I Paved a Flower Path for My Nephew and Ended Up Becoming the Hero
Only a few seconds.
Mana, which even a talented person was said to take days to feel, Alex had felt in the blink of an eye.
"Is this... mana?"
A sound of wonder escaped him on its own.
The overwhelming 'mana' filling his surroundings, which he had never known until now, was overwhelming and even awe-inspiring.
'Ah.'
Not only the mana he felt from himself, but the mana of Leo sleeping in the bedroom, and the mana of the chickens they raised in the back yard, and even the mana of the neighbors.
He was feeling all of it, distinctly separated.
'Ah....'
And farther still.
The mana of the crops growing in the fields, and the grass and trees at the entrance to the back mountain, and the animals.
'...Ugh.'
And beyond the village as well.
As his senses expanded, the endlessly felt mana and the information contained within it filled Alex's head and then went on pouring past what it could hold.
Because of that his head began to ache and he could not even think. It felt as though his eyeballs would be pulled out and his brain were being scrambled.
Because of the brain that had exceeded its capacity, blood began to run from Alex's nose as well.
[Wow! It really is an otherworld — the mana concentration is way denser than on Earth.]
[Still, feeling mana this fast should be difficult.]
[You wouldn't happen to be a polymorphed dragon, Alex.]
[Is it because of me?]
[Is it because I'm too magnificent!]
Two Hundred, who had been chattering away, noticed the state Alex was in.
[Oh no!]
[This is dangerous!]
With Two Hundred's words, the expansion of the mana detection that had been stretching in every direction stopped. Then the range in which mana was felt gradually shrank.
At last.
Once only the mana near the house could be felt, the pain vanished and Alex was able to breathe properly.
"Haah.... What happened?"
[Just like I can feel your senses, you've become able to feel mine.]
[And I'm already familiar with what mana is.]
"Ah."
At Two Hundred's explanation, Alex understood as well.
Since he was a lich who had reached the extreme of magic, detecting mana would be as easy as breathing for him.
"So the trouble happened because I was using that."
[Right. A human body does have its limits, after all. Besides, you're not even a mage, just an ordinary person.]
Whew.
Alex wiped away the running nosebleed and let out a breath.
"But how did you shrink the range?"
[Simple. I just did it the way closing one eye narrows your field of vision.]
[Or the way plugging your nostrils blocks a smell.]
At the easy comparison, Alex understood.
[Now that you've detected mana, we can move straight on to forming a circle.]
"Is it all right to go like this?"
Alex wondered whether it was really acceptable to handle in this way something that took others weeks or months.
[It's fine!]
[Enjoy it. Like me.]
"I think you're enjoying it a bit too much."
But Alex decided to take it in a positive light too.
Because the faster he learned magic, the brighter Leo's future would be.
[But let's stop here for today.]
[When you form a circle you have to concentrate in a perfect condition.]
[And magic requires a strong will, too.]
Alex agreed as well.
The pain had gone, but the sense of being overwhelmed and the daze he had felt a moment ago still remained.
Rubbing between his brows, Alex returned to the bedroom, and at the sight of the sleeping Leo he smiled reflexively.
"Mm. Nom."
At the sight of Leo, who seemed to be eating meat even in his dreams — the roast meat at dinner must really have been delicious — it was impossible not to smile.
'This is happiness.'
With a satisfied expression, Alex lay down beside Leo.
And just as he was about to fall asleep.
At a thought that suddenly came to him, he opened his eyes again.
"Come to think of it, didn't you tell me to grab something?"
[Me? What did I say?]
"Before I grabbed the glass marble, the life vessel. Stone, grab it. I think that was what it said."
At Alex's words, Two Hundred tilted his head. Though he had no head.
[I never said anything like that.]
[Besides, you have to touch the life vessel to hear my voice. If it weren't for that, I'd have called humans over long ago!]
"Is that so?"
Then it had not been Two Hundred.
"But the voice was similar."
Now that he thought about it, he had the feeling that the mysterious voice had come from the 'future' rather than from the present.
'Then who was it?'
It was not the voice of Solenius, the Chief God, and Two Hundred, whom he had thought it resembled, said it was not him.
