Tenkomori: The Homecoming Club Conquers Another World

Chapter 8: The Daily Life of an Eight Year Old

My brother Lakius and his squire Rans are fiercely slashing each other in front of me as I catch my breath. Three years have passed, and I am now eight years old. A few months ago, my older brother Lakius turned fifteen, the age of adulthood in this world, and my father took him to the Marquess of Blasrad to greet him. The Marquis of Blasrad was a powerful man in the northeastern part of the Arsis Empire, and even the emperor was not immune to his power. He was the head of the so-called Marquis of Blasrad faction. When my father returned home, he formally declared my brother to be his successor. There could be no objection. Many people, including me, sent their heartfelt congratulations. If there was any luck in the Reedwald family, it was that there were no schemers. Regardless of what I think, when people gather, factions form. It’s just like the current situation in the Arsis Empire. But in my family, no one tried to stir things up, no one who came to my aid. For better or worse, it’s a domain full of warriors. Graham, the butler of the family, is an excellent civil servant, but he is also a loyal vassal who has served the family since the previous generation and is in charge of the whole thing. He would not do anything that would cause confusion. And he’s a good man, so my brother won’t let him go. He may be old, but I hope he will do well for three generations to come. I also heard that talks are going on under the radar for my brother to get a wife from the Count of Lewinfort family in the northwest. Her name is Liya, and she is seven years younger than me. What a pedophile. As expected, they can’t take a seven year old girl as a bride, so they’re waiting until she comes of age. What is more surprising to everyone isn’t about why she had been chosen as a wife or her age, but that she was the daughter of an earl. There was too much of a difference in family status between her and the baron. It seems that it was Marquis Braslad’s idea because both the groom and the bride are his vassal.It was said that Marquis Braslad originally arranged for my brother’s marriage partner, but he is a baron, although and that is the problem. To put it another way, my brother is part of a baron family of the lowest class, even though it is still part of the nobility. The Marquis of Blasrud, who had been somewhat neglected because he had been unable to find a suitable vassal, met him at a coming-of-age ceremony and fell in love with him. The Marquis of Blasrad was very fond of my brother, and suddenly the fourth daughter of the Earl of Lewinfort was chosen. Incidentally, the Earl of Lewinfort’s mother is the sister of the Marquis of Blasrad, and the relationship between my brother and the Marquis of Blasrad is so complicated that I don’t know what to call it. As for the relationship between me and the Marquis – I don’t even want to think about it. In any case, it will be a long time before Liya becomes my younger sister, but congratulations are in order. Also, the reason why the Marquis of Blasrad, who is known as a martial artist, took a liking to my brother seems to be because of the changes in the last few years. Since I joined the training and classroom studies, my brother has been training himself and studying harder than ever before. Especially in the training, he repeatedly fought mock battles with Roland, Rans, and the other followers, and learned One-handed Sword 2, Spear 1, Shield 2, Horsemanship 1, Wind Magic 2, and Earth Magic 1. I think he’s pretty versatile. It’s hard to raise your rank, but it’s also extremely difficult to learn. It’s even more difficult if you don’t have much talent in martial arts. Even so, he seems to think that he is poor in dexterity, and he often debates with Roland whether he should focus his training on a single point. The results of my brother’s efforts were evident in the mock battle. Right in front of my eyes, Rans was being pushed by my brother. He was not cutting corners, he was fighting for his life. In terms of pure combat power, Ransu was the better fighter, with a level of 10, higher than my brother’s 8. Still, he was on the defensive. It was true that Rans’s skills were superior. His swordsmanship is elegant and his parry is superb. However, I had the impression that he was somewhat conventional. On the other hand, my brother’s technique was not so good, but his movements were sometimes unpredictable. He would pretend to be parrying and then forcefully fling his sword away, or intentionally swing and then strike with his body, or use it as bait to launch an assault with the hilt. These are all techniques that my brother himself was hit by Roland. It is also important