Novel I Didn't Even Want to Live, But God Forced Me to Reincarnate!

Hi guys, I've been writing an original series of my own for a while and decided to introduce it to wider audience, as I decided I'd write more regularly.

I Didn't Even Want to Live,
But God Forced Me to Reincarnate!
​

Synopsis :
A duke’s daughter wanted nothing in her life but the sweet nothingness of death, as she felt like her life served no purpose. Her wish was granted when she was killed in an unfortunate accident, yet in a sudden turn of events, she was forced to reincarnate.

As fate has it, she was reborn in her original world, but not directly after her death. As she is living her new life, she tries to forget the pain of her old life. But, what exactly is behind her reincarnation? Will she be able to live her new life to the fullest?


Genres : Fantasy, Slice of Life, Comedy, Drama, Psychological

Tags : Reincarnation, Female Protagonist, Age Progression, Sword and Magic


Another Summary:
I finally died! (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑
Goodbye terrible life, goodbye family that didn’t want me in the first place.
Welcome, sweet nothingness of death!

…Wait a minute.
Why is god forcing someone like me to reincarnate? After all, I didn't accomplish anything before my death.
And, was I reborn in the same world again? Well for now, let’s just see how my life goes, this time!

Note :
Please do leave a comment on your impression about the story! You can leave a comment either here or in the other sites listed below, where you can directly leave a comment after the chapter! Hope you will enjoy my story ^^ I highly recommend you to drop a comment, please :"D

Table of Contents :

For better navigation and experience, you can also read the story in my site or Creative Novels or other platforms where I hosted this novel.
In addition, there might be cases where I haven't posted the newly released chapter here, so you can also check its original directory for faster update ^^.
Advance chapter can be accessed via Patreon.

Arc 0 - Re:Birth

• Prologue
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4

Arc 1 - Lyra

• Chapter 5
• Chapter 5.5
  
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 12.5
  
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 17
• Chapter 18
• Chapter 19
• Chapter 20
• Chapter 20.5
• Chapter 21
• Chapter 22
• Chapter 23
• Chapter 24
• Chapter 25
• Chapter 26
• Chapter 27
• Chapter 28
• Chapter 29
• Chapter 30
• Chapter 31
• Chapter 32
• Chapter 33
• Chapter 34
• Chapter 35
• Chapter 36
• Chapter 37
• Chapter 38
• Chapter 38.5
• Chapter 39
• Chapter 40
• Chapter 41
• Chapter 42

Extras:

• End Game (April Fools Special)
• Extra 1 : Reinst's Coming of Age Ceremony

 

Prologue



[ Cells Donor Consent Form]

Name : Reinst Carnatia Grabberton

Age : 13 years old

Cells to be donated : stem cells - (all checked).

“By this contract, I allow the use of my cells for those in need if anything were to happen to me.”​

I stare at the form I just filled. All perfect. Now, time to sign it for submission.

"Ara, such a young lady. Did you come here with your parents?"

I look up at the auntie talking to me: she wears a white coat, glasses and is holding a bunch of papers against her chest. Likely a staff from the Cell Donor Foundation.

“Yes. They are in the pharmacy over there.”

“Really? But why would they let you fill the form by yourself then…?”

I look right at her, in the eyes.

“We’ve had a discussion. They told me that this is my decision, and that I had to be the one doing it all.”

“Oh… Alright then.”

She readjusts her glasses and returns to her occupation.





Hmm, in any case, it was a blatant lie~☆

Tee~hee~ ( ◞･౪･)

Not like she will know anyway. Plus, this is no big deal.

I just did what I could to hide the fact that I am weird.

Eh? What part of me is weird, you ask?

It can be really weird for someone as young as me, to decide on my own that I sign myself as a cell donor. Yep, it's not my parents' command. After all, what I told to the auntie before was a lie, you know?

Nobody my age would think about it-- since it's similar to thinking about death.

I would rather spout that lie rather than being suspected and labelled as weird. I’m tired of that kind of labelling.





" Wait a second."

"!!" Her voice stopped my movement.

No, please, no more trouble. I am already 13 years old, which means the country already acknowledges me as an adult, right?

Riviera country, my beloved..., nah, just kidding, I feel no love whatsoever towards the condition of my birth. But I feel lucky enough to be born in a country where adulthood is acknowledged as soon as 13 years. In the history books I read so far, it’s said that the acknowledgement of an adult is given after one turns 18, 16, or even 21. It depends.



I turn around to look at the auntie. Got to be polite, right? Eye contact, eye contact~

"Yes, Auntie?"

"Do you have a minute?"

"Uhm... sure," I start to approach the kind-looking Auntie, reluctantly.

It better not be a problem...



"Auntie just wants to give the best of regards to you and your parents. My, what great parents, to have the heart to teach their children the importance of charity and donation. Even so, Auntie would like to pray that nothing befalls you and your kind family before the right time," blabbered Auntie with a cheerful face.



"Ee... thank you, Auntie!"

And with that, I dash off outside.





Okay, I hated the talk earlier. The talk built upon a lie.

What great parents? Truth be told, I would have preferred to be an orphan. Not like it will make any difference. Oh well, let's end another countdown to my death, shall we?

Haha, just kidding.

But seriously, I wonder, how long will I have to live this unsatisfying life?



Regardless of how unsatisfied I am with my own life, now that I signed the cell donation’s form, I would like to believe that my existence would be of any use to people in this world.

Be it that I can finally live up to my mother’s expectations (which is very hard... based on past experience) and obey every order given to me by my family, or perhaps my cells can save others. After all, I am quite “unique”.





Cells donation.

In this world of magic, even illnesses that render cells dead is present. Besides managing your body function, cells also work as mana transmitter for magic. Which means, cells have their own affinity to magic. To cure those illnesses, cells transplants are needed. People without any affinity of magic will be able to accept the donor who have no affinity as well. No matter the age difference of the donor and receiver, the cells can be transplanted as long as they have the same magic affinity. Only some important cells can be transplanted, and once it succeeds, it can regenerates the other infected cells to be healthy.

Pretty efficient, eh?





Okay, getting back to my “uniqueness”... it is just that, my magic affinity—my attribute is rare.

But it is not something to be proud of. My magical capacities—my mana— is not that strong.

Besides that, my family comes from a knight’s lineage. We are proud of our sword-wielding ability rather than magic—even though being good at magic is definitely a plus.





So, let’s count!

Weak magic? Yes, I have it!

It’s one point then.



What gender am I? A girl!!

My family values... boys over girls, as the title knight would be related to boys! (Why are boys stronger than girls? *sigh*)

That makes it two!! Two disappointment for myself, already.



So, my uniqueness is nothing to be proud of. Rather, the magic I am having an affinity with is seen as a sinister element of magic. People often discriminate and look down at me due to my attribute. And, that is the only magic I can use, too, due to my low mana...



Basically, I am a disappointment~ ★

If I were to rate my level of being disappointment, it would be... ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

★ Being a girl in a family that values boys.

★ For having a bad luck in my attribute and mana capacity.

★ Not being attractive enough and for being so unloved by people around me.

★ Having a mind that only thinks of death.

☆ (white means not a disappointment!) Being born as a noble.





As of now, I am worth nothing. But I intend to at least worth something, before I die. And that is why I submitted that cell donor form.



I look up at the sky and notice at how it’s still bright outside.

Since I went through a complicated process on getting the permission to wander off alone, let’s not waste it!

Shall I take an aimless wander around the town until it gets dark?

 

Chapter 1

The Grabberton Family​

A few years ago, in a well-equipped manor...



"Congratulations, Madame, it is a healthy baby girl!" said a midwife, who just helped the Madame of the house giving birth for the first time.



"..........eh?"

A sound of disbelief is heard clearly.

Whoever they are, the person seems to be in utter disbelief over what they heard.



"You sure... I gave birth to a daughter?"



"Yes, and she looks lovely!" replied the midwife, full of enthusiasm.



Hearing those words, the brown-haired curly lady, full of sweats, slouched and dozed off.

No, no... It cannot be…



“Would you please hold your daughter, Dahlia-sama?”

A maid who just finished washing the blood off the newly-born individual stood by Dahlia—the lady who just went into labor—as she craddled the baby.

“Ah... yeah, sure... thanks...,” Dahlia snapped out of her thoughts and quickly craddled her daughter. She finally gazed at her first child’s face...

Usually, a mother would gaze at their first child sweetly. But, Dahlia’s gaze... was a gaze of disappointment instead.



“Why weren’t you a boy...?” she muttered. Yet, the baby didn’t understand anything as she cried...

❉❉❉​

“Congratulations on your daughter’s birth, Dahlia-san!”

A young lady with straight blonde hair congratulated the new mother in her room, a few days after she gave birth. The lady looked to be almost the same age as Dahlia. Dahlia’s green eyes met with the lady’s grey eyes. She then quickly replied to the lady’s smile, though Dahlia’s smile was only out of politeness.

“Thank you, Kania-san,” Dahlia replied.

“I am sure your child will grow up to be pretty!” said Kania as she glanced over to Dahlia’s daughter.

“Thank you very much, I hope so, too,” replied Dahlia.

“Her name... Reinst... was it?” asked Kania.

“Reinst Carnatia Grabberton,” confirmed Dahlia, “Herbert named her himself the other day when he came home from his duty.”

“Ah, what a lovely name, as expected of Herbert!” Kania praised the man who named Dahlia’s daughter.



Anyone who heard their conversation would have thought the two to be somewhat good friends. But in reality, they could never be friends. They will always be rivals.

❉❉❉​

Dahlia van Petersburg is a noble daughter that got married to Herbert Secth Grabberton, a Duke governing the Qwasigreynard city in the Western border of Riviera country. The Grabberton family was of a knight lineage that protected the border of the country since long time ago.

They were married in a political marriage in order to strengthen the Grabberton lineage. But, Dahlia was Herbert’s second wife. Herbert’s first wife was Kania Lowee, another noble with lower status than Dahlia. Based on the tradition of Grabberton family, the rightful heir of the family would be the male legal child of the current Duke.

In case of two male children born of the same Duke but to different wives, the rightful heir would fall to the one having a mother of higher status—as it was said, “nobler blood is more precious” and that typically, it was believed that nobler person had more power and talent bestowed by God.

Kania gave birth to a son one year prior to Dahlia. When Dahlia first learnt that she was pregnant, she believed that the child in her belly would be a boy—the rightful heir of the Grabberton lineage. But her child turned out to be a girl. And thus, Dahlia was devastated.

A girl in Grabberton family was seen as a precious asset to be married off with other nobles as to strengthen the bond of Grabberton family. Yes, the one to inherit most of Grabberton’s legacy would be a son. There was no way a daughter could win—except if she was the sole heir.



“At the very least...,” Dahlia murmurred.

“This child should be worthy to be a wife candidate of a high-rank noble---even someone related to the King, if possible... for you to enter the royal family... for you to be the Crown Princess... That’s right. I will make you the perfect girl one could ever hope for. Then at least... Herbert would acknowledge me and I won’t be belittled...”

Dahlia was very bitter. She could not accept the fact that she—who held a higher noble rank than Kania, would have lost against her at giving birth to an heir.



And so, Reinst was raised strictly by her mother.

She would undergo etiquette and other trainings equal to the one that the Crown Princess underwent, in hope that she will be chosen as the Crown Princess in the future. She also went through other trainings such as the essential swordsplay a Grabberton should know.



Under all the pressure given to her, Reinst did not flinch. She strived to be the best and her results were satisfactory. It was an amazing achievement for someone her age. Reinst did everything she could... so that her mother would praise her, would smile proudly at her. But never once did she receive any praise from her mother.

“She has to be better than this! She has to be perfect!!”



And at some point, Reinst realized that no matter how well she did, she would never get praised by her mother. Her mother would never smile at her even though her teachers boasted her achievements. Her father paid more attention to her half-brother, as it was her half-brother who would be the next in-line in Grabberton family. She was neglected. Not in terms of food, or other care needed. The noble family of a Duke would never fail at providing the best food and other resources available for their kin. But she lacked of love during her years of growing up.



I wonder if I were to be the kind of a girl any nobles and even the King himself wants his son to marry---will mother smile at me? Will I be any of use to mother? Will I be able to pay for the months she spent for me while I was in her womb? Will mother and father finally look at me?

...

Am I even worth anything?

They were the thoughts that popped out in Reinst’s mind time after time.

❉❉❉​

Unfortunately for Reinst... and fortunately for Dahlia, she finally gave birth to a son when Reinst was 9 years old. The rightful heir—the one Dahlia had wanted since a long time ago—was finally born.



“Congratulations, Mother! I am so glad that I got a little brother!” said the petite girl with amber eyes and short brown hair to Dahlia who craddled her new-born son. That son of Dahlia—Reinst’s little brother, had the same eyes and hair color to Reinst.

“Thank you, Reinst,” replied Dahlia as she gazed lovingly to her son.

At that time, Reinst could not believe what she witnessed.

Her mother—which she remembered by her strict face and bold expressions, smiled... the kind of smile Reinst never received. The kind of loving smile Reinst wanted her mother to show to her. Yet, her newly born brother had gotten it ahead of her. Without exerting any effort. Just because... he was a boy.

Her brother snatched it away from her. A love that Reinst never received. A love she so yearned for years, believing that one day she might get it, at the very least from her mother. But no, she realized at that moment that she would never receive that said love.



...I couldn’t decide my own gender, could I?

Aaa, so that’s how it goes...

No matter how much I tried, no matter how much effort I put my mind to, in the end, I would never win Mother’s love...

Then, what was my reason to be here?

Mother never needed me... she only needed brother...

I might be able to give the Grabberton family any use, were I to be married to an influential person... but I would never be the heir Mother wanted.



And so, not knowing exactly since when, Reinst fell into despair...

She would love to end her life at that moment, but no, she couldn't. Doing so would mock people who wanted to live but couldn't. She believed that her life, her body, should have been given to those who truly wanted to live, not to her.

And perhaps... she could be of use to her “family”. Although she is too pessimistic regarding that.

So she lived without any purpose. Believing that one day—at the very least, her body could save others by donating her cells. Even if she didn't know when is her long awaited "time".

 

Chapter 2

Fate​

I wonder if there is such a thing called fate?

I wonder how is anyone's fate ever decided?

I wonder if everything is already predetermined... and that I just have a bad, bad luck?

The world is such an unfair place if that is the case.

Yes, if that is the case, then I don't even want to live in this world.

Yet, here I am...

So I wonder, do I have any raison- d'être at all?

If so, what is it?

I am not even useful to my mother, and it seems like my existence doesn't matter in my family.

I wonder if I will live to learn what the reason for my existence is?



Wandering around the town while thinking about my own existence, I realized that it has become quite late.



"Huh, oh... I don't feel like going home, though..."

After I have finally managed to find a reason to go out, I never want to return quickly. After I return, my "queen" training would begin again.



I have no ambition at all.

I just want to disappear quickly.

If a person like me, who just wants to die, gets chosen as the queen, I would ask if the king is sane enough or not. Even if it is something to celebrate for my family, sure... and then I can be of use to my family.

What if I were to be some noble's wife...?

Oh, I guess my status is high, so of course I can give birth to a child that is of high nobility.

Even so, I might end up as my mother before she gave birth to my brother.

A woman, unloved, lonely, and even went to such length as to get harsh trainings on her daughter.

I would rather die than treat my child the same way as I was treated.



At that moment---

Out of nowhere, a ball of something that seemed like rock fell and hit my head.

Ouch!!!, it hurts.!!!

A lot...

I heard something cracking. Was it my skull?

The hell was up with that rock?! The force is so awesome if it really did crack my skull... wait...

I remember that a blunt force that cracks your skull open can kill you.



So... if this is not called fate, then I do not know what it is.

To die at the same day I submit my cell donor consent?

My, what honor. At least I can finally be useful.





Hm? It's sad that my reason of existence is to live miserably until my time of death and then let my cells be donated?

Hey, if I can save more than one life using this insignificant life of mine, then I guess it is all worth it.

Despite not receiving and never knowing the warmth of love, since I was born in a rich family, I got plenty of delicious food and clothes, thank you. My quality of life is great. So, you can say I have “enjoyed life”, right?

I guess I have pretty much experienced what it means to be alive. So now I can drop dead in peace, right?

So whoever casted or threw that rock, I feel grateful to you. I hope they ruled it as an accident so that whoever assisted my death won't be punished severely....Are you even a human, though...? That force really was something.

Oh, and... my death also means less burden to my family. Now the money spent for me will no longer be needed, they can save it for something else. How wonderful.



And that marks my last thought as everything around me turns black and the pain that I felt just now has started to disappear.

❉❉❉​

“A little girl was hit by a stray piece of meteorite that fell from the sky and right now, she is in a critical condition in the nearby hospital. Based on physical examination and her belongings, she is positively identified to be the only daughter of the current Grabberton family...”

A hologram delivered the shocking news of the unfortunate accident anyone would never have thought of happening in a well-structured room in a manor. Hologram technology has been used since a decade ago in this world as a means of delivering news or other shows—one could call it the enhancement of old technology called television.

*SHATTERS!*

A glass of water just got dropped from someone’s hand. The person looks so shocked—his fine skin turns pale as he is watching the news.

“My, my, Clyde! What is going on?” Kania who heard the sound of the shattered glass quickly opened the door to the room and walks towards the young boy with blonde hair and amber eyes.

“Mother... the news just now... Is it true that... Carnatia...?” asked Clyde.

“...eh?”



And so, shortly after she was taken to the hospital, the life of the little girl named Reinst Carnatia Grabberton had come to an end.

Just as she wished.

 

Chapter 3

Reincarnate or Disappear!​

"What a pitiful creature..."



Upon hearing that voice, I opened my eyes.

Ara? Didn’t I die? I am pretty sure my skull was cracked… or something like that.

It's pitch black.... with a spectre of white in front of me.

Eh? Was the voice.... this thing's?



"Who or what are you? Are you God?"



"... Something like that." it vaguely responded.



Whoa, what a vague response, Is this some kind of scam?

“No, missy, this is not a scam!”

“!!” EH?! It can read my mind?! So it really is God! In that case---

"Don't worry, I won't make any complaint to you regarding my life. I thank you enough for granting my wish to end my life. So can you let me sleep in peace now? Or make me disappear already. Whichever you prefer, I don’t mind."



Inside my mind, suddenly a pop out sound effect just like that of a game appeared.

☆Special Event [Meeting with God] has triggered!

☆Achievement unlocked [The Long Awaited Death]!

Uwaa-- have I spent too much time playing games… it’s scary.





"What? No way I can do that! You have endured such a life and even gave your life in order to save the others. Besides, what killed you was a result of my miscalculation during my experiment with the meteorite… How can I not give you my compensational reward for that?"



Uhm… so… were you so bored you had to play with… A METEORITE?!

That’s taking games to another different level, you know… if I were to say it, it’s totally on God’s level!

And wait, so the thing that actually killed me was a meteorite? That… is pretty cool. Hooray for my anti-mainstream death!



I hurriedly return from my own exasperation. It would be rude to keep God waiting, right?

"Reward?"



"Yeah, so I will let you reincarnate. If you do not reincarnate, you will just vanish like that. Poof! Reincarnate, or disappear! The answer is obvious, right? Ask away anything you want from me. I cannot give you much such as cheat to make yourself way too overpowered, etc, non, non! That is cheating! I have had enough of those reincarnee with cheats! However I will grant you one power you wish! How does that sound?"





....

Honestly, is this some kind of a joke?

This is not funny… not a slightest bit!!



Well, I guess I have read stories where the main character reincarnated with some kind of cheat and was able to live to the fullest and happy... or became a legendary person.

In this case, I should ask some kind of cheat to make my life convenient, right?

Anyhow, someone with this kind of situation is expected to wish for something for their next life. In hope that they can live... happier this time.







...

But, no, thanks.

I am not the kind of protagonist in stories like that.

By no means, I have never considered myself a main character of any story. A person like me is suited to just be a boring side character that will easily be forgotten. After all, I hold no interesting value. I am not a likeable person, either.

That’s why, my answer is obvious.



"It sounds more like a punishment to me, so I will pass. Please, just let me rest in peace already," I sighed, and I proceed to lie down on the nothingness.

Fumu, so you can actually lie down here, eh? That is pretty nice. I love this afterworld already.



"Eh?"

I heard a surprised voice.

Uh, no wonder. If you plan on making someone the main character of the typical reincarnation story, definitely cross me out. God, you should have known better than anyone...



"Don't you... have any other wish?"

I cannot see any facial expression from the light, yet I get the feeling that God feels a bit dejected. Or is it just my feeling?



Hmm, if this will be the last story of me, then I guess I can ask something, right?

After all, I cannot deny the fact that I am curious of something...



"About my cell donation... how is it going? Are there people who feel glad by it? Have I saved anyone? Was my existence meaningful?" I asked.



"Ho ho... I see, so you are curious about that, eh," I see the spectre of light wavering—no, flickering-- as it laughed.



"Yes. You said I can wish for one thing."



"Ah yeah. Wouldn't it be great if you find it out by yourself?"



"Eh?"

How in the world would it be possible to do so?

Is it going to show me the fate of my cell donations? Whoa, this light is God, after all!

Let me guess : it’s gonna be shown like how cinemas show movies, right?

Viva God!



"Yosh, it's been decided! Ahoy, aboard to the reincarnation train!"

...wait, what?

Excuse me, God… Hello? Earth to God?

“Go and enjoy life!” said God, making use of the time I spent being dumbfounded by the development.



WHAAAAAT?! NO, THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANT!

WHO. EVER. SAID. THAT. I. WANT. TO. BE. REINCARNATED?!

Someone, please give God a common sense!



I am about to voice out my objection with a loud voice—and I want to try to point my hand at the light—just because... I want to try the pose of my favorite character from a certain video game...

But apparently, I have no chance to do so.

The darkness quickly melts away as I am being pulled by force—an unknown force—towards a source of light—the world, I presume?



“YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!”

--is the last sentence I managed to shout with my last energy.





"Maan, what a weird girl. It isn't supposed to be like this based on the novels I have read. Upon the choice to reincarnate or to remain death, anyone would definitely choose reincarnation as second try to life… And as for the previous ones, they went along with the scenario… that girl is indeed an anomaly... maa, I guess I should grant that girl a little cheat, so hey, girl, you gotta thank me later on!"

 

Chapter 4

Re:birth​

Suddenly, the pitch black darkness that envelops me turns into a painfully blinding light.

The depths of my eyes feel like they are burning.

Eh...?

Is this what it feels like... to be born?

IF YES, THEN HELL, HOW DO BABIES WITHSTAND THIS PAIN?!

Have I been underestimating babies all these time?!




I am not exaggerating. It is like my whole body aches. Like it is being crushed or what. I feel like I have no energy at all. Is this normal?

My body feels very wet and sticky—oh wait, is this blood? Well... it is normal for me to be enveloped in blood, considering I was just born... Nevermind it, I do not mind the sensation of stickiness—but moreover, this pain... is beyond... my...!!



[WAAAAAAA--!!]



Hm? Was that my voice? It sounds different...

Eh? Since I am basically another person now? And a baby, on top of that? ...I know, I know...

...I am ashamed to admit, but I let out a very loud cry.

*sigh*



Even though I am already thirteen years old, for me to cry out loud like this... it is embarrassing, but the surge of pain I feel has urged me to.

It hurts...

It hurts...

❉❉❉​

Apparently, I passed out.

Some time must have passed ever since my birth.

When I came to, I try so hard to open my eyes and get adapted to my surroundings. But I cannot see my surroundings very clearly...............

AM I BLIND?!

DO MY EYES HAVE DEFECT IN THEM?!



W-wait... Let’s be calm... let’s be rational... Let’s think...

Yeah, that’s right. I was just born!! So, it must be normal for my organs to not be fully adapted to life. Surely, my eyesight will get better, right?

Ooh, my sight is not as bad as when I first opened my eyes!

Yes, that must be it!

Thank goodness, I am not blind!!

Hooray~!

And I thought it was a very good way to start my new life : bad eyes.

God hasn’t really forsaken me, after all, eh?



Okay, let’s go around with body check!

[Aa... uuu...]

Voice? Check!



Next, I try wriggling around my upper and lower limbs.

Ohh, great! I have both hands and legs!!



What about my nose?

*sniffs sniffs*

...the smell of a typical hospital.



EARS! WHAT ABOUT EARS?!

--Oh dear stupid me... I could hear my voice before, so my hearing was fine.



In conclusion, I was born perfectly healthy. Good. That is a good start...

Though, I believe some kind of misfortunes are bound to happen for all the fortunes I have.

So, let’s guess it... my family? My magical power? My talent? OR ALL OF THEM?!

I cannot wait to know which part do I get my share of misfortunes in...

❉❉❉​

A few days have passed ever since...

And I spent those days in some kind of incubators, receiving some painful shots and treatment.

What? Am I really that weak? Do I have some kind of incurable disease? Am I dying?! GOD, IF I WERE TO REBORN JUST TO DIE AGAIN, THIS IS NOT FUNNY AT ALL!!

Oh... OR AM I AN EXPERIMENTAL RABBIT?! Did they inject me with various genes? Will they make me a mutant? And then suddenly I have to fight villains to save the world? Or will they turn me into any kind of beast, who’s going to do some dirty, underground work?

...speaking of it, what species am I?

Am I born as human again?

❉❉❉​

Let’s have a briefing on the species...



First~✷ Humans, of course! I was a human back then... basically...
Humans do not really have anything special.
It is just that they have potentials on magical power and also physical power, such as swordsplay like what my previous family was so proud of.

Second race : beastmen~✷!
They are basically the hybrid of a human and any beast. It can be a wolf, dog, fox, cat, or even bird... the mix of a human and any type of beast shall be categorized as beastmen.
They possess ridiculously strong power and enhanced senses. Only a few of them have good affinity in magic.
Some even possess the power to shape-shift to their beast form, and those who can shape-shift are called [Werebeast].
Beastmen often suffered from slavery and discrimination, though, for being half-beast---or in harsh words, half-animals. They have the characteristics of the beasts : like the shape of their ears, and usually they have tails, or... wings for birds-men!

Third race : dragons~✷!
...do they even exist, though? Anyhow, they possess strong power, both physical and magical power. They have long life span and their aging process is different from us... or so I heard.
It is rare to see dragons. It is said that after a certain age, they can transform into a human-like form, and the older they get, the more enhanced their transformation can be. They are feared, however, due to their destructive power.
But, they are... very rare, I even doubt one still exists.

Fourth race ✷ : Elves!
They are characterized by pointy ears and unparalleled beauty and youth… Their bodies are usually slender… One look at them, you’ll exclaim, “How pretty!” They possess strong magic talent and huge amount of mana. Their signature magic element is light. None of them should be able to do dark magic.

Fifth race ✷ : Oni (demons)!
They are characterized by horns on their heads. They have characteristics like elves.
But, their signature magic is dark magic. Vice versa, they should not be able to do light magic. Oni are feared... due to the stereotyping of their dark magic and their demeanor. They are proud beings.

Sixth race ✷: Dwarves! Just like the fairy tales told us, they are small (adorable, little creatures~✷!). Both the males and females of the dwarves in this world look like children... yet inside, they are adults. Their ears are also pointy. When you look at dwarves, you’ll exclaim, “How cute!”

Unlike some stories which say that female dwarves look like small girls (loli) while the male dwarves look like grandpas (jii-chan), fortunately, in my world, they are not like that at all… It would be disturbingly creepy to be true...
They are eternal loli and shota. They are incredible at physical strength and have longer life span. Unfortunately, they, too, are prone to slavery and discrimination. Since their small statures are usually followed by childish behaviors... one can say that it is quite easy to trap them.

Seventh race : Mixbreeds! The combination of ✷any✷ of the races above is usually categorized as the seventh race. But it is rare to see one. Marriage across species is not that usual.

Fufu, it was a nicely done review! It seems my memory hasn’t failed me, I still remember the knowledge of my previous life. Therefore, I should have no worry about common sense in my world.



...my world...

Speaking of which...

...Is this even the same world as my previous life?

What year is it?



Dear God, please come back and brief me with my condition of birth, this time...

Seems like it is still long until all my questions are answered.



But first thing first, was I sold by my parents to some kind of shady organizations?

Why haven’t I seen my mother or my father?



Just as I am thinking about that, the usual nurse comes to me.

Time for treatment... or experiment?

I readied myself, but—



She gently carries me in her arms and smiles in relief.

“Thank goodness, finally, you can go to your mother’s arms! Let’s go and see your mother!” she said cheerfully.



...hooray?

Apparently, I am not an abandoned orphan who is all alone in this new world—wherever it is.

 

Chapter 5

Hello, Mother​

As the nurse carries me slowly, I begin to think of several things…

First, what race am I? What gender am I? Do I look ugly or somewhat tollerable…

What kind of person is my mother? My father? And, do I have sibling?

Somehow, instead of looking forward for my new life, I become anxious over my condition of birth this time.





“Oh, Bianca-san, are you heading towards Mrs. Hartmann’s room?”

I hear an unknown voice. I try to take a peek at the source of the voice. And there, I see someone wearing the same uniform as my nurse--it seems her name is Bianca-- and… alright, that is all I can see. I should not describe about her chest and her figure, right? That kind of information is not important, after all.

...Not that I envy her. I was only thirteen when I died, so of course my growth was incomplete at that time, right?

Yup, you over there, stop commenting on my own complexion! I can feel that someone is commenting about that behind my back!!





“Ah, Senpai! Yes, I am here to deliver her daughter. It seems her condition is stable these days, and Mrs. Hartmann seems to be recovering well, too. They should be able to get disharged tomorrow morning.”

Oh!! So I am born in the Hartmann family. Which means, this is Riviera country, right? And I should be a human then. And… right, Bianca-san said that she was going to deliver Mrs. Hartmann’s daughter--it should be me. Nice, I am still a girl!

...Oh wait, is this an advantage or disadvantage?

Will I be better off being a girl? Or being a boy is waaaaaay better?

I have no clue regarding the Hartmann family’s heir preferrence.





If this is still the same world, anyway… Hmm, if the familiar names are only coincidences and that the world is not the same as my previous world, I am going to write a protest to God. For playing around with me and my hopes, I won’t be able to last if this were to go on all my life. Don’t put coincidences here and there, and then crush me that it’s just a dejavu.

So, if I recall...

The Hartmann family is also a Duke family in Riviera country. The Hartmann duchy is the Heartswaarth city in the Eastern area of Riviera country. Heartswaarth city is very close to the capital of Riviera country, named the Capitol. The one who named it must have a really great sense of naming.

Alrighty, I am born among the Duke family, again.

The similarity makes me shiver a bit. Will this mean that my living condition will be the same as before? Meh, if it is totally the same, then what is the point?



Anyhow, I am glad I wasn’t sold or given away as an experimental lamb by my family.

Which makes me question… do I have some kind of disadvantageous disease? Let’s hope not…



Eh?

Why would the one wishing to rest in peace and rejecting the idea of reincarnation, now wish for health? Won’t having a life-shortening disease an ideal situation for me?

Well… true, but… now that I have been forced to reincarnate, I had no choice but to start hoping for better life. If I were to have a life-shortening disease or a very short life this time, then God has got to be playing a prank on me. After He forced me to reincarnate, too.

So, yup. It’s too late to wish for peaceful rest, so why not wish for a better life this time? That way, God won’t call me pitiful and tried to force me to reincarnate again. Once is enough.

It looks like despite having negative outlook on life, I still can hope for something good!

Not bad, me!

Did God cure my depression or lift it away from my new mind?

Hmm… my negative thinking is still intact, I guess. I cannot stop anticipating for bad things that are bound to happen to me.



Bianca opens a door to a hospital ward and enters the room.

“Mrs. Hartmann, congratulations! Your daughter’s condition is stable already. And the doctors said that your condition was also great. If you wish for it, then you can go home tomorrow in the morning!” said Bianca cheerfully.

“That so.”

This voice… is this my mother’s? Hmm, her response is not that good…

Well… she might not be excited for me. After all, she might be forced to marry the Hartmann family’s son in a political marriage. Or a marriage for convenience, both are the same. It’s normal for nobles to get engaged and married off to other nobles by their respective families, without involving them in the discussion.

Whoa, sorry then, Mother!



Shortly after, Mrs. Hartmann, ah, no, my mother takes me from Bianca’s hands.

Uwa, what a gentle hand! And her scent is nice. I wonder if it is because she is my mother, and that babies have some kinds of instincts?

She brings me closer to her embrace.

Ah, now I can see her face!

My mother seems to be in her twenties and she looks so beautiful!

No, I am not biased just because she is my mother. But really, she has a different aura from the others.

Her hair is a beautiful yellowish silver, and it is long and wavy. Yup, her hair almost reaches her waist.

Her eyes are round and golden. So pretty. My father must be very lucky for getting her.

And then, her expression turns wry.



Oh, uhm… sorry for being born a girl… in case you wanted a boy.

And where is my father? Isn’t he going to come? Oh, is he coming to take us home tomorrow? Or not?

I am having difficulty in interpreting her expression.

Could she be in the same position of my mother? Or is she just a concubine in the Hartmann family?

Surely, giving birth to a heir would ease her life, if that is the case. And I assume that the heir should be a boy.



I’m only a few days old in this world but my mind is already flooded with questions.

If I knew I would be forced to reincarnate, I should have made a list of wishes I want for my birth circumstances with God.



“--y.”

Hm?! My mother murmurred something, but I couldn’t hear what.

She then proceeds to breastfeed me. This is kind of embarrassing but I need it in order to live. I don’t know, but it seems better than getting nutrition from the hospital IV drips.

After feeling full, I gently look up to my mother’s face, as if signalling her to stop breastfeeding me.

“Eh? You’re full already?”

Holy--- mother, you can understand me!

“Aaa uu!!” I wave my hands around in the air.

“Fufu, that’s good.”

Ah! Mother smiled! Uwaaa, is this a good signal? So she doesn’t hate me? At least that is sufficient!

