Kirisaki Shoku opened his eyes, only to find himself staring back at a wooden ceiling. He blinked to confirm his sight, and the brown ceiling remains unchanged. He felt rather weird with his body, as if it had gotten smaller.
A cacophony of noises were heard around him. He opened his mouth and tried to speak, but instead...
"Ngu~"
He was a baby.
W-What the heck is going on?!! He thought in his mind as he gazed around.
He was located in a crib, made out of wood and soft pillows. In front of his eyes was a woman with golden orbs and black, long hair was staring back at him with a delighted expression. She uttered some words he didn't understand to someone nearby, ushering that person to hurry over.
He moved his head a little and saw it was an old lady, most probably the baby's - or his - grandmother. She walked over slowly to the crib and glanced at Shoku. She gave a kind grin and extended her wrinkled hand to stroke his forehead, and he let her do so.
".... ! .... , ......." the young lady, presumely his mother, spoke excitedly to his grandmother, who returned her words which sounded like congratulations.
Eh... what happened?" He stared at the ceiling from his crib. If I last remember, I was falling through the crack and everything went black. Ah... Akari....
As he thought of his childhood friend whom he failed to safe, he started crying. But in the body of the baby, it looked as if he was going to burst into tears. Seeing this, the lady from before immediately picked him up gently from the crib and cradled him lovingly in her arms. She sung a soft melody to put him to sleep.
As if enchanted by a spell, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. His crying ceased completely as he fell asleep, snoring softly in her arms. The old lady walked towards him and gave him a kiss on the forehead before the young lady put him back into the crib with teary eyes.
"Sigh... this child..." the old lady spoke sadly as placed a hand on the young lady's shoulder, shaking her head slowly. "I really pity him... with his father gone... and all left is his mother..."
"Mom..." the young lady grasped the old lady's hand gently as tears began to fall from her face.
~ ~ ~
"Mwa~" the three year old Shoku opened his mouth, accepting food fed from his mother.
"Here you go~" she smiled as she gave him a mouthful of porridge. "Does it taste good?"
"Mm~ Mother's cooking is great!" He exclaimed while giving her a thumbs up.
"Yay!! That makes me happy!" She cheered with joy and called out to his grandmother. "Mom!! Did you hear that? Shoku called my good tasty!!"
"Hai, hai," the old lady called from outside while silently chuckling at her daughter's reaction.
Kirisaki Shoku, now 3 years old, is peacefully living with his mother and grandmother from the other world. They live together in a small part of the town where not many people would gather, unlike the town center.
After a few months since his 'rebirth', he finally started to accept the fact that this was not a dream and he could no longer return to his previous world. Just the thought of losing his family and friends, especially Akari, was painful and would cause him to tear up everytime. But now, he has learnt to let go and focus on living his life to the fullest, even without people dear to him.
Through his 3 years, he had been secretly studying and learning as much as possible about the otherworld through his mother's storytelling. Also, he sneaked out of bed to read the books stocked on the shelves to gain knowledge in midnight. By the time he was 3, he already knew how to read and write the other world's language. Of course, he could finally communicate and understand what his mother was speaking.
According to how much he has learned from all the books in his mother's study, this is a world where many other fantasy and mythical beings existed which were not from Earth. Its Science and Technology is far from the current Earth's technology. This was a world where not even steampunk existed and only simple mechanisms like wooden wheels are used.
In order to fill in the empty space of technology, magic was used as a replacement. In this world, magic was known as the equilibrum of the world, which was what created this world and all. Life was created from magic, fulfilling everyday's needs. Everywhere was filled with magic. Though a little outdated, there was no need of any science or technology due to magic. This caused the place to look like how Earth was in the old times before the discovery of science.
In this world, magic schools existed instead of the ordinary schools like those from Earth. Students at the age of 9 can attend elementary school and continue studying until they reached 18, the legal age for adulthood and getting jobs.
Certain jobs in this world were similar to those in Earth, only that all the jobs of this world requires magic. Even a simple farm needs magic to mark the livestock as their own. The job extends from farmers to adventurers, where the difficulty rises again and again. Adventurers are one of the most common jobs in this world, and also one with high end risk.
Being an adventurer was like a double-edged sword. You can go adventuring around the world in search of unexplored regions or discovering special items, but there is always a risk of dying on each mission you carry out. You can either live a safe and cheep life as a normal citizen with normal jobs within the city, or you can be live a dangerous but reward-filling life of being an adventurer.
Of course, in this other world, there are also political issues. There are a few regions around the world, which was estimated by Shoku to be a lot smaller than Earth, whose population was not even a third of Earth. This world, known by the inhabitants of it as Erude, has five main regions. The land region, the sky region, the yokai region, the sea region and the uninhabitate region.
First off we have the land region. Needless to say, it was where Shoku is now. It was the biggest among the five of the regions, with more than half of the population of Erude. This was a land of humans, monsters and adventure.
Being one of the most advanced region among the five, it was a place where most of the known races were located. These races are divided into many different fractions. The main races are the human race, the elf race, the beastman race and the devil race.
The human race, one of the most dominance race which are constantly fighting and claiming new territories.
The beastman race, more commonly known as 'demi-humans' are made up of half animals and half humans. Due to their appearances of being human and animals, that was what gave them their names. They are divided into the wolf clan, the cat race, the dog race and the lizardman race.
The wolf clan is one of the races in Erude that has the highest pride, next to the dragon clan. It is considered sacred, in which they are really rare to be found. Mostly hidden deep within the forest, they are not allowed to be slaves as it would break the peace treaty between them and the other races. They would not hesitate to start a war over one of their kind being killed.