There were no other candidates that came to mind.
After puzzling over it for a while, Alex soon shook the thought off and closed his eyes.
'I can look into it slowly.'
***
The next morning.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
The moment the sun rose and the chicken they kept crowed, Alex's eyes flew open. Then he checked on Leo, lying beside him.
"Mmm...."
Six-year-old Leo was there, sleeping soundly without even stirring.
"Haa."
Alex, who had been tense as a wire, let out a sigh of relief.
Having experienced returning to the past — an intensely happy thing he had wished for even in his dreams — he had thought it might be his life flashing before his eyes just before annihilation.
"But it isn't."
Alex poked Leo's soft cheek and laughed, haha!
[What, you're up already?]
Now this one, he had been hoping was a dream.
Letting out a light sigh, Alex looked at Leo again and grinned foolishly.
[But is there nobody else in this house?]
[Where are the kid's parents?]
Two Hundred asked, wondering whether children did not usually sleep with their parents.
"My sister and my brother-in-law went out on mercenary work about five years ago and went missing."
Alex spoke calmly.
When six months had passed since Leo's birth.
His sister, having recovered her strength, and his brother-in-law left home saying a big commission had come in.
If things had gone as planned, they were to finish that commission and then stay a while with Leo and Alex, watching Leo grow up and teaching Alex swordsmanship.
But the two of them never came back.
"I was fifteen then."
From that point, a boy of fifteen began caring for a six-month-old baby. Without the villagers' help, he would not have grown up safely like this.
[That's... sorry?]
"It's fine. It's not your fault."
A lich apologizing for something that was not his fault.
It was worth living long enough to see everything, Alex thought.
'Besides....'
By the age of his soul, twelve years had already passed since it happened. The young man of twenty was already thirty-two.
The longing and grief for the sister and brother-in-law who never came back did remain, but it was not as violent a feeling as it had been when he was young.
"More than that, Leo is what matters."
That the living matter more than those who may already be dead was something the Age of Ruin had taught him with absolute thoroughness.
"There's something I want to ask. If I meet a mage or a priest, do you think they'd find out you're inside my body?"
[A mage will be fine.]
[Try feeling mana.]
At Two Hundred's words, Alex breathed out lightly and concentrated. Then, just as last night, he could feel the mana around him.
The mana of Leo sleeping right in front of him, the mana of the chickens clucking in the back yard, and the mana of the neighbors who had begun to stir.
Perhaps because Two Hundred was regulating it, the range of the mana detection was just right for Alex.
'It's a little funny to think of it as having my nostrils plugged.'
In any case.
Even doing it again, the feeling was awe-inspiring.
[Take a look at the mana around you.]
[Only yours can be felt, right?]
"So it is."
Just as Two Hundred said, from Alex himself only his own mana could be felt. Light green mana, like a sprout that had just come up.
[My soul and mana are covered over by your soul, body, and mana, Alex. Like a lid put on top.]
[So mages won't find out.]
If that was so, it was fortunate.
[But I don't know about priests.]
[Divine power works by a different method, after all.]
[And it's another world, too.]
...That part was unfortunate.
[Isn't there a priest you know nearby? Seems like you could just ask directly.]
Alex thought for a moment, then looked at Leo, who had just woken up.
"Mmm... Uncle...."
Leo, downy as a chick, smiled widely at seeing Alex already awake. At that, Alex smiled along with him.
"Our Leo! Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah! Hey, Uncle. I ate meat in my dream! It was super delicious, you know?"
At Leo saying this with a wide smile, Alex laughed, haha!
"Then let's wash up and have breakfast now."
"Yeah!"
"But Leo. Is there anything strange about your uncle?"
"Something strange?"
Tilting his head, Leo looked Alex over. Those eyes, the color of the sky, were full of affection.
"No! There isn't!"
He was exactly the same as his usual uncle.
At that, Alex smiled and ruffled Leo's hair thoroughly. At the mischief, Leo giggled brightly.
[I told you to ask a priest, so why are you asking Leo?]
That was because Leo was the child who would become the Hero, with divine power stronger even than the Pope's.
'Not yet, though.'
Still, somehow Leo's answer felt trustworthy.
