Life continued pretty normally, it was a random Sunday at the tailend of spring when it happened.

I was outside on a stroll with Maia, thanks to Dad of course he was taking care of the twins. It was a sunny day, as expected from early June and overall it seemed like this would be a great day.

We got to the village’s store to buy something refreshing, in this case an ice cream and as we resumed our stroll I couldn’t help but notice once again the other kids around my age not using magic accidentally, but on purpose now.

It’s been a while since our picnic, and I still can’t use it… wonder when that day will come for me

With a reluctant sigh, I decided to not think of it too much, and focused on our time together, which was getting rarer these days, especially because of the twins.

“It’s been a while since the last time we’ve been able to hang out alone, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it really has haha, though I don’t mind the twins company, sometimes I do think I need some peace and quiet”

“Hmm, does that mean you think the time you spend with your dear older sister is boring enough that you have peace and quiet?”

“That’s obviously not the case you idiot”

Her teasing made me even more aware of the fact that Maia did not see me as a 5 years old at all. Though my reply was also clearly not something a kid my age would’ve had said looking back, but that still wasn’t the point.

I’ve tried to not think of it too much, but I am still curious why she treats me as if I’m older than I really am..

There was really no point in thinking about it, since it wasn’t as if I could ask “hey why do you not treat me your 5 years old brother like a kid” so my options were pretty limited, but I still couldn’t deny my curiosity.

I was focused on my ice cream, so I wasn’t really looking where I was walking, and it was when I got next to her that she suddenly extended her arm to block me from walking.

“Hey, what was that f-“

“….”

I couldn’t finish my sentence, because right before I could do so, a small fireball had passed by where I would’ve been if she hadn’t stopped me.

“Be more careful when you walk, Cael. The kids cannot control it yet, so it’s dangerous”

A bunch of kids then walked towards us, and one of them in particular, most likely the one that threw it, bowed to us and apologized, to which Maia simply warned once then allowed him to go back to his friends.

Ah… it’s pissing me off now. Why is he able to use magic already and I’m not…

The kid was the grandson of the old lady next door to us, and while it’s not like we were close or anything like that, since I didn’t even remember his name, it still pissed me off that a kid who’s a year younger than me was already able to, but I wasn’t.

The more we walked around, the more kids we saw playing with magic. Our village was shaped kinda like a banana? It was mostly extended over around a kilometer in its middle and there were a bunch of houses at both extremities that were curved towards north so it kinda made it look like one.

Our house was somewhere in the middle, and though it was surrounded by walls around it, there were plenty of gates all throughout, spread around 50-100 meters apart.

The forest was north, respective to our house, and the hills were at east, and in all honesty I did find the shape of our village a bit ridiculous, but it’s not like I could just change it to accommodate my will.

Even as I tried to distract myself by thinking of the ridiculous village we were in, I still failed to not notice the painful amount of kids that were playing with magic over and over. Some were younger than me though by a year at most, and others seemed to be closer to Maia’s age which didn’t bother me exactly but still made it painfully obvious that there was something I didn’t know.

“Are you alright?”

She probably noticed my clear discomfort, which did embarrass me a bit but I was also grateful for.

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“Not really haha, it’s pretty hot outside and all, can we go back home for a bit?”

I wasn’t going to tell her the real reason, since it probably wasn’t even necessary. I’m sure she already saw through my lie, but didn’t question it, and simply nodded with a smile, and we went on our way.

When we got home, mom had already finished cooking lunch, and it seemed like she was going to send dad to come look for us but our timing ended up being pretty convenient for her. After we washed our hands and sat at the table mom then quickly gave us our plates, and without anything else happening in particular we all started eating, and chatting among each other.

My curiosity was still far from gone, and in all honesty, I wasn’t even hungry, I just took a few bites here and there to not make it too obvious, but my curiosity alongside a bad gut feeling were eating me up, so I decided that it was best to just ask directly, and see where that goes.

“By the way haha, I’ve seen that even kids younger than me are already using magic… so I was wondering if you have any idea of when I’ll also be able to…?”

I tried to mask a clearly fake laugh in it, but I don’t think It worked, though I guess it didn’t matter since both of them kept their composure, and acted as casual as they did before the question.

“I see… I didn’t think the day would come this soon, but it seems like it’s time”

Dad then extended his arm as if to stop mom from talking and took the lead of the conversation.

“Cael, you cannot use magic.”

“Huh?”

