First spell!

You know how you wake up from a phenomenal dream and you think, "Man that was awesome. I am so going to remember that dream!"

And then 5 seconds later, you try to remember the dream and your brain starts gaslighting you.

"Dream? What dream? What is a dream? Is it an ambition? Aspiration? Or the soft suppleness of a big pair of honkers. Huge badonkers. Just humongous ...."

Well, you get the idea. Well guess what I have been doing the past two years?

Not baby stuff that's for sure!

"Become clear over time" my ass!

I had lost most of the knowledge almost instantly and even more so with each passing day.

The complete knowledge of fauna and flora? Gone.

Sword styles and combat improv? Wiped.

The locations and maps of teleport circles and labyrinths? Like tears in the rain.

Even the location of the dragon tribe's vault was gone.

I shed some bloody tears that day.

So much great loot, lost in the hands of the most anti-social, period piece reject of a Dragon God.

This came at a cost of course.

I spent the most part of the past two and a half years in a near catatonic state, like a living zombie.

Why?

Because human minds are not meant to take in world's worth of memories, much less a child's mind.

And so, predictably, my conciousness shattered into an almost primitive level of behaviour.

To counter the literal death of self and actual realization of all my existential dread, I have been running a loop of the memories in my undeveloped child brain, clinging onto them desperately, even as they slipped away from the very beginning moments of my life.

And now, finally at almost 3 years old, it stopped.

I remembered as much as I could salvage, that is to say, not much, creating a mental library of sorts

The general plot of the story, some extant connections that were made in the aftermath of the Shirone debacle and a small list of odds and ends.

As a side, my personality consolidated too. Or what was left of it anyways, after being trapped in my own mind.

And finally, I was free. Free to play, free to grow, free to live my life.

And live I would to the fullest. Just after I got through the constant threat of the all seeing douchepickle that was the Human God, Hitogami.

To that end though, I began to plan.

Rudeus in the original plot had been wholly inefficient about the way he went about doing things.

I wouldn't be.

And I'll start with usurping Rudi's role in the story.

After all, where else can I get the quality goodies that only an isekai protagonist's fate can bring?!

A free A class staff, S class robes, demon eyes even!

And the wives.

Especially the wives.

Lovely housewife Sylphy and the fiery redhead tsundere Eris.

I'm definitely getting both of them!

"Urngh~"

Getting up, I stretched, cracking my knuckles, craning my neck as my gaze lingered upon the rolling fields of wheat outside, the hills in the distance.

Then it struck me, as the man's words rang back in my ears.

"I just want you to live a happy and free life."

Tears pooled in my eyes, and I felt his love for me as I took it all in.

A cool breeze blew my hair across face, and I stumbled, grabbing hold of the window sill, lifting up my hair with the other.

Farms, fields, little rivers.

All so .... beautiful.

It was something I hadn't noticed in all these years, no, something I had missed, lost in thought.

I sniffled, wiping the tears on my sleeve.

Yup. I won't fail him.

I pumped my fist.

I'll live my life to the fullest!

I walked down the stairs, sporting a full smile as the kitchen cane into view.

"Good morning mama!" I greeted jovially, skipping out, as Zenith pulled up a pot of stew for breakfast.

Zenith on the other hand looked at me like she'd seen a ghost, the pot dropping from her hands as it clanged on the floor spilling the breakfast.

Lilia too watched gobsmacked as tears streamed down Zenith's face and she rushed over to embrace me, nearly suffocating me in her massive cleavage, sobbing in joy.

"Mama!?" I asked in broken tongue, concerned.

"Are you hurt?"

"No." Zenith, sniffled.

"I'm just so happy."

Just then Paul ran in, sword raised in alarm.

"What happened? Are the racoons back?" He asked, scanning the room till his eyes landed on us.

On me specifically.

He looked deep into my eyes, as if gauging something, before he smiled jubilantly.

"See!" He exclaimed, patting Zenith on the back, "I told you it would be fine. No way our kid's are defective!"

"Eh?!" I shouted.

"Papa, mama. You thought I was defective?!"

"Of course not, baby!" Zenith kissed my forehead, "We were just... worried."

