“Wake up! Shaden, wake up!”

“You’re sleeping too much~”

Shaden awoke to the noise of his excited brother and the soft nudging of his mother. Somehow, he had ended up on his mother’s lap. Had he really slept through the whole way? Dreams really were convenient.

He rubbed his eyes and stood in the little area that the cart had and looked forwards. Thank goodness, this body didn’t hurt at all. He had fallen headfirst into the bed after a quick shower. Seems like he fell asleep right after. His body would probably ache all over by tomorrow, but he had seven days to rest so everything would be fine. Probably.

Shaden discontinued his thoughts and stared at the scenery before him. They had left around one in the afternoon; the time was around 10 in the morning currently. Rows and rows of fields that looked like ripe wheat stretched as far as the eye could see. The farmers waved at the cart as they gracefully did whatever farmers did.

Ripe wheat? It was late March. He never heard of wheat that you could harvest during March, so it had to be a special kind that only grew in this world. Ignoring logic, the scenery was beautiful.

The sun was shining on the landscape, making the heads of grain glisten as the morning breeze washed over the stalks. Small houses were littered between every few fields, probably the residences of the farmers. Shaden had no idea how they managed to water all of this, but then he spotted the streams of irrigation present between the crops. This world was more advanced than he had thought.

Shaden even spotted a waterwheel beside one of the houses along with some windmills in the distance. It certainly gave off a medieval-magical feeling. He looked forward once more. He could see the city now, but it was still a tiny shape in the distance. His brother was too excited. It was a little funny.

Kids are so easy to please, Shaden thought to himself.

Well, they’d arrive in twenty minutes or so. He sat back down on his tiny bum. Come to think of it, this ride was really nice. The carts barely rattled; everything felt very smooth. He would have jumped outside to inspect the cart if he could. He hadn’t spotted any springs on the wheels before he had gotten on, so perhaps it was a type of magic. He still didn’t know how advanced this world was.

One thing was sure: magic was convenient. Dirty house? Magic. Cold water? Magic. Bruises? Magic. From the looks of it, everyone could use at least a little magic. He had even seen Rother illuminate the tip his finger with a simple light spell. He would have asked for the incantation if he could speak.

Making light was weird. He always made it too bright, like a flashbang, so he had given up on it.

He continued to gaze out at the scenery. It was nice to rest after an exhausting day of school. He cuddled against his mother instinctively and closed his eyes again.

But Rother kept poking him, so he got up. Rother then jumped outside of the cart to jog beside his father. Shaden was genuinely confused. If he was going to go outside, why did he wake him up?

Is that what brothers did? Shaden began to understand why people disliked siblings so much. He sighed and looked towards the city again.

It had gotten a lot larger. It exceeded the size of both of his fists stacked on top of each other. The cart was moving pretty fast, so they would arrive soon.

〄 〄 〄

Wasn’t the city a little too big?

The family was now a hundred meters away from the city walls, which had to be at least twenty stories tall. What was this, Sh****ki no K*****n? The walls were massive! It had become browner over the years, but it barely had any cracks on it. Shaden could tell at one glance that these walls would be impossible to build without magic. Such massive walls said something about the state of the world.

Interesting, he thought. Very interesting. Maybe this world wasn’t so primitive. The roads had suggested the idea, but he hadn’t been sure until he saw the walls. It wasn’t just an empty city either; numerous people crowded at the giant gates, and Garthan led his family to one of the lines in waiting. There were so many people! It was exhilarating for Shaden. Even Rother dashed around, trying to stuff his eyes with everything that he could see.

Merchants, travelers, peddlers, normal families—Shaden inspected the colorful and buzzing crowd. Children in their parents’ arms, children holding their parent’s hands, children on top of carts, old ladies on top of carts, dogs following their masters, birds tweeting on someone’s head, beautiful people with long ears and instruments singing a song, someone riding on a big beast—

Shaden rubbed his eyes. Was he hallucinating? He looked over at the people with instruments again. Blonde, brown hair, excellent features, and long ears. No, he wasn’t imagining this. He concentrated his ears and listened to their water-like song.

Oh. Wow. OH! OHOHOHOH! They existed! Elves!

Shaden couldn’t contain his excitement. Finally, a race besides humans! He felt like jumping off the cart and rushing to them right away to give them his praise. But alas! He was stuck in a baby’s body. He still didn’t give up; he had to see them up close—

What! Were those animal ears! Shaden looked in awe as a beastman with a bow passed his cart and headed towards the fields. They existed! He felt his heart thump faster as adrenaline rushed through his system.

Holy—was that a flying boat? Shaden looked up at the sky as a shadow passed over his face. Indeed, it was a flying ship, one that carried the goods from distant lands. He waved his hand at it. They wouldn’t see it, but he felt like it. He felt like his heart could burst out from his small chest out of joy. His expectations for the world grew tremendously.

Melsei watched over her super-excited child and released a relieved sigh. They had made the right choice to come to the city, after all. Even Rother was busily dashing around the crowds, laughing and enjoying himself. She looked over at Garthan who gave her a reassuring thumbs up. Yes. This had been the right choice.

〄 〄 〄

They passed by the gate and safely reached the inside of the city.

The city of Danark. It was an old city that had been built during the time Saiton the Sage had renovated the world. Most of the largest cities that existed had their walls built by Saiton and his friends. Danark was actually one of the smaller cities that were built; their walls were roughly the same size but the area of Danark was smaller compared to the rest. Still, it was a large city.

The city was bustling with life. Shops stood in every corner and apprentices dashed back and forth to carry out their masters’ bidding. Shaden watched in awe as they passed through the clean, stone roads and the lampposts that had not yet been lit. People walked around in every street, and sometimes non-human races could be seen between the crowds.

They continued to move on the roads. Little by little, the crowds started to lessen, and the bustling sounds of shops began to die down. The alleys became a little darker and dirtier. The road became rougher and damper. They were approaching the outer parts of the city at the back walls.

Shaden was becoming a little worried. What if criminals came out? There must be at least one in this big city. What about their house? They wouldn’t live in a shack, would they?

The cart finally stopped in front of a three-story building. The area was pretty quiet and grey. Garthan and his friend got up from their horses and helped Melsei, Shaden, and Rother down from the carts.

“This is our new home,” said Garthan as he introduced the building. “We were fortunate enough to receive the whole third floor of the apartment. Let’s start moving!”

Rother cheered at his father’s words. Shaden released a thankful breath internally. The top floor seemed very spacious. It was roughly the same size as their old house, which had already been pretty small. While the family would take some time adjusting to the new environment, they would get used to it one day. It wasn’t the best, but it was still very good.

And the opportunities this place had! Shaden felt his excitement rise once more. It quickly died after he realized how long he would have to wait, but he knew adventure would come one day. Then he realized he probably couldn’t practice any fancy magic in a place like this and sulked. Would he really have to only practice healing magic?

Shaden watched his family as they quickly moved their things into the house. Even Rother helped out by carrying little packages of cups and accessories to the third floor. His mother was surprisingly strong as she carried a whole drawer up the stairs. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the items were all moved into the house. Not organized, but still moved to the third floor.

Garthan thanked his friend and sent him off with a manly hug. His friend waved at the family as he rode off with the two carts and four horses to return them at wherever they needed to be returned.

The family went back inside and set up the beds first. Then came the tables and drawers and closets. The rest could wait until tomorrow. Shaden explored the rooms while his family was unpacking. The third floor was a total of one living room, two bedrooms, and one toilet.

Yes, there was a toilet. With a working flush.

Seriously, this world impresses me every time, thought Shaden.

They went outside for dinner and Shaden was finally able to enjoy his first taste of otherworldly meat. It was delicious.

This world was much better than he thought.