Qiubai Balin opened the door and his body tensed. His eyes widened with disbelief.

At the entrance of the opened door, a small girl was tightly embracing a small tattered dragon doll.

On top of her head were two big knotted buns and her side face was turned towards Qiubai Balin.

One of her small hands was tightly clutching a doll and the other frozen in midair.

She was unsure what to place her hands against after Qiubai Balin opened the door.

The girl’s big watery jade eyes were also widened with astonishment.

A small bow that was wrapped on her turquoise hair quivered along with the movement of her head showing her anxiousness.

The little girl’s head was still frozen in a sideways position as if she had her ears pressed against the door earlier.

The small baby fat on her cheeks trembled in fright like a small hamster.

An almost inaudible exclamation briefly escaped from her mouth.

This wasn't a little hamster but clear a small girl committing crimes

This little one was clearly eavesdropping with her ears pressed against the door!

Qiubai Balin felt amused.

Was she eavesdropping the whole time?

He recognized her from his predecessor’s memories. It was the small girl who was always tightly holding on to a doll as if afraid it would disappear. Even during her sleep she would tightly hold on and it was terribly difficult for the director Gareth to wrestle it from her in order to wash the doll. This lil lass joined the orphanage early enough to meet his predecessor but late enough to not get familiar with him.

Over the three years the orphanage had run, several children were adopted. But only the first few who joined during the first year had the opportunity to interact with his predecessor in depth. Unfortunately, for the latter two years, Qiubai Balin was at the academy and his predecessors was forever gone.

He stretched out a hand and walked over.

“Elan right? I’m Balin, remember me?”

Pale faced, quivering lips, and rosy cheeks full of baby fat.

“Elan” slowly retreated nervously.

Her eyes dodging around as if trying to find an escape path.

Her chubby fingers were tightening her grip on the doll.

“Elan” eyes widened when she saw the outstretched hands.

However, to her dismay she stumbled over one of the wooden planks in this house.

With a small yelp…oops…she tripped.

Moisture filled her jade eyes, blurring her vision.

“Elan” instinctively closed her eyes as if accepting fate and bracing for punishment.

…

…

But the expected pain did not come.

Instead…she felt a gentle rubbing on her head.

Qiiubai Balin squatted down gently rustling her hair.

He knew it was important to bring himself to her level in order to not appear intimidating and demonstrate that he was taking her seriously

( ´･･)ﾉ(._.`)

Hmm…silky and very bouncy.

How cute…. like a little hamster.

“No need to be nervous, you're always safe here.”

From his experience in previous life, Balin understood this child had a traumatic reaction.

Qiubai Balin gently lifted “Elan”.

‘Weightless…like cotton…but not as thin as before’

Qiubai Balin sighed. Looks like a few years was enough to fatten her up.

Although he wasn’t exactly clear of her origins, Balin could probably guss that she expereinced a rough life before arriving here.

After helping the lil lass up, Qiubai Balin patted her on the head a last time before walking away leaving her twin buns bouncing.

But before he could fully leave, he felt a tug on the corner of his clothes.

“Mmmm ummm.” The little girl hesitated and stammered, "Ww..w.. will they be alright?”

Qiubai Balin turned back and smiled,

“Yes! i'll make sure they are alright. Leave it to me”

<(˶ᵔᵕᵔ˶)>

Hearing this, “Elan” let out a sigh of relief.

“Ehehe”

“Elan” playfully reached her little fingers into a small hole on her dragon doll and grabbed a round object.

With her outstretched hand she clumsily offered it to Qiubai Balin.

A piece of hard candy… probably the one the orphanage director distributed every once in awhile

‘Was…was this lil twerp trying to bribe him or motivate him? A young capitalist in the making? ’

He felt amused. Even a little girl was trying her best these days.

Qiubai Balin happily took the candy and ignoring the dust, he placed it in his mouth.

Giving a big hard suck he said,

“Thank you!” (˶ᵔᵕᵔ˶)

The girl was still nervous, but Qiubai Balin could tell from her widened eyes delight and …and a trace of heartache?

Must be his imagination.

