“Mya! Can you bring a warm towel and a glass of warm water, please?” A woman’s voice called out.

Slowly, Wyliame began coming back to his senses. Ugh… my head hurts… damn it… where am I…? he thought, gently opening his eyes as he did so. The light from above immediately blinded him, and instinctively, he reached out his hand to block out some of that brightness.

“Hey, keep your arm still! I haven’t finished healing you yet.” 

Hearing that, Wyliame glanced to his side. What stared back at him was a blonde-haired woman, one with emerald-green eyes, pointy ears, and fair skin that indicated her beauty.

“...who are you…?” Wyliame asked. Did this lady save me?

As he glanced around, he realized that he was kept inside a small room- one with a faint aroma of firewood and scented candles in the air. The smell was unique, but it added a sense of comfort and coziness that served to ease Wyliame’s mind.

“I hope the bed’s comfortable for you,” the woman spoke in a soft, caring voice. “I was so worried when I found your body in the snow.”

Unknowingly, Wyliame had been placed on a bed. Stacked atop him were multiple layers of thick, mushy blankets, along with a soft, feathery pillow beneath his head. The warmth from the covers on his body along with the heat in the air combined together for a relaxing, therapeutic sensation that spread throughout the entirety of the little boy’s thin muscles. 

“Here, let me continue healing your hand. You’re lucky that it didn’t get frostbite…” the lady insisted, taking his hand and placing it on her lap. She was seated on the chair beside the bed that Wyliame was in.

Wyliame didn’t notice it until then, but the sensations in his left hand’s fingers were nearly gone- the only things that he felt left were aches and slight burns of pain that spread throughout his fingers. However, at that same moment, a green illumination began emitting from the woman’s fingertips as she gently pressed her hand against Wyliame’s. She was using her magic to heal the boy. Seeing that the woman didn’t mean any harm, Wyliame expressed a bright smile at her.

“Thank you so much, ma’am.”

She smiled back at the boy who lay comfortably on the bed. “You’re very welcome. By the way, my name’s Lorelia! What’s yours?”

It took a second for the boy to recall, but he eventually remembered what Goddess Emma had called him. “I’m Wyliame.”

Just then, another person- a girl much younger than the lady beside Wyliame- opened the door and walked into the room with a towel and a glass of water. She was nearly identical in appearance to Lorelia, although she was much smaller.

“Thank you, dear,” Lorelia said as she took the towel and glass of water from the girl’s hands. She placed the water on the table beside her but kept the towel to rest it gently atop Wyliame’s bare forehead.

Ah, that feels so warm…

Suddenly, the sound of a man’s voice began bursting into laughter. “Ahahaha! You sure look like you’re enjoying this, don’t you?”

Shocked, Wyliame slightly jumped at the sound of the man’s voice. He turned over to his right and realized that the man had been standing beside the bed the entire time. W-what the hell? I swear I didn’t see him before…!

“Hey there, kiddo!” he waved at Wyliame. “You can call me Onas. Welcome to the Elvaris household!”

The man, similar to Lorelia and the girl that just came into the room, had blonde hair and pointy ears- except this time, his eyes were a burning scarlet red instead of the leaf-green color that the other two had. It was clear that these three were family.

“U-um!” the little girl beside Lorelia began. “M-my name’s Mya! I-I hope we get along well!” She bowed down and quickly ran out of the room.

Onas chuckled at the sight of the girl’s shyness and glanced at Wyliame. “That’s our daughter. She’s a little shy, but she’s a great kid when you get to know her.”

Daughter, huh? So that means that these two, Onas and Lorelia, are a married couple. And their ears are really pointy too… what’s with that?

“Say,” Lorelia began with a whisper, leaning closer to the bed and bringing her strawberry lips closer to Wyliame’s ear. “Since we saved you, why don’t you do us a favor?”

“A favor…?” Wyliame repeated after her.

She nodded and continued whispering, “You can marry her when you two get older. It’s always good to have a potential husband early on…”

Hearing that, Wyliame’s cheeks became flushed. What the hell is this woman saying? We’ve only known each other for less than ten minutes! Wait, no, I can’t judge… maybe the people in this world are naturally weird!

Onas began chuckling, his chest expanding with each laughter. “Hahaha! What the hell, Lorelia? You’re gonna scare off our patient!”

Well, at least this man seems pretty normal… Wyliame thought to himself.

Eventually, Onas calmed down, his laughter fading away. “By the way, how old are you? You look like you’re pretty young.”

How old am I…? 

Wyliame thought about it for a second, but quickly gave up when he remembered that the Goddess had not given him any information regarding his age.

But, just then, a screen of texts suddenly appeared in front of Wyliame’s eyes.

 

<[Appraisal Activated]>

<Wyliame, M, 8 years old>

 

Surprised, Wyliame glanced over to Onas, then back at Lorelia. Hmm… looks like they can’t see the text…

“I’m eight years old,” Wyliame replied. The text in front of him quickly disappeared after.

“Oh? What’s a kid like you doing out in the blizzard all alone?” Onas wondered. “If you know where your family is, then we can try to bring you back to them.”

Family? Hah, I’ve just been reincarnated. But I can’t tell them that…

“My family abandoned me and left me out in the snow alone,” Wyliame lied.

