Days passed and Aldred enjoyed every bit of his new life with the other kids...his brothers and sisters. In the mornings, he would wake up and help around with some chores before breakfast. Food was delicious. Jake was right...Uncle Ralph was a good cook. After breakfast, he was tasked to play with and take care of Vicky and Tristan. Aldred adored the two young children. Now, although the two kids were close to his age, Aldred did not feel that that was the case. Since he was, after all, reborn and had previous memories, this meant that his mentality was like an adult in his early thirties. Aldred would spend most of his mornings reading to Vicky and Tristan stories of famous mages as well as princesses and heroes. After a delicious lunch, he would continue to play with Vicky and Tristan as well as with the other kids.

During his interactions with the others, Aldred learned some more about them. Jake wanted to become a tailor. His designs were comparably fashionable and even Big Sis Caroline had complimented about his artistic talents. Robbie and Shelly both had talent in cooking. Robbie wanted to open up his own restaurant and Shelly wanted to become a baker. Currently, they're learning more about cooking from Uncle Ralph. Will adored Dave and wanted to follow his footsteps as a blacksmith. Tommy and Yela loved reading and writing. Tommy wanted to become a teacher so he can teach other children like how Big Sis Caroline taught him, while Yela wanted to become a scribe. Pammy was learning how to fight from Uncle Raph. She wanted to become a warrior once she grew up. Lastly, although Kally hasn't decided on a future yet, she had shown talent in drawing. Maybe she will become a painter.

Hearing about all these dreams, Aldred truly wished for their success. Living with a kind Saintess will undoubtedly allow such dreams to come true. However, Aldred couldn't help but feel a bit...unsettled as if something bad was occurring but he couldn't explain why. Shrugging it off as paranoia, Aldred continued on with his daily routine. As evening passed and dinner came, Uncle Ralph cooked up whatever he and the others wanted to eat. After the meal, Uncle Ralph would give them some candy for dessert like he would do so after every dinner. The first time Aldred saw the candy, he thought that the candy strangely looked like a pill from his past world, however, after sampling it, Aldred revealed a smile - so sweet and creamy with a hint of bitterness that complemented well with the other tastes. Aldred didn't hold back and popped the whole thing into his mouth. The sugary sweet candy melted in his mouth causing him to feel somewhat energetic.

"Haha, is this your first time eating candy Aldred?" Tommy asked.

"Yes, how did you know?" Aldred asked in surprise.

"Look how energetic you are. This is what Uncle Ralph calls a sugar high."

"Really? It doesn't feel like a bad thing."

"Of course not. Haha."

The number of days he spent living in his new home turned into weeks, which turned into a month. Finally, the day has arrived...Jake finally turned 12 years old. After a birthday celebration, Big Sis Caroline came in a carriage to pick Jake up. It was time to for her to take Jake outside to experience the real world. While she waited in the carriage, Jake said his goodbyes.

"Don't worry guys. In five years, I'll learn my trade and become a tailor. At that time, I'll come back and see you guys. I'll make you all kinds of pretty clothes." Jake replied as he comforted the younger crying children. Then, he turned towards the older children. "You guys will have your time soon as well, make sure to visit me when you arrive."

"We understand." Everyone responded, some sobbing and some quietly nodded.

Jake reached over and grabbed his bag. Then, he walked to where Big Sis Caroline was waiting. Once Jake got on the carriage, they departed.

Aldred turns to the sad kids and comforted, "Don't worry guys. We'll see Jake soon. Five years will go by quickly."

..........

Two years later....

..........

Two years had passed since Jake left. During this time, Shelly, Robbie, and Yela had all reached twelve and left with Big Sis Caroline to learn a trade. Everyone had grown in the last two years. Aldred, now almost 8 years old, had found some interest working in the garden taking care of the vegetables and helping out Uncle Ralph. The other children had also grown. Pammy was now 11 and even more active. She never stopped aiming to become a strong warrior and was now strong enough to become a Novice 4th Stage. Will and Tommy were both 10 now and their rowdiness had increased. Both had started taking interest in Kally and would constantly vie for her attention.

As for Kally, her shyness had increased proportionally with her artistic abilities. Often times, it would be hard to talk to her and she would only respond using a notebook. Vicky and Tristan, having spent the most time with Aldred, continued to adore him. The adoration that Vicky showed had reached a point where Vicky proclaimed that she wanted to marry Aldred once they become adults. Aldred, however, could only laugh embarrassingly and dismiss it as childish nonsense. As for Tristan, he won't stop calling Aldred 'Big Bro' even though Aldred wasn't the oldest. In addition, little Tristan was curious of everything. Every time he sees Aldred, he would ask him a lot of questions.

