Chapter 1: Looks Like I Got Lucky… Maybe
The first thing that came to me was light.
Huh? Didn't I die? Shouldn't everything be black? Well… I did ask if reincarnation could be a thing… wait, doesn't reincarnation mean you lose your memories? So, what is this then?
I could hear people talking, but it was all in a language I wasn't familiar with. As a result, it sounded more like mangled nonsense. My eyes were refusing to clear up, everything just a blurry mess as I felt myself being shifted around, the unknown language continuing to enter my ears.
Come on… what the heck is going on?
As my vision finally cleared, I was soon greeted with two faces. The first, a woman. She looked exhausted, her red hair matted by sweat, yet grey eyes full of warmth as she looked down at me. Next to her, a man with wavy brown hair, looking at me with a similar look of warmth on his face. Though something about his eyes felt a lot shiftier than the woman's.
Both spoke in that language I couldn't understand, and all I could do was stare on in confusion. Is this some kind of death-induced fever dream? Is my dying mind making me see things according to that stupid last wish?
And that confusion didn't end as they shifted me around. This time, to face a boy that looked a lot like the man, though he had the woman's softer grey eyes. His face lit up the instant he saw me, and he started chattering in excitement. Only for it to be interrupted by another very loud voice accompanying the sound of a door crashing open.
More chattering ensued, and I was still surprised at somehow being lifted around so easily as a rugged pair of hands took ahold of me. Why did everything seem so big?
The person manhandling me now was an older man, his slicked back hair marked by grey streaks and his aging face accented by a thing mustache and goatee. His voice was a boom as he cheered in that unknown language. And then it finally hit me as I tried to wriggle free.
Or at least try to. Because my body feels all too hard to move, and the old man easily nestled me into his arm, reaching out with the finger of another hand. Tiny hands instinctively grasp that finger.
My hands grasp that finger.
Oh… I get it.
I really have been reincarnated.
Let's fast forward a bit. Because as you can imagine, being a newborn who can barely even move much less understand the language doesn't exactly make for interesting things to recount.
It took around six months for me to start understanding the language, and from there I put the rest together.
First thing, apparently, I was born into some kind of noble family.
My name was Aegir Boreas Greyrat, the second son of Philip Boreas Greyrat and his wife, Hilda. My older brother was Leonel, and he was three years older than me. My grandfather was Sauros Boreas Greyrat, the lord of the household and liege lord of a region called Fittoa. As you can imagine, not a lick of this made sense to me at first, and it wasn't like I could actually ask any questions, so I just had to try and make sense of things.
For a while I thought maybe I was on earth in some European country based on the architecture, but after a while that felt less and less likely.
Whenever I had the chance to actually see around my new home when I was being carried about—be it by my mother or one of the nurse maids—it felt more… I suppose rugged is the best term. Not a lick of electricity everywhere, lighting either being provided by scones when it was dark or constant windows to let the sunlight do the illuminating. Every construction was stone and mortar, the only wood I could see being used to secure roofing and decorate stone walls or was used for furniture and the like.
After enough time of getting to see the estate, from the stone corridors, wide halls, rustic bedrooms, cozy library, and open courtyard, the few peeks of the city beyond it also settled in more. A fortress town was where I lived now, barely any building structure above more than a few stories tall, all of them built in such a way to where they crammed together and made winding streets and alleyways, all of it surrounded by a grand wall that led to the forested plains and farmlands beyond.
Wherever I was, I was starting to realize it really wasn't Earth. Everything seemed… Middle Ages. Heck the only things I saw that were made of metal were the dinner utensils and the wall décor such as various decorative swords and shields. Combined with the language being nothing like what I figured was spoken anywhere on Earth, it really did settle that idea in my head.
Well… that and the maid staff.
There was a butler or two, particularly an elderly gentleman by the name of Alphonse. But the maids? Not human.
I mean they looked human, for the most part. Aside from, well… the animal ears and tails. It was a whole assortment. Rabbits, dogs, cats, the whole shebang. All of them strikingly attractive to boot.
It seemed my father and grandfather had a type. And that type was kemonomimi.
Yeesh this really is like the Middle Ages isn't it? Nobles with maid staff I am sure they do who knows what with behind closed doors.