Did I… hear that right?

My eyes opened wide in shock, but not just at the information itself, but at the fact that he said it so casually.

“Everything that exists is made out of mana, and any living being is born with a separate pool of it which is what we use for either magic or releasing our pure mana as attacks or to strengthen our bodies. Your mana pool is so small that the only thing separating you from a mana less person is a small droplet of it.”

I couldn’t say a single word, I was too astonished to do so. Why was he so casual about it? Why didn’t they tell me before, we’re both questions that I couldn’t ask.

“Don’t worry though, you can always just become a lumberjack just like me, we still love you even if you can’t use magic, and we’ll make sure to protect yo-“

“Don’t mess with me.”

I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I got up from my seat in a rush which resulted in me accidentally making my plate fall down, startling everyone for an instant besides dad.

“Cael, pick up your plate, apologize to your mom and sit back down.”

“I’ve told you to not mess with me!”

Ah… now I’ve done it… I can’t stop my mouth.

“Don’t try and tell me what I can and can’t do with my own future! I can just train and enlarge my mana pool, why do I have to suddenly give up on magic as a whole and become a lumberjack?!”

“I won’t tell you a 3rd time, Cael. Pick up your plate, apologize to your mother and sit back down.”

I’ve always dreamt of getting reborn and exploring a new world with magic, and fighting monsters while going on adventurers, don’t you dare try and take that away from me!

“Why are you so calm?! What is your deal?! Why aren’t you telling me to just train, why aren’t you helping me?! You’re my father, right? You’re supposed to help me, not tell me to give up you old geezer!”

I don’t care anymore… I won’t try and stop.

“If you believe so little in me then why do you always treat me like I’m older than I really am?! Why do you treat me like I’m different besides when I actually ask you to do it?!”

“Cael!”

His sudden shout made me lose all the composure I had, and I stopped talking, too afraid to open my mouth again while unasked.

“You’re right, we’ve always known you’re smarter than kids your age, and we have been treating you differently. But there’s something you’re mistaking.”

“What are yo-“

“You might be a genius when it comes to intelligence, but you’re not Maia. You’re not a Prodigy like her.”

“But that’s-“

“And that’s fine.”

He sighed as he regained his composure, before continuing to talk.

“Becoming a lumberjack was just an example. There’s many non magic required industries you can get into, and with your intelligence I’m sure you’d do great in most of them. But no matter what you do, you’re not going to get on Maia’s level. Because you’re simply not a prodigy. And we don’t mind. We’re trying to support you throughout it, because we love you.”

I looked over at Maia, looking for any kind of reaction, no. I wanted her to deny what dad was saying. I wanted her to take my side and scream back at dad… but her expression was completely emotionless as she simply kept eating.

I turned around to my left then to look at the twins, but when I did so, they weren’t there, and it was at that moment that my ears had stopped filtering my surroundings and I started hearing them very clearly. Crying. Both of them were crying, and when I turned my head towards mom, she was holding and consoling them.

I-I’m the one that made them… cry?

“Cael. Go back to your room. We’ll have Maia call you when dinner is ready.”

I couldn’t defy his words anymore. After realizing that I just made my siblings cry in my outburst, I couldn’t do anything but whatever dad said. It was my complete defeat.

I really fucked up this time…

I let myself fall on the bed, face down as I stood there motionless.

Even though they were supporting me… even though they were probably right, I still can’t admit it.

I moved on my back while covering my eyes with my arm, as I kept thinking about it.

I made the twins cry, I raised my voice at my parents, and made a fool out of myself… but even then… even then… I just can’t, I can’t give up…

I started crying, so much that it took me about half an hour to finally calm down enough to even start thinking properly again.

I've already failed as an older brother. I cannot deny that anymore, but even then… even if they’ll hate me for it, even if it’ll hurt, even if I’ll get laughed at, even if I’m not a prodigy, even if it’s unfair… I’ll keep trying, and I won’t stop until I redeem myself for what I’ve done today, and become strong enough to protect everyone.

After that, I fell asleep, but it was the most peaceful I had ever slept for as long as I can remember, probably because I had both poured out my concerns, and made up my mind.

Maia didn’t wake me up for dinner, nor did anyone else, but the next day when I woke up I found a plate with my name on it, and as I approached it, read the note on it and started eating, I couldn’t stop my tears once again, but this time they were happy ones. Because I still had a family that loved me even after what I did. And that was the greatest thing I could have asked for.