Chapter 2 – The Fox’s Warning

Since the day Marshal came to visit us, Father and Mother had taken my training much more seriously.

They focused on me without rest, as if the entire weight of the world—and its future dangers—had suddenly become very real to them.

I’m sure the thought crossed their minds more than once:

One day, there will come a time when their son will no longer be by their side, and when that time comes, he’ll need to be ready for whatever threatens him.

And they wouldn’t be wrong.

This is not a world where the weak get to live in peace, no matter how calm and gentle it may look on the surface.

That face hides too much underneath.

Humans oppress the humanoids—beings who look like humans but possess various animal traits and abilities.

Because of their unique powers, humans decided they were a threat that must be suppressed.

Persecuting them and looking down on them became a “normal” social custom.

And humans aren’t the only ones.

Among the fae, high elves oppress regular elves.

They see themselves as the “true” original race, the chosen ones, and consider the elves to be nothing more than a distorted, impure branch, far removed from their noble root.

And that’s only one example among many.

This world was never rosy.

But it was realistic.

Painfully, brutally realistic…

Lost in thought, I swung the wooden sword Father had made for me—made light enough for a child my age to lift while still building my strength.

My small body was drenched in sweat, soaking my clothes.

Father stepped out of the house and walked toward me, his eyes sharp.

“Aren’t you tired yet, Ed?”

I stopped, wiped the sweat off my face and body, and gave him my brightest innocent smile.

“No, Father. I can still keep going.”

He might think I’m being impatient, and to be fair, no one would recommend training this hard at my age.

But there was something I hadn’t given enough thought to before.

I don’t know who I am supposed to be in this world.

I don’t know what the future holds for my family or me.

That uncertainty made me want to grow stronger as fast as possible.

I had no idea what was waiting for us down the line.

If this family truly existed before…

Why did neither they nor “Ed” ever appear in the game?

There’s a very real possibility that it’s because they all died before they had a chance to matter.

If that’s the case, then I have to be ready to prevent that from happening—no matter what it costs.

I’ve accepted that I’m part of this world now, and that this is my one and only family.

I will never accept losing this warmth.

I will not abandon them to some dark fate, no matter what happens.

Even if it costs me my life…

Though, ideally, I’d prefer not to die either.

“Why don’t you rest a little, and we can have a nice talk?”

“That’s fine. Let’s do that.”

I followed Father and sat down with him on the trunk of an old palm tree near our home, at the edge of the village, surrounded by endless green.

“Tell me, Ed. What do you want to achieve when you grow up?”

It was an early question to ask a five-year-old child.

But after what happened with Marshal, maybe Father sensed that my mind and soul were older than my body.

That was fine by me.

If it meant he’d rely on me, I’d accept it.

“I want to protect you and Mother. I want to become much stronger than I am now.”

I wasn’t lying.

I truly did want to protect them.

But to protect them, I’d also have to save the world from its destruction.

That part, I didn’t think I needed to tell him.

Who would ever imagine that this calm, stable world would end in ruins?

“Hahaha, do you see us as that weak, boy, that you think you have to protect us? Seems you don’t know who your parents are.”

“To be honest, Father, I really don’t know much.”

I looked up at him steadily.

“Who exactly is this Marshal? How does the son of the noble Rosfield family end up in a place like this? And who is Mother, to be that skilled?”

And I wasn’t even mentioning the fact that she was a powerful magical duelist—a rare specialization coveted by everyone.

What was someone like that doing in a quiet, distant village, cut off from the wider world?

If I could get any information out of him, maybe I could piece things together and find some clue to this family’s future.

“I can’t tell you much right now,” he said softly. “But I can tell you this: your mother was a hero. We decided to leave everything behind so we could build a home that could hold you… and warm your little heart.”

I couldn’t help but fall even more in love with them.

The more I spoke with my parents, the more I understood just how lucky I was.

Sometimes, I felt like I might end up envying myself.

“I want both of you to always be well, Father.”

“I won’t be happy if you get hurt trying to protect me. That’s why I need to become strong enough to stand beside you when something happens.”

I found myself smiling widely without realizing it, my heart filled with his earlier words.

I’d never had the chance to live a life with parents, to build warm memories with them.

But now…

I love them.

I really, truly love them.

“I hope you never lose that bright smile of yours, son. It’s like fuel that keeps me moving forward without stopping.”

And for me, Father, seeing both of you well is what lets me focus on moving forward, without fear…

“You two are just sitting here instead of training? Are you slacking off or what?”

Mother’s voice cut in, and Father shot her a look of exaggerated annoyance.

“Aren’t mothers supposed to care about letting their families rest?”

…Aren’t they?

I was beginning to doubt that.

“Training is training. But I’ll forgive you since you just finished lunch.”

Good grief.

Was she a battalion commander in some army in her past life?

“Thank you for your generosity, my lady.”

Father bowed his head playfully to show his “gratitude,” while she stood there with her chin held high as if she had truly bestowed great mercy upon him.

Terrifying.

“Ed, it’s time for my special lesson.”

I hopped off the tree trunk and stood in front of her, smiling.

“Right. Let’s do it.”

