A pleasant, peaceful breeze blew on a certain afternoon. I stood facing my dad in the training yard at home.
"I kinda know what kind of training you're doing on the hill behind the house. And I can tell you're crazy strong for a six-year-old. But I'm not about to lose yet. Come at me for real," Dad said.
"You too, you're not young forever, so try not to get hurt," I shot back.
"Look who's talking. I'm still only twenty-nine."
"I'm still only six."
"Ha ha ha."
That was the end of the jokes. The next moment, the air between us went sharp and tense.
What we were doing was martial arts practice, part of my noble education. The Marquis Fahrenheit family serves as the Northern General, a military noble house that guards the northern border of the empire. I'll inherit the head of the family someday, so I have to be skilled in martial arts too.
"Come," Dad said.
Dad urged me on, so he was giving me the first move. Then I'd take him up on that, not as his son, but as just one of his students.
"Hah!"
I generated [Impact] on the soles of my feet and closed in on Dad with explosive speed. But he saw right through it. He dodged with superhuman Physical Ability and fired back with a wooden sword held in both arms.
To dodge that, I released a shockwave from the palm of my left hand to force my body to shift, spun once, and swung the wooden sword in my right hand in a sweeping strike from low down.
"Not bad!" Dad raised his voice like he was impressed, but he easily stopped my attack by stepping on my wooden sword with his right foot, then brought his own sword down in one swing from a high stance.
"Kuh!"
I let go of the wooden sword right away, used the recoil from shockwaves fired from both feet and my left hand to pull back from Dad's attack, and while doing that, I focused [Impact] with just my right hand and fired several shots of my own ranged attack, "Shock Bullet."
"......Hmph!"
The Shock Bullets raced toward him at high speed with massive power, but Dad calmly reset his wooden sword and, unbelievable, cut down every single Shock Bullet that would have hit him.
"You've gotta be kidding me......"
Even if Dad is stupid strong, I never thought he'd actually slice through Shock Bullets with a wooden sword. I'd aimed for the opening right after his attack and fired as fast as I could. If that didn't work, then no matter how many Shock Bullets I fired, I probably couldn't take Dad down.
"That's a good technique," Dad said.
That's what he said, but I wasn't happy at all. I hadn't landed a single scratch on him. This was no good at all.
Having lost my wooden sword, I thought about what I could do empty-handed. Shock Bullet was out. Even if I fired for real, he'd just cut it down. Close combat was out too. My Non-Elemental Magic "Body Enhancement" can't beat Dad's insane Physical Ability. And honestly, my Non-Elemental Magic isn't strong enough to hurt Dad anyway. To land a real hit, it has to be my own magic, [Impact].
So what do I do? How do I use [Impact]?
............In short, I just need to hit him with [Impact] from close range, without getting cut, and without letting him dodge.
So how about this?
Once I'd finished planning, I faced Dad straight on as he waited politely, and put my hand on the ground.
"Planning to shake the ground? You thought it through! But if I move faster than that, there's no problem!" Dad shouted, already charging.
If the ground's going to shake, attack before it shakes, that's his thinking. What a muscle-brain idea, but his over-the-top Physical Ability can actually pull it off, and that is scary.
But this time, that muscle-brain thinking worked against him. On the outside I'm a kid, but inside I'm an adult. I'm the great strategist Eberhard.
Dad charged in at a speed too fast to follow. Of course, with my ability I couldn't dodge. But watching him, I grinned.
A suspicious look crossed his face, and the next moment, he seemed to notice something. His expression turned panicked. But it was too late. At that speed, he couldn't stop.
I lifted my hand off the ground and held it out in front of me. Then I converted the Mana I'd already built up into my Unique Magic and fired it with everything I had.
DGOOOOOO!!!!
"Guwa!" Dad's muffled voice reached me, but he was sent flying far, far away in no time.
There was a huge cloud of dust. I fired a weak shockwave to clear it, and in front of me, a gouged-out trail about ten meters long was left in the ground.
"I win!" I declared.
"Seems so......" Dad groaned.
But the moment the smoke cleared, I saw Dad appear dozens of meters away completely unharmed, and I felt totally crushed.
"Man, you really thought that through. So trying to shake the ground was a bluff?" Dad asked.
"Not a scratch on you!"
"Well, I can't go losing to my son just yet. But let's call the match your win. Honestly, if it wasn't me, that would've been a fatal wound."
"Hmm, I really don't feel like I won at all......"
"No, actually, you fought this well without even using Body Enhancement magic. Are you really six? You've gotten strong," Dad said.
At some point Dad had walked right up to me, and he said that while patting my head. I couldn't tell if I was happy, frustrated, or embarrassed, so all I could do was make a bashful face.
"At this rate, maybe I don't need to worry anymore," Dad murmured.
