to cheat on Mom." 

Taren sighed and looked ahead of himself. "All right, all right, you got me there," Taren looked right back at me. "But look, I really am trying, all right?" 

I nodded. "Yeah, I understand. I just hope you understand the consequences."  

Taren smiled. "Don’t worry, I do," 

I smirked. "But now that you’re saying all of this, maybe it would be cool if I get another wife too." 

Taren patted my back. "See, now you're getting it," Taren said as he didn’t understand my sarcasm, but I was starting to feel like it wasn’t. 

Okay, maybe it wasn’t much sarcasm, but still, damn it, I hate this guy for speaking my language sometimes. I said to myself with a small smile. 

"But I think you should go for one; the main target you’ll decide, Lumi or not. Just whomever you connect with most." Taren stood up. "Now, let's get back to it." 

I looked up at Taren. "Yeah..." I said as I was thinking. 

                                                    *** 

A few hours passed, and it was the middle of the afternoon. I was currently on the hill, sitting on the ground as I laid my back against the sapling that turned into a small tree after training my earth magic on it most days. 

Lumi was also on the hill with me, but she was using my wand to learn some more wind magic, making the wind go in different directions and watching the leaves follow those directions. 

I was currently throwing a rock up and down on my hand as I was thinking back to the letter Larah gave me. Seria University of Sword and Magic. Man, I really did forget about that. I mean, that offer was a couple of years ago, and I remember it now from the letter... Should I go? I mean, like I said last time, maybe someone there has more info on this light stuff, and I could even reach king or emperor class and be a total badass... But I’d be leaving this place for a while... I threw away the rock. "Ugh! This is just stupid." I was starting to get a bit frustrated from the two decisions I had to make. 

Lumi got a little tired, and she sat next to me. 

Her tail moved slowly as usual, and she placed the guidebook back on my lap and wand. "I'm tired now," Lumi said. "So, what should we play, Tenshi?" She asked with a small smile on her face. 

I shook my head. "Nah, I'm not really feeling like it. Sorry, Lumi." 

Lumi’s tail stopped wagging. "Oh..." She looked down in front of her. "Okay..." As it went silent for a bit, Lumi looked back at me. "Are you okay, Tenshi? You have been... Quieter..." 

"Really? I thought me sitting and watching you was normal," I said as my eyes turned to her. 

"That's the thing. Don’t you and I play after, or you would teach me magic, and now it's just been me for a while. Is there something wrong?" 

I turned my head to face Lumi and stayed quiet, and I looked back down, scratching my head. 

I stopped and took a deep breath. "Two days isn’t that long... Fine, but there isn’t something wrong, wrong. I just been... having a mind block, if that's how you say it." 

"A mind block?" Lumi said as she was confused. 

I looked at Lumi. "Uh, er, a... I’ve just been thinking about a lot, I mean."  

"What was it about?" Lumi said, wanting me to continue. 

"...Just... It feels like I haven’t really been growing my magic," I summoned lightning that sparked around my hand as I continued talking while looking at it. "I mean, I should be master or king class by now, and here I am making zero progress." 

Lumi looked at me with disbelief. "Huh? But you're the reason why I'm this strong, right? If I got strong this fast, then you can too, right?" 

I shook my head as the lightning was gone from my hand. "Nope, most ranks are harder than others, and I barely do much training with my magic myself ever since my master left... I get that I'm still young, but someone with my potential should continue young, and I was offered to go to this university in another region a little far from here." 

Lumi’s ears droop down, and her chest gets a little heavy "How long will you be gone if you go...?" 

"If it's a university on the other side of this region then years like five or more I’d say." I said casually as I looked at the sky. 

Lumi didn’t say anything but she was looking a little sad. 

"But hey, if I do go it's not like it would be forever but the decision isn’t made yet but it's likely..." 

Lumi shook her head "No..." She said with a shaky tone 

"Hm?" I looked at her as she grabbed my sleeve and did not make eye contact with me 

"Don’t go... That’s not fair..." She mumbled. 

I could tell Lumi was sad, but I couldn’t tell how much. "Lumi, come on, I'm not sure y—" Lumi quickly got on top of me before I could finish my sentance. "Ah!" I yelped as I fell over. 

She hugged me tight, not showing a sign of letting go. "Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go!" Her tears started streaming down her face, going on my shoulder. "Friends don’t leave, right? Friends don’t leave!" Lumi started sobbing. 

