Tenkomori: The Homecoming Club Conquers Another World

Chapter 5: The Daily Life of a Five Year Old

I’m bored.

I tuck in a bookmark at random and close the thick stack of parchment – a history of the Arsis Empire.

Let’s get strong. Yes.

Five years had passed since I made up my mind to do so.

After that, I came back and realized.

How can an infant be trained?

I had no choice but to shelve my resolution and decide to improve my education.

I ask Meredy to read books for me. So I can learn this world’s language, and acquire knowledge of the world.

Fortunately, thanks to “Language Proficiency,” I was able to learn quickly.

I can understand the meaning of even unfamiliar words, and I realized how good the skill was.

Over the next few months, I grew up can read most books on my own.

The trouble was that Meredy didn’t believe me. When I was reading a book by myself, she would take it away and put it on her lap. Then try to read it to me.

It took another six months for her to be convinced.

Also, I gave up on being a child early on.

I’m old enough to speak, and the gag order was gone, but I had trouble because I’m still using childish language.

It was wise to give up on the idea of being a child if it was going to cause discomfort.

I gradually got used to my surroundings, using the techniques I had absorbed from the book.

In a few months, I would be a normal conversational infant.

I spent about four years like this, but surprisingly, there was nothing for a child to do.

I spent most of my time reading, and I reread the books in the library many times.

I don’t know how many times I read this history book.

It’s good to know what nation you belong to, though.

The predecessor of the Arsis Empire, the Kingdom of Arsis, was founded about eight hundred years ago.

The current year is 803 in the Arsis Calendar, and officially they use the number of years that the emperors ascended the throne. But it’s long enough that they beat the Kamakura Shogunate, the Mongol Empire, and Richard the Lionhearted’s England and survived unchanged until the time of his accidental death.

It is disheartening to see how long they lived, but other countries were in a similar situation.

It was more than 1,500 years ago that Veliates, which was considered a superpower, collapsed.

The Kingdom of Balmut, the avenging enemy of the Arsis Empire, was established a couple of hundred years later.

And the city-state of Ceges, to which Balmut belongs, has existed since the time of Veliates.

I had assumed that because it was a dangerous world, it had repeatedly risen and fallen.

Maybe it’s because it’s dangerous that it has a long life.

If there are too many foreign enemies, it is hard to develop a country, and if there is no development, the human domain will not expand.

It could be that they have settled down to their current sphere of influence over the years.

Well, even if the nation didn’t die out, I’m sure there are still battles with demons all over the place.

I took a glance at the thick history book and stood up, looking out from my room on the second floor.

I walked out of the main gate of the house. I saw a square, and beyond that, the main street.

If I look through the window, I can observe the stalls, stores, and people passing by.

I can’t say for sure because there is not much to compare it to, but I think it is a lively town.

Reedwald has no castle, and the lord lives in a mansion in the center of town.

First, they build a fort as a precaution against the Kingdom of Balmut, and people gathered around it to make it a town. That was four hundred years ago.

My great-grandfather, Paul, who became Baron Reedwald, had a hard time defending the fort, so he dismantled it first and used the stones to reinforce the outer walls.

And then they built the mansion on the site.

I gazed at the scene for a while, which reminded me of a European town, and then I turned on my heel.

“Let’s go for a walk.”

I left the room with my history book intact.

I walked down the dimly lit corridor and came to the stairs.

Then I heard a voice talking from downstairs.

“Oh, just in time. Fire, please.”

“You should do it yourself. Right?”

Meredy took the lantern from her colleague, opened the lid, and put her fingertips close to it.

As soon as she did, the lantern-lit up.

That is the “Flint” of life magic.

It allows you to create fire with only a tiny amount of magic power, without the use of tools such as a flint box.

It’s like carrying around a lighter without fuel.

The maid thanked her and walked away.

She’s heading for the warehouse.

The house was made of stone and had narrow windows. Some rooms needed light even in the daytime.

As I saw him off, she casually glanced around and noticed me.

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“Master Alter!”

She suddenly shouted and came running up the stairs.

“You’re not going for a walk by yourself, are you? Please call out to me, I’m your companion!”

“I’m only going for a short walk in the garden. Go and do something else.”

“No! I’m your chaperone, too!”

“I see. Sometimes I wonder why my parents hired you.”

Even if you refuse, she will follow you.

In disgust, I led Meredy out into the garden.

The sweetness of spring and the freshness of deep green hit my nostrils as we rode on a light breeze.

Looking up at the sky, a thin ray of sunshine was pouring through the big clouds.

It was a beautiful day for a walk.

I walked through the garden, letting the breeze guide me.

After a while, I heard a noise coming from a corner of the house.

Without changing my expression, I turn my head in that direction.

“You’re not stepping in hard enough!”

I can hear the sound of wooden swords clashing with each other, along with a scolding.

As soon as I turned the corner, the wooden sword rolled to my feet, bouncing off the ground.

