Curiosity of a Traveller

As soon as I woke up in the morning, I jumped out of bed and went downstairs without even changing my clothes.

''Mommy!'' There was no sound.

''Dad!'' Again I didn't hear a sound.

They were nowhere to be seen. I couldn't see my parents, Lira, or the other maids in the house. I wondered if they could be outside. I ran excitedly to the door. As soon as I opened the door, I saw a large garden, a path leading from the door of the house to the garden gate. On the right side of the garden were Lira carrying the laundry baskets and other maids hanging the laundry on the line. When I turned my head to the left of the garden, I saw my father and my mother. My father was practicing with a wooden sword in his hand, and my mother was just watching him and taking notes. Wait a minute, my father knew how to use a sword, that really surprised me. I guess I have a lot to learn about my family. My father's movements were lithe and flexible, like a snake. It was enough to impress someone like me who knew nothing about the sword. Surprised, I ran to him and sat down on the wall of the garden. My mother greeted me with a smile as she saw me.

"Good morning son, did you sleep well?"

"I did, mom. The night took away the tiredness of the whole day."

"I'm glad."

"What's Dad doing?"

"His daily sword practice. I mean, you've always got to work out, right?"

"Of course, Cattleya. A sound mind in a sound body, after all."

I'd always wanted to use a sword in my old life, but my family couldn't afford it, so I'd always had a hankering for it. So right now I was just admiring it. I could feel my eyes widening and I was mesmerized by the sword and my father's movements. I never imagined that my father could hide such a muscular body under those walking book-like academy-like clothes. At that moment, I rushed forward.

"Please teach me everything you know, Dad!"

"Everything I know? Aah. I think you mean swordsmanship. Well, exercising the body opens the mind. But why do you want to learn the sword? In this day and age, there's almost no point anymore. It only works if you have enough mana to manipulate the sword, or if your magia is compatible with the sword. Even those on the 2nd side are trying to give up this sword and adapt to technology."

"I won't know until I am fully aware of my magia power. It's best to be ready for the odds, right? I can even do it as a sport. I just want to."

"Very well, young man. Very well. Are you sure you can keep up your magia and sword training at the same time? You'll struggle."

"My mind is made up, Father. Besides, isn't the day long enough? And moving my body will definitely open my mind for my lessons."

"Then let's start from tomorrow. I think you'll make a lot of progress by the time your teacher comes."

"My teacher? Have you decided who it will be? When did you send a letter? When is he coming? What's he like?"

"Wait, calm down, Gilbert. The truth is I haven't sent the letter yet, but I have decided who it will be. I know he won't reject me, so you can trust me on that. You'll meet him when he arrives, I'm sure you'll get along, I know you both well, that's why I want it to be a surprise for you, wait and see."

How much did he really know about the old me? What would he think if he knew I wasn't the boy he knew? Would he still treat me the way he treats me now? When I thought about it, I felt a bitter sadness. Anyway, I'd better change the subject

"Butaa...Oh...My curiosity has increased now, what am I going to do out of excitement."

"Anyway, that's all the training for today. Alis, can you get the shower ready?"

"Right away, sir."

"I've never forgotten the days when you used to run around in this garden."

Oh, come on.

"Your mom and I used to reminisce about you here, dreaming that one day you'd wake up."

"With a stick in your hand, chasing butterflies in the midday heat."

Please stop.

"The first time you tried to ride a horse, you threw yourself off out of fear and your father caught you in his arms to protect you."

Stop, please.

"Those were good times, weren't they? By the way, Mom, I want to see the city."

"What's this all of a sudden?"

"It doesn't matter, just tell me if I can go or not."

"You must have someone with you, you just woke up from a coma. I can't let you go on your own. But I have a ton of things to do today. Honey, can you go?"

"Unfortunately, I have to be somewhere and the postman is coming. I have to deliver the letter to him. So I have to be home."

"Lira, will you go with him?"

"Of course, sir. If that's what you want."

"Then get ready, you're going to the city."

"Right away, sir."

"I thought I was going with you. Why do I have to go with lira?"

"Then you'll have to wait for the next day, young sir. If you have nothing better to do, you'd better go."

"I have nothing better to do."

"Then..."

"Well, I'll go then."

"I still doubt it's a good idea to send him away."

"It'll be fine, honey. The city and the surrounding area are safe enough. And it'll be good for Gilbert, too. He'll remember city life."

"Come on, sir, I still have to get your clothes ready. Please come."

"Coming, Lira."

I headed home, curious about the structure of the city and what life was like. The only things I could think of were the city layouts in role-playing games. This life always made me feel like I was in a game. The more I thought about it, the more curious I became. I wondered if there were shops of weapons, armor and magic. If so, how did they operate? Was there a marketplace. Would I see different races there? It wasn't a metropolis, but at least it was a city close to a metropolis. I could imagine every possibility, and now I was excited.

As I rushed to my room, I started to doubt whether I would be able to adapt to this life, inevitably imagining three or five things. Would I face more difficult challenges here, would I find the meaning here that I was looking for in my previous life, or would that feeling of meaninglessness persist. Some mistakes are better not repeated, right?