2 years later, early summer, 7 years old.

 

The weather is nice and clear.

The birds are chirping and an occasional small animal runs across the field.

Small things that i have begun to notice recently.

I'm not sure if its because i'm getting more aware, or something else.

I'm currently sitting by the river next to our house, attempting to fish.

Eric suggested it as a hobby since i don't do much else besides training.

I've been at it for a few weeks now and i haven't made much progress, i've only managed to catch a few fish.

Normally i would have refused to try it but i figured he might keep suggesting something else, so i hope this will keep him quiet for a while.

Not much has happened in the last two years.

As promised, i taught Alfreda how to read and shortly after that, also write.

Surprisingly, she is quite smart. It took her a little over a year to learn both.

Although she understandably struggles with difficult texts, she can read simple books such as children's story books just fine.

She has even visited Luton to buy books for herself.

If she starts school at some point she will have quite a head start, in terms of literacy.

 

I hear steps, someone is approaching me.

"Hello Alex, how are you?"

Alfreda greets me with a friendly tone.

"Fine, just trying to fish."

She walks closer.

"Hey, look what i got."

Fishes aren't currently biting so i look at her.

"Notice anything different?"

I look at her up and down.

"Not really."

She does a little spin.

"It's a new dress! Do you like it?"

"Isn't that the one you always wear?"

"No, silly! My mama bought it for me because i grew out of the old one."

Her new white dress is similar to her previous one, it has short sleeves and reaches her knees.

She has also added a pair of white thigh high socks to her usual attire alongside some new brown shoes.

Her hair has grown out more and it reaches past her shoulders.

She spins again.

"So? Do you like it?"

"It's fine i guess, i don't really care."

She takes a few steps closer.

"Hmph, it wouldn't hurt you to compliment me once in a while y'know?"

"Why do you care what i think?"

"Because you're my friend?"

"Sigh, whatever." I force a smile. "It looks good on you."

"Thank you!"

She smiles, satisfied.

"I see you've started to wear the butterfly hair clip more often."

"Yes, it fits a lot better now that i've grown a little."

She smiles.

"Thank you for noticing Alex."

"Whatever."

I roll my eyes and check if any fish are taking the bait.

Sigh.

She sits on a rock next to me and stretches out her arms.

"Ahh, i wish these days would never end."

I shift my eyes towards her.

"What do you mean?"

"Y'know, enjoying these warm summer days, playing outside, visiting Luton, things like that."

She leans against me, her shoulder touching my arm.

"And hanging out with you."

She watches the fish circling around my bait.

"Do you intend to stay in Hillcrest?"

"Hmm, sure, why not? It's so nice here. I really love this place."

She looks up at me.

"What about you Alex?"

I adjust my position so that she stops leaning on me.

"I'll move out when i grow up."

She is slightly shocked after hearing this.

"Oh, why?"

"Well, i have some personal goals i intend to accomplish which will most likely require me to travel the world."

I pull back my bait and throw it to a different spot.

I notice Alfreda is awfully quiet and i look at her.

She is looking down and rather sad.

"...But i have some stuff to do here before that, so i'm not in too much of a hurry."

This seems to cheer her up a little bit.

"Sniff, well, when you do leave, will you promise to visit me?"

She looks at me with teary eyes.

I was afraid she was going to ask that.

Honestly, there is a low chance of that happening.

When i eventually leave this place, it would be best not to leave any attachments behind, but telling her that would upset her further.

And an empty promise would give her false hope.

Looks like giving a honest truth without upsetting her is not possible.

"I..."

Suddenly Anna's voice calls out to us, shouting that lunch is ready.

I pull my bait back and set the fishing rod aside.

"Let's go."

"Yeah!"

I sigh in relief, Anna saved me from answering her question and hopefully she will forget about it.

We walk down the road towards my house when i see a wagon coming towards us.

When it gets closer, i see two younger men, who are wearing what seems to be protective gear made out of leather and metal.

Driving the wagon is an older, visibly muscular man with scars.

When the wagon passes, i see a fourth person sitting in the back.

It's a young girl wearing light brown robes, a big round hat and leaning against her seems to be some kind of staff.

She looks slightly up, revealing her face.

Her expression is blank but i can see that her hair is short, not quite reaching her shoulders, and light blue, the second time i've seen such an unusual color, after Alfreda's white hair.

Her shiny, sapphire like eyes meet mine, and she greets me with a little wave and a smile.

I acknowledge her greeting and offer a quick nod back.

Normally i wouldn't return a stranger's greeting but something about her appearance made me do it anyway.

The wagon disappears into the distance and it looks like they're heading to the big forest down south.

I close the front gate behind us and Alfreda skips to the front door.

 

When we step inside, Ava comes to greet us and she becomes especially happy once she sees Alfreda.

"Nya!"

She extends her arms towards her, wanting to be picked up by her.