“Alter?”

“Another afternoon of training, Father?”

I brushed off the dirt and held out the wooden sword to my father.

The sword training is held in the early morning and also in the afternoon, daily.

“I’ve got some free time on my hands. Do you want to watch?”

“No, just taking a walk.”

My father nodded and went back to his training.

There is a place on the grounds called the training ground.

The lawn had long since been gone, and the place was in such disrepair that it was hard to believe it was the residence of a noble/

My great-grandfather Paul said, “There is no battlefield with a good foothold.”

In such a training ground, my father, my twelve-year-old brother Lakius, the three squires Rans, Vilsus, and Nesark, all of the same age, and the middle-aged knight Roland, a former adventurer and instructor, were gathered.

My father rarely shows up in the afternoons because of his official duties. But when he is free, he has mock battles with Roland.

Also, I’ve been participating in sword training this year.

But since I’m a child, I’m exempted from the afternoons.

I would have liked to participate if I could, but Roland had given me strict orders not to overdo it.

My father and Roland faced each other again.

Perhaps because there was too much difference in their fighting abilities, Roland seemed to be playing the role of a literal instructor.

He easily fights with a wooden sword and strikes when necessary.

Even when his men beat him with wooden swords, my father did not get angry and concentrated on fighting.

Although he lacked talent in martial arts, he never became corrupt and worked hard to fulfill his duties as a lord.

He is a man I can respect even as my father.

By the way, Roland was magnificent.

He is massive but his movements are fast.

I’m sorry to compare him to my father, but his skills are even more impressive.

When I was a baby, Roland was called one of the strongest in the Reedwald with Conrad, the Knight Commander.

Five years have passed since then, and he has become the strongest in both name and reality.

We are a weak knight’s order with a total of eight members, including three squires, but Roland is still excellent.

There are skills for handling weapons called combat skills, such as “One-handed Sword” and “Spear”.

These skills are beginner skills, and once you reached rank 10 or so, they ranked up to intermediate skills.

And the majority of knights and warriors ended their lives at the beginner level.

Roland has “One-Handed Sword 7.

Even if he didn’t reach the intermediate level, it was still very high for a beginner level.

If you were an adventurer, you could be considered for B rank.

He retired when he was at rank C. Had he been promoted to rank B, he would have served a noble family with a higher rank.

After Roland’s instruction, the mock battle between brother and the squire Rans began.

When I looked at Rans’s expression, I saw that he was a little confused.

Like my father, my brother had no talent in martial arts.

Other than that, he is excellent and should be fine as an heir, but his opponent, Rans, doesn’t seem to be so lucky. He doesn’t like the idea of beating up his future master.

Brother is mild-mannered and knows his talent. Even when he’s angry at his lack of ability, he doesn’t take out his frustration on his opponent.

I turned my back on my future squire and returned to the garden.

Before I knew it, the clouds had passed and the sun was shining all over the garden.

Meredy held out her hand as if dazzled, so I decided to go into the shade.

With my back to the trees, I stared blankly at the garden.

Reading was useful, but there was a limit to how much I could reread books.

My father would order new books for me, but without printing technology, books were expensive.

That made me feel sorry for him.

At least if it was a classroom day, I could kill a little more time.

If it weren’t for the sword training, my brother and I would be taking a classroom class right now. Even if the material was a book I was familiar with, it was better than having to keep reviewing it by myself.

I started taking classes at the age of three, even earlier than my sword training.

When I had free time,  I observed my brother’s class and expressed my personal opinion. Then I found myself sitting next to him.

I was careful with my words, but apparently, it was abnormal for me to understand and speak up. I don’t know what a child’s standards are.

The lecturer for our class is my father, Graham the head of the family. Roland was also the sword instructor.

They had different areas of expertise. But the most interesting lecture was given by Roland, a former adventurer.

The knowledge he gained from his travels around the world could not be found in any books.

When I looked up next to her, I saw that Meredy had thrown off her clear mask and was looking at the sky with a completely relaxed face.

Even though she looked like this, she had mastered all the skills of a maid.

She was not a so-called bad maid, but she tried to slack off whenever she had a chance.

As a servant of a noble family, she lacks self-awareness. I wondered where she had gone when I was an infant.

While reminiscing, I cut to the disappointed maid.

“Can you show me the magic you just did?”

“Yes? What magic do you mean, Flint?”

When Meredy held up her index finger while tilting her head, a small fire was lit at the tip.

It’s a strange sight to see again and again.

There was no fuel, but it was burning, and the initiator didn’t even feel the heat.

It was as if the logic of my previous life did not work.

I was zoned-out by the strange phenomenon.

“It’s just a life magic. It’s not really ‘magic’.”

Meredy twisted around in embarrassment.

What she used was a life magic called “Flint”.

The four attributes of fire, water, wind, and earth are the foundation of magic, and there is a rudimentary form of magic called life magic.

