The Beginning Of The Ruler
Chapter 27: The Birthday

The sword slid silently from its sheath to reveal its flat blade.

Inevitably I swallowed back a lump of air as I fell into a trance, staring at a weapon too beautiful to be considered an ordinary weapon.

The narrow blade was straight and thin like a rapier but had a double edge, making it suitable for slashing and also piercing. As the sharp end of the blade curves smoothly into a sharp end, inevitably I noticed that there was no sign of— that the blade had been sharpened. The weight and balance of the sword was slightly reduced in my opinion, but it was still a lot better than the rough tool I picked up earlier. However, even these defects are overshadowed by the stunning quality and color of the blades.

The translucent teal hue of the blade seemed to almost produce its own luster, even within the dim storage space. There is a striking contrast with the matte black sheath and handle, making the color of the blade even more radiant. Despite the fact that the blades are very narrow and thin, some tests on nearby iron containers ensure their durability and strength.

I can say with confidence that, even in my old world, no sword has been forged this well. Was this sword really meant for beast tamers or was the criterion more special? I thought while looking at Eve.

Mentioning her tiny head, Eve let out a happy chirp in response.

Studying the blade closer, I saw a small engraving inscribed on the blade near the handle.

Dawn's Fallout WK I

As soon as those words came out of my lips, a searing pain suddenly shot out from where I gripped the sword, making me drop the weapon.

There was a wound that had been burned in my palm. I hesitated to take the sword back, but when I did, I could see the faint remnants of my blood being absorbed into the hilt of the sword.

"Kye!" Are you okay, Pa? Eve ran next to me, scavenging my legs, worried.

I'm fine, Eve. After scratching the bottom of my bonding chin, I swung the sword again. This time, the balance point of the sword was perfectly aligned to fit my undeveloped body. Even the handle of the blade seemed to be getting smaller to fit in my hand, as if it was made for me.

There are some very valuable sticks and sticks that have the ability to bond with a single user, allowing better manipulation of mana between the weapon and the master, but I've never heard of a sword doing anything like this.

Taking the sword, I contemplated the man who had the initials "WK I". Who was this person and how could he forge such a sword?

I realized how much time had passed when my father's faint voice resuscitated me from an infatuated trance. Quickly sheathing my new sword, I walked back to where my father was, Eve hitching a ride on my head. On the way back, I made sure to pick up a Katana that I chose for backup.

"yeah? Did you see something you liked?" Alex, who had spoken to my father, asked.

I nodded, brandishing the short sword at him, "I found this sword and, after a few swings, I became fond of it. Can I take this one?"

Alex took the weapon from my hand, plucking the sword from its sheath. "Hmmm, not the best quality Katana but sturdy and not easily broken. Rey, what do you think?"

My father received the sword, studied its blade, handle and guard before performing a few swings and puncture. "The balance is not the best but I think it will be good as the first sword. What wand are you holding?"

Trying not to fuss over it, I shrugged my shoulders casually. "I tripped over this very sturdy stick on my way back here. Do you mind if I take this home to practice, Uncle Alex?"

"Ah, that old thing! I remember one of my merchants telling me how a senile old man had just handed it to him, muttering something about finding a worthy master. We had some of our inspectors check to see if there was anything special about it, but for all they could find, it was just a sturdy, hard stick. It's been gathering dust here so if you think it'll help you, please take it, "Alex replied, lightly squeezing my shoulder.

Successes!.

****the Kingdom of Elanoir****

POV THANIA ELANOVIR:

"Yesaaaaa…." I sighed excessively, looking out the window from my room. My hand went numb from leaning my head on it for too long, but I didn't want to move because I was getting annoyed.

How dare he! the Stupid White!

Finally willing myself to wake up, I vent my frustration by kicking the wall.

"Ouch!"

Stupid White! It's his fault too!

Hugging my aching leg, I wiped away the tears welling up in my eyes, unsure if it was due to the pain in my leg or my loneliness.

I just got home from Grandma Rania's house. It was hard, but I was finally able to make him guilty of letting me spy on—I mean, making sure White was okay.

I should have been happy that he was with his family and everything, but didn't he miss me?

He looks too happy! And who's that girl? Isn't White acting too kind to her? The cunning girl even asked Art to teach her how to manipulate mana!

He never taught me!

White it.. When I get her, I'll give her a piece.

It had been a few months since he left but after getting used to seeing him every day, those months felt like years.

"Maybe I should have treated her better as long as she was here" I murmured loudly.

I can't help but be horrified to remember all the times I physically abused her, just as an excuse to touch her.

But it wasn't my fault! It's his fault for being such a stubborn idiot!

Mama and Papa are quite proud that Fryrith, the noble boy who messed with White, and his sister were able to enter the top five during the trial competition they did with humans, but I don't care. It's just a show to brag about our power to humans and dwarves.

