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Time for presents.
Lia gave me a bracelet. Lyra gave me a glove that actually fit. I guess they were hellbent on making me keep the mark on my hand a secret. A little late though.
Xena gave me what seemed like a small portable magic lamp. “Wasn’t this stuff really expensive?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about it,” Derec said from a distance, a large half eaten fowl drumstick in his hands. I guess the present was from him too.
Serec and Xerec gave me one thing. A knife. Slightly longer than what I was used to. I couldn’t call it a machete but it sure looked like one; and damn shiny. “This is too heavy for me,” I said.
At least three kilos! I can cut someone’s neck with this... The mere thought grounded me with discomfort.
“You’ll get used to it,” Serec said.
Xerec gave my back a thump and I almost tumbled over. He burst out laughing along with his brothers.
Apparently, Derec, Xena’s husband, was also technically their brother, albeit from a different mother, or so I’d been told.
Den had already given me a present but he still gave me another one anyway. A set of clothes? No... uniform. Black pants, navy blazer and a tie; awfully fancy. Starting school huh?
And that left Mom who held a packaged box in her hands. I already knew what was in there. So, I opened it up and yup... it was there. A big Honeycrisp. It wasn’t twice as big as a typical one but it was still pretty big and smelled deliciously floral and sweet. I took a bite and as I imagined; sweet flesh that utterly melted in my mouth and went down my throat kind of like honey but less viscous. The mildly tangy yet floral taste only made it even more refreshing; it was delicious. Looked like an apple, tasted like peach. A very delectable one at that too.
I offered Mom a bite and she happily took one. Followed by Den for some reason and... everyone else too. “Hey, hey it’s mine!” I yelled but they just laughed. This was no laughing matter! I could tolerate them ravaging through our food stock but this, this was a no go!
They only took small bites though and I still had half of the stuff left, which I ate voraciously and almost choked. Almost...
Satisfied, I turned to everyone. “Thank you, everyone. It was fun.” I got some smiles, and even some chuckles. And with that... it was time to say goodbye. I’d be leaving very early tomorrow and I’d probably never see any of them (apart from Den) again. So- “Please do come hang with Mom every now and then,” I spoke to her friends in particular. Perhaps it wasn’t my business to say that but- “And please take care of her.”
“Course we will!” Serec grinned. The rest too.
Yeah...Mom had good friends. I didn’t get to know them that well. And I probably never would. But right now that didn’t matter. “Alright then. Guess I’ll see you all in about ten years?”
Probably not.
***
Everyone left apart from Den and Lia. She wanted me to write letters to her for some reason.
People communicated mostly through letters though some rich nobles had faster communication methods which weren’t known to general public. This world had light bulbs that didn’t need electricity; I had a feeling they had all sorts of things just running on magic. So, not surprising at all. Did got me pretty curious though. Maybe I’d look into those stuff in the academy.
Knock! knock!
Were we expecting anyone else?
Den carefully opened the door and revealed our friend, Mack. About six, he was slightly taller than me and basically double my girth.
“Sorry, I’m late.”
He came in, had some stuff to eat, and more or less dragged me outside. “This is my first and last request to you,” he said. “Please fight me.”
Okay, I was kind of confused. Dude came in late. Ate our leftover food. Dragged me out and asked to fight me?
“So, a duel?” Den asked.
“Yes.”
“What’s a duel?” I asked.
“The two of you fight on agreed terms.”
I stared at Mack and he continued. “Please use all your strength and defeat me. I need to know your true depth.”
What the fuck was this six-year-old saying to me?
To be honest, I was getting a little sick of the whole fantasy trope. I got reincarnated, things were super fun and I had a mother who wasn’t a jackass and for the first time in my life, I’d found peace. Yet, for some pathetic loser of a god and its followers, I had to leave home and now this... I was sick of this weird shit world.
“Alright.” I needed somewhere to vent my frustration anyway. So why not?
However, I did remain cautious. Last time I got murdered by my friend. But not this time.
