♣Me, Age Four
THIS world, Wisty Air, consists of 50% humans, 40% demi-humans (beastmen, elves, dwarves, and other races), and 10% Mythical creatures, like dragons and fairies. It’s divided into three continents. The biggest and central one is populated by mankind. To the east is the Mythicals’ homeland, while to the west is the demi-humans’.
As such, each continent is colloquially named after the race that populates it. Of course, the continents have their native names, but unfortunately, I’ve never heard anyone actually use those.
Among the humans and demi-humans, only heroic adventurers dare brave the Mythical continent. There was once a peace treaty between the human and demi-human continents, which enabled prosperous trade between the two lands.
But that all ended a few years ago when a country within the human continent adopted radical, human supremacist ideas. They professed to everyone—the demi-human continent included—that mankind was the superior, chosen species, and began an armed conflict to uphold their skewed ideals.
It goes without saying that this pretty much screwed everything up for everyone involved. Of course, being a child, I didn’t quite understand things fully… But I did wish everyone could just get along.
“Tina, can you go get me some poteitos from the field?” Dad called out to me from the kitchen.
“Okay!” I replied.
I threw the dust cloth I used to wipe the window into a nearby bucket, which I then carried and placed next to the counter. I worked in a bar during my past life. I’d also worked part-time in a barbecue restaurant, so I was used to scrubbing windows whenever customer traffic was slim. So long as I had a chair to stand on, this kind of work was easy-peasy for my “current” self.
Putting the bucket in its place, I stood on my tiptoes and turned the front door’s knob with my fingertips. Then I leaned against the siderail, climbing down each step carefully, and hopped down the last one!
Our field was diagonally right of our “house.” It was surrounded by a fence to keep out animals. I opened the gate, which I could do even with my meager strength, and went to the back left of the fields to pull up some poteitos—a vegetable similar to potatoes.
Looking around the field, I spotted some ciarorots, oniuns, and cabbages (all the same as I remembered them), and also letapods (lettuce-like vegetables), totomos (which were like corn), and timates (basically tomatoes), among other vegetables.
I was used to vegetables growing according to the seasons in my world, but things were different here. Here, there were seeds you could plant, and they’d grow fully in a matter of days. I thought it was pretty strange, honestly.
“Ah, I forgot to ask how many he needed…” I muttered to myself.
Thinking back, I recalled our guests for today were a group of four adventurers. Two men and two women… And if both men eat about five poteitoes, I should probably take ten to make sure there’s enough and head back home.
Deciding to do that, I jumped and caught a small basket hanging on the fence and placed some newly harvested poteitos. It was a bit heavy, but pulling it along was half the fun!
“A-one, two… One, two…”
I carried the basket into the house and placed it in the kitchen. This was a lot of physical labor for a four-year-old girl, but I was surprisingly strong. So this much was fine.
“Dad!”
“Aah, thank you, Tina. Ooh, you sure picked a lot.” Dad said, lifting the basket up with his left hand.
This was my adoptive father, Marcus. Apparently, he was a pretty amazing person who once climbed up to the rank of vice-captain in the knights of De Marl. The era I lived in during my past life didn’t have knights, so I couldn’t quite compare it to anything I knew, but I could understand he was a really impressive man.
Dad picked up a poteito and gazed at it with satisfaction in his eyes, before gripping it with the fingers of his other…prosthetic hand.
“Yeah! There are a lot of guests today, so I figured I’d get a bunch of them so they have enough to eat!” I exclaimed.
“Good on you, Tina. Thanks for helping me out.”
Oh, no, don’t mention it! This is nothing! I mean, you’re giving me food and shelter here!
But that said, there was a party of four adventurers staying today, but our inn—the Rofola Lodge—had six guest rooms. They were all built as little cottages, with four rooms for four, one room for five, and another for six. And today’s guests split up into two groups of one man and one woman, taking up two of our rooms for four.
In other words…we had vacancies.
And I had to wonder why. The road from De Marl to the port country of Fei Lu was a straight path forward, and we were one of the few inns located along that highway. Even if one traveled by carriage, the Rofola Lodge has a stable, and it’s an excellent locale to stop for a night’s rest in… The view’s nice, and the food’s great…!
Probably… I think…
Behind our inn was Mount Rofola, and the cottages looked out on Lake Rhiode. Our area’s natural features blessed us with a bountiful supply of fresh food from both the lake and the mountain. And we cultivated vegetables in our field. So, food wasn’t the problem here…right? In which case, why weren’t we getting customers?
“Dad, can I go to the study?”
“Again…? I don’t mind, but…”
“Then I’ll be reading in the study! Tell me when it’s time for dinner, okay?!”
“Ah, just don’t touch the magic books, got it?!”
“I know!”
Had I been a typical four-year-old, I probably would’ve spent more time playing without a care in the world. I’d talk back to my parents and throw tantrums until I had my way. I’d get so absorbed in my playtime that I’d neglect my chores until my parents explicitly told me to do them. I’d probably be more…well, more of a kid.
But I still recalled my past life… And I clearly remembered this life since I’d been a newborn. And so, I couldn’t and wouldn’t act like a four-year-old.
I hopped up the steps to the second floor and opened the second door to the left. There I found a room full of piled-up books—my father’s study. I reached for a book I could reach at my height and pulled it out of the bookshelf.
I had to find out—I had to know what the “Mother” and “Father” who likely gave birth to me four years ago were trying to tell me.
Just what was the Stone of Daybreak?
The book I opened was full of names. Apparently, this wasn’t so much a book as it was a record of this inn’s history—of the many people who were patrons of this establishment.
Technically, this inn belonged to Dad’s parents. Last year, Grandma died… So while we were a family of four until then, we’re now a family of three.
Dad and Grandpa put their heads together to run this place, so I thought it’d be natural to repay that debt by doing my part around here! I couldn’t repay my mother from my past life for everything she had done for me, so now was my chance to fix that! The fact he wasn’t my biological father did bother me ever so slightly… But he still saved my life.
And that’s what I had to know. My real parents…and the Stone of Daybreak they mentioned. What did it all mean? What will become of me when it awakens?
I have to know…
If that power ended up being something bad, it could hurt Dad and Grandpa. And I hated the thought of that so much! I’d left my past life without repaying my mother for all she gave me, and that wasn’t the kind of person I wanted to be!
But even so, after another day spent in the study, I once again walked away with zero findings. Maybe I should ask Dad?
But it’s not normal for someone to remember things from when they were a baby, is it…?
In fact, the somewhat dubious statistic was that ten out of ten guests would raise their voice in surprise upon seeing me: “What, your four-year-old daughter is helping out with the inn? That’s amazing!” If I started acting even more suspiciously, it would end up hurting the inn’s reputation! I mean, if I saw a four-year-old help run an inn in my past life, my only reaction would be “Wow!” too.
But I was a grown woman on the inside, so I didn’t remember what being four was like. In fact, I couldn’t remember my name or how I looked before being reincarnated. Oddly enough, I could remember facts about my jobs and about Mom… I probably couldn’t forget due to those lingering regrets.
Out of my desire to repay Mom for everything, I decided to forgo college and instead looked for work. But I ended up overexerting myself and falling sick from exhaustion, only troubling her even more…