6 Childhood Memories

Hiems, Frone 30

Kingdom of Olden, Capital City

It was peaceful. The candles lit the area I was at with a gentle breeze coming in from the window. As I walked around the palace halls, I reminisced about everything that has happened, all that I have accomplished and all the people I met and interacted with.

Eleven seasons have passed, in a blink of an eye. After I accepted that challenge from those beings, I've been through a lot just preparing for the day I can start executing my plans in accomplishing it. I had to put a ton of effort just to have everything in place. The hours I've put into thinking up different scenarios and situations will soon finally pay off.

I am so exhausted from this semi-poor start to my second life. Picture this, remember the days where you were stuck at school and couldn't wait to get it over with? The countless nights of studying and memorizing a bunch of facts for tests. And after so many years, you finally got your wish and left school for good. Remember that feeling of bliss and happiness?

Now imagine going through all of that all over again, with the process remaining largely the same except for a lower standard compared to Earth's. It is one of the most painful and excruciating things one can experience.

It wouldn't have been all that bad though had I lived a normal life. The shorter education years and less time spent at school overall. Those were the dreams. However, since when has life been kind? I was forced to start learning via my tutors at the age of three.

'I know, too young.'

And this wasn't just the type of lessons one can get back on Earth at this age. It was advanced lessons way beyond what a kid at the age of three should be learning. I had a couple of tutors coming into the mansion every day of my third year of life.

One has to remember that in this world, there is no concept of weekdays and weekends. Everyone works pretty much all the time. The few vacations one gets is during the season of Hiems or winter. At that time, everyone mostly stays at their own home and waits out the Hiems season.

Speaking of the seasons, one other thing I've learned from my tutors was how the people in this world use time and the systems they've invented to quantify it. The calendars they made were crude but were surprisingly accurate.

They have no concept of years in the same way the people on Earth do. In light of that, the people here use seasons instead. The age of a person is determined by how many seasons they have survived. Experiencing five seasons means that person has lived for five years.

Each season can be broken down into four parts, similar to those on Earth. The only difference were the names. They were Aestas for Summer, Autumna for Autumn, Hiems for Winter and Fons for Spring. Each of which has three months called Frone, Secto, and Thire which translates to First, Second, and Third Month.

There are 30 days in two of the months for each season and one which has 31 days. For Aestas, the third month, Thire, has 31 days. For Autumna and Fons, it's Secto. Lastly, for Hiems it is Frone which has 31 days.

That is basically how the people living here name the dates. Like I said, it's not that perfect but it does the job well for the need of the people living here.

Ever since after that first month when I received that special gift, a lot of my plans that I've created were sped up and put into action earlier such as gathering more specific details in the world around me.

-Flashback-

The 'special gift' I received is actually a companion, to be more specific an animal companion. It was a bird egg. This made me very excited for numerous reasons. I could have a companion in this world first. Another reason would be that said companion can be very useful in helping start my plans.

The egg arrived in my room one night, wrapped in white cloth after being carried by an eagle. After I saw the egg that morning, it started to hatch and lo and behold, a baby phoenix came out, albeit a tiny one.

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'Who cares if it's small for now, it's just like me confined in a weak vessel that can't show our true potential just yet.' I was glad to have a new companion and decided to take care of it well.

'Hello my little furry friend! You're going to be very helpful to me. I wonder what's your name, if you have one? I do hope we'll get along nicely.' I thought to myself. I was shocked when I heard a voice reply back.

'H-hi there! W-will I be really helpful?' said in a weary and cautious tone. 'Me is very -excited! I'm me by the way! Are you my older brother?' the tone changed into a sweet and energetic child-like voice.

The shock I felt left as fast as it came, as I analyzed why I heard such a voice in my head. I then got my answer and managed to reply to my new companion without much delay.

'You could consider me as your older brother. And you'll be of great help to me my friend.'

'Really? Yay! Thanks brother!'

'Hmm. Since you don't have a name yet, would you like me to give you one? How's Morte for you?'

'Morte! Morte! I like it, I like it!'

The phoenix, which I have named 'Morte' which ironically means death when a phoenix is supposed to represent life and hope. Anyways, after spending some time with Morte, who gathers his own food which means I don't have to feed him myself especially since I'm still a newborn myself, I got to know him better and find out his unique talents.

He has this amazing ability of sharing his specific senses with me within a set distance. In addition to this, Morte also had a greater stamina even as a newborn. His STA point was over 20, which meant he can 'work' for most of the day and only needs to rest for four hours a day.

The reason why his ability was amazing was that even when I'm asleep, he can still share his senses with me and it doesn't count towards my STA usage. This meant I could finally explore the kingdom I was born in for myself without actually leaving the castle.

Another cool ability of his was his shapeshifting. He could technically change his appearance into anything he wants as long as he is big and old enough. He obtains the specific traits of the animal he shifts into.

For now I had him transform into a falcon which is a very fast and small creature at the same time making him great for scouting and less of an obvious target.

One drawback however was the range limit to our connection. He could only share his senses with me as long as he stays within the capital city. 'I hope the range increases as time goes by.'

'Morte, I need you to go explore the city ok? We need to know what's out there and find those who mean us harm alright?' I said to Morte.

'Okay! Once I am ready to fly, I'll go look for baddies who wish to harm big brother!'

'Thanks Morte!'

'Just leave it to me!' he replied energetically.

With the help of Morte, I learned all that I can from the capital for my entire second month after being reborn. Exploring every nook and cranny within the city, learning all of the citizens daily lifestyle as well as finding most of the 'underground' dealings occurring throughout the city.

I was able to identify who were people with good intentions along with those with bad ones. Surprisingly, there wasn't any hint of discontent or any insurrections going around the capital together with the fact that there wasn't an oppressive atmosphere within the citizens expressions and demeanors.

I discovered quite a lot of potential people who can work for me as well with specific talents that are very useful. This allowed me to develop more detailed plans for completing my tasks. After giving it some more thought, I realized quite a few things.

Originally, I was very excited about being a prince because it meant that I had a huge start at completing my task. The building portion of my challenge was already completed. All that was left was to lead this kingdom into prosperity and make alliances with my fellow reincarnators.

However, there were some undercurrents happening throughout the city which were showing signs of more support towards my older brothers, especially the first born son, to succeed the throne. Although I learned early on that my father plans to set up a competition between my brothers and I, with all these going on in the background, I realized that this kingdom was becoming less of an advantage and more of a disadvantage instead.

Therefore, I devised my grandest plans to date in the third month. I started ironing out the details of what could possibly be the biggest scheme this world has ever seen so far. For that, I needed the help of Morte and my butler Nick, a lot.

~~~~~

Autumna, Secto 15

Kingdom of Olden, Capital City

It has been around seven months since I was born, and a lot has once again happened. Morte, my phoenix companion has grown even further. He is now able to communicate with me as far as the nearest towns around the capital, which is quite the distance.

I have also started talking but I am keeping it to a minimum around everyone else to suggest that I was still incapable of speaking. The only exception to this was my servant Nick. I managed to make him my underling through taking advantage of the people's reliance into superstitions.

I basically told him that I have received a prophecy and a mission from the spirits, and that I need his help. I also promised to take his family with me when I fulfill my mission. And with that, my first steps have been taken.

I have Morte to help me scout the capital and its surrounding towns. Through his assistance, no secret could be hidden from me within this city. He marks potential people who can work for me as well as dangerous persons that should be avoided or taken care of. I then send Nick who has a few underlings himself to take care of contacting said people.

Nick either has his men recruit the people I desire or takes care of those I deemed as hazards to my plans.

The game was set.