In these past two years, Aldred didn't stop cultivating the Earth God Cultivation Technique. The two years of stance and movement training allowed his body to become strong and tough as well as flexible and fast. The Qi in his veins that he had gathered through breathing and meditation had accumulated almost to its full capacity and allowed him to break through to the Qi Gathering 3rd Stage. One more breakthrough and he will be able to form his own Qi...his inner Qi. The magic books he read in the library did not help much. Aldred decided that he needed to create his own techniques otherwise he would not be able to progress. Soon, winter will come once again. Usually, at that time, Big Sis Caroline would venture into the basement to check on the preserved meat and vegetables. Although Aldred had some initial suspicions the first winter he stayed at the house, they were dismissed when he saw Big Sis Caroline go into the basement only to come out later with a basket full of preserved meat and vegetables.

When he smelled some of the meat that was put in a cooking pot, it clearly smelled like mutton. In his past life, he had fought with a cannibal before. On a whim, he asked the cannibal what human flesh tasted like and the answer he got was a mixture of pork and veal with a sweet aftertaste...then he killed that son of bitch. Anyways, since the meat from the basement was clearly mutton and when he asked Uncle Ralph what the meat was, the answer confirmed it as well. Maybe the basement is really a storage of preserved meat and vegetables. Maybe he was just too paranoid. So, Aldred had dismissed that thought and continued on with the happy life.

And so days went by until one day...it was Pammy's birthday. She had become 12 years old. Being a Novice 5th Stage warrior, she was allowed to work under a city guard as an assistant. Everybody prepared for the birthday. Aldred tended the vegetables and selected some fresh produce. Kally drew a portrait of Pammy in a valiant pose. Will made Pammy a wooden mace with pieces of metal protruding from one end. Tommy wrote a poem to celebrate Pammy's birthday. And Vicky sang some cheerful tunes while dancing with Tristan. Everyone enjoyed the celebration - the food was delicious and the atmosphere was lively...even Big Sis Caroline was there for the celebration. When the party quieted down, everyone went to sleep. Although today was a day full of happiness, tomorrow there will be sorrow...it would be Pammy's last day to be with the other kids.

..........

Tomorrow came and everybody got up early to say their goodbyes with Pammy. As usual, there were lots of tears, lots of comforting, and promises of coming back to see them. Pammy got on the carriage with Big Sis Caroline and they departed for the city. After seeing the carriage gradually become smaller and smaller, Tommy told everyone to go back inside. After comforting each other some more, they continued on with their daily routines. Hours later, Aldred finished his chores and went into the study room to read. Bored with all the books in the room, Tristan, who followed Aldred into the library, wanted to play with Aldred but Aldred told him that he was busy and that Tristan should play by himself for today. Dejected, Tristan agreed not to bother his Big Bro and headed outside. Maybe there would be something interesting outside.

While outside, Tristan decided to go exploring. Even though he had explored the place many, many times, he would still search around in hopes of finding something interesting to satiate his curiosity. Suddenly, he heard a noise...it was at the side of the house where the basement was. Curious, Tristan tip-toed towards the corner of the house and peeked at where the basement was located. What he saw surprised him...Big Sis Caroline came out from the basement. What was she doing there?

"Hey Big Sis Caroline! What you doing?" Tristan happily pounced towards the Saintess.

"Whaa! Tristan! You scared me." Big Sis Caroline sighed as she placed a hand over her chest.

"Are you checking up on the preserved food?" Tristan asked.

"Preserved food?"

"Yea, the preserved food in the basement."

"Ah...yes...the food is preserved very well. Now, time to head back inside okay?"

"Big Sis Caroline...what's that?" Tristan asked as he pointed at a piece of wood with pieces of metal on it lying near the basement door.

Big Sis Caroline paled when she saw the object. Thinking quickly, she turned towards Tristan with a smile. "Tristan sweety, do you want to go on a trip with me to the city? There's a lot of cool things there."

"Really?! Will I see Jake and the others?"

"Ah...yes...yes you will."

"Okay! Let me call the others."

"NO!...I mean, it's just between you and me."

"Between me and you?"

"Yes."

"Umm...okay! Let's go!" Tristan exclaimed as he held hands with Big Sis Caroline and headed towards the carriage outside the gates.