4. Five Years Old

《9 5 Years Old》

The weather has been much warmer lately, making it ideal for training.

However, it never snows on Terra, and the climate is pleasant all year round, with almost no seasonal changes.

When I grow up, I want to be an adventurer like Dan and Sarah, so I put a lot of effort into my training, but Sarah and Airi scold me for working too hard lately. Sarah and Airi sometimes scold me 『You’re working too hard lately!!』

On the contrary, Dan says, 『If you’re going to be an adventurer, I’d rather you do more than that!』 He said. And then Sarah’s lightning strikes him, and that’s the whole set.

And now I’m five years old.

There were no major events between the ages of three and five.

Sarah is still very sweet to me. Dan’s almost retired from adventuring, but he’s still going through the 『Annual Adventurer Card Renewal Procedure』.

Dan agrees with my decision to become an adventurer, and he gave me a sword as a gift the other day, though it wasn’t very expensive.

The occasional visitor, Galwin, is still as loud as ever, and Lisa, the elf, is still as beautiful as she is stunning.

Of course, Dan, Sarah, and Airi all have good looks, and I’ve seen my own face, and I think I’m going to be pretty good looking in the future. I think so.

One thing that troubles me is that both Sarah and Airi have always been very touchy-feely towards me, but I think it’s getting worse every year. And lately, even Lisa has been coming into the picture.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel happy at all.

I plan to become an adventurer in the future, so I went to the library a few times to research adventurers and their skills.

First, they said that the maximum skill level is 10.

However, it seems that few of them reach skill level 10.

Skill levels can be roughly divided into three categories: skill levels 1 and 2 are beginner level, 3 and 4 are full-fledged level, and 5 and 6 are called expert level.

Then 7 is the master class, 8 is the legendary class, 9 is the extravagant class, and finally 10 is the divine class.

But of course, reaching skill level 10 does not mean that you will become a god. They say that one would become so powerful that one can be mistaken for a god.

As for adventurers, they can register at the 『Adventurers’ Guild』 from the age of 15.

Adventurers receive requests commensurate with their rank, and are rewarded for fulfilling them.

Some adventurers make money by defeating demons in 『dungeons』 without accepting requests, and then selling the body parts, materials, and magic stones they obtain.

There are nine ranks of adventurers, starting with the highest EX: S, A, B, C, D, E, F, and G ranks. It seems that the first rank to be recognized as full-fledged is D.

Dungeons are labyrinths that naturally form in places where the magical element is thick, and there are opportunities to obtain various items and weapons.

The magical element is the magical power floating in the air. When a dungeon is created, it is said to be infinitely filled with demons due to the influence of the demon element.

However, no demons will come out of the dungeon unless a 『stampede』 occurs.

Stampede refers to the phenomenon of demons flooding out of a dungeon.

It seems that this can be prevented by removing the 『Dungeon Core』, which is located at the bottom of the dungeon. It is said that demons will not be able to get out of the dungeon if it is removed.

Also, it seems that dungeons that have had their dungeon cores removed are treated as having been conquered.

For those reasons, when you conquer a dungeon, you may be rewarded for clearing it from a city close to it.

However, the last stampede that occurred was 120 years ago. Since then, they have been constantly thinning out the demons in most dungeons, so stampede almost never happens anymore.

My status has grown quite a bit thanks to my skills, but I just can’t get my level up.

This is because when one defeats a demon, the magic power leaks out of the demon’s core and turns into magical elements.

Sadly, I’m only five years old, so of course they can’t take me out to kill demons.

That’s why my level hasn’t increased, but my skills have increased a lot.

The status plate as it was before was just too hard to see, so I wanted to change the placement, and that was immediately reflected.

Also, before, I had only been able to conceal three skills. However, since my level of 〈Concealment〉 is now quite high and someone might appraise me somewhere without my knowledge, I always keep all my status and skills 〈concealed〉.

