Chapter 9
Chapter 9
The first familiar candidate, the war dog, was placed lower on the list since I figured I could obtain it later anyway.
The second candidate, the wild boar, had already become meat, so bonding with it was impossible.
The third candidate, the hobgoblin, seemed like the late-bloomer type, which meant it wasn’t necessary right now.
And the fourth candidate, the werewolf, was hopelessly inaccessible from the start.
That left me with only one option.
The centaur warrior.
Even so, I still hesitated to challenge it.
Especially because of the centaur’s absurdly high bonding difficulty.
But honestly, my heart had already leaned in one direction a long time ago.
I had already thought it over enough.
To the point where thinking any further had become meaningless.
Adventure was dangerous by nature.
But the greater the risk, the greater the reward.
And this time, the reward wasn’t just great.
It was unbelievable.
A dependable centaur.
And not just any centaur, but an elite warrior who used to be a tribal chief.
If I succeeded, it would become the perfect protector from the early stages all the way to the end.
No matter how much I thought about it, this had to be the right answer.
Even in my previous life, I had always maintained a daring attitude.
No matter the outcome, challenges were exciting, rewarding, and thrilling.
So no matter how carefully I tried to deliberate—
Maybe the result had been decided from the very beginning.
Honestly, if I hadn’t experienced that life-threatening crisis as a newborn, I probably would’ve chosen the centaur warrior the very day the options appeared.
Considering that, the fact I had spent this long thinking about it already showed tremendous restraint.
The decisive reason I chose the utility trait of Favorability +30%, despite being someone who valued efficiency, was also because I wanted to make the centaur my familiar.
And lately, the dream I had most often wasn’t about riding a horse across the battlefield—
It was about riding a centaur instead.
Was my mind really becoming younger along with my brain, just as I suspected?
Sometimes my fantasies became so wild they were impossible to control.
Still, no matter how you looked at it, there was no denying this option was overflowing with advantages.
Not only would it carry me around—
It would fight alongside me too.
How was I supposed to resist that?
Even in games, a mount that was perfect in both offense and defense almost never existed.
Anyway, I needed to hurry.
Time had flown by unbelievably fast.
Now there was only one month left.
Honestly, I was already cutting it close.
If I had made my decision, there was no point delaying any longer.
But the distance from Bellark Castle to the lake was about five kilometers.
With the body of a four-year-old, reaching that place would be difficult.
There was also a high chance the guards would stop me halfway.
Security around the castle was sloppy enough that I could probably sneak out at night, but still…
A tiny child trying something that reckless was basically the same as hanging up a sign saying, “Please kidnap me!”
Meeting the centaur itself was already a gamble among gambles.
Acting even more recklessly than that wasn’t adventure anymore.
It was practically assisted suicide.
In that situation, there was only one thing I could rely on.
Fwish!
My gaze turned toward the sky-blue-haired boy.
The young lord who was usually nothing but a nuisance.
This time, I needed to humor him a little.
The moment the thought crossed my mind, I began marching forward.
Puk, puk, puuuk!
Ah, but these squeaky shoes are seriously irritating.
Maybe next year they’ll let me walk around without them.
Or at least give me a quieter pair.
“Eden.”
“Uh, huh!?”
Just as expected.
That was exactly the reaction I anticipated.
The guy who always acted calm looked genuinely flustered.
Well, it made sense.
I had almost never spoken to him first.
Seeing his gray eyes light up just because I talked to him once was honestly kind of funny.
He was probably thinking something like this:
Oh my god!
Sera spoke to me first?
She always treated me like cold leftovers before!
“Have somethin’ to say.”
And on top of that, the current situation involved a four-year-old child toddling right up to him personally.
Even if I didn’t intend it, there was no way it wouldn’t look cute.
“Very busy?”
“Sera, what’s wrong…!? No, not at all! I’m not busy at all—!”
Whoa, that’s burdensome.
Seriously, why was he making such a touched expression just because I spoke to him once?
Why did this guy like me so much?
Don’t tell me he’s secretly a lolicon or something. There’s an eight-year age gap here…
“Do you need something?”
Hurriedly, Eden bent down on one knee to meet my gaze.
Because of our height difference, his eye level was still much higher than mine, but somehow it felt like the positions of noble and commoner had completely reversed.
It was reassuring, but at the same time, strangely complicated.
At least it meant persuasion probably wouldn’t be difficult.
Still, Eden was my benefactor.
I wished he wouldn’t lower himself so much.
Anyway, that was that.
For now, it was time to get to the main point.
“Inhale…”
“…Huh?”
“Wanna go forest.”
“The forest?”
“Mm. Bellark forest.”
“What for?”
“Want pick herbs from books… and see animals too.”
I deliberately acted like an innocent child.
I made sure my behavior seemed driven by childish curiosity, just like kids my age.
Because I knew Eden was weak against small animals and children.
