Everland - 1 - EN

Truly, you can never imagine what might happen to you. Even when something seems almost impossible, the chance is never exactly zero percent.

I couldn’t help but sigh, unsure whether it came from annoyance or simple self-pity. My chubby hand stroked an imaginary beard, making me look as if I were posing as a statue of a philosopher. Unfortunately, no great epiphanies would come of it.

“Klein, stop slacking off. Your mother will scold you again.”

I tried not to groan out loud when I heard her. I turned to glare at the little tattletale, but she only stared back, thoroughly unimpressed.

She was still young, with striking golden-blonde hair and turquoise-blue eyes. Once she grew up, she would definitely be beautiful. Right now, though, she was just an expressionless kid. An incredibly obedient girl—yet somehow, she never listened to a word I said!

Damn it, if only I were a little bigger…

A light breeze slowly swirled around us as I drew a sliver of energy from my soul, but I quickly dismissed it. What was I doing? Using magic on a child…

“Ouch!” I jumped back and rubbed my head, staring at her in disbelief. “Why did you hit me?!”

“Your mother said…”

“I know what she said! Ugh, I hadn’t even done anything yet.” Even so, I still grabbed the basket full of twigs and hoisted it onto my back.

“Hah, let’s just go home. Both baskets are full anyway.”

The girl simply nodded and tossed the twigs in her hands into her own basket. Hers was twice the size of mine—larger than her entire body, even—yet she lifted it as if it weighed nothing.

She tilted her head, as if silently asking why I was staring.

Huh, sometimes I forget just how abnormal this kid is. I ignored her gaze, turning to walk straight home instead.

It wasn’t long before we emerged from the forest and were immediately greeted by the sight of sprawling wheat fields. A few farmers could be seen out in the crops, clearing away weeds and pests.

The sun had just passed its peak, making the golden expanse look even more enchanting.

Harvest season would arrive soon, perhaps in another week? That meant Father would be back from the city shortly. My train of thought came to a halt as one of the farmers working near the path approached us.

“Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Elas,” I said, offering a slight bow. An also offered a quiet greeting. Uncle Elas returned it with his usual smile.

“Klein, An. Back from the forest, ya? Harvest seasson is near, animals are getting bold enough to approach the village. Robyn and the other hunters have dealt with the dangerous beasts, but the woods are still quite perilous.”

“Don’t worry, Uncle. This is our last trip for the week. Since Father will be back soon, we won’t need to gather any more firewood next week.”

“Ah, that’s right. I almost forgot because of the spirits—uh. I mean, perhaps the Doctor will return with the village chief, right?” Uncle Elas smiled awkwardly. Before I could press him on it, he waved a hand. “Alright, hurry along now. Your mother is probably already worried about you.”

I wanted to ask what he meant by that, but ultimately chose not to. An and I said our goodbyes before continuing on toward the village.

Spirits, huh… so that was why the village chief had gone to the city? Still, he didn’t need to go in person. He could’ve ordered someone else to go in his place. Honestly, he was more useful here than the messenger, who would need more than a week to make the trip.

Or perhaps he had already done that… Did that mean the village was in trouble? This uneasy feeling was making me a bit sick. Sigh. Couldn’t a kid just enjoy his childhood in peace?

As we slowly approached the village fence, a few other farmers waved at us, and we waved back.

A few moments later, the village fence came clearly into view. It was only a simple wooden fence, but it stood fairly high, around three meters tall. Made from small tree trunks, it looked sturdy enough. Even so, the village had no gate. There were only open paths on the south and north sides, each watched by a tower.

We waved to the ranger keeping watch in the tower. He looked bored, but still returned our wave casually.

We passed houses that were fairly well arranged, considering this was an outpost village. A few houses were made from a mix of wood and brick, but they were few and far between.

The architecture clearly resembled European buildings, though I wasn’t sure. After all, I wasn’t European. Given the isekai theme, this world might resemble medieval Europe. However, the tools my father often used made me think it might be a little more advanced than that.

And honestly, I didn’t actually know whether this village was large or small. Who cared about the size of a village when you lived in a modern city? Even now, I didn’t care.