“Aaa buu--,” and then I burped. How embarrassing… but babies do this after they drink, right? Y-yeah! I might be 13 years old but… my body is still a baby, you know? I’m totally not making excuses!



“Ah right, tomorrow, you will see your home for the first time.”

Right! I unconsciously smiled.

“...ara, how could I forget to say this… I’m your mommy! ...but you already know. How could I mess the order around.”

My mother seems to be a clumsy person. Eh wait, she said “mommy” and not “mother”. So I presume… I should address her “mommy” instead of “mother”.

“Hello! Ah-em! Your name is Alrescha Lyra Hartmann. Remember it, okay, Lyra?” My mother---uh, Mommy gently brushes my head.

It seems my name is Alrescha Lyra Hartmann. Glad to finally know my name.

Hmm, by the way, what is this warm sensation I feel in my chest? It feels good. I like this feeling.



Before I know it, it seems I have dozed off to sleep.

 

Chapter 5.5

Hello, Daughter​

After cradling my daughter for awhile, she falls asleep. She has a cute expression on her face.

I am glad that she seems to be alright.

Maybe it was just my feeling, but just now, I felt like she tried to tell me that she was already full. Hmm, must be my motherly intuition.

Or have I gone into the doting mother type now, for considering my child to be cleverly talented from the beginning?

Oh come on, me, she is barely a few days old.



Today is the first time I can cradle her again in my arms.

A few days ago, I only managed to hold her for awhile, before she got taken into the intensive care unit. For she was not yet stable.

I spent a few days recovering from giving birth to her… and during that time, I never missed a single day to pray for her safety.

I was so excited when the nurse came in earlier. I could not even keep my mind straight--I only had one thing in my mind : my newly-born daughter. I would be glad if I have the chance to apologize to the nurse who came in today… If memory serves me right, I replied her in an unfriendly way, so…



After my distraught and unfriendly reply to the nurse, she handed my baby over to me.

The moment I held her, I saw her innocent face, looking at me.

Ugh. I feel… guilty.



“Sorry,” I murmurred.



Sorry for giving birth to you prematurely. I must have paid more attention and care during my pregnancy.

Sorry for not being there for you during your first few days of life.

I hope you did not feel lonely. For I will be there from now on, guiding you, my beloved daughter.



[ Rihtes h¯ælu onbescêawung (Detailed health examination) ] I casted a magic spell while she is asleep.



After all, I cannot help but to be worried.

Hmm...

Alright, she seems to be all healthy and well. I am so relieved that her premature birth didn’t affect her health in the long run.



“I hope you will like your home, Lyra.”



Aah, I want that person to quickly take a look at her. To know how lovely she is. She takes after that person a lot.

Fufu, I smile at those thoughts.

 

Chapter 6

A New Home​

The moment I woke up, I underwent some health examinations along with my mothe—mommy.
(Note : To give an illustration, if this were a Japanese novel, Reinst she used to address her mother as “Haha-ue”, while as Lyra, she’s supposed to call her mother as “Okaa-san”).

Afterwards, it seems like we are free to go home already.

I am a little bit curious on how the Hartmann household is doing. As far as my past knowledge serves me, the Hartmann family’s main house is so huge and extravagantly decorated. I assume there would be at least two dozens of maids and butlers combined working for the house and the members of the house.

Hence, I keep wondering why did nobody accompany me and my mom during my birth in this hospital? And then I assumed that I might be a child of a concubine. That would explain everything.

Now we should be able to prove it by two scenarios.

One, Mommy and I will not be in the main, big rooms in the main home. Back in my previous life, since my mother was the legal wife of the head of the family, I could occupy the so-called main rooms. They were bigger and more luxurious than the rooms for my half-brother and his mother.

Second, Mommy and I will not even live in the main house, but maybe somewhere else like the branch house or the family’s personal villa. I have heard of some nobles who did that to either their distant relatives a.k.a branch family, or to their concubine(s) or illegitimate spouse(s).

I am not familiar of the Grabberton’s area so I cannot guess in which direction are we going right now. Also, it has been quite awhile since we were moving inside the carriage and the road got shaky at times. So, before I know it, I seem to have fallen asleep...


When I regain my consciousness (ah, it was a good sleep, I admit), I directly see an unfamiliar ceiling.

Looking at my surroundings...... ah no, I am inside the baby crib, so I cannot see really well, but I see a medium-sized room that feels so “homey”. It is not as luxurious as my old room, but I seem to prefer this kind of room better.

May I safely assume that I am indeed a child born from a concubine? At this rate, it is impossible to assume that I am gonna be the heir of the family, or that my mom is the main lady of this house. Oh boy, there we go again with disadvantageous situations.


Just then...



“Whoa whoa whoa, she woke up!”

A young female voice can be heard—but it’s not mom’s voice. She seems to be around the same age as my mom. Who is it?

“Daa?” I tilt my head to the source of voice.

A young female beastwoman wearing a maid uniform is there besides me. Her golden eyes are sparkling while looking at me. Her hair and her wolf-like-ears are both silver-colored. Beautiful.



“Oh, she is looking at me! Chloe, look!” the beastwoman maid turned her head towards another woman—an obaa-chan with a cooking apron. Her name seems to be Chloe, from what I can understand.

“Ahaha, calm yourself, Niina. Look, Lyra-sama seems to be confused.”

So, the beastwoman maid is called Niina.

“Ah, my bad. But, she needs to be introduced as soon as possible! I will go and fetch Vince!”

And then, Niina runs at an incredible speed to go and get someone called Vince.

I wonder who are they? Uhm, but where is my mom, more importantly?


Just as I begin to think so—the door is opened again. Niina? That was fast!

“Ara, what’s with all this commotion?”

Oops, my guess was wrong. It’s mom!



“Cassie-sama, please excuse us! It’s just Niina, she got so excited when Lyra-sama opened her eyes.”

“Ahaha, that is to be expected from Niina. Ah, Lyra, come here.”

Mom takes me out from the baby crib and hugs me tightly. It feels warm and good in her arms. Now I can see my surroundings better!

“Alright, Vince is here! Ara, Cassie-sama? When did you get back here?”

Oh, hi, Niina! You’re back! And the old man wearing casual jeans and plain shirt over there would be Vince, right?

“Fufu, just now. Thanks for gathering everyone here, Niina. Now, let me introduce you to our new family member!” Mom lifts me higher, so I can see everyone and so everyone can see me.

Everyone? Family member?



“You might already know this, but she is my daughter, Alrescha Lyra Hartmann. Just call her Lyra! And Lyra, it’s your first time meeting the three of them. The young energetic woman over there is Niina. She is the maid here and she will also assist me in taking care of you from time to time. And the obaa-chan over there is Chloe. She is the chef in this house, her foods are delicious! Too bad you need to wait until you can eat them, though. And the ojii-chan over there is Vincent, the gardener and fix-it-all man of this house!”

...

Mom... I am only a few days old. Aren’t you taking the introduction too seriously? But thanks though, since it clears off my confusion!



“Lyra-sama seems to be such a good girl. She has been so calm all this time,” said Vincent.

“Oh yes, she is! And don’t you get the feeling that she understands everything we said?” asked Mom.

“Yeah, she seems to understand us, but well... it might be our feelings, she is still but a baby after all,” answered Chloe. Everyone burst out laughing after that.



Now things are getting weird.

From what I get, the other three that were introduced just now are just people who work for my mom and this house. I am surprised on how friendly are they with one another—and with my mother, too. Back then, my family had numerous people working in the house, but not a single one of them was as friendly as Niina, Chloe, and Vincent.



Well...



It might be weird, but I don’t hate this kind of situation. Rather, it feels pleasant.


*creak!*

I can hear a door is being opened. Looks like the front door of this house? And then, the sound of incredibly loud and powerful footsteps!

“I’m home! Cassieeeeeeee! Lyraaa, are you born yet, you little one?!”
Goodness, what a loud voice!

...eh but excuse me, who is that?!

 

Chapter 7

The Whole Family, Complete Members​

“Oh my, oh my, please wait a bit,” said Mommy who put me back in the baby crib and rushed off to the front door. Vince and Chloe excused themselves afterwards, saying that the sign that they need to continue their work has come. Niina, who is apparently assigned to look after me, is still besides the baby crib I am in.



Suddenly, a pair of childish eyes are staring at me.

A blue left eye and a yellow right eye. And, a galaxy blue hair... nah, “galaxy” is not an appropriate term in describing color, is it? But the dark navy blue hair is more similar to the bluish color of the night sky.



Wait, wait, who are you?!



“Ah, Altaire-sama, tadaima!” said Niina upon seeing the young boy.

“Niina! Ish she Lyla?” said Altaire with a childish voice and some lisping. That is normal for a little child, of course. All I can say is some blabbering anyway.

But who is this Altaire in relation to me? Is he similar to what Clyde is to my past self?



“Yes, Altaire-sama, she is Lyra, your little sister!” Niina then lifts me from the baby crib and sits down while carrying me. Now I can see Altaire in full. He seems to be around 3-5 years old... His heterochromia eyes are captivating and his short, messy blue hair is my favorite. So I am indeed his little sister. Is it half-sibling or...?



“Oh look at that, Altaire beat me to see Lyra!”

Ah, how could I forget that loud voice from earlier.

“Well, you needed to dismiss the carriage driver and sort out your stuffs first before you can have your time with your daughter. After all, I bet you won’t be able to do them if you were to meet Lyra first,” said Mommy.

“But of course!” The man responded. Oh, so he is my father, then—or should I say, Daddy. He is quite tall and good-looking. His hair is short and tidy, and the color is pale white! His eyes—are the opposite of Altaire’s. His left eye is yellow and his right eye is blue.



...right, how could I forget one thing about Hartmann family. This convinces me that I am born in the same world as my previous self. Heterochromia runs in Hartmann family. It is not surprising at all... OH THAT MEANS I ALSO HAVE HETEROCHROMIA!! I want to see myself in the mirror now...



“Now Lyra, you must have missed me, right? Let Daddy spoil you!”

“Aaah! Alt wanna play, too!”

All of a sudden, it became very lively here.



In contrast to my previous family, it seems I am born to a very loving family, regardless of my status in the household. Since... I don’t know about the bigger picture of Hartmann’s family yet. I also suspect that my family is only an insignificant branch family or the exiled part of the family, judging by the house I am in. Looks like I have a lot of research homework that I have to do.



For now, let’s recall the facts I remember from my previous life.

The Hartmann family is the magician family that governs and protects the eastern border of Riviera kingdom. Heartswaarth city should be the focus or the base of Hartmann family’s governance, so I am supposed to live there for now. That is logical deduction, yep, not baseless assumption.

And, that circumstance is the total opposite of my old family, the Grabberton’s, who governs the western part of Riviera kingdom and is a family of knights.

Even so, to add more options of combats, Grabberton knights should also be able to do basic combat magic, especially magic for enhancing power—that would be a plus. So I assume the Hartmann family members should also be able to master a melee combat type style—I do hope swordsplay is alright.

My magic capacity or mana back then was the worst so I trained so hard back then in my swordsplay to make it up. It would be a waste if it does not become a merit for this life.



In my previous life, the Hartmann family was very wealthy, albeit the same cannot be said for the overall wealth of the western territory. I cannot really remember all the nobles but at least I got to remember the four horsemen—I mean four dukes of this country. So yeah, back then the Hartmann family had two children, both males. Both possessed pale white hair and different eye colors. The first son was to be the heir to the family, as expected, and his appearances during nobles’ gatherings were quite prominent. Meanwhile, the second son could rarely be seen.

It seems that the pale white hair trademark is still passed down up to this generation—I don’t know how many years have it been since my last life.



Eh wait, but where did my brother get his hair color from? My mother’s hair color is yellowish silver... and my dad’s is pale white. ...oh right, must be from someone else in the family. Let’s not jump into conclusions.

Yes, I need to gather information in the early years of my life! For the sake of survival! For I should not illicit any hatred from anyone especially my family in this life!

...but for now...

I should focus my all to play with my brother, father, mother, Niina, Chloe, and Vince..... whoa whoa please spare this little me, I can die of fatigue... from playing!!

 

Chapter 8

The Hartmann Family and Details about My New Home​

I am Alrescha Lyra Hartmann, the second child of Hartmann’s head of family, Icarus Valkyane Hartmann—“Cyan”, with his wife, my mom, Cassiophelia de la Sanctuaria—“Cassie”. Sanctuaria is an Earl family somewhere in the border of the eastern province and the central province, whose governance is under the Hartmann family.

That explains why the engagement between my parents were plausible. But it seems that both of my parents are in love with each other, even if I don’t know if the love blooms due to the engagement, or that they go through engagement first, then love. It doesn’t matter.







I have one big brother, his name is Altaire Ophiuchus Hartmann—Alt-nii for short. He is three years older than me. We both have the pretty hair color (subjective—sorry, but you don’t know how happy I am when I found out about my hair color!), it is a dark navy blue color—or must I say it again, the color of a beautiful galaxy or night sky that’s bright with stars. I love it when I see my hair under the light. Different light exposure affects the way I see my hair color, but they are all pretty in my opinion. Apparently, my left eye is red, while my right eye is blue.





Back then, I was really curious on where did we get this hair color from.

Now, I know. My dad kept on gratefully saying that I resemble his mother a lot.

His mother—or my grandma, she had the same blue hair and pretty blue eyes that we each have. Unfortunately, neither Alt-nii nor me had the chance to meet her. She died of illness when my dad was young. That is so unfortunate, as I am curious about her... since Dad seems to be very fond of his mother.

When I was Reinst, my grandparents did not leave any strong impressions on me. They were the same as my parents back then, I felt like I was more like a tool for them.





The current Hartmann family’s wealth is not as abundant as it was due to past generations’ corruptions. My dad was the one who bravely came forward and exposed those wrongdoings.

In the turn of events, the king decided not to punish my dad alongside with his family and entrusted the territory to my dad. My dad then sold the wealth of his family and allocated the money to help building the eastern territory and gave some to the “victims” of the wrongdoings.

Now, the Hartmann territory is doing stable, the social and economical discrepancy is not as high as what I knew.

As a result though, we lived in modesty. My mom who came from the branch family of Sanctuaria has been leading a modest life so far, so she didn’t seem to mind it.





There are only three workers here.

Chloe was close to dad and dad’s mother, so she willingly volunteered to be here.

Vince was close to mom—mom’s uncle figure, I suppose, and was a gardener at the Sanctuaria family, so he accepted mom’s offer to tend the Hartmann’s garden.

Niina’s husband is the merchant in Heartswaarth city—one that my family often went to. So rather than idly being a housewife, she decided to work here. Since her house is not that far, she has the freedom to go back and forth.

I cannot really talk well so I gather those information from what I heard. For example, the thing about my grandma—yeah, got it from my dad who spoiled the whole thing. About why we are not so wealthy, Alt-nii asked it when he came to realize about how a duke’s family should be. And the rest, from observation.





Oh! There is something important!

Niina is from the silver wolf tribe, and so is her husband! They both have a son! He comes from time to time along with Niina to play with me and Alt, especially during the time when my parents are working. His name is Clavis, and he has the same silver hair and his eyes are gray. Just like Niina’s, his tail and ears are fluffy!

No, I am not taking advantage of the fact that I am still a toddler to mess up with Clavis and Niina’s tails and ears. They are just so fluffy and coincidentally they are often tempting me right in front of my eyes, as if asking for me to stroke them!





Ahem~ anyway!

The Hartmann house I knew was not as close to the Capitol as my current home. The house was more in the middle of the Heartswaarth city. Now, somehow my parents built a house that is very close to the Capitol. The access to other areas is good, though.

It is a very simple house. Let’s explore it!





In front of the house, there is a small but beautiful garden to welcome the visitors. Then, there is the living room. In the living room, there is the hologram for viewing the news and other kinds of shows available, then there are some sofas and a table, with a mat under them. Some decorative plants are inside, making the room lovely.

On the wall, there is a calendar and a classic clock. There are two windows leading to the front garden, each one has a simple curtain attached—with different color. Hartmann trademark??



On the right of the living room, there is a narrow hall that leads to a meeting room. It is used every time when the nobles under the governance of Hartmann duchy gather and report... and to have discussions regarding the development of the Eastern Riviera.



Behind the living room, there is a hall.

On the left side of the hall, there are a guest room and a bathroom, for the guests, obviously. The hall leads to a room with two stairs : one to upstairs and one to the basement.

The basement stair is neatly hidden under the floor and mats—and the basement hides a spatious library!! The room seems to function as a relaxing room? It has a few decorations and portraits of the Hartmann areas, paintings of historical people from the Hartmann, and my family portraits. There is also a fireplace and larger, fluffier sofas that can also function as bed. Some magical tools such as magic cooler and... alright I don’t know yet.

By the way, magical tools are convenient tools that are run by pouring your mana. Anyone with magical power can use it, regardless of their attribute. Under the stair that leads to the second floor, there is a small storage room, for storing tools such as the broom, the mop, the vacuum cleaner, and even magical cleaning tools!



