Shaden lay on his bed blankly, his short arms and legs opened out in a baby-like X position. Would he have to wait another 6 months to get his hands on magic? Or a year? Maybe more? No, he didn’t want that. He had abstained from entertainment in the old world because of his hope in magic, but he was at his limit. If he had to wait more, he definitely would revert back to his old self.

He took a deep, slow breath. There must be a way, he told himself. A way to use magic without learning. This was his dream, damn it. He could do whatever he pleased. But like all dreams, this one had rules to follow too.

Shaden thought back to the contents of the book. “To use a spell, one had to understand the law of the world.” What did that mean? What was the law of the world?

He would ignore that for now. He sat up from his crib and pointed out his finger. He would try a simple fire spell, one that anyone could do. It couldn’t be that hard, could it?

He imagined that at the tip of his finger, a small flame would appear and concentrated his guts.

Nothing. Nothing at all.

He tried harder. “Flame, appear!” he squeaked.

Still nothing.

The book had stated that understanding the law was the most important. He obviously didn’t understand the law. What was the law?!

Shaden rolled his head for a possible explanation and crossed his arms. His brother saw him but quickly ignored him and headed outside for some exercise. Shaden thought and thought. The law…the law…understanding…the world? Could it be?

The scientific laws? In a fantasy world? It seemed absurd, but that was the only explanation he could think of. Maybe…just maybe understanding the world was understanding the laws of nature, like chemical reactions. He knew that fire resulted when oxygen and something else combined together, but he wasn’t sure. How about ice? Gases became solids when their molecular movement grew slower. The slower they were, the colder and harder they would be.

Hmmmm. Maybe this will work, thought Shaden.

He put up both hand up this time. He imagined that the water particles in the air came towards him and started to condense.

To his disappointment, nothing happened.

“If only I had some visible water…” thought Shaden.

He turned his head to lie down again when he saw a cup of water on the ground. His father liked to quench his thirst right when he woke up, and he had forgotten to move the cup away that morning.

The cup was around one-third full. It was right next to his crib, so Shaden could clearly see the liquid inside. Just the right thing at the right time.

Shaden inched towards the cup. His short arms couldn’t reach it, so he would have to try it from inside his crib. He swallowed a deep breath and faced his palms towards the liquid in the cup as close as he could.

He imagined that the molecules of water inside the cup were slowing down. They were moving around quickly, bumping into each other, but their motion would lessen and lessen. He concentrated with all he had and clenched his non-existent ab muscles. He imagined that a stream of something was flowing from his hands to the glass of water, mixing with the liquid and making it halt. The molecules would stop at his command.

Suddenly, he saw a thin line of white go along the border of the liquid. Yes! It was working! Shaden concentrated even harder on the cup. Something clear and white appeared from the inside of the water and was spreading outward. Shaden strained all the muscles he could possibly have and squeezed the mana out from his body and poured it into the cup. The liquid suddenly made a *crrrrrck* sound and everything was still.

Shaden relaxed his body and moved his head closer to the cup. Had it frozen? There were white lines crisscrossing on the surface of the water, but he had to be sure. He cried for his mother, father, brother, anyone.

His mother came walking into the room with a small, fancy looking stick in her hand. Shaden was usually very quiet. The only times he made noise was when he wanted something, and that was rare too. Perhaps he was bored of the crib and wanted to be let out.

Shaden glanced at his mother and acted like he was reaching towards the cup. Babies wouldn’t point, would they? He made what he thought was a sound of a desperate baby and flailed his legs.

“What’s wrong Shaden? Do you want to be let out? I’ll get you out right now~”

Melsei wrapped her hands around Shaden and lifted him out of the crib. After giving him a long kiss on the cheek (Shaden hated that), she let him down on the ground. Shaden actually had wanted his mother to check the cup for him, but this was fine too. He’d do it himself.

He quickly crawled to the cup as his mother left for who knows what. As he approached it, he felt something cool against his skin. Could it be?

