I will always remember that moment.
I had gone to the supermarket to buy some food, tripped...
I still can't believe it, but I died. If that hadn't happened, I wouldn't be in this situation. Well, I think I've been reincarnated. I woke up to find myself cradled in the arms of a woman. That woman is my current mother, Rose Noimar.
Beyond that, I recall an excruciating headache—when I say splitting, I mean absolutely unbearable. At one point, I even considered ending it all, but I managed to resist, and here I am.
Why the headache?
I believe it was caused by an overwhelming flood of information. I've gained an ability that no one in my family—maybe no one in the world—has: I can sense magic. I can see through walls and even behind me within a 30-meter (98.4 feet) radius. In that space, I can perceive everything happening through magic. This is because magic flows through the air, and every living being—and even some inanimate objects—contains at least a trace of it.
In my past life, I was Giulio Felta, 16 years old when I died. Now I'm two years old, the second son of the Noimar family, and my name is Leonard. I have a two-year-older brother named Tomas, and a younger sibling on the way. And as if that weren't enough, I've discovered that I'm overpowered. Not only can I sense magic, but I can also wield it better than anyone else.
I haven't told anyone yet, but I'm secretly training to master it. So far, I've mastered water magic and am now trying to learn fire magic.
There are various types of magic:
Elemental magic, which I'm learning to use.Physical enhancement magic.Subjective magic, which is unique to each person.
Only the most powerful mages can use subjective magic, as it requires incredible control over one's magical power. Since I'm a prodigy, I'm confident I won't struggle when the time comes.
That's all I know about magic for now. There are mentions of familiars and other concepts, but the books in my house don't provide much detail. Oh well, I'll figure it out eventually.
I have countless questions swirling in my mind, mainly about magic and more, but most of them remain unanswered:
Why was I reincarnated?Is there a way to return home?Why do I still remember my past life?
And so on.
While I was pondering these thoughts, my mother called me: dinner was ready. I left my room and descended the stairs connecting the upstairs hallway to the living room, where my "brother" was sitting, watching our—no, his—father. Even after two years, I still can't see them as my family. I suppose that's normal; after all, I spent 16 years with a different mother and father in a completely different world.
As I entered the dining room, I saw my mother setting the table. Though she was only a vloto pregnant and could manage on her own, I decided to help her anyway.
"Thank you, Leo, you're such a good boy," my mother said.
"Oh, no, you're just an amazing mom," I replied.
"Oh, Leo, you're making me blush!"
(Exactly what I was aiming for, I thought to myself.)
I'm still not entirely sure what a vloto is. I know that three vlotis are required for a full pregnancy, which seems to correspond to nine months in my old world. So, I've deduced that one vloto is roughly three months. A year consists of four vlotis, which aligns perfectly. Let's say vlotis are like the seasons in my old world.
After dinner, Rose called Gerald—my current father—and Tomas to the table. That evening, we had one of my favorite dishes: blokke stew. Blokkes are similar to carrots in shape and texture, but yellow instead of orange. Their taste is reminiscent of carrots but with a unique twist that makes them delicious.
After finishing the meal, I was ready for bed, even though it was only eight o'clock.
"Where are you going?" Rose asked.
"To bed. I woke up early this morning. Goodnight."
"Not so fast! If you're going to bed, you need to give both me and your mother a kiss first," Gerald interjected.
Honestly, I'm not comfortable with kissing them, but if it helps me get to bed faster, so be it.
After giving them the required kisses, I went to my room, changed into my pajamas, and crawled under the covers. All that was left was to fall asleep as quickly as possible so I could wake up at five the next morning, an hour before my parents.
Why?
I want to practice magic without them knowing. I may be a prodigy, but I have no intention of revealing it. Who knows what the consequences might be?
While trying to fall asleep, I decided it would be better to plan my activities for the next day. I live in a two-story house in the hills, about half an hour from the nearest village and ten minutes from a forest. Gerald, my father, is a farmer who makes a living growing crops and hunting. However, he used to be a B-class adventurer. I'm not entirely sure how the ranking system works, but I assume B-class is fairly high, considering how often he brags about it.
Rose, on the other hand, never knew her father. She knows nothing about him, except that he passed away when she was young. I've met her mother a couple of times, and from what little I've seen, she seems like a good person, though she's very reluctant to speak of her late husband. I've tried asking her about him, but she always prefers not to answer, so I've decided to let it go. Rose, however, is extremely skilled in magic. She's never been an adventurer, but she studied at a prestigious academy before meeting Gerald and marrying him.
With these thoughts in mind, I fell asleep.
The Next Morning
I woke up at 5:15. Normally, I wake up fifteen minutes earlier because I need to use the bathroom, but this time I managed to hold off a little longer. Oh well. I grabbed a piece of bread for breakfast and tiptoed out of the house, careful not to make any noise. Once I was outside and far enough away, I quickened my pace—though not too much, as I was still groggy from just waking up.
When I reached the forest, I found a rock to sit on and began eating my bread. After finishing my breakfast, I started my morning training. I spread my legs, stretched my arms forward, and clasped my hands together. I focused, trying to channel fragments of magic into my palms. In this world, casting spells requires speaking incantations to help concentrate. I usually use them, too. However, since I can sense magic, I can cast spells without them.
Of course, it wasn't easy. Normally, I succeed in three attempts with incantations, but without them, it was a different story. After five tries, I finally succeeded. It had taken me less time than usual. To train, I hit some branches and occasionally a few critters—carefully adjusting my strength. I felt I had reached a level of mastery in magic that I had never achieved before. I was sure I'd improved significantly.
When I finished training and returned home, I was met with an unpleasant surprise.
Before even entering, I could sense that my parents were deeply worried about me. Unfortunately, they had woken up earlier than usual. In such cases, I had two options:
Try to sneak in unnoticed and pretend I'd been hiding somewhere.Walk in and face my parents.
Given that the first option seemed unlikely and, frankly, too difficult considering my current physical and magical abilities—not to mention my clumsiness—I chose the second.
"Leonard!"
As soon as Rose saw me, she ran toward me, tears in her eyes.
"Where were you?"
I thought I could face my parents and handle everything like a genius, but as soon as my father started speaking, I froze. His voice was stern, his face angrier than I'd ever seen. I didn't know what to say, so I decided the best course of action was to tell the truth.
I explained my training, leaving out the part about reincarnation and my special ability to sense magic.
While I spoke, I noticed Rose's saddened expression. In both this life and my previous one, I had never seen such a heartbroken face. I realized that, being pregnant, she might be especially shaken by the thought of her two-year-old son not being in bed. But wasn't this a bit much? Rose had always been very protective of me and Tomas, but I'd never really noticed it before. Maybe I should investigate further.
"So that's it. You're not lying to us, are you?"
"Absolutely not, sir!"
After hearing me out, Gerald smiled, probably trying to appear strong, while Rose didn't even attempt to hide her worry.
"So my Leo is a prodigy."
Gerald hugged me and whispered softly in my ear:
"It's fine to want to get stronger to impress us, but try not to do anything so dangerous again, okay?"
"Okay."
Gerald was acting strangely—I'd never seen him like this before.
He got up to go to the bathroom, but just before climbing the stairs, he turned to me and said:
"By the way, what's with this 'sir' business? I'm your father. Call me Dad."
"Okay, D-Dad."
"I don't get why you're so hesitant to say it," he continued. "Not just now, but in other situations too. I hope one day I'll understand why."
Gerald, my dear, I thought, I hope you and Rose never find out the reason. Just as I hesitate to think of you as my parents, you'd hesitate to think of me as your son. And right now, being abandoned by the people who care for me most is the last thing I want.