I opened my eyes and saw a room I didn't recognize. "Did I reincarnate again?"No.My last memory was my brother's face. He was laughing when he saw me falling. Then I used wind magic to try to soften the impact. Maybe it worked.
"Mom, Dad, he's awake!" I heard a girl shouting.When I turned, I saw her. She was beautiful, and her hair caught my attention. It was tied in a different style.
An elf entered the room. I was still lying down. I tried to sit up, but he moved faster and stopped me. His hand was firm, yet he touched me gently."Don't push yourself. Honestly, I'm very surprised at how quickly you're recovering. You fell from quite a height. You're lucky you weren't hurt worse."
His voice was gentle, comforting even. Maybe that's why I didn't ask where I was.
A human woman came in. She was also beautiful, her red hair flowing loose.The girl said they were her parents, though she'd inherited her father's blond hair.
"Do you remember your name?" the woman asked."Yes, I'm Lian Zord." When I said it, they looked at each other.
"Your family must be worried. I'll send for a messenger to let them know""No!" My voice came out louder than I intended. "I don't want my brother to know I survived."
They stared at me, so I explained what had happened, though I left out some parts. I wasn't sure why my brother had pushed me, but I believed he might have found out about my secret training. Maybe he had seen me use magic. That was the most likely explanation.
If that's really the reason, it's better to stay quiet about how I can use magic. I didn't know if these people would see me as a threat or something worse.
The woman looked at me with pity. The man did too, though he showed it less.The little girl hugged me. Her embrace was warm, and I liked it.
"What do you plan to do about it?" he asked seriously."I don't know. It's not like I'm not angry, but I don't want revenge, at least not right now. In my current state, I'd be killed easily," I said, unsure how to answer. "It's not like a child could beat a trained adult."
He stroked his chin and thought for a few minutes before nodding."That's a good answer, in a way. You're angry, but you don't seem blinded by the desire for revenge. That's a positive trait."
His wife kept looking at me, silent. I felt like she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words."Do you want to learn magic?" she asked suddenly.
I froze. I hadn't expected that."I'm still too young. I can't learn it yet.""Actually, you can. The books are wrong about a few things, like the age people can start manipulating mana. Since most people learn from those books, a few lies have been passed on as truths."
He paused while his wife brought a chair for him to sit down.He explained everything he knew, though only on the surface. He clearly understood how magic worked. Only at the end did he tell me his name. He was Silas, a mage and a magic teacher. His wife was Thalya, and their daughter was named Jasly.
I was pretty far from home. They didn't know my family, only the name. On paper, we were the owners of a nearby village. But still, I was far away. My brother had taken me to a very distant place. Silas had found me while hunting with a friend and saved me using healing magic, though it took me a few days to wake up.
The first lessons were easy. Silas explained things very clearly and helped me understand some ideas I couldn't grasp before. He was putting effort into teaching me, and I didn't know why. I didn't believe it was just because of my earlier answer.
As days went by, I started to understand more and got a little stronger. But in a fight, I'd still lose easily. I couldn't expect much from such a young and fragile body.
Silas taught at a school he ran himself. Besides magic, he taught kids and teenagers how to read, write, and do basic math. This kind of education was usually reserved for noble children, so seeing commoners learning it was interesting. In my world, education was unified, at least among demons. We were a cooperative race, more or less.
Humans always liked to exclude even their own kind, and this place was no different. Maybe, being an elf, Silas wanted to help others. Or maybe not. It could be his nationality; he came from a country whose name I'd forgotten. Or maybe he was just one of the rare decent people in the world.
Jasly was also studying magic. She was quite strong, at least compared to me, but she'd still lose a fight to an adult human.
I was getting used to the house and this new family, if I could call them that. I didn't know if they saw me as a burden, but they treated me well, and I tried to return the favor. I always helped with the chores. Eventually, it became second nature.
Thalya asked if I wanted to learn swordsmanship, and I accepted. She was strong, and her technique was incredible. If we fought when I was in my previous body, I might've ended up seriously injured. I could see how hard it was for her to hold back. What kind of monstrous strength did she have? And why wasn't she leading some army?
Maybe I'd never know, and I was okay with that, even if it bothered me a little.
Jasly didn't like sword fighting, so she didn't join the lessons. Thalya was an excellent teacher. She could easily fill a class with students. It was a shame Jasly wasn't interested.