Just as Vili walked into his family’s yard, he saw a shirtless middle-aged man. The man was lean and tan, with a beard, and was feeding the poultry in the yard.
This was Vili and Vilia’s father, Lake.
"Father, look what Vili and I brought back!"
Upon seeing Lake, Vilia ran to his side, eager to show off.
Lake looked at his innocent, cheerful daughter, smiled softly, and patted her head. Then, he turned his gaze to Vili. "How are you, Vili? Are you still feeling unwell?"
"I’m perfectly fine now."
Vili replied.
"That’s good. Hurry inside for your meal. Your mother should have it ready."
Due to the scarcity of resources in the Lanso Duchy, commoners only ate two meals a day. The afternoon meal was the more important of the two, and it was comparatively more substantial—at the very least, it would include some greens.
"Father, you still haven’t looked at what Vili and I brought back!"
When Lake paid her no mind, Vilia quickly tugged on his arm, gesturing for him to look at the basket.
Lake gave a resigned smile and glanced at the small basket on Vilia’s back. "A basket full of Sweet Fruits. Such an obedient and hardworking child..."
"Hm?"
Lake had only meant to humor his daughter. However, when he took a proper look at the basket, he was stunned to see that the Sweet Fruits were incredibly plump and glossy, exuding a rich, fruity aroma.
"Aren’t you all coming in to eat?"
As the three of them stood gathered around the basket, a woman’s voice called out from the house. A woman in an apron, holding a spatula, walked out.
It was their mother, Mrs. Shaven.
Shaven walked over to the basket and also noticed the exceptional quality of the Sweet Fruits inside.
"These Sweet Fruits you’ve picked are of fantastic quality! It looks like we can sell them for a good price!"
Shaven then praised the two children. "Come on inside and eat. If your father is free in the next day or two, we’ll have him go to town to sell these. I’ll even let him buy you a big loaf of white bread."
After setting the basket aside and washing their hands, the family of four gathered at the dining table.
On the worn wooden table sat only a large bowl of vegetable soup and several thick, hard flatbreads. There was nothing else.
Vili had been somewhat hungry, but the sight of the food made him lose his appetite.
Shaven stood up, ladled a bowl of vegetable soup for each family member, and handed each of them a flatbread.
The other three began eating, accustomed to the meal. Only Vili hesitated for a moment before picking up his flatbread.
He took a tentative bite and found the flatbread had a sour, astringent taste. It was also abrasive, crumbling into dry fragments in his mouth the moment he bit down.
He had to take a sip of the bland vegetable soup to wash away the unpleasant texture.
"Father, Mother, I don’t want to do farm work anymore."
Vili said abruptly.
The moment he spoke, both Lake and Shaven frowned, but they didn’t lash out.
Lake swallowed the crumbs of flatbread in his mouth before speaking, his tone turning serious. "Vili, if you haven’t fully recovered yet, you can stay home and do some light chores. But if you’re only saying this to shirk your work, I will never agree."
Vili had anticipated their reaction.
"It’s not like that," he explained. "I just want to use the time I would spend on the farm to pick Sweet Fruits instead."
’Picking Sweet Fruits?’
Lake and Shaven became even more convinced that Vili was just being lazy.
Picking Sweet Fruits was just a side hustle for the family, something that brought in a limited income. For a near-adult to spend his time on it was, in Lake’s view, a waste of the family’s manpower. That was a job for a child like Vilia.
Lake felt his son was going too far. He was about to refute him, but Vili spoke first.
"Father, Mother, the reason Vilia and I were able to pick such high-quality Sweet Fruits today wasn’t luck. It’s because I’ve mastered a method for identifying the best Sweet Fruit trees."
Vili said calmly.
Lake and Shaven were both taken aback. They exchanged a look and saw the same doubt in each other’s eyes.
"Vili, that’s going too far!"
Lake was genuinely angry now. He would not tolerate a liar and a slacker in his family.
’Identify the best Sweet Fruit trees? How is that possible? Their trunks and leaves all look identical. No one can tell them apart.’
"Father, Vili is telling the truth!"
Vilia, who had been listening on the side, finally found a chance to jump in. She quickly recounted, in detail, Vili’s seemingly miraculous identification process from earlier.
She gestured wildly as she spoke, peppering her story with gasps of amazement, praising Vili so much that he began to blush.
When Vilia finished, silence fell over the table.
Lake said nothing, the anger in his eyes replaced by confusion.
’My two obedient children couldn’t have both become lying machines at the same time. Could they actually be telling the truth?’
"How did you do it?"
Lake asked, still puzzled.
"Observation, analysis, and practice."
Vili repeated the same explanation he had given Vilia.
Another silence followed. After a long moment, Lake finally said, "Alright, here’s the deal. Tomorrow, you and Vilia will go pick Sweet Fruits again. If you can bring back the same high-quality fruits, then I’ll permit you to stop working in the fields."
"Alright, Father."
Vili smiled faintly. ’Mission accomplished,’ he thought.
"Oh, right," Lake added. "When you two come back tomorrow, take the small path. Don’t let the other villagers see you."
"Understood, Father."
Vili replied.
...
「Nightfall.」
Vili was in his room.
To conserve resources, the room was unlit. Vili lay on his small bed in the darkness.
’Oh, right. I still haven’t used the attribute points I got from the title.’
The sudden thought made Vili sit up in bed.
With a flick of his will, the attribute panel appeared before his eyes.
[Vili Ferren—Constitution: 0.8; Intelligence: 1.2; Remaining attribute points: 0.2]
’Where should I allocate these attribute points?’
After only a moment’s hesitation, Vili decided to put all 0.2 attribute points into Constitution.
First of all, his Intelligence was already above this world’s average. His Constitution, however, was still lower than an adult’s due to his age. In his current situation, a strong body was more practical than a sharp mind.
Second, there was another important reason, one that stemmed from his previous memories.