"Hey, Claude... can you help me fix this?" My father held up a small trinket, turning it in the light to show me the problem.
"In a minute..." I replied, focusing on the rhythmic impacts as my hammer struck the sword in my hands. Each blow sent small sparks dancing across the metal's surface, the heat from the forge making sweat trickle down my brow.
It's been a year since Rudy went to Roa, and in that time, I've become a full-fledged blacksmith despite my age. The transformation surprised even me.
"Damn it, pops! This is child abuse!" I complained, letting the hammer fall to my side for a moment. "How could you order your beloved son to work while you're still alive and capable?"
"Shut it!" Father barked back, though I could see the corner of his mouth twitch upward. "It's your fault for being better than me! Look at them." He gestured toward the waiting customers. "They refused my work and asked specifically for your service. It's hurting my pride already, and you dare complain to me?"
I sighed dramatically. I never thought being too good could be a bad thing. Because of my talent—no, because of my nature as a Miko—I could easily understand how things worked, the principles behind them unfolding in my mind like diagrams. My training progressed smoothly, allowing me to develop in ways that surprised everyone, myself included.
Due to this unexpected aptitude for forging and enchantment, I hadn't been able to focus on my sword training and magic studies for several months. The irony wasn't lost on me.
"You better learn well from me, Dad!" I taunted, now working on the trinket he'd handed me earlier. "Don't you feel embarrassed that your son is better than you?"
"Shut it, you son of a—" my father cursed, hastily scribbling notes beside me as he watched my technique.
"Don't you dare complete that statement, or I'll tell mother about it!" I threatened, still focusing on the sound the trinket made with each strike of my hammer. The metal sang beneath my tool, a melody only I seemed to hear.
This felt like a rhythm game from another life, one I could almost but not quite remember. It was actually quite fun and served as training for my arms. But still...
"This is child labor," I muttered under my breath.
"Damn it, just shut your mouth and work! I didn't raise you to talk back at me!" He suddenly yelled, but there was no real heat behind his words.
"Shameless old man... You're no better than Paul!" I retorted, continuing my work without missing a beat.
"Hey, I won't send you to another region just to get some work!"
"You wouldn't dare, since I'm better than you!"
We continued our banter while working, the forge's heat and the sound of metal on metal providing a comfortable backdrop to our familiar routine. I could say that my relationship with my father was quite good. We could mock each other without either of us feeling hurt, and my father was actually quite open-minded—he didn't feel it was beneath him to learn from his son.
That's why, whenever there was time, my father would observe how I did things, trying to pick up my techniques. At home, I also spent time teaching both of my parents about magic. No matter how small their mana capacity was, being able to cast even a simple spell was better than nothing in this world.
By the way, what Paul did to Rudy—sending him to tutor in Roa—had become the gossip of the village. While some complained about it, more commended him since the town believed Rudy would have a better future this way. I knew better, of course. The memories that occasionally surfaced in my mind told me of the trials Rudy would face, though the details remained frustratingly vague.
Sylphy was dejected but chose to continue learning about household matters from Lilia, determined to become a perfect bride for Rudy someday. She also learned plenty of things, from common understanding of the world to stories of Paul, Lilia, and Zenith's adventures.
Well, leaving Sylphy aside...
I had unknowingly become a prodigy...
A blacksmith prodigy who could do many things...
I enjoyed the money that flowed in, but this slave-like labor was wearing on me. My muscles ached from the constant work, and the heat was making me light-headed.
"Ahhh! I give up!" I exclaimed, dramatically throwing down my hammer with a clang.
"Hey! What are you doing? Don't you dare run away! Claude, Clauuuude!! Don't leave me alone. I'll die of overwork!" My father called after me, genuine panic in his voice.
"I'll pray that it won't happen. See you, pops!" I waved goodbye and fled the labor, the cooler air outside the forge washing over my sweat-soaked skin like a blessing.
I'm sorry, father. I'll surely pray for you if that happened. Well, it was actually already my time to leave and attend my sword training—the dramatic exit was just our usual routine after I finished the last item on the list.
