Spring, Year 714.
Ryu Xanastre, two years old, and his 12 years old aunt, Sara Astalle, were sitting on a wooden bench inside their house.
Both heads were down, looking at the floor while they felt the cold sweat dripping from extreme nervousness.
There was only one reason for Ryu, the former president, one of the most dominant individuals back on earth, was in this situation.
His parents learned about their little detour to the adventurer's guild yesterday.
As there was a saying, 'No secret can be kept forever.'
Yes, it meant they got found out.
It could've been better if the one who saw the guild license was only his father.
But the one standing in front, glaring with piercing eyes like daggers, was none other than his mother, Hazel. Someone that even Graham, a guard commander, wouldn't afford to offend.
A cold shiver went down his spine.
Hazel crossed her arms as she exhaled while Graham quietly watched from a corner.
"You better speak now, Sara, while I'm calm... I thought you wanted to be a maid and follow in my footstep. So what is this guild license about?"
"Sis, sister..."
Even a thousand words wouldn't describe the guilt in Sara's eyes.
Sara slowly turned her head towards Ryu while keeping her head down, hoping for him to do or say something.
'It was entirely my fault.'
Being scolded wouldn't happen if Ryu didn't force Sara on his whims.
Ryu wanted to speed things up by taking advantage of someone to achieve my goal. With this, he chose to redeem himself by intruding.
"Mom, it's my faul—"
"You better shut your mouth, young man! I'm talking to your aunt!"
Gulp!
'Well, that's it. I'm sorry, auntie.'
Ryu believed Sara would understand that his mother's wrath was more important than guilt. He had never felt this scared of another human being before.
"Now, talk. This is your last chance, lady."
This was the end. If Sara told everything, all the preparation Ryu made would be for naught.
Mother would learn what they have done, inflicting punishment by forbidding Ryu from doing such activities. The worst was prohibiting him from going outside of the house.
So Ryu kept his mouth tightly shut, hoping for divine intervention.
'Please, please, please, please, please.'
Though it might be unfavorable to him, it was an excellent opportunity for Sara to decide who suffered from my childish impulses.
Once settled, she would be hired as a maid on training with the help of his mother's connection, and they will be separated. Moreover, she would have a safer and more stable life.
Ryu knew where this would end. Just like him, humans were selfish beings.
Humans would use others to get what they want and abandon others when in trouble.
This was all Ryu comprehended and experienced when he lived his previous life. And this life shouldn't be any different.
But, what Sara decided proved Ryu wrong.
Sara, who seemed keen to answer, clenched her hands.
"I... Sister... I... I want to become an adventurer!"
"What?!"
Ryu's mother and father were baffled in sync.
Even Ryu was surprised by her answer. He thought he already knew everything about the human heart. So he began to question himself.
It seems he still has a long way to preach about life.
'I'm confused.'
His mother scolded Sara because she was worried.
Sara explained how she enjoyed her time with Ryu despite his mischievous personality, which made his heart flutter.
Ryu learned how a true family should care for each other.
After a few debates, Sara kneeled.
"Sister... Since I was small, I have already tried to imitate you. When you became a maid, I thought that my path in life too was already set to be a maid."
Sara held Hazel by the hand.
"However, in these two years with Ryu, I experienced things that sincerely made me happy—"
"But being an adventurer is dangerous."
"I... I know, sister. Maybe I'm too wishful despite knowing nothing. But I still want to be with my nephew, Ryu, for a while."
Sara pleaded with her eyes before releasing her grasps, wiping her tears barehanded.
"Uwuu."
The room was filled with silence for a few minutes.
We only heard the sounds of the people passing by outside and Sara forcing herself to stop weeping.
Hic!
Hazel gently rubbed her forehead.
"You're giving me a headache."
Though, what Hazel said next was beyond their expectation.
"Then let my husband teach you."
"Mm?"
"Learn how to use the sword."
"...Oh."
"You don't want to?"
