"38.....39....40....41....42.....43....44...4.....4....a little more, come on Satoru"
"4...hold on, just one more, urghhh"
"4.....5....45"
*pump*
"Phew, huh huh"
*Heavy breathing*
"45 push-ups is already too much for a 5-year-old, especially when you add the weight of 8 kilos throughout the body. Although I can last a bit due to the cursed energy, it's still not enough."
"5 minutes break, better make it an hour."
Every day without fail in the morning, Satoru goes out to train his body. Some days he does light exercise to increase his endurance and flexibility, but other days he does heavy exercises to build his body strength. Despite being 5 years old, almost 6, he undergoes quite intense training for his age.
At first, his parents were worried he might get hurt. However, after some time, they saw he was okay, so they let him continue exercising but with one condition: if he feels anything wrong in his body, he would tell his parents and stop exercising. Since no accidents have happened, Satoru kept training and gradually started pushing a bit more.
"Satoru, go take a shower to wash off the sweat and then come with me to the village."
"I'm coming, Mom, just need 5 minutes break."
"Alright, I'll wait for you in the living room."
.
.
.
.
*15 minutes later*
"I'm ready, Mom."
"Alright, let's go to the village."
Leaving their home, Satoru and his mother chatted along the way towards the village. Satoru cherished this time out with his mother to better understand the world. While it's one thing to know the world through manga, experiencing it firsthand is quite different. Satoru is very curious about exploring the world because, according to his mother, each kingdom is quite large. So, once he becomes strong enough and masters his power, he plans to travel to explore this world.
"Well, son, have you thought about what you want to do in the future once you have your grimoire?"
"To be honest, to become the strongest and secondly, to explore this wonderful world."
"Hahaha, what a beautiful future you envision, Satoru." His mother smiled at the future her son was contemplating. Of course, she felt a bit concerned about him wanting to explore the whole world, but she still encouraged him.
"You know, you can also help your father with his work."
"But being a lumberjack doesn't interest me much. Besides, I want to explore and see everything. I also want to visit the kingdom and meet the magic knights."
"Well, exploring the world sounds fun, but it's also dangerous. Nobody knows what's out there, so you have to be careful. As your mother, I want the best for you, son."
"I know, Mom, but I want to venture out."
*Sighs* "I won't be able to change your mind about exploring, will I?"
"Nope, not at all." He crossed his arms in an 'X' shape, looked at his mother, and shook his head.
"Well, promise me you'll be careful. I thought you wanted to be a magic knight like all the other kids."
"I won't lie; the idea crossed my mind once, but I also want to explore. But who knows, maybe I'll change my mind in the future."
They continued on their way, sharing a light-hearted moment between mother and son. After a few minutes, they soon reached the village. They were greeted by the other villagers with cheerful and thankful attitudes. Satoru looked around, taking in everything in his field of vision, while his mother chatted with some villagers and bought a few things. Then, a little girl with brown hair approached Satoru.
"Hey, are you new here? You're not from around here, right? Do you want to come play with the others?"
Satoru looked at the little girl who had a smile on her face and extended her hand towards him. Satoru looked at the girl and then glanced down at her hand, repeating this action twice more, showing a face of doubt. His mother, who had turned upon hearing the voice near her, smiled seeing someone wanting to play with her son.
"Come on, Satoru, accept her invitation and go play with some kids your age."
"But Mom..."
"No 'buts,' go and play for a while. It'll be good for you to make friends with others your age."
(But I am 37 years old mentally, how can I make friends with children, this seems more like pedophilia if they knew my real age.)
Satoru reluctantly accepted the invitation since he didn't want to play with younger kids. He preferred to look around, discovering new things and training. When he took the girl's hand, she flashed a wide smile and pulled Satoru along as she ran to join her other friends.
Soon, he arrived with other children who were excited to see another person. They began playing a game of tag, which was easy for Satoru due to his better stamina compared to the kids. Nonetheless, it was fun initially as it reminded him of his childhood in his past life. At first, he wasn't sure about playing with the kids, but for a moment, his inner child came out to play.
Hours of fun passed, and soon the children grew tired. Some went home after playing, while others went to grab a bite to eat. Satoru was left alone but decided to head somewhere. He soon arrived at a blacksmith's shop where an old man was hammering away at a piece of metal.
