Day after day, Stella trained me, and each day, I had to keep up the act of being a helpless infant. But every night, I secretly studied advanced magic without them noticing.

I'm almost four years old now, and though I don't talk much, it's lonely being stuck in this house all the time. I don't like playing with the other kids either—my consciousness is 27 years old, after all. What I really want is to explore this world. Maybe if I become powerful enough, I can be the king of this world. And as king, I'd build the largest harem.

Anyway, yesterday we received a letter from Uncle Enchu, saying that a Magus will come here a year from now to teach me magic. The letter also contained horrific news: the downfall of the capital of Arthria. The impenetrable fortress has collapsed, and the king was devoured by the Demon Lord's familiars.

I've read the history of this world, and it's terrifying how the Demon Lord managed to capture six human kingdoms in just 25 years. Since we live in the easternmost kingdom, Philos, we'll likely be the last to be invaded if the demons launch an all-out attack.

— "Leon, where are you?" — Gustav shouted.

— "I'm here, Father." — I answered.

— "Come help your mother in the kitchen." — Gustav responded.

I immediately stood up from the garden and ran to the kitchen like a good kid obeying his parents. I looked at my mom, and she smiled softly.

— "Light the fire, Leon." — she said.

I stretched out my arm, pointed my palm toward the firewood, and cast a small fireball, launching it directly at the wood. Stella bent down and kissed my forehead.

-- Thank you, son--

Everything I do in this world is just an act. It's like playing a virtual RPG. Although i never experienced a loving family like this in my previous life, so you can say that im grateful having stella and gustav to be my parents.

Suddenly, I heard the clash of wood outside. I looked out the window and saw my dad practicing with his sword. He moved like he was dancing in the air, attacking four dummy targets in a single 360-degree sweep.

He noticed me watching from the window.

— "Leon, come here!" —

I jumped out of the window into the garden and ran toward him. He handed me a wooden sword.

— "Leon, listen carefully. The demons could attack at any moment, and you need to learn how to use a sword to protect your mother. Even though you know some magic, not all demons can be harmed by magic alone. You'll need to attack them physically. Like this…" —

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He demonstrated, smoothly cutting through the dummy targets with precise movements. His feet moved gracefully, making minimal effort, yet he reached all the targets effortlessly.

— "This is the desert sword dance. People in the desert use shorter swords and keep their movements small and fast to avoid sinking into the sand." —

It piqued my interest. I tried to copy his movements, but as I turned, I tripped and hit the ground face-first.

Gustav laughed.

— "You should start with basic sword handling. Swing your sword a hundred times a day, like this." —

He gripped the sword with both hands and swung it from above his head until the blade pointed down at a 45-degree angle.

— "Do this every day, Leon, and soon enough, I'll teach you the real techniques." —

I was already tired just from holding the heavy sword. As I looked toward the fence, I noticed some kids watching me train.

— "Father, why not train those kids too?" —

— "That's a good idea, but their parents might not agree. Sword fighting is dangerous, and kids their age shouldn't be holding swords or learning magic until they're 12. But you're special, Leon. You learned magic before you were one and could read and write by two. Those kids out there don't even know the sound of a single letter yet." —

It was harsh, but Gustav had a point. Forcing kids to learn magic and swordsmanship at a young age is like child labor in this world.

Suddenly, a man appeared at our gate.

— "Gustav! Gustav! Come here!" —

— "Sario! What happened?" —

The man was carrying a white cloth acting as a bag. Gustav opened the gate and let him in. At the garden table, Sario laid out the cloth, revealing a dead creature inside—a bat-like being that looked like a combination of a flying reptile and a fish.

— "What do you think this is?" — Sario asked.

— "This is a figon, one of the Demon Lord's familiars," — Gustav replied.

Gustav immediately called for Stella. She ran over to examine the creature.

— "I saw this thing flying near the village in the forest. I had a bad feeling about it, so I shot it down right away." — Sario explained.

— "This is indeed one of the Demon Lord's familiars. It's a weak creature, incapable of attacking, but they act as the Demon Lord's eyes. The real question is, how did a figon get this far? We're in the farthest land from the demon continent." — Stella responded.

— "Could this be a sign of a full-scale demon invasion?" — Gustav asked.

— "Are we doomed?" — Sario asked nervously.

— "We're not sure yet. I'm going to the capital to report this. Sario, write a report to the village chief and keep this discovery confidential. We don't want to cause a panic." — Gustav said.

The next morning, Gustav left for the capital, leading a party of four: Sario the marksman, Stink, another marksman, and Lian, a healer.

While Gustav was away, Stella taught me advanced elemental magic before doing her house chores.

In the afternoons, I spent my time reading books in the basement, and at night, when Stella slept, I would practice advanced magic in the garden. I could now use elemental magic more freely—not just for throwing projectiles but also for practical purposes. I could use wind magic to float four meters above the ground and earth magic to detect moving objects through the vibrations in the ground. I could sense movements up to 100 meters away, and the more mana I poured into the earth, the farther my detection range stretched.

Then suddenly, a huge swarm of strange creatures appeared in the sky.

— "Wait a minute, is that a figon!?" —

The swarm landed on the ground, and all the figons merged together, forming the shape of a man. In an instant, the merged figons transformed into a human-like demon. His appearance was mostly human, except for the huge goat-like horns on his head.

— "The child of prophecy," — he said, his voice sending chills down my spine. My body wanted to run away.

He then pulled a sword out of thin air and stabbed me without hesitation.

I could feel the blade pierce my organs. I used wind magic to push myself away from him.

I tried to crawl away, and used earth magic to move the ground beneat my body.

— "Why is the Demon Lord so afraid of this child?" — he muttered.

With some kind of gravitational magic, he pulled me back toward him, gripping my neck tightly with his hand.

— "Tell me, child, what can you do? Oh, I guess you can't talk while being choked like this. But if you don't speak, I'll strangle you even harder." —

This demon was a psychopath. I tried to speak, but no air came from my throat.

— "Oh, can't breathe?" — the demon mocked.

My vision blurred, and my eyes grew heavy. Was I about to die? No, I can't die like this... I need to explore this world more. Being reborn in this world is the only exciting thing that has happened to me since I was born in my previous world, I don't want it to end here. Stella... Gustav...

*/Dead...

*/Rebooting...