The cat and dog race. Commonly found in towns, cities and mostly all over the place. They coexist well with humans, but it still depends on which area. In the land region, there are many fractions of kingdoms as the region is huge. Depending on the region, the cat and dogs race can either be friends, or slaves.
The lizardman race. The same as the goblins and orcs, they are mindless monsters found mostly in dungeons to be killed by adventurers as rewards. Though moatly found in caves, goblins, orcs and lizardmen seldom have their own hideout in the forest where they stir up trouble, which makes them a target for elimination.
Now, moving on to the elf race. This race is labelled under one of the biggest extinct races. This is where it gets interesting. Elves have long lives which reach up to 1000 years old and are rare. They are divided into two subspecies: the light elves and dark elves.
Light elves are the usual, friendly type with short, pointy ears and look human. They dwell deep within the jungle, but occasionally some are seen in towns, though rare. In black markets, it is said that elves are rarely sold as they are hard to find and capture due to their intelligence, agility and fighting skills.
Dark elves are elves with purple skin. They are considered the 'evil' version of the elves. Considered a minor threat to society, they dwindle in the high mountain areas where it is usually impossible for normal human beings to reach. With a popularity of less than a 100, their existance is considered to be less of a threat, though evil.
Next up is the devil race. Devils are evil beings with sharp, pointy ears sticking out of their head and have common human characteristics. They can live up to 500 years at max and they are constantly at war with humanity over domination of territory. Living in the yokai region, their population may not rival those of the humans, but their strength are overwhelming, which makes them a hard opponent.
Let's move on to the second territory, the sky territory. This is a place where not many know how to get to, as it is located so far up in the sky there is no possible way to get up there besides advanced flying magic. It is said in the sky territory, two races exist there. That is the fairy race and the dragon race.
Fairies are small and fast. With a height of 25 centimetres, they zoom in and out of the forest they conquer in the sky region. Their lifespan is roughly the same as the devils, and have small pointy ears, unlike those of an elf.
The dragon race is thought to have been extinct, since the last dragon showed up 200 years ago. Still, there are many stories about it which depicts a hero slaying the dragon in the current world. Living as long as the devil race, they are mighty beings who conquer the mountain area of the sky region where they roam freely.
The sea region is an interesting region. The ocean covers 60% of Erude, but there is barely any knowledge about it. All they know is that besides having a huge amount of marine lifeform, there is only one race that lives under the sea- the mermaids.
With a lifespan two times that of a human, mermaids are rarely seen on the surface as they linger in the deepest and most secure area of the ocean. Said to be rules by a queen, the mermen and mermaids are under control of the entire ocean.
The yokai region, a small land which consists of the vampire clan and the devil race. As explained from above, the devil clan takes up most of the territory of the yokai region. The vampire clan does exist, but with a population of less than a 500, it is hard to list them on the map as they are not even visible from the looks of it. Who knows where they are hiding from the devils now.
There is a last region, one where no one has ever been before and can never go- the uninhabitate region. Not knowing what lingers there, those who have tried to go there find it impossible. No one knows why, but no matter how hard they try, they will never make it there. There are rumours from those who nearly made it there that there were large shadows flying in the misty, everdark sky. Strange crying noises which resembles an elephant shrieking was heard emitting from the island. The region takes up 5% of the map, so some considered it a myth or just a normal island. There are also those who believe it is the path to God or some other nonsence.
So, how those all this matches up with political issues? Well, it is a long history in which Shoku got indulge in and made his mother shock to see her son reading a 1000 page book at the age of three. His grandmother had to calm his mother down and assume that Shoku was a 'blessed kid'. Now whenever his mother sees him reading a book, she would transform into chuunibyou mode and go "My son is a genius!!" everywhere in the rural village, causing him to hide inside the house with his cheeks flushed. In dismay to his mother's attitude, he would return to his books.
Returning to the five regions. Among the five, currently only the land region was one which was the most advanced and developed among them all. In the land region, there were various countries, or kingdoms, as they people in Erude call it, unlike Earth. Currently, he only know of the name of the kingdom he was in, as he did not have a world map or something to refer. It would also be awkward to ask his mother about it, as she would go crazy again, or ask his grandmother, as she does not know a lot about politics.
Back to the topic, he was born in the Vestic Kingdom, one of the kingdoms in the land region. It was ruled by a general, which makes Vestic a military kingdom. Luckily, education was needed here and only men above 16 need to join the army at critical times if a war breaks out between other kingdoms.
At times, there would be multiple soldiers going around the area Shoku was in. They were corrupted and would do as they please, and the people staying around the area could do nothing about it but only look down at the ground with clenched fists while gritting their teeth as they forcefully obeyed the orders given by the soldiers, even if improper. Even his mother and grandmother had to work hard to pay off for the taxes and 'protection fee'. There have even been cases of rapes and stealing caused by the soldiers.
"Haiz.... the imperial soldiers these days..." Shoku's mother sighed as she was cleaning the table. Obvious signs of exhaustion was shown on her body, her having panda eyes lately.
Due to needing to work extra to pay for the extra 'taxes', his mother had been taking multiple jobs at the same time. In the early morning where the sun had not risen, she would wake up and go straight to the paddy field to work, leaving Shoku in his grandmother's hands. After that, she would return home and eat breakfast with Shoku and his grandmother, then go out again to sell some handmade clothes in the market near the city area until evening. She would then return home, rest, have dinner and start working on sewing clothes until late at night. The cycle would repeat like this everyday, but income has still been tight, barely enough to support the three of them.
"Mm... they have been doing whatever they want... its getting a little out of hand," Shoku's grandmother, who was seating in a rocking chair nearby, nodded in agreement.
Shoku, having the mentality of an adult, understood what they were talking about. With his tiny hands, he reached up and patted his mother for comