Chapter 2

A day passed, and so did a week. But no one could answer Ren’s doubts.

Before he knew it, he found himself being able to open his eyes, but the only thing he could ascertain with them was that he had in fact turned into a baby and that his room was shabby and run-down which allowed cold air to come through the gaps.

────Eventually, a little more than half a year passed since he started living that kind of life.

(I’m sure of it now. I’ve reincarnated in the world of The Legend of the Seven Heroes Ⅰ as Ren Ashton.)

Moreover, he could recently feel a new self emerging in him as Ren Ashton, different from the previous Shiina Ren.

In the early days of his new life as Ren, he even wanted to return to his former world, but in the last few weeks, he had stopped thinking about it.

(Let’s live without getting involved in troublesome things. I definitely don’t want the emperor ordering my subjugation.)

If he really was that Ren Ashton, he thought it would be okay as long as he took a path different from his game self.

Right when he decided to live a clean and proper life, a woman opened the door to his room and looked at him.

“Oh my, were you waiting for Mom?”

Her name was Mireille, Ren’s mother.

She was a woman with well-proportioned looks and characteristic dark-brown hair, the same as Ren.

According to the information Ren had gained in the past six months, she had just turned twenty-one.

“Come here, it’s time for dinner~”

She lifted Ren up in her arms and took off the upper part of her clothes.

In fact, for a few days after he had reincarnated as Ren, he felt aversion to being breastfed. After all, Mireille was around the same age as he was in his previous world, and on top of that, she was a married woman.

(Well…… I was unable to have any impure thoughts though.)

Perhaps he knew it by instinct that Mireille gave birth to him and that he couldn’t think of her any other way.

That’s why he decided to obey his appetite like usual, and after he had his fill, it was time for the after-meal break.

Since he couldn’t thank her with words, he gave her a big smile. Mireille smiled back in return and left the room.

(I’m bored.)

Ren had too much spare time.

Since he had the body of a baby, there was no meaningful way to spend that time and the most he could do was move slightly on top of the bed.

He had a firm consciousness unlike usual babies, so he didn’t know what to do with his spare time, making it grueling.

(There must be something I can do……)

He racked his brain for ideas but eventually reached the conclusion that he would have to spend the time doing nothing today as well.

However, a dozen minutes after he had resigned himself, the words “Summon Magic Sword” crossed his mind, renewing his mood.

(I didn’t try it before because I thought it could be dangerous, but I think it’s about time I do.)

When Ren had reincarnated into this world, he thought of instantly trying out that skill. However, there was a chance of the sword getting summoned above his head and falling on him, so he decided it was dangerous and it would be better to wait for his body to grow a little more.

Ren was still a baby, but he had grown to the point that not only could he move on top of the bed, but he could even crawl.

That’s why he thought that it would be okay to use the skill once.

(────But how do I use it.)

He didn’t know how to summon a magic sword.

In The Legend of the Seven Heroes, a menu opened when a specific button was pressed, and there, it was possible to use items on party members and even recover mana and stamina. However, no such buttons existed in real life.

And nothing happened even when he thought of the usual words “Status Open” in his mind.

“……Abua.”

Since Ren was a baby and still couldn’t speak properly, he felt dejected and started muttering “Summon Magic Sword, Summon Magic Sword, Summon Magic Sword” in his mind.

He kept doing it like a strong wish or a curse, hoping it would work, until────

“Aau?!”

A bracelet suddenly appeared in midair and fell on top of Ren’s lap, who was sitting on the bed.

It was a perfect fit for Ren’s still baby-sized arms, and it seemed to be crafted with silver with a crystal ball embedded in it.

(What is this────?!! No, wait, there’s something inside the crystal ball────!)

Ren felt a bit let down that it wasn’t a magic sword that got summoned, but when he picked up the bracelet to take a closer look, he could see some words floating inside the crystal ball.

