A week after William asked me to teach him how to release mana, the two of us continued training in our backyard.

The only bad part of this training is that I have to crawl back and forth. I hope I can walk as soon as possible...

Today, it looks like something special is going to happen.

My parents are way more agitated and excited than usual.

I saw them saying something about the princess of the Kingdom of Legorio; I think it has to do with her.

The Kingdom of Legório is close to our village, so much so that you can go there just by walking. Just walk forward and you'll arrive.

Later, while I'm reading a textbook to help me learn the Clyfern language at the office, Hera suddenly appears and scoops me up.

"Come on, Light. We have a birthday to go to." She says as she carries me out of the house.

Now it makes sense. It must be the princess's birthday.

She attaches a cloth to me and her body that serves as a baby carrier, similar to a sling.

Hera wears a long wine dress.

Richard wears a white shirt with a leather vest tied together by ropes. His pants are beige, and he wears black boots.

William is also being carried, but by Richard.

The sun is already setting; we will probably get there at night.

We pass through the village, and some villagers follow us. I even think I saw a child my age.

During our walk, I get to see the school that all the children in the village attend. A small school made of stones, with large windows close to the roof.

So far, I haven't had the opportunity to meet any neighbors; in fact, this must be the first time I've left the village!

I spend most of my time reading and releasing mana, so I forgot that there's still a whole world for me to discover...

Some people come up to me while we're walking.

You know how it is when people want to make a baby laugh.

They made faces and tickled me...

Interestingly, neither William nor I showed any reaction...

The sun finishes setting, and the moon starts to become more apparent.

In the distance, the small kingdom of Legorio can already be seen.

Yellow lights emanating from the buildings that fill the realm slowly begin to light up.

The stars in the sky begin to appear and take over the sky. The night has so many stars that it seems to be a living painting before my eyes.

There are so many constellations that counting one by one is like counting grains of sand.

Finally, we arrived at the entrance to the kingdom.

A huge wall surrounds the entire site. Two huge wooden gates are open, leaving the passage free.

On either side of the gate, a few guards stand watch.

The floor is made of rough stone blocks.

Passing through the gate, each resident who accompanied us here goes to a different direction.

Looking ahead, I see several taverns, bars, hotels, and restaurants.

All of them with an architecture very similar to the European architecture of my old life. They bear much resemblance to the Baroque and Gothic styles.

Some buildings are taller but smaller in circumference. The houses are made of different materials from each other.

Some are made entirely of stone, while others are made of wood. Certain buildings are made of mud bricks.

Hera follows in a straight line. Passing some houses and going up small slopes, I see in the distance an open space with tents and some people around.

In these tents, some counters with food on top are placed for anyone to take.

The place is quite busy. People drinking and eating, bards playing, kids running around—this is a real party!

My mother approaches a stall and takes out a skewer of meat and vegetables.

Some knights stand guard in their shining armor and helmets.

And in front of me stands the greatest building in the kingdom: the king's castle.

The castle has high iron fences on all sides, with the entrance guarded by guards. A garden surrounds the entire area inside, with flowers and shrubs.

The building has a large tower in the center, while the rest of the building is lower. Smaller turrets focus on each vertex of the castle area.

The tower has a triangular roof, and you can see a balcony that certainly has a view of the entire horizon.

That's probably where the king's bedroom is.

Suddenly, some people start muttering almost in unison. They all look out onto the balcony of the larger tower.

And then, the balcony door opens.

Almost immediately, people from all sides start to get in front of me.

I can not see anything!

Get out of the way!

I look at Hera, and she is looking at the balcony upstairs.

She manages a smile as her eyes sparkle.

The crowd claps and whistles toward the porch.

The princess must be there...

Well, this time I won't get to see it.

Slowly, all the people start to go back to what they were doing.

Taking a closer look at the location, some tents are also for fun.

I see a tent with a target in the distance, while a bow and arrow sit on top of a table.

Some adults are shooting. I wonder what kind of award they should get...

There are also a few card tables with a few people playing!

I'm a big fan of card games, and I hope one day I can learn this game.

Suddenly, beams of light appear from different parts of the kingdom and advance across the sky at different points.

People around me admire these lights that go up to the sky.

When the lights reach a high point, they explode into a beautiful fiery red!

It's almost like fireworks...

The fires take over the sky with their brightness and noise. They explode at almost the same moment.

Fire particles hover in the air and slowly disappear.

It must probably be fire magic.

That's what I call a birthday investment!

The king spared no expense in celebrating!

After a few hours of pacing back and forth on my mother's lap, we all headed home for a walk again.

I'm fed up... I ate too much...

Various types of cheese, roasted vegetables, roast meat, oatmeal crackers, and, to finish off, a piece of fruit pie...

I'm going to need to burn some calories tomorrow. But I'm in the growth phase, so I don't think it should be a problem in the short term.

A month after that happened, I'm still trying to release my mana with William.

I also learned to walk.

I had already forgotten how it felt to walk on two feet...

I still have difficulty standing up and walking without tripping, but it's already a step forward!

I have no idea what age babies start to walk normally, but from my prior knowledge, I must be well ahead of other children.

"Light, William, let's go to lunch." My father calls me from a distance.

I open my eyes and see the glare of the midday sun illuminating everything in front of me. Beside me, William gets up and walks into the house.

Richard comes towards me.

Looking at our house, it is quite large and has a wide triangular roof made of bricks.

The house is made of mud bricks, and, looking to my left, the office window is visible.

Richard lifts me up, and I walk with my legs as I take his hand.

Entering the house and heading to the kitchen, I am placed in the biggest chair by Hera. She sits next to me.

On the table, two bowls of vegetable soup are placed.

Richard places William in the chair and sits at the table.

"Be careful, because it's hot." Richard alerts.

During the meal, a question comes to my mind: What is my full name?

I know my name is Light, but I don't know my last name. I should ask them.

Wait, do they know I already speak??

"Hm...Mom?" I say embarrassed.

Hera widens her eyes. It must be a shock to see her son speak for the first time...

"Did you hear that, dear!?" She looks at Richard.

I look at dad and he is shocked.

"The first words..." Richard starts to cry...

I look at William, and he doesn't seem to care much. Well, he already knew I spoke, so it shouldn't be too big of a surprise.

"Our son is so smart..." Hera starts to cry too...

Hey, watch out; I'm not the favorite son! What would William think about that!?

After that happened, another month passed, and now we are halfway through the year, in the sixth month of Junlume.

I finally figured out my full name: Light Rods.

I thought it would be a more elegant name, but that's not so bad.

With the arrival of this month, winter also arrived.

The cold is intense, and the snow buries all apparent grass. But still, the sun keeps shining.

The trees dry up, and their leaves fall onto the bright white snow.

My nose feels like it's going to freeze from so much cold. I don't know if it's just my freshness, or it's freezing...

I keep training outside, even with the weather like this.

I had to change clothes to withstand the freezing weather.

I wear a brown wool coat, with a hat that protects my head from the cold. Still, I wear a coffee-colored robe that goes down to my belly.

On my hands, I put on gloves that are made of leather on the outside and wool on the inside.

On my legs, I wear 2 pants made of linen, one under the other. On my feet, I wear two large socks that go down to my shins. Normally I walk barefoot, but in this cold, there's no way!

In order not to have to sit in the freezing snow to release my mana, I place a mat underneath me.

That's how I'm training in the winter.