Behind that comfy room—let’s say “family room” (Ah, apparently the baby crib I was in when I first met the others was located in the family room), there is the dining room, and to the right of the dining room, there is the kitchen. And behind them, there are two rooms—one for Vince and one for Chloe. Their rooms are not very small, but are not big, either. Niina can even have sleepovers at Chloe’s, if she wants. Apparently, it was built under the precautions of hiring more people, or having Chloe and Vince’s relatives visiting?



From what I heard, Vince’s family consists of his two sons, both are already working in the Sanctuaria territory and have built their own families. As for Chloe, she has a daughter who is married to a travelling merchant, so her daughter is nomadic, although they have a house in the outskirt of Heartswaarth city. They sometimes get visits from their families, or during big holidays, they get the chance to go back home.





Eh?

What about their spouses?

Isn’t it obvious?





Actually, I don’t really know the full details as they never talked about their spouses, but I suspect these possibilities :

1. The situations are complicated

2. They have passed away

3. They are divorced, or separated





Remember I am only a toddler! When I ask questions that seem too deep for my understanding, my parents would say, “let’s save it for when you are older.”





Yeah, before I know it, I have turned 3!

Although I feel that my time is soooooooooooooooo long, I often sneak out of my room and go here and there, asking for books to be read, and others... playing with Alt-nii helps me to pass the time, though!

Let’s not go on the awkward details about having my diapers changed, having to breastfeed, bath time (especially with my dad), and so on...





At first, I really did not expect any of this. I thought most of my care would be handled by the maids—oops yeah, we only have Niina and Chloe that can be my nanny—and I thought my interaction with my parents would be short, but it was very different from when I was Reinst. Or... I don’t really remember my past life as a toddler, could it be that things were the same and then everything changes when my trainings started? There is no way to know that, now.

But in order to anticipate my future disappointment when things turn sour and my relationship with them is strained, either due to the expectations given to me, or that my abilities are too low... I should not indulge myself in being pampered like this.

Somehow, there is this tingling sensation that feels excruciating whenever I remind myself to not expect these warm feelings to stay.





Oh, right! I forgot to continue the exploration report of my home.

On the second floors, there are the second floor’s “living” room—well, it’s just an empty room where the stair ends, with a sofa, a bookshelf, a table, and other decorations, my parents’ room, which leads to their respective study/working rooms, Alt-nii’s room, my room, and an empty bedroom which is used whenever a family member is visiting. Each bedroom has their own bathrooms.

I won’t go into details as it is exhausting and the furniture can be changed at ease with the help of magical power and tools, anyway. Sometimes there are toddler’s playing stuffs in the second floor’s living room, sometimes it is in the family room, etc... And most of the time, Alt-nii’s lessons are held in the second floor’s living room.





But I won’t explain it now, since I forgot that at the back of the house, there is a spacious garden for playing and agriculture! There is also a small fish pond! Besides that, the left and right sides of my house also have a small garden before it is bordered by the not-so-high fence. Really, my house is very green.



Outside my house, there are fields with plants, before it leads to neighbors. Niina’s family can be considered my neighbor. The fields are quite spatious, however. It seems like my parents emphasized on surrounding the house with nature rather than with people.



And that concludes Lyra's report on her investigation!

 

Chapter 9

Hartmann’s Special Arts​

Previously on Lyra’s Life!

I talked about Alt-nii’s lessons! But I was too lazy to go into details back then regarding Alt-nii, as I was talking about my house!! I don’t want to be very OOT (out-of-topic)!



Yup, when I was born, Alt-nii’s special training has started. Which means, he received the special training at the age of 3.

It’s a standard procedure among the Duke households.

After all, the Four Dukes in Riviera country is responsible for protecting the border of the territory.



Grabberton family protecting the west territory,

Hartmann family protecting the east territory,

Loera family protecting the north territory,

Fumitsuna family protecting the south territory.



That’s a pretty big responsibility, so to ensure that the territory is safe, all members of the family must quickly undergo special training.

The standard age should be at 4 years old, but normally for the main family, they start it earlier.

But the education should start with the standard and easy basic first, tutored by proffesionals that can educate young children well.

...or rather, it seems that the one tutoring Alt-nii will be Dad.





Since it’s a secret magic arts that has been passed down from generation to generation, within Hartmann family. It’s said that as long as the Hartmann blood flows in your veins, you’ll have no trouble mastering the arts, while the others might find it hard to learn and maintain.

Actually, I have heard the rumors regarding Hartmann family’s secret arts but I know nothing of the content.





The Grabberton family has established their own swordplay style... oh yeah, it would be bad if I were to use the swords and immitate their style perfectly in the future, so I had to improvise it later on, right?

I can actually sneak outside or at least force Mom to take me and follow Alt-nii’s training, but I think I’ll skip on that.





First, I’m afraid that I cannot do what’s expected of the Hartmann.

Second scenario, if I were to follow the training ever since I was a baby and then managed to understand it well and master it by the time I turn 3 years old, it will cause people to frown, or maybe I’ll be seen as strange... or they will favor me over Alt-nii and perhaps it will cause Alt-nii to resent me, and then the family will be broken.

No, I don’t want that.

So I will wait patiently and bury my curiosity deep down in my heart!

Therefore, I chose to wait patiently and avoid any spoiler!





Also, Alt-nii is forbidden from showing the result of his training to me, out of consideration that they don’t want to surprise me and scare the little me.

But I wonder what’s this doki doki feeling I have when I turn three?

I cannot deny that I’m excited to find out.

Even so, I cannot hide my feeling of uneasiness. I might be as talentless as I was back then.




This morning, I wake up to my third birthday! But as soon as I opened my eyes, I became confused.

“Happy birthday, Lyra-nyan~!”

An unfamiliar boy with blonde hair, light blue eyes, and... cat ears, cat paws, and cat tail...(???) greeted me.

“A... uhm... thankhs?” I honestly have no clue on how to respond.

But who are you?

...A FIANCEE?!
No, no, no! Wait a second, isn’t it too early?!




“Bwahaha, look at her face, so funnyan!” he bursts out laughing.

Hey, that’s rude!



I glanced at another direction. Good gracious, Mom’s there! And Dad, too! Why are they letting this unknown boy greeting me, who has just woke up?




“Altair, it’s not good to play a prank on her like that,” said Mom.

HUH?!

WAIT?!

WHAT?!
ALT-NII?! I AM SURE ALT-NII DOESN’T LOOK ANYTHING LIKE HIM!!





“Ah... wha?” I am dumbfounded.

“Well, Altair, you sure have mastered it well. Also, it seems you’ve been looking forward to Lyra’s third birthday to do this?” Dad patted the boy’s head.

“Nyehehe, of course!” the boy laughed happily. And, gradually his appearance changed to Alt-nii.

“EEH?!” I shouted reflexively.



“Happy birthday, Lyra!” said both my parents in complete sync.

Explanation, I need explanation first!




“You might be slightly confused, but...” Dad carried me in his arms and now I can look into his eyes directly, at the same height.

Well to be honest, it’s not a slight confusion. It’s a HUGE confusion!!



“That’s Hartmann family’s trademark. Our secret magic arts!”

“Uh,... uu??” Please, I need more elaboration.

And as if Dad understands what I have on my mind, he begins to explain more in depths.





“The Hartmann family has been experts in illusions, disguises, and transformation magic. All, without any exception, as long as they have Hartmann’s blood. No matter how weak their mana is, the Hartmann family member is still the expert in those kinds of magic. Nobody can immitate the perfect method we have been practising. But in order to master something, a training is needed. Therefore, as of today, Lyra, you’ll begin your special training to master the Hartmann’s secret arts.”

Hee—I see... wait, isn’t that awesome?! I never knew!!



After hearing more explanation, I come to know that the only ones who are aware of this Hartmann specialty are the whole members of Hartmann family (but we’re the only ones remaining though, I don’t know about the other relatives...? I might ask about this later on...), and the royals. Since the Four Dukes of Riviera Country must serve the king, the king must know about the abilities of his henchmen. Which means the other three Dukes that work together with Dad should know about this, as well, naturally since they are working together and all. But they must keep the abilities and other confidential information among themselves. They cannot even tell their family members. That is why I never heard any words about this from my previous life’s father. Not that I was close to him, though.



That’s the brief explanation I can grasp. I don’t know if there are other people who know about this, but I understand about how I must keep it a secret.



Uhm also, since it’s a secret arts, most of Alt-nii’s lessons are held privately with Dad as his tutor. During the session, none of the Hartmann family member can enter the room, which includes Niina, Chloe, and Vince. And since they wanted to surprise me with the family secret (but mostly since they didn’t want to scare me), I was taken to play together with Niina, Chloe, or Vince if they were free, or Mom would take me to go somewhere near the house if she didn’t get involved in the training.



“Soo now I’m alsho going to learnn abouth it?” –please excuse my occasional lisping, I’m still three years old.

“That’s right. But, your training will not start today,” said Dad.

I tilted my head, “why?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Alt-nii chuckled.

“Well, today is your special day, so... we’re going to celebrate it!” said Mom.



Aaah, how could I forget?

My first and second birthday were also celebrated. It was a joyous celebration, full of warm feelings.

I wonder how’s today’s celebration?

 

Chapter 10

Third Birthday​

“Ooooh, so today’s princess has woken up?!”

The moment me, Mom, Dad, and Alt-nii arrived in the dining room, Clavis comes up to me and pinches my cheeks.



“Clawvish-nii, stwop pwinching!” I waved my hands in protest.

Clavis chuckles, and then he lets my cheeks go. After that, he pats my head.

“Happy third birthday, Lyra!” Clavis said.

“Happy birthday, Lyra-sama!” and Niina, Chloe, Vince also chimed in.

“Thank you!”



Oh.

Oh, right.

I forgot to mention, that under my brother’s assertive request....... or, forced request, to be exact, Clavis has dropped all formalities to us. My brother insisted he’d treat us as your-everyday-friends, and at the beginning, every time Clavis slipped and entered “-sama” suffix to our names, he’d nag on Clavis’ tail or smiled, but his eyes didn’t smile (i, it, can be quite scary...)

I’m happy though!





“Ara, Lyra? You sure have grown up!”

Hm?

I heard a voice that I haven’t heard in a while. Following the source of the voice, I glanced over and saw two elderly couple standing near the door that connects the dining room to the family room. The grandpa has the same golden eyes as my mom’s, with a grey hair. Meanwhile the grandma has blue eyes and the same yellowish silver and wavy hair as my mom’s. Needless to say, they’re my mom’s parents!



“The last time we saw you, you were just a tiny little baby! Hahahaha!” Grandpa laughed as he swiftly lifted me high.



Eh?! I didn’t pay any attention when I was meeting them a short while after I was born. But, grandpa... He, he... he has ears that are a bit... pointy?! But they don’t look like elves or dwarves... it’s kinda like normal human ears, but with a pointy end. Genetic mutation?



“Hmm, what’s wrong, Lyra?” he noticed my confusion.



“A, uhm... Grandpa, why are your ears a bit pointy?” I asked without hesitation. After all, I must take the advantage of my age! Those with similar ages to me have unsatiable curiosity!

“Ahahaha, you noticed? That’s my granddaughter!”



“Fufu, let me explain,” grandma chimed in, “the slightly pointed ears are the proof that there’s elf blood running through his veins, Lyra.”

Ah, then that makes sense.

I nodded to indicate that I understand.





...

And then, suddenly realization hits me.

T, that means, there’s an elf blood running inside me, too?!




Upon further interrogation, I learned the history of my mom’s family. Apparently, grandpa’s mother is of mixed blood—meaning, she is half-elf, half-human. Grandpa is a quarter elf, and so on. That would explain how my mom got her strong magic. ...so that gives me hope that I’ll be at least slightly gifted in terms of magic?

I didn’t have any opportunity to exercise and experiment with magic in my previous life, but now... perhaps I can.



Also, my mom’s family is not Sanctuaria’s main family. They are only Sanctuaria’s branch family.

Having branch families isn’t all that uncommon, though. The Grabberton family had one, but they were considered the same as distant relative, and didn’t meddle with the main family’s responsibilities. The Loera family had some that helped them expand their businesses. Meanwhile, the Fumitsuna family had some branch families that were actively involved in the main family’s responsibilities. If the knowledge from my past self still applies, they should be able to be written in present tenses, lol. As for the Hartmann family... uhm, I heard details were complicated back then. If I remembered it correctly, then... there was someone eloping?? It might just be a rumour, though.





Back to present day!

After all of them congratulated me on my birthday, they proceeded to give me presents! My dad got me a huge teddy bear (Dad, please, it’s even way bigger than my body now, I don’t want to be crushed by it when I sleep), my mom got me star-shaped earrings, Alt-nii gave me his handmade “one in the world” picture book. The picture book told the story about... the hero who tried to save the princess... but in the end, the princess saved herself on her own, and she even proceeded to save the hero from the last boss, instead. The princess then became the hero who saved the world... The last page had a writing : [Be that kind of strong princess, dear sister!]

Uhm... okay, bro? But saving the world seems like something way too big for someone so small as me!



Grandpa and grandma bought me lots of clothes. Uhm, there are some that look like dresses that I can wear once I turn 6 years old...?

Clavis and Niina gave me a small stuffed silver wolf. Whoa, nice choice! It resembles them, so the gift will surely be memorable for me.

Vince gave me a small potted flowers. Chloe... she didn’t only give me presents, she gave it to all of the people here! Yup, she cooked a feast for us! She also made me a birthday cake, as usual.



After that, I blowed the candles while uttering a wish inside my mind. Then, we sliced the cake and made sure that everyone got some portions.

Dare to guess my wish?





[Please let things be like this forever.]





I know it’s not possible, but... I love the way things are, right now. For the first time, I feel like my world has color in it. There are actually small things that I look forward to. Eating Chloe’s food, stroking Niina and Clavis’ ears and tails, watch the flowers in the garden blooms, playing with Alt-nii, Mom’s hugs and kisses, Dad’s bedtime stories...



*Ahem*



Anyway...

We proceeded to gulp down everything she’s cooked for us. The tasty and fluffly omelette, the hot and melty cream soup, tender hamburgs, and honestly other dishes I don’t actually remember the names... and let’s not forget to mention that her cake is totally... SOFT. AND. SWEET! So tasty!



Was I born to eat delicious food?

LOL what a trivial reason to live?



Honestly, before this, I was always think that one must eat to survive. Eating was a mere routine. The food provided in the Grabberton family was great, but it felt something was lacking now that I know how Chloe’s food tasted.

When I tried to ask her of her secret recipe, she smiled gently and said that it was [Love].

...and that was when, I begin to think that...





I am loved. And blessed.

These people—allow me to rephrase it—my family won’t treat me like a mere pawn, or object. Unless some kind of drastic and tragic changes take place... but I wouldn’t want that.

I feel happy. But at the same time, I feel sad.





Why?

Why didn’t my previous family have the same warmth?

It might be a question that nobody could ever tell me the answer.





...

Or not.

When I asked what year is it, I noticed that it was just a few years after my—err, it’s gonna be confusing—after Reinst’s death, I mean.

After that, I proceeded to ask tons of questions.



Comparing the names of the royal family members that I know, the nobles that I know with their answers. I recognize the current king’s name as the prince in my previous life. Both of my parents know Clyde Horace Grabberton and Dominick Robin Grabberton. Surprisingly, they also know... my previous self. They mentioned about Reinst Carnatia Grabberton who was unlucky and died during the Comet Rain. The Comet Rain hit the others but the only victim it took was me.



Today is Year 973, Month 7, Date 25. I was born in Year 970.

The year Reinst Carnatia passed away was... seven years before my birth, 963.

Only 7 years gap.



Should I pry about my past life in further details?

I’m... afraid.

 

Chapter 11

Magic Elements​

I was thinking about prying into my past self and my past relations, but… I will look totally suspicious, right?!

Anyway, I am Lyra now… Reinst Carnatia has reincarnated. In addition, wouldn’t they be suspicious if I knew too detailed about Reinst?

I’m totally curious about why things happened the way they were when I was Reinst. I can’t deny that I want to know what my family—uh, past family honestly thought about the past me. But I also want to live a totally peaceful and quiet life as Lyra. I should keep it in my mind to be Lyra, not Reinst. Although it’s hard to not compare my life to the old life I had. It’s like, my past plays a huge role, even now.

Thinking about that won’t solve anything, though. Sooner or later, I will have to make contact with my past acquaintances or even relatives. It’s up to my future self and the circumstances at that time, then.



Anyway…




After the feast, we played several games. Like… hitting the piñata while being blindfolded, hide-and-seek (THEY HID POORLY WHENEVER I WAS ‘IT’, THEY DID NOT KNOW I’M NOT YOUR ORDINARY KID), magic show by my mom, and water show by my dad.

Oh right. My dad has the most affinity with water element. Even during bedtime stories, to make the story more interesting, he’d recreate the scene with water. He told me that it was what his mom did when he was but a child, too. My mom’s magic show included lots of magic element, but the highlight was the light show or the illumination.



Hmm?

Oh, I never explained the thing about magic and magic affinity, right?



Let’s have a breakdown, now, then. I should also review my past life knowledge now that I know I was reborn in the same setting, just a few years after I, Reinst, died.

