Chapter 1 – A New Life in a New World

I woke up again to find myself in the arms of the woman they call “Mother,” with the man they call “Father” staring at me with a strange look in his eyes.

As my vision cleared and I started to truly recognize the two faces looking down at me, a wave of emotion washed over my heart.

I think this is what they call “unconditional love”—the love of parents for their child and the love of a child for his parents.

I had felt something like this once before, toward my parents in my previous world, when I was very young… before I lost them in an accident.

Fortunately, I had been so young back then that I couldn’t even remember their faces, so the grief did not drag on for years.

Let’s say: no memories, no ghosts chasing me from the past.

Now… I’m actually grateful that they died before I came here.

What would’ve happened if I had simply vanished and never returned to them…?

Aaaaah, no.

Let’s not go down that road.

Focus on the life in front of you now…

“You know, little one, we decided to name you Ed… Ed Rosfield.”

Ed Rosfield?

Was there a character with that name in the story?

I don’t remember anyone calling that at all.

Is he new? Did I miss him somehow?

Why have I never heard that name before…?

Weird.

“Hurry up and grow strong so that I can teach you swordsmanship and the arts of combat.”

Yes, Father, I absolutely need that.

In a world as chaotic as this one, I’ll need every fighting skill I can get.

“As if I’d let you do whatever you want with my precious son.”

Mother, please…

This is not a world where motherly overprotectiveness is going to help, trust me.

Mothers are almost always driven by emotion and fear of anything that could hurt their children.

“I’ll teach him magic dueling and elemental compatibility.”

…Huh?

Who exactly are my parents, in the name of the gods?

“But swordsmanship and combat techniques are more effective when magic is weakened.”

(Hm, hm.) I nodded.

“But magical duelists are a fusion of both swordsmanship and magic. They’re incredibly rare.”

(Hm, hm.) I nodded again.

I could feel Father trying to hold his temper, and for a moment I had the impression that Mother was enjoying this a bit too much.

To be fair, if I had to give my own opinion…

Magical duelists really were extremely rare in the game, and it was hard enough to find someone with natural talent for magic, let alone someone who could also master the sword.

If you were born a magical duelist, it was considered nothing less than a gift straight from the gods.

“All right, all right… When he grows up, we’ll let him decide for himself. He might not even have the magical talent needed to be a magical duelist.”

Mother looked down at me with a warm, almost dreamy smile.

“He’ll be talented. He’s our son—he’ll have all the talent he needs to become the best.”

It was a bit embarrassing, but her words and the way she looked at me filled me with warmth and happiness.

Having someone trust you so completely—someone ready to encourage you no matter how little they know about your future—that’s… a wonderful feeling.

Maybe this world isn’t that bad after all.

**********

(Five years later)

After I grew a little, my parents decided it was time to start teaching me what they knew.

Father began by building up my body’s foundation, then slowly introduced the basics of swordsmanship.

Mother, on the other hand, had me try to sense the mana and the natural energy of this world.

Luckily, I inherited her perception of both, and once she confirmed that, she moved me into “vessel training”—strengthening my body so it could hold as much mana as possible.

She didn’t start teaching me magical dueling yet.

According to her, it was better to build a strong core first.

Once that was in place, learning magical dueling wouldn’t be that difficult for me.

That plan also fit perfectly with Father’s lessons in basic swordsmanship.

After a not-so-short while, my mind finally accepted that this was my new life, a life I’d been granted from scratch.

These were my parents now, the family I had to protect and cherish.

I managed to overcome many difficulties, despite our rural lifestyle.

At first, I assumed I’d been reborn into a simple countryside home…

But Father’s skill and Mother’s power quickly shattered that illusion.

They didn’t look like villagers at all.

Their abilities and instincts came from a much harsher, more refined environment—somewhere that had honed them into what they are now.

We lived in a wooden cabin on the outskirts of a small village, surrounded by open green plains.

I loved the life there—the calm, the warmth, the natural scenery all around us.

You could almost envy the peace of this place.

Which only made it more confusing.

How did two people this strong end up in such a simple and quiet environment?

There were no rampaging magical beasts nearby, no bandits, no obvious threats.

It felt like there had to be a story behind why they were here.

But it didn’t feel urgent enough to ask—yet.

For now, I focused on squeezing every bit of time I had into strengthening myself and preparing for what was to come.

From what I could tell after these five years, I was living in the period before the game’s main story officially started.

I hadn’t stepped into the core of the plot yet.

That was fortunate.

It meant I still had time to get ready, as much as I could.

“Dear… it seems someone has sent a messenger for you.”

Mother’s voice cut through my thoughts as she looked at Father, worry clouding her eyes.

I didn’t understand who had come or why she was this anxious.

But she was peering out the window, so I followed her gaze.

Outside, four knights were approaching, the emblem of some noble family I didn’t recognize painted on their breastplates.

In front of them walked a man in extravagant clothes—garments only worn by those who serve under a high-ranking noble house.