… the men in my life are gonna turn out to be scumbags, aren't they?
Once again, I can't really bring up a lot of interesting ideas for a while longer. A child of nobility wouldn't exactly be leaving the castle much at my age. Or hell, even if I was a commoner either. So, nothing exactly interesting happened until I was almost two years old, when I was finally at a state where I could walk around and just start talking.
Oh the freedom of mobility, I'll never take you for granted again!
I guess having the mind of a teenager piloting my tiny body also meant I had an easier time picking things up, because by the time I was getting the chance to look at whatever books the library held during my newfound daily lessons with whatever tutors grandfather hired to teach me and Leonel, I was able to pick up on proper vocabulary and even writing pretty quickly.
But that wasn't exactly interesting. Relearning how to read and write is whatever, was gonna handle that at some point… or maybe not. I don't think literacy is as common in this world as Earth was. So okay, lucky me being reborn into the noble family where some of my modern knowledge can actually come in handy.
It was around this time I also finally got a good look at myself thanks to a mirror in the main parlor of the estate. By the looks of it, I seemed to have taken after Hilda by a good deal, with a messy tuft of bright red hair atop my head, while I had the same kind of upwards slanted, red eyes as my grandfather. Hard to guess what I'd look like as I got older, but hey at least I stand out a bit.
But what I really want to bring up is something a helluva lot more interesting than just how I look.
Because with the freedom to wander the estate myself, there were other lessons I could sit in on. Leonel's swordsmanship lessons.
See, among the staff, there was a bodyguard. And not some normal city guard or provincial soldier, someone a lot cooler.
An adventurer, like from all the fantasy novels and games I read or played.
The woman was a member of the Beast Race, tall and imposing like a lion. The kind of person who showed her lifestyle on her body, with scars to tell and a sculpted figure to go with it. "Amazon" is the word I'd use to describe her. Ghyslaine Deldodia, my father hired her after coming across her on the road, and she's been a bodyguard for my family ever since, even before Leonel was born.
And so that was where I was now. Seated in the courtyard, watching Ghyslaine sparring with Leonel… well, as much as a grown woman could "spar" with a 5-year-old anyway. Really all she was doing was leading my brother around the yard and instructing him on how best to move his feet and swing the wooden sword that he was clumsily holding onto.
"Enough for now!" Ghyslaine's bark of a voice brought Leonel to a swift halt, only stumbling a bit as Ghislaine lowered her sword. "You really did feel like you should start this soon, Leonel? I won't say the idea isn't one I disagree with, but you're struggling to keep a proper grip, even for someone your age."
"I'll get it down! Grandfather said it's only right for a Noble to know how to wield a blade," my brother than gave a toothy chuckle. "Besides, I may end up being the head of the Boreas family one day, so I have to be good!"
"Heh, depending on how things go between your father and uncle in the capital in the next few days."
"Father will win for sure! He promised me during my 5th birthday party yesterday!"
The fact I was in a technical sense like nineteen meant I could only feel amused looking at Leonel's childishly confident expression. I may physically be the younger brother, but far as mentality goes, I got fourteen years on the kid. Far as I'm concerned, it's like having a younger brother instead… that's a hell of a change for me that's for damn sure.
And that was another thing, since it's relevant, I guess. In this world, seems the tradition is that birthdays are only celebrated with a proper party three times in a child's life every five years. So, you get a party at five, ten, and fifteen, and the last of which is when you're also officially seen as an adult by society at large. Standards of living and styles of the time. And yesterday was Leonel's fifth, meaning a big party with our parents, grandfather, and the staff alongside some of the lesser nobles in the city who were under Grandfather's employ.
"Well then if you're doing to be head of the family, how about I become an adventurer like Ghyslaine?" I was still getting used to the fact my voice was more of a squeak, but eh… though can't say I'm looking forward to dealing with puberty again.
"Ehh? Wouldn't that be a bit too much?" Leonel tilted his head at me, though my response was a cheeky little snicker. "Well, might work. Or you could be a Knight and stick around! Besides, when father becomes head, that means we'll be going to the capital in Ars!"
"The capital, huh?" Some of our tutors had brought it up.