There are twelve magic elements. And it’s not impossible to use the elements you don’t have the highest affinity with, but some may be hard to use if it’s not your affinity, plus it’d consume your mana more. Also, to be able to use other element, it’d be necessary to master your affinity first. Therefore, there’s some magic tools that help you generate something that you can’t using your magic affinity. The earliest age to detect magic affinity is 4, but most people will get it tested along with mana test some time when they go to school.



So here are the list of magic elements and their breakdowns :

(1) Neutral, or rather, no attribute. It’s really useful to invent or produce something. Oh, augmenting or imbuing things with magic is also convenient with this attribute. Example of spell : [Physical reinforcement], [speed enhancer]. In a magic affinity tester, the color reaction or symbol to this is [colorless], or [transparent].

(2) Fire—red ………………..uhm what can I explain in this section? It is stronger than [Ice] and [Plant]…? Weak against [Water] and [Earth]. Some weak fire can actually die out of strong [Wind]?

(3) Water—blue. Strong against [Fire] and [Earth], weak against [Thunder] and [Plant].

(4) Thunder—yellow. Strong against [Water]… Uhm, let’s not talk about this strong vs weak against thingy since this is not some Collect Monster game. Because honestly, in a real combat, the most important factor is your strength. But some common sense of element match plays a hand. Like how, if you and your opponent have the same strength and you use fire and your foe uses water… your foe’s magic would easily win against your fire magic.

(5) Wind—light green.

(6) Ice—light blue. If you cannot use [water] element but you can use both [ice] and [fire], then you can generate water, although it’s inconvenient.

(7) Earth—brown.

(8) Plant—deep green. This one is cool because you can sort of communicate with the plants, and even command them to do things, like producing toxic, or poisons.



Point of Interruption : Those eight magic elements above are common, especially for humans. The other four elements are rarer, and they include:



(9) Dark—black. This element specializes in shadow manipulation. You can also see in the dark. Rare in humans, yes. Dark is the magic element that the Oni boast about. It’s impossible for elves to use this element, as far as I know. And this is just a myth that may have a connection with how the stories and fairy tales view darkness as something evil, but usually dark type is frowned upon in humans. It is often associated with the darkness in their heart or mind, or how the users have dark past, or things like that.

(10) Light—white. It includes holy magic, light/illumination. As you may have guessed, it’s the magic that elves specialize in. It’s impossible for the Oni to use it.

(11) Life—grey. Life magic includes healing, buffs, barriers, etc. It’s basically the rarest type. But since it’s essential to have healing and barrier magic, there are lots of magic tools produced to help you convert your magic into a barrier or some healing.

(12) Void—purple. The unknown element. Mythical element. None is recorded about this magic besides it being incredibly strong. Although, [The Greatest Magician], who was in the [Heroes Coalition] could use it. Wait, she could use all magic elements. Let’s see… The gist of it, it’s the only magic capable of [Spell Breaker], [Oblivion], [Erasing Memories], and… the thing related to creating distortions or controlling dimension…? Based on the legend about her and the extent of her [Void] magic, the magic experts concluded that the power consumption for this type of magic is high, and that this magic is associated with high mana capacity, as well.



Let see… Hartmann family arts… It’s all about illusion and transformation, so it should be categorized into [no attribute] type? But it’s a hard or high level [Neutral] magic, and the most people can do is just altering their appearance for a short while. But they can’t manipulate their height or age. Basically, you can look like a male counterpart of yourself, but no changes in your height. You can also show illusion, but for a while. For example, if you are very broke that you can only eat instant noodles, you can cast an illusion of a steak so you’d be able to force yourself to believe that you’re eating a steak… The strongest they can keep this kind of magic is around 4 hours at best. And then they’d just collapse for overexerting themselves in a complex magic.



But Hartmann family arts can do more than it. Once you master it, you can transform into anything you want or show the others any illusion you want for as long as you can maintain your own energy. It’s like an innate talent, so you’d be able to use it at ease. It’s said that in the past, the first Hartmann siblings used some of their illusion magic for a week to help [The Hero] in one of their strategies. The Hartmann family arts is so cool!!! I can’t wait to use it! …I hope I can.



[The Hero] is actually the founder of Riviera country. And, incidentally, [The Greatest Magician] is his wife, which means the first Queen! The story of their adventure alongside with their companions—the first generation of the [Four Dukes] is really popular for all ages. It can’t be helped, after all, the ones who freed the humans who were cornered, used, and enslaved in the past were them. They went as far as founding a human-based nation. Humans, the weakest race among all.



A-ny-wa~y!



After the party, Grandpa and Grandma stayed for a week. We were out to the Heartswaarth city and did many shopping sightseeing together. From those travels, I came to know that the new Hartmann house, the current one I’m living in, is located waaaay closer to the border with the Capitol than the old Hartmann house. The old house is now functioning as the townhall, inn, and city garden. Yup, that explains properly how huge is the old Hartmann residence, eh?



Then, before I even notice it, the time for my training is approaching!

 

Chapter 12

The Training​

“Alright, Lyra, now it’s time for the training!”

Right now, there are Dad, Alt-nii, Mom, and me in the second floor’s training roo—I mean living room. The one who just broke the silence was Dad, with his usual wide smile. Today is Day 7, so both my parents are free, and thus, my training starts after breakfast.





“If you think it’s too hard or that there’s something weird, please don’t hesitate to say so, Lyra,” said Mom.

“Okay~!” …my excitement is so obvious.





“Alright, let me explain the basic theory, for starters. You know about mana and magic affinity, right? Someone’s magic affinity can be identified after they turn 4, while your maximum mana capacity can be identified once you turn 6. So, right now, you’re only 3. Your magic affinity and mana capacity are not yet fixed. Even so, they’re still developing. The Hartmann are always gifted with magical power, so it’s certain that you possess magical power. Do you get it so far?” Mom elaborated.



“Err, Cassie… again, isn’t it too complicated for a 3-year-old to understand?” Dad asked, “I thought you’d devise another way after you tried explaining it to Alt.”

Uh, I can understand it just fine, but that’s probably because I have my past memory intact. But what about Alt-nii back then?





I wondered that as I stole some glances at my brother. Perhaps sensitive towards others’ stares or what, Alt-nii looked back at me and then smiled. …or rather, I can almost always see him with a smile or cheerful look on his face.

“Ah, Lyra, don’t think about it too much. Perhaps right now Mom’s words just fly through your head, but in the course of time, you’d understand, hehe,” he chuckled.

“Oh, so that’s how it was? Altaire, you were smiling and just said ‘O~kay~’ back then so I thought…,” Mom put her hand on her chin, deep in thought. Dad sighed, his expression said, ‘Oh, it can’t be helped, it’s you, after all.’





So… Mom has no common sense?! And, she can’t read Alt-nii’s expression at that time?

But, then again… when I think about it, it’s hard to read Altaire-oniichan! Most of the time, he has this poker face expression with his trademark smile on. And I can portray him when he said he got it to Mom, leaving Dad speechless.

Perhaps Mom thinks we can understand the concept just fine because some of the storybooks they have ever read for us contain the things about magic. Plus, when grandma showed me the photos of Mom when she was small, she had this “gifted child” vibe. Gifted people and geniuses usually have problems to understand that other people may need an easier explanation to understand some concepts.





Dad is so lucky to have Mom. Out of my family, Dad looks the most normal! He’s an oyabaka type (foolish, doting parent). I wonder if everything is alright with his governmental work… Nobody tried to take advantages of him, right? Or many people did, and so our living condition becomes jeopardized?



…

---wait, why is it very quiet?



“Eh, ah, I got it!” I replied the moment I realized all of them are looking expectantly at me.

“See? She gets it,” Mom said in her defense.

“Uh well…,” Dad is speechless.

“Then… we gotta celebrate that both our children are looking bright, hahaha,” he tried to just brush it off.





“Alright, let me handle it from now on. Lyra, try closing your eyes and empty your mind. Try feeling the blood that is flowing in your body. You should feel some kind of sensation after you’d concentrate like that,” Dad gave me the instruction, so I tried doing that.

I already understand how it works. Back then, I’d feel a slight odd spark inside my body. My mana was weak, though. I wonder what will I feel with this new body…



HUH?!

I opened my eyes in surprise.

“What’s wrong?” Mom asked.

“Uu… somehow there’s warm sparks in my whole body… I can feel it, like, covering my everything.”

It’s a different sensation than back then.

So, does that mean my magical power is way better than back then?





“Whoa, you did well in your first try, as expected of my sister!” Alt-nii then proceeded to mess around with my head and then laughed.

“Alt-niiii, my hairrrrr!!” I shouted my protest.

Right now, my hair is as long as my shoulder. It’s straight with a slight wave on its end. When he stroked my head roughly, my hair became a complete mess.

“Well, Altaire, you’re also good because you managed to feel it during your first try,” Dad added.

“Ah, but that’s, like, natural for Alt,” said Mom.

Hmmm? Any family secret I could learn?





“Alright, then let’s proceed to the next step!” Dad clapped his hands.

“Well, I can’t say anything for the next steps, so I’ll just observe and accompany Lyra, just in case,” Mom said as she stepped back and Alt-nii followed her. Alt-nii then sat on her lap, and Mom would put her hands around Alt-nii’s neck.

There goes any chance to elaborate more about Altaire.

I missed my chance to ask Mom to explain more about, what’s with Alt-nii and that being natural?





“Next, let’s try the easiest thing first! Altering your eye color! Pick one eye that you’d like to change into the other’s color!”

I see. It would be the most essential for a Hartmann to alter one of their eye color if they are in a condition where their true bloodline can’t be found out at all cost. In that case, I’ll pick…

“I’m done picking it, what should I do next?” I asked.

“Hmmm, next… try focusing your sensation on that eye, and then imagine it changes its color in your mind,” Dad said.

“Huee… imagining things…,” I reflexively complained.





I’m more of a realist, and if I were to imagine things, it’d be anime-ish or game-ish.

“Take it easy, Lyra. It’s okay to try a few times,” Dad said.

“Uhm, can I know how was Alt-nii back then and how far he can do it now?”

My question was answered with a period of silent.

I tilted my head in confusion. Did I do something wrong?







“Lyra.”

Dad’s face suddenly became serious.

W, what? I have never seen Dad so serious, it’s not fitting to your character, Dad! You are supposed to be the oyabaka character!!

“W, what?”



“Listen,” he put his hand on my shoulder, “you are you. Altaire is Altaire. No need to compare yourself. Even if you are siblings, you are still different from each other. So, just do things with your own style and pace.”

At his words, I just realized what my question just implied.

I thought that I was only curious about it, but…

Subconsciously, I am worried if I’m unable to do it as well as my brother…



…

How kind…

Dad, you’re… the best.




“He… hehe,” Mom chuckles.

“Wha? You agree with me, right, Cass?”

“Ahaha, of course I do, Cyan. It’s just… haha, are you projecting your own experience to your children? You’d hate being compared to your father and older brother, after all,” Mom answers.

“Ah, right. First-hand experience wins the day. I hate it when people compare me to my family. It became an issue back then before I finally became the East Area’s governing Duke,” Dad sighed.

Oh, right. Dad was the one who uncovered his father’s wrongdoings. His older brother who was supposedly the rightful heir also contributed to that. Now, that’s interesting. I’d love to hear more about Dad in his old days. But as a 3 year-old, I probably shouldn’t ask it. I should ask it once I’m older. The situation seems to be complicated.







“Lyra, see what I can do, now!” Alt-nii stood up and then closed his eyes.

After a while, his body gradually turned… ……………….furry?! Then, he turned into a cat with a dark blue fur.

“W… w… WOWWWWW!!!!!” My eyes sparkled.

SO, WE CAN USE IT FOR THAT, TOO?!



“Awesome, awesome, Onii-chan, you’re awesome!” I continuously praised my brother.

He then returned back into my human brother.

“Teehee, I can hold that form for 2 hours continuously now! I still got a long way to go, though!” He scratched his nose as he blushed.

…wait, that means… Dad can do more?!

I quickly turned towards Dad.

“Ah, haha, yeah, if it’s just becoming a cat, I can hold it for 4 days continuously.”





……………HERE GOES MY MOTIVATION TO LEARN THIS!!!

“Awwwkay, I’ll try my best!!”

In that instant, I forget the fact that I am… let's count... 13 years as Reinst + 3 years as Lyra = 16 years old… mentally.

My family laughed at my childish behavior, befitting of my age.







And then, after failing for the second time…

“Here I go!” I am quite confident this time. That I can change my eye color, and simultaneously hold this transformation for quite a long time. Once I get the hang of it, there’s no way my transformation can be redo-ed quickly. Compared to back then, I can feel magical power surging.

I opened my eyes and then saw myself in the mirror. My red left eye has turned into the same blue color as my right eye.

I’m completely blue right now!!





Confidently, I turned to face my dad.

Oops, he is… frozen in the place?! No comment?! What could be wrong?!






“A…” Sensing my concern, he tried to say something.

“Oh my, oh my,” Mom seems exasperated.

“Eh, did I do it wrong?” I’m now worried for myself.

“N…no. Sorry, Lyra. It’s just… now, you’re… the splitting image of Fi--… of my mom…,” Dad said.





…RIGHT!! Dad’s mom has blue hair and blue eyes, just like… me, right now.

Dad then put his hands on his forehead. His eyes seem to be wandering into his past memories.

After a while, he hugged me tightly.





“Lyra, thank you. Thank you for being born,” Dad said, his voice wavering.

“!!”

I didn’t expect that coming.

It’s actually pretty embarrassing when someone directly told you that, but…

I’m… happy.





“Oh my, Lyra!” Mom then approached me, “are you hurting somewhere?”

…Eh? No, but wh---

Aaah.

I didn’t even notice tears falling from my eyes.

The moment I notice it, it’s already too late.

I can’t hold the tears back anymore.

“H, huh?!” Dad stopped hugging me and then looks at me, worriedly, “L, Lyra, did I hug you too tight? S, sorry…”

“No… it’s not… that…”

Uuuu, it’s totally not convincing at all.

No good, no good, I can’t.

I can’t stop them from falling.





“S, seriously… if you cry, then there’s no way I can hold them back, too,” Dad said, as tears fell from his eyes, too.

This situation is awkward, and although full of tears, I feel somehow warm.





“Y, you two!!” Mom then hugged both of us, “Seriously, this house now has two big crybabies?!”

Altaire softly strokes my back and Dad’s back, while repeatedly saying, “There, there.”







I had always yearned to hear those words before.

But I’d given up on it.

I’d given up on the idea of living. I also rejected the idea of being reincarnated.

But, right now…

I’m glad that I’m here, right now.

I’m glad that someone is actually happy for my birth.





…Deep down, I already know that I’m a child born out of love, that everyone’s happy to have me here. Yet, I still doubted it countless times. I don’t want to rely on feelings, since feelings are intangible. I don’t want to be dejected when I realized that it was just my hopeful thoughts.

Dad’s words just now, cleared all of those doubts.





Thank you, thank you…

It’d be weird if I voiced that, so I kept thanking my family inside my heart.

Though my past as Reinst might haunt me, lurking there to cause me fear and doubts, at least I’ve been able to come to terms with my forced reincarnation. If I were to know of all this back then, I’d willingly accept God’s offer for reincarnation.

Heck, if this is just a dream, then I don’t want to wake up from it.

If you’re here, God, I just hope that this is all real. That even in the future, my family won’t change their feelings regarding my birth.

That is all I ask for.

 

Chapter 12.5

My Daughter’s First Training​

Today, it would be the first training for my cute daughter.

As usual, Cassie would be conducting the first explanation of magic. She’s a prodigy in magic, and she has been gifted with her intelligence ever since she was but a small child, based on what I heard about her childhood. I didn’t personally know her until we met as adults, in case you’re wondering.





“…Do you get it so far?” she elaborated.

“Err, Cassie… again, isn’t it too complicated for a 3-year-old to understand?” I reluctantly asked, “I thought you’d devise another way after you tried explaining it to Alt.”



She also explained it like that with Altaire. Back then, Altaire would just smile and said he’d understand. But, it was apparent that he didn’t fully grasp the theory!! I thought she’d get that and won’t make the same mistake again.



What surprised me that time was the fact that Altaire quickly understood the theory Cassie was explaining while he practiced.

Altaire is quite similar to Cass. He is undoubtedly, gifted. Although personality-wise, he is more like me in comparison to Cassie.

That’s why…





“Uhm, can I know how was Alt-nii back then and how far he can do it now?” she asked.

There it goes.



“Lyra.”

I put on my serious face to her, for the first time ever.



I don’t know how fast she’ll master this skill in comparison to Altaire. It doesn’t matter to me if she can learn it quickly or slowly. But, she might be burdened to be as good as her big brother. And that will not do good for her. I just want her to be herself, and continue to smile. I don’t want her to lose herself and her smile while chasing after the shadows of her big brother.



“W, what?” she stuttered.

“Listen,” I put my hand on her tiny shoulder, “you are you. Altaire is Altaire. No need to compare yourself. Even if you are siblings, you are still different from each other. So, just do things with your own style and pace.”