However, as she said, it was only beginning magic users who could be called wizards.

“You’re not going to learn the beginner level? You’ve got the fire attribute, right?”

“I can’t afford a spellbook. Spellbooks are so expensive.”

Meredy waved her hand exaggeratedly.

According to Loran, spellbooks are expensive.

I’m a child under house arrest, so I don’t know the value of money, but their price is dozens of gold coins are commonplace. Once we learn it, the contents disappear.

But according to Roland, spellbooks are “cheating”.

After said that, Meredy tilts her neck.

“Cheating?”

“You can learn magic with proper training. With proper training, you can learn magic, but spellbooks skip such efforts. Well, it depends on your qualities whether you can handle it or not too.”

Meredy crossed her arms with a difficult face.

“If it’s life magic, I can remember it naturally … Can I skip it?”

“Good luck saving up.”

Despite the distressed maid, I opened the status.

Name: Alter Les Reedwald

Race: Human

Level: 2

HP: 26/26 (+2)

MP: 24/24 (+9)

P. Attack: 3 (+2)

Int: 14 (+1)

Dex: 4 (+3)

End: 3+2 (+2)

Agi: 7+2 (+6)

Charm: 13 (+1)

[Skills]

Increased Growth Potential, Increased Growth Value, Status Disguise, Mental Resistance 3, Language Proficiency, Appraisal 1, One-handed Sword 1 (new), Taijutsu 1 (new)

[Magic]

None

[Titles]

Reincarnated One, Ace of the Homecoming Club (+2 durability, +2 agility), Second Son of Baron Reedwald

This is who I am now.

I’ve never had any real combat experience, so my level has only gone up by one, but my abilities have gone up all over the place, and my agility has jumped up.

What caught my attention more was the increase in magic power.

With only one level of increase, it had caught up with my physical strength.

At first, I thought it was the effect of high intelligence. But there were many people with the same level of intelligence but less magic power.

I’m not sure why, but it seems I’m suited for wizardry.

As I was looking at my status, I suddenly felt a gaze on me.

I hurriedly closed it and smiled.

My status cannot be seen by others unless I allow them to see it.

Besides, I’m the only one in the house who has an appraisal, and even if someone were to peek at it, they wouldn’t notice because it’s disguised.

With relief, I followed my gaze and saw my mother, Henriette, standing in the doorway.

Her golden hair swayed in the wind and glittered in the setting sun.

She turned thirty this year, but she still looked young enough to be in her early twenties.

My mother did not speak to me but looked at me earnestly.

I was about to ask her a question when I realized.

Oh, right, the sunset.

I was going to take a short walk, but I must have stayed too long.

I hear voices talking from another direction, and look over to them.

After the training, Roland and the three squires were heading out of the gate, while my father and brother were chatting and heading for the door.

I looked back at my mother, who nodded and moved to the base of the thickest tree in the garden.

Meredy stood behind me and quickly tucked her hands inside her apron.

A sense of tension enveloped the garden of the mansion.

My mother watches with bated breath, and Meredy has a tense expression on her face.

I close my eyelids and catch my breath.

My father and brother must have sensed something because I couldn’t hear their footsteps.

I can hear a rustling of the trees in the garden and the distant hustle and bustle.

The air shook as if to break through them.

The bell struck at 18:00.

The town of Reedewald reverberated with a profound tone.

But I don’t take my time to listen to it.

Because I was taking my first steps at the same time it started ringing.

I grabbed the grass with my heels and kicked it up with my toes.

My whole body is soft and yet never collapses.

I’m a spring now.

With a glance, a dead leaf spins around ahead of me.

The wind is blowing perpendicularly in front of the house.

My entry angle is at an angle, not a tailwind, but not bad.

Observing the movement of the dead leaves, I listened carefully and read the wind that was blowing.

Just as I stepped to the front door, a strong wind crashed against the wall of the house.

The wind created a violent whirlpool that engulfed me.

The momentum carried me past my father and brother, and I stopped on the floor of the house.

Meredy stared at the hourglass in her hand and declared.

“Two seconds…… and a half! That’s a new record!”

「二メモリ……半！ 新記録です！」

“Congratulations, Alter!”

I raise my fist in the air and high-fives my mother.

I was filled with pride at the generous praise I received.

I held up the hourglass and Meredy praised me.

I thanked them both, but in my heart I disciplined myself.

A new wall.

Yes – just now, I'm the challenger again.

With determination in my heart, I thought about the battle that would begin tomorrow.

My brother walks past me with a wry smile, and my father stops.

“Don’t just play around, come on in.”

I couldn’t help but smile at him.

Is it a word of regret?

It looks like I’ve beaten the record.

I’m sorry, Father. As an adult, you are no longer able to compete with the little ones.

The record is still being pushed away.

Taste the despair. Hahaha!

For some reason, I was slapped on the head.