Father got up as well and told us he’d take a short walk to check on the neighboring forest.

He didn’t take a sword with him.

He firmly believed this area was safe.

After all, ever since the lands had been cleansed of magical beasts, no record had ever shown a new threat appearing near this place.

How could it, when the entire region was surrounded by powerful kingdoms?

Even though we were on the western edge of the Kingdom of Solis, this fertile plain was bordered on the far west by three of the strongest frontier kingdoms on the continent.

In short, there was “no way” anything could happen to this village or its people.

At least, that’s what all the books I’d read since coming to this world said.

I sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Mother, placed my hands on my knees, and closed my eyes, just as she had taught me.

“Now, breathe in and out, slowly. Imagine yourself as a vessel, drawing everything around you inside. Make it a greedy vessel that wants to devour everything near it.”

I focused on my breathing—deep inhales and slow exhales—while picturing my body as a container, sucking in everything around it.

With each inhale, I focused on gathering the energy around me.

Each exhale was a moment of release and relaxation.

I had learned a lot over the past months.

Those lessons had helped me reach this level of sensitivity to the energy around me.

Recently, I had even begun to sense larger “clusters” of light within that ambient energy—concentrated spheres far denser than anything around them.

But no matter what I did, I couldn’t draw them inside.

All they ever did was circle me, as if they were… inspecting me.

“I’m going to wash the rest of the dishes, so keep training. I won’t be long.”

I heard Mother’s footsteps fade into the background, but I paid them little mind.

Because that sphere had come again.

It hovered around me, just like before—but this time, something was different.

It circled me in agitated loops, almost as if something was chasing it. Or as if it were nervous.

I didn’t know what it meant.

All I cared about was somehow being able to absorb it.

That large mass of concentrated energy could save me countless hours of breathing exercises if I managed to claim it.

…Wait.

Was it changing shape?

The sphere…

It was starting to form a distinct outline.

“Ed…”

What was that?

Whose voice was that?

“Ed… can you hear me?”

“I can hear you! Who are you?”

“Ed, open your eyes.”

I did as the voice asked and opened my eyes.

Floating in front of me was a spiritual creature resembling a fox—white fur with faint black markings, its form shimmering like mist.

“Are you… a spirit?”

“Yes. But you must hurry, please.”

This was the first time it had ever spoken to me like this.

Its frantic movements and restless circling me made it clear that something was terribly wrong.

So I skipped all side questions and went straight to the point.

“Your father… is in danger.”

The words hit me like lightning straight through the heart.

Father!!

I have to save him.

I jumped to my feet without a second thought, grabbed Father’s heavy sword, and bolted toward the door.

I didn’t even ask where he was.

There was no time. I’d figure it out on the way.

The sword felt unexpectedly light in my hand, lighter than it ever had before.

But I didn’t stop to think about it.

All that mattered was getting there.

I rushed out of the house, speaking to the spirit as I ran toward the forest.

“Where is Father?”

“Keep going straight ahead. He’s facing a strong monster—one I’ve never seen here before.”

A monster?

How could something like that get into this land?

It should be impossible for it to enter here.

What is happening?!

“I felt a surge of power filling my body. Is that from you?”

“Yes. I shared some of my strengths with you. But your body won’t be able to handle it for long, so you must hurry.”

Right…

I have to hurry.

I have to save him.

I can’t lose my father.

He doesn’t deserve to die.

************

“Phew, there were more dishes than I thought… good thing I’m finally done.”

Ed’s growth has been so fast… and beautiful to watch.

I never imagined he’d learn to sense and absorb energy this quickly.

His talent is anything but ordinary.

Hahaha… seems he really did inherit his father’s ability to learn at a frightening speed.

I didn’t fall in love with that man for nothing.

Will Ed be able to do what we couldn’t?

As a mother, I hate the thought of exposing him to danger, but whether we like it or not, danger will circle him sooner or later.

So I have to make him strong as quickly as possible.

I want him to have a better life than ours—full of joy and warmth.

He is our precious boy, the one we had after so much struggle, who brought happiness into our lives we’d almost forgotten the taste of.

Yes. I have to push him forward.

“I’ll go encourage him a little, boost his morale…”

“How far have you—”

Mother’s words died in her throat.

She froze, eyes darting left and right.

“Ed…??”

************

Hurry… hurry… I have to get there quickly…

“Where is he now?”

“He’s right ahead of you—just beyond that tree.”

Father, please… be okay.

I pushed past the last tree and skidded to a stop, my eyes widening in horror.

No… please… no…

Father’s body lay on the ground, blood soaking his clothes and staining the grass beneath him.

It felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest and run away from this scene.

A pain I couldn’t describe clenched around it, squeezing tighter and tighter.

My eyes refused to blink, locked open in sheer shock.

Every memory, every moment I’d had with Father flashed before me in vivid detail—

His laughter.

His warm words.

His embraces and his training.

The way he always stood beside me, my unshakable support.

I couldn’t remember anything else.

There was only him.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to curse this world.

I wanted this nightmare to end.

I didn’t want him to die…

“F… Fa… Father, please… don’t die… I beg you…”

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