Four months ago, I had been reborn. In that time I have explored the depths of magic, trained my mind endlessly, and fought the love monster more times than I could count and now I have another achievement to add to that list.
"Look, Paul! He's crawling!" My mother shouted out happily as I crawled all over the house. I had a basic idea of the layout of the house however things like color were lost when using solely Mana Sense so it still felt new and exciting.
As one would expect from the Victorian era the place I called home was exceedingly bland with nothing particularly outstanding about it. I suppose it was fairly large in comparison to the homes around us but compared to the skyscrapers I had grown accustomed to only the word rustic could possibly describe it.
It did have its own charm as it seemed much more peaceful than the excitement the cities held in my last life. Personally, I had grown bored of all the entertainment available so this change was quite pleasant.
"I can see that Zenith. Hey, when do kids grow up enough to train? I can barely wait!" Paul asked his wife happily with stars practically in his eyes. It wasn't a question a four month old newborn would usually hear but this is Paul we are talking about, nothing is normal about him.
"No! Our Rudy is a genius so he's going to be a mage!" My mom refuted my father without hesitation, my ears parking up at the mention of the 'sacred' word. I had all the clues necessary to piece it together, I was just waiting for confirmation.
I had truly been reincarnated
I wasn't in a coma, nor was this an illusion made up by my mind. Paul, Zenith, and Lilia were all real people. The love I felt wasn't fake nor something I made up. It was all real. Every act of affection, every look of love directed at me, they were all real.
"Huk…" I could feel my eyes tear up at the emotions running through my mind at light speed. I knew that it was likely that I had been reincarnated after so long but it was still immensely relieving to know that they weren't simply figments of my imagination.
Deep inside I was probably worried that everything was fake and buried myself in my greed to compensate but now I knew for certain, I was alive, they were alive, and for the first time in my life…
I was truly happy.
"Rudy?! Are you okay?" My mother asked as she scrambled over to me. It's not exactly something to be proud of but I was fairly inexpressive, crying so blatantly wasn't something they would have seen and something I hadn't done in over two decades.
My mother wasn't alone either. The ever diligent Lilia and even the braggart that was my father immediately rushed over to me. I know I shouldn't feel this way for worrying them but I was relieved. They truly did care.
Their worry may only be because I was their child, their own flesh and blood, but they were still worried about me. My mother's worry was overwhelming, Lilia's more discreet, and my father seemed to like to pave over all the troubles with a strange face but they all cared and that was all that mattered.
"Huk… love." I choked out to my family, my tears only coming out faster. At the young age of four months, I had decided to say my first word. It was crude and was barely understandable from a mix of my age and crying but I had said it.
"Z-Zenith did he just?" My father sputtered out in surprise, my mother simply absentmindedly nodding her head in response. Most newborns say their first word at a year old at the youngest yet I had done so about eight months earlier.
"Hagaga." I couldn't help but laugh at their strange or amusing faces but the tears didn't stop. Even my father wore a dumb smile that was a mix of overwhelming joy and shock that I couldn't help but laugh at.
"Lilia pinch me." My mother demanded, her eyes glazed over from pure shock as she pushed her arm in front of Lilia's face who dumbly obeyed her order, flinching from the pain however she didn't react beyond that as a wide smile spread across her face. "Rudy said his first word!!" She shouted, pulling my father into a bone shattering hug and planting a kiss on his cheek.
"He did? He did!? He's going to be a great swordsman for sure!" My father spoke, his confusion changing into one of overwhelming joy. Lifting me into the air my father couldn't resist spinning me around and throwing me into the air, giving my mother a kiss as I fell through the air.
"Paul!" My mother shouted in fear as I fell to the height of my father's knees before a rough and callous hand caught me from below. It was terrifyingly close but my joy well outweighed any fear I felt.
"Haga!" Laughing out loud my father turned to my mother with a victorious smirk on his face. Just for now, I felt like I could ignore my family's flaws and just enjoy myself. It was a novel experience and my heart felt like it would break free of my chest. I couldn't help but smile.
"Our kid just said his first word way before early. This calls for a party don't you think?" My father said with an excited smile. I was confident, no I knew with one hundred percent certainty that he just wanted to party.
"I guess it does. Let's go, Lilia, we'll throw the best party ever!" My mother declared while rolling up her sleeves, a burning determination in her eyes with Lilia faithfully following behind her with impeccable stature.
"Man your mom is hot when she's fired up, right little buddy?" My father said with a perverse look on his face. How exactly do you expect me to respond to that? Just because I said my first word you think we can have full conversations?
I'll have you know that my throat hurts quite a lot just from that single word and all the crying so there will be no more words today! Honestly, I probably could have said more if it weren't for my heightened senses enhancing the pain I felt. I'd have to get used to that again at some point.
"Goga." Instead of speaking, I gave the usual baby babble with a look of disappointment on my face. Hopefully, he'll get the message though I doubt it'll go through his thick skull. He probably got one too many hits from a woman he slept with and now he's too thick skinned to feel shame.
"I knew my son would agree. And she said you took after her more too, tch. You totally look just like me!" My father said proudly while lifting me in the air so I was held above his head. I was quite tempted to use the bathroom right then and there but I resisted.
Speaking of which, what do I look like? I've heard that I look like my mother but then my father said I look like him but his words are only slightly trustworthy and even then it's only because he's my father that he gets even that.
I guess I'll have to wait and see, won't I? Eventually, I'll see what I look like but for now, I have more important things to do. Much more important things.