"......? What do you mean?"
Then Dad gave me a dramatic, knowing smile and said:
"You've been going on and on about wanting to go outside the grounds, haven't you?"
"Which means, maybe!?"
"Yeah. If you're this strong, there's nothing to worry about. I'm giving you permission to go out freely, as long as you stay inside our Fahrenheit margrave territory."
"Yes!"
"Just don't go into other territories, no matter what. Commoners are one thing, but if the heir of a noble house enters another territory without permission, it can cause trouble between the houses."
"I know. Besides, our territory is huge, so I can have plenty of fun without going that far."
"As long as you understand. On days you'll be late, tell me in advance."
"Yeah. I know."
The talk ended there, and Dad looked around the training yard.
"......Still, you really did a number on this place."
"Yeah......"
This is a training yard, not a garden. Nobody told me not to break it, so I went all out and this is what happened.
"Can't be helped. Guess I'll fix it. It's not good to pile on unnecessary work for the servants either. ......'Spirits who dwell in the earth, Earth Mother who binds the spirits, take my power as your fuel, return the soil, the rock, the earth to their original form!'"
Dad put both hands on the ground and chanted the spell. Then the training yard ground, which had been full of holes and bumps, quickly returned to its clean original state.
"Whoa......amazing......"
This was actually my first time seeing Dad use attribute magic. Mom's always the one in charge of magic, so I'd just assumed Dad was a pure hand-to-hand muscle-brain soldier.
"Well, even with the same earth magic, Theresa uses it better than me," Dad admitted.
"Mom's magic is amazing, after all."
The Holy Maiden of Fresh Greenery who supports the brave Northern General. My mother, Theresa Sally von Flensburg Fahrenheit, is a well-known A+ rank top-notch Mage in the empire. She's not S-rank because she isn't really suited for combat, but she wields two attributes, earth and water, and on top of that she can use Life Magic, a Unique Magic derived from earth and water. The rumor of this holy maiden, paired with the Northern General's tales of valor, was famous among the people of the empire.
Life Magic is also called healing magic, a rare attribute that only manifests as a Unique Magic in people with an affinity for both water and earth. It's a mysterious attribute that can not only heal the injured and sick, but also soothe the tired, strengthen the healthy, and even grant power to plants and animals.
My mother Theresa was especially known for encouraging plant growth to make healing potions and for confusing enemies to support her allies in battle, which earned her the nickname "Holy Maiden of Fresh Greenery."
By the way, my father's nickname is "War Demon." It sounds crazy cool, and for Dad, who has no equal in close combat, it's a pretty fitting name.
When they were young, the pair of "War Demon" and "Holy Maiden of Fresh Greenery" apparently made a name for themselves throughout the imperial army as a two-person party.
In this mock battle, I really felt how far I still have to go. Even if I have more Mana, in a real fight I can't beat those two. Someday I want to surpass them both and become someone worthy of the name Northern General, someone who can protect my whole family, including Lily.
Now that I've gotten permission to leave the grounds, I'll head out to Castle Town first thing tomorrow. I'm going to see the wide world, learn and study all kinds of things, and get even stronger.
Trivia:
- Dad's remark that he's still only twenty-nine quietly confirms Eberhard's mind is that of an adult reincarnated into a six-year-old body, making their sparring a clash of mature minds rather than parent versus child.
- Eberhard's decision to bluff with a ground-shake before firing [Impact] shows he wins through misdirection rather than raw power, foreshadowing that his true strength will always be strategy over brute force.
- Theresa's Life Magic being derived from both earth and water hints that healing in this world is a rare dual-affinity gift, explaining why the Holy Maiden's reputation is tied so tightly to the Northern General's legend.
Notes:
• Marquis Fahrenheit - Head of the Marquis Fahrenheit Family, holding the rank of margrave and the position of Northern General among the Four Generals. Gentle, doting father who teases his son about the betrothal.
• Eberhard - Young noble heir of the Marquis Fahrenheit Family, entrusted with the north as the Northern General. Reincarnated with memories of a past life and never had a girlfriend before. Nervous but composed, with adult mental age.
• Theresa - Woman of the Fahrenheit household. Overprotective and anxious about Haru leaving the mansion grounds. Worries about his safety and feels lonely at his departure.
• Lily - Henriette Lily von Bernstein, eldest daughter of the Duchy of Bernstein. Six years old, beautiful with a bell-like voice. Switches between a formal company voice drilled into her by her father and a frank, cheerful everyday manner. Might become Eberhardt's fiancee. Young daughter of a duke, six years old. Cheerful and energetic with a tomboy side, though she carries herself with a proper young-lady air at times. Her speech is slightly babyish in places. White dress, grass-stained from play. Childhood friend of Haru.