Maybe my attitude would be very different if I didn’t have an isekai cheat or a golden finger, as the Chinese would say. What? You want adventure? Not for me, unfortunately. Building a secret magic tower around here sounded far more interesting, but that was for the future. For now, I still wanted to enjoy this childhood of mine.

“Hey!” The shout brought An and me to a stop. It was one of the village children. More precisely, an incredibly annoying brat. He was one example of why I didn’t want to befriend children the same age as this body.

The boy stepped in front of us with his friend, whose name was Johan, if I wasn’t mistaken. He was one of the quiet kids, yet he still followed this delinquent around.

“Bohn, what do you want? Didn’t An teach you enough of a lesson?”

“Humph! Don’t get cocky! You only dare hide under a girl’s skirt! You’re a disgrace to every boy in the village.” His face reddened, whether from shame or anger, I couldn’t tell.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were that jealous of me. Unfortunately for you, An is my girl.” I waved as if shooing away a beggar, ignoring the stare drilling into me from behind. “Hurry up and move. Even with Johan, you still won’t be able to beat my wife,” I said, chin raised.

The boy’s eyes reddened. In fact, his face looked as if it had been boiled in hot water. “Humph! We’ll see how long you can keep acting smug when I’m done teaching you a lesson. You guys! It’s time to teach this woman’s plaything a lesson!”

Several children emerged from behind the buildings on our left and right. Wait a minute, did he bring every boy in the village?

“Good grief, you call me shameless, but this is even lower. Still, I’m truly glad to see my fame has forged such a beautiful bond among the village children. The village chief ought to give me an award!”

Unfortunately, Bohn didn’t seem affected. “Heh, let’s see how long you can keep smiling once I teach you a lesson. Don’t think An can help you this time,” he said, cracking his knuckles.

“Sigh~” What a pain. Before I could even do anything, An stepped forward.

I stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She looked at me questioningly. This girl… She hadn’t even lowered her basket yet. Did she intend to fight all of them with that thing still on her back?

“You know, that delinquent was right about one thing.”

I drew power from my soul, then removed the concept of [weight/mass/burden] from both baskets on our backs.

“I can’t keep letting you fight for me.”

An’s expressionless face wavered for an instant, and her eyes widened slightly, as if she could not believe what she was seeing.

“Huh, how rude. Have a little faith in me. Even I don’t want to see you get hurt,” I said, patting her head and making her face redden slightly. Hooray for Japanese MC-style head pats! Hooray for affection points!

“Do you trust me?” I asked with a serious look, not an expression I used often. An nodded firmly, making me smile at her.

“Then remember this, An! And all of you, too!” I took An’s hand and gripped it tightly. “This is my ultimate move!”

Then, without hesitation, I turned around and pulled An along with me.

“Nigerundayo!”

“What!?” “Coward!” “Don’t let him run!” The children’s angry shouts immediately rang out behind us.

A warning rang in my head. Without thinking, I jerked my head to the side. Wind brushed against my cheek as a stone the size of my fist passed through the spot where my head had been a moment earlier.

These kids! That could have killed me! I glanced back and saw their twisted expressions.

Uh, I guess this was what it looked like when your “target of revenge” slipped out of your grasp. A perfect ten out of ten. Their faces were absolutely perfect! If only I had a camera, that picture would go viral!

Huh, one more thing I needed to create in the future.

“Hahaha! Is that all you’ve got?!” I shouted while dodging another stone.

I ignored their increasingly indistinct shouts. Before long, we reached the main road. We saw someone hurrying toward the alley we were rushing through.

“Hey! Watch out, kid!” he shouted.

“Sorry, Uncle! We’re in a hurry!” I said without looking back, giving only a wave behind me.

I couldn’t hear his reply, but I could clearly hear his shout when the children crashed into him.

Entering another alley, I pulled An into a corner to hide. I covered her mouth with one hand and snapped my fingers with the other. A transparent blue layer appeared around us.

Not long after, a group of children passed by as if we had never been there. Ha! Once again, magic triumphed!

“Why didn’t you just beat them? No one would believe you used magic,” An said after I released her mouth. Her eyes narrowed accusingly.

I could only smile helplessly. “You’ll understand eventually. Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture.”

I laughed at her flat stare, which was clearly unimpressed by my words. “Let’s go home. I’m hungry.”