Chapter 1.0 - Save, Protect, Help

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I was reborn into a new world—as a baby.

Honestly, being reincarnated as an infant was more of a blessing than a curse. I’d be able to use all that time growing up to train my mana control and practice magic. Definitely a much easier start than suddenly being dropped into a medieval marketplace as an adult with no money in my pockets. 

By the way, let me introduce my new family. 

My mother was surprisingly beautiful. Her black hair flowed down her shoulders like a waterfall, and her eyes carried a gentle, warm light. She looked young, maybe twenty-five at most. Beside her stood my new father—a tall man with steel-gray eyes and a stern face. His black hair was already streaked with a touch of silver. 

And then there was a small child—a girl about three years old. She looked exactly like my mother, only smaller. It felt like I was looking at a miniature version of her. That girl was my older sister. 

From this moment onward, I had thirty years to find the Elemental Spheres.

❖ ❖ ❖ 

My life after birth was fairly uneventful. I was born with a massive amount of mana, and into a wealthy family—the House of Seido, counts ranked ninth in influence across the entire kingdom.

I guess this is the part where I’m supposed to introduce my family. Alright then… who should I start with? 

Mother: Eris Seido
Formally, the head of the house is my father, but everyone knows the real power lies in my mother’s hands. She controls not only the finances but the entire county itself. She can be described in one word: demon. No, wait—not quite. She can also be sweet, charming, even gentle when the situation calls for it. But behind that mask lies cold calculation. She demands discipline, tolerates no nonsense, and always gets her way. I’ve seen servants tremble at just one glance from her, and even my father sometimes looks away when she gets angry. And yet, strangely… there’s something about her that commands respect, even in the moments of fear.

─···✧···─

Father: Kero Seido
Once, he was the hero of this county. People sang songs about his deeds, his battles. But then he met my mother… and put his sword on the shelf. Now he’s a quiet shadow of former glory. He rarely cares about politics or intrigue; instead, he prefers spending time playing with me or teaching me. I can see he truly loves my mother—even when she turns him into an obedient husband. And perhaps, for her and for my sister, he gave up his past life.

─···✧···─

Sister: Catherine Seido
My older sister is three years my senior. She’s the official heir to the county, the future countess. And honestly, the only thing scarier than Mother… is her. A beauty, intelligent, strong, and ambitious. She’s trained by the best tutor in the manor and already knows how to use magic. I love her as a sister, but I also know: one day, her personality will become my greatest enemy.

─···✧···─

Me:
I am now Yamazaki Seido, the second child of Count Kero Seido. Born into House Seido, with a palace, servants, a vast pool of mana, and nearly endless money. What more could I want? And yet… it feels like I’ve loaded Chekhov’s gun, and sooner or later, it’s going to fire. 

“Sir, dinner is ready,” came a quiet voice from behind the door. 

“Thank you, Lilia, I’ll be there soon,” I replied. 

That’s my personal maid. Mother has eight, Father has six, Sister has three. The family decided one would be enough for me. Her name is Lilia. She’s the classic maid you always see in the background of hero stories: modest, quiet, always busy with work.

❖ ❖ ❖

I recently turned seven. My days grew longer because history began repeating itself. Mornings—etiquette lessons. Afternoons — horse riding, piano, foreign languages, and clerical studies. Evenings—painting and fencing. Most of this I already knew in my past life, but I never showed just how perfect my skills were. It’s not my style to boast.

The County of Seido will pass to Catherine once she turns seventeen. And that’s fine by me—managing lands would only get in the way of my own plans.

Honestly, I’m glad the family doesn’t place big expectations on me. That gives me freedom. While everyone focuses on my sister, I can work on my own goals.

“Dear, our county has just been recognized as the safest in the kingdom!” Mother burst into the room, overjoyed.

I was in the middle of playing chess with Father. It’s his favorite game. To be honest—it’s mine too. Of course, I usually lost, but sometimes he deliberately let me win so I wouldn’t lose interest.

“Excellent. We should award the guards. They’ve done very well this month,” Father said.

“Of course. But we’ve also been summoned to the capital. We need to pack up and depart tonight if we’re to arrive by midday.”

And that, in a nutshell, is the result of my nocturnal activities. Is there anything more exhilarating than cleansing one’s own country of bandits in a fantastical realm?

Every night I slipped out of the manor and rode from village to village, rescuing the peasants. Monsters on our lands were few, but bandits were plentiful. They quickly became my greatest trophies.

Now it’s time to demonstrate the magic of this world.

There are three kinds: innate, basic, and acquired. They complement one another, enabling people to create extraordinary feats.

Take my sister, for example. She mastered the innate magic of our lineage. Her ability is called the “Eye of the Storm.” Her left eye can channel a small amount of mana to amplify basic spells like telekinesis—extending its range, lifting heavier and larger objects. She trained so diligently that she learned to sustain the power longer and with fewer dangerous side effects.

What sort of side effects? Total blindness… or even the eye popping out. Haha, I’m joking. In reality, it’s only severe bleeding, since mana particles are linked to the blood.

Of course, not everyone is born with innate magic. My mother, for instance, has none. Her parents weren’t gifted either. Unfair, isn’t it?

Well then, allow me to demonstrate basic magic in action.

The main bandit camp. This is where the scum of the district gather. Storming in and cutting them all down? Too mundane. I’ll make it more epic.

I donned a black cloak with a hood and a mask that concealed the lower half of my face. Stepping onto the camp’s central path, I felt the bandits’ eyes on me. They must have been thinking, “Wow, what a cool bandit… and stylish, too.”

I pushed open the tavern door. Inside, noise, rough men, foul drink. Next to them, I looked like a schoolboy. Well, I was seven years old. I strolled up to the bar.

“I’ll have hot milk,” I said in a low, somewhat theatrical tone.

The barkeep shot me a sideways glance. His eyes said it all: cheeky? In a bandits’ den?

One of them slid onto the stool beside me, two burly men close behind.

“No children allowed,” he sneered. “Do you know what happens to kids in places like this?”

I could sense the classic tavern brawl about to erupt. Another item crossed off my list.

“Did you miss the sign?” he asked.

“It says ‘No Entry’… but only for women,” I replied coolly. “The only rule-breaking woman here is you.”

“Are you insinuating I’m a woman?”

“I said it plainly.”

His face twisted with rage. One of the big guys grabbed my shoulder—just as the barkeep set down my milk. I tilted the glass, flung it over my shoulder, and drenched him in its contents.

He screeched like a little girl.

The bandit next to me was hurled into a nearby table—elementary magic: telekinesis. It lets you move objects with your mind. Mana is produced in the brain, flows down the so-called mana vessel to the heart, then spreads throughout the body. Telekinesis manipulates the brain’s micro-particles of mana. The more particles, the stronger the effect. I spent about eight thousand to send him flying.

The second brute received an elbow strike to the gut. For an ordinary seven-year-old, that wouldn’t be fatal—but I applied basic magic: enhancement. It turned the blow catastrophic. He doubled over and wailed like a child.

Chaos erupted in the tavern: bandits wildly striking one another, tables soaring through the air, the barkeep cowering beneath the counter.

I stepped outside to find four sword-wielding bandits blocking my path. I had no weapon.

“Seriously?” I sighed.

With a flick of telekinesis, I ripped a drainpipe from the wall and used it to parry their blows. Steel clashed, sparks flew. One took a strike to the fingers, another to the legs. Yet with each bandit I cast aside, more swarmed in.

It felt like they were cornering me.

No—they were cornering themselves.

I raised my hand, and pebbles began to hover in midair. I myself hovered half a meter off the ground. In my palm glowed a dark-violet sphere—concentrated mana. It pulsed, drawing in air.

“Want to know what this is?” I smiled. “This is the power of a black hole.”

The bandits froze. One dropped his sword, another nearly fainted, someone wet himself.

“Kneel before the One-Eyed Dragon!” I boomed. “Bow your pathetic heads!”

I clenched the sphere. The next instant, the camp exploded. Trees and buildings were ripped apart, and the shockwave spread far beyond the camp—likely as far as the capital itself.

❖ ❖ ❖

The job was done. Now I needed to head home. I decided to ride off but noticed a overturned wagon beside the ruined camp. It held barrels of wine and, more importantly, my favorite treasure: gold. I’d leave the wine and odds and ends for the guards to distribute to the villagers—and keep the gold for myself.

Approaching the wreck, I saw something else. Among the loot lay the small body of a girl—more precisely, an elf girl. She was unconscious, covered in wounds and bruises, exhausted and defenseless.

Now I faced a choice: gold or the girl. As a hero, I chose gold first.

Having filled my satchel, I heard the guards charging toward the camp. I was about to ride away when I remembered: we lived in the late Middle Ages, and a girl’s body was prey for perverts. Also, as the hero, I had to help everyone without exception. So I gathered her up, too, and carried her to an abandoned village near the palace.

I laid the elf girl on an old bed and focused on the most important thing—appearance. A hero must look heroic. People judge you by your clothes when they meet you, and by your mind when they leave, so I struck the perfect pose. After trying several, I settled on the classic: arms crossed over my chest, eyes gazing into the distance. I stood like that until dawn. My patience finally snapped, and I splashed water on her to wake her.

As I opened the door, I heard a soft, barely audible voice:

“W-who… are you?”

The heroic moment shattered. Thanks for that.

“Me? I am the One-Eyed Dragon, slayer of evil, demons, and titans,” I proclaimed solemnly.

“Demons?” She looked bewildered, as if she had no idea what I meant.

“Indeed! Those very fiends who laid waste to empires. Immortal beings brimming with hatred… and I fight them to end the eternal cycle of suffering.”

“Cool,” she said quietly, and I heard genuine awe in her voice.

I decided to keep going.

“To defeat them, I collect elemental spheres. Only I can harness their power. So I ask you—be my partner and help me save this world.”

A spark lit in her eyes. Of course, the whole tale was my invention; I couldn’t tell her I was simply hunting bandits.

“I’ll help you… even if it costs me my life,” she said, touching my hand. My own mana flowed into her without my willing it—and so we officially became allies.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

“I… don’t remember,” she answered awkwardly.

“Then I shall call you Freya. How does that sound?”

“F-F-Freya?” She smiled. “It’s a lovely name.”

From that moment she settled in the village. I couldn’t bring her to the palace—how would I explain that to my parents?

❖ ❖ ❖

Three years passed, and my organization, the Dragons, grew by five members—all thanks to Freya. She was so kind that she drew everyone to her like a stray kitten.

First came Sonya, the half-cat girl. We found her during a slave-trader’s caravan raid. She was the only survivor among the captives.

Next was Nika, the eldest of our newcomers. She was thirteen—astoundingly intelligent, though without innate magic.

After Nika we accepted Louise, a witch abducted from her home village. She was the sole “emigrant” in our group.

Alice joined by sheer accident. She never quite understood why she was there… and, to be honest, neither did I at times.

And finally, the keystone of my organization: Otto. The only man in this all-female kingdom. Freya rescued him out of pity, explaining that someone had to handle the heavy work. Who better than Otto to carry burdens and chop wood?

Honestly, my organization resembled a refuge for lost kittens more than the mightiest band of heroes destined to save the world.

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《END of Chapter 1.0 - Save, Protect, Help》