At that time, I saw her exasperated expression, and how it gradually turned into a smile.

Then, Cassie teased me about how I told Lyra that because I also experienced that “being-compared-to-your-sibling” thing.

Yeah, that plays a role in it, too.



I’d hate being compared to my older brother. I’d also hate it when anyone had a prejudice about me because of who my father is.

How I used to be a rowdy and rebellious child compared to my brother who behaved as the perfect noble. How I hated it when the others talked bad about me and fawned my two-faced brother. He was arrogant and merciless towards commoners. Exactly my father’s carbon copy, well needless to say, he was going to be the heir at that time.

I hated when people compared me to my father and concluded I was also the same as him.



That was why, back then, I…

Oh well, everyone had their respective dark past. I shouldn’t linger in mine for too long.





Anyway, my cute daughter looks cuter when she is trying her best, facing the mirror.

“Here I go!”

Ooh, she sounds pretty confident this time. I’m waiting for her to turn to me in anticipation.

And then… I can’t believe my eyes.





The image of my daughter, who’s changed her eye color, is overlapping with my mother’s image.

My mother, who I haven’t seen for so long.

The one who I’d like to meet for one last time, again.

To whom I made a promise that I couldn’t fulfill…

So, you’re not completely gone from my life, Firis.

You’re here, in the form of my daughter.





“Thank you, thank you for being born…”

I hugged Lyra tightly. I can feel my eyes brimming with tears. But I can’t cry in front of my family. I’m the head of the family. I must be strong.





But then, Lyra started crying.

I was worried I hugged her too tight, but she said that wasn’t the case.

I can’t think of why she cried, though.

Although, her cries made my tears spill.





And so, my daughter seems to be able to do well in her training. She might be gifted, as well. But I don’t want to sound like an oyabaka. I might be biased since she is my own daughter.







That night, I cannot sleep.



I opened the memento from my beloved mother, Firis, which is none other than her favorite pocket watch. I proceeded to open the inner layer of it, to view the hidden part, containing a picture frame.



In the picture, there were Firis and the small me, laughing happily.



If I remember correctly, Chloe took this picture in the flower garden of the old house. I was around 9 years old. At that time, her condition hadn’t worsened yet.



“Cyan, are you reminiscing of the past?” Cassie probably noticed that I couldn’t sleep.

“Mmm, yeah…”

She then hugged me.



“Would you like to share it with me…?”

I placed my hand on her slender arm.

“Won’t you get bored if I repeated the same story? I think I have told you most of my childhood stories, so…”

“Haha, not a chance. Go ahead, dear.”



I’m lucky to have her by my side. And to have Altaire and Lyra around.

“Alright, then it’s about this picture here… Back then, it was when…”





Firis, I’m… happy.

I wish you could have seen Cassie, Lyra, and Altaire.

But then again, if you were still here, perhaps I wouldn’t be able to be here as I am right now. I would totally take a different course in life.

Nevertheless, I am happy with my life as it is.

 

Chapter 13

Alt-nii’s Enrollment to School​

By the time Month 8 approaches, Alt-nii’s preparation to enroll has been completed. He took the entrance exams before and got accepted.



“Congratulations on your enrollment, Alt-nii!”

“Thank youuu, Lyra! Although… *sigh* I didn’t get into the Special Class…,” Altaire heaved a long sigh.

“Haha, there’s no need to rush, Alt. You passed the exams with flying colors. You can still take the exams for Special Class after the Basic Level 1,” Dad patted Altaire’s head.

“Uuuu,” Altaire-oniichan still sulked.





Allow me to explain the school system in Riviera!

There are basically four stages of it, and here is the breakdown :

At the age of 6 years old until 13 years old, there is a mandatory stage to go to the Basic Level 1-7. Continuing that, from the age of 13 to 16 years old, one goes through Intermediate Level 1-3, which is semi-mandatory. The government has always been encouraging its citizens to take the second stage at the very least, and they have been very keen on implementing funding programs to make sure that people who have financial issues would be able to enroll, as well.

Next off are totally optional! From the age of 16 to 18 years old, there is Advanced Level 1-2. Most nobles or talented people would continue their studies up to this stage. It is fundamental for the nobles to have advanced knowledge to govern their territories right. Meanwhile, the fourth and final stage of the education has the fewest number of people enrolling. From the age of 18 to 20 years old, after finishing Advanced Level 1-2, one can enter Master Level 1-2. It is required to complete this course if one wants to work in a highly prestigious position, such as joining the Court or serving the government or the royal family as someone in quite a honorable position. The curriculum contains internship at the Court or kingdom, so basically, it’s like a joint between studying and working.

And what is this issue with Special Class? So, some number of schools provide this Special Class, which is basically acceleration system. You can study the Basic Level for 4 years only, and then Intermediate Level for 2 years. For Advanced and Master Level, there’s no way to shorten that 2 years standard. After all, 2 years standard is the fastest time in which one could graduate from both Advanced and Master Level. Some, if not a lot of people, may take longer than 2 years to graduate. Let’s say, 65% would be able to graduate on time during Advanced Level and only 40% are able to finish Master Level on time.





Mom was a prodigy who finished both Basic and Intermediate Level in the Special Class, and then she finished Advanced and Master Level in time. Thus, she graduated at the age of 16 and started working in the Magic Court soon afterwards. If that is the case, now I’m curious on how highly positioned is she? She doesn’t speak much of her achievements and work. Probably out of consideration to not put on additional expectations for us to follow in her footsteps?

Meanwhile, Dad… went through the normal period needed to graduate from Basic Level. After that, though, he transferred school and went to Intermediate Level’s Special Class, and from then on, he climbed so fast like a dragon, as he also managed to spend 2 years in Advanced and Master Level. He officially graduated at the age of 19.



Speaking of which, Mom is a year younger than Dad, but seems like she’s been working for much longer than Dad. Mom got married when she was 19 and Dad was 20, then a year later Altaire-nii was born.

We had the coming-of-age ceremony at the age of 13, but marriage is allowed once someone turns 17.

Alright, I’m trailing off again.





Anyway, the school that Alt-nii’s enrolled to has all four stages available. Yup, some schools only got one, two, or three stages available, it depends. Obviously, it’s more practical to be enrolled in a school that provides all stages. Alt-nii’s school is the same as the school Mom went to, and also the school Dad went to from Intermediate Level. I assume I’ll also go there.



The name is Harmonia Academy, located in the Capitol Area, quite close to the border of East Area. Which means, it’s not that far from the Hartmann’s current house. The Harmonia Academy is located in the middle of our house and the royal castle, which is named “Capicastle”. The academy has the strongest affiliation to the Court and royal kingdom. The Academy has the most resources and scholarships available, so it’s not closed off to nobles only. It is a good school, but the nobles would have more pride and prestige from enrolling into an expensive and private schools instead of Harmonia Academy that may be called as public school.



The odd terms of school start at Month 8 and end in Month 12, while the even terms start at Month 2 and end in Month 6. Which means my birthday is during the holidays… Ah well, there are its own goods and bads.

The Harmonia Academy has a dormitory, but since it’s not that far from our home, we can just go from our home directly. It is around 30 minutes walking, but we can shorten the time by using a bicycle or even carriage.

But since Clavis has also been enrolled there, Alt-nii decided he would just enjoy walking together with him.





By the way, the magic affinity and mana measurement would be taken at the beginning of the second term. The first term of magic class would be to cover the basic of magic theories and its history. And to learn how to feel mana, mana transfer, and such. The things that can be done without knowing your magic affinity and mana. This is done to ensure that all the measurement is valid and the maximum capacity. Because you see, Alt-nii should be 6 years old this year so he can enroll, but his birthday is at Month 9, so he would be technically 6 years old at Month 9. Even so, that doesn’t prevent anyone from taking an early start by private training.

However, people with no magical power will be excused from the magic class after they have learned the basic theories. Instead, they are free to take on any other classes, usually it’d just be any form of physical combat they want to learn.

When I was Reinst, I could be categorized into having very little magic talent, so after learning the most basic skills of Neutral magic like physical reinforcement, I would just spend the rest of my magic classes by training my swordsmanship.





Anyway, Alt-nii seems to be loving his new school!

He then told me several stories he’d heard from his new friends.

The Harmonia Academy is a famous public school, so there are various races enrolling. Humans, dwarves, beastmen, and a few elves and oni! There are fewer oni and elves because majority of them live in the countries ruled by their own races.

Mixed breeds also show up, but most he’d seen are mixture of humans-beastmen, dwarves-humans, humans-oni, and humans-elves. Well, no wonder, we’re the country with majority of humans. Due to the bad history between oni and elves, I’d be certain to say that… there’s no way a direct mixed breed of oni and elf exists.

Also, most dragons have already left and lived their own secluded lives in their own continent. Even though the books told us that back then, they also lived together with us. Perhaps since the rift between races (especially between oni and elves) started, the dragons started to leave. If there are dragons who disguised themselves in their human forms, we might not know if their transformation is flawless, but… I’ve never heard of sightings of dragons before. Rumor has it that there are some people with dragon ancestors, and those people would be awfully gifted in magic. Dragons are the strongest race, after all.





Now, this school seems a lot more fun than the school I was enrolled at.

My old school was full of nobles, and most have the typical prideful noble behaviors, so… yup yup, I was a loner at my old school.





While getting immersed in the stories Alt-nii shared with me and my own training, Alt-nii’s birthday is approaching.

 

Chapter 14

Altaire’s Sixth Birthday (1)​

Day 21 Month 9, it’s Altaire-oniichan’s special day!

Yes, today is his sixth birthday!

Sixth birthday is special because it marks the age where one reaches their maximum mana capacity and how they are welcome to participate in society gatherings, especially for nobles!

Since I am his little sister, I am allowed to participate in Altaire-oniichan’s Debut Party! Obviously, I am getting busy because my grandparents are coming and I also need to dress up!!

The royal family is also invited but I doubt they’d come. After all, it is unusual for the royal family to grace themselves on some noble’s parties, especially birthday parties. Even if we are the members of the Four Dukes! At the most, the king will come if he is not busy. But let’s not expect too much. I can’t deny that I am curious to know how the crown prince looks like in his… adult form? And how he is after he becomes the king.

Nevertheless, I must really dress up and behave appropriately! Alt-nii is the star in this party, but that doesn’t mean I can escape the nobles’ judgement, even as a 3-year-old!



Also… debut party… incoming nobles… That means… the Grabberton family would also be present, right?

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod…!!!

I don’t know if I can keep my poker face and feign as much ignorance as possible if I were to face them directly!! I need to speak only if necessary.



Oh, even if the party is usually held in the noble’s house, those with small houses may rent a venue. So, Alt-nii’s birthday party is held at the old Hartmann’s house. For the preparations, the Sanctuaria family helped us a lot in terms of maids and other workers. Niina, Vince, and Chloe’s relatives also came to help, and so they would be allowed to attend the party as well!



This will be my first time being in the middle of the crowd after my reincarnation. Of course I’d be a little nervous, even if I am only a side character. But Altaire might be more nervous than I am. He would be standing in front of all the audiences. Yes, he will stand in the middle of the taller-than-other-grounds stage in the middle of the large hall!! It was formerly the audience room and also the living room of the huge Hartmann house, and it was modified for parties like this. This large and luxurious house could have been my house, but, well, I don’t really care for the luxury. Can’t say I don’t miss all the luxury and convenience I had as Reinst, but I won’t trade the warmth of family that I know in this life for any luxury.

I can’t imagine how Altaire-nii is doing right now! He must be peeking from behind the stage nervously!!







…

Or





Not.





Instead of him peeking the hall from behind the stage, the one who has been constantly peeking is me.



As for Alt-nii…



“Clavis, prepare yourself well! Don’t you remember that you need to stand beside me at the stage? You are my appointed butler, after all~ My companion~!” Alt-nii grinned while teasing Clavis.

Clavis-nii seems very flustered and can’t imagine the idea of him being in the center of the attention, with all the nobles looking at him.



Well, usually nobles would have some personal maids or butlers, but since we’re broke, we have no one. In this occasion, Clavis-nii would be accompanying Alt-nii around, but standing at the stage next to him was not part of the pact. Yes, I remember that!!



“W, what are you talking about… Alt----I mean, Altaire-sama?!” Clavis stuttered.



Another point of interruption!! Not addressing Alt-nii with “-sama” suffix will cause an uproar, as Clavis plays the role of Alt-nii’s personal butler in this event. It must be hard for Clavis-nii to adjust himself. I feel sorry for him. At first, he needed to adjust his habit of calling Alt-nii with “-sama” suffix into the calling of just “Alt”, as he is a friend to my big brother. Now that he’s already been used to calling Altaire-nii with his name only, he needs to readjust it back!!



“W-e-l-l! We agreed to that!!” Alt-nii’s face doesn’t show any sign of joke at all.

Clavis becomes more nervous, and I see that he is now slightly trembling!



That poor wolfie—and what a meanie you are, big brother!

I decided to step up.



“Uhm, Alt-nii, stop! Clavis-nii is really scared! I know he is only asked to follow you after you go to the stage! He doesn’t need to be on the stage!!”

Clavis-nii is clearly surprised. But hearing my words, he stopped shaking and sighed in relief.

“Aaaaah, Lyra! We just got to the fun part!! Why won’t you just tease Clavis with me?” Alt-nii pouted.



Uuu, talk about bullies!!



“You’re teasing Clavis-nii too much, Alt-nii!” I put myself between Clavis and Altaire.

“Ah well… I’ll let this go, then. Lyra is right, Clavis. Seems like you forgot what our agreement said. You’d better be thankful to Lyra! My little sister is just too kind!” Alt-nii patted my head and then patted Clavis’ head.

The moment he tried to pat Clavis—Clavis dodged his patting.



“Really, Alt! If you do that again, I won’t play with you anymore!!”

“Haha, alright, alright, I will make sure I don’t bully you too much next time!”

“So, you’re still thinking of teasing me?! Geez, really!!”

“Your reaction is cute, Clavis!”

“I am not cute!!” Clavis denied it wholeheartedly. So, it is true that boys hate being called cute?





And yup. This is the relationship between my brother and his very first best friend. Yup, they look like they’re fighting most of the time and Altaire would seem like a meanie, but please please believe me, they are actuallllyyyy really close! When Clavis got sick the other day, Altaire-nii went out all the way to visit him in his house and lent him a CD containing his favorite holographic show! Although, Alt-nii gave it to him while saying, “You have to quickly get better and return my favorite CD! If you take too long, I’ll charge you for being late!!”



I can also tell that he was worried sick when he heard Clavis’ fever was so severe at that time. He didn’t behave as he usually was at home.

When Clavis-nii got better and played in our house again, Alt-nii teased him first thing first, but his expression seemed relieved!!

Ah, I can’t really understand the friendship between boys.

And, is my big brother a tsundere?!





Come to think about it, Clavis-nii could also be categorized as my first friend!!

Besides him, I sometimes went to play with the kids in the downtown whenever I strolled around there. We saw a doll show and then the performer’s child would lead us to play after the show. I am not particularly close with any of them, but… it feels nice when they smiled and said, “Let’s play together again next time!”

The past me would definitely not spend any time playing around since I’d get so engrossed to studying and training, hoping to get praised by my parents.





Anyway…





“Altaire, after this we will go on the stage and greet everyone. Dad will open the party, and then the floor is all yours,” Dad said.

Alt-nii nodded with a bright smile on his face.

Is he seriously not nervous?!





“U, uhm, Lyra, thank you so much for your help just now! You really saved me!”

I heard a familiar voice from behind me. As I turned around, there is Clavis, as expected, but there’s something I had never expected, coming from him.

His eyes are totally sparking when he looks at me!!

What’s more, isn’t his tail slightly waving around?!





“N, no problem, it’s Alt-nii’s fault for being a meanie!” I said.

Clavis smiled in response and said, “you’re so kind!”

“Haha, if he ever teases you too much, just call me I will come to your rescue!” I said. Well, somehow I can handle Alt-nii better than Clavis! Is this the legendary little sister power?

“Uuu, I can’t believe you are his sister!” Clavis then patted my head.







“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for setting aside your time to attend my first son, Altaire Ophiuscus Hartmann’s sixth birthday that also marks his debut in our society. As he might still be young and inexperienced, we would kindly ask for your help and guidance in behalf of our son. Now, I shall allow the star of this event to take the spotlight. Altaire, the floor is all yours,” Dad concluded his beautiful speech and swiftly gave Alt-nii the sound amplifier—a small device that could enhance your voice, so it can be heard in the entire spacious room!

Wow, Dad, way to go! I wouldn’t have imagined his figure when he gave that speech—full of charm, confidence, and his voice was so firm and… he really has the charisma of a leader!! But, but, he plays the role of oyabaka in this house!! What is with this change of attitude?





“Ahem!!” Alt-nii started to speak. I can feel that all eyes are on him right now.

Do your best, big brother!!