Simultaneously, Lorelia and Onas let out a gasp, staring at the boy in shock. Lorelia paused her healing on Wyliame’s hand and began inching closer to him.

“O-oh my goodness… that’s awful!” she cried, eventually leaning over to embrace Wyliame with a big, stuffing hug that buried the boy’s face into her chest. Since Wyliame was laying down on the bed, the embrace seemed a little awkward, although the message was there.

“I…I can’t breathe…” Wyliame mumbled, gasping for air. But it seemed as though the married couple wouldn’t listen. On the other side, Onas cried out, “Wyliame!” and jumped right in, embracing the boy alongside Lorelia.

I-I’m gonna die… I’m seriously gonna die! Goddess Emma, I’m so sorry for wasting this reincarnation!

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity to Wyliame, the couple let go of their hold on him as Lorelia resumed healing his hand.

“Hey, if you would like, why don’t you stay with us for now?” Onas began, placing the back of his hand on Wyliame’s cheek. “We don’t have a spare room, but if you don’t mind, you could sleep with Mya.”

“Can I really?”

Onas smiled back at the boy. “Of course. You could stay with us for as long as you’d like.”

Hearing that, Wyliame’s chest felt slightly warmer. “From the bottom of my heart, I’m truly grateful,” he said, smiling back at Onas.

“Ahahaha! No need for all that formality!” Onas chuckled as he began walking toward the door. “In the meanwhile, rest up a bit longer, alright boy? I’m gonna go outside to get some wood for the fireplace.” He waved goodbye to Wyliame and Lorelia and gently shut the door behind him as he exited the room.

The boy glanced at Lorelia, who stood beside him and persisted in healing his hand. Looking closer at her, he began admiring her beauty. Her eyelashes are really long and pretty… and her ears are too…

He stared deeper into the woman’s eyes, admiring how gorgeous the green hue was. Maybe this is the motherly-love aura that comes from every parent. Is this why every child is so attached to their mothers?

Seeing that Wyliame was staring at her, Lorelia tilted her head at him. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re really pretty…”

…

…

…

Wait, did I just say that out loud? Oh, shit… shit.. shit… I’m just a little boy, damn it! Act like one, Wyliame!

“Awh, thank you!” Lorelia blushed. 

“Y-your ears I mean! They’re really pretty!” Wyliame pointed out, attempting to recover from what he just said.

“My ears?” She began pulling her hair away from her ears, emphasizing how long and pointy they were. “Haha! Elves do tend to have beautiful ears!”

…elves? I see… so this world has elves. 

Curious to learn more, Wyliame stared intently at Lorelia. Just then, a screen appeared in front of his eyes.

 

<[Appraisal Activated]>

<Lorelia Elvaris, F, 32 years old>

<Species: [Elf]>

<Magic Type: Water [Healing]>

<Abilities: [General healing], [???], [???], [???]>

 

There it is! The same [Appraisal] spell from before. So that’s one of the spells that I could use…

Suddenly, Lorelia stood up from her chair and clapped her hands together. “Alright, your hand should be all healed up now!" she smiled, patting Wyliame’s healed hand. "I’m gonna go make some food for everybody. You'll be fine by yourself for the time being, right?"

The boy nodded, genuinely grateful for the care that she’d given him. “Yes. Thank you so much, Lorelia.”

She let out a smile and began walking out of the room, shutting the door behind her as she left. 

Wyliame sighed and dropped his head back onto his pillow, staring at the ceiling in front of him. This world… The Land of Ember, was it? So I’ve been given another chance at life by a goddess, but in return, I’ll have to kill the powerful beast that cursed this world in its frost. 

The boy gently shut his eyes, sinking his body deeper into the mattress while allowing the blankets on top of him to consume him. Who am I? Or no, who was I? The goddess said that my previous life was miserable and all that, but still... I’d wanna know who I used to be…

…

I guess there’s no point in thinking so hard-

“I-I heard that you're going to s-stay with us now…”

Immediately, Wyliame flinched from the sudden whisper, his body jumping upright from the bed. “What the?!”

He glanced over to his left, and to his surprise, the girl that Onas had called Mya stood there with a shy posture. She had snuck into the room without Wyliame even noticing.

“Y-you’re gonna sleep in my room, right?” she asked, not making eye contact with Wyliame.

Although she wasn’t looking, he gave a nod. “Yeah, sorry for the late notice. If you guys have a couch or anything, I can sleep there-”

"No! It's fine!" Mya yelled. "O-oh, um… sorry for raising my voice. I don't really mind if you sleep with me…"

Wyliame let out a chuckle. “Haha, be honest with me. You’re stuttering your sentences whenever you talk. It’s fine if you’re too nervous to be around me- I don’t mind sleeping somewhere else.”

Mya shook her head, insisting, “N-no, it’s okay! I’ll be glad to have you in my room.”

Intrigued, Wyliame decided to test out his skill on her. “[Appraisal],” he thought.

 

<Myantha Elvaris, F, 8 years old>

<Species: [Elf]>

<Magic Type: Wind [???]>

<Abilities: [???]>

 

Ah, so she’s the same age as me…

Suddenly, Mya flipped the blankets away from Wyliame’s body and gently grabbed onto his hand. “F-follow me. I'll show you our room…"