On further examination, Ren was surprised to find that those words were similar to the “status screen” found in the game.

However, unlike in the game, there was no section for his current level, MP, and stamina.

They existed mainly for the players to know a character’s capabilities easily, so it might be correct to say that those things cannot be quantified.

(Magic Sword Summoning Art…… Is that a skill that comes together with Summon Magic Sword?)

There were similar instances in The Legend of the Seven Heroes.

For example, if someone chose the powerful job Guardian, they would have the skills Swordsmanship and White Magic right from the beginning.

(……If I’m not wrong, the proficiency level of the magic swords could be increased using mana stones.)

On the other hand, the proficiency level of Magic Sword Summoning Art could be increased by using the summoned magic swords.

The numbers 0/100 were most likely the measure of the current proficiency of the skill.

However, it seemed like nothing would happen even if the level of the Summon Magic Sword skill increased.

(And finally, I can unlock more magic swords by satisfying special conditions.)

The sole magic sword available to him from the beginning was the Wood Magic Sword, and currently, the Iron Magic Sword was the only one he could unlock.

But the effect of the Wood Magic Sword was the one that caught his eye.

(I believe Nature Magic was a skill that allowed the user to fight using plants.)

Ren recalled that there was an enemy who used that skill in The Legend of the Seven Heroes.

That enemy was an elf the protagonist ends up facing inside a forest. On top of having high physical abilities, that elf could produce plants using Nature Magic and restrict the movements of the protagonist and his party. Furthermore, that elf also used a different skill to control monsters, making him a troublesome enemy.

(The Nature Magic he used was strong for sure……but I’m a bit concerned about the ‘low’ written after it here.)

He thought it would be okay to assume that the Nature Magic he could use was weaker than normal.

(Might as well try it out. If I really want to live in peace, I should know how to fight monsters.)

He decided to do so and muttered “Wood Magic Sword…… Wood Magic Sword……” multiple times in his mind, but nothing seemed to happen.

Ren started feeling disheartened, but then his gaze fell on the bracelet in front of him.

He thought the skill Summon Magic Sword wouldn’t work unless he equipped the bracelet and brought his right arm close to it. Before he could do anything, the bracelet automatically equipped itself on his right arm.

Ren was shocked and when he muttered “Wood Magic Sword……” in his mind once again, a crack appeared in the empty space in front of him.

A wooden sword slowly emerged from that crack, as if being pulled out of its sheath.

The Wood Magic Sword fell on the crude bed with a thud, and when Ren took a closer look at it, his smile gradually faded.

(It’s so small……)

It wasn’t surprising, but the Wood Magic Sword was made up of wood, even if it was called a magic sword. Moreover, it seemed to be like a kitchen knife and not even a short sword due to its length.

(W-Well, it still has a low level……and I can also use Nature Magic, after all……)

Ren picked up the Wood Magic Sword still feeling a bit displeased.

Nevertheless, his body was feeling somewhat heavy and his head hurt since a while back. However, Ren thought it was just his imagination and moved his arm to swing the sword. Just when he did that────

(Gua……ah……)

The headache he had ignored as his imagination suddenly became severe. Since he was just a baby, he was unable to bear that incessant headache and lost consciousness.

The bracelet equipped on his right arm had also disappeared on its own.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Several weeks had passed since the day Ren had lost consciousness.

The trees he could see while sitting on his bed from the window had all shed their leaves.

Ren had first tried out “Summon Magic Sword” six months after his birth, so right now he was around seven to eight months old.

That also meant his birthday would be around April.

────Ren continued living like that while gradually growing up, until one day.

(I’m starting to understand how this works.)

He was holding the Wood Magic Sword he had summoned and felt satisfied.

Excluding the day after he had tried using his skill for the first time, Ren had been summoning the magic sword almost every day. The reason why he excluded that day was that he was afraid that the headache might strike again.

