A Place Called Home

Orange sky.

That was the first thing that made Ramdan realize his life was truly over.

Not temporarily over.

Not over in some dramatic romance kind of way.

But over—spiritually, emotionally, and administratively.

The sky above him burned a vivid orange, like a sunset that had forgotten how to turn into night. Thin clouds drifted lazily, while the air carried the scent of sandalwood, wildflowers, and something unfamiliar yet strangely real—mana.

Ramdan blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Still orange.

He went still.

Then slowly took a deep breath.

Then an even deeper one.

“Ya Gusti…”

Panic.

Confusion.

Fear.

And beneath it all—

hope.

His heart pounded.

No way.

But if this was real…

if this really was that world…

then there was only one possibility.

Nuswantara.

His favorite novel.

A world of magic, warriors, mages, spirits, ancient kingdoms, and all the chaos he’d only ever read about while lying down after overtime shifts.

His eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me…”

his inner voice trembled,

“I’m the main character?”

Rian.

The name surfaced instantly.

A legendary warrior.

A true MC.

A man whose life was packed with destiny, adventure, and beautiful women who somehow always appeared exactly when the plot needed them.

Ramdan nearly cried.

The fastest promotion in human history.

From QC staff to fantasy protagonist.

Before he could enjoy that happiness, a sound he absolutely hated rang inside his head.

Ding.

A translucent blue window appeared before him.

[Good morning, Ramdan. We hope your first day as a baby is enjoyable.]

His smile died.

Instantly.

“Ramdan?”

Two seconds of silence.

Then—

“Damn system.”

[Thank you for the warm welcome.]

“Answer fast. Who am I right now?”

[You are Ramdan.]

“That’s not what I mean. Whose body am I in?”

The system paused.

As if deliberately enjoying his suffering.

Then the answer came like a slap from HR.

[You are still Ramdan. Original soul. Original identity. Your fate… more or less still miserable.]

Silence.

Empty.

Still.

All his hopes collapsed like an audit report accidentally sent to the board of directors.

“So…”

his inner voice cracked,

“I’m not Rian?”

[Congratulations. You are finally using your brain correctly.]

Ramdan wanted to pass out again.

“So I got transported to another world, stayed myself, and I’m not even the main character?”

[Correct.]

“Then why was I born into the main character’s family?”

[Because this world has undergone a reality reset.]

Ramdan frowned.

“Explain.”

[The path of destiny has changed.]

[The main character still exists.]

[But the center of the story is no longer the same.]

His heart beat faster.

“So…”

[You are an anomaly.]

[The world chose you.]

Ramdan stared at the orange sky for a long time.

For the first time in his life—

something had truly chosen him.

Not a company.

Not HR.

Not an ex.

But fate itself.

And strangely…

it felt terrifying.

He swallowed.

“Can I get a refund?”

[No.]

“Can I resign?”

[Even less possible.]

“Can I pretend to die?”

[Feel free to try.]

“Damn demon system.”

In reality, baby Ramdan’s face kept shifting like someone possessed.

A beautiful woman holding him looked confused.

“Oh dear, what’s wrong with my child? Why does his face look like he just saw a siluman?”

Sinta Kusuma Dewi.

A legendary mage.

And now…

his mother.

Ramdan wanted to explain everything.

About being isekai’d.

About the system.

About interdimensional suffering.

What came out was—

“Uwegh…”

Sinta smiled, amused.

“So cute.”

No, Mom.

This is a tragedy.

The door opened.

A tall man entered with calm steps. Broad shoulders, sharp eyes, and an aura that made the room feel smaller.

Ranjana Segara.

A legendary warrior.

Now his father.

The man stared at Ramdan for a moment.

Then said flatly,

“He looks like you.”

Sinta snorted.

“Clearly not. He looks more like you.”

“That suspicious look is yours.”

“No. That’s the look of someone evaluating the quality of his life. That’s you.”

Ramdan felt offended.

“Damn it, am I that ugly in your eyes that you refuse to admit I look like your own child?!”

What came out was—

“Uweghh?!”

Ranjana stepped closer and lifted Ramdan with one hand like he was inspecting a chicken product.

Ramdan panicked.

“Sir, I’m human! Not an incoming material sample!”

All that came out—

“Bweh!”

Ranjana nodded seriously.

“Good lungs.”

“He’s my child, of course his lungs are good!” Sinta snapped.

“Good. That means no defects.”

Ramdan felt even more offended.

Sinta immediately took him back.

“Don’t talk like that about your own child.”

Ranjana gave a faint smile.

For a man like him, that was equivalent to an emotional hug.

Ramdan sighed inwardly.

Alright.

One thing was clear.

This was real.

And if this really was Nuswantara, then one thing mattered more than anything else—

information.

As a true QC staff member, living without data was a sin.

“System.”

Ding.

[Yes, oh human full of complaints.]

“Any special abilities?”

[Good. You finally asked something useful.]

A new window appeared.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Class : Mage

Subclass : Quality Controller

Starting Skill : Audit Eyes (Passive)

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ramdan stared at it.

“Seriously? Even in another world I’m still QC?”

[Even fate requires auditing.]

