Nate's bedroom the next day.
..flip!
"A playful lamb. Left on the thatched roof of a sheep barn by a herdsman. to protect it from harm."
..flip!
A lamb is walking on the edge of the roof. As he saw a wolf It began to laugh and mock the wolf. Make a distorted face and curses wolves at will
..flip!
"I heard you," said the wolf. "And at least I'm not mad at you for anything you said or did. When you're up there It's the roof that's talking, not you."
"The moral is: don't say anything. If you can't say it all the time."
Irene said, closing the book.
"Alright, time to sleep, Little Boy."
"Yawn, um!"
Irene kissed lightly on the forehead. before turning off the lights and leaving
My mother hardly ever lets me play with my cell phone or tablet. She's even quite strict. She instilled in me a love of reading, which I did not object to. It's probably because we have a small library at home.
***
The days passed quickly like a lie.
15 years have passed.
I'm almost 16 years old.
Quite a lot has changed. The house has been extended. And now there is a large greenhouse and dome and lawn behind the house.
Both parents are busy again.
Our home is not in financial difficulty. But my mother chose to return to her work again.
My mother is a botanical researcher. And my father is an engineer/Special forces.
Right now I am about to graduate from middle school. After enduring all the torture in kindergarten and elementary school Because it's very annoying. There are only issues and problems such as children crying loudly most of the day and many more.
Why do we have to go to school?
At first I was skeptical, but learning helps us understand the world, understand society, and accept various differences. Makes us see value in ourselves. and saw some potential in ourselves that we had never encountered before and know what we are good at
Because the norms of this world were different from the world I came from, it was necessary.
Oh yes, history class taught me a lot. Even though it's not detailed. In the time before Mana arrived on Terra, A world war had occurred. and spread throughout the world This war was called The War of Nothing
According to my own understanding Things that are not in the textbook
Probably, the decisions of some people caused too much loss.
Populations around the world are affected. Bad weather There is a lot of dust in the air. Radioactive dust spread everywhere. Many people died Both directly and indirectly Everywhere is full of hunger and fear.
It is no wonder that the world's population is so low. And there are many migrations.
Many nations have collapsed.
It became the era that was called the Second Dark Age.
Put stress aside for now.
Now...we have one more family member in our house.
At first I wanted a little brother so I could play together to relieve my loneliness, but it turned out I got a cute little sister instead.
She looks a lot like Irene. This little Irene, her name is Iris, she has flowing silver hair. bright ocean blue eyes She is 3 years younger than me.
At first, my father and I had a bet with my mother: If it's a boy, his name will be Noah, but if it's a girl, her name will be Iris, which is his mother's favorite flower. In the end we lost.
Bam!
"Big Brother~ Wake up now."
"Uh-huh"
"Wake up~ Wake up~~"
"I'm up" Nate replied quietly.
"Iris, next time knock on the door before coming in."
"Boo, sleepyhead" Nate gently tugged at her cheek.
"mother! Nate teased me again."
Nate sighed.
It's a new morning.
***
Erwin is currently in his home office. which is on the 2nd floor in the house
While he was sipping on the coffee that Irene had made for him.
"Hm..."
Seeing the report that arrived, Erwin sighed.
[Pan-Asian Railway Network]
[We last checked the structure. But a crack was found on the wall.]
[It may cause work to be delayed. We may have to repair it all over again.]
from the remaining work It should only take 2 months to complete. It turns out how much additional time is required is unknown. He could only be truly fed up.
If his work is finished, he thinks he won't accept work for a while. To relax with family
Irwin wrote a positive response.
"I suspect there must be more work waiting for him."
Ding!
"What else?"
It's an encrypted message. Erwin immediately checked the message.
[District 66TH: In the northern region there will be a new gate. Rank: B-A. Type: Unstable.
Located near district 856LA, please prepare]
"Really?"
Both the main and secondary jobs have real problems. Erwin then called someone.
Not long after that The line was connected.
"What's wrong, Boss?" a sleepy voice replied.
"Yellow code See you at the same place. Call everyone together."
"Yes sir" a solemn-looking voice replied.
after hanging up Erwin sighed.
Knock knock!
"Honey, breakfast is ready."