Grandfather had mentioned that the actual Continental Tournament — that was decided by humans to call it — would happen every five years from now on. Does that mean I have to wait five years to see White? Five full years?

"May…." It's annoying. The only thing that took my mind off White was training. My goal is to become stronger than White. The next time we met, I wanted to surprise her with how much I had grown. Maybe then he'll look at me in a different way.

White's stupid, my lord. Even though she was younger than me, she still treated me like a child.

Even though I'm older…

I raised the water-filled ball that Grandma Rania gave me as a gift. He was able to capture the scene and integrate it into the sphere so that it would constantly display a picture of White's face.

"Example!" I cursed the bubble, poking the ball where the picture of White's cheek was.

Suddenly, the door opened. "Young man, I got a nice—"

"Grandfather! What did I say about knocking?!" I squealed, quickly trying to hide the ball behind me. However, with a sly grin on his face, I knew he had already noticed it.

"I saw you use the ball well," he sneered as usual, his stern expression replaced by a clever fox.

"Dumb brother!" I grabbed my pillow nearby and threw it at him before he could see how red my face was.

"It's okay, it's okay! After all, I would rather enjoy White as a granddaughter-in-law! But isn't it too early for that now?" He laughed out loud while continuing to tease me.

Whipping my head from Grandpa, I did my best to hide my embarrassment, unable to bring out anything other than a frustrated grunt in response to his ridicule.

"Don't pout now! I have good news for you, Little One." I looked a little bit to show that I was listening.

My body spins so fast that it makes me dizzy. "Then I will say that you are the best Grandfather ever!" I cut him off before he even finished speaking. "You didn't lie to me, did you?" I grabbed Grandpa's sleeve and pulled him hard.

I heard laughter from the doorway. "Did you tell him, Dad?" Mom and Dad came into the room smiling.

I looked at them, "Mama! Papa! Did ya? I can go to school with White?"

"Relax, Thania," my mother gently scolded me as she patted my head.

"Your grandfather has a close relationship with the current Director of Cyrus Academy. She contacted him recently and he excitedly told your Grandfather about how there would be a genius quadratic element augmenter attending his school within three years," the father added.

"Who else besides White is the Augimenter of the quadratic element? I knew right away, but of course, I didn't say anything about me training him. It was a little secret that I planned to surprise her later," she let out an evil grin.

"Why did he wait three years before going to school? Isn't he more than enough to leave now?" I tried to talk casually, but my excitement made me grin to my ears.

"Well, he did mention something about him wanting to become an adventurer," Grandpa mused.

My mother squeezed my hand gently. "The important part is that this gives us enough time. We are still trying to negotiate the terms to run the integration trials of the younger generation of elves and dwarves to attend school together with the humans in Cyrus Academy. Xafir agrees that the only way to start improving our relationship is to allow the younger generation to form bonds with each other" he explained.

"You better train hard, Little One. Many use this. I'll bet that White has chosen to be an adventurer before going to school so that she can gain real experience in fighting. Once he was done, he would be at the age of ordinary students, so remain vigilant. She's gonna be popular, so if you don't grab her, some other lucky girl will." Grandpa gave me an evil blink.

"Dad, I think that's enough of a tease right now. Look, Thania is going to cry!" I could barely see my father shaking his head through my watery eyes as I tried to stay strong.

****the Kingdom of Xafir****

ARTHUR WHITE POV:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WHITE!" everyone was shouting in unison.

The whole house of Helstia was lavishly decorated with festive ornaments and woven threads as the Twin Stars and the Helstia family and my own family gathered to wish me a happy ninth birthday.

"Thank you all for bearing with me!" I bowed deeply as Eve imitated me, nodding her little head.

Dinner was great because the chefs went out tonight. My mother made sure to include some of my favorite dishes, some of which she made herself.

A panorama of noise filled the hall: the laughter of children, the clinking of wine glasses, and the footsteps of busy servants and butlers. The table was very noisy as Anton threw a loud joke and made fun of some members with their embarrassing moments while exploring the basement.

"Anton, you seem to have forgotten when the horned mole slipped under you while you were peeing in the basement. As I recall, you got so scared, you landed right on your back, peeing at yourself like a fountain, "Viona coldly said as she leisurely continued sipping her tea, don't even bother looking at the petrified Anton.

"Pff!" The food in my mouth gushed out as I tried to hold back my laughter. My father blatantly laughed out loud, almost falling back into his chair as he pointed his finger at the frozen Anton. Even Alex buried his face in his hands as he tried to hold back the laughter.

"No! Y-You! I thought t-no one woke up when it happened?!" Anton's face turned deathly pale and his shoulders plummeted in total defeat. Meanwhile, the women just shook their heads in shame at the behavior of the men.

Overall, everyone has fun. Alicia chimed in eagerly to tell us all about her adventures in learning to read and write, trying to be part of an adult conversation as well, while Lilia simply giggled and agreed.

