1.4 A Welcome Surprise

I raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Which is?"

"Elementar Channeling," Father answered like it was the most basic thing in the world. "Unlike armor, Zahlers have to be able to use the weapon for it to have value, Rouge."

I frowned. Zahlers? Sounded like another German word that I didn't know.

"Judging from your face, I bet you don't even know about the different kinds of Wesen yet."

"Huh?" This was kinda confusing, especially since I knew I made sure to pay attention to the lessons Mother taught me.

"I haven't taught that lesson to him yet, Dear."

A new voice joined the conversation. I turned my attention towards the room's only entrance, and as expected, Mother's fiery red hair swayed from the heat in the room as she leaned on the doorway.

"I thought little Rouge wasn't supposed to learn Seigelcraft yet?" she asked.

I couldn't help but chuckle. Mother was an imposing figure. While she always held me close during my younger years, she always held herself like some kind of warrior; her green eyes as attentive as a hawk whenever we found ourselves at the town square.

"I know, but I have a duty to our son, Maira," Father replied, his tone sounding... resigned? "If he wants to learn, then I'll teach him what I know."

"Don't say I didn't warn you then, Dear~"

Oof. That wasn't a tone anyone wanted to hear from their significant other.

"Come along, little Rouge," my mother beckoned me from outside the room. "Let me teach you some things about this world of ours."

"Yes, Mother."

Like the dutiful son that I was, I swiftly followed after my mother's retreating form, but not before I grabbed my new sword from where Father had laid it by the anvil. It wasn't until we're outside that Mother turned her attention back to me; her expression uncharacteristically serious compared to her usual caring and kind persona. I stood unblinking, waiting for her to make the first move.

"There are certain truths to the world, Rouge," she started, looking out towards the rocky plains behind our house. "I know you're smarter than you choose to appear, so I hope I'm doing the right thing by telling you this."

A pit of nervous dread appeared in my chest. There was a hint of grim determination in my mother's voice; something I've never heard from her in the entirety of my life in this new world. I swallowed a lump of anxiety before paying full attention to what Mother has to say.

"Your father and I..." Mother trailed off as she conjured up a ball of flame in her hand. "We were once members of the Imperial Army." I couldn't keep my eyes away from Mother's flame that I didn't even notice that she was already beside me. "We worked directly for the Emperor for a few years. That's where we met actually."

A number of questions swarmed my head as she talked about working for an Emperor. I didn't even know there was one until now.

"The Emperor rules the lands of Mathema, Rouge," she began as her gentle hand rubbed the top of my head. She then knelt down to my level, her loving eyes staring directly into my own as she gave me her lesson. "Don't worry about all the big stuff for now. I'm sure you'll learn about them eventually."

"But what about the truths you said?" I asked, having noticed that she was subtly avoiding the topic when she abruptly stood up in front of me. "Why am I-"

"Let Mommy speak, little Rouge~" she cut me off, her voice taking on a tone I was all too familiar with. "You can ask questions later."

I quickly nodded in obedience. Nobody wanted to face their mother's wrath, even with me technically being older than my own second mother.

"Good," Mother sweetly smiled as she gently took away the sword that I was carrying. "Now watch."

I nodded as I waited for her to do something. A beat passed, and the sword began glowing a cool blue in her hands before suddenly turning into a fiery red hue. It was mesmerizing. Flames were now licking at the flat of the blade as she swung it with what looked to me as professional dexterity. There was grace in Mother's movements as she then went through forms like it was an interpretative dance, before then loudly exhaling as she willed the dancing flames around her to disappear. As fast as it appeared, the fiery glow of the sword subsided, once more humming in a cool blue along its circuit-like Seigels.

That was pretty awe-inspiring. Am I about to learn how to be a cool magician right now? That would be a neat payoff to being reincarnated into a backwater world.

"What you saw was the collective power of both Zahler and Nenner," Mother explained as she twirled the sword in her hand like it was nothing. "The power of a Zahler's Elementar Wesen and battle prowess, combined with the craftsmanship and Seigel Wesen of a Nenner."

"So... Am I going to learn how to do all that then?" I eagerly asked, my excitement palpable in my voice.

"No." Wh-what? Why was Mother upset? "You will learn no such thing."

"Bu-"

"You will not speak of this to anyone, Rouge," she stressed, her voice sounding desperate. Why? "Promise me."

"I-I promise, Mother," I squeaked out, nervousness replacing curiosity for a second as I addressed my mother.

"Th-thank you..."

Before I could ask further, a warm embrace enveloped my whole body, my mother crying into my shoulder as she hugged me like I was about to die.

"I promise it'll be over soon," she insisted.

I hugged my sobbing mother as I defaulted to being an anchor for a crying woman. There was a fear there... in her tone. Already, I was asking a lot more questions than I was comfortable with answering.

What will be over? Why was she crying? Was there an enemy of some kind that needed defeating? There's gotta be a catch to me getting reborn in some medieval fantasy land. The fact that magic existed was already a sign of bad things to come in the long run. From what my extensive knowledge of fiction told me, transmigrated protagonists like me had to have some form of enemy to fight. If this was a story, I know I'd expect one to show up and murder-

Nope! That was a thought I refuse to entertain. Mother and Father were nothing but good to me in this new life. If God wanted to make for me some kind of tragic backstory to work off of, then they'll be sorely disappointed. I refuse to let anyone hurt my family! If this Emperor guy wanted to kill them, then he'll have to go through me first.

Already, my mind came up with various reasons as to why I wasn't allowed to learn any of this stuff. And as I rubbed my sobbing mother's back, I silently swore to myself to learn as much as I could about this world.

It wouldn't do for me to have zero information when I was about to plan something for the long term.

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