to note that he has acquired wind and earth attack magic. It is difficult to control the power of magic, so he’s not using them for now, but he occasionally weaves in movements that hint at it. Knowing that he can use it, Rans reacts to it. The mock battle ended with Rans removing his sword. He looked down at Rans, breathing hard. “It’s admirable that you take pride in being a knight. But there is no need for good sportsmanship n the battlefield. We’ve been through the line of death together, haven’t we? “…… I give up.” Rans looking down with regret. Why did he lose to a lower-leveled opponent? Rans doesn’t know that and seems confused. My brother and the knights have participated in the subjugation corps many times and have gained practical experience. At that time, my brother’s abilities began to overtake those of his followers. It was not that his abilities or skills had improved. It’s because Rans is still better than him, three years ago compared to now. The two of them are true examples of how status should be. Let’s think of skills as qualifications, like the Chinese Proficiency Test. If two people have the appropriate level, can they always beat the unqualified person in a kanji match? No, they cannot. It could be a linguist, and there are unparalleled kanji lovers even among those without qualifications. If we were to replace these with status, we could say that they do not meet the requirements to acquire skills, but they possess skills other than the requirements. In combat, they are the ones who can fight with skill. Rans’ skills and abilities are better than my brother’s. But my brother is far superior in ways that are not shown in his status. I averted my gaze from the two of them. Name : Alter Les Reedwald Race : Human Level : 3 (+1) HP: 29/29 (+3) MP: 38/38 (+14) Str: 6 (+3) Int: 14 Dex: 7 (+3) End: 4+2 (+1) Agi: 10+2 (24 : Doubled) (+3) Charm: 14 (+1) [Skills]Increased Growth Potential, Increased Growth Value, Status Disguise, Language Proficiency, Fast Movement (new), Mental Resistance 3, Appraisal 2 (+1), One-handed Sword 3 (+2), Taijutsu 4 (+3), Dagger 4 (new)Fire Magic 1, Water Magic 3, Wind Magic 3, Earth Magic 2, No-attribute Magic 2, Ice Magic 1, Lightning Magic 1, Degenerative Magic 1 [Magic] -Beginner Level Fire Bolt, Water Bolt, Wind Bolt, Earth Bolt, Magic Bolt, Ice Bolt, Lightning Bolt Water Shield, Wind Shield, Earth Shield, Magic Shield, Earth Shield, Water Shield, Physical Up, High-Speed Movement [Title] Reincarnated, Ace of the Homecoming Club (+2 Endurance, +2 Agility), Second Son of Baron Reedwald After all, training alone will hardly raise your level. Over the past three years, I’ve gained only one level. On the other hand, my skills have increased a lot. In terms of combat skills, “Dagger” and “Taijutsu” have increased greatly as I have refined my evasion techniques. My magic skills have grown evenly through my independent training. The reason for the variation is that I can only practice in my room at night. I couldn’t practice with dirt because Meredy would complain if I got the room dirty, and I couldn’t practice much with fire because it might cause a fire. As my level has risen, I now have more magic power to spare, but I continue to train with an emphasis on life magic. The basics are important in any endeavor. In addition to training with the “Breeze” for wind and the “Fresh Water” for water, on days when it was raining or windy, the windows were closed in all rooms, so I took advantage of the opportunity to drip the “Handy Soil” for soil out the window, or shoot the “Flint” for fire in the direction of the outside. With both hands, I activate “Breeze” to see which wind is stronger, and I suddenly got light-headed. In addition to the above, I also learned “Shield Magic” and “Degenerative Magic” based on Virgil’s teachings. Since the magical shield system was learned in descending order of magic rank, it may be related to something like the skill level of each system.I’ve grown more than a low-ranked wizard, but the biggest gain wasn’t in my magic. “High-Speed Movement”This is a mid-level skill that strengthens physical abilities. It doubles your agility and averages out your other abilities. This is the result of my “Appraisal”. It was a cheat skill despite its goofy name. It is said that the limit of human ability is 20. I’m eight years old and I’ve surpassed that. In addition, because of the duplication of the Degenerative Magic, “High-Speed Movement”, my maximum agility is 25. An ordinary opponent would not even be able to catch me. It has the effect of “averages out your other stats” which bothers me. Even if I repeat the verification, there was no target for comparison, and there was no precise stopwatch in this world. So I continued to twist my head, and suddenly remembered Garneles, the Bug Men. They have the skills of “Physical Strength Up” and “Acceleration”. From this, I guess that the ability value was a rough summary of various abilities. If it was agility, then it will be acceleration, maximum speed, endurance, and so on. If this is correct, then the originally disparate values of acceleration and top speed would be forcibly changed into doubled values by “High-Speed Movement”. For example, a cheetah with ” High-Speed Movement ” should have more than doubled endurance and less than doubled maximum speed. (たとえば『高速移動』持ちのチーターなら、持久力は二倍以上に高まり、最高速は二倍以下に止まるはずだ 。)