After dinner, everyone migrated to the living room where the fire had just been lit and the area was filled with a smoky scent.

"Happy Birthday again, son. This gift is from your mother and I, and of course, Alicia as well." My father gave me a package wrapped in cloth while Mom held Alicia, whose fingers were agitated to open the package.

When I opened it, I saw fingerless gloves meant only for my left hand. It was black and simple but embedded in the top of the glove was 3 white stones.

"Your father hunted for the ingredients for the gloves and I inspired my healing spell to those three white stones. Each stone carried a disposable spell. I'm sure it'll be useful to have some security measures in place when you go out. on a mission." My mother looked at me with a sad smile. I knew he wasn't ready to take me away.

"Thank you Mom, Dad, Alicia, I love it. It will be very useful to me." I gave each member of my family a tight hug. Wearing gloves, I know how sturdy the material is, not to mention the three healing spells will be very useful in tight situations.

"Ahem! Next is us!" Alex pulled out a small box. He dramatically knelt down and opened the box, revealing two silver rings, one plain, and another with a small clear gem.

"…"

Uhh…. Where'd he go with this?

"Darling! Stop teasing that kid!" Jessica hit Alex on the shoulder while holding her laugh.

"OK, okay! Arthur, this is more of a gift to your family than you are, but I'm sure you'll appreciate it too."

"This ring," Alex took out a plain ring, "That's what you're going to wear, while this ring," he handed the jewel ring to my mother, "That's what your mother will wear."

Jessica continued for him, "Samantha, when Arthur wears the ring, you will be able to tell if he is okay or not. The ordinary ring was able to keep an eye on which circulation naturally flowed within the witch's body. If the natural mana flow stops, the ring you hold, Samantha, will glow red and give off a high-pitched sound."

"We thought hard about what Arthur might need as long as he was an adventurer, but Layla was actually the one who brought up the possibility of giving a gift that would help him and his family. Unfortunately, the ring can't do much more than that, but I think it'll calm you down, Sam, Rey." Alex shrugged his shoulders.

My mother cried while holding the ring. "Oh Jessica, Layla, thank you!" He hugged them both tightly. "Thank you, Alex." He bowed deeply to Alex while he shook his hand, saying that this was nothing.

I could only smile, look at my mother.

If this ring can free my family from constantly worrying about me, then this is the best gift I can ask for. But inevitably I became concerned with the psychological presence that would occur to my mother wearing the ring; she would probably examine it religiously.

"Well, how are we gonna beat that, guys?" Anton chiming. My guardian angel Dicky walked up to me, gave me a roll of parchment.

"Look, we also think the same as the Helstia family. We really couldn't think of what to give to that little monster so we decided this!" Anton waved his hand dramatically.

"The two scrolls are sound transmission scrolls! I won't explain how expensive this is, because it's so expensive—aduh!" Viona hits Anton on the head.

"Coughs! Anyways! With this, you now have a one-time source of communication. Just insert the mana into the scroll, Arthur, and you will be able to send a message to the other scroll. After the other roll holder received it, Mama White, she could then send a reply! Once a reply was sent and someone else listened to it, the parchment would turn into ashes! TADA'S! You're welcome!" Anton bent dramatically.

The Twin Star members all took turns talking about Anton's selfish appearance, but they gave my family a warm smile.

I knew the moods of my mother and father had changed a lot better after knowing that they would not send their son to who knows where without knowing how he is and what he will be happened to him.

I hugged each of the Twin Horns and the Helstia family, thanking them for the gift. Layla becomes a dead red while Jessica just giggles at her.

To be honest, I already had what I needed, but the ring and scroll would be an invaluable source of comfort for my family, which I was most worried about.

Soon after, my parents' former party members all left to return to their inns. The Helstia family came back upstairs when Layla started to fall asleep, tired from the long day, leaving me with only my parents. Alicia fell asleep while hugging the snoring Eve. I've packed up, ready to leave tomorrow morning and meet with Viona in front of the house. Tonight will be the last chance to actually talk before I leave.

"Tomorrow is the big day, son. Are you excited?" My dad patted me on the shoulder. My father's eyes were red-striped when I could see him holding back tears.

My mother had given up on holding back her emotions and knelt down to hug me, her face buried in my chest as she sobbed.

"I'll be fine Mom, Dad. I promise I'll try to get back home whenever I get a chance. If something happens, you'll know."

After talking about my life and the danger of becoming an adventurer, my parents drove me back to my room. I plopped into bed and stared at the ceiling, Eve fell asleep next to me. I have a family and now, I have people who love me. I have people who care about who I am, not because of the position I have. It was a pleasant feeling that I would never want to give up. I would fight for it and make sure to appreciate the emotions I did not have in my previous world. For that, I need to fix myself. More than when I was king.