Chapter 2

On that day, we finally learned about the place where we lived.

Dressed in our first-ever outdoor clothes, we left the mansion, led by Elise and Irma.

Yes, it was a mansion.

Although we couldn't be sure because it was our first time leaving the nursery, my temporary home was a rather large two-story building made of wood and stone.

Even by the standards of my previous life, I thought it was quite impressive.

So, my family must have been wealthy...

It stood alone on a hill, with no other houses around except for a few nearby.

However, it wasn't as if no one lived around here. Looking down at the foot of the hill, I could see a village and a harbor.

Several sailboats were moored there.

There was quite a bit of foot traffic, and horse-drawn carriages loaded with goods moved slowly.

I had a vague sense of this from my previous environment, but this one fact became clear.

This was not the era or world I had lived in during my previous life.

There might have been such a peaceful rural town in the world, but it was unlikely that horse-drawn carriages and sailboats were still in practical use in the 21st century.

The people's clothing also seemed to be something from a movie, with a rough size and made of leather.

I was prepared, so it wasn't that shocking.

After all, having a second life after dying once was already enough of a fantasy and within the realm of possibility.

The room I had been in until now wasn't modern either.

I was mentally prepared.

There was something that bothered me more.

Even outside the house, the flow of mana was still the same, but something felt strange below my feet, underground.

I could sense the flow of mana through small walls, but the ground was a bit unclear.

It didn't seem like there was no mana underground...

Despite my doubts, the walk began.

That day, Kyle and I, holding hands with Elise and the others, were excited to see the outside world for the first time and returned home after walking around the mansion.

After that, on sunny days, I was taken out for walks several times.

Even if it was just around the mansion, it became the greatest entertainment for me.

Small animals like squirrels ran around the trees near the house, and vines with berries like strawberries grew.

The problem of the earth's mana (tentative) was still unclear, but everything I saw was intriguing, including the mystery.

One day, as usual, we were taken out, but there was one difference.

Irma was not with us, only Elise.

While I thought it could happen, I was looking at an ant-like insect's nest with Kyle when Irma, carrying a child, came from the mansion.

Was this Irma's child?

The child, with hair much darker than Irma's, was much bigger than us.

Although we weren't that far apart in age, the physical difference at this age was significant.

When the child was put down, he glared at us and started walking, as if to say, "I'm the boss, follow me."

We followed, wobbling.

After all, he was a baby...

We walked to a tree standing alone a little away from the mansion, and the child picked up a small branch that had fallen and held it in a stance towards us.

It was a middle guard stance, like in kendo.

While I was thinking that it was a solid stance for his age, the branch was raised.

Irma and the others noticed and tried to stop him, but it was too late.

The branch, aimed straight at us, hit the ground where I had been standing.

We had been continuously circulating while walking.

This allowed for surprising movements, and we could even run, probably.

Using this, I dodged the branch diagonally and tackled his waist.

The black-haired child plopped down.

It seemed I had stopped him without hurting him.

Then, Kyle tackled him from the other side.

Nice combination, buddy.

And so, our duel came to an end.

His attempt to intimidate the new kids had failed.

The black-haired child, realizing the situation, started crying.

When Irma arrived, she did something surprising; instead of comforting him, she hit him on the head.

I was worried about hitting a child of that age.

Kyle and I could only look on in dismay.

Then, Irma grabbed the black-haired child by the collar, forced him to stand, and made him bow his head.

"Louis! How dare you point a sword at the young master! I apologize... The first greeting to the one you should serve should not be like this..."

That's what she seemed to say.

Irma's face was pale.

It wasn't just a child's play, so my wish for a quick resolution seemed unlikely.

The black-haired child, now called Louis, stopped crying, perhaps noticing his mother's unusual state, and glared at us with a teary face.

You're tough, kid... Impressive.

Elise intervened at this point.

"Everyone is fine, Irma. It was just a child's play, and they fell a little. Don't scold him so much."

"But, ma'am..."

At that moment, I grabbed Louis's hand and shook it.

When Louis looked up, I pulled him and made him sit down.