*Ting*
*Ting*
"Sir."
*Ting*
"Sir, sir."
*Ting*
*Ting*
"DEAF OLD MAN, STOP HAMMERING!"
"YOU AGAIN? WHAT DO YOU WANT, YOU DAMN ALBINO?"
"Is that how you speak to a child who helped you with your wife? Tsk, your mouth is what you kiss your wife with."
The blacksmith was immediately angered by Satoru's comment. His face showed signs of anger, and his veins popped, but he held back his anger because what the child said was true.
"What do you want now?"
"I want to see if you could make something for me."
"Spit it out, kid."
"Make me some nice round glasses with the darkest glass you have, so dark that no one can see through them, not even light can pass through. Can you do that?"
"That's not hard, but why do you want such dark glasses? Do you want to be blind?"
"That's my problem. Can you make them or not?"
"Fine, but it'll cost you, 100 Yules."
"You old thief, 50 Yules."
"100 Yules."
"50 Yules."
"100."
"100."
"50."
"35."
"50."
"15, plus a recipe for beef broth and tips for a thrilling night with your wife."
"Deal."
"You old man, you've just been scammed."
"????????"
Satoru ran off immediately, and soon the shouts of the blacksmith could be heard, realizing he had been tricked by a child in the most simple and absurd way possible. Satoru returned to his mother, who was chatting with some other ladies. When Satoru appeared, his mother said her goodbyes, grabbed her shopping bag, and began walking home with her son.
.
.
.
.
.
"Satoru, are you sure you want to explore the world?"
"Absolutely! I want to see all the places here, like the Kingdom of Spades, the Kingdom of Hearts, and the Kingdom of Diamonds. Plus, I want to explore and become really strong, hehehe."
"..."
"Since you want to explore, I hope you become the strongest in the world, my son."
"Of course, Mom, I won't let you down."
"Hahaha, I'm sure of that, son. Maybe you'll even become the next Magic King, don't you think?"
"Maybe, but that comes with a lot of paperwork. I'd prefer to be a captain of an order; at least I'd have more freedom than the Magic King who's always stuck in his office working."
"But he's stronger than everyone, son."
"That's true, but he also has the most work. I don't think the noble family of the king would want to do all the work the Magic King does."
"Well, I think you have a point, Satoru."
"Hehehe."
They continued their conversation, smiling and occasionally laughing. As they approached their home, Satoru decided to help his mother and grabbed her shopping bag, heading straight to their house to store the purchased items. He entered the house and began unpacking everything, organizing them in their places. This was observed by his mother, who leaned against the dining room wall and watched her son. However, a sad look soon appeared on her face.
Satoru, who was about to put away the food, sensed his mother's sadness. He turned to her with concern.
"Mom, what's wrong? Why are you sad?"
"Uh, it's nothing, son, don't worry."
"But Mom, you're sad. What's wrong?"
"..." Seeing her son's concerned face, she couldn't hold back any longer and hugged him. Satoru returned the embrace. After a few seconds, they separated, and his mother began to speak.
"Satoru, have you ever wondered why you have my surname and not your father's?"
"Um, because you won a bet and decided to use your surname?"
"Hahaha, that would be funny, but no."
"The real reason you have my surname, Gojo, is because of a family tradition."
"Family tradition???"
"That's right, son. In my family, there's a story passed down through generations. It says that when a child with white hair and blue eyes like the sky itself, capable of seeing everything, is born, they will be the strongest in the world, and nothing will stop them."
"That's why I asked your father for you to have my surname. Throughout generations, women in our family have been born with white hair, while men have had black hair. But there have been cases where men were born with white hair but not with blue eyes like yours."
"But that's good, right, Mom? If I have white hair and blue eyes like the sky, I'll be the strongest."
"Yes, that's true, son, and I have no doubt you'll be the strongest. But I'm also afraid of the other part of the story because it says: even though he may be the strongest, he will also be the one who suffers the most and will end up losing."
"???????"
"I'm not sure about this, but it's said that he might lose his loved ones or end up badly hurt by a powerful enemy. I hope this isn't true, but promise me you'll be careful when you go out, okay?"
"Of course, Mom, I promise."
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