“Nothing too serious boys,” Den said. “We’re not looking to kill each other. We’re just here for some friendly sparring and if any of you forget that, I’ll be sure to whack you on your butts, so be careful.”
Den provided wooden knives.
Mack stood before me, his focus primarily on me. The sounds vanished. My breath was so clear, I could finally breathe and my beating heart meshed with the intense warmth.
“HAH!” I swung, he dodged back. He was fast.
He plunged his left fist straight for my head. I ducked, and swiped his legs. But he saw it coming and just moved to his side, making the move pointless. WHAM! Too bad though, cause now he was open and I punched him on his face.
“Argh,” Mack rolled on the ground.
“Ah,” I shook my hand. “That kind of hurt...” My knuckles stung and swelled a bit; a lil red.
Mack held his face and groaned. And wait... he was bleeding through his nose. Oh boy... I didn’t mean to hit that hard. I thought he was just going to dodge like the first time but, maybe he was just giving it his all?
I looked at Den and he shook his head. “Looks like you need a little whooping.”
“Huh?”
Den picked me like a potato sack and slapped my butt a couple of times. “AW AW!!” While I screamed in agony and shame.
Mom was watching damn it! And she was giggling!?
Panting, Mack stood up, wiped the blood and glared. “You’re strong. I respect you. And that’s why I’ll stay here, I’ll try my best. And I’ll be strong enough to defeat you when you come back.” What the hell was this guy even saying. “So don’t slack. Cause if you do, I’ll beat your ass and take her...”
Take her? Who? Surely he wasn’t aiming for Mom was he? Then again Mom was a beaut, so maybe-
I traced his vision and... well, not Mom. Rather, Lia. Phew.
Oh, I see. So, he was dueling me for Lia’s hand. It wasn’t like Lia was some sort of item on display that he had to do that though. Not that it mattered to me. I just saw her as a friend. Also, I was five.
“Sure thing dude. That’s the plan.”
He showed his teeth. “This is for you. Take it!” He gave me a silver coin. “My allowance for next three months!”
“I can’t man. It’s too much.”
“Don’t be shy. I consider you my rival. Just take it!” He proceeded to leave, with a hand stretched over his head, waving.
“Well, that was something...” I mumbled.
“Yeah,” Den said. “Kids grow up fast. “
“Can you give him a bit of that elixir?” I said.
“Not necessary; he’ll be fine.”
Sometime later Lia’s brother came to pick her up and that’s when we said goodbye. It wasn’t anything fancy. Just a farewell.
***
Mom helped me pack stuff.
She’d bought me a big backpack that was basically bigger than me yet was somehow light and anything carried within it was also proportionally lighter. It was a magic item, like the lamp Xena had given me; technically called Magical Devices. And I bet it was really expensive too.
“I’m packing your brushes and-”
And clothes, underwear (I didn’t need to wear any yet) and a whole bunch of stuff I thought I’d never need. But Mom had me covered. She wasn’t done though.
“What’s this boxset?” I asked.
A wooden box. I opened it and there were small vials in there. Vials of glowing water. “Better than carrying a water bag that might leak, right?” Mom said.
If I recall correctly, we’d given a vial to Serec, Xerec, Den and Lyra. But the vials themselves were a little pricey at 3 silvers a pop. So technically, Mom spent a pretty penny here.
“Shouldn’t you like... not spend so much money?” I asked.
I got a snicker but no reply. She kept on giving me stuff and before I knew it, the enormous bag had more or less been filled with at least something. Felt like I was carrying the whole house at this point.
The bag wasn’t that heavy though. At best two kilograms. Which was good cause I didn’t or couldn’t carry that stuff. But wait, if they had something like this, maybe they also had Item Bag or whatever the hell that was called, the magical stuff that let you inventory everything in just a small pouch. Wouldn’t this be more realistic though? I wasn’t in a very realistic world though.
“And last but not least,” Mom slouched down, buttoned up the first button of my shirt (I liked it unbuttoned). “Some pocketmoney.”