Name: Louis
Gender: Male Race: Human
Level: 1 (Status and skills are being hidden) Title: Heaven sent child of creation
ＨＰ：3150／3150 ＭＰ：12225／12225
Strength: 450 Resistance: 450 Agility: 552 Dexterity: 421 Magic: 660 Spirit: 1630

Skills

【Special Skills】
Creation Lv4・Status Enhancement Lv5・Accelerated Skill Growth Lv3

【Weapon Skills】
Swordsmanship Lv4・Shield Art Lv3・Axe Art Lv3・Martial Arts Lv7・Airwalk Lv2

【Physical Skills】
Body Strengthening Lv4・Raise Maximum HP Lv2・Accelerated HP Recovery Lv4

【Magic Skills】
Light Magic Lv3・Dark Magic Lv1・Fire Magic Lv4・Water Magic Lv4・Wind Magic Lv3・Earth Magic Lv4・Lightning Magic Lv3・Gravity Magic Lv3・Space-time Magic Lv2・Raise Maximum MP Lv5・Accelerated MP Recovery Lv4・Magic Power Manipulation Lv2・MP Pool Lv5

【Others】
Appraisal Lv4・Concealment Lv8・Service Lv2・All Language Comprehension・Life Magic

【Airwalk】
I can create a foothold on my toes as I step into the air. Effect duration is skill level × 1 second.

I can use 〈Airwalk〉 even when I’m in the air, but every time I do, I need to devote my thoughts to using the skill, so I realize that it is better to have a higher skill level.

When today’s training was over, Airi, who had been watching me, came up to me.

「Thank you for your hard work, Louis-sama」

Her words of encouragement made me happy, and I smiled and said thank you.

「Thank you, Airi. However, you still call me Louis-sama no matter how many times I ask.」
「Yes, because that’s what I’m proud of as a maid.」

I’ve been with this girl for so long that in some ways I already feel like she’s my sister.

That’s why I’ve asked her several times to stop using 『sama』, but she just can’t seem to budge on that part.

Airi seemed to have noticed what I was thinking, and after a happy look, she reacted by saying that she would be troubled.

――and then Sarah’s soft voice arrives with the wind.

「Hey, Louis! Airi, dinner’s ready, let’s eat!」

It seems that Sarah made dinner today, which is unusual for her.

I can’t say that the food made by Airi, who has the 〈Service〉 skill, is better.

When I mentioned it to her before, she burst into tears. …… I apologized a lot at that time.

Thus, except for the training, the days passed happily and peacefully.

《10 Disintegration of Peaceful Daily Life ~Part 1~》

「Hey, I told you, Sarah, don’t leave the house for a while! I told you to just leave the shopping to Airi or me!」

「I’ve heard that line so many times, Dan. I won’t be convinced unless you tell me why, okayー?」

I ―― Dan – strongly persuaded Sarah, but she glared at me with a look of “I’ll never be convinced!”

「I can’t tell you why right now, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to. ……」

I finally muttered helplessly, feeling bitter that I couldn’t say why.

「That’s all you ever do, isn’t it? Dan and I have never had to hide anything from you!」

Sarah has taken the attitude that she has nothing more to say to me.

Then, without even hiding her grumpy face, she walked into her room.

I gazed at her back, feeling sad.

Her and I have been together for quite a long time. That’s why I said it the way I did, because I know Sarah’s personality.

She is basically kind and calm, but when she is really angry, she doesn’t listen even if you stop her, but rushes to the cause of the anger.

As for me, I just couldn’t say why, because that would be dangerous in the current situation.

I still hadn’t found a solution to my problem, and I spent my days arguing with Sarah.

◇ ◇ ◇

――This was three days ago.

Both Galwin and Lisa had left Dallas a while ago, having been asked to go away.

So lately I’ve been taking requests solo, or with Sarah’s help on rare occasions.

And today, as usual, I came to the Adventurer’s Guild to accept a request.

Now that I’m solo, should I look for a nearby request?