“Good evening, dear ladies and gentlemen. Pleased to meet you all, I am Altaire Ophiuscus Hartmann, the first son of Icarus Valkyane Hartmann and Cassiophelia de la Sanctuaria. I humbly offer my gratitude for your kindness to grace us with your presence in my sixth birthday. As my father has said before, it would be my first step towards the society, so there would be many things that I have yet to discover. Please do be patient with me, and I really hope we can all get along!” then, Alt-nii bowed down graciously.

…well spoken, and well-refined manner!!

So different from Alt-nii’s usual teasing and all smiley face! He looks so refined right now!!



Only now I realize that Alt-nii takes after Dad!

Both of them are two-faced---uh, that doesn’t have a nice ring.

Maybe it’s better to say that they have a face that they show to others and the face that they show to close friends and family members?



A round of applause can be heard throughout the room.

Congratulations, Alt-nii!!

That was superb!!



After that, the hologram plays music as everyone is enjoying themselves in the party.

At first, I am following my mother around as she is talking to other nobles, mostly the noblewomen. Meanwhile Altaire follows Dad and is getting introduced to the nobles.

After that, I can see that Alt-nii is gathering with the noble children and he is enjoying himself to speak with them. He can definitely feel more pressured than this!! This is his first debut, after all!!

But, it’s still a good thing that he enjoys it.



The next thing I know, I managed to slip out from Mom and her noble friends’ chit-chats.

Hmm, there are rarely children around my age. The youngest would be around six, the same age as Altaire.

I feel slightly uncomfortable at seeing my past acquaintances… Like how that noble lady I saw just now, she was just 12 years old when I last saw her. How time truly changes someone. Age changes really do make people seem more mature. While in my case, time changes myself as well. However, my age just got regressed… Haha… Hahahahahahaa!!! I am an adult in a 3 years old child’s body!!

And I think there have been occasions where I got carried by my appearance and acted like a child… This is bad… or not…?

I can’t decide.



“Hmm? Why do we have a little child here?”

I could hear the voice of a young man. His voice is quite deep… he seems to be in his early twenties. And his accent is strangely familiar. It is a Western accent!! He is highly likely someone I know as Reinst, then!!

I cautiously turned around.

There is the young handsome man right in front of my eyes. I have to bend my head upwards to see him! He is quite tall, perhaps as tall as Dad. His suit is elegant, and I can see that the material to make the suit is of high quality. His blonde hair sticks out in comparison with his white suit. His amber eyes are looking at me with a gentle gaze.



…I know him…

Yes, I’d definitely recognize him, even when time changes his appearance.





But… why white suit?

…Let me explain the significance of the suit color!

The Four Dukes have their respective color and emblems. When attending formal parties like this, especially other dukes’ parties, the members of the dukes’ families should wear clothes in their family’s color, plus the emblem must be worn.



[The Hartmann family wears blue-themed clothes with a green wing emblem on their left chest.

The Grabberton family wears grey-themed clothes with a sword emblem on their right chest.

The Fumitsuna family wears black-themed clothes with red pentagram emblem on their left upper arm.

The Loera family wears white-themed clothes with a feather emblem, with a distinct gradient of color on their right upper arm.]





By the way, I am wearing a blue dress with my hairs tied in a twin tail. The green wing emblem is very apparent on my left chest.



I tried to confirm if I was just color-blind and that the man was actually wearing grey clothes. So, I peeked at his right chest… no emblem… what?

Instead, I see a feather emblem with a very distinct color pattern on his right upper arm.





“…” What kind of sorcery is this? Doppelganger phenomenon? My guess was wrong?

“Hmm, ah, you’re Hartmann’s youngest child, aren’t you? That explains!” He squatted so that our eyes could meet with each other.

“Uhm… Mister…?”

“Ah, nice to meet you. I’m Clyde. I am also a member of the Four Dukes, can you guess from which family am I?”



………………………..C-L-Y-D-E!

Wait, what a coincidence?!



“…Are you Mister Clyde Horace?”

“You know me? Ah, then guessing from which house I am would be easy, right?”

“…”



He was my half-brother!! Clyde Horace Grabberton!!! There is no mistaking it!



But the Loera-themed clothes he is wearing is making me hesitate.

Could it be that I was reborn into a parallel world of my previous world? That explains how there are many similarities, at the same time there is a plain contradiction like this.

However, my hunch is telling me that this is the exact same world as my previous one.



So, if that’s true, then… what’s up with him giving me a sudden trivia?

Uhhh, what should I answer?

Is he just cosplaying right now?

Or is this a new kind of prank or event…?

Like… a prank to ask pop quiz to other nobles to know that they remember who you are?

A new trend, huh?



If that’s the case, perhaps I might as well answer him clearly, while asking him a question that I’m so curious for! Who knows he might have explained what kind of event is actually happening, for him to be cosplaying in Loera clothes.

“…Eeeh, uhm, why are you in Loera-themed clothes when you’re actually from Grabberton family, then?”

“…Huh? I am wearing Loera-themed clothes, yes. But have I ever told you that I am from Grabberton family?” He looks at me in wonder. Any sign of him lying or teasing me? Negative, he is totally serious!

…Was that not the right answer?

…….Am I just digging my own grave?!

“So… care to explain how did you figure out I was from Grabberton family, little miss?” Clyde tilted his head in confusion, but he is still smiling at me. He is genuinely interested.





…

… … …

……………..CRAP CRAP CRAP!!!

I CANNOT THINK OF ANY BLUFF!!





Wait, wait, wait!

How can I open the menu?!

Where is the load button?!

Any quick load button?

Can I reset from my last checkpoint?!

Why isn’t life a game that has checkpoints and load featureeeee, I’ve screwed up so bad now!

 

Chapter 15

Altaire’s Sixth Birthday (2)​

“Hmm, what’s wrong?” Clyde asked again, in response to my silence and my weird expression.

…Can I ask for a time out??

“Come on, just tell this uncle~”

I gulped. Whoa, now I’m sweating.





I wish life is similar to visual novel games, where I now should be able to see some options that I can pick as my answer…

Because I’m drawing blank here.

“A…”

Just as I was about to tell whatever pops to my mind…







“Huh, Lyra, Clyde, what are you two doing over there?”

…Dad’s voice!!

Ohhh, he’s coming here!!

My savior!!



I decided to run towards my dad and gives him the best jump plus hug combination I can give him.

Obviously, my dad is surprised by my unusual behavior. Yes, I never ran with all I had and leaped to hug him! Usually, Dad would be the one to walk quickly towards me and proceed to hug and carry me around.

“Uwooo, my Lyra is acting so cute!”

I can hear Dad’s whisper close to my ears as he cradled me in his arms. He looks slender but his arms are unexpectedly sturdy, as he didn’t even falter due to my full-speed ambush!





“Ahaha, hi there, Cyan-san! She was wandering off all alone, and she was so easy to spot being the only child below 6 years old here, so I thought I should be greeting her. When she turned around, I realized that she’s indeed the rumored daughter of Hartmann family!”

“Oh, right. Putting aside the fact that Lyra wanders off alone, I think introduction should be in order then. Clyde, this is my daughter, Alrescha Lyra Hartmann. We usually call her Lyra. Lyra, this young man here is Clyde Horace Loera.”





…

??????

Clyde Horace what?!

Loera?!

Since when…?! How...?!!





I don’t have to use a mirror to see what kind of expression I have right now. My confusion is evident enough. This is a major fact that totally contradicts what I know in my past life!

Is this really a parallel world, then? There have been so many similarities I thought this was the same world!





“Ahaha, as I thought. Cyan-san, your daughter asked me before regarding why was I wearing Loera-themed clothes although I was from Grabberton house.”

“Huh? Is that so?”

Now, Dad is also looking at me in confusion.

Uh-oh…

“Hmm… have I ever told you about Clyde? Is that why you know that he was from Grabberton family?”





…

Oooooh!!

Dad, you sparked a good idea to me!

God, Thou hadn’t forsaken me yet!!

Thank you, little spectre of light!!





“Uhm… yeah, but you didn’t tell Lyra much… so Lyra… ish confused?”

I tried to act as cute as I can and tilted my head. They say that women or children who tilted their heads in particular angle would look cuter than they usually are… so…

“Khhhhh!!” Dad is somehow holding back from his usual spoiling responses. Could it be because we’re in public, and Clyde is watching?

“Ah, so you have ever told her? No wonder she knows! I am so surprised that it was the first thing she asked of me! And she also knew my first and middle given names!”

…Clyde, please, please be merciful to me and stop making my dad more confused!!

He never really told me anything about you, and that is a given why he cannot remember he has ever told me about you!!





“Whoa, you really can remember all that, when I can’t even remember what I have told you! You’re so great, Lyra!” Dad patted my head.

Somehow… I feel guilty?

But I gotta shake it off and smile! Laugh!! Your big brother can laugh almost all the time, so as his sister, you should be able to do it, too, Lyra!

…perhaps my smile came out awkward, but whatever.

…Now that all the tension has left me, I can feel another sensation. Yes, I wanna pee… if I were an ordinary 3 years old, I’d wet myself at this moment.

Then again, a 3 year-old normal girl wouldn’t get caught up in this kind of situation in the first place.





“Pleased to meet you, Clyde-san!” I bowed my head in a hurry, so that he won’t see my awkward smile and doubt me again.

“Ah, nice to meet you, Lyra. As they said, you are really adorable!”

Dad’s hugs got tighter in that instant. I can feel he kinda tensed up but I can’t figure out why, since there doesn’t seem to be something wrong with Clyde’s words, except I must admit that he flattered me.





“Uhm, so, how did you…?” I timidly voiced my question.

After all, I still want to pursue answers!!

“Ah… it’s true that I was from Grabberton family. But, I am not the heir of the family. My younger half-brother, Domi-kun is the heir. Also, as to why I become Loera… It’s because I married the only daughter of the Loera’s main family. As they still had no heir at that time, I was adopted as the heir, so they didn’t need to adopt someone from their main family and the likes. Therefore, I adopted their surname instead, while my wife still has her maiden surname intact.”





In cases of a noble family only having daughter(s) as their only children, to keep the surname going, they need to have one of their son-in-laws to adopt their surnames instead. It’s not that women are never an heir to a family, but since there is a tradition that surnames are passed from males, it would be quite troubling to have a female heir. That is why most females are at disadvantages in cases of competitions to be the heir.




…………………………………….eh, wait, what?

My half-brother is married?!

,,,It’s not weird considering his age… but for me, it’s still weird.

Last time I saw him, he was still 13.

Last time he saw me, I was his same age half-sister.

It doesn’t feel so real to see him all grown-up like this.





And... the only daughter of Loera’s main family? Isn’t she… Cheryll Nicole Loera? Come to think about it, Clyde and Nicole were often seen together. I remember they were so friendly to each other… So, they were also close. Also… Nicole… often invited me out and talked to me, even when nobody else bothered to interact with me at school if it wasn’t for any importance. Nicole often talked about insignificant things with me… She was a friendly girl. Now I get it. She was trying to get close to me because she was interested in Clyde…? She might have thought that she should also be close to me as his sister.

One mystery (regarding why Nicole wanted to befriend me) has been solved, yup!

Domi-kun is the rightful heir of Grabberton, so there shouldn’t be any problem in marrying Clyde off to the Loera family. Instead, the Grabberton family would have a stronger connection to the Loera family. It’s a win-win solution.





“So, did you come here with your wife?” Dad asked.

“Ah, no, Nicole is busy taking care of our son.”

I gasped and looked at Clyde’s face.

What is this? Clyde, he didn’t only get married, but he’s got a son?!



“Oh, that’s right. Your son should be around one year old, right?”

“Haha, yeah. He is adorable. He takes after Nicole so much!” Clyde’s expression turned gentle when he talked about his child.

Uh… compared to his condition... as for me... instead of having a child, I became a child myself!!

If I were still alive as Reinst, would I already have a child myself at his age?

But that is a future that I can no longer imagine.





“Come and see him some time! Oh yeah, what about betrothing my son and your daughter?” Clyde said, almost jokingly. But I sensed a little glimpse of seriousness in his eyes.

Naturally, I was surprised at Clyde’s suggestion. At the same time, Dad hugged me closer and tighter. When I notice it, he is still smiling, but there’s something else in that smile.

“Lyra is still 3. And your son is still 1.” Dad said with a cold voice.

Whoa, hey there, Dad…?

I am positive he is just joking around...?

And that maybe Clyde would discuss the idea further if you were to accept his half-joking suggestion.





“Hahaha, I’m just kidding!!” Clyde laughed it off and approached us. I can feel Dad’s tight hug started to loosen. He also didn’t step back.

“Well, I’ll make sure to come for your debut party as well, Lyra,” he patted my head.

Back then, I never got to be patted by him. But now, I can tell that his adult hand is warm and comforting.





After Clyde has walked quite far from us…

“…….that Clyde! There’s no way I’d give Lyra away!!!!”

…Dad, you’re totally being overprotective here! In the first place, you are supposed to be marrying me off to other nobles eventually…





Just right at that moment, we heard the door opening, followed by a ruckus.

“…The king?!”

“He decided to attend?!”

“I thought he was going to be absent for this party, as well!!”

…eh?

The king himself, in flesh?!





Upon glancing at the source of the others’ stares, I found a young man who looks to be at the same age as Dad. His short light brown hair hasn’t changed, and his green eyes are looking more mature. He wears a luxurious golden-white suit, covered in a red robe. The royal family emblem is stitched in the middle of his chest, holding up his robe. There are also a few gallant-looking guards standing beside him.

Dad walked to approach the commotion while carrying me. Mom followed Dad from behind after she held Altaire’s hand and soon, we finally got to face the king.

“Sorry for being late, there were some urgent issues coming up at the castle!” The king said.

“No problem, we are glad about your arrival alone, Your Majesty.” Dad said, as he bowed down, followed by Mom.

“Please enjoy the party, Your Majesty,” Mom said, as she tugged Alt-nii’s hand that she was holding.

“T, thank you for coming Y-Your Majesty,” Alt quickly realized Mom’s signal and bowed down, as well. I slightly bowed my head down, as well.

“No problem, I’ve been planning to come here ever since Cyan there gave me an invitation. Anyway, do you mind if we speak alone?” asked the king, still with his casual tone.

…does this smell like a trouble?





We entered another room near the hall, leaving the other nobles to enjoy the party. I notice myself getting all tensed up especially the moment the door closes. I bet the atmosphere here will soon turn tense, as well… My family must also be nervous with this development. For the king to request a private audience, there must be some issues he’d like to talk with us. Perhaps, it’s regarding the Hartmann’s governance, or other things, as I remember that both my parents are already working at the Royal Castle, in spite of their role in East territory’s management.

I braced myself to look at Dad’s expression. I should be able to notice if he’s tense, despite the fact that he might cover it up with his usual business smile… and yeah, there he is, smiling… but he doesn’t look tense at all…?!

I quickly turned my gaze at Mom. Nope, she isn’t tense as well!

I desperately turned around to see Altaire-nii, he’s all smiling! No sign of nervousness!

W, what’s wrong with my family?! Why am I the only one feeling tense?!





“What’s up with that grand entrance, Your Ma-jes-ty~?” Dad said in a teasing tone. Dad seemed a little... irritated?

Huh?!!

GWAAH?! Wait Dad, what are you thinkin—





“How many times do I have to tell you to cut all the formalities off when nobody is around, Cyan?!” The king seems irritated, as he crossed his legs and put one of his hands on his chin.

…This situation… doesn’t seem like an audience between a king and his subject or his subordinate… Rather, it’s like… a casual talk between close friends?!

“Hahaha, it’s my little payback for gathering the audience just now, causing us to be all formal and nervous! Not to mention the fact that we have to think and act fast before others call us as rude towards the king! This whole play of being formal in presence of others and being casual when there are no one is quite tiring, I admit.”

“Well, I told you there were some urgent matters coming up! I didn’t intend to be late and make that kind of entrance to the party!”

“Okay, okay… So, how was it? Do you need my assistance for that ‘urgent matter’?”

“Nah, I don’t think we need that for now. Just continue your usual work. I’ll make sure to summon you if I ever need that.”

“Alright then. You know you can always count on me, Titus.” Dad said as he patted the king’s shoulders. The king laughed it off and the two of them fist-bumped each other.




Mom and Altaire are watching the scene unfold as if it’s natural...





So, am I the only one left in blanks?

I desperately tried to make anyone look my way, so that they can see a desperate confusion on my face.

Luckily, I managed to get their attention, and they tried to explain the whole thing to me...


--Please wait for the long explanation intended to a child to end so that Lyra can conclude everything and retell the whole explanation curtly—





Back then, Mom worked as a Royal Magician in the Magic Court, and soon became the Head of the Royal Magic Court, where she is famously known as “The Sky Magician—Ophelia”. And Dad served under Mom as a Royal Magician… plus handling underground activities like uncovering the frauds and mistreatment especially his family did, directly under the king—who was still the crowned prince back then. Obviously, he made use of his illusion and transformation power as a Hartmann for doing his work as a spy.

Upon gaining the responsibility as one of the Four Dukes, Dad stopped working as a Royal Magician, but he’s continuing his work directly under the king’s order! He is the king’s trusted right hand, working as a spy countless times. He can be given the title of “The Royal Spy”!





As for Dad’s relationship to the king...