"Hey, hey, hey," I started stroking the back of her head as I continued. "Relax, maybe I shouldn’t have said it like that. I meant..." I tried choosing my words carefully. Maybe there is no right way to say it; all she cares about is just me being by her side, and I don’t blame her." I smiled. "I meant I’d stay, okay? I'm not going anywhere." 

Lumi slowly stopped sobbing. 

If Larah was here, she would probably say, ‘You can learn magic, but would it be worth the ones you leave behind? Let the understand before you leave.’ So, I’m sure she understands than, and that's what I will do. I'm not going to have this girl sob while I'm gone... She's coming with me I said to myself and held Lumi tight. 

                                 Chapter 11: A good father. 

Two weeks passed, and just in a small few months, I would be eight years old. It was a cold sunny day, and I’d been trying to build up the courage to ask my family if I could go to the university. I was currently at the dining room table with Seris, Ria, and Taren. Sara and Tara were in the living room, sleeping in one large wooden crib there. 

While Ria, Taren, and I were eating brunch, which was just bread, fruit, beans, and chicken. Seris was just having Tea. As I finished my food, I was thinking about how to approach this. 

I was looking at my wooden plate and tapping my finger on the table. I stopped and took a deep breath. Guess I'm just gonna have to go for it. I looked over at Taren, who was munching on a second plate, and the reason why he was eating a lot was because he thought he needed more protein. "Uh, father, I have a question." 

Taren swallowed what he had in his mouth. "After this," Taren said and continued eating, and Ria pinched Taren's leg. "Hmm!" Taren shouted inside as his mouth was closed and full of food that he later swallowed. 

"Oh," Ria said. "Don’t worry, sweetie, I'm sure your father has plenty of time," Ria said as she looked at me. She looked back at Taren. "Isn’t that right, honey?" she said as she twisted the pinch. 

Before Taren could speak, Seris looked over at me. "You could always ask me to," Seris said with a comforting smile. 

"Eheh, I would appreciate it if you all listened, but I would really like to ask Father." 

"Yeah, yeah, fine, go on..." Taren said as he felt the pain of the pinch, and Ria let go. Taren sighed with relief. "So, what's up, kid?" 

"Well, you see..." I looked down at my plate and got a little silent as I tried to figure out what I wanted to say, and I looked back at Taren. "So, do you remember that letter master gave me last month?" 

Ria looked at me with a hint of curiosity. "Master? Do you mean Larah? Your tutor? She sent a letter?" 

Taren looked at Ria and nodded. "Yup, it was just about how she is doing and other stuff. She seems to be down in the country of Shelfala, and from what I saw, she seems to have gotten stronger. And..." Taren looked over at me with a small smirk. "Nostalgic memory reminders..." Taren muttered as he looked at me with a smirk. 

"Uh, uh yeah, just all that," I said, feeling a little embarrassed since I didn’t want Taren to have the others know about me sniffing Larah’s clothes. I calmed myself down. "Anyways, back to it. So, you know how I want to be a mage and all of that, and I’m still only saint class with lightning." 

"Yeah, what about it?” Taren asked as his smirk was gone. 

"Well, ever since Master left, I don’t think I’ve gotten to the point where I want to be. I mean, I’ve been learning fire magic, earth magic, air magic, I mean, the list keeps going on, but now I just feel like I haven’t been getting any stronger no matter what I do." 

Taren was moving his fork in a circular motion around his nearly empty plate. "And you want a new and better tutor?" 

"Well, of course not! No master could ever beat Master Larah. Either way, I don’t think I’ll get much from a tutor either, and Larah has asked that I should think about going to this university during the month of when the final exam happened and now back to the letter, so I was thinking... Maybe I could actually take her advice and... And go to the Seria University of sword and magic?" 

Ria and Seris looked at me with surprise, and all Taren did was take a last bite of his chicken, set the fork down on the plate. 

He looked right at me. "So, you would like to attend the Seria University, huh?" 

"...Well, yeah, that's the plan. But I would also like to bring Lumi with me."  

Taren’s eyes went a little wide, and he was surprised, as well as Ria and Seris again. "Your little friend, right?" 

I nodded. "I did tell Lumi about it, and she didn’t really agree on going, and the main reason is that she wouldn’t see me for a long while. I mean I can’t just be there thinking about Lumi crying. So, my solution was to bring her with me, and she does have a good potential for magic, almost as much as me, so it made it even more of a perfect decision." 