The correct answer is literally God knows what, but I think it’s probably right. I was strolling in the garden when I casually checked my status and noticed that I had acquired “High-Speed Movement”. Without thinking too much, I activated it. As soon as I moved lightly, I collided with the wall of the mansion and immediately fainted. Meredy, a witness, testified, “You just flew away.” The “Increased Growth Potential” was just as bad, but this one was more monstrous because I could clearly see its results. Fortunately, I can turn it off at will, so I usually keep it off. I’m confident that if I ran around the house at full speed while it was active, I would die in a crash. The versatility of that ability, the doubling of agility through “High-Speed Movement” is more than enough of a cheat. I’m sure I have more cards in my hand than most adventurers. So – how strong am I? That doubt has always haunted me. I can only move in a straight line, and I’ve never used magic in a real battle. The mock battle between my brother and Rans only deepened my doubts. I wondered how far he could go against the former C-ranked Roland and the Knight Commander Conrad. Since I had no real combat experience, I could not even predict. “Shall we have a match before we go up?” Roland’s voice broke me out of my thoughts. “Fine.” ◇◇◇◇ After washing off my sweat in the water, I had breakfast and went back to my room. I had some time to kill before my class started. I sat in my chair and stared blankly at the sky. In the past, Meredy would come and go, and I never had time to relax, but nowadays I only see her a few times a day. This was because my life skills had improved and I had more work to do and because my father understood that I didn’t do anything dangerous. In fact, I took my training and classwork seriously, and when I learned magic, I didn’t blow up the room. I am proud to say that I am a well-behaved child. The fact that I fainted from a suicide attack on the wall was an unavoidable result of force majeure. The wind blowing in felt like autumn. According to the calendar, it’s still hot, but the days are getting cooler. This world, called Veriathes, is very similar to Earth. There is only one sun, one satellite, and the seasons change in much the same way. As I watched the clouds drift by, I suddenly felt like I was back in my own world. Although eight years had passed, I had lived on Earth for seventeen years. The memories are still deeply rooted in my mind. But compared to before, they have faded considerably. Sometimes I can’t remember my relatives and friends from my previous life, the school I used to go to, or the route to school. My life as the son of an aristocrat is slowly eroding my high school memories. It is not unpleasant. I had to be reincarnated because of the fat god, but now I’m thankful in a way that I was brought into a good family. I moved my gaze to the streets of Reedwald. As I gazed at the medieval European cityscape, my awareness of my previous life faded and my present life became clearer. I no longer felt uncomfortable or moved by this scenery. As I gazed at the people’s lives, I ruminated on the trivial things that had happened recently. I wondered if those words had been taken at face value. I thought of the person who had said them. My brother was confirmed as the successor, and although it was a little late, we had decided on his wife. It would be nine years at the earliest, but he would also have a child. When that happens, my role as the second son will come to an end. What would happen to me after that? I may be sent as a son-in-law to marry a suitable wife, or I may be forced to leave my home. I somehow knew that I would be living as an adventurer. That’s why I’ve been training. Recently, however, I’ve sensed a change in my situation. Not long ago, my brother said to me, “You have the talent to surpass Roland.” At the time, I responded with appropriate words, but now I feel uncomfortable about the reason why he cited Roland. Roland is a former adventurer. If you take it as it is, it could be taken to mean that I can make it as an adventurer. However, my senses denied