Ars, the royal capital of the Asura Kingdom, which was the overall nation we lived in. A city named for an ancient hero—classic—as to be expected it was a grand city that served as home to the royal family and all the upper houses of the nobility. Our family, the Greyrats, was one of them. Heck, we had direct ties to the royal family, as the tutor had blabbed on about incessantly. Honestly, I think I just tuned some of it out, wasn't interested.
Plus, who'd expect a two-year-old sitting in on his brother's lessons to actually pay attention? I could get away with it for a while.
"I mean it sounds nice… but an adventurer sounds more fun! I'd get to explore, hunt monsters, meet different kinds of people. Why would I wanna be stuffed up in a city when I could explore?"
"Hahaha, are you sure you're the son of a noble?" Ghyslaine chuckled as Leonel shrugged, giving a shake of his head while I snickered again. "Leonel, be sure to look after your brother while you can. I got a feeling he's gonna start trying to run off soon as he's old enough."
"Father does say he worries Aegir has too much energy," as Leonel shot me a snide look, I responded by sticking my tongue out at him. "Maybe you could burn some of it off if you started practicing magic."
"Magic?" Oh do go on! That's a topic that's got my attention. Feels natural that if there's beastfolk—and who knows what other non-human races—there would be magic as well… though I probably shouldn't expect a five-year-old to know too much.
"Y'know… the things mages do!" Even Ghyslaine looked amused at Leonel's all too simple answer. "They can make water, fire, control the winds, all that stuff! There're books about them and everything! Like that one grandfather reads us!"
"If you're interested—" Ghyslaine spoke up, "I'm sure the library has a copy or two of the magic textbook. Give it a read."
"Ghyslaine, can you do any magic?" I couldn't resist the question. Ghyslaine shook her head, setting her hand to her sword.
"I would like to learn a bit, but as it is, my sword is all I need. Just enough to aid me on the road, not much else," Ghyslaine gave a chuckle, her face shifting to a fond, reminiscent smile. "I did know a talented mage in my old adventuring party. She was more of a healer than a combat mage, but from her I at least saw how even basic spells are invaluable to adventurers. Knowing some likely would have helped me when I was on my own."
"What other stories about your old party do you have?" Leonel leaned on his practice sword with an excited look.
"Well, I have a few…" Ghyslaine snickered. "Sit down then… let's see, I do remember this one job we were one…"
As one could expect of nobility, the estate we live on had quite the library. Considering the apparent level of technology in this world from what I'd seen—things like the clear lack of electricity and town structure—also clued me in that books, something I'd taken pretty much for granted in my old life, must have been a rarity as well. I'm sure even just owning one would be enough to mark a household as well off.
And here I was with a family wealthy enough to have a proper library.
Now considering I was, y'know, a tiny little two-year-old barely able to make his way around this entire manor on his own, one can imagine getting any book at all would be annoying on my own. But, well, guess that's where getting help from the servants come in.
Alphonse tends to be more than happy to help me out when he's not with Sauros, heck he actually seems to be fond of how curious I am about learning everything despite how "young" I am. So as luck would have it, when I came around asking to be shown the magic textbook Ghyslaine mentioned, he was more than happy to sit me down in the library and grab it.
"Tell me, young master Aegir…" as he was browsing the shelves, Alphonse spoke up in what I knew had to be the obvious question. "What prompted this interest in magic? Did you come across a street performer while on the streets with Lord Philip?"
"Brother actually mentioned it. Ghyslaine mentioned the book, so I wanted to look at it myself."
"I see… interested in learning some then, I'm assuming," I gave an enthusiastic nod, Alphonse giving a chuckle. "Ah, to see such a young mind be so curious. Getting an early start may prove beneficial for you. Now then… ah, here it is! The latest edition of the Manual of Magic courtesy of Ranoa Magic Academy. Lord Philip picked this one up during his last trip to Ars. Do be careful with it… and by that I mean don't attempt a spell that may cause damage."
"I woooon't," Alphonse chuckled to my faux disappointment as he brought the book over to my seat. The heavy looking tome gave a thud as the butler set it down.
"Well then, I will go and resume my duties. Do enjoy your reading, young master."