Taren has a small grin. "Seems like a love story at play here guess all that came from me..." Taren muttered and only Ria would hear. 

Ria looked at Taren with doubt in her face and had her normal expression back on again. 

"And I did get her parent’s permission," I said. "Just the only problem is they don’t have the right amount of money to pay for her tuition so I was hoping maybe you could help on that?" 

Taren was thinking about it and later spoke, "Maybe, but right now I'm gonna say no." 

I was shocked. "Huh? But—" 

"Ah," Taren said before I could finish. "Before you argue with me, let me explain why. First of all, that's quite far off, so there would need to be a lot of planning. I could have someone in a carriage take you there, but that does cost, and I still have to pay for your tuition. Second, you're still a kid, so why go now? Third, you already have gotten so far with your sword training, and I refuse to have you stop now. And before you say you can attend both, it's like what I said last time: being a swordsman and mage are more than titles. Meaning they would only let you choose one. So going there would take weeks of planning, but here's the main and last problem: Lumi's tuition. I’m not exactly a noble or royal, so it would take a lot of work to pay for her." 

"So... either way, there isn't much that can be done." 

I glanced down with a sigh before looking back at Ria and Seris. "Come on, Mom and Aunt Seris, isn't there anything you both can do?" 

Ria shook her head. "He's right about part of it. I truly wish I could do something; I’m really sorry, sweetie." 

"Same here. I apologize," Seris said, both feeling a bit guilty. 

I looked down, not knowing what else to do. Dang it, it was worth a try. as my left hand was in my pocket, I felt one small silver coin and took it out. I just looked at it, and an idea flashed in my head. "Wait, I have one more idea!"  

Taren was about to get up to put his plate in the kitchen but stayed as he looked at me. "What is it?" Taren asked. 

"How about I get a job?" 

"A job?" 

"Think about it. I can help make more money to speed up the process. Come on, I have some good intelligence, and I'm good with magic. There must be something I can do, please father please!" 

Taren would be thinking about it. 

"Any," I said. "As long as it pays well." 

"...Any, you say?" 

I nodded. "Just as long as it pays well, like I said." 

Taren pondered and continued to think about it. "Well, are you sure you trust me picking?" 

I nodded. 

"Very well then, I’ll get to contacting an old friend of mine. I'm going by your word with well-paying, so don’t worry." 

My mouth opened with a big smile. I stood up from the chair and bowed. "Yes, Father, thank you so much! I promise I’ll do my best!" 

Taren smiled back. "Don’t mention it." 

Ria glared at Taren with worry on her face, but she also looked like she was trying to say something. 

                                                                *** 

A day has passed, and it was morning. I was running to the hill with my short sword and the guidebook and wand in my pocket, as usual, when I came to see Lumi. 

As I got to the top, Lumi was looking around, trying to find me, and I sneakily got behind her and carried her. 

"Ah!" Lumi shouted as I spun her around. 

"Lumiiii, my best frieeeeend!" I let go of her. "My bad, haha." 

Lumi wouldn’t be mad, but she would look curiously at me. "Why are you so happy? What happened, Tenshi?" She asked. 

"You would not believe it!" I said with excitement showing. 

All Lumi did was tilt her head. 

"Long story short... My father is going to be getting me a job. I'm gonna say it in the most understandable way possible. Basically, I make money from that job, which means I am able to pay for something called tuition, aka yours, and you will finally be able to come with me to the university!" 

Lumi’s fox ears perked up, and her elf ears wiggled on their own. "Really!?" 

I nodded. Lumi’s tail wagged fast. "I knew you could do something, Tenshi!" 

I looked back into the distance. "I think this deserves a little celebration." I looked back at Lumi. "How about I teach you more interesting magic? Or we can play together; let's just have almost the whole day to ourselves! We could even go to the village. This is gonna be our day, Lumi!" 

"Yay!" she said as she jumped on me. 

"Ah!" I shouted as she did so. We both fell to the ground. "Maybe some warning next time so I don’t accidentally hit my head on a rock." 

Lumi used her hands to push herself up, and she looked directly at me. "Oh, sorry!" 

"No, no, it's fine." I hugged her back, closed my eyes, and enjoyed the moment. Man, in just a few months, Lumi and I will go together... A girl so committed to having me as a friend. I might’ve said this before, and I'm gonna say it again. I'm glad to have a good friend like Lumi. Just in a few weeks... My day starts. 