He had no intention of going about openly, but it seemed all right to relax a little.
***
Once Leo had eaten breakfast and gone off to play with his friends,
[So what are you going to do now?]
[How about going to catch a rabbit? I've never eaten one, so I'm curious.]
Alex, letting Two Hundred's words — already full of thoughts of lunch — flow past him, followed after Leo.
[Huh? You're following Leo?]
A short distance away, he could see Leo meeting up with his friends and talking excitedly.
"My uncle cooked meat and it was really delicious!"
"Whoa! Really?"
It was cooking he had done as Two Hundred instructed, but at Leo's praise Alex's shoulders rose proudly.
"Huh? It's Uncle Alex!"
"Hm? Uncle?"
Leo, who had not known Alex had come out after him, turned around at his friend's words. Then he smiled widely and waved his hand.
"Uncle!"
Alex smiled and waved back.
"Leo, be careful while you play!"
"Yeah! Today we're going to go see the horses!"
Of course, it was dangerous so they could not go close, but sometimes if the man had time to spare they could feed the horses.
Alex followed after Leo and the children as they ran off in high spirits.
[Huh? You're following again?]
[Why?]
"That's because... I get anxious when he's out of sight."
To Alex this reality still felt like a dream. The truth was he felt as though all of this might be an illusion, and that if he opened his eyes there would be the dead eighteen-year-old Leo.
'Besides....'
He had followed Leo around constantly for twelve years, and now he was suddenly supposed to stay apart from him.
[Is it separation anxiety?]
"It might be."
Alex smiled bitterly.
On top of that,
"Leo!"
"Hm? What is it, Uncle?"
He liked how Leo turned around at the sound of him calling. He liked so much the sight of him meeting his eyes and answering.
[Are you crying?]
So much that it brought tears.
And so he kept calling him.
"Leo!"
[You've called Leo fifteen times so far.]
...That many?
While Alex was startled at what he had not been aware of, Leo, who had been playing with his friends, came running over with a pouting face.
"Come on, Uncle! If you keep calling me like that I can't play with my friends!"
"...Sorry."
Alex felt bad, but at the same time he was glad.
Because unlike the 'Hero Leo,' who had to fight enemies without a moment even to voice a complaint, the Leo of now could grumble all he liked.
"You go and work too, Uncle. That way we can eat something good tomorrow as well."
"When you were little you told me not to go...."
"That was when I was little! Grown-ups have to work!"
At six-year-old Leo speaking so stoutly, Alex burst out laughing, haha!
"All right. Your uncle will go to work."
"Yeah!"
"...Your uncle is really going, you know?"
"Go on, quick!"
At that, Alex turned around, deliberately looking dejected. And then,
"Uncle!"
He heard Leo's voice.
"Do your best! I love you!"
Perhaps troubled by his dejected uncle, Leo shouted that out. The friends beside him giggled brightly.
"I love our Leo the most too!"
Alex smiled widely as he answered.
***
[Is it like this every day?]
"Well, yes."
[You two are an uncle and nephew who don't spare a bit of affection.]
"There are only two of us in the family."
Alex, who had unintentionally made Two Hundred fall silent, headed for the fields to work.
Of course, the separation anxiety had not gone away, so he kept looking toward where Leo was.
Along with that, the scenery of the village came into view.
In the 'future' it had been packed with houses built by the refugees who came flooding in, but now it was simply a quiet, peaceful village.
He liked that peace very much, and he wanted to protect it.
And so, for the 'thing he really had to do,' Alex returned home and headed for the study.
Then he took out a well-maintained sword.
This sword was one his sister had bought him as a gift.
It was also the sword sixteen-year-old Leo had taken with him in the 'future' when he set out on his journey.
[Oh! Are you doing sword training?]
[I knew it, you were one of those guys hiding your strength!]
[I thought you were an ordinary farmer, but it turns out you were hiding your power!]
At Two Hundred's words, spoken as though he were enjoying himself somehow, Alex made a dumbfounded expression.
He had no idea what he meant, and no idea why he was so excited.
[No, wait! Since you're a farmer, a strength-hiding farmer?!]
He really had no idea.