Ceday interjected immediately

“Otis, he’s only 2 years old.” Ceday growled.

It seems as if they had this conversation before just from Ceday's tone of voice.

“Exactly! He’ll already be an excellent swordsman before these other kids even know how to wield a sword correctly.” 

Otis pleaded his point, and Ceday considered it for only 5 seconds before making her decision.

“No.” An outstanding no from Ceday.

Thank you, Ceday.

I was in glee until Otis began bribing.

“I’ll take you to the city. Jennet said she’d watch Alaric in a heartbeat. She was practically boasting about how cute he is, and how she watched him while we were gone.”

When a mom says no, it’s no. Of course she wouldn’t give me up for a trip to the ci-

“What a wonderful idea. Yes, I think you should do that.”

Why-

“Of course, my dear. Don’t worry Alaric, I got your back.” Otis grinned and gave me a thumbs up. 

In return, I gave him a frown.

His idiocy didn’t understand though, and he gave Ceday a big hug. 

It wasn’t much of a bad idea to train, but I’d rather spend more of my time reading. 

Otis slung me around his shoulder and I had to grasp onto his neck so I wouldn't fall off. 

Otis began prancing towards the well lit area of the forest.

We can’t start now. Are we starting right now?

“You’re gonna love this, Alaric!” I could hear his stupid smile erupting. 

I’ve a bad feeling about this

We’ve reached a dirt lot lit up by street lights. 

Otis gave me a long sturdy wooden stick.

I grasped at the bottom of the wooden stick with my two tiny hands. 

Otis unsheathed his old and dirty longsword with one hand.

He planted his right foot further behind him, and his left foot just ahead of him.

He lowered his longsword below his waist, holding the bottom of the handle of the sword just above his left leg with his left hand, and the top of the handle with his right hand.

The handle of his sword was on the level of his waist and the sword drooped downwards towards the dirt.

“Try to stab me in my gut.”

I didn’t hesitate. 

I tightened my grip around my stick and sprinted towards Otis.

I didn’t do anything fancy because I was already at a clear disadvantage.

I thrusted my stick towards his gut, and he slammed the side of his blade along the side of my stick, nearly pushing me off balance.

Not only that, he had the edge of his sword to my neck in almost an instant.

My heart felt like it was going to explode.

“I was an adventurer when I was younger. During my days of adventuring, I’ve learned many arts with this sword to make up for the lack of my magic.” Otis boasted.

I, however, grew even more dispirited.

If it were true that nearly everything about magic was inherited, I may have already been screwed.

“Maybe you could become this town’s guardian. You’d make a great one.” Otis grinned, laughing like an ogre.

I fell on my bum. 

I felt like crying, but I didn’t. 

I was really looking forward to magic.

“Your mother adventured with me. She was a great mage.”

My spirits were at its peak again. 

“A great couple, we were. Alas… adventurers don’t make enough money to settle down peacefully. Adventuring should be a last resort. Unless you’re exceptionally talented.”

I planted my knuckles in the ground and pushed myself up from my bottom to my feet. 

“Do you know her mana capability?”

“Hm? Your reading has done you well. She could manipulate fire, and just that. Although we had to bring torches and such so she could manipulate that fire, she was the force to be reckoned with.”

Fire manipulation… 

“So I can’t create fire and use it?” I asked bluntly 

“Well, there are people that can do such things. We’d call them Fire Magicians. If you had such an ability, you’d be in the City Magician Division, or even alongside the king if you had such strong mana potential. They’re quite rare, though.”

“I’m ready to begin training now.” I was eager to get home and learn more. 

“Alright. Let’s begin by getting your form together. Mirror me.”

Otis planted his left foot just a little ahead of him, pointing it towards me. He planted his right foot nearly behind him, pointing it to his right.  Then, he bent his knees a little.

I mirrored him.

He grasps the bottom handle of his longsword with his left hand, and the top handle of the sword with his right hand. 

I mirrored him.

The stance made me feel uneasy at first, but I became more comfortable with it.

Otis had his left arm in the shape of an L, the back of his forearm facing me. 

It looked like he was doing a bicep curl with only his left arm. 

He did the same thing with his other arm as well, except the front of that forearm was facing me.

His veins were protruding furiously.

As for his sword, Otis held it just below his waist, drooping the sword.