                                                                *** 

Two weeks passed, and it was the afternoon. I was currently training with Taren outside, and we were near the exit of the yard. He was currently testing my reaction time by throwing rocks at me, sometimes stopping, sometimes not. 

He had some fast throws, but fortunately, I easily deflected the three rocks with my wooden sword. "Smooth, Tenshi," Taren said as he stopped throwing. 

"My God, you're fast!" 

"Heh, deal with it!" He threw another rock at me, and I deflected it. 

"Ah!" I fell to the ground after that fast throw, and Taren continued, but I kept deflecting as I was on the ground. I quickly got up and slashed the four that came at me all at once. 

"Nice! Just a little longer, Tenshi." 

I stood strong. "Hah! Little did you know I understand it now—" 

Taren threw more rocks, and I deflected one, but one easily hit me on the head. "Ow!" I said as I fell back with a bruise on my forehead. 

"Haha, understand it now, huh?" He said as I started rubbing my head. 

"Not cool..." I hovered my hand above my forehead and used healing magic.  

Taren put his hand out to help me up, and I grabbed it and stood back up. "All right, we aren’t done yet; there's another one that—" Before Taren could finish his sentence, a horse was heard outside the property of the house, and it was a carriage. Both Taren and I looked at it as it stopped moving. 

"What the?" I questioned. 

"That must be them," Taren said with a grin. Taren turned his head to face the house. "Ria! Seris! They are here!" 

I looked up at Taren with confusion. What's happening? I looked ahead and heard the door of the carriage open. someone stepped out of it, and she looked like one hell of a warrior mommy-type gorgeous woman with a mild expression. She had lion ears, blonde hair covering her right eye, and red eyes, a tail, E-cup size breasts, a black bra, and a blue jacket with fur on the hoodie, black pants, and brown boots. 

I was flustered and shocked. Her breasts looked as big or even bigger than my head. Holy shit! Maria and Seris can suck it because I think someone took their title! The woman just stood a few feet in front of us, waiting after Taren as he called out to Ria and Seris. I waved at her, trying to keep a normal smile, but my face was too smug to keep it normal. Her eyes turned down to me and back at Taren as she kept her tough expression. Guess someone isn’t in the mood. 

Taren turned around to face the woman. "Sorry, they should be out in a minute. So, Desha, how's it been, huh?" 

"Not too bad. I see that boy is your child?" She said. 

"Yup. He-" 

"Save it. You don’t need to explain it. I couldn’t care less. Besides, I can already tell with the expression he gives on his face," Desha said as she interrupted Taren. 

Well, this emo-ass-looking chick is a bit rude. And is it really that noticeable? I said to myself. 

Desha looked down at Taren’s waist and looked right at the sword. "Huh, you continued carrying onto that thin-?" 

"Hm? Oh, right." Taren took out the sword from his waist. "I had mixed feelings about it at first. After I and the others lived here, it was mainly just put up on the wall and it wasn’t my main sword because it felt too heavy for battle, but I got used to it. Plan to give it to Tenshi when he is an adult."  

"Hm, interesting." She said. 

Ria came out the door and ran over to us. "Desha, long time no see!" 

Desha looked over to Ria as she stopped in front of her. "Ria, it’s been a while. You look more grown than the last time we met." 

"I see you are looking as fierce as ever," Ria said with a smile. 

Seris also came out the door, holding Sara and Tara in both her arms. "Sister," Seris said. "You randomly left me alone while I was gone to the bathroom—" Before Seris could finish her sentence, she saw Desha up ahead. "Oh my, Desha! It's so good to see you again," she said as she walked over to the others. 

"Seris, what a pleasure. I didn’t expect to see you still living with Taren and Ria. Are those your children? I have to admit, I didn’t expect you to find your own mate." 

"Uh, well..." Seris flustered. 

Ria rolled her eyes to Taren. "You see, the one with yellow eyes is mine, and her name is Tara. The one with green eyes is Sara, who is hers. Unfortunately, I caught Taren in a small affair with her, so Sara is actually his child..." 

Desha side eyed Taren. "Unfortunately, ay...?" She muttered. Desha turned her eyes back to Sara and Tara, and she stroked their hair with both her hands. "Well, just be careful how Taren will influence these two girls. Can’t have them taking over his perverted side." 

Sara giggled, and Tara was just confused. Ria giggled and Taren rolled his eyes as Seris felt a little embarrassed. 

"All right," Taren said. "That's enough, you two. Anyways, Desha, I’m guessing you’re not here for a visit." 