“Don't go wandering around these days stay in the orphanage. Uncle here will protect you.”

“And here..take this.” Qiubai Balin took off the gemstone necklace(chap 3) hanging freely on his neck and delicately hung it on Elan.

The small girl nodded and Qiubai Balin ruffled her hair one last time

Before leaving he gave one last hard glare at the orphanage director Gareth.

The orphanage director, ex noble, and knight Gareth gave a nervous chuckle while sending off Qiubai Balin

While Balin was leaving, “Elan” gazed upon his slowly fading back while clutching her new gift with her free hand..

She touched her messy hair helplessly and muttered under her breath,

“Big brother, my name is Elaine…not Elan…”

ಠ_ಠ

__________

Nights in the mortal realm were ever so desolate.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Looking up at the sky, the original twinkling of stars from blue star was nowhere to be seen.

Instead two bright luminous moons lit up the night sky.

Sitting at the doorsteps of the orphanage outside and watching the passing of time, Qiubai Balin felt emotional.

He sighed thinking back when Elan offered him candy and was able to eavesdrop out of concern for her friends.

( ˘ ^˘ )=3

Sometimes, children acting in such a mature manner at such a young age was not always a good sign.

Because that demonstrated the amount of inner turmoils they passed in order to gain that understanding.

There was never a perfect world huh?

Even in the modern age in his previous life, child trafficking and crime was still prevalent .

History still repeated itself in front of his eyes like one big natural cycle.

Families broken apart due to wars, abuse, illness,and etc.

In this world where desire was further amplified by personal strength, he knew it was worse.

He would never be blinded by the joy of living a new life.

Perhaps in some dark corner of the world he had never visited, there was never a choice besides an agonizing death.

Actually even death wasn’t the end. Souls could be stripped through dark magic and sealed away to suffer for eternity even when the body rotted.

But What could he do?..

He was….just a human.. One with emotion and feeling. Numbed by life.. Not some overpowered protagonist with cheats he had seen in the anime of his previous life..

He was Just a guy who got lucky.

If only he could also be bald and wear red gloves. If only he could have the bloodline of some monkey from outer space. If only pushups, situps, and a 10 kilometer run could solve all problems of wealth and power in this world

Qoibai Balin stood up and patted his pants.

Those without self preservation power in this world were really quite unfortunate. He was glad to have saved decades of struggle by being reborn in the Qiubai family.

At least on the bright side, things seem to be improving. In the Sky Calendar era, appearances of higher life forms like the gods and demons that once enslaved the world were gone. And the human race was able to carve out a home amongst all the other races. Additionally he had heard from some family channels that some new schools of thought emphasizing peace were recently rising.

Qiubai Balin felt he was ultimately a small part of the universe and his time passed like sand in the wind.

Balin stretched out his left hand and opened his palm.

A blossoming silver pattern emerged.

Qiubai Balin gazed intently and watched the flicking silver blue lights dancing within his palm. This was the power of space and time. A law difficult and almost inaccessible for even the apex of magic casters.

He looked at his hands. It reminded him of the stars back on Blue Star. Beautiful and full of hope.

Perhaps he should try his best and attempt something in this world as well. A small purpose was better than none. This was also an answer to his inner child and his predecessor.

He shifted his focus to his right hand and held it up against the night sky. Through the gaps in the fingers, moonlight poured in. From his angle, it seemed like he was cupping the moon and holding celestial objects within his hands.

What was it called again?

Oh right.

Immortal Kingdom in the Palm.

A soft purple aura rose from his right hand. Little sparkles of light danced like fireflies and revolved around his hand as if a galaxy had come to life.

Within the mortal body…contain the might of the eternal skies!

That was the blessing he had received from the peeping god two years ago when he came into this world. (7+7.5)

At first he was cautious of using it. But now it had been two uneventful years.. He was neither arrested nor kidnapped by some cult.

Throughout these two years, he had looked through multiple religious classics

Never once has Balin heard of a deity who granted blessings like this.