it. Roland may not be the best with words, but his abilities and personality are well known. He is even rumored to be the future leader of a knight order. Could it be that my brother is thinking of keeping me at his side? If that’s the case, there’s no way my brother would decide on his own. Aside from the sibling rivalry, the relationship with my brother is unknown. If you look at the history of the family, you will find that sometimes they come together as one to face difficulties, and sometimes they kill each other. Of course, I didn’t want to put him in such a situation, but I didn’t know what would happen. If my brother was aware of this and made the decision, he must have discussed it with my father. Perhaps they can sense that I have no ambition. In fact, a lord is a serious problem for me. Even if I were to be feted, I would kick their asses and turn them down. That’s why I think it’s harmless to keep me at hand. I’ve been hiding most of my abilities, but I’m quite precocious even with my announced abilities. It’s not surprising that he would make an excellent knight. “That’s not so bad…?” The thought came out of my mouth. Even if I have memories of my previous life, they are my family now. I also like this Reedwald. If my father or brother needed my help, I would not hesitate to put my body on the line. “It’s about time.” I stood up and looked up at the sky once more. Even if my guess is wrong, we still have the same job to do. Let’s take care of that first. ◇◇◇◇ “What do you want to talk about?” After dinner, when my parents were relaxing in the living room, I said, “We need to talk.” My mother, sitting next to me, seemed to sense the unusual atmosphere and straightened her bearing. “I’ve come to ask you for a favor.” “A favor, that’s unusual. Let’s start with that.” I took a breath and opened my mouth. “Please give me the permission to enter the forest of Leknod.” My father looked dubious and my mother was surprised. “Well, you’re not only going sightseeing, right?” “Yes, I want to experience real combat.” My father wrinkled his eyebrows and put his hand over his mouth. My mother’s gaze began to wander between my father and me. “This is no place for a child. Do you understand the horror of real combat? You’re going to kill each other.” “I want to go there to understand it.” Actually, I understand it all too well. I’ve been eaten alive, after all. My father seemed to realize that my intentions were firm, but he did not lose his reluctant expression. “Next year – no, two years. Then you may be allowed to accompany me as a member of the strike force.” My father was unlikely to forgive me. My mother nodded her head as if it was obvious, so it would be impossible for me to persuade her. What should I do? I tried to think of different ways to persuade him, but none of them were decisive. It seemed that the reality of being eight years old was more of a bottleneck than I had thought. I didn’t like the idea of deceiving her, but I had no choice. I gently opened my status and applied a disguise. I’ve shown quite a bit in my training, so I should be okay. I cover up most of the skills given to the small fat god, some of the titles, and the exceptional “High-Speed Movement”. For magic, I’ll keep the Bolts and only use “One-handed Sword 3”, “Taijutsu 3”, and “Dagger 2”, while reducing my overall abilities. This is still more versatile than my brother’s, and still better than a lot of people. I gave them both permission to view my status. “You should be able to see my status. Please look at it.” My parents moved their gazes toward the void. My mother, who had never been involved in combat, didn’t seem too keen on the idea, but my father quickly changed his tune. “One-handed Sword 3” “Taijutsu” and “Dagger”. You also have all seven attributes of the Bolts … I thought yours was excellent, but this is …” My father broke down. It’s a very restrained ability, but even so, it seems to have surpassed his imagination. It’s just one more push. “Your growth has slowed down for about a year now. I’m beginning to lose what I gain in training.” Father pondered for a moment, then instructed Graham, “Call Roland.” Roland arrived shortly afterward amidst the heavy atmosphere. “You wanted to see me, sir?” “Actually…” When my father explained the situation, Roland looked convinced. “Well, you’re here sooner than I thought.” “Did you notice?” “He seemed to have plenty of time to train. Even though I’ve been adjusting it, he can handle mock combat with me in a straightforward manner, and with simple combat power, he can compete with knights. In addition, Alter Boy is a precocious thinker, so I was thinking that this kind of talk might come up around next year.” I was somewhat embarrassed, not knowing that Roland had