"No! Yes! I mean, please let me learn, sister!"
The tension inside the room slowly disappeared.
Sara was so happy that she unconsciously hugged Ryu and surprised him.
"A-Auntie?!"
"Boohoo! Just let me stay for a bit, Ryu. Your mom—my sister, is so scary."
Flustered, Ryu never knew how innocent he was of someone's affection.
The only relationship Ryu had before was supporting his favorite fictional character back then, which couldn't be considered an actual experience.
So it left a bad taste in his mouth...
'Am I really a dull person?'
***
A few days passed after the family confrontation.
Ryu was standing in the backyard of their house holding a wooden stick while practicing swordsmanship with his father and aunt.
Their voices competed as they shouted throughout the training session.
"Ha!"
"Hai!"
"Heya!"
"Hai! Haiya! "
At first, Ryu's parents were against training him at this age. Still, they resigned and accepted his childish tantrums with some persistence.
Ryu had no choice since he needed this skill early on.
"Haa... Haaa..."
After the 50th swing, Sara noticed Ryu catching his breath. His hands went numb, and his body involuntarily dropped to the ground.
"Ryu, are you okay?"
"Yes... Haa... Auntie... Haa... You can... Continue... Haa... Your training... Haa."
Even with a strong will, his current body couldn't keep up with his mind.
Ryu could reinforce himself with magic to keep up. But he knew it wouldn't help since he needed to train and develop his body.
So he decided not to receive external help.
Graham, who was watching, raised his sword and pointed it at Ryu. He chuckled.
"Haha! It seems my son inherited my talent."
At first, Ryu thought that laugh was mocking him, but he was wrong.
"What? Are you already satisfied?"
Graham attempted to provoke him.
Ryu knew his father was only trying to make him mad, so he went with it and decided to train diligently, going beyond his limit.
Maximize his training since he shouldn't waste time.
Whenever Ryu slacked off, he reminded himself about his beloved Princess.
Every time he remembered Yume, he stood back up, picked the wooden stick on the ground, and continued.
"Ha! 52! 53! 54! Ha!"
Sara, who saw his determination, also held her pace.
"I can't lose to my nephew! Iyaaa! Hai! Haiyaa!"
"These kids' future will be great. Hahaha!"
***
Plop!
Dropping sluggishly on the bed.
The training for today was completed. Ryu did a hundred swings with this small, tiny, undeveloped body, while Sara almost did five hundred.
When Ryu last saw Sara, she was crawling back to her room. It was hilarious.
Some parts of his body went numb that he couldn't feel anymore. Even talking became harder. He was sleepy. But there's no regret. Instead, he felt proud.
Looking at the ceiling while doing nothing gave Ryu time to think. He recollected every detail that he read about this world from the novel.
There were four seasons: summer, spring, fall, and winter. There are 90 days for each season, totaling 360 days to complete 1 year.
Today is the 46th day of Spring in Year 714. It was already two years.
Year 718, four years from now, Yume, the daughter of Duke Valenz, would become the fiancee of the Crown Prince. She would be compelled to study under numerous noble teachers for six years, then attend the royal academy for another four years.
Her time in the academy would be the worst because this was where Rosie also attended, snatching the Crown Prince's heart.
Those nobles who wanted to flatter the dukedom started harassing Rosie. The Crown Prince would blame Yume for everything that would happen to his beloved Rosie.
When Yume turned 16, she would be sent on an expedition with other graduating students, including the Crown Prince and Rosie. This would last for another two years by exterminating monsters threatening the borders.
At that time, Rosie, the daughter of a baron, would be poisoned. Allowing the Crown Prince, in charge of that expedition, to sentence Yume to slavery.
For now, Ryu did not have the strength to go against the Royal Family. To save the Princess from judgment, an equivalent or much higher authority where even the King wouldn't be able to decline was needed.
Ryu remembered the things he thought about before going to this world. So he finally decided.
"I need to build an army. No, a kingdom."