“Wan’ go picnic too!”
I spread both my arms wide and struck the most childlike pose imaginable.
…To think that I, a former top contender, was doing this kind of idiotic performance.
Still, I swallowed the unnecessary shame.
This was for the sake of achieving greatness.
A man had to endure humiliation if it meant accomplishing something important.
“Ghk—!”
Grinding my teeth internally, I kept flailing my arms enthusiastically.
I absolutely had to make the centaur my subordinate!
Some people might point fingers at me for this.
But honestly…
Maybe this was actually an incredibly manly act.
The cuteness of childhood was a weapon that only existed during childhood.
And a warrior was supposed to make full use of every weapon available.
So even this ridiculous act I was putting on…
Had to count as something manly.
No, it absolutely had to!
“Wan’ know where birdies fly too!”
I wasn’t curious at all, actually.
Where’s the centaur?
Where’s my dependable guardian?
That was all I cared about.
To add one more thing, the reason I said I wanted to visit Bellark Forest instead of the lakeside was simple.
Even though the lake itself wasn’t far away, it was considered dangerous to humans because of the centaur.
I had no idea why Eden was so weak toward me, but even he probably wouldn’t allow me to openly say I wanted to visit the lake.
Thankfully, the outer edge of Bellark Forest and the shore of Lake Retebein were only about one kilometer apart.
It would be tough with the body of a four-year-old, but not impossible to walk.
“Why all of a sudden?”
But Eden’s reaction remained lukewarm.
“Eh!?”
This time, I was the one caught off guard.
Why?
Couldn’t he see that I was putting on the performance of a lifetime here?
Shouldn’t he be carrying me there without even asking questions, you insolent brat!?
“Uuuh…?”
Of course, I didn’t actually say any of that.
I merely placed both hands against my chest and struck a “Why are you saying that?” pose.
If you wanted something badly enough, you had to know how to endure things.
That was what being an adult was all about.
“Sera, it’s not that…”
Maybe Eden wasn’t against the idea itself.
His face only showed confusion.
“You always liked staying inside the castle and reading books. I was just wondering what changed.”
Ah, so that was it.
To Eden, I probably looked like an introverted child who spent all day buried in the library.
I rarely spoke, barely expressed emotions, and almost never laughed or cried.
On top of that, unlike other children my age, I never wanted anything.
“Did something happen recently?”
Maybe Eden genuinely suspected something strange about me.
Even if he didn’t think I was on my second life, this behavior must’ve felt unusual.
“Sera, you’re still young. You don’t have to carry your worries all alone.”
A child who normally didn’t act like a child had suddenly started behaving like one.
It wasn’t that he disliked matching my mood.
He was probably just worried because it felt so out of character.
“To me, Sera is basically family, even if we’re not related by blood.”
No, hold on.
Isn’t that a little too much?
I appreciated the kindness, but wasn’t he overdoing it?
At this rate, I’d have to tell him later to stop saying embarrassing things like that.
Men shouldn’t act so mushy with each other.
Anyway, what did you think of my insight?
Pretty impressive, right?
I was honestly feeling proud of myself.
“Heheh…”
“Sera, why are you suddenly laughing?”
“Ah, no, just…”
Oops. The corners of my mouth curled up without me realizing it.
Still, awkwardness could always be turned into an opportunity.
In situations like this, charging straight ahead with a frontal attack was probably best.
“I’m happy… ’cause I getta go play with Eden…?”
“Eh!?”
“Ghhhk—!”
Endure it.
Once the centaur became my subordinate, this would probably be the last time I ever had to act cute toward Eden.
So I made sure not to forget spreading my arms wide and calling out, “Edeeen!”
“Hehe…”
“S-Seraaa!”
It was fine if he got emotional.
But I absolutely refused to get hugged by another guy.
Whoosh!
I immediately rolled away on instinct to avoid Eden’s embrace and the incoming wave of goosebumps.
Thunk!
“Guh!?”
Ah, crap.
I accidentally slammed my head into a chair!
That hurt like hell!
“Ughhh…”
Pain could make even emotionally numb adults cry.
And since I was technically an adult too, tears naturally gathered in my eyes.
It was a little embarrassing, but honestly, the timing worked out perfectly.
At my core, I was a warrior and a fighter.
I had to make full use of every weapon I possessed.
“Wanna go walkies~!”
After that, the game was over.
“S-Sera… I thought you didn’t really like me…”
How did he figure that out?
Putting gratitude aside, I really didn’t like him that much.
Not because he annoyed me, but because overly kind people tended to feel frustrating.
Still, for once, that frustrating personality of his was incredibly welcome.
“Okay, Sera.”
The young lord had already been completely conquered by a tiny commoner child and now looked as emotional as someone witnessing a messiah.
“R-right… umm, then next week, how about we go to Bellark Forest for a lunch outing!?”
Even the expression on his face as he looked over the calendar was filled with excitement