Chapter 8
It had been two months since Isabel left.
The first few days were fine.
No, they were actually nice.
There was no nagging every morning, nor any sighing whenever I sat down to eat.
But once I tried to get used to it, something felt strange.
It was too quiet.
"…Strange."
I muttered as I sat at the table, chewing on a potato.
It was definitely the life I had wanted.
A life where no one interfered with me, where I didn't have to worry about anyone else's reactions, and where I could do whatever I wanted.
But I feel a little empty.
In the tower, I had hardly ever lived in the same house with someone for this long.
Of course, I had comrades I fought alongside.
The leader and the old man. And my teammates had certainly been people I could entrust with my back, even at the risk of my life.
But family felt different.
I had no one who nagged me to eat, got angry because something was dangerous, or worried about me for no reason.
Maybe that's why the year I spent in this village had been more special than I expected.
At first, I had thought of it as merely a place to stay for a little while.
Because I had thought of this place as the tower.
It was somewhere to lie low until I could return.
"…How strange."
I chuckled to myself.
Anyway, enough reminiscing.
During the day, I helped with the village's work.
I tilled the potato fields and carried firewood.
I also did the housework in Isabel's place after she left.
Of course, Uncle Lawrence was much better at housework than I was.
"Rowoon."
"Yes?"
"That's not how you do the dishes."
"I'm doing my best."
"You look like you're fighting with the dishes."
"……"
This is unfair!
I was definitely trying hard.
In the first place, I had never washed dishes in my life.
Anyway, I headed into the forest whenever I had free time.
Of course, strictly speaking, I hadn't gone there willingly. I had been dragged there.
"Why is your body in such awful shape?!"
As soon as we arrived in the forest, the Extreme King looked me up and down and said that.
"I'm ten years old, though?"
"That's not the issue!"
"No, isn't it normal for a ten-year-old to be weak?"
"I'm saying that because you're not an ordinary ten-year-old!"
"Is that a compliment?"
"Not at all!"
At first, I was dumbfounded too.
For someone who was supposedly one of the strongest people in the world, all the Extreme King did was train a child's physical strength.
I didn't even need their help in the first place……
But the Extreme King was more serious than I expected.
"Your problem right now isn't strength."
The Extreme King said it firmly.
"You already have enough strength."
"…But the vessel containing it is far too weak."
I know, damn it.
That was the first thing I noticed after my body got younger.
My biggest problem wasn't Heaven-Slaying Star.
It was my body.
No matter how powerful you were, it meant nothing if you didn't have a body capable of withstanding that power.
So the ‘Beneficial Strengthening Project!’ the Extreme King and I came up with was simple.
It consisted of nothing more than the most basic fundamentals, like running and strength training.
I also practiced mana control from time to time.
"Where on earth did you learn that mana control……?"
One day, the Extreme King stopped training and looked genuinely curious.
"Heh… Do you want to know……?"
I deliberately lowered my voice as I spoke.
"Don't imitate me!"
"Ah."
I had made a mistake.
The Extreme King narrowed their eyes.
"Are you making fun of me right now?"
"No."
"Liar."
"No."
"Your expression is saying otherwise."
Damn it, they were perceptive only at times like this.
"Can't I just say I learned it in the future?"
"……"
The Extreme King faltered.
“Seriously?”
“No?”
"Are you joking?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"You're a strange one."
They were right.
I couldn't exactly say it was a method I had learned in the tower.
So I had no choice but to dress it up appropriately.
I learned it in the future.
To be honest, that wasn't completely false.
That future was already in the past for me.
The body that had once been out of breath after only a little running gradually became accustomed to it, and my small ten-year-old body began to change little by little.
It still couldn't be compared to the strength I had at my peak.
But at least it would reduce the chances of my body breaking down first when I used my power like I used to.
And.
Today.
At last, the day had come.
The day I would go where Isabel was.
The academy entrance exam was right around the corner.
***
"Rowoon."
A familiar voice came from in front of the house.
I set down the bag I was carrying and turned around.
Uncle Lawrence was standing there.
He looked no different from usual.
His worn work clothes, slightly stooped back, and hands roughened by farm work were the same as always.
"…Why are you looking at me like that?"
Uncle Lawrence asked, tilting his head.
"No."
After thinking for a moment, I answered honestly.
"Just."
"Just?"
"You look cooler than I expected, Uncle Lawrence."
"Pff—hahaha!"
Uncle Lawrence suddenly burst into loud laughter.
Why? Why was he laughing?
"What are you saying all of a sudden?"
"It's just true."
"Haha…. Sometimes, you say things that don't sound like they came from a ten-year-old."
“……”
I felt a twinge of guilt.
As expected, Uncle Lawrence had good instincts.