When I embraced the falling Louis, he looked up at me with a puzzled face.

Kyle watched with an angelic smile.

There's an angel here.

"You see, kids this age are like this. It's too bad to scold them for every little thing."

"Ma'am..."

After that, we were led by Kyle to the first ant-like insect's nest.

We watched it for a while before parting ways.

During this time, Louis was unusually quiet.

When we parted, Elise seemed to instruct Irma to hug Louis.

After a while, Louis started to be brought to our nursery occasionally.

When this happened, Irma usually took care of us.

Louis didn't fight or anything after that and was quite well-behaved.

He was even in a good mood.

Thinking back, I realize it was wrong to keep him from his mother while Irma was taking care of us.

Babies are helpless.

Recently, I've been asking Irma to read books to us.

It started with a book Irma brought into the nursery.

It seemed to be something she needed for writing, and she would open it while writing.

I, hungry for words and information, tried various ways to show interest in the book, but I couldn't touch it.

However, later, Irma brought what seemed to be a children's book and started reading to us.

The content was about knights and heroes fighting great evils and bringing peace to the world.

It might have been a bit difficult for children our age, but having the slightly older Louis around helped us get access to the book.

There was only one book, but I listened to it seriously.

Louis, unusually serious, and Kyle, with his usual angelic smile, were also listening.

Seeing this, Irma didn't hesitate to read to us multiple times.

Each time she finished, I reached for the book, and she finally gave it to me.

I was overjoyed.

It was a sturdy, leather-bound book, not cheap at all, and I was grateful.

We read it carefully together.

Sometimes I protected the book from Louis's drool, and other times I gently placed my hand over Kyle's when he tried to touch the pages, comparing the story we had heard with the words.

Fortunately, the handwritten text, though a bit quirky, wasn't too difficult.

It wasn't an extremely complex phonetic script like the alphabet.

By reading it several times, I was able to learn most of the combinations that represented sounds.

If this script was the mainstream in this world, increasing my vocabulary would allow me to read more books.

My previous learning methods didn't seem to be wrong.

I also tried reading aloud, but it was quite difficult.

I couldn't pronounce it well.

My mouth, with newly growing teeth, felt itchy.

Louis, trying to imitate me, had much clearer pronunciation.

Impressive, senior.

Ilma, seeing our training, was surprised at first but continued to give us the book, so she didn't seem to think it was a bad thing.

When Ilma wasn't around, we practiced writing on the sheets.

Especially Kyle, who wrote quite neatly while smiling, was something else.

Are angels just smarter?

The weather has been getting warmer.

During the day, the windows are open, and the sea breeze fills the room.

Summer might be approaching.

Recently, Louis has been coming to our room even when Ilma isn't around.

On a particularly sunny day, we were taken on a slightly longer walk than usual.

To the small stream at the foot of the hill, which was about ankle-deep for an adult.

Here, I learned a shocking fact.

My reflection in the stream was identical to Kyle's.

Are we monozygotic twins...?

However, when I looked closely, there was something different between Kyle and me.

Was it the expression? My face, made of the same material, couldn't reproduce Kyle's angelic smile.

Maybe my soul is tainting the material. I'm sorry... I'm sorry...

Everyone seemed to notice this difference. Even Elise and Irma, and Louis, didn't confuse us.

While I was struggling with this, the other two were excited about the new playground.

Although we weren't allowed to enter the water, they were enjoying their first water play.

I couldn't keep struggling with something I couldn't change.

I decided to join their water play.

It was a fun day.

There was one more fact I discovered during this time.

It was about Louis.

Because of our first encounter, I thought Louis was a boy, but in fact, she was a girl.

Louis was actually Louis.

Thinking about it, Louis had slightly thicker eyebrows, but her face was very well-proportioned.

She could be described as androgynous, but she looked more like a girl.

I noticed this when I accidentally saw her changing her diaper, but I quietly looked away and kept this misunderstanding to myself.

I didn't tell anyone, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Thus, we spent our days with many discoveries and surprises, mostly in happiness.