And now I can enjoy myself for a bit. Plus, how could I pass up getting to read about how magic in this world works when I'm from a world without it? It's lore, people, lore! Fantasy nerds love this stuff! So, what better than to educate myself on the fundamentals and try a spell or two? What I did learn was this:
First off, there's three kinds of magic: Attack magic, spells meant for combat against other people and monster; Healing magic, for mending wounds; and Summoning magic, to do… summoning. It was all pretty basic in explanation but then again it probably didn't need to be complex. It did detail there was plenty one could do with magic, but most of it was forged in battle so more domestic uses of it weren't common.
Second, was the need for magical power. This one of course was obvious: If you don't have the capacity to use magic, that's it. You're not using it period. Going by the book, the ability to use magic isn't exactly rare, but the ability to use magic beyond Advanced rank was uncommon, increasingly so for anything else the further one went. There were two ways to use magic power: Internally, with one's own inner supplies of magical energy, or by drawing it from within an object imbued with magic power. The example the book gave was a crystal. While one could cast perfectly well with nothing but their bare hands, it seemed having something to act as a catalyst allowed one to be more efficient.
In the crystal example, most mages wielded wands or staves affixed with a gem of some kind. These gems, imbued with magic power, could then amplify the effects of a mage's spell, reducing the cost while increasing the output dramatically. So basically, an accelerator. There were a few passages going into things like elemental alignments and what not, but I figured that was a thing I'd learn through practice more than reading up about it.
Maybe I can convince Philip to hire a magic tutor for me…
It also went into how the advancement of items that allowed those with less magic ability to use more power was a process that started slow but then exploded in progress as time went on. Seems when it comes to magic in this world, there was at least some attempt to avoid making those with inborn skill due to high amounts of natural power reign supreme.
Third was that there were two ways of performing magic: Incantations and magic circles. The first method is the most practical in effect. All spells are channeled innately through incantations that set the parameters and effects of the spell on command. Skilled enough mages can truncate the incantation down to the name itself and still produce maximum results, which meant skilled mages could cast spells in mere seconds. Magic circles were about inscription and were the original way magic was used but fell out of common use as incantation based casting rose to prominence.
As such, for a great time incantations became the go-to method for Attack category magic, while circles remained the chosen method for complex methods like Summoning or certain Healing spells.
The textbook did mention the idea of Silent casting, but apparently being able to do so was even rarer than those who have the skill to truncate an incantation down to its name alone. Off the top of my head, my assumption is because silent casting probably means you'd have to do the entire process an incantation automates entirely in your head, which might be troublesome enough if just learning to truncate a spell is already that rare of an ability.
That, or there just hasn't been enough testing yet to find some method to easily learn how to do it.
Fourth and finally of the basics was magic power capacity. This was mostly determined at birth. Meaning if one lucked out, they would have little ability to use magic at all before tiring out, if they could even use magic at all depending on their fortune.
Meaning if I'm unlucky it may turn out this new family of mine just isn't apt at doing magic despite being nobles.
"Hmm… well, worth a short," skimming along the pages to get past the basic lessons, I found the segment on Beginner spells. The section started with a basic explanation of the level, as to be expected. Mostly about how these spells had little mana cost but could be used to good effect by an experienced mage, so on and so forth. I browsed through to the proper section, finding the segment for different Beginner spells and their incantations. So, let's see… Water Ball… that one looks like the safest option.
Taking a moment to go and open a nearby window just to be safe about it, I only started reading once that's done and my hand is raised to said window. Don't want to damage a wall or anything, since I've got no clue what could happen here. Now let's see, the incantation is…
"Let the great protection of water be on the place thou seekest. I call a refreshing burbling stream here and now. Water Ball."
A sensation then flowed through me as I spoke. A heat, rising from low in my body and rising higher with each word I spoke, moving from my feet then to my fingers, like my blood itself was welling to the point of casting. A sphere of water began to form at my palm, but the shock of the sudden, unfamiliar sensation caused my focus to break, the forming ball bursting apart before it completed.
