Part 1

My name is Reign Osoric Cinage, I am now 10 years old.

These five years flew by pretty quickly.

Why?

Because nothing eventful had happened.

The only important thing that happened was the announcement that mother was pregnant a few months ago.

Her belly was growing.

I would sit beside her and rub her tummy, thinking of my little brother or sister.

I can’t wait to see them.

Other than that, other things also happened, like important figures visiting regarding the construction of the new town, other branches of the Cinage House visiting to congratulate Papa and anything regarding the new town being built.

The town was halfway into completion.

The houses were built but there weren’t any residents yet.

But the most important event was when the head of the second strongest branch family of the Cinage house visited.

His name was Runo Aran Cinage, he came from the Aran branch of the Cinage House.

The Aran branch family is the second strongest branch in the Cinage House, it was also located in the Captial City of the Kingdom, the Aorath Kingdom, it controls part of the Capital.

The Signe region was also located in the Aorath Kingdom.

When I heard that the second strongest branch family from the Cinage House was visiting, I was expecting Papa to be conflicted.

We’re the weakest branch family, don’t the higher branches look down on us?

Don’t they look at us and say, “Look at those uncivilised commoners from the sticks and rubbles of the deserted Signe Region, how could they possibly be part of the Cinage House?”

But instead of that condescending attitude I had expected, Papa seemed to be in shoulder to shoulder friendly relationship with them all.

Papa was best friends, and even brothers with the heads of the other branches.

As expected of Papa!

Runo Aran Cinage, the head of the second strongest branch house pat me on the head and called me a child-genius.

He had long blonde hair and looked like the elves I read in a book, he just needed long ears to match…

He burst out in laughter when I mentioned this and roughly patted my head.

Beacuse of this, I thought of him as a very nice person.

I like him very much.

Leaving that aside, 5 years of growth is a pretty big deal, especially for growing children like me.

As I did sword training with Papa, I’ve began to notice just a tiny bit of muscle definition on my body, I was looking more healthy.

I’ll list down my current skills and abilities.

General Magic: High-Class

Nullify Magic: High-Class

Summoning Magic: Beginner

Other Magic (Healing and Manipulation): Exquisite-Class

Sword Style: Beginner-Class

Other Styles: None

Of course, there are other branches of magic like Barrier Magic, Analysis Magic, Reversal Magic and many more versatile-sounding branches but there weren’t books on them in the library, so I never got to learn them.

Maybe if I find them somewhere else.

And for some reason, I couldn’t improve with Sword Style no matter how much I trained.

If I were to go with my internal body calendar, I should be Exquisite-Class and bordering towards High-Class with Sword Style.

Maybe I overestimated myself just because I was just a tiny bit talented in Magic.

But that wasn’t a worry.

During Magic classes with Radyn, all I would learn about is the Theory of magic and how Healing Magic, Summoning Magic, Manipulation magic etc works.

So I haven’t been focusing on improving my Magic rank and stayed at High-Class. Though Radyn told me not to bother with Summoning magic.

Apparently, Summoning magic was useless and only summoned hounds or weaker animals.

Even in the history books the strongest that was summoned was a huge crab, though in fiction novels the Magicians only summoned a dragon with no wings.

Summoning magic was looked down upon.

Putting that aside, during lessons I was drilled with the ideas of:

“Do not flaunt your powers”.

“Showing off is a bad thing.”

“Even if you are talented, you must not look down on others.”

Of course, I have taken all of these ideas into heart.

After Magic class, Radyn had also implemented a “Mixed Class”.

I would sit in this Mixed class for about an hour, summarising all my essential skills like writing, reading and arithmetic.

I would also learn the history of this world, how to talk to others, how to dance, how to act in social gatherings, how to bow, everything you could think of.

It was quite literally a “mixed” class.

I picked things up quite easily, so everything was speeding up.

Also, Aerich is now 16 years old.

And man, the girls love him.

After practicing all day with Papa, he had become a High-Class Swordsman, because of this, he was in no way frail, rather it was the opposite.