such a high opinion of me. My father began to ponder again, but the negative mood he had been in earlier had faded. “Isn’t it dangerous?” “If you’re asking if you can fight in a real fight, I assure you that you can. It’s just that it’s not the same as training, so it’s hard to say until you’ve tried it.” My father seemed to be leaning towards Roland’s words. But my mother intervened almost immediately. “You’re not going to allow it, are you?” “You seem to be against it.” “Of course not! My father was fourteen years old when he went to war, it’s too early.” “I was ten years old when I fought in a subjugation.” “It’s still two years later compared to his current age, his body is still small!”My mother complained of a flushed face. I don’t care what you call it, I’m not small. If you compare me to adults, I’m at least a head shorter, but I have an average height. Even if I’m small, I’m in no danger. If it came down to it, I could easily shake off most humans and monsters with my “High-Speed Movement”. But I can’t use it as a source of my argument because it’s hidden. Even so, the opposition from my mother is stronger than I expected. My father was silent as my mother stubbornly shook her head, but suddenly he let out a deep sigh. “Henriette. I am weak.” The abruptness of this statement baffled my mother as well as me and Roland. “No matter how hard I train, I can never reach the level of my father, let alone my grandfather, who is a hero. It’s the same with Lakius. No matter how much he improves, he will never be able to reach my father. But Alter is different. He has already surpassed me and Lakius. He is only eight years old. He has definitely inherited his grandfather’s blood in abundance. He has the makings of a hero.” “But ……” “I’ll be honest with you, I'm against it too. No matter how strong he is, he still can be killed in battle, and he can’t show his strength because of fear. If he’s struggling to grow, he can hire a good adventurer to teach him. That’s why I ask you this question. Alter, why do you want to fight so much?” “It’s because…” I cut off my words. Why do I want to fight? It’s simple. Because actual combat is the fastest form of training. I’ve heard that the war between factions is intensifying in the Arsis Empire, with hordes of monsters preying on humans and hostile neighbors. I don’t think the world will be peaceful enough to wait two years for me. As the second son, no matter how my life turns out, I will always be forced to fight. If I’m not good enough by then, I’ll just be killed again without a second thought. And above all, in actual combat, there was the fear of being killed and the fear of killing. No amount of training could be overcome either, and no amount of training in combat skills would solve the problem. That’s why I wanted to go into the forest. I looked up. “Three years ago, at the Midsummer Festival, I saw the skin of a monster named Eleph. It is said that as it gets older, it grows into an untouchable monster. It was killed at an early age by a skilled hunter, but had he been overlooked, he would have become a threat to the Reedwald. You never know when such a monster will appear. It’s too late to regret it. I want the power to fight to survive and protect those who should be protected.” “The ones to protect?” “My father, mother, and brother. I’m not a lord. I am sorry for the people, but it is my family that I want to protect the most. But if you and brother wish to fight to protect the people and wield me as your sword, then I will gladly go to war.” My father nodded profoundly, and my mother looked stern but somewhat pleased. “Did you hear it from Lakius?” “No, I just had a hunch.” “I can’t say no. I wanted to give you time to think.” My father reached for his tea. It was already cold, and Graham reached to re-brew it, but my father stopped him and brought the cup to his lips. “On the way to Blasrad, I had a discussion with Lakius about the future of Reedwald. He said, ‘You know what you lack.’ He told me that you were the one who could make up for what I lacked.” My father looked at me straight in the eyes. It was the lord, the patriarch, and the eyes of my father. “Very well. You are allowed to enter the forest of Leknod. But be sure to bring Roland with you and hire an adventurer’s escort.” “You!” My mother was furious, but my father didn’t pay any attention to her. “Roland will take care of it.” “What? Roland and I got down on one knee and hung our heads. My mother continued to protest, but my father refused to reverse his decision. To ease the tension, I had to take my mother shopping, become a dress-up doll, and go to the theater with her. It wasn’t until a few days later when Roland had finished his arrangements, that my mother was in a better mood.