"Whoa…" Staring at the now scattered flecks of water on the floor, a sudden bit of frustration hit me. Setting the book back to the table before I went back to the window, I took in a breath as I raised my hand. Image it… it's like when me and my brother would play games in the arcade. Image what I want to happen and repeat it again and again until I get it right. Image it… image it… water, water that flows and ripples…
This time, now that I knew what to expect, the sensation that rushed through my body didn't suddenly fizzle. That heat rose through my body again, welling to my palm. As I felt that sensation become familiar, I opened my eyes, ready to say the chant again and make the spell work…
Only to see the water ball had already formed at my hand again. Surprise cut off my concentration, and rather than fly off, the water ball dropped and harmlessly splashed into the stone floor. And as I was trying to process what had just happened, I went flopping back against the floor, staring at the ceiling in bewilderment.
"I didn't even start the chant… did I… do something… weird?"
And amid those racing thoughts, I felt an all too strong feeling of exhaustion hit me, my eyes starting to droop. Ah c'mon… that's can't seriously be all the mana I've got, can it?
"Helloooo, Aegir? Done with your nap yet?"
Philip's voice was what roused me awake, my eyes about creaking open as I felt something a lot more plush under me. Sitting up, I realized I was still in the library, now set in one of the plush chairs around the fireplace. And leaning against the back of said chair was Philip, who gave an all too amused chuckle as he looked down at me.
"Sleep well?"
"Fine…" I muttered it out, rubbing the last bits of sleep out of my eyes. "Why am I… still in the library?"
"It didn't seem like you'd be out long, so I thought it best to just put you in the chair. Besides it hasn't been too long," looking out to the windows, there was still plenty of daylight to be had. "Going by the magic manual on the table, and the puddle on the ground… you tried casting a spell, didn't you?"
"Ah…" caught red handed. "Yes. Should I… not have?"
"On the contrary Aegir, seeing you interested in magic at this age has me impressed," Philip put a hand to my tiny head, ruffling my hair with gentle rubs. "Leonel's tutors have told me and your mother how you seem all too sharp for a child your age. I'm glad to see confirmation of it. Though I do appreciate you decided to try a water spell first. A sudden fire wouldn't have done us any good."
There was the slightest hint of a threat behind that last statement, and I could only nervously chuckle in response, feeling just a bit guilty over the idea I could've burnt the whole library down had I been that bit more reckless.
"Well… water is safe, y'know?"
"At the Beginner level? Yes. Any higher and you could've blown out a wall. But I don't expect a two-year-old to be able to manage anything better than what you seem to have done."
I mean I still don't know how I seemed to manage it without saying the incantation. Need to test that out.
Philip removed his hand from my head, plucking me from the chair as he stood. "Your curiosity is impressive, Aegir, but do try not to do anything beyond your ability for now. Grow a bit before you start trying things like this, alright?"
"Yes, sir."
"Though if you must… at least practice in an empty room or such. But for now, don't try too hard," and here we go with the patronizing. "Hmm… though perhaps learning some light tricks may be fun for you. After all, you are going to be an older brother soon, remember?"
"Ah."
Right… it had totally slipped my mind for a while, but Hilda was currently in the last stages of pregnancy. Normally she'd sit in on Leonel's lessons, being the prime reason I got to also listen in and learn my fair share. But as the pregnancy had gone alone, understandably, she'd started spending more and more time resting in her and Philip's room. I give it about another month until Leonel and I get to meet our newest sibling.
"It'll be a time of plenty of changes, that's for sure," Philip started out of the library, being sure to shut the book still on the table on the way out. "Soon your new sibling will be born, and not long after I'm hoping to settle things with your uncle about who the next head of the Boreas will be. We're all trying our best here, it seems."
"Sounds like everyone is gonna be tired," Philip chuckled in response to me, taking the time to pat my head again.
"We likely will be. Enjoy the time you have to play to your heart's content while it lasts, Aegir. Us nobles often don't get much of it."
Philip's expression became rather dour as he said that. I can't say I had a full idea of what the politics of the nobility in this world were like. But considering neither Philip or Sauros seemed all too keen to talk about my uncle, the one who Philip was poised to vie for power with all too soon, it didn't bode well.
How wonderful…
With a month of added practice through the magic textbook under my metaphorical belt, I was able to come to a particular conclusion.
It's kind of dishonest.