However, when he resolved himself and used the skill again, the headache wasn’t as painful as the first time. After that, every time he used that skill, he noticed that his weariness and headache gradually decreased, and now it was uncomparably lighter than before.

(I wonder if I lost consciousness because I ran out of mana.)

Even in The Legend of the Seven Heroes, if a character ran out of mana, their status would decrease temporarily.

Ren thought that he had fallen into that condition

(I’m sure that unlike in the game, this world doesn’t have the concept of levels. There’s no way to explain my growth otherwise.)

Let’s take attack power for example. It is actually the physical strength of a person and doesn’t depend on levels.

Although there are individual differences, stamina and other factors increase along with the growth of the body. Or like Ren, it might be possible to grow mana by exhausting it to the limits.

Physical strength would most likely be the same. In other words, it was important to put in the effort.

(At any rate, one of my plans went down the drain.)

If this world was exactly the same as the one in The Legend of the Seven Heroes, Ren knew of an efficient way to level up.

He was thinking of using it to have a peaceful life, but unfortunately, it seemed like that won’t be possible anymore.

(Guess I’ll have to work really hard.)

After reaching that conclusion, Ren sighed deeply. But then────

“Ren! Are you awake?”

The door to his room opened and a man with a good physique stepped in.

Before that man could see the bracelet and the magic sword, Ren wished for them to disappear in a panic and they did.

This method of unsummoning was something he recently found out about.

“Oh, you’re still looking outside? In that case, let your Dad show it to you from closer!”

As the man said, he was Ren’s father.

His name was Roy Ashton and he was a young man the same age as Mireille.

He had masculine facial features and looked a great match for Mireille.

Roy picked up Ren in his arms and when he caught him looking at his face, he flashed a refreshing smile with his white teeth peeking out.

“Have a look outside. This nameless village of ours is splendidly countrysiding as always.”

Roy, who had used “countryside” as a verb, opened the window and the slightly cold wind made his somewhat short, blond hair flutter.

(Yup. It’s the usual countryside.)

There wasn’t any mention of Ren Ashton’s hometown in The Legend of the Seven Heroes, but it was a countryside among countrysides in a remote region and the population of that small village was less than a hundred.

Several simple houses could be seen covering the rural area outside the window.

“You see that over there? That’s a forest.”

Roy pointed towards a huge forest densely packed with trees. It looked like an ordinary forest at a glance, but there was a huge boulder in the middle of it that greatly stood out.

“Dau?”

Ren pointed towards that boulder to which Roy replied, “That boulder is called the Blade Rock, and as you can see, it’s sharp and pointy like a sword. It would take around an hour and a half of walking to reach there after entering the forest.”

It looked as tall as a 10-story-building.

As Ren innocently continued to stare at the Blade Rock, a strong wind suddenly blew in and caressed his cheeks.

“But you shouldn’t forget this,” warned Roy. “Make sure to never enter that forest. The monsters around here might be weak, but they will attack as soon as they see you.”

Roy’s next words piqued Ren’s interest.

“Well, this village is getting by because they’re weak. We can get meat by defeating them, and even earn some money by selling the mana stones. That’s why we can manage even if I’m the only one who can fight.”

(That’s right! Mana stones!)

Rather than just increase his mana capacity by using Summon Magic Sword again and again, Ren remembered that there was one other thing he could do.

He had to use mana stones to increase the proficiency level.

(I wonder if he’ll show me any mana stones……)

While Ren was harboring such thoughts, Roy said, “Let’s have a walk outside” and left the room holding him in his arms.

It was Ren’s first time coming outside his room, and the house looked as shabby as his own room was.

The dark-brown wood used as flooring for the corridor was old, with the colors faded in some places. Even a single decorative item would’ve made a change, but Ren couldn’t even find a single piece of furnishing.

“Hmmm…… This house needs repairs soon……”

Roy said with a wry smile when the floorboard suddenly made a loud creak.