Of course, I mirrored it.

The entire night we worked on stances, footwork and breathing I learned from him.

I hadn’t swung once the entire night.

__

Another year has passed, and it has started to rain heavier than ever.

I’m 3 years old now, and my mana capacity and intensity has progressed quite nicely, I could feel it.

As for my swordsmanship, I was still getting there. However, the training sessions were like workouts, and I noticed that my body is getting stronger and more cut.

Otis has been taking it easier on me now because of the recent weather. 

However, Ceday hasn’t been bringing back books lately. 

Thus leaving me with nothing except running around the house and exercising my mana. 

She told me she gets her books from a library near the town’s lord’s manor when she was going shopping for food in the market.

I’ve never seen or heard of the Lord’s manor until I asked Ceday how she got the books. 

I heard that he’s usually gone though, fighting in the kingdom’s war. So his adviser is taking control over a substantial amount of the lord’s work in his absence. 

I also heard that the taxes have exponentially grown over these past few months from passersby and Ceday when she’s talking to her friends while I run away from those nasty critters they call toddlers. 

I foolishly thought that this life may become the one I see in light novels and anime. 

Peasant life is difficult. 

We don’t even have toilets.

We have waste buckets… 

Hygiene is terrible over here.

An old woman who lives just down our road refuses to wash herself. 

She never really comes outside, but I can still smell her.

Everytime I pass by with Ceday, I nearly faint.

Luckily, they have toothbrushes in this world.

The problem is, it’s expensive, so we don’t brush our teeth everyday.

There are no showers, so Ceday and Otis bathe me in a bucket of cold water. 

There’s bugs that end up in my mattresses so we have to replace the straw frequently. 

Worst of all, the women here look like horses!

Peasant life truly couldn’t get any worse. 

“Alaric, I’m going to the bath house. Don’t go anywhere.” said Ceday 

Ceday had been going to the new bath houses twice a week.

They’ve built a bath house next to a bakery and the owners could manipulate enough heat to warm up the water.

I wish I could go, but it’s only for adults. 

Ceday galloped out the door and down the road.

She told me not to go anywhere, but I’ve had more free time to myself because of her trips to the bath house. 

I never actually set foot outside the house yet, but I plan on doing so today.

Right now.

I peeked out the door and glanced down the road where she galloped. 

Best not go that way.

I make my way down the road opposite of Ceday.

Flakes of snow fell on my hair and shoulders.

Where do I go?

Passerby conversed.

Some gave me quick glances.

I made a few turns and such until I came across a patch of mud with two older boys striking at each other with swords, evading each other. They had mud all over them, especially their faces.

“You dance just like your mother does on me in bed!”

“We’ve the same mom!” 

I gawk at the two throwing slashes and stabs, each jumping and rolling.

One of them sat down, panting for air.

“I’m exhausted.”

The other boy pointed the edge of his sword at his neck.

“Gotcha’!” said the boy, waving his sword around the other’s neck.

“I said I’m exhausted, give me a break.” The other boy’s voice cracked often.

“There is no break in battle, especially the battle of town’s guardians.” 

There was a brief silence.

“What have you said about my mother?”

“Nothing.”

“No! I’m telling her you said that!”

“What? Cmon’, you wouldn’t.” the boy teased. “You wouldn’t, right?” Now the boy was really concerned because of the smug look the other boy had given him.

“Of course not, only if you’d be taking the shit down the pit.” 

“You piece of shit!”

Is that where our shit goes? Down a pit? Interesting. I should probably leave before getting noticed, though.

I walked further down the road where I found a lake that reflected nearly everything.

I stepped on the rocks that filled the edges, and I looked into the lake. 

I couldn’t see the bottom, but I could see myself.

If I didn’t hate kids, I would say I was adorable.

I was decently good looking in my previous life, but I may not have been as good looking as I may be in this life.

My hair gave away who I truly was. 

Otis’ son. 

I haven’t seen anyone with hair like Otis’. Most of this town had brown hair, and you’d rarely find anyone that had dirt red hair. 

Otis must not be from here. 

My eyes, however, were brown like all the others. 

I didn’t have a funny shrub nose like Ceday, but I did have a defined, strong nose like Otis.

I hope I don’t develop any recklessness from Otis, of course, if that’s even possible.

I looked very well built for a 3 year old. 