"Ava!"

She picks her up and follows me to the kitchen, where Anna has set the table ready for lunch.

Ava has become very attached to her due to Alfreda's frequent visits to babysit her.

We sit down and i see Anna has made us sandwiches.

I don't see Eric here so he might come back later for dinner.

With practiced ease Alfreda sets Ava down on her own chair and she herself sits down beside her.

Anna is aware of my appetite and she has made four sandwiches for me, and two for Alfreda.

Anna sits on the other side of the table, Ava's food in hand.

"Please may i! I would love to help her eat!"

Anna is surprised by her eagerness and places her hand on her cheek.

"Oh my, well if you insist."

Alfreda nods aggressively.

Anna hands over the bowl of food to her.

"I guess i'll do the dishes then."

I'm already engrossed in my own meal and had tuned out their little conversation.

We are about halfway through our meal when Anna glances over at Alfreda, who has already finished her sandwiches and is now taking great care to feed Ava properly.

"Just like that Ava! So good isn't it?"

"Nya!"

She responds happily.

Anna chuckles, interrupting my food-induced daydream.

"You would make a great wife someday Alfreda."

Hearing this from Anna makes Alfreda blush heavily.

"Y-You think so? Thank you haha."

She tries to remain composed but fails miserably.

"Of course! You're already showing great motherly qualities. Your future husband will be very happy."

Anna winks at me sneakily.

What the...!? This woman!

"H-H-Husband!?"

Her face is now red and she wants to hide it but can't because she is currently feeding Ava.

"Haha, i'm sorry Alfreda, i couldn't resist. Seeing you take care of Ava so well impressed me."

Alfreda manages to calm down and she takes a deep breath.

"Haha, it's okay."

I turn my eyes from Anna to Alfreda and catch her looking at me.

She blushes and quickly turns her head away and feeds Ava the rest of her meal.

For me the whole atmosphere has turned awkward and i quickly finish my sandwiches.

"I should get going. Thank you for the meal!"

Alfreda thanks Anna and she heads to the front door.

I follow her there and watch her step outside.

"Bye bye Alex! See you later!"

"Sure."

With that she returns home in a good mood, despite her earlier embarrassment.

I close the door and go through the backdoor to the backyard.

"Now then, time for training."

 

As usual, and pretty much one of the only reasons why i go to the backyard at all, is to strike the big tree.

The last two days i trained my legs so today i'll use my fists.

After some stretching to properly warm up, i assume my stance and strike with my right, then my left.

Up until now, i've mostly used straight punches and hooks.

The tree is too thick to properly use strikes like uppercuts and some kicks.

There is that big forest where that wagon went, maybe I could find a piece of wood, like a log there and make a proper training dummy out of it.

The gym in the old world provided all the equipment i needed but here i have to improvise and create my own equipment.

After some time, Eric arrives to the backyard, field tools in hand and sees me training.

Judging from the amount of sweat on me, i've been at it for a while.

He and Anna are both aware of my training, but haven't really asked me about it.

The worn spot on the tree, from several years of striking has lost its bark, exposing the inner wood.

Eric thinks and decides its time to have a proper talk about my training.

He approaches me and assumes a friendly tone.

"Hey son, how are you?"

"..."

"Hmm, no answer?"

"Alex?"

"..."

"He's not answering. Can he not hear me?"

"Alex!"

Eric notices the sound of my heavy strikes and grows concerned.

He decides to place his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey Alex, can you hea..."

When his hand makes contact, i wake up from my trance and quickly turn around.

"What the...!?"

Eric pulls his hand away quickly after seeing my reaction.

We stare at each other, confused about what just happened.

"H-Hey son..."

He manages to speak up.

"Eric? What do you want?"

"Ouch, such a cold response."

"Nothing much. I was just wondering what are you doing?"

"What does it look like, i'm training."

"I can see that, but what for?

I find a bucket near me, i turn it upside down and sit on it with my elbows resting on my knees.

"Sigh, to get stronger."

Eric sits on the grass next to me.

"That much i understand but why? Why do you want to get stronger?"

I hesitate for a moment.

Telling him about my goal of becoming the strongest in the world doesn't sound very serious coming from a child.

But he was a successful mercenary, which means he was strong, so he might understand.

"Because i want to be the strongest in the world."

Eric is about to chuckle but stops, hearing my tone tells him i'm quite serious.

He thinks and looks at the worn spot on the tree.

"Damage like that doesn't happen overnight. I know he has been doing this for a long time, but i had no idea it was this intense."

He reaches out, grabbing my left forearm and inspects my hand.

"His knuckles are all calloused and there are scars all over his hand. How did a boy his age get an idea like that?"

Seeing Eric's rather serious, slightly disturbed face makes me uneasy and i pull my arm off his grip.

He is visibly surprised by my strength as he was holding my forearm quite firmly.