“I inherited this residence alongside knighthood from my father, but it seems like this house is at the end of its ropes. Well, I’ll think about repairing it if the village benefits from it. ────Remember this, Ren. Us poor knights have no leeway of money.”

As Roy mentioned, the Ashtons were a family of knights in charge of this remote village. Ren initially thought that knighthood was something given to only a single generation and couldn’t be inherited, but it seemed like that wasn’t the case in this world────no, in this country.

(But that’s not something you should be telling a baby, Dad.)

Eventually, Roy reached the end of the corridor and opened the door ahead of him.

“Mireille! Look who I brought!”

That door led to a kitchen, which was somewhat old-fashioned with a dirt floor covering half of the area and a door that lead outside.

“D-Dear?! Why did you suddenly bring Ren here?!”

Mireille was standing on the dirt floor next to a watering place made of stone and a small charcoal stove covered in soot.

“Well, you see, it looked like Ren wanted to see some mana stones, that’s why────”

“What are you doing, honestly! There’s no way that’s true!”

But Dad is right, muttered Ren in his mind.

Still not believing her husband’s words, Mireille sighed and turned a doubtful gaze toward him.

“Haah…… You’ve always been an idiot who has nothing but swords in his mind. Even in the past, you loved fighting monsters all the time and even enjoyed collecting mana stones. That’s probably why you have the weird idea that Ren also wants to look at mana stones.”

“W-Why don’t we confirm if it’s just my misunderstanding or not! Come on! Give me the mana stone of the one I just hunted this morning!”

“Sure, be my guest. I’ve finished dismantling it so do as you like.”

Hearing that, Roy handed Ren over to Mireille and headed towards a corner of the dirt floor.

In the corner, Ren could see a pelt still covered in mud with a translucent stone placed on top of it.

(I wonder if that’s a Little Boar’s pelt.)

Little Boar was the first monster the protagonist of The Legend of the Seven Heroes fought, and it closely resembled a wild boar.

“Ren, thanks to your Dad subjugating monsters, we can get money and even share meat with the villagers. That’s why Mom also respects him a lot…… But Ren, I don’t want you to turn into a boy who’s always looking at swords and mana stones, understood?”

He couldn’t promise her that.

That’s why he made a dry smile in return, but Mireille was happy with it nonetheless.

Soon, Roy returned in high spirits while holding the translucent stone Ren saw earlier.

“Have a look, Ren. This is a mana stone.”

Roy had Ren hold the mana stone. Looking at it closely, it seemed slightly greenish and would have the beauty of a gem if it were to be polished.

Ren was overjoyed looking at the mana stone he held with both his hands.

Mireille, who had doubted Roy’s words, looked at Ren in surprise but sighed at the same time.

“To think that after my husband, even my son is attached to mana stones……”

Even though she sighed, she couldn’t help but smile looking at him.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

────After some time, Roy took Ren back to his room.

Ren was happy that he would finally be able to raise the proficiency level using the mana stone he received from Roy in place of a toy.

He summoned the bracelet in high spirits.

(……Huh?)

But nothing happened.

He waited for a few seconds, then for a few minutes, but since there was no change, he couldn’t resist looking at the bracelet.

Inside it, he could see the words 「This mana stone cannot be used」.

(Don’t tell me……)

He could think of two reasons. The first was that he could only use the mana stones of monsters he had defeated himself. The other was that only the mana stones obtained from specific monsters would work.

However, the latter felt like the condition for acquiring new magic swords. So even if it was just an assumption, Ren decided that the condition to increase the proficiency level would be the former.

(……I see.)

If any mana stone would have worked, it would be possible to just buy them and increase the proficiency level.

To prevent that, the skill was designed in a way that only mana stones from monsters defeated by the person themselves would work.

(I won’t have it easy at all, huh……)

Ren reached that conclusion and lay down on the bed.

As he stared at the ceiling, his head was filled with misery like never before.