I took a few more seconds to look at myself before turning around and continuing my adventure.

A few minutes later, I felt like I was going to get lost. 

That feeling would soon be overwhelmed with a sudden “ooh” or “wow”.

Ahead of me was a large manor with plots of crop fields organized throughout a large portion of the land around it. 

In the plots of crop fields, I saw peasants, like I, who were working their ass off.

There were two large banners that were hanging on the walls of the manor, blazoned with an owl spreading its wings out as if it were flying.

So this is the Lord of Dunwich manor?

Dunwich was the small town we lived in.

Suddenly, I remembered that Ceday got my books from around here, so I ran all around looking for a library or something that may have reminded me of a library. 

I found nothing.

Disappointed, I walked back home. 

__

5 months have passed, and Otis decided to take me somewhere as he was laid off from his job until his broken left arm from work heals up. 

“You’re going to love it,” he said.

I doubt it I thought

Yet-

My doubts turned into astonishment. 

He took me down the road that led to the entrance of Dunwich and into a large, round patch of dirt, and a small crowd surrounding the edges of it.

He held my hand as we approached the circle, and then I noticed two men on opposite sides with swords. 

“Is this a duel?”

“Yes. This is the Town’s Guardian’s arena.”

A what?

“I suppose you wouldn’t know, though.” Otis jested

“What is it?” Otis looked constipated as he was looking for an answer.

I’m pretty sure he was trying to think of how to explain the whole thing to a 3 year old. 

“Town’s Guardians are people that fight other town’s guardians for their town.”

Mm.

“There are 90 matches a year. In this county, there is… maybe… 120 towns. Well, that’s how many towns there are usually in this kingdom.”

Does he really expect a kid to know what a county is?

“Anyway, at the end of the year, whoever wins the most fights moves on to the CountySemifinals. There’s the West and the East county, so whoever wins their County Semifinals in their conference moves on to the County Conference, and then the winners of the County Conference go to the finals.”

So basically the playoffs. 

“Dunwich is in the east of this county.”

“What happens if you win it all?”

“Well… whoever wins it all ranks up. There’s 5 ranks, I believe. The 1th rank, titled The Kingdom’s Guardians, are the highest rank and fight for the kingdom in disputes. You’ll learn about that stuff when you get older, though.”

Oh, I know. It’s probably best to not raise any suspicion that I reincarnated, though.

“Anyway, we’re a small town, so Dunwich’s Guardian goes against other 5th ranks, titled Plateless, in this county.. Same goes for the semifinals and such. Dunwich’s Guardian died in his previous match, so these two men are fighting for the position of Town’s Guardian.”

This is a lot to take in

It was indeed a lot to take in, and my face gave away my confusion. 

Otis, in response, gave me a rough noogie with his other arm.

“The duel is to begin in 1 minute!” shrieked a man in the middle of the circle. This man looked exactly like the other peasants.

Must be the ref

I began scanning the two of the men.

They were both snarling at each other. 

The one in front of me even shouted.

They’re serious, and it shows.

The man in front of me did have armor, though it was a funny looking leather helmet.

He had a low-end short sword, but a sword is a sword (said Otis, once). 

The other had a low-end, yet longer sword. 

The man in front of me is at a clear disadvantage.

“BE-BEGIN!” The ref shouted, scrambling out of the center of the circle and into the crowd. 

The two men approached each other slowly.

Cautious, slow steps.

Their form looked sloppy compared to what Otis had taught me, but they did appear to have great strength.

They were both short, but made up for it with their bulkiness. 

The two men started circling each other.

This finally stopped until the other man started sprinting towards his enemy.

He knows for sure that he has an advantage in close combat.

He probably wants to get pressure in. The man who was in front of me does look anxious.

He was anxious, yet he still stood his ground.

The other man finally reached his enemy and went for a slash.

Moron! He should’ve stabbed!

The man who was in front of me countered the attack by thrusting the side of his sword’s blade onto the other sword’s blade, sort’ve knocking his enemy off balance, and leaving him completely vulnerable.

Hey, how do they win these duels, anyway?

The man who was in front of me leaped forward and thrusted the edge of his sword into his enemy’s gut, and bashed him with his shoulder.

The other man fell to the ground, and was soon put to rest after his enemy slit his throat. 

I was in utter shock.

What… the fuck…