"Do you intend to hurt people Alex?"

His question catches me by surprise.

"Well, if i aim to become the strongest, i will eventually have to fight other people, especially if those people intend to stand in my way."

"It's not a matter of wanting to, it's a matter of having to. I don't expect to become the strongest without fighting and i'm sure there are other people with similar goals."

He considers my words.

"What about killing people? Are you willing to take someones life?"

"..."

Killing people huh?

World Wide Elite Fighter, WWEF for short, was a one of a kind, barely legal, no holds barred fighting organization. During fights everything was allowed, from eye gouging to breaking of bones. There were no rounds and fights would last until an opponent either surrendered or was incapacitated. The only rules were that no weapons were allowed and you couldn't kill your opponent. Doing so would cause in disqualification and most likely prison time.

There were many opponents who i beat to the brink of death, but i never actually crossed that line.

Despite village life has been very peaceful so far, i'm sure the world beyond it is far more dangerous than the modern world i reincarnated from.

"If it comes to that, i will do what i must. Survival is one of my highest priorities. You were a mercenary once, so your hands aren't exactly clean."

Now having a clearer picture of my motivation, he isn't sure what to make of it.

"You're right about that. I had to kill many people during my career, innocent or not. One of the reasons why me and your mother settled here was so i could leave that life."

"I just hoped that you would lead a different life than i did, but seeing how determined you are about becoming the strongest, i won't stop you."

This whole father-son conversation is beginning to make me uncomfortable and irritated.

In the old world i didn't have this kind of conversations with my father or Coach.

"I'm done with this conversation."

I get up and head back inside.

Eric stands up and ponders while watching me enter the house.

"Sometimes talking to him feels like talking to a grown man."

 

Later that night, Eric is still awake and is moving some things around in the front yard, when he suddenly hears the sound of hooves getting closer, from the direction of the big forest.

Out of curiosity, he walks to the front gate.

"Who could be traveling at this hour?"

A horse comes into view, carrying someone on its back and Eric's eyes open wide.

Eric kicks the door open, a person in his arms.

"Anna! Quick, i need your help!"

Eric rushes to the kitchen, clears the table of any objects and sets the person on it.

Anna descends down the stairs and goes to the kitchen where Eric is.

She sees the person, a girl, on the table, badly injured and with a broken arrow on her shin.

"Oh, my!"

She quickly approaches Eric.

"I'm going to pull the arrow off her leg. It isn't in too deep but i want you to begin healing it once its out."

"Yes, dear!"

The commotion wakes me up.

Confused, i get out of bed and get dressed.

Eric sees me descending down the stairs

"Alex! Go grab a bucket and fetch water from the well!"

His commanding tone wakes me up fully, giving me no time to question him and i hurry to the backyard.

"Ready?"

Anna nods and with one swift motion Eric pulls the arrowhead out, just as the girl wakes up.

"KYAA! LET GO OF ME!"

The girl sees Anna and Eric and she begins thrashing around, trying to get off the table.

The wound is bleeding and Eric has trouble trying to wrap a bandage around it.

"Stop moving we're trying to help!"

"NOO!"

She screams and cries.

The girl sits up and Eric takes the opportunity to land a well-placed chop to her neck, knocking her out.

The girl falls unconscious and Eric quickly wraps the wound.

Anna puts her hands together in prayer and channels a healing spell.

"'Heal'."

I arrive with the bucket to the kitchen and set it on the floor.

I see the girl and i recognize her.

She is the same girl i saw on the carriage heading to the forest.

She's all bruised up and her robes are all tattered.

"Alex, her hat and staff are outside. Fetch them and bring them in."

I go outside and i find them on the ground, next to the horse.

I bring them in and set them next to the kitchen table.

Looks like the situation has calmed down.

The girl is sleeping, her wound is patched up, Eric is cleaning the bloodstains and Anna is praying with her eyes closed.

There are shiny, small gold colored magical particles floating around the girl.

Slowly, the small cuts around her body heal and disappear.

The glowing stops and Anna sighs in exhaustion with a light sweat on her face.

"She should be fine now Eric. I'll focus on her wound tomorrow, i need to rest."

"Thank you Anna, ill carry her to the spare bedroom. I will stay up to keep an eye on her."

"You too, Alex, you can go back to sleep."

Whew, finally.

 

As if i could sleep after an intense moment like that.

What was she even doing in that forest?

And wasn't she with a group? What happened to them?

Looks like the forest isn't as safe as i initially thought.

Once i go there, i should be fine if i don't go too far.

But back to the group. Why were they there in the first place?

I recall the book i read to Alfreda.

Were they adventurers?

If the girl is willing to talk after she wakes up, i might ask her.

Also, if i recall correctly, this is the first time we've had a guest.

"Yawn!"

Looks like i might be able to get some sleep after all.