Leaving the smithy behind, I headed towards my princesses, my heart lightening with each step.
"I'm here! Norn, Aisha!" I called out, spotting the toddlers playing in the yard.
They were already able to walk and run, albeit slowly. Seeing me, their little faces lit up with recognition and delight. They turned and ran toward me, their tiny legs working furiously.
"Cluuud!"
"It's Cluuud!"
Oh, my princesses, I'm here. Come to meee.
"Raaan!"
"Mama, help! Help!"
"Gyahaha, big brother Claude is here!" I announced dramatically, crouching down to their level. "Where do you want to go, princesses? This bad villain will abduct you away!"
As the babies ran around, I chased after them, deliberately moving slowly to give them a chance. Their laughter rang out like bells, pure and carefree in a way that made something in my chest ache with both joy and an inexplicable sense of loss.
They seemed to run and scream for their mothers, but their wide smiles betrayed their enjoyment of the game. They hid their mouths as if afraid to be seen laughing, but their cheeks inflated like balloons.
"I caught you both!" I declared, finally scooping them up in my arms. "Where do you want to run to, my princesses?"
"Kyaaa, nooo, Clud is bad! Release us, kyahaha!" Aisha yelled while pounding me lightly with her tiny fists.
"Yeah, release us! Hahaha!" Norn begged to be released as I gently tickled them both.
If Rudy were here, I bet he'd cry tears of blood seeing me play with his sisters like this. The thought of his reaction made me smile wickedly.
I spotted Sylphy in the background with Lilia and Zenith. They certainly saw her as Rudy's bride-to-be. Wasn't it too soon for them to prepare Rudeus' future wife? The girls were practically raising her for him.
Well, it's not like I'm some harem lord who will collect all the girls...
Just Aisha and Norn will do.
"My wives-to-be!" I declared teasingly, hugging them tighter as I joked about it.
"Nyooo! Who wants to be your bride, damn Cluuud!" Aisha yelled, smacking my head that was buried between them.
"Yeah! Get your claws off my daughters, you lolicon!"
Paul's voice boomed from behind me, and before I could react, he shoved me aside and took the babies into his own arms. His eyes narrowed at me in mock threat, but I could see the amusement lurking there.
I left the father and daughters to their reunion and went to see Sylphy for a while. She was doing well there with Lilia and Zenith, absorbed in her lessons. It would be terrible for me to disturb them. Better to just write a letter to Rudy and send it over, letting him know how everyone was doing.
[Rudeus POV]
"Yoh! You must be waiting for this handsome man's letter!"
I couldn't help but grumble as I read the opening line. The sheer narcissism made me want to reach through the paper and choke Claude until he fainted.
"This person always seems like this, right, Ghislaine?" Eris remarked, reading over my shoulder, her crimson hair brushing against my cheek.
"Indeed, I can see his character well... Well, he acted like that when we first met," Ghislaine replied, arms crossed over her chest.
I glanced at Ghislaine, remembering that she had stayed at the inn in our village before. She must be thinking about when she first encountered Claude there.
Although Ghislaine was undeniably muscled, she still had an impressive figure. Her strength didn't diminish her femininity—if anything, it enhanced it.
Claude, unlike Paul and myself, didn't seem to be a pervert who enjoyed seeing a woman's skin. I'd never caught him peeking at women back home...
Then again, what should I expect of a child his age? It's not like he's reincarnated like me.
Well, let's continue with the letter.
"Everyone's doing fine! You don't need to worry. I'm taking your sisters as my bride and thinking of training them to be good women from the day you receive the letter, but that damn Paul is disturbing my goal, so I am focusing on beating the crap out of him. That bastard always uses his Water God style and North God style to defeat me whenever he is pushed using the Sword God style. I can see that your father is a shameless tutor, damn. Like father, like son... so shameless."
I read it aloud, trying to maintain my patience even as irritation bubbled up inside me.
"Hahaha! I like the last phrase! That Paul is indeed shameless, but isn't your sister around 1-year old by now?" Ghislaine said, snickering at Claude's audacity.