He was very muscular.

Of course, he was not beefy or large either.

He was just toned with quality muscles.

His most defining feature was his long and broad shoulders that could be seen through his clothes.

Of course, looks do not equal attractiveness.

You could look like a true hero but be despised if your character was bad.

Aerich was a fair and good person. He was also prim, proper and serious with his duties.

Because of this, the newly employed maids who were about the same age blush every time they see him. I heard them say that Aerich’s eyepatch makes him look even more cooler.

How does that even work?

I feel a bit jealous but it dosen’t bother me, I mean, I am just a kid after all.

And compared to me, Aerich was 16 and looked like an adult.

After Magic and Mixed classes, I would train with Aerich.

Papa had stopped training me and had Aerich tutor me with Sword style, apparently it was to further advance Aerich’s growth.

Aerich was a good teacher.

Sword training would last for about 2 hours, leaving me with the entire day to myself.

In the afternoon I made it a habit to go outside everyday.

Why’s that?

It was to play with my friends.

After beating down the boys who were bullying Ariel, they told their other friends about us, and we were ostracised from the other children from the villages.

Even so, that didn’t bother us at all.

Our group consisted of myself, Aerich, Justice Girl and Ariel.

Everyday we would play and explore the region.

One time we crossed into a nearby region called the Tag Region.

Another time we slept outside as we journeyed up a mountain, only returning two days later.

I got a huge scolding from Papa and Mother after doing that.

We played in the nearby ponds and lakes and did everything we could together.

Of course, we stayed away from the forest.

Papa had told me never to enter the forest.

These past 5 years of mindlessly playing around was really fun.

“Young Lord, is there something wrong? Your mind seems occupied.”

Right now, I was in sword training.

We were nearly finished.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead.

“I’m just thinking about why I can’t improve my sword skills. It’s really frustrating.”

“Oh, haha. Please, if you were as talented in Sword Style as you are in magic, then my own self-worth as a swordsman would diminish.”

“Oh, that’s right. Puahaha!”

The laugh at the end was something I inherited from Papa, he would always laugh in this weird way, sounding like “Puahahaha!”. It was to the point where I had begun to imitate him.

And before I knew it, it become natural to laugh like that.

Also, despite Aerich having the role as my butler, he just seems like a very loyal friend.

Seriously, what’s the point of titling him as a butler?

But even so, despite acting as friends he’s still always butler-like.

Like giving me a towel, preparing my bath, comforting me and protecting me.

Now I understand how Papa feels every time he tells Radyn, the Head Butler, to “Act more like a friend, we were and are still childhood friends after all.”

Every time we sparred, Aerich would always win.

There was a huge gap between our skills.

He was a High-Class Swordsman while I was only a Beginner-Class.

“Alright, Young Lord, The lesson’s over, did you understand?”

“Yes.”

Aerich’s lessons were different from Radyn’s.

While Radyn would systematically point things out to me, Aerich would throw me into a sparring match and correct me as we fought. .

Like: “Put your foot here instead of there” and: “Look at your opponents feet.”

You could say that Aerich was a Practical-style of teacher while Radyn was more of a Theory-style teacher.

As I was offered a towel, I sat down on the steps and sighed.

“My Sword-Style still isn’t improving…”

Aerich sat beside me.

“It’s not a problem, it seems that you were born as a natural Magician. There’s no shame in not being good in Sword Style.”

He pat my back as he comforted me.

“Thanks.”

I stood up, headed towards my room for a change of clothes.

I wasn’t going to take a bath yet.

Why?

Because I’m going outside to play.

Part 2

“Reign! Aerich! Hi hi!”

“Hey..”

Justice Girl, the enthusiastic one waved her arms aggressively.

Ariel timidly greeted us.

They were both sitting on a large boulder.

This was the same place where we had all met.

There were a little bit of trees around and the area surrounding the boulder were fitted with long grass, though there was a dirt path that led towards the villages and to the soon-to-be-built-town.