He reached the cup and looked inside. Sure enough, the liquid looked frozen solid. It was ice. Shaden smiled in triumph at his achievement. He had talent after all. What baby could already cast magic at six months?

He held up his hand and touched the ice to double-check the results of his first magic. The air around the cup was already pretty cold, like what you would feel if you were standing in front of the freezer with its doors open.

He pulled back his hand instantly from the ice’s freezing bite. That was cold! And very solid; everything had frozen over, just like he had imagined it. Shaden clapped his hands in joy and let out a yell (squeal) of delight. He was the most magnificent baby who ever lived.

Rother stared at Shaden from outside of the window. He was standing on a stool because he was too short and was sweating furiously from sparring with his father. Shaden was inside admiring a cup and clapping his hands together in a cute, babyish way. What a cute brother, he thought. It was funny to see how easily satisfied babies were at simple things, like cups. As his brother, he would show Shaden the better side of entertainment as he grew up.

〄 〄 〄

Garthan returned to his home as the day was coming to an end. He looked forward to eating dinner with his family after a long day of work. His wife’s cooking was surely the best he ever had, which was one of the reasons he married her. Ah, their adventuring days. Those were hard but memorable times. His eldest son was training vigorously and his youngest was growing bigger by the second.

Shaden was a weird baby, Garthan thought, but a convenient one. Saiton the Sage was said to have a weird childhood too, full of crazy magic and extraordinary abilities. Maybe his son was a genius in the making.

He opened the door of his home and was greeted with the smell of freshly baked meat pie and his wife’s homemade bellberry sauce. It was truly a sniff of heaven and his vacant stomach growled from the thought of gulfing it all down. He took his shoes off and neatly set it at the side.

He silently tiptoed passed his oldest son (who he hushed by putting a finger on his lips. Rother stared at him with a raised eyebrow) and spotted his wife in the kitchen. While trying to make the least possible noise, he snuck up on his wife—

And Shaden, who his wife was carrying. It was probably a bad idea to scare a child. He gave up on his plans to surprise his wife and sat down on the table.

Melsei noticed Garthan and waved her mitten at him. “Dear, where is your cup?” she asked. “You need it to drink your wine, don’t you?”

“It’s probably in the bedroom. I’ll go fetch it,” said Garthan as he got up from his seat. Next time he would surely surprise her. She was so cute when he did that. It made him want to hug her and pat her on the head. He spotted his cup next to the baby crib in the dark, unlit bedroom. There it was! He had to make it a habit to bring it back every morning.

He walked up to the cup and grabbed it by the handle—

—and quickly let go. The cup was freezing!

Hmm?

The cup was freezing?

He activated warmth on his hand and held the cup once more. Though still cold, the frost on the cup slowly melted off from the heat generated from his palm. He reached inside and felt a lump of ice inside the cup. That was weird.

He flung the ice outside after he made it loose with his warmth. The evening air was the same as ever, slightly becoming chilly but still very warm and a little humid. Winter was still months away. Where had this ice come from?

It was probably his wife’s doing. She must have been upset at him because he forgot to bring his cup again. Right before he came, she must have put it in. Ice only lasted for an hour max.

Melsei was just so cute. Garthan smiled at his wife’s childish behavior as he brought back the cup from the room. He sat down on the table once more and ogled his wife’s beautiful figure with the full extent of his vision. And let out a happy sigh.

“What’s wrong, honey~?” Melsei asked as she brought the pie to the table.

“How can you be so cute?”

“Wha—wha? Where did that come from?”

“I don’t know. My wife is just too cute.”

“Well, um—you’re cute too dear~”

“I know. But you’re cuter. You’re the cutest!”

“!!!! Well! Let’s have some dinner!”

Shaden stared at his parents’ cringey conversation with judging eyes. How could they do this so often for the past six months? Didn’t they ever get sick of it?

He let out a small, baby sigh, confusing Rother who was staring at the whole situation.