Looking at the orphan in front of him, Nem realized that his appearance really was strange in the mountains. Tom's memories of meeting new people only amounted to his experience in the city after all, and there were plenty of people of different origins there.
'Well, even there he never saw someone with red eyes...'
The feeling of being different didn't bother him at all. After all, he really was different, inside and out. Probably even his soul was different, whatever that was.
Since the children were not allowed to talk in the monastery outside of the specific hour, Nem kept silent while Ivan gave his name and explained he was the newest addition to the monastery.
The orphans looked at him with curiosity, a bit of surprise or even fear.
'Do they not like my smile ?'
While he was slowly arriving at the conclusion that he might need to practice a few expressions in the mirror, the introduction ended.
The little girls and boys then pressed two fingers to their temples while looking at him. Nem remembered that this was the usual greeting in the Central region and made the same gesture respectfully. His smile became larger as he wanted to express his goodwill but he was only recompensed by cautious looks.
'Sigh... Maybe I'm just not good with kids...'
Nem was confused and immediately decided to abandon the issue for today. He left the room, gesturing Ivan to follow him but remembered he didn't know where he was supposed to go and ended up having to wait for him awkwardly.
'I guess I'm more tired than I thought, it's just a little past noon and yet I just feel like falling asleep... Reincarnating seems tiresome, I'll try not to do it too much in the future.'
He silently laughed at his own joke as he was led into the small corridors. One has to learn to be his own public after living alone for so long.
This time, it didn't take long for them to reach their destination. It was a small room with only a bed, a small shelf and a window reminiscing of a castle loophole. There was nothing on the shelf. This room was right beside a much larger room, which happened to be filled with many double beds, one on top of the other, like in university dorms. Ivan declared in an uninterested voice :
"They is no more free beds in the common boy's bedroom so you'll have to sleep next to it. Actually, you're really lucky to be here without an evaluation when there aren't supposed to be any more spots. You'll have to wear these clothes from now on. Also, don't wander around the monastery alone, especially at night, it's quite dangerous."
The monk then left without even saying goodbye, leaving behind only these creepy words, a yellow sleeveless shirt, white underwear and a pair of wide light-brown shorts. This was indeed the clothes the other children were wearing.
'It seems monks don't wear shoes.'
Nem observed the room absentmindedly for a while before just falling on the bed, asleep.
***
That night, Nem surprisingly didn't dream of monsters or pale-skinned assassins. He only saw himself flying freely in the Sydai mountains, which sometimes looked like some other place he once hiked in his previous life.
He woke up with the light of the rising sun passing through his narrow window, filled with a sense of peace and excitement. Although he felt he had no real reason to have those emotions, being stranded in a foreign world and a strange monastery, he attributed them to his dream.
He changed his clothes, finding the new ones pretty comfortable and ruffled his messy hair.
'I wonder if they have showers here... '
'Of course, they probably wouldn't have something so advanced, but I hope it's better than a small stream like in Tom's farm.'
The loud sound of bells suddenly echoed in the monastery, probably waking the others up. Nem realized at this moment that he slept for at least 16 hours.
He shrugged and opened the door, wanting to observe how the children acted in the morning. He was the first up among the boys at least.
After a few minutes of standing his back against the door, the first orphan stepped out of the room. He seemed to be one of the oldest, probably one of the most experienced in the monastery, and had a common face and brown hair. Nem decided to follow him for the rest of the day. They raised their two fingers in greeting. The boy's expression was neutral, probably having seen a lot of newcomers, as they were more than 50 children, maybe even close to 80, by Nem's estimation.
The red-eyed Nem mind gradually woke up, waiting for the others to come out.
The following hour was really slow and peaceful, the orphan regrouped at the canteen to have breakfast and headed outside, using a different door than the one Nem came in the previous day.
It led to a large garden with a few scattered fruit trees and a pile of wooden buckets the other kids immediately started to pick from. They occasionally communicated with gestures and facial expressions, and Nem understood that they would need to fill it with water and bring it back a few times to empty it in a container situated somewhere.
'I feel like I'll be able to solve the shower mystery very quickly.'
This morning, he discovered the nearest river, which was roughly 10 meters wide with a strong current and clear water. It was quite beautiful, shining under the rising Sun. After filing his bucket, he accompanied the boys and girl to a large ladder leading on the monastery's roof.