Dad has always been good friends with the current king ever since they were still teenagers, since they met at the Harmonia Academy, to be exact. That explains the king’s trust and friendliness to my dad, and vice versa. Meanwhile, Mom, as the Head of the Royal Magic Court and one of the people who needs to work directly with the king, who sometimes aids in underground missions, also become used to talking with him and soon become friendly, as well.

According to what they said, there are also other people who are close to the king. The king wants the people working directly with him to be friendly and close as comrades, instead of being stiff like a robot that has to watch everything they say so they won’t be charged with lèse-majesté or being a hypocrite, trying to fawn over the king.

Also, also!!

Apparently, at first, Dad refused to continue the Hartmann family’s reign. However, the king wanted no one but him to be one of the Four Dukes because of reasons (mainly because the Four Dukes are like four pillars of the kingdom so it must be important for the king to have a close relationship with the dukes), and so he skillfully manipulated the conditions and appointed Dad as the Hartmann family’s head, and continued Dad’s engagement to the Sanctuaria’s young lady, who is none other than Mom.

The king gained a lot of profit with this kind of setting, I see!



--And that concludes Lyra’s report!—




“So, are you going to the castle again, Alt?” The king turned over to Altaire.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Alt-nii answered with a bright smile.

…wha? Again?

“Yes, as Altaire is already 6 years old, I would like to reconfirm his magic affinity and then proceed to check his mana capacity. Perhaps he would need to come to the castle more often with me from now on,” said Mom.

I stared in another confusion. Noticing this, Mom told me.



“Ah, Lyra, you’ll also come to the castle with me when you’re 4 years old, so you can get your magic tested in the Royal Magic Court. Alt has done that, too, when he was four… his result was amazing, so I want to recheck it together with his mana capacity check…”

“Amazing result?” I pondered. What affinity might be categorized as amazing when Mom can do the rare attributed magics?

“Hehe, guess what?” Alt-nii is grinning wide.

I reflexively hold my breath in anticipation.

“Surprise, the attribute that I have the most affinity with, is… Void!” said Alt-nii.

…ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!




I am very surprised that I become speechless. My face right now might be similar to the emoticon [O_O]

[Void] is even considered as a mythical element!

To think that my brother is the one possessing such an amazing element?!











The king and my parents talked a bit more after setting up Alt-nii’s magic test for tomorrow, mostly about their work and about past days, before they finally went out and socialized with the others at the party. The party finally ended at around 9 p.m., and obviously nobody dared do go back before the king stepped out… unless it is an emergency.

After a lot of mind-blowing revelations today, I feel very exhausted. If I were to wake up and realizing this was all a dream, I’d believe that right away. I just want to hop in my bed and sleep…



However, being a good child and remembering the pain from the tooth cavity when I was Reinst, I decided to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth before I sleep, without having the others reminding me.

As a result, I was praised by them. Alt-nii sulked a little because he planned on skipping his tooth-brushing routine today, and now he has to brush his teeth because his little sister did that without being ordered to.



Uuu, sorry, Alt-nii! But it’s for your own good! Honestly, tooth cavity is so bothersome!! Since the external surface of a tooth, the enamel, is not a living tissue, so a healing magic cannot influence the cells to repair itself, therefore we have to go to the dentist to get it fixed with another hard material as its replacement. Healing magic can actually stimulate the second surface of the tooth, the dentin, to heal, but the hard material to replace the enamel functions better to protect the teeth in the long run!

Not many people can use complicated healing magic, so obviously we still have doctors and dentists. I believe Mom can recover the dentin should we get a deep cavity, but eventually we still have to go to get the protective hard material to replace the broken enamel. There are also other procedures that cannot be accomplished with healing magic, such as transplanting cells to heal incurable illnesses, such as genetic illnesses. It would be so ideal to have a magic that can quickly change your genetic formation and replace the cells with healthy ones. I wonder how much mana must someone have in order to do such a feat?





Just a few minutes after getting a touchdown with my beloved bed, I fall asleep immediately. My brain needs a lot of time to process all these absurd information, so when I wake up the next day, everyone says that I’ve been asleep for half a day already, without being bothered by any noise they made.

For the first time in my life, I skipped eating a complete breakfast.

 

Chapter 16

Altaire is An Irregularity​

I overslept.

Since lunch is coming very soon, they are afraid I’ll be so full if I were to consume a complete breakfast, so they give me a slice of Alt-nii’s birthday cake to fill in my belly so it can withstand itself until lunch time~

Since today is a school holiday, after lunch, Alt-nii and Mom would go to the castle—or should I say, the Capicastle. Dad has gone to patrol the area and to work in our territory right after breakfast, and Chloe says he was kinda disappointed not being sent off by his daughter today. Aww, I gotta cheer him up tonight, then!





Apparently, what happened yesterday isn’t a dream at all.

Even after passing out for half a day, my tiny head can’t fully believe all the facts that they gave me last evening.

That Clyde has become Loera’s heir and that he’s already got a son!!

That my parents are having a really close friendship with the current king!



That my mom is not just an ordinary Royal Magician, but she’s the Head of Royal Magic Court!

(I know she’s got the reputation, but I imagined the Head being some elderly wise person… was I too biased?)

That my dad is working as The Royal Spy!

(So, that kind of thing is real?!)



And most importantly…

Alt-nii’s strongest affinity is with [Void] element, the mythical type of magic?!





This family is totally something else!!

And here I am, an ordinary girl amidst every special being!

If I knew this were to happen, I would definitely ask the God to give me some cheats!

I just wish that I take after my mother’s talent with magic, plus her rare attributes! Mom has three attributes! Life, light, and wind—hence she got the title of “Sky Magician”, I think.

Her attributes, especially life and light are so dreamy! They are the elements that everyone is yearning to get.

I hope I won’t have the same attribute as I had as Reinst.

Considering my parents’ attributes, I don’t think I will end up having my previous attribute~! The possibility when you calculate the genetic inheritance thing and others is close to none, so I should be safe, I think.

Also, hoping to get an affinity with [Void] magic is just… ridiculous.





I wonder how does Alt-nii train his magic when the data about [Void] types of magic and spells is hard to get?

He’d need to rely on the old documentation of [The Greatest Magician]’s utilization of [Void] magic.

And nobody can really help him to practice. He needs to do his own trial and errors. Mom is the Head of the Royal Magic Court, so thankfully she might be able to help… only in theories, I suppose. And Alt-nii has to put all the theories into action.

Since it is the mythical magic, I wonder how are people’s prejudice against him, who is able to use [Void]? I don’t think it would be viewed as something nasty, but people will either look at him with eyes that view experimental rabbits—or look at him with the eyes of wonder, as if they’re looking at the World’s Wonder, I think.

Uuu, with great power comes great responsibility. That proverb is really true!

Hopefully my big brother is fine!





During my free time in the afternoon, I practiced my transformation for a little while before Niina calls me downstairs, saying that I have a guest.

…who is it?

“Clavis-nii? But Alt-nii is gone to the castle!” I said in my surprise upon seeing Clavis in front of the door.

“I know that. But who ever says that I come here today to see him?” Clavis-nii smiled.

“Huh, but usually you’ll be playing with him…,” I don’t get it. Maybe he has some business to do with his mother…?



“Well duh, I come here to play with you! Consider it my thanks for saving my butt--err, I mean saving me yesterday! Besides, I have done my portion of helping Dad around in the store, so I got nothing else to do!” He crossed his arms as he unconsciously wagged his tail.

“Awwkayy! Then, let me pet that fluffy tail of yours!” I leaped forward to get a hold of his wagging tail. Clavis reflexively dodged that.

“Ah, hey! No ambush on my tail!!” He scolded me, but then he suddenly became so silent.

“Ah, but, err… I think… as a thanks… you can pet it… for a while, if you insist,” he turned his face around, so I can’t see him anymore.

I shall happily take this delicious chance without any hesitation!

Thanks for the meal!!

Clavis-nii is trying his best to withstand the ticklish sensation to his tail while I am petting it. 30 seconds later, he is already declaring his defeat.





I am indulging myself to play with Clavis-nii, as we also read books and he would tell me the stories of his school. And soon, as evening comes, Alt-nii and Mom arrives home.

From Mom’s expression, I can see that she is thinking deeply about various things. Meanwhile in contrast to Mom’s complicated expression, Alt-nii is smiling as usual, while humming some songs, with a foreign object similar to a big egg on his hand. …A monster’s egg? The egg’s color is so peculiar. Like it’s pitch black with uneven purple freckles all around.



“Welcome home! Uh… what’s wrong?” I approached Mom.

“I’m back, Lyra. Uhh, it’s nothing. We’ll talk about it during tonight’s dinner together with Dad. Just… give me some more time to process everything,” Mom lightly touches her forehead with one hand and closes her eyes after she plopped herself on the fluffy sofa.

“Moom, can I put this in my room?” Alt-nii asked.

“Oh, sure…,” Mom said wheezily.





Just right before dinner, Dad finally comes back home!

And now, the long-awaited-dinner-talk!!

What exactly is burdening the mind of the prodigy magician, the Head of the Royal Magic Court?







“1000.”



That’s all Mom said, as her opening statement.



“What?” Dad asked in his confusion.

“Alt’s mana. 1000.” Mom sighed heavily.

“…wait, wait, maybe there was an error with the mana measurer?” Dad’s eyes are twitching in disbelief.

“Nope. Not a chance.”

“…”

Am I really the little sister as someone as crazy as Altaire?!





So, the mana measurers will measure someone’s mana capacity from 0 to 1000.

Yup, Alt-nii gained the highest possible value.

It looks like the rumor about [Void] affinity = inhumane mana capacity is right.

It was said that [The Greatest Magician] broke the mana measurer, meaning that her mana capacity has far exceeded 1000. Perhaps Alt-nii’s mana capacity isn’t exactly 1000, but some digits after 1000? The measurer didn’t break, so his mana isn’t as great as the Greatest Magician. But, still…





After that, Mom took out a paper that detailed Alt-nii’s magic, including Alt-nii’s affinity with each attribute. Obviously, the magic testers in the Royal Magic Court would be the high-tech ones!



[Name : Altaire Ophiuscus Hartmann

Mana Capacity : 1000

Magic Affinity :

1. Neutral : 5/10

2. Fire : 1/10

3. Water : 4/10

4. Thunder : 2/10

5. Wind : 9/10

6. Ice : 4/10

7. Earth : 1/10

8. Plant : 5/10

9. Dark : 0/10

10. Light : 7/10

11. Life : 8/10

12. Void : 10/10

Note : 0 = unable to use, 1-3 = weak, 4-6 = normal, 7-9 = strong, 10 = very strong]





Basically… the complicated tool measures all of a person’s affinity towards all elements of magic, while the normal simple affinity tester only reacts with colors, and that kind of simple tester only reacts to the value of 7-10. Yup, people’s attributes mean the elements that they have 7-10 values of affinity with. It’s advised for people to train their highest affinity element first so that their other magic will be stronger. And they don’t normally train the elements that they have weak affinity with, unless necessary or they want it.





For your information, [The Greatest Magician] got 7-10 values on all magic elements. Nobody has been able to beat her so far.

As for my parents’ magical status… Since they don’t really remember where exactly they saved their test result, plus the fact that they’re lazy to take another test, these are the information about them:



My mom possesses 888 mana capacity, which is already extraordinary for a human. Plus, 2 out of 3 of her attributes are rare : [Light] and [Life]. Her other strong attribute is [Wind]. But to consider that she has elf blood running through her veins, then it’s understandable for her to be this extraordinary. She says that she can also use [Ice] and [Thunder] to good extent, and a little basic bits of [Fire] and [Water].



My dad is also amazing, albeit he is just an ordinary human. Even he admits that he was confused since his father and brother’s magic powers are less than his. My dad has the mana of 754—while his father and brother was around 400-500ish. Besides, my dad also has three attributes! His strongest two are [Water] and [Ice], while the last one is [Plant].

I wonder why wasn’t he the heir since he was stronger than his brother? Was it merely due to his birth order? I mean, his brother’s attribute were only [Plant] and [Fire]. I guess that had something to do with my dad’s different values to both his father and brother, too? Like how he was as straight as an arrow while his father and brother were as twisted as the messy thread.

Also, my dad can use [Wind] element just fine and basic [Fire] and [Thunder].





Oh, and it goes without saying that most people with other attribute(s) can also use [Neutral] magic, and most can utilize moderate amount of that magic. Strong usage of [Neutral] magic can be usually seen in people with [Neutral] element. It’s uncommon for people with two or more attributes to have [Neutral] attribute as their element. It’s like an exclusive type of magic, requiring high dedication and loyalty, perhaps?

Although it’s a common knowledge that [Neutral] element is just so-so, since you can’t use that in combats. Nobody really wishes for having affinity with [Neutral] element only, unless they aspire to be augmenters, producers, or inventors.





“Also,” Mom added as if she just remembered something, “there is an ancient magic artifact that’s found near The First Queen’s tomb. There has been no reaction whatsoever from it, so we’ve been keeping it stored inside the Royal Magic Court’s Treasure Room. However, when Altaire came today, it radiated magical power and reacted strongly. We think it’s some sort of a [Familiar] egg… and hypothesized that it needs to consume [Void] magic, hence the reaction to Alt. So we decided to let Altaire keep it while I should keep an eye of it.”

…that explains the egg-like object.





Right. In this world, there exists [Familiars]. They are special types of Sacred Beasts that can be bound by contracts to people usually with splendid magical power. My previous family was a family of swordsman, so nobody had a familiar. In addition, even if you possess a strong magical power, it doesn’t guarantee your luck and ability to form a contract with them. It’s all about how can your heart synchronizes with the familiar’s heart. There are also the cases of inherited familiars in some families. The power of familiars also varies.



“So, if it is really an egg, whatever’s gonna hatch from it will be my familiar?!” Alt-nii’s eyes are sparkling.

“Hmm, only if it wants to. Sacred Beasts are complex beings, nobody really has a parameter on how they decide their loyalty,” Mom said.

“W-what about Mom and Dad? Do you have any familiar?” I braced myself to ask them.

“Mmhm, yes, we do,” Mom said, smiling.

“But I never saw them!” I protested.





“Ahaha, well, that’s because Fenix—my phoenix familiar—prefers to dwell in the Magic Court’s Treasure Room. She’s also protecting the room, you see,” Mom smiles, “but she will come whenever I need her. That’s just how the mental bond between a familiar and their master.”

She smiled. She must really love her familiar.

“Well for me,” Dad clears his throat, “my familiar is Phyllo, a little creature that’s similar to a seadragon. He has a sharp little yellow horn on top of his small light blue body. His hands or fins… are like small wings. He doesn’t have any leg, though. I often ask for his help in spying the suspicious-looking personnel as he can somehow melt around with water, being invisible there. I can never spy on them all the time, so his presence really helps me.”

“That’s cool, but please please let me see them some time!” I enthusiastically responded.

“Eeh, how did you form a contract with them?” Alt-nii asked.

Ohh, nice question, Nii!





“During one of my expeditions to a volcano, I encountered Fenix. She said that she was interested in me, who’s rumored as the prodigy. At that time, I have yet acquired the title of Sky Magician, and barely worked as a Royal Magician. She challenged me to a battle. If I won, she would form a contract with me and be my “sun”. She joked on how I could totally represent the blue sky, so long as I could make her mine. As I have the “Light of the Sky”, “Wind of the Sky”, and the “Life” that is often associated to the “Sky”. So, perhaps my title comes from her idea. I got called Sky Magician shortly after I formed a contract with Fenix.”

…It’s like a fairy tale.

A fierce battle to test each other’s conviction and strength. A battle to get to know each other. And by the end of the battle, you managed to befriend your former foe. A romance in the battle. The battle roman.





“Wa, wait, then, what happened if you lose?” Alt-nii asked.

“Ah, if I lose, then she wanted me to never set a foot inside her territory again,” Mom spoke, as if she just remembered that. I think losing was not in her mind even at that time. Now I’m starting to view Mom as a competitive person.

“What about you, Dad?” I turned to Dad, expecting another awesome tale.

“Eeh, mine is not as grand as Cassie’s. Phyllo isn’t that strong in the first place. One day, when I was strolling the town with Firis—my mom, we found a dying Phyllo at the small and secluded alleyway. Firis brought him home and tended him to health, with my assistance. Come to think about it, perhaps Phyllo was attached to Firis at first. He might have been a familiar I inherited from her?” Dad’s gaze turned gentle, as if reliving the memories of those days.

“How niceee~, I wish that magical artifact is indeed a familiar egg, and that I can befriend it once it hatches!” Alt-nii cheerfully stuffed his remaining food after saying that.





Familiars, eh… It was something I never really imagined having before in my previous life. But now, I am born into a magician family. It would be nice to have a familiar that will practically be my best friend.





Speaking of which, Altaire really fits the role of a main character in the books or games. If this were a fiction, then I guess my role of the main character’s little sister might be quite important? Then, that means I can closely follow the main character’s tale, as he is my own big brother~

Yup yup, being a side character is the best. Living a peaceful life away from any complicated issues is my dream, after all!

I’ll be rooting for you, Alt-nii!