"I'm coming"
***
After finishing breakfast
As Erwin prepares to go to work
Irene then asked Erwin after noticing that her husband seemed to have something on his mind.
"Are you uncomfortable with something?"
"Oh, no, it's just that there's a problem at work waiting for me to solve it. and gates that need to be managed It might take several months, Honey."
"Um.. I wish you well and your safe return."
"Bye Dad"
"Bye Daddy"
"Bye bye" Erwin said kindly.
***
Irene and Yuki drove the kids to school.
This school is located next to where I have studied since elementary school.
"Please study hard, children."
"Okay~"
"Oh yes, today Mom and Yuki will be going out of town for several days. Nate, don't forget to pick up Iris from school before you leave," Irene said after remembering.
"Yes, I know."
"Bye~"
"travel safely"
Vroom!
The car left quickly. Left me with a strange feeling in my heart.
As I stared at the departing car, a voice interrupted my thoughts.
"Nate," Umi said in a quiet voice.
"What's wrong?"
"I forgot my phone."
"Childish," Nate whispered softly.
"Huh?"
"Nothing," he secretly chuckled.
"Hmph, Nate, you're so annoying."
When I glanced at the time on my wristwatch
[ 8.15 a.m. ]
"Ahem, let's go, we're going to be late." Nate quickly changed the topic and walked away.
"Alright. Hey! Wait for me."
'How cute'
Umi then cheerfully followed me.
After walking together for a while We arrived at the classroom.
"Then let's meet after school or you can go home first."
"Okay."
Both Umi and I have been in the same class since childhood. Due to the results of entrance examinations and many other things. So we are quite close. But when we were in school, we didn't talk much.
At this school, most of the students who come to study are familiar faces.
"Hey Nate, Good morning."
"Morning"
"Good morning," I replied.
The person who just greeted me was Aaron Smith. He was a young man with slightly long brown hair, brown eyes, and white skin. As the name suggests, he belonged to a family famous for forging weapons and armor for Awakeners.
The other person's name was Leonel Hernandez. He was a man with black hair. Green eyes, appearance not too different from Aaron's, quite handsome. Coming from a famous warrior family
They were my first friends since elementary school.
"Oy Nate, this morning I saw you flirting with a pretty girl. Good grief! Do you perhaps like that kind of girl huh?"
"N-Not exactly it's just that..."
"Just what?"
"Ahem, today's weather is as nice as usual."
"There's no need to change the topic, Nate."
"Oyy I'm not really hitting up on her"
"Hehe, if you don't flirt with that girl, I'll reserve her."
So I stared at them silently.
"Just kidding. Keep cool, friend."
After being quiet for a while
"By the way, have you guys decided where you're going to study?"
"Um, I think I'll apply to the federal magical academy."
"Really? Is it the same place I thought it was? What's its name now?"
"The Hexagon"
"What a coincidence, me too."
"And you?"
"Me too, we have the right to enter the federal magical academy. Because our score is quite high compared to other districts."
"It will probably take 3 years, which may be longer than we think."
"Go sit in your seat. The teacher will be here soon."
"Sir, yes sir!" they both replied in annoyed voices.
[ 8.30 a.m. ]
The teacher enters the room directly in no time.
Okay students, let's check the names..
.
ding! dong! ding! dong!
***
[ 12.30 p.m. ]
When it was time for lunch, my friends and I quickly went to reserve a football field.
Because we have already passed the final exam period. And there weren't many classes in our final week. Most are elective subjects.
Some people who don't have classes in the afternoon can just go home. I wasn't in a hurry to leave because Iris left school at 2:00 p.m. So I'm looking for something to do to pass the time.
"Leo's left-footed curling shot is clearly cheating." Aaron said under a heavy and tired breath.
"I don't object, I completely agree." I said
"Hehe, at least our team is undefeated." We high-fived each other.
clap! Ayy!
After checking the time for a bit, I saw that it was almost time to go pick up Iris. So I said goodbye to my friends.
"See you later."
"See you guys."
Beside the football field, a beautiful girl with dark hair was waiting for me.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Here, take it." Umi threw a cold water bottle at me.
"Thank you, Umi-sama."
"Hmph" She sighed and turned away.
"Let's go."
.