'It's looking up for the shower !'
At this point, Nem's mind was filled with thoughts of washing his hair and body. The container on the roof indeed looked like a water tower, although it wasn't very high, and Nem didn't see any faucets in the monastery.
They did two more trips, and although the river wasn't far at all and the sun rose early in this time of year, this activity still took over half the morning. This simple activity made him feel relaxed and happy, it even filled him with a sense of fulfillment.
Still, he wasn't very exhausted, similar to his previous hike in the mountains.
'This body really is in quite good shape. Actually, it feels similar to the latest memories belonging to Tom, this kid always runs around the farm all the time like his life was on the line or something. Hum... I guess my body only changed superficially, it really belonged to him after all.'
Nem was slightly uncomfortable wearing the skin of a dead person, but since he didn't look like him, it was fine. He shook off this thought, realizing he was led outside the building again. This time, he noticed everyone looked a little excited, bumping each other on the shoulder and smiling. Some looked serious while others were a bit stressed.
Nem started having a bad feeling. 'Could it be some sort of religious fanatic activity ? Like sacrificing animals or... dancing. Those are the worse.'
Suddenly, everyone stopped and looked ahead, making the greeting gesture. Nem's dark-red eyes followed their gazes as he imitated them. It was a short adult man, with slightly tanned skin and lighter clothes than the other monks. He wore a smile on his bald face as he watched over the small faces in front of him. Nem couldn't tell his age.
Spotting Nem in the crowd he said in a loud voice :
"Hello everyone, hello Nem, I'm Sunny, your new combat instructor. "
'Oh, so it's this kind of monastery. I didn't realize I signed up to be a Shaolin monk. Also, being singled out feels a bit uncomfortable, can you stop looking at me please ? I don't like you.'
"I'm here to teach you how to defend yourself and the others who need it. Now let's get to it quickly, you'll do your first fight against someone your age." He seemed deep in thought as he scanned towards the crowd. Nem remembered that the instructor's name was very common in this world, like Jesus, Christopher or Mohammed on Earth. Giving one's child a name with a religious connotation was a way for a parent to prove their devotion. Too bad Sunny joined the Church of Peace instead. That's a real bummer.
The instructor quickly came to a decision, pointing to one of the girls.
"Lana will be your first adversary."
Nem's eye twitched. In his previous life, when he was a teenager, he was a very outdoorsy person despite being a top student. He had once joined a boxing club for almost two years and did kung-fu three years before that. Although he was never at the top of his age group due to starting late, he could be said to be talented in it. It was one of the numerous things he lost interest in during his 'later years'...
He wouldn't take offense that his opponent was a girl- after all it didn't really matter too much at this age- nor was he concerned about the fight. No. The reason his eye had this reaction was that the girl was definitely not his age. Lana had short blond hair, clear blue eyes, a pretty face with sharp features and... she looked at least 12 years old, probably 13.
When one was older, they wouldn't really be able to tell the age of two kids just by looking, but now Nem was 10 and with Tom's memories, he could definitely tell.
'So why is this baldy bullshiting me right now ?'
He opened his mouth and almost said something but held back just in time, remembering the rules of the orphanage. His red eyes became suspicious as he looked at Sunny. He suspected that he was baiting him to protest in order to punish him. Perhaps to establish his authority or something similar.
Congratulating himself on how clever he was to not fall into his strap, Nem walked to the soft ground delimited by chalk acting as a ring while the instructor explained the rules.
"Remember, this a friendly match, as long as you succeed in making your opponent fall down or his knee touches the ground, you win. So try to minimize injuries."
Sunny didn't go into the specifics, which was unsurprising, considering this is a fight between children. In Nem's opinion, this was an easy win, so he had no need to care too much about the rules.
The two children bowed to each other as instructed before the match officially started. Nem started to remember his previous experience in fighting.
'Right, I need to look into my opponent's eyes than raise my...'
As Nem shifted his gaze from the annoying bald monk to the cute Lana, he realized she wasn't there anymore. The next second, he felt a strong force applying to the back of his right leg and his upper torso before his field of vision became filled with only one color. Sky blue. As Nem's back hit the ground, he realized that if the instructor wanted to make him submit to his authority, he could just make him fight against someone much stronger than him. Say... the best fighter in the orphanage.
'Damnit. This damn baldy ! I'll remember this old man !'