When I came to my senses, I was naked. And it was winter.
"...?"
Of course, if my memory served me right, I had gone to sleep in a bed yesterday. As I crouched, shivering and trying to figure out what was going on, I felt a strange sensation from the hands hugging my body, one I had never felt before.
"What is this..."
My skin is soft.
Unbelievably so.
It was so bizarre that I didn't even notice my voice was a little childish. When I opened my hands, I saw this wasn't my body. It was chubby and small.
The body of a boy who looked to be about five years old. Looking around, I could see it was some kind of medieval-looking street at night. In short, to sum it all up...
I couldn't understand a single thing that was happening to me right now. While I was shivering with a dazed expression, a surprised voice came from somewhere.
"Oh my, over there, is that an orphanage child, naked??"
"It seems so. Kid, what are you doing out there in this cold?"
"... What?"
Two middle-aged women dressed like nannies fussed as they approached me and draped their clothes over me.
"Oh? He's not one of our children. I've never seen this face before."
"Then this child is... Oh, you poor thing, tsk tsk...."
"W-wait a minute. Where is this place?"
When I asked with a lisping voice, a look of pity crossed the women's faces.
"Oh dear... It seems you don't know what's happened yet."
"To abandon him in this weather, they might as well have left him for dead. Those people deserve divine punishment..."
"No, what are you talking about—" "First, come inside. You'll freeze to death out here."
I was led by the hand of a tough-looking woman into some building. Inside, a terrible scene unfolded where grimy children were choking, beating, and sobbing at each other. It wasn't that surprising.
This is what usually happens when you have over fifty children under the age of ten together. The women, rather than getting angry, clapped their hands to get everyone's attention.
"Alright, everyone. A new friend has come today. Please treat him warmly."
"..."
Feeling dozens of curious gazes on me, I realized. Could this be... That... reincarnation into another world thing.
"Why is this bullshit happening to me...?"
"Oh my, from now on, you can't use such bad words in our orphanage!"
I couldn't understand it at all.
After reincarnating, for about five years until I turned ten, I pondered it thousands of times. Why me, of all people? I didn't commit suicide out of despair for the world, nor was I hit by a truck.
I wasn't betrayed by a lover, nor was I defeated in battle by my greatest rival. I was just living an ordinary life, and I drifted off to sleep because I was tired. If it could be called a sin, perhaps it was that I lived satisfied with an ordinary life.
And when I opened my eyes, I was an orphan with no one in the world. It felt like I'd been suddenly slapped hard across the face while walking down the street.
I kept wondering why, whoever the bastard was, they left all the other suffering people alone and sent me, who was living a perfectly decent life without any major worries, to this place, but— No answer came. What could I do? In this world, I'm just an ordinary orphan.
So I just lived.
"Alright, alright, class is about to start, so everyone gather in the classroom~" "Yeees~" Living in the orphanage, I've come to realize something.
This country is extremely rich. “Jern, how much allowance did you get?"
“500 cooper.”
“What? Why did you get twice as much as me?”
“It's not that I got a lot, it's that yours was cut in half because you pissed on Lewis's face while he was sleeping."
"He said it was okay to piss on him if he didn't wake up!!"
Jern—that's the name I was given. I'm still not used to it, though. I stared blankly at the green-colored coin before putting it in my pocket.
This isn't meant for buying meals either. Meals are provided regularly on schedule, and the allowance is literally just for snacks or enjoying some culture. There's no problem with the quality of the food, either.
There are so many strange vegetables and meats that I can't be sure, but seeing the kids practically swell up rather than grow over the past three years makes me suspect they might be mixing in growth stimulants. And the portions are generous too. The living space is also decent.
Four people share a room, but it's spacious enough that it's not inconvenient, and we can bathe whenever we want. Above all, they are serious about education.
"Who knows the three things absolutely necessary for farming?"
"Me! Land, strength, and... water!"
“Of course, strength is needed, but no matter how hard you plow the fields, crops won't grow without this one thing. Think again.”
By South Korean standards, it's elementary school level education, but that's because we're actually elementary school age. When I eavesdropped on the lessons for the slightly older children, I could tell they teach a wide variety of subjects diligently. Math and science are only at a basic level.
Most of it is history, law, language, and job experiences to broaden their options. For children who are talented in their studies, there's even a program to support them in becoming civil servants. Honestly, I didn't expect it to be this good.
I'd initially imagined a medieval orphanage to be like some gang hideout that starves you, beats you, and forces you to beg, but for it to be such a bright and hopeful place. For me, this couldn't be more fortunate.
As I listened to the class, sending endless gratitude to the unnamed princess who put so much effort into child welfare, wads of paper kept hitting me from behind. At first, I ignored it, but when I heard the sound of a small rock being carefully taken out from a desk, I frowned and turned my head slightly.
“What."
"You have to go see the performance after class."
"?"
After thinking for a moment, I realized this was the kind of suggestion unique to children, where the conclusion is already decided. Lately, the kids have been clinging to me. It's probably because my black hair is a pretty unique trait that draws their interest.
A blonde girl speaking with a silly grin. Her name was Linmel, I think. She and I are pretty close...
I guess. Probably.
I shook my head.
“I'm not interested in the performance." “Then what are you going to do?” "I'm going to watch ants, and when it gets boring, I'll step on them and kill them.”
“That sounds fun! Can I do it with you?"
“You have the performance... never mind.”
Kids this age change their minds so quickly that the word 'fickle' isn't even enough. Confirming that the teacher was spitting as he wrote the basic elements of farming on the board, I quietly replied.
