Two years had passed since I was born.
During those two years, I had learned how to live in this new world without drawing unnecessary attention to myself. I knew I wasn't like other children, but I had never needed to show it.
After all, I had the memories of a twenty-three-year-old man.
And yet, I had never felt the need to reject my new body or act like an adult trapped inside a child's body. I had simply become Ewen.
I played when I felt like it, laughed when something amused me, and enjoyed the time I spent with my family.
The only difference was that behind this perfectly natural behavior, I still retained the memories of my past life.
I knew how to speak properly.
I knew how to walk, run, and use my hands with enough ease for my age.
I also knew how to read, write, and count.
My parents were obviously impressed, but they didn't seem to find it concerning.
To them, I was simply a child who learned quickly.
I wasn't a genius.
I didn't have a perfect memory, and I didn't understand everything instantly.
I simply had one obvious advantage: I had already learned an enormous amount in my previous life.
That allowed me to absorb the knowledge I was taught quickly.
And above all, I already knew how to learn.
Over the course of those first two years, I had begun to understand the world I had been born into.
The first thing that stood out to me was, obviously, the absence of modern technology.
No cars.
No phones.
No electricity.
No computers.
Instead, people used much simpler tools.
Horses pulled carts.
Houses were built mostly from wood and stone.
Light came from lamps and candles.
At first, I felt as though I had gone back several centuries.
But that feeling quickly disappeared when I discovered something that had been impossible in my past life.
Magic.
It really existed.
And not just in stories.
The people of this world could actually manipulate certain natural forces with it.
I had begun to understand that by listening to my parents' conversations.
The world was also far larger than I had imagined.
There were several major continents.
Four major regions lay to the north, south, east, and west, and they were populated by different races.
Humans weren't the only inhabitants of this world.
There were also elves, beastmen, and many other peoples.
My family lived in the western part of the world, on a continent inhabited primarily by humans.
I didn't know its name yet.
I had never traveled far enough to need to know it.
There was also a territory called the Great Demon Continent.
My parents had mentioned its name several times, but they never lingered on the subject.
I simply knew that it existed.
And according to certain stories, creatures capable of killing a man with ease roamed its lands.
But more than the outside world, it was my family that I had learned to know.
My father's name was Kael.
He was twenty-five years old.
He was a swordsman.
I had already seen him train several times, and although I still didn't really understand his level, it was obvious that he knew how to wield a sword.
He was also very serious when he trained.
But the moment he came back into the house and saw me...
He became an idiot.
A complete idiot.
I didn't know exactly why he did it.
Maybe he thought I found it funny.
He made faces.
He spoke in ridiculous voices.
He pretended to lose his balance.
Once, he had even entered the room with a cooking pot on his head, pretending to be a legendary knight.
“ tremble before me! I am the terrible knight Kael!”
I stared at him in silence.
He waited a few seconds.
“...Ewen?”
I couldn't help laughing.
His face immediately lit up.
“He laughed!”
He turned to Mira with an extremely proud expression.
“Mira, did you see that?”
“Yes.”
“That was thanks to me.”
“Obviously.”
“See? Even you admit it.”
I looked at my father with a smile.
It was strange.
In my past life, I had never had that kind of relationship with anyone.
I had never had a father who could act like an idiot just to make me laugh.
And despite my twenty-three years of memories...
I liked it.
My mother's name was Mira.
She was twenty-five years old.
She was very different from my father.
Mira was calm, thoughtful, and possessed great wisdom.
She didn't just give me answers.
Whenever she taught me something, she always tried to explain why.
She was also the one primarily responsible for my education.
She taught me to read.
Then to write.
Then to count.
She also taught me the history of our region, about plants and animals, and various things about the world.
I had no trouble learning.
But I was careful not to seem too exceptional.
Sometimes I deliberately made small mistakes.
Not because I liked failing.
Simply because I didn't want my parents to start wondering why their child learned so quickly.
It was better to keep a low profile.
But there was one subject I had absolutely no desire to pretend about.
Magic.
Mira was a mage.
Her specialty was healing magic.
She had extensive knowledge of spells that could heal injuries, and she also knew about many medicinal plants.
But she had also mastered the basics of other forms of elemental magic.
She could use several different elements, even though she was particularly talented at healing magic.
I spent an enormous amount of time watching her.
Whenever I saw her cast a spell, I paid attention to every one of her movements.
I memorized the words she spoke.
I tried to understand the logic behind what she was doing.
But I had never tried to use magic myself.
I had no idea how my body would react.
And above all...
I wanted to learn properly.
Elma was also part of my everyday life.
She was twenty-seven years old.
Only two years older than Mira.
So she was nothing like the stern old maid one might imagine.
She was young, energetic, and very close to my parents.
She lived with us and took care of the house most of the time.
But she and Mira were also very close.
They talked regularly.
They teased each other.
They laughed together.
And whenever Kael did something stupid, Elma was often the first to make fun of him.
“You're impossible.”
“What did I do this time?”
“You just put your sword in backward.”
Kael looked at his weapon.
He remained silent for a few seconds.
“That was on purpose.”
Elma burst out laughing.
Mira simply shook her head.
And me...
I laughed with them.
This house had become my world.
A simple world.
A quiet world.
A world where I was finally beginning to feel at home.
I knew everyone's habits.
I knew when my father would come home.
I knew which plant my mother used to prepare certain remedies.
I knew when Elma prepared the meals.
And as time passed, I realized something I had never understood in my past life.
I didn't need to accomplish anything extraordinary to be happy.
I simply needed to live.
At two years old, I already knew almost every corner of the house.
Or so I thought.
One afternoon, while my parents were busy, I decided to explore a part of the house I had never been to before.
I pushed open a small door.
A staircase appeared.
I climbed slowly.
The smell of dust reached me.
When I opened the final door, I discovered a large, dark room.
An attic.
Crates were stacked against the walls.
Old furniture was covered with sheets.
And scattered throughout the mess were countless things whose origins I didn't know.
I began rummaging through them.
Then, after several minutes, I found something that immediately caught my attention.
Books.
I picked up the first one.
Then the second.
I blew on the cover to clear away the dust.
The letters were old, but I could read them.
Elemental Magic.
I stood perfectly still.
A smile slowly appeared on my face.
I might have just found something that would change my new life.
And without knowing it, I had just opened the first page of a story that was only beginning.