"I'd smack his head if I were there, that damn pedophile... Father should do better at battering him!" I grumbled, the paper crinkling slightly in my tightening grip.
"Oh? Doesn't that mean this Claude is strong enough to push Rudeus' father back? Wow, this is amusing! Ghislaine! Was Rudeus' father weaker than you?!" Eris exclaimed, her eyes wide with interest. Well, when she talked normally, it was practically at shouting volume. So this wasn't really shouting—just her normal way of communicating.
That guy is weird, I thought to myself. I could see that he was talented...
The kind of talent an adult would love to have...
"He is if we are talking only about Sword God style," Ghislaine replied thoughtfully. "However, he's only lacking when he's using all three of the styles of the sword."
Even if he's using all three of his advanced sword styles, he'd still be lacking, huh... So this is the difference between Advanced and King-level Swordsmen...
"Whoa, as expected, Ghislaine is strong!" Eris said, looking delighted at the fact.
"Well, the other styles can be used for different situations. In battle, you can't always expect to be able to strike first, and his mixed style can be said to have more mobility than mine, which makes him stronger under certain conditions. But I'm definitely stronger overall..." Ghislaine explained, creating a paradox I didn't fully understand.
Well, leaving that aside for now, I returned to the letter.
"Sylphy is doing fine. She's always training with Lilia and Zenith. You need to be with her since she's doing all those things for you. Your mother has already branded her as her daughter-in-law... lol, anyway... Be careful of that round thing outside. I feel an ominous aura coming from it... Take care!"
So Sylphy was doing well, huh? The thought warmed me.
"Is this the person that writes the damn book?" Eris asked, pointing to another item Claude had sent along with the letter.
It was a lesson book—well, more like concept notes. Still, they had been incredibly helpful for teaching not just Eris and Ghislaine but the entire household. Even the maids and servants had been reading the educational materials I'd created using Claude's concepts.
"I'm the creator. He's the one that gave me the idea," I clarified, not wanting to give him too much credit.
"But this person sure is lazy... Isn't this like his third letter this year? How can a person just write three letters a year?" Eris complained, though I could tell she actually enjoyed Claude's reports.
I wanted to say that he was still better than her at correspondence, but I feared getting smacked in the head for the comment...
"Well, my lady, he's actually about your age," I pointed out. Technically, Claude was only several months younger than Eris.
"Is that so? He's my age, but can he compete with Rudeus in magic?"
"Yes, he's strong..." I admitted reluctantly. "Not only is Claude an adept swordsman, but he was also able to use all types of beginner magic before I left. He's also an enchanter and a blacksmith." I counted off his accomplishments, feeling a strange mix of pride and rivalry.
"Hoo, that kid is pretty amazing, huh..." Ghislaine remarked, clearly assuming I could do the same. But I couldn't manage smithing or enchantment just yet.
"Whoa... Is he really someone my age? His achievements seem a bit too exaggerated."
Now that Eris mentioned it, they did seem improbable for someone so young.
Was he reincarnated like me?
Or was he possessed by something?
I didn't really know...
"But is that round thing he mentioned the object in the sky?" I wondered aloud, remembering Claude's warning.
"It might be..."
"How could he know about it? Even my eyes didn't see anything weird about it..." Ghislaine said, her brow furrowing.
"Well, being aware of something won't kill us... So let's just keep Claude's warning in mind and continue our lesson."
As I set the letter aside, my thoughts drifted to another message I'd received from Claude when I was first traveling to Roa in the carriage:
"That Paul must be thinking about your glue-like behavior towards Sylphy when he sent you to Roa and arranged for you to train under that stripper. He must be trying to make you into a responsible person..."
I couldn't believe Claude had been thoughtful enough to establish a letter relay, telling me: "I know you can't send letters home directly. I'll be the one receiving your letters, and I'll convey them to whoever you want. Just don't write anything cringy, or I'll burn it."
I hadn't expected him to help me this way...
Is this what having a brother feels like? Had I failed as a brother in my previous life?
Well, it was obvious...
As a son, as a brother, and as a human being...
I had been a failure back then.
But this time...
I would succeed!
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