Every god’s favored one in the churches would be blessed with similar ability according to their dieties’s jurisdiction. Some even having to go through a complex blessing ritual. Like a fire god’s chosen son/daughter would be granted with fire abilities. But according to his knowledge, he had never heard of a god with blessings related to the….universe.

Qiubai Balin chuckled. The gods were quite the pervert staring at their believers all the time..

Strictly speaking though he was still a mortal human incapable of magic nor the techniques of knights.

But…he had his own ace up his sleeve.

And now it was time to fulfill his promises. Those who considered targeting him would have to consider if they were worthy. He didn’t care for this world but he would never allow himself or those dear to be a chess piece.

I, Qiubai Balin, am the player on the chessboard.

—Systems Logs—

Qiubai Balin (MC1)

Gender: Possibly Male

Age: 18 + 42

Abilities: Seal of Space and Time, Immortal Kingdom In the Palm

Equipped: ???, Gemstone Necklace(Unequipped)

Faction: Qiubai Family

Alignment: Neutral

Titles: Sir Balin/Qiubai Family’s Young Master

________________________________________________________________

The two moons hung in the sky casting a delicate glow upon the world and bridging about an eerie silence.

Beneath the shroud of the night, most children around the world slept peaceful…well at least all the obedient ones.

In a room with closed curtains, moonlight leaked through the curtain gaps like silver water.

Several children were sleeping in little futons on the grounds. These futons were big, snugly, and apparently very comfortable with many children fast asleep.

But some children still had their eyes wide open despite the time. Staying up late was probably some ancient code inscribed within by the gods of the night.

Small whispers rang out:

“Hey, Balin finally came back!”

“You mean the good for nothing big brother who left and never came back?”

“Hey, stop it…he’s not the same as the other nobles”

“Apparently, he’s a ‘good’ noble.”

“That’s probably just a lie. After a while we might get sold to the evil necromancers after we get fat and strong.”

“Listen to me, you should enjoy your peace while you still can…trust me.”

“Yeah”

“But…but..”

“Sshhhhh, Shut up you guys. What if the turd Gareth comes? We won’t be getting candy anymore then. I want to die with a sweet tooth”

“…”

“...”

“...”

“Hey, pssttt… Orion whya splassssh dust on Mr Balin?”

“Hmph he deserved it.”

“A noble can live so comfortably..If the Qiubais actually cared about us…none of this would have actually happened.”

“...”

“They have the money. And I’ve even heard from that auntie who sells cake that there is a caster in their family. I’ve heard casters can overturn mountains and seas. Why was he there?

“But…but the autie who sells cake also called us lucky…I’ve honestly never felt so warm in my life…If only…if only mom and dad could be here too…”

“If only we were magic casters too you mean. Then none of this would have happened.”

“Aren’t you scared of being punished?”

“No, he never does anything you fool. I’ve known him longer than you, hmph.”

“...”

Orion secretly clenched his fist under the blanket

He hated this place. He hated why his parents left him and his sister alone.

He felt so…incompetent. Over the years when his parents disappeared, his sister Natalie was the only one there for him. If not for her, he would have been like all those…all those corspes on the ground eaten by maggots. He knew of the things she had sacrificed to take care of him. Her calloused hands and weathered feet…he knew their story. And before they had made it to this orphanage, the uncountable amount of times she had carried him on his back in search of hope.

And now she was gone. Along with his best friend Arima. Just because he wanted to play a ‘game’ in the snow.

‘I wanted to do the same..I promised her I would become strong and let her eat all the meat in the world…What did I do wrong? If only I had moved…she wouldn’t’

If it weren't for that incident he wouldn't be trapped here.

And his parents…

Damn magic casters.

He wanted to go look for her but that damn Gareth wouldn’t let him.

Perhaps deep down both himself and Gareth knew that he was useless.

Orion pulled his blanket over his head.

Within the moonlight darkness, a muffled whimper crossed the room.

Eventually silence occupied the habitat as every child tacitly stayed quiet.

Only a boy's small whimpers that he tried to mask could be discerned.

Over time the room eventually fell into darkness.

And within a certain boy’s sleeptalk, the words, “Sister, I’m sorry”, could be heard.