A bunch of copper, some silver... and a gold. She deliberately hid the gold in my sleeve.
“This is too much Mom. You need-”
“I can do anything, and everything on my own. Besides, I kept a vial or two in case something happens,” she winked and flashed me some empty vials.
“They’re empty, Mom.”
She cackled. I forced her to take two vials of glowing elixir or whatever it was called.
And with that, we were done. Den had been waiting at the door all this time. Somewhat dark outside, no, strike that. It was really dark outside and soon it’d be dawn. I’d hardly slept last night.
And I had a feeling Mom and Den didn’t have much sleep either.
“Guess I’ll see you in a decade?” I turned, looked back.
“Yeah.” She smiled. Not a trace of tears.
I made an effort not to cry and took my first steps out of the house... knowing I wouldn’t be returning for a while. I walked out the front door, through the veranda and past everything I’d known for the last four and a half years. The pond, the wheat, the rice, the veg....
I didn’t look back. I knew I couldn’t. The moment I did, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. I wouldn’t be able to stop my tears. And... and mom wouldn’t be able to either. Don’t look back...
When I first came here, honestly, I didn’t think the elf would last. I didn’t think Lin would last. I didn’t think she’d keep up the ‘mother’ attitude for long either. She was awkward, I was awkward and... I wasn’t even a baby.
Yet, she persevered and by whatever miracle...her miracle, she managed to not give up. She managed to change my way of thinking. After two whole decades, for the first time, I could put a hand on my chest and declare... I loved my mother. I truly did. And I could bet my unborn children, heck, I could bet my own life that she loved me just as much if not more.
So yeah... Lin... my mother... “I’ll miss you...” the words leaked out.
“I’ll miss you too!” Mom yelled. Her voice shook a bit. “Don’t get deceived by cute girls. Only marry someone you love, okay?”
“I’m Five, MOM!” I yelled back; getting a glance of her face. Some tears, a smile. Yeah, I couldn’t stop my tears either.
Den chuckled, picked me up and- “Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
Time to go.
As we strode out of the forest, reality began to sink in. My heart was quite calm till now. But the further we walked from home, the more I wanted to scream and run back. Yet, I couldn’t.
“See that hill, that’s where we found you,” Den said.
We actually never traveled that far. Den would take me out of the forest, train me in the grasslands and then take me back. He never took me past the grass, past the houses, towards the hills.
Green as far as the eye could see. And yes, I could see quite far, maybe two hundred-ish meters now. Everything past that was blurry though. I guess my Myopia never really got much better. It didn’t get any worse though, so that was good.
Morning sun slowly illuminated everything. Dew on grass glittered, and the smell was quite refreshing. The breeze too.
“Was I alone,” I said.
Birds flew by. A new day, a new dawn.
“Yeah. You were just sitting on a grass. Kinda suspicious if you ask me.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you ever wonder who your parents were?”
Den was probably trying to keep me distracted or something. “Not really. Why should I care about people who abandoned me?”
I didn’t have any memories of what happened before I took over this body. I wasn’t sure if the baby was dead, or I’d murdered it. It never really bothered me that much, to be honest. I had way too many things on my mind and worrying about a six or so months old baby or what happened to it was the last of my worries. I wasn’t necessarily running away from the thought; I just didn’t care. Perhaps that made me an asshole or something worse but... but I really didn’t care. I was just glad to get the chance to spend some time with Mom.
“Or maybe they were trying to protect you by running away from their country since they knew you’d be killed by the church?”
“Funny, how you’re doing the exact opposite to protect me.”
Den chuckled. “Maybe. But I’ve taught you many things and trained you. I have faith that you’ll be fine.”
“Right.” I rolled my eyes. “You trained me and taught me many things such as how to run and do push-ups.”
Dude walked faster.
“Tell me more about the academy,” I said, barely keeping up with him.