It was still a cozy place.

“Hey! Juliette, Ariel!”

I ran towards them and gave them each a high five greeting.

We had cemented our friendship with each other by playing around for years together.

“Good afternoon, Juliette, Ariel.”

The older Aerich, who was 16 compared to these 10 year olds conducted himself maturely.

After hearing us both reply, Juliette… Justice Girl jumped from the boulder and approached us menacingly.

Her long silver hair flayed and under that mask was surely a look of frustration.

“H-How many times have I told you? My name is Justice Girl! Not Juliette!”

“Aha… I’m sorry, Justice Girl.”

“My apologies.”

Aerich and I slightly bowed, there was no way to argue with this one.

“Hmph! It’s fine if you understand. Don’t call me by that weak name again!”

“Juliette… You idiot, what do you think you’re doing…?”

From behind her, Ariel let out a weak scold towards Justice Girl.

With that said, our day of playing began.

Part 3

We were at the entrance of the forest.

“Let’s go further!”

The cheery voice of Justice Girl were transmitted to our ears very loudly.

“Mm Mm!”

Ariel timidly nodded in agreement.

“Sorry, no can do. Papa told me to never go into the forest.”

“Huuu-uh?! Why’s that? I’ve been in the forest many times before, it’s easy to get out and nothing really happens. Plus, we’re ten years old now, it should be safe.”

Justice Girl snorted, crossing her arms.

Just because we’re a bit older dosen’t make it safe!

“Then you must have really good luck, normally children who enter the forest have a low chance of returning. I have to side with the Young Lord, we can’t enter.”

“Don’t be such a wet towel!”

Justice Girl forcefully grabbed both Aerich and my hands forcing us into the forest.

“W-Wha-“

“Let’s go!”

With a gleaming smile on her face, we all ran into the forest.

…We had entered the forest.

—

“See? There’s nothing wrong, it’s not even dark yet. Let’s play here for a little longer!”

Right now, we were in the forest.

Papa, I’m scared.

At first, as I was forcefully pulled into the forest I shouted out relentless objections.

Only for those objections to be nullified.

Peer pressure is a scary thing.

We played beside a waterfall in the forest.

We climbed trees.

We walked up a hill that happened to be in the forest.

We walked past rivers and even swam in them.

And now, after walking back towards the entrance of the forest, we began to converse.

“Hahah! That was a fun day, see? There was nothing to worry about after all.”

Justice girl puffed up her chest and gave me a pointer finger.

“We were just lucky, maybe it’s your silver hair?”

Apparently the colour silver was a symbol of good luck.

“No, I am the ally of Justice. It’s only natural that I have good luck. I have good luck in order to turn the tides in a losing battle, like when you guys helped me deal with the group of boys before.”

“I-I see.”

Even after five years, the “Ally of Justice” thing hadn’t left her mindset, she still proclaims herself to be an Ally of Justice.

By the way, we weren’t walking on the trail.

We were sitting in a bush.

Why?

Because Justice Girl deemed this place as her ‘secret hideout’.

“Alright, we’ve stayed out here long enough. It would go against Lord Lukyus’s wishes if we didn’t come back home.”

Aerich clasped his hands and tried to stand up.

But before he did, we heard some noises.

“…”

We all kept quiet.

There were multiple carriages driving along the trail.

With them, scary-looking men with swords and spears followed.

The solders didn’t look like knights, nor did they look like adventurers I read in books.

All of them had scars on their faces, small glint eyes and dark skin.

Some wore breastplates and some leather.

Also, hooded people sat on the carriages.

W-What’s happening? What business do these type of people have with Papa’s region?

“-Alright then, so...”

The man who spoke read out from a piece of paper.

“-Alright alright! I’ll explain the plan again, make sure you listen, okay?

Group 1 will attack the villages near the Osoric Estate. The rest of you guys will pillage the newly in construction town over there. Is that understood?”

The very fine-sounding man issued command from the very front of the group.

“-Yes, sir!”

