Ardent hope to get close to a child of Mage dwindled as weeks turned into months.
'Does Mages have aversion to having children?!' he questioned in his head. Then again, as Mages, they are powerful and hold significant status among the villagers.
He was unsure if there is any level or anything similar to Mages but even the lowest level Mage should be an impressive personal to a village like his.
Ardent could only sigh in defeat.
'Looks like training by myself is the way to go. At least before reaching my twelfth birthday.' he thought. That's when the village children are all tested on their ability to use Mana and their Mana Reserve. Hopefully, he would have significant advantage over others of the same age.
If he is beaten by children who mentally younger than he is when he practiced Magic in his free time, playtime not included, he would flip.
'Time to go back to training in the woods.' the woods is the only place for him to train his Magic without any disturbance.
However, the chances of him getting caught is rather high, so, he only went out during the early morning. Like, really early in the morning.
Sleeping in what is to be 8 or 9 in the evening allow him to wake up at 3 or 4. Even waking up 5 in the morning give him 1 hour of practical practice, before he went back to his home to pretend to just woke up.
Thankfully, for the entire he had done so for the past months or so, he was not caught, which he was very glad for as he could continue his practice without any trouble whatsoever.
-x-
"Ardent, looks like the girls are here." Frank whispered into his ears. In the boy group, there are several friend groups. Got him, it's between him, Frank and Curt. It's not he was not friend with other boys, it just he is closer to the two boys.
"I see that." Ardent wondered if this is when boys would be interested in girls. Aside from his teenage years where he dated, and broke up with many girls, he could not remember whether he had anything similar of going when he was younger.
'Maybe not. Aside from a crush or two.' he thought to himself. Besides, he was certain if he gain any feelings for the girls of the village, it will be when he is in his teens, or slightly older.
A circumstances not helped by how he was essentially an old man hijacking the body of a child.
'No, I will not like a girl of that age. I'm not a creep, or a pedo.' he thought to himself before turning his head towards the direction of the girls.
Unlike the boys, the girls focused more on household lessons. From cooking, to cleaning and managing the house, it seem the focus is to turn girls into future wife materials. He wondered why before remembering he is stuck in the past, where certain sentiments remain strong.
It's not like women could not do guys work, it just it is rare to see such thing. Aside from learning to take simple arms like using a spear or a pitchfork to defend oneself, the women mostly let the men do the hard work, including tending the fields, blacksmithing and other profession associated with men.
Those who wish for gender equality would have a fit here, but he felt it was realistic in the ages. Despite how advanced they are in certain thing, to the point he thought was stuck further in the future than the a century or two past 1000 AD, certain bias remained, and would take a long time to be removed, if it is possible.
'Well, there is a profession that is more or less equal between the genders.' Ardent thought.
Mage dependent more on their Mana Control and Mana Reserve. If both are high, it is possible to become a powerful Mage, even if one is a girl. They could even earn the praise of the villagers, if they did not move away and live in another place. Most probably a city.
'Wait!' Ardent realized something important, one he had overlooked, 'One of the girls could be a daughter of a Mage!' he wanted to slap his face so hard. He had not found any mage's son that he had dismissed the girls.
In his defense, the boys rarely interact or play with the girls, as the boys play near the boundary of the village.
'Should I ask them, or let the conversation flow in that direction.' Ardent really want to curse the owner of the body, as the memories he had of him did not have him playing with the girls. Which will make the process of finding out if one of them is a daughter of a Mage.
'Well, I have to go with the flow.' he decided, not wanting to scare them off. Besides, from the looks of thing, this is also the first time the girls and boys interact with one another in a large group, not counting those who lived close to one another.
-x-
Of course, the boys and girls split up, all playing their own thing. For the girls, they have their toys, most of them being sewn dolls, with some having wooden toys he could not name.
As for the boys, they, including him played more physical games, with some of the girls deciding to join.
Currently, a game of hide and seek was going on, and while it would undignified for him to do everything he could to win, damn if he lose to a bunch of children.
As look around, searching for a hiding spot, Ardent found a barrel, perfect for him to hide inside. As he jumped into the barrel, he wondered how long before he would be found. Hopefully after everyone else was found or he was the second last or so.
However, just as his mind delve over different possibilities, someone else entered the barrel, squishing on top of him.
And that was how Ardent get sat by a girl for the first time, her butt on his face.