A few days had passed since I’d successfully reincarnated. I’d managed to avoid getting involved in any large incidents, which allowed me to pass the days enjoyably. I ate breakfast with Lilith in the mornings and spent my afternoons in the library studying magecraft, only taking a short break for the lunches that Lilith prepared for me in advance.
My days were pretty much spent holed up in the library studying while waiting for Lilith to come back. It honestly didn’t feel too different from waiting two hundred years to reincarnate. I had a whole list of things I should’ve been taking care of, but...well, there was something in the latter half of the afternoon that I couldn’t avoid.
I heard a proud laugh. “Be grateful. I’ve returned, Pleb Eyes!”
The door burst open, and standing there was the younger of the two spoiled noble brats with his dirty blond hair. He’d made a habit of visiting every day, which got in the way of my studying. I understood where he was coming from, though. Most likely, he wanted someone his age to hang out with.
I slammed the book I’d been reading shut. It went without saying that I was under absolutely no obligation to concern myself with him, though.
“Hey! Wait! Uh...commoner!”
Sorry, Richie McRich, but I’m not so free that I can spare time to look after a kid. I wrapped my scarf around my neck before using Body Fortification magecraft to strengthen my legs, and jumped out of the window onto the roof of the house next door.
“Whoa!!! How did you do that?!”
Overall, I’d gotten used to being in a child’s body, but I still was far from being at the same level that I’d been at as an adult. The spell I’d used was only a hundredth of Body Fortification’s full potential, but it was more than enough to leave him completely stunned.
“Damn it all! I can do that too!” Copying what I’d done, Ted jumped out of the window.
Hm. Looks like he can use Body Fortification, for the most part. Even if he could, though, the speed at which he supplied mana for the spell was excessive. He obviously didn’t have the basics down whatsoever.
Body Fortification magecraft relied on directing mana to certain parts of the body to shield them like armor, at which point the mana would be released from the body like water. The way he was doing it made him expend his mana unnecessarily.
He let out a scream after realizing he wasn’t going to make the jump. Just as I’d expected from an inexperienced kid who tried to copy me. I watched as he tumbled into a bush below.
“Hey... You okay?”
He’s not dead, is he? Please don’t be dead. Even if his death was entirely his own fault, there would be hell to pay if a noble like him got hurt.
“Hey! Stay where you are, you Pleb bastard!”
Hm, maybe I’d underestimated Ted. He was a lot tougher than I expected for a rich brat. Ted stuck his head out of the bush he’d fallen into, then leapt directly towards me like a charging boar.
Well...now what? I could avoid him easily, or I could let myself get hit. Either would be annoying. I ultimately chose to jump over him, kinda like we were playing leapfrog.
“Agh!” he screamed, crashing into the spot where I’d been. The impact looked worse than it actually was. For the record, I’d held back, so there was no way he should’ve been hurt.
“Wh-What’s with you?! You’re just a stupid Pleb Eyes! I’m pissed now! So...so...pissed!”
Maybe you need to learn some new words. He began stomping his foot angrily like a kid throwing a tantrum.
“Calm down. I bet with another twenty or so years of serious training, you’ll become good at this.”
Since I was dealing with a kid, it seemed best to sprinkle in some praise. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that I didn’t really know what the average ability level of mages was like in this world.
“You! Y-You— How dare you treat me like this?! You’re my underling!”
Unfortunately, this only seemed to make Ted angrier. But also, I’m sorry to break it to you, kid. I am not and have never been your underling. Oh, wait... I felt a flash of inspiration.
“Okay, then. I don’t mind being your underling.”
“Oh? Oh! You’re finally getting serious? That’s commendable!”
“Thanks...but I have some conditions.”
I looked down at my scarf. Ever since Lilith had told me about this garment for the prevention of cold, I’d been treating it very dearly. The area we lived in was high above sea level, so it was covered in snow for half of the year—meaning that something that was good at keeping you warm was indispensable.
“If you can take this scarf from me before sunset, I’ll be your underling.”
If this noble brat was so intent on barging in and interfering with my studies, then I might as well take advantage of the situation and get a little exercise out of it. Doing this would also enable me to get a good read on the abilities of modern mages.
“You’re on! I just have to snag that scarf from you, right? Easy-peasy!”
Ted seemed to be raring to go. Where does all that confidence come from, though?
“Okay, then. Ready? Go!”
“Here I come!”
I used Body Fortification to jump to the roof of another house while Ted followed me from below, using nearby wooden boxes. Our game of tag on the roofs had begun.