Hoarse and deep sounding men adjusted their weapons, prepared to follow the man’s orders.

“What’s this? They intend to attack my hometown? No way, as an Ally of Justice I cannot-“

“Shh, they’ll hear us!”

I grabbed Justice Girl from behind and pinned her to the floor, covering her mouth with my hand.

Because of the suddenness, my other hand is touching an interesting place.

It feels soft and squishy.

It feels nice. What’s this?

Oh.

After realising what I was touching, I quickly let go and had that hand help pin further pin down.

I’m sorry.

Justice Girl let out muffled sounds, though Aerich from the side cast some sort of silencing spell.

Because I pushed her down so abruptly, the mask on Justice Girl’s face was slightly crooked, letting me see part of her face.

She had pure white skin with blue eyes.

Though I’ve already seen her face many times throughout the years.

Also, her face was red. Probably because I was touching her in that weird place.

“Hmhpprk!!

Justice Girl looked flustered and made a weird muffling noise.

…I’m sorry.

I’m sorry, please forgive me.

Please don’t hate me.

“Young Lord, this isn’t good. We must warn Lord Lukyus right away!”

Behind us, Ariel was trembling.

Her face and fingers looked drained.

She had also heard what they were saying, perhaps her family lived in one of those villages.

I ignored Aerich and put my hands over her shoulder.

“It’ll be fine, let’s go.”

Wait, am I forgetting something important here?

…Oh, right!

“-Stop right there, you evildoers!”

I accidentally let go of Justice Girl!

Aaaah!

She had adjusted her mask and moved the moment I let go of her.

Justice Girl planted her feet into the ground and stopped in front of the carriages.

She held her spear-like stick and pointed it towards them.

“Eh? Little missy, we’re here on important business, you should move before you get hurt.”

A rough-looking fellow who stood in front of the carriage ushered her to move.

“I refuse! You said you planned to murder the villages in this region, as an Ally of Justice, I can’t just sit and allow that to happen! Turn back now!”

What are you doing you idiot?!

“…Hm, maybe you should remove that mask you’re wearing. … She also has silver hair, maybe she’ll fetch a high price.”

The man looked behind himself and into the carriage, another man, who was rich-looking nodded.

“Alright then, capture her!”

After hearing that, Ariel looked even more terrified.

It’s okay, it’s fine if Justice Girl gets captured…

No it’s not!!

“Bring it on!”

Justice Girl planted her feet into the road, refusing to move an inch.

“Bring it not!”

I ran out of the bush and cast a water spell called “[Water Burst]”

Water flew out of my hand and drenched the men approaching her, stunning them for a few moments.

It was a Beginner-Class spell.

Why did I use a Beginner-Class spell?

I didn’t want to kill them.

It wasn’t out of sympathy.

I just didn’t want to know how it felt to kill someone or see anyone die.

“Hey, look at this. We have a child Magician over here, that’s pretty rare.-“

“-Capture him! Capture him right now! Children that can cast Beginner-Class magic costs a fortune! Don’t let him escape!”

Aaah, dammit. Their sights are on me.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

Not very reassuring coming from you, Justice Girl.

“Step back, Young Lord. Run away and call for Lord Lukyus or my father. I’ll hold them back until then.”

I feel so reassured.

Aerich ran out of the bush and pulled out a short sword he carried at all times when we were out.

“-Get him as well, he’ll make a fine combat slave!”

…Can that rich-sounding person shut up?

Before we knew it, over 50 rough-looking men surrounded us.

Aaah, this is trouble. I’ve never fought anyone before.

“It looks like we can’t escape. We have to fight.”

“Looks like so, Young Lord.”

“M-My heart is beating so fast, I can’t wait to destroy them!”

One idiot said something, I didn’t want to hear though.

It’s her fault that we were in this situation in the first place.

By the way, Ariel was still hiding in the bushes.

I’m sure she’s very scared right now.

“Get them!”

As the man shouted, Aerich and I prepared ourselves.

…The forest is scary.