Well, okay that's me being smarmy. I'd assume that it's simply lack of research on a subject so well accepted as just being the way it is that nobody's felt a need to test it further. But hey, as it turns out, you can increase your mana capacity, and silent casting is more than possible. Though it's… complicated.
For the first point, it seems to just be a thing of age. Wouldn't be hard to guess most people don't just start practicing magic when they're two years old. So, I gotta keep in mind I've got a more developed mindset—not necessarily a more developed BRAIN—that can actually comprehend these ideas and put them into practice. Basic end of it is, it's like building up muscle or improving your physical stamina. Repeated and consistent use of my mana has meant that even within a month, I've gone from barely being able to cast Water Ball twice to regularly filling up water containers for the staff as practice with said spell.
But put a certain way, I'd imagine that my mana pool would have grown with me as I aged. But by getting this early of a start, it means I can probably develop a pretty decent pool of it early on, I'll just have to see how it goes over the years.
Now as for silent casting, that one took some experimenting to figure out and I still haven't gotten it down even after a month. I've managed to get to a point of abridging chants down to the spell name, but nailing it silently is taking some more effort to get down. I've been cross-referencing the lessons in the manual to figure it out, and I've more or less got the trick down. It's just about executing it properly.
I did more or less confirm my thoughts about the mechanics behind it. Put simply, the incantation automates the spell process, handling things like the size of the spell, whether it remains stationary or moves, etc. The more I got used to casting spells like Water Ball and other Beginner-tier spells, it became increasingly easier to cast them with truncated incantations, probably because the formation process was being "memorized" by my body and mind over time as I adjusted to the way magic felt.
Right now, the best I can do silently is get a spell to form, but I still need to say the spell's name to actually execute it. If I wanted to apply it in a fight, it'd be like a delayed spell in an RPG I suppose. Probably useful, but still not fast enough to be used in close range.
"Haaahhh… this is pretty complicated, huh?"
And currently, I was laying on the floor of what was otherwise used as a small sports gym in the manor. Around me were a few pots filled with fresh water, a couple of archery targets scorched by fire balls or cut up with wind spells, and a few piles of clay lumps I'd created with earth magic. For now, I was just trying to get the basics of each spell type down, but I'd be hard pressed to deny that my progress was pretty slow. Though I suppose focusing on the hard basics when I was so young was a better idea than overextending.
"I wonder if Ghyslaine can teach me how to mix my spells in with swordplay once I'm old enough," sitting up, I got to flipping through the magic manual, planning to try another new spell or two since I still had plenty of energy to work with. "Intermediate spells, huh? Hmm… probably not a good idea to try one of those indoors…"
"Young Master Aegir!" I looked up as one of the maids dashed into view, looking more than a bit panicked. I just tilted my head. "I-It's your mother! She's just gone into labor!"
"Oh… HUH?!"
I… actually forgot. I've been so caught up in my magic practice this last month the only reminder I'd had that Hilda was even pregnant was the few times she'd left her and Philip's room since she was regularly resting now.
Well, least things will be interesting for a while. Sauros is probably already yelling…
"UOOOOOAAAAGGGHHH!"
Yep… there it is. That man has lungs for someone getting up in the years.
Hours later, and the mood in the hallway was… well about as tense as you could probably expect it to be. Philip had gotten the town doctor in as soon as he could have, so with the aid of the care staff, that left us men of the house so sit out in the hall, patiently waiting for the news.
Philip looked cool as a cucumber, but the way he had a foot tapping on the floor, it was clear he was at least a bit anxious. I wonder if a part of him, thinking of what was to come not long after his new child came into the world, was contemplating whether it would be another son or daughter.
Sauros on the other hand was utterly failing to maintain a sense of calm. Seated right next to me and Leonel on a hallway bench, the elderly patriarch wasn't doing so well in hiding his thoughts despite keeping his jaw tightly shut. Knuckles were white gripping his cane, and the occasional twitch of his brow gave off his mindset every time one of Hilda's screams burst through the doorway.
"You don't look scared, Aegir," Leonel spoke up, looking at me with a curious gaze. It was probably natural to wonder why the two-year-old looked so calm when his mother was currently screaming bloody murder in the other room. "Aren't you a bit worried for Mother?"