“Stay here with Ed. I’ll go see what they want.”

The same worried look settled over Father’s face, but his fear didn’t seem to be for himself.

He looked more concerned about Mother and me.

As much as their expressions made me uneasy, they also made me… happy.

To have parents like this in this world was something I didn’t want to lose.

Father stepped outside to meet them.

I tried to eavesdrop from the window, straining to catch their voices.

“Sir Adrian, how have you been?”

“I’m in good health, Marshal. What brings you all the way out here?”

I lifted myself just enough to peek out.

For some reason, they were trying to keep me hidden, though I didn’t know why.

From my vantage point, I could make out the man called Marshal: a narrow, tapered face, half-lidded eyes, his expression betraying nothing but indifference.

What is your relationship with my father…?

“Is my visit that unpleasant to you?”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. I’m just… surprised, that’s all.”

I could hear the nervousness in Father’s voice, and honestly, it annoyed me.

I didn’t like seeing him like this.

While I watched, Marshal’s gaze shifted, his eyes sliding toward where I was peeking.

A strange smile curled at the corner of his lips when he spotted me.

“I wonder… have you considered coming back and fixing what you ruined?”

“I ruined nothing. I simply decided to build a family away from my father, so I wouldn’t be a nuisance.”

Was Father from a noble family?

Then why was this man speaking to him with such arrogance?

“The Rosfield family’s greatest failure dares to talk about ‘building a family’?”

Father’s hand clenched into a fist, his jaw tightening.

Beside me, Mother’s grip on my shoulder grew tighter, as if she was barely holding herself back from leaping at them.

She wasn’t the only one who wanted to beat them senseless.

My father is not a failure or a burden.

He’s strong—very strong.

They’re the fools for not seeing it.

“Marshal, I left everything to you. Can you not just… leave me alone?”

Because our house was at the edge of the village, no one had noticed the unwelcome visit.

Had the villagers seen them, a crowd would have gathered, forcing these men to leave quickly.

But with no one around… they were taking their time.

Far too much time.

“Do you really think, Adrian, that we’d simply let trash like you wander freely outside the family’s lands?”

That’s enough.

“You should at least recognize the value of—”

“How dare you speak like that to the son of the head of the family, you worthless trash?”

Everyone froze, startled by my sudden interruption.

I had stepped right into the middle of their conversation and cut that bastard off mid-sentence.

I was truly angry.

Who did he think he was, talking to my father like that?

I hated it.

“And who might you be, little one?”

Marshal looked down at me with condescension, as if he was silently telling me to learn my place and stay in it.

That might have worked… if I didn’t already know who I was.

“I am Ed. Ed Rosfield, grandson of the head of House Rosfield.”

Marshal’s eyes widened slightly at the way I introduced myself.

That was the only proper answer to people like him.

You remind them of who you are, so they remember who they are in relation to you—no matter how much they try to forget.

He smiled again, sending a ripple of disgust down my spine, then quickly hid it and glanced at the knights.

“Go and prepare the carriage.”

Once they were out of earshot, he turned back to Father.

“I apologize, Sir Adrian, for my rude words earlier. I simply wanted to see what kind of metal your son was forged from.”

“Your words hit a sore spot, but I’ll forgive you, Marshal. You haven’t seemed like yourself lately.”

Marshal gave Father a small nod, and for the first time, genuine worry flickered across his face.

Chapter 1 – A New Life in a New World

“Your father and brothers have started a smear campaign against you. They’re spreading rumors that they kicked you out of the estate after you committed countless shameful acts I refuse to mention. They’re also claiming you’re frail, and that your weakness is what led you to those sins.”

Father laughed, then looked down at me with a calm smile and gently patted my head.

“Nothing new from my family. They won’t change, no matter how much time passes.”

Sadness clouded Marshal’s features.

Then he turned his gaze to me and gave me a soft smile of his own.

“Perhaps… there is still hope waiting outside the family walls.”

“All that matters to me is that my son grows up in a good environment, and that he builds his own name far away from my family’s poison.”

Marshal bowed his head slightly, almost in shame.

“I apologize for my weakness and my lack of power, Sir Adrian. But I will do whatever I can to help your son and your family. Please forgive me… I must take my leave now.”

Father nodded, and we watched in silence as Marshal climbed into his carriage and disappeared down the road.

“Ed.”

“Yes, Father?”

“Don’t be weak.”

There was a faint pain hidden in his voice, as if those words were directed as much at himself as they were at me.

I answered his advice with a bright, innocent smile and looked him straight in the eyes.

“Don’t worry, Father. I’ll make you and Mother proud of me, always. I’ll make your name echo above all of them.”

Father stared at me, stunned.

How could he not be, when his five-year-old son was saying something so heavy… and so resolute?

A moment passed, then a smile slowly spread across his face.

“Ah… I trust you.”

For a heartbeat, I felt like I’d given him a small ray of light—just a faint one, but it was there.