Splash!
Swoosh!
Bang!
My spells hit the targets accurately every time as I performed my usual training drill. This has been my morning routine for the last three years. Although my progress in magic has stagnated without a teacher, I've never stopped sharpening and maintaining my skills.
I am just over eight years old now, and my daily routine consists of magic training and some light exercises in the morning. Afternoons are spent in the library, studying various things like history and language. And evenings are left empty to relax or spend time with family.
Life has been peaceful and good so far...
"Hey, wanna go swimming in the river today?"
"But I wanna play adventurer like yesterday."
I overheard some chatter in the distance, and footsteps getting ever closer. I turned around and spotted a group of three young boys, all looking around my age, conversing amongst themselves. They seemed to be just passing by, and so I paid them no mind and got ready to continue my training drills.
"Hey, Alexander!" I heard one of them calling my name and I turned around to see that the group was approaching me. "You're Alexander, right? Wanna come play with us?"
It seems that they are inviting me to go with them.
"We're about to go play at the river just nearby."
I smiled. "Sorry, but I'm busy."
"Oh." The kid lowered his head from my rejection. "Okay then. Maybe next time." They then turned around and walked away, leaving me to my own.
Despite my appearance, I'm still a man in his mid-twenties. It'll be uncomfortable and awkward for me to play with a bunch of little kids.
***
One night, I was lying down on the couch in the upstairs lounge, reading a storybook. Mother and father are also with me, doing their own thing.
It was quiet as we were all relaxing when suddenly, a female servant entered with urgent steps.
"Sir, it's a letter for you." She said as she handed father a letter. "It's sealed with the royal stamp. It's from the king."
"From the king?" Father repeated, sounding surprised as he took the envelope off her hands.
"From your brother?" Mother sounded surprised as well.
The servant hands father a letter opener and he uses it to slice open the envelope before handing it back to her. He pulls out the letter inside and carefully unfolds it to read its contents. Both mother and I waited in anticipation as he read the letter.
"It seems like the king wants to see me." He spoke out as he seemed to have finished reading. "And he formally invites our family to the capital."
Mother clasped her hands. "Well, isn't it good news? You'll be seeing your brother again after so long."
"No, something's fishy here... He never wanted to see me, so why now?" Father pondered, placing the letter down on the coffee table.
Apparently our family, despite being directly related to the esteemed Asura lineage, sits closer to the bottom of the hierarchy. Because of that, we've largely been ignored by the rest of the family and were left to our own, governing a small town on the outskirts of the King's Region.
In my eight years of living in this world, I've never heard from any of my relatives, which was why I was surprised at the sudden invitation.
"This has got to be an elaborate scheme to off us." He somehow came to that conclusion. "This reeks of a trap, I just know it."
YOU ARE READING
My Precious Life (Mushoku Tensei X OC/Male Reader)
FanfictionA young man met his fateful and abrupt end, alone, unable to achieve his dreams and full of regrets. In his final moments, he wished to have spent his life differently, and wanted to do it all again the right way. Now... He gets the chance to do jus...