Desha took her own hands off the two, looked at Taren, and nodded. "Terits told me about it. Yes, I'm just wondering if the boy is ready unless it was some other kid I don’t know that you have." 

"It's just him." 

I looked up at both Taren and Desha while tilting my head with confusion. What are they even talking about? 

Ria went on one knee and looked me in the eye. "Tenshi, I just want you to know that I love you, and we’ll try to visit someday, maybe on your birthday." Ria hugged me. "You're my sweet boy, and I always want you to remember that. But once you come back, you better stay with us for a few months, before you go to that university." Ria let go of the hug, and I was confused. Ria stood up. 

Seris looked down at me. "Tenshi, I’ll always remember you, and I to will be waiting. Maybe once you come back, I can teach you a bit of archery if you're still up for that." She winked. 

"Uh..." I mumbled as I was confused. "I’m confused—" 

"Ah, ah." Taren interrupted. He looked up at Ria and Seris. "You two should go get his stuff now. We’ll be waiting out here." 

Ria nodded. "Good idea," Ria said. Both Ria and Seris walked back to the house. 

I looked up at Taren. "Why did you interrupt me? And are we going somewhere or something?" 

Taren stayed silent and just cracked his head. "You see..." Taren looked down at me. "This is more about you. It's your new job." 

"Really? A carriage is a bit fancy for somewhere out in the village." 

Taren would set his sword on the opened shutters of the carriage. "Well, I wouldn’t say it's exactly in the village." 

"Huh?" I said as I was confused again. "Then where is it?" 

"...What if I told you, you have to stay away from Lumi for a while for this job." 

"Well, it depends on how long is a while. How long will I be doing this job for?" 

"Figures. I'm not telling you, sorry," Taren said casually. 

"Huh, but why?" 

"Because you would argue with me about it and talk about how Lumi is gonna be mad and all of that." 

"Huh? Wait what's going on?" I asked as my stomach felt heavy. Before I could say something else, Taren quickly tried to slash his wooden sword at me but I quickly used air magic to dodge and get far distance from Taren "What the hell!? Are you crazy!?" I shouted. 

Taren ran right towards me with his wooden sword. Okay, I said to myself. I don’t know what the hell is happening, but I'm terrified! Okay, I mean, I got away from Flurisa once, so I can probably figure this out. Just try doing what you did to her, just without limb cutting. Oh wait, I have another idea." I waited for Taren to get close, and as he was about to swing at me again, I quickly touched the tip of the sword and zapped it. The electricity shocked Taren and pushed him far back, but it barely affected him. 

"Not bad, not bad at all..." He muttered as he got back up from the ground.  

"Damn it," I said as I stood in fear. 

Taren ran towards me in a zig-zag, and before he could get close, I used wind magic to dodge, but he immediately went in my direction and swung his sword. "Ah!" I shouted after being jump-scared by Taren’s random appearance. I quickly blocked it with my sword. Oh god, he's right with me, he's right with me! I tried using wind magic to dodge again, but Taren quickly grabbed the back of my shirt and threw me up. 

"Sorry, Tenshi!" He exclaimed. 

"Ahh!" I screamed as I started falling, and all I saw was Taren getting ready to slash right at my face. Damn it! He used maneuver grab. Well, guess this is how I lose. I’m still wondering why Taren is doing this, but hey, at least it's a wooden sword and not something that could actually kill me. Well, guess I’ll see what happens soon. 

"Ha!" Taren shouted as he swung right at my face, knocking me unconscious. 

                                                                *** 

A day passed, and all I heard was the wind blowing, the sounds of a carriage moving, and the birds chirping. 

I slowly opened my eyes and felt tired, and the back of my head was a little sore. I rubbed it as I slowly got up. "Oww, what the heck, that hurt, Dad..." As I sat on the bench, I opened my eyes and saw someone in front of me. 

My vision was a little blurry, so I wiped them and saw Desha right in front of me. What the hell!? I stood up and looked around, confused and shocked, and realized I was in a moving carriage. 

"Everything all right, kid?" she said. I looked right at her and sat back down on the bench. 

"U-uh, y-yeah, I'm good. Sorry for my sudden get-up." 

"Hm, manners? Well, that wasn’t expected coming from one of Taren’s kids."  

"Yeah... Uh, I have a question," I said. 

"Spill it." 

"Where exactly am I, and where are we going?" I asked with a nervous smile. 