He slowed his pace and reluctantly opened his mouth. “Large school. Attended by nobles and citizens alike. Various races. You might even come across Demons. They’re not as bad as you’d expect but they aren’t friendly guys either.”
“You’re seriously going to send me to a place where you know I’ll be discriminated against?”
“You know what discrimination is?”
“I’m not a child,” I retorted.
“You’re five.” Well, he had me there. “But no, it’ll be the opposite.”
We walked for some time. The houses disappeared and then it was just green and green. Some ponds, some trees, barely any monsters. “Are there any strong Fiends out there?”
“During the day? Usually no. You might find some during the night but I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Why are you talking like I’ll go out and confront one.”
“Well, you are quite curious.”
I didn’t know why but for some reason Den had a peculiar impression of me. To him, I was this genius kid who just didn’t have any physical powers... like him. Maybe he sympathized with me? But unlike him, I didn’t have any talent with the bow or tree climbing. I tried but my vision was so shit, I had to give up. And no, they didn’t have glasses here. At least I hadn’t seen any so far.
“How far is the academy anyway?”
“Once we cross the hills, we’ll come across a town. We’ll take a stagecoach from there to Axel Port and take a ship to Xanir, and then another two days hike and we’ll reach your school.”
Sounded like more than a few weeks at least.
“You really want me gone that bad?”
Den shook his head in frustration. “If I wanted you gone, I’d just throw you at a fiend and pretend like I had nothing to do with it.”
“Fair enough. Why didn’t you though?”
“Lin would have been sad.”
“At least pretend like you didn’t want to?”
He chuckled and I waited for him to say something. But he never did. Dude was serious.
***
I’d walked a lot. And thought that I’d walked a lot. But apparently... I hadn’t walked a lot. Why? Because we weren’t even halfway there.
They made it so easy in the movies and anime... But in reality, walking for hours in the sun was just draining as fuck. “Hey Den.”
“Yeah?” He drooped just like me.
“Carry me?”
“Carry yourself.”
He was pretty much a weakling himself. Den was agile, and the best hunter in the group. However, whenever anything strength related came up, he was hardly ever the primary choice. Still, he did possess a lot of stamina even among his friends. Yet, for some reason the guy was just as hammered as me.
Which did make me wonder. “Just how much of a weakling do you have to be to not be able to carry two kilos of weight...” I wondered aloud. Apparently somewhere down the line, the guy had picked up my bag stating it’d be easier for me to go. So, I let him, and now he was dying from it.
I could almost hear a snap but he just clicked his tongue and walked faster. “And what’s a kilo?” he stomped ahead.
“Measurement of weight?”
Apparently, they used crude stuff as measurements. Stuff like ‘he was as heavy as a Cowpig.’
They didn’t really have any proper units for measurements as far as I could tell. Of course, that was only true for the village and I wasn’t sure if that was true for the rest of the world. In that village, you didn’t need any units. So, they didn’t care.
“I never heard about it though...” He mused.
I didn’t bother. “Can’t remember where I read it.”
He didn’t bother either. And we kept on going, panting alongside each other. There were no proper roads and we didn’t have any maps so I had no idea how Den was navigating.
“Let’s just take a break. After a while of walking, we sat down by a tree. The calm breeze felt great but the green grass was starting to fade. I was seeing more and more patches of just earth. Raw earth. I guess we were getting further and further away from the forest.
I looked back and saw no traces of said forest. Just fields of green and occasional yellow and maybe some brown houses.
After a brief break, we crossed some hills. They were hills but they weren’t that steep. Roughly another two hours’ worth of walking, we finally reached a city with tall walls. Wooden walls but walls regardless. Den paid a fee and they let us in.
Lots of houses, lots of people, and a whole different atmosphere. But just as the excitement of a new world was beginning to stir, my mind snapped back. I really am going away. I really would not see her for a decade.
Sigh. “The Coach leaves in an hour, so we should hurry,” Den said.
“Yeah. Let’s.”
Yet, I put on a smile and marched ahead.