I looked carefully at the request form on the request board, thinking to myself.

Then the receptionist I’ve been seeing lately came over to talk to me.

I think she’s probably a new receptionist. It’s easy to tell if you’re new if you’ve been to the guild.

Some of the receptionists have been transferred from other cities, but these girls are easy to identify because they are used to the business when you see them.

I had seen this receptionist for the first time a few days ago, and I remembered that she had been fumbling with her duties.

「Excuse me, may I speak with Dan-sama, the A rank adventurer?」

I was suddenly spoken to, and after looking at the receptionist with a dubious look on my face, I nodded and said, 「Oh, yes」.

I was then asked to go straight to the guild’s consultation room. I followed the receptionist and entered the consultation room.

「Sorry for calling out to you so suddenly, my name is Kara, and I’m the guild receptionist. Please take a seat on the sofa first.」

I was surprised at the sophistication of the greeting gesture of the receptionist, who introduced herself as Kara, but I tried not to let it show on my face and sat down on the couch.

But I could see that Kara didn’t look sorry at all.

「I’m going to get right to the point. Alfred von Windsor, the eldest son of the Earl Pierre von Windsor, the lord of this city, has some business with Dan-sama and would like to see him.」

I’ve never met the Earl of Windsor, but from what I’ve gathered from the rumors around town, he’s neither arrogant nor a great ruler; he’s neither good nor bad.

On the contrary, Alfred, the eldest son, is known to be rough and arrogant.

Since Alfred’s name was mentioned, I had a bad feeling about it.

However, I still didn’t know what Alfred wanted, so I pretended to be calm and urged the receptionist to continue the conversation.

「He didn’t tell me the details of his errand, only that he wanted me to inform Dan-sama of the meeting place and date.」
「Does that mean Alfred-sama has asked you to do this?」
「No, I’ve not been asked as a nomination through the guild.」

Kara answered my question as if it had been a predetermined answer all along.

The Guild is an organization that is independent of each country and is basically unaffected by the country, but I, on the other hand, am inevitably affected by it since I live here in Dallas.

There are more than a few people who get into trouble with the nobility and are ordered to leave and get kicked out of towns and cities.

There are times when I am called upon by a nobleman as a nomination request.

This time, however, it was not a request for nomination, she assured me. I have no idea at this point if this is a matter of consultation or if I’m going to get into some kind of trouble.

I had a really bad feeling about this, but I reluctantly agreed to do it because I knew it was inevitable.

「I heard that Alfred will be at the 『Coffee Shop Sidria』 in front of the fountain near the guild from 12:00 to 16:00 for three days starting today, so please come on a day that fits your schedule. If you ask the staff at the restaurant, they will show you to Alfred-sama’s seat.」

Kara told me that was the end of her business and I decided to leave the room.

I looked at the clock in the guild and saw that it was only about 14:00, so I headed to the coffee shop Sidria. I couldn’t hide my restlessness on the road, and my steps were heavy.

I arrived at the restaurant and called out to the staff, who showed me to my seat.

I greeted Alfred and obeyed his request to take a seat.

Behind him were three knights in full plate and a steward as his guards.

As I sat down, Alfred opened his mouth in an arrogant manner.

「You see, about a month ago, there was a woman on the street who happened to be in my line of sight. I checked her out and found out that her name is Sarah and she is your mate. I’ll make her my wife, so be grateful. Now I’ll give you a gift of five white gold coins. It’s better for you if you don’t say no, okay? If you refuse, it’ll make it harder for you to live in this city.」

At first I couldn’t understand what he was talking about.

Gradually, as I began to understand its meaning, I felt an inexplicable anger rising in me.

I unconsciously became emotional and lifted my hips to punch Alfred, but I calmed down a little when I recognized the guard behind me with his hand on his sword.

I sat back in my chair and put on a composed demeanor, but unconsciously I could feel my cheeks twitching.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was a bit noisy and the other customers started to pay attention to us.

