From that day on, Rudy tried to go out with me and greet strangers; he followed behind me like a shy younger brother.
“Ah, Luna-chan, out with your brother again?”
A friendly village woman greeted me.
“Hello, Auntie.
This is my older brother, Rudy.”
“H-Hello.”
Rudy shyly greeted the village woman.
“Oh, how cute!
Go on and play, but be careful.”
The woman praised us briefly and went back to her work, carrying a wooden basin full of clothes, likely heading to the river to do laundry.
“See?
It’s quite simple, isn’t it?
No one looks down on you, and no one is laughing at you.
Isn’t it better to just come out openly like this?”
“But…
I still feel a bit uneasy in my heart.”
“I’m telling you, you’re so bold and even a bit perverted with Roxy-sensei, and wasn’t she a stranger too?”
“Th-That’s different!
From the first moment I saw Roxy-sensei, I knew she was someone important to me!”
Ho-ho, so he’s already decided on Roxy, huh?
Fortunately, while Roxy is very cute, she’s not my type.
Even if I did like her, I probably couldn’t win against Rudy, given the issues with my innate hardware.
“If you don’t want to disappoint Roxy-sensei, then puff out your chest and bravely face the gazes of others.”
“I understand.”
This special ‘training’ continued just like that.
Rudy went from being timid and afraid to speak to being barely able to communicate normally with people.
The villagers just thought of him as a shy child; no one suspected anything like psychological trauma.
Of course, if Rudy still had the appearance of a thirty-something fat otaku from his past life, the villagers’ opinions might be different.
After all, most people judge by appearances, which form the first impression.
Simple villagers wouldn’t think a shut-in otaku has any inner virtues; in their eyes, his psychological trauma would be nothing more than the trivial whining of someone with no real problems.
Time passed quickly, and we were about to turn five.
The household was busy preparing a birthday party for us.
I heard that the custom of this country is to hold birthday parties for children at the ages of five, ten, and fifteen, with fifteen being the age of adulthood.
Reaching five meant we had passed early childhood and were beginning to develop toward being youths.
Today, Paul, Zenith, and Roxy went out together without telling us where they were going, presumably to prepare our birthday presents.
Lilia, meanwhile, watched me like a hawk.
She seemed to have noticed my little stunt from last time; after all, several tomatoes had gone missing from the house, and even though I said Rudy and I ate them together, she didn’t believe me.
“Miss Luna, please do not make Master Paul and Mrs.
Zenith worry.”
Lilia lectured me with a stern face.
I knew she only did this because she cared for me; otherwise, she wouldn’t even bother, just like with Rudy.
“I’m sorry, Lilia.
I won’t do it again.”
Faced with an apology from a cute little girl, Lilia naturally quickly switched to a smile and gently stroked my head.
Speaking of which, Lilia is in her twenties and still has no children.
I wonder what her previous job was; someone as beautiful as her shouldn’t have trouble marrying into a good family.
I turned to look at Rudy.
He was sitting on a wooden stump in the yard reading a magic book.
The weather was still a bit warm, and reading outside was indeed quite comfortable.
If it were before, he would have stayed cooped up in his room, refusing to come out no matter what.
It seems he’s made great progress these past few days.
As for the magic of this world, I’m at a loss for words.
It’s as primitive as it gets.
Chantless casters like Rudy and me are extremely rare.
In Roxy’s decades of experience, she has only seen three people; besides Rudy and me, one is a professor at the Magic University.
A Magician must chant an incantation for every battle; the higher the level of magic, the more complex the chant.
To put it simply, the more advanced the magic, the longer the ‘cast time,’ making it easier for enemies to find an opening.
It is virtually impossible for a Magician to win a duel against a swordsman of the same level.
Because the swordsman would likely close the distance and defeat them before the chant is finished.
As for the survival skills for mages found in old online games, there are none at all.
No Blink, no Mirror Image, no Instant Frost Nova, and no Mana Shield.
I can’t say there’s no Mana Shield; there is a type of magic called Barrier Magic, which counts as a sort of shield.
However, elementary Barrier Magic cannot cover the whole body and has limited defensive power.
Advanced Barrier Magic also has very high mana consumption; a barrier that covers the entire body can only be used once, and it’s generally used by the Temple Knights of Millishion.
Oh, right, this Barrier Magic is a monopoly of the Holy Kingdom of Millis and is generally not shared with outsiders.
Since there’s no survival magic, surely there’s crowd control?
Sorry, none of that either.
Spells common in standard Western fantasy worlds, such as Polymorph, Confusion, Daze, or Charm—mental control magic—are non-existent.
A Magician has no control methods and even fewer survival skills.
They can only be glass cannons or functional utility players responsible for healing, clearing large groups of enemies, or dealing with specific types of monsters; beyond that, they have no other use.
Moreover, the learning cost is high; it’s a profession with a high floor but a low ceiling.
This further solidified my determination to become a swordsman.
In the future, my career development will naturally be magic as a supplement and swordsmanship as the primary focus.
I could even be like Gandalf, usually pretending to be a mage, then unexpectedly using swordsmanship to defeat an opponent during a duel.
Thinking about it, that’s really despicable.
I seem to be quite suited for the North God Style.
???
A few more days passed, and today was finally Rudy’s and my fifth birthday.
The whole family gathered together in harmony.
The house was meticulously decorated, and delicious dishes were prepared.
“Rudy, Luna, Happy Birthday!”
The whole family pulled streamers.
Paul, acting like a complete clown, held wine in one hand and danced with a sword in the other, making everyone roar with laughter and livening up the party atmosphere.
“Rudy, this is a present for you.”
Zenith gave Rudy a Plant Encyclopedia.
It looked ordinary, but the book was thick, and considering the backward productivity of this world, it was already a very valuable birthday gift.
“Thank you, Mother.
I’ve always wanted a book like this.”
“Haha, because Rudy loves reading books.”
“Luna, this is for you.”
Whoosh, a very beautiful little dress.
I’ve had enough; in Zenith’s eyes, I’m just a giant doll.
Her favorite daily activities are combing my hair, changing my hairstyle, and playing dress-up with me.
But even if I didn’t want it, I had to pretend to love it.
After all, Zenith truly loves me.
“Thank you, Mama.” I threw my arms around Zenith’s neck and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Heehee, Luna-chan is such a good girl.
You’ll get more and more cute.”
Then Paul took out a Broadsword; this was for Rudy.
Rudy almost dropped it when he took it.
After all, he has a child’s body, and this sword is very heavy; it’s normal not to be able to hold it.
“Thank you, Father.
I will cherish it.”
Paul smiled first, then turned serious.
“Ahem, Rudy, it might be too early to give you this sword, but a man must have a sword in his heart to protect those closest to him in the future.
You’ll surely have a wife or children later…”
Paul was interrupted by Zenith just as he was about to start a long lecture.
“Alright, no lecturing today.
Luna is still waiting for her gift over there.”
“Sorry, sorry.
This is Luna’s gift.”
Paul pulled out a Dagger.
When drawn, it glinted with a cold light; it was a high-quality weapon with excellent steel, tempered a thousand times.
“Haha, Luna is very talented in swordsmanship, but Daddy only has one sword left.
I gave it to Rudy first, so Luna can have the Dagger for now.
When you’re ten, Daddy will give you another sword.”
“Wow!
Thank you, Daddy!
I want a Rapier in the future!”
When Paul heard the word ‘Rapier,’ his brow furrowed as if he remembered something unpleasant.
Zenith’s expression also changed slightly.
Although Paul’s face looked troubled, he made an effort to change his expression.
“Rapiers aren’t very good for swordsmanship.
A genius like Luna should choose a proper sword in the future.”
What is a ‘proper’ sword?
Is a Rapier improper?
Or is it that the Rapier is a weapon particularly favored by the North God Style?
Looking at Paul and Zenith’s expressions, could it be that they had a powerful enemy who used a Rapier before they retired?
Before I could daydream further, Roxy walked up to Rudy and me holding two short Wands.
“These are your birthday presents.
I should have given them to you at the very beginning; after all, it is a teacher’s duty to craft Wands for their disciples.”
Rudy and I took the Wands.
They were short, much like those in Harry Potter, but the tips were inlaid with glowing red gems.
“These Wands can save mana for you.
Usually, they are given when a student reaches the elementary level, but I forgot.
I am truly sorry.”
Roxy bowed her head and apologized to us.
Rudy stared at the Wand, unable to put it down; he really loved the gift Roxy gave him.
Of course, I loved it too.
I will cherish the gift from the small and cute Roxy-sensei.
“Thank you, Master Roxy!
I will cherish it!”
“Hehe.”
Roxy smiled and stroked both our heads.
Ever since one of our lessons, Rudy had started addressing Roxy respectfully as ‘Master’.
But he didn’t force me to call her that as well; perhaps he felt that addressing Roxy this way was his own unique thing.
Although Roxy objected at first, she eventually reluctantly accepted Rudy’s form of address.
Who could blame her, given that Rudy truly respected Roxy from the bottom of his heart?
In front of her, Rudy acted like a proper child; his polite manner was indeed very likable.
Not impatient, not arrogant, but very humble.
Moreover, Rudy had already learned the advanced versions of four types of attack magic, making him a very impressive person.
As for me, I had only learned two types of Advanced Magic.
The gap was quite large, but according to Roxy, my level was still considered extremely talented on a global scale—just slightly behind Rudy.
“Miss Luna, this is a gift for you.
Please don’t tell Young Master Rudy.”
As the party neared its end, Lilia pulled me aside and took out a pair of blue hairpins.
Lilia had bought these for me with her own wages.
Strictly speaking, as a maid, she didn’t need to give me a gift, but this was her sentiment—a gift meant only for me.
So I accepted it.
After all, Lilia is usually very fond of me; perhaps she yearns for a daughter like me.
“Thank you, Lilia.
I’ll keep it a secret.”
Lilia smiled at me.
“Then, could Lilia help me put them on?
I can’t do it myself.”
Lilia gently stroked my head, then knelt down with the hairpins.
I took the opportunity to kiss her on the cheek.
“Heehee, I love Lilia the most.”
This was the best reward I could give as a child.
She was stunned for a moment, touching the cheek where my lips had just brushed with disbelief, then she hugged me with tears in her eyes.
She must have been quite lonely in our house all these years; she has no friends and only gets along well with Zenith.
She sends all the money she earns back home and has few personal expenses.
If it were me, I would have quit long ago and moved elsewhere.
But Lilia has stayed here for so long because she still likes our family—especially me.
After all, compared to Rudy, who always looks at her with perverted and lewd eyes, she much prefers a well-behaved, lively, and cute little girl like me.