“Actually, I have to study. So I can't play with you. Sorry.”
“Stuuudy?
We're doing that right now?"
“I have to do more.”
"Why?"
“Smart people get adopted more easily."
"Adopted?"
“...
When parents show up to come get us."
"But they said my mom and dad went to a faraway country."
"Don't you think it's better to have parents, even if they're fake?"
"Um..."
After I answered, sweating, Linmel thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Yeah, that sounds good! I'll study too!"
“Phew...”
The facilities are good, and people don't look down on us. But in the end, it's an orphanage. For the children who are still young enough, their number one wish is to be adopted.
Whether adoption is possible or not is determined around the age of ten. It's a rumor I heard, but they say no one gets adopted after turning ten. But honestly, I don't want to be adopted.
I don't want to think of strangers as my parents. My only goal is to become something like a scribe. Of course, the path of a knight is the one that leads to wealth and glory, but— Clack— “Jern, you're weak, huh?”
"" A wooden sword was resting on my head.
Naturally, there are many hot-blooded kids who dream of being knights, so the orphanage had a training ground and wooden swords. I brought Linmel here to try sparring once, but... It seems I have no talent for the sword.
I have no idea how you're supposed to make the sword come alive. If anything, it was Linmel who had talent in swordsmanship. She accurately parried my limp movements and rubbed the top of my head with her wooden sword.
She even had the technique to pull back her strength at the end so I wouldn't get hurt. This kid is definitely going to be a knight. I sighed and pushed the sword off the top of my head.
“That's amazing.”
“What?
You're way cooler, Jern. I heard you got first place on the history test again."
“That's..."
Because I'm the only one who pays attention in class. My software is that of an adult man in the first place. If I can't even memorize elementary school level material, I might as well go die.
From my perspective, Linmel, with her talent for the sword, was far more amazing. I've seen countless people who were good at studying back on Earth, but I'd never seen anyone who was good with a sword. I tidied up and stood.
Let's live moderately here too, satisfied with what I'm given, It was the next morning that I realized I had a talent that would not allow that.
Early morning.
When I woke up, the ceiling was wavering.
“What the...”
As I tried to get out of bed, I tumbled and rolled spectacularly onto the floor with a loud thud. My legs won't listen to me, the floor against my cheek is ice-cold... My body is hot.
I feel like my whole body is a ball of fire. When I called for help with a cracked voice, the children who were sluggishly getting up screamed in surprise.
“Aaargh! Jern is dead!”
"Sh-should we call the director?” Hearing their fuss, my head throbbed, my consciousness faded, and I fell back into a deep sleep. A bad cold?
The flu?
It's something different. It's not a feeling of being sick... It feels like something is mixing into me.
When I opened my eyes in the infirmary, I was met with the rare sight of the director and the teachers looking at me with serious faces. There's no reason for them to gather like this just because one child caught a cold. Feeling anxious, I asked a question.
“...
What's going on? Am I going to die?"
They spoke quietly among themselves for a moment, then the director approached and began with a sorrowful expression.
“Jern, you have received a terrible gift from your parents.”
"Huh?"
Divine fever.
That is the name of the illness that has made me burn up. To put it more simply, it's a pain that all mages experience in their childhood. I, who knows nothing of magic, wondered how I could be a mage, but that's not what it means.
In this world, a mage is like a person with three arms. Only those born that way can use magic, and if you aren't, you can't use magic no matter what you do. Naturally, people with three arms aren't born that easily.
It's a rare case that appears about once every ten years, even with incredible luck piled on top of luck, and even then, it's usually because there was a mage among their ancestors. However, there is one and only one way to guarantee the birth of a mage— When both parents are mages.
“No, wait a minute. From what I know, mages are...”
As my voice trailed off, recalling the common knowledge I'd learned in class, the director nodded with a stiff face. “Shouldn't we be using formal language with him?"
"It's not certain. It could be from a distant ancestor..."
“Hmm, for now, we should consider keeping it a secret.”
A bewildering birth secret. It seems I am the illegitimate child of a noble. The reason is simple: all nobles are mages.
Because from long, long ago, the nobles have repeatedly married, and married, and married mages, who possess truly noble blood... This is so that all of them are born with a talent for magic. Of course, there are a very small number of people who are mages but not nobles.
I learned that they are folks like the prophets who train in the snowy mountains. It's unlikely that such people would have children, so there's a high probability that I am the illegitimate child of a noble. Me, an orphan, actually inherited the blood of a noble?
Hmm.
This kind of status reversal... I didn't particularly wish for it.
“I'm sorry, Jern, but this matter...”
"This is a big problem."
“It's, it's not like that, but spreading it around won't lead to anything good either.”
I thought for a moment. Those are words of consolation, and it is a big problem. The fact that a non-noble is a mage is, from the perspective of the nobles, a very unpleasant thing.
But it's also difficult for commoners to deal with. It's a similar concept to messing up a family tree. I have become something that is difficult for both nobles and commoners to deal with.
“So, for now..."
“I'll hide it.”
“Oh? Hmm, yes. Let's hide it. Don't go showing it off in front of others for no reason.”
“Yes."
Seeing me obey so readily, the teachers actually looked more anxious. But why would I go around boasting about a tumor that would only become a weakness the moment it was revealed? Unless I was a once-in-a-generation genius.
"Is this right..?"
After making about 100 books float in the air in the storage room, my thoughts changed a little. I guess I do have some talent.