I took a deep breath and then told myself to be as calm and collected as possible.

He’s a nobleman, after all, and if I don’t speak to him politely, he’ll make it difficult for me.

「Alfred, Sarah has been my companion for a long time, and it is impossible for me to give her to someone else for money. We also have a child, and a child needs his mother, Sarah.」

There were rumors that Alfred had been spoiled by his parents and had gotten everything he ever wanted. …… Is he exactly what they say he is?

The man in front of me looks dumbfounded for a moment, as if he didn’t think I would say no.

However, he soon seemed to regain his composure and opened his mouth.

「You’d better nod while I’m being nice. If you refuse, not only will it be harder for you to live in this town, but you might lose your child before you know it, right? Now I just hope they don’t throw you in jail for some reason. You can’t even think about leaving town. I’ve told the guards in this city to keep you and your family from leaving the city until I have Sarah.」

Now he’s threatening us!

But is this man planning to make enemies of the Adventurer’s Guild?

「If you used the receptionist of the Adventurer’s Guild to summon me to talk about this, you won’t get off scot-free either, will you?」
「It’s not a problem then, Kara was a maid in the Count’s household until recently, right? I’ve already told her to quit the Adventurer’s Guild as soon as she passes on the message, so it’s just between you and her. Appealing to the guild would probably only make the receptionist’s appraisal a little tougher.」

Alfred starts giggling triumphantly. I couldn’t stop myself from getting irritated by it.

You piece of shit! You want me to kill you?

No, I don’t know how far Alfred has been spreading this around, but if I killed the lord’s eldest son in my current state, I’d be caught in a heartbeat.

And if we kill this guy, the lord is going to take revenge on us. If that happens, Sarah and Louis might be harmed.

Is there anything I can do to help?

As I pondered, Alfred opened his mouth further.

「I’m afraid you’re not going to give me a prompt answer here, are you? I’ll give you a week to decide. You never know what might happen past that, do you?」

Alfred said this last and left the store, protected by his guards.

I clenched my fists so hard in anger that before I knew it, blood was pouring out of my hands.

But I felt no pain, too much anger for …… me to feel, and I just glared at the scum’s back as I left.

《11 Disintegration of Peaceful Daily Life ~Part 2~》

Lately, my father, Dan, and my mother, Sarah, have been having more and more unusual arguments.

I don’t know what they’re arguing about, and when I show up at the argument, they both act like they’re trying to fix it, 「Louis, what’s wrong?」 Both of them acted as if they were trying to fix things. I don’t think they want me to hear what they are saying to each other, and I don’t think they will probably tell me.

That’s why the air in the house is so tense. Airi didn’t know what was going on either, and she was having a hard time talking to Dan and Sarah.

Yesterday, Sarah was locked in her room.

When I talked to Dan, he told me that the two of them had argued yesterday and that’s what happened.

Is the air still tense today? I wondered, but there was nothing I could do about it, so I stopped thinking about it for the moment.

Afterwards, I went out to the garden to train and suddenly noticed that the whole city was getting noisier.

Dan has been home every day for the past few days, so we stopped training and went back inside.

「Dad, Mom, there’s something going on in the city, can I go check it out?」
「No, it’s not safe! I’ll go check it out. I’m sorry, but of course Sarah can’t go check it out too. I need you to stay home today.」

Sarah didn’t say anything and looked in a bad mood. Airi was looking at Sarah with a troubled expression on her face.

「In the meantime, when you’re ready, I’ll go take a look and see …….」
「Oi!!! Dan, Sarah, are you there?!」

I heard a loud voice over Dan’s words.

I looked in the direction of the voice and saw the door open with a bang and Galwin and Lisa walk into the house.

They seemed to have come in such a hurry that they were sweating like crazy. But it doesn’t matter, Galwin says quickly, even though he’s out of breath.

「Haa,haaa…… a stampede is about to begin!!!」

With that one word from him, silence reigned in the house.