Desha looked at me with a hint of surprise. "You don’t know? Thought Taren already told you. Well, we are currently going to the capital. I'm not sure much else, but I do know that we will be working together." 

I looked down, confused, and I was about to say something, Shoot. If that's the only thing she knows, then what can I say. But the whole capital, though? I looked back at her "Sorry, you said the capital?" 

Desha nodded. "Mhm." 

I didn’t know how to react after all of this was happening so fast. "Well then... I guess it will be a pleasure working with you..." I said as my eye twitched. "Wait, we left just a few minutes ago, right?" 

"Nope, we left yesterday. We should be there in a couple hours, so get comfy." 

"A-a couple hours!?" 

                                                                 *** 

An hour passed, and I looked out the open shutters and took in a breath of air as the carriage went through a pathway in a forest. 

Man, this sucks Im far from home, and now I'm here with big tits, demi-human lady. I sighed and smirked a little. Not really complaining, though. My expression went back to normal, and I sat back down, facing Desha. "Uh, miss, what was your name again so I don’t get it wrong?" 

"Desha. Just Desha. Also, take this," she answered, then threw an envelope at me. 

"Ow!" I exclaimed as the envelope struck my head. At this rate, I'm going to end up with brain damage, I said as I rubbed my head. I grabbed the envelope that fell on my lap, and I read what was on it. Of course, it's from Taren. I opened up the envelope and pulled out the letter. 

                                                                 *** 

"Dear Tenshi, I am sure you are reading this since Desha doesn’t know a single letter. I am sure you are confused, so let me explain. The woman with the huge breasts, aka Desha, is going to be your new teacher for the sword." Desha made a small growl. I sweated a little from her growl but continued reading. "Y-you are currently going to the capital to take a job there from my brother. You did say any job, right?" Screw you, Taren! I had an annoyed look on my face. "So here it is. Till you have enough so you can go to Seria with Lumi, you can come back unless you give up on that. Anyway, be careful making Desha mad because it isn’t fun. And She isn’t so fun yet also is in bed, so I suggest not going for her because her ass is stone hard, but her breasts are soft and comfortable, so that's not to worry about." 

Desha looked away like a tsundere and grabbed the end of the bench so hard that she broke a piece off. 

"Ahhhh..." I whimpered and gulped as I looked at Desha. Seriously? Her? Who did he originally lose his virginity to, and why was putting the necessary? I glanced back at the paper, my eyes widening at a particular section. "But I do know how much you’ll earn in this job, so I estimate that in about four to five years, you’ll be back, unfortunately, without writing any letters. Why? Well, I cannot say. Another reason is that you were getting too close to Lumi. Look, I understand she might be the one for you, but I’m concerned about how deep that connection could go. I spoke with her parents regarding her anxiety with swords, and they might assist her in addressing it, as your approach seems to have led her to keep hiding. Anyway, I can’t wait to see you and see how much of a man you’ll become. I hope you make an adventure for yourself and tell that hottie Desha I said hi. From your amazing father, Taren." I punched the bench. "Damn it..." I whispered.  

"Seems like you're not so fond of him either." 

I stayed silent and said nothing. 

"...If it makes you feel better, we can send that back to your mother. He also left his sword here by mistake." 

I gasped and looked up at her and to my left. His sword was lying beside me. I grabbed it and set it on my lap. Wow, so this is what it feels like... I looked back up at Desha with a smirk. "What did you say about the letter?" 

Desha grinned. 

                                                                 *** 

Another hour passed, and I was laid down on the bench with my eyes closed. I opened them again and started to think to myself. Maybe I am the twenty percent wrong one. Lumi doesn’t deserve to hide from her fears. I basically made her do an old me," I said to myself as I sighed. And I did say he could pick any job, but seriously, I could’ve been warned about this stuff. 

"Hey, kid." Desha said. 

I looked at her and sat up. "Yes?" 

"We should be there in a few minutes. Be ready." 

"Oh?" I turned around and had my knees on the bench as I was looking out the shutters. "Holy crap! That's it!?" I said as I saw the gated city from a far distance, and a river was flowing around it. 

Desha nodded. "Yup, that right there is the city of Celine." 

                                                                    *** 

During the time I left, a woman was walking all alone with two swords on her waist as she walked, and it was Flurisa walking in a forest as she was all healed with her sleeve ripped. 

                                                                    *** 

During the time I left, a woman was walking all alone with two swords on her waist as she walked, and it was Flurisa walking in a forest with her sleeve gone, yet looking all healed.