I turned my gaze away, pretending nothing was wrong.
"Anyway."
Uncle Lawrence stopped laughing and walked toward me.
Then he quietly placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Rowoon."
"Yes."
"Actually, I was a little surprised when you said you were going to the academy."
"Why?"
"How long has it been since we sent Isabel off?"
Uncle Lawrence let out a small sigh.
"Now that you're leaving too, what am I supposed to do here?"
"……"
"Are you telling me to eat alone in this house?"
"Then you can eat alone."
"Isn't that a little cold?"
"I'm joking."
I chuckled softly.
Uncle Lawrence chuckled too.
"Anyway."
He shook his head as he spoke.
"In the first place, you're not even old enough to qualify. I don't know how you plan to get in."
"I have a way."
When I answered confidently, Uncle Lawrence narrowed his eyes.
"Have you thought up another strange method?"
"No."
"Rowoon."
"Yes."
"Every time you talk, I get more anxious."
"……"
Anxious?
I had made what was, by my standards, a perfectly normal plan.
Of course, the plan did begin with exploiting the strongest person in the world.
Anyway, it was normal!
"Still."
Uncle Lawrence's expression softened a little.
"If it's really what you want to do, I won't stop you."
With those words, the atmosphere grew a little quieter.
"The academy… you're not going because you want to get stronger, are you?"
"……"
As expected, this man sometimes struck far too close to the mark.
I remained silent for a moment.
But soon, I shook my head.
"No."
"Then?"
"I'm just curious."
"Curious?"
"Yes."
I looked up at the sky.
The clouds were drifting slowly by.
"I'm curious about this thing called school, too."
"And about friends."
"And……"
I paused for a moment.
"What it's like to live an ordinary life."
Uncle Lawrence's expression changed ever so slightly.
It lasted for only the briefest moment.
But I saw it.
It was an emotion I couldn't identify precisely—whether it was sadness or pity.
However, that expression soon vanished, replaced by his usual warm smile.
"I see."
Uncle Lawrence slowly nodded.
"Then you should go."
"Huh?"
"It's what you want to do."
He placed a hand on top of my head.
-Pat.
His touch was rough, but careful.
"Rowoon."
"Yes."
"It's already been a year since I first met you."
I smiled faintly.
"It has."
"I still remember the first time I saw you."
Uncle Lawrence gazed into the distance.
"It was raining that day."
"A tiny little kid was lying collapsed in the forest."
He chuckled softly.
"To be honest, I was very worried at first. I wondered what that child could possibly have been through to have eyes like that."
For a moment, I couldn't say anything.
It felt strange that someone who had known nothing about me had looked at me that way back then.
"But."
Uncle Lawrence continued.
"That doesn't matter anymore."
"Whatever your past was."
"Wherever you came from."
He looked straight at me.
"What kind of person you are now matters more."
A brief silence passed.
Then Uncle Lawrence spoke quietly.
"Rowoon."
"Yes."
"You are my son."
"…"
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
"We aren't related by blood, but"
"we've eaten together,"
"slept in the same house,"
"laughed together, and spent time together."
Uncle Lawrence smiled brightly.
"Isn't that enough to make us family?"
One side of my chest ached strangely.
I never thought I'd hear words like that in my lifetime….
No one in the tower had ever called me family.
I had comrades, but our relationship had always been nothing more than one where we entrusted each other with our backs.
We fought together to survive and endured so that we could grow stronger.
Still……. The word family. It's pretty nice. Yeah.
"…Uncle."
"Hmm?"
I kept my mouth shut for a moment.
And then.
"That's so cheesy."
"……What?"
Uncle Lawrence's expression hardened.
"No, the mood was so good just now. Why did you suddenly have to ruin it?"
"No, it's just that you were being so serious……"
I looked away for no reason.
"It made me cringe a little hearing you say it."
"You little……"
Uncle Lawrence raised his hand, laughing incredulously.
"N-no! I'm just kidding!"
I hurriedly waved my hands.
I had no desire to get a knuckle tap.
Uncle Lawrence's hands had been toughened by farm work, so it really fucking hurt.
More than the Extreme King's knuckle tap.
"Still……"
I stopped joking and looked quietly at Uncle Lawrence.
"Uncle."
"Hmm?"
"I'll definitely come back."
Uncle Lawrence's eyes widened slightly.
He looked at me for a moment, as if those words were unexpected.
Then he slowly smiled.
"All right."
"I'll be waiting."
I didn't know it then.
That the ordinary farmer standing before me had once been an S-rank adventurer whose name had resounded throughout the entire empire.
And Lawrence didn't know, either.
That the small child standing before him had lived through a span of time far longer than he imagined.