“…I hate how that makes sense.”

At that moment, the door opened again.

A young girl entered, carrying a small basin of warm water and a clean cloth.

And for a second, the world seemed to pause.

Light brown-blonde hair.

Round glasses.

A gentle face.

A soft aura.

And a smile dangerously lethal for a thirty-year-old single man.

Melati.

The household maid.

And a minor character from the novel who used to make Ramdan pause his reading just to admire her description.

Now she was real.

And far more beautiful than his imagination.

“Good morning, Young Master,” she said with a smile.

Ramdan forgot how to breathe.

With effort, he activated Audit Eyes.

Ding.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Target : Melati

Status : Emotionally unstable

Note : Recently cried

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ramdan froze.

He stared at her longer.

And now he noticed.

Her smile was too neat.

Her eyes slightly swollen.

And there was a thin layer of sadness carefully hidden.

Not a big wound.

A small one.

But one buried for far too long.

That hurt more.

Not long after, two servants outside whispered.

Not loud.

But clear enough.

“Now that Madam Sinta has her own child…”

“Yeah… maybe Melati will be moved.”

“Or sold again. Poor thing.”

The room suddenly felt cold.

Melati’s hands stopped.

Just for a moment.

But enough.

Ah.

So that was it.

Ramdan felt something tighten in his chest.

So this was her fear.

Not monsters.

Not war.

But something simple—

no longer being needed.

Melati was adopted.

A servant taken in out of pity.

And now, with the birth of a real child…

she feared she no longer had a place.

Damn.

This hurt more than dragons.

Ramdan wanted to speak.

To say something.

To explain that this house felt warm, that they weren’t like that.

But all that came out—

“Uwegh…”

Melati gave a small smile.

“Yes, Young Master…”

her voice soft,

“I hope so too.”

Sinta, who had been silent, finally spoke.

Her voice was calm.

Which made it more terrifying.

“You two.”

The servants outside froze.

“Come in.”

They entered, pale-faced.

Sinta looked at them without smiling.

“From today on, if you still think of Melati as something that can be moved around at will, then you are the ones who will leave this house.”

Silence.

No one dared reply.

The two servants bowed, apologized, and left.

Only Sinta, Ranjana, Melati, and the most emotional baby in the world remained.

Melati lowered her head.

Her hands trembled slightly.

“I-if Madam wants to move me… I’m fine. I understand. Now that Young Master is born…”

Sinta cut her off.

“Look at me.”

Melati slowly raised her face.

Her eyes were already red.

Sinta stepped closer.

Her hand gently stroked the girl’s head, like a mother comforting her child.

“Do you really think I only cared for you because I didn’t have a child back then?”

The words hit the room.

Melati bit her lip.

Tears fell.

“I… I’m just afraid… now that Young Master is here, I won’t have a place anymore…”

Sinta pulled her into an embrace.

Firm.

Certain.

A mother’s embrace.

“Foolish girl.”

Sinta’s voice trembled.

“I never bought a servant.”

She held her tighter.

“I accepted a family.”

Melati broke down.

Not a quiet cry.

But the cry of someone who had held it in for far too long.

“I don’t remember my family… I don’t remember where I came from… I’m just afraid of losing the only home I have…”

Sinta closed her eyes.

Then whispered softly,

“Then stop looking elsewhere.”

“Because your home is here.”

Ramdan fell silent.

For the first time since arriving in this world—

he truly felt something.

Warm.

Heavy.

And strangely… a little suffocating.

Because in his old world,

he wasn’t even sure his home ever felt like this.

Then Ranjana’s deep voice spoke.

He had been standing there the whole time.

His face still cold.

As always.

But his words hit the hardest.

“If I wanted to sell you, you wouldn’t have grown this much.”

Everyone turned.

Ranjana stepped forward.

His gaze steady.

“But I didn’t.”

“Because this house does not buy family.”

He stopped in front of Melati.

“This house accepts it.”

Silence.

And for the first time—

Melati cried like a child.

Not a servant.

Not a slave.

Not an outsider.

But a child who had finally been welcomed home.

She clung to Sinta, sobbing.

And even Ranjana, who usually felt like a living wall, slowly placed his hand on her head.

Awkward.

Stiff.

But sincere.

Ramdan felt something strange in his chest.

Ah.

So this was it.

This is what people call family.

Not about blood.

Not about names.

But a place where someone chooses you…

and keeps choosing you.

Ding.

Audit Eyes activated on its own.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Target : Melati

Status : Stable

Ancient Mana : Detected

Warning : Resonance increasing

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ramdan stared at it.

Then at Melati, still crying in Sinta’s arms.

The room suddenly felt warmer.

Too warm.

The glass on the table trembled.

The water in the basin rippled on its own.

The air grew heavy.

Melati slowly pulled away.

Her breathing uneven.

“I-I…”

Her hands began to glow faintly.

Ramdan’s eyes widened.

“Oh no.”

The system chimed.

Ding.

[Hidden mana awakening detected.]

[Brace yourself.]

Ramdan panicked.

“No no no—”

He looked at his parents.

Then screamed in his best baby language.

“UWEEEGHHH!! WATCH OUT!!”

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