"Your eyes looked hollow, and you barely spoke a word. So yeah, pretty mu- Eugh!" Paul laid out his mind, only to get gut punched by Zenith.

"He doesn't mean that Kai." She assured me, rubbing ny head, "Papa and mama love you just the way you are!"

"Uhun~" I intoned, "But I didnt say anything because I didn't have anything to say!"

"Is that so?" Paul asked, wincing as he leaned on his sword.

"Yup!" I nodded, bobbing my head like a doll.

"That's good to hear. So how about some training, eh? Let's get some father son bonding done. God knows Rudi never agrees to it. All he does is read books, cooped up in the study!" Paul complained.

"No! Absolutely not. They're only three!" Zenith objected, "I won't allow it! At least wait until they're five."

"The earlier the better! Besides a man's got to learn to be strong to protect his loved ones. Right Kai?" He asked, giving me an expectant look.

Hey, don't look at me old man. I'm just playing the part so I don't get shipped off to a church for exorcism!

"Don't wanna!" I protested, "I wanna play with Rudi!"

Can't be wasting my time here after all. Not while main man Rudi is increasing his magic capacity.

As far as I know, the magic here can do basically anything so long as you have the mana for it. And the earlier you start using and exhausting your man, the faster and larger your mana pool grows to become.

Having lost nearly an year's worth of progress to Rudi, I can't afford to waste anymore time lollygagging about.

With that, I ran up the stairs to the study, kicking the door open and found a boy tipping a tub full of water out the window.

"Rudi!" I called out, as he spun around startled, spilling the water onto the floor.

"U-uh I can explain!" He stuttered, slipping on the water and faceplanting onto the wet floor.

He probably still thinks that he'll be hauled off on charges of heresy if he shows his power to anyone.

But I don't care. I just need to pull him away from his practice so I can sneak the magic textbook out of his grasp.

Then, as Rudi got up, soaking wet, an idea popped into my mind.

"Mama!" I called out, "Rudi spilled water in the storeroom!"

With a pitter patter of steps, Zenith and Lilia arrived in the room.

"Rudi!" Zenith chastised, not noticing the book by the window.

"He was playing in water with his clothes on!" I said, fanning the flames, while simultaneously creeping towards the window, hiding the book behind my form.

"Let's get you cleaned up and into some dry clothes." Zenith sighed, as Lilia got to mopping up the spillage.

Once Zenith and Rudi were out and Lilia's back was turned, I picked up the book and chucked it out the window into the bushes below.

Come evening, I went for a leisurely stroll in the garden and snuck the book back in, and into.my room where I lifted the mattress with great effort and slid the tome below it to hide my dastardly deeds.

Now, all I needed was time.

Time enough to decipher the language of this world, sonething I had actually forgotten from the memory packet, which was conveniently in english for soem fucking reason.

If you're sending me to a fantasy world, at least give me language conprehension, you tree loving dipshit!

Suffice to say I spent the next two weeks deciphering the language in vain before resorting to the final solution.

Walking up to Zenith, hugging the book with both arms, I tugged at the hem of her skirt, and gave the old one two finisher, puppy eyes.

"Mama, can you teach me to read?"

"Awawa!" She exclaimed, pinching my cheeks, "My cute little Kai wants to learn to read! Of course Mama will help you!"

"Yay!" I cheered, giving her a hug.

And so began my training in the literary arts.

A month later, whether it was due to being a baby or the similarity of the language when compared to english, I had learnt just about enough of it to be able to read the magic textbook.

That night, as my parents engaged in hormone laden fun times, and the perverted isekai trash peeked on them, I leaned against the open window, arms hanging out as I read the first spell I would ever attempt.

"Upon your wanted place is the blessing of water, the refreshing little flow, here and now.

Water Ball!" I muttered softly, as a tingling sensation reached from my feet and brain simultaneously, raising a track of goosebumps in it's wake, and a ball of water materialized in front of my palms, pulsating mid air before I ran out of mana and it fell onto the brush below.

"Alright!" I cheered softly, pumping my fist, unable to control myself.

I danced a jig with joy, before a sudden fatigue beset me.

"Uh-oh!" I groaned, as I stumbled onto my bed, book first and fell unconcious.