"I mean, yeah…" Can't say it's because I worry about the lack of modern medicine. But I guess with magic you don't need that. A healing spell is probably way better. "But they got the doctors and everyone else in there, it should be fine!"
Oh to see everyone else suddenly calm a bit at what they think is the blind optimism of a toddler. Lo though, for I am in truth a cynical ex-high school student from another world merely feigning the role of one until my body catches up to his damn brain.
"We should be more like Aegir!" Sauros about bellowed. "Hilda will be fine! She's had two healthy boys already, what's another, hmm?"
"To be honest Father—" Philip spoke up, "the birth going well is hardly my concern. It's what comes after."
"Pah!" Sauros stuck his nose up as he scoffed. "James has little on you, Philip! In due time the Boreas will be riding high among the Greyrats yet again! I'll be proud to have my grandchildren head off to Ars with you in the lead, opposed to that rat calling himself my son."
"What did Uncle James even do?" Leonel leaned in to keep it quiet, and all I could do was shrug. The only times Sauros and Philip brought our uncle up was in clear animosity. Whatever he'd done, it clearly left a stain on their relationship with him.
With the mood suddenly a bit dire, things got all too quiet for a while. It probably wasn't even that long, but the tense attitudes of Philip and Sauros made it feel longer.
That tension broke when the door finally opened, falling away when the doctor walked out with a relieved look on his face.
"It was a success! Congratulations, Lord Philip, it is a healthy baby girl."
"So, a daughter this time. Wonderful!" As Philip beamed, the first to go barging in with a victorious yell was Sauros. The rest of us exchanged knowing sighs and then followed him in. Well, Philip carried me in, considering the whole two-years-old thing.
The doctor and his staff ducked out as we entered, giving Philip some quick farewells as they left. And so the family had our time. Hilda looked as exhausted as one could expect, yet just like the day I'd been born, her expression was glowing as she looked at the whining bundle in her arms. The expected looks and exchanges of who was holding the baby went around. Leonel was hopping in place at the edge of the bed, and I meanwhile was too short to even look above it properly.
"Take a look, you two," Sauros knelt down, his hold on our new little sister gentle as he angled that bundle of cloth towards us. Her head was stopped with a bundle of red hair just like me and Leonel, and while her eyes were tightly screwed shut, the shape was the same to boot. "Listen well, you two. As her older brothers, it's going to be up to you to help keep her safe."
"Being their sister? I'm sure she'll be tough in her own right," Philip knelt and put a hand on both mine and Leonel's head. "Hilda, what's her name?"
"Eris… I thought Eris would be a good name for her," Hilda chuckled, no doubt proud to see both her sons looking quite awed at their sister. At least that was my guess. "Be sure to take care of her, you two."
"Eris, huh? Hehehe, nice to meet you!" Leonel put one of his fingers out, chuckling when Eris's tiny fingers wound over it as he poked her palm. "Haha, it's the same thing you did, Aegir!"
"I think it's just what babies do," quite precocious of me, but at this point I think my family has just accepted I'm seemingly a tad more mature than I look. But, still… I never did think I'd be in the situation I am. Sure I can make the joke of being technically older than Leonel, but what if I hadn't somehow kept my memories?
When Leonel withdrew his hand, he was quick to grab my wrist and bring my own hand to Eris's. While I shot him an unamused look, I went along with it anyway, placing my index finger to Eris's palm. And as those tiny fingers wrapped around my finger in turn, a warm feeling of peace came to me.
"Hey… nice to meet you, Eris. I'm your big brother, Aegir," giving my finger a little shake, Eris gave a small whine in response. My response was a chuckle. "You're a strong one already, huh?"
It seems I really did get kind of lucky. Maybe. I mean for all I know as I get older it's just gonna turn out most nobles are pieces of crap, hell I've got a pretty solid idea why Sauros and Philip keep the maids around at this point. But maybe it won't be so bad. A caring mom, a couple of siblings, and even a cool as hell adventurer willing to teach me once I'm older.
A world of swords, magic, and who knows what else. Honestly, it sounds like this could actually be fun.
… though for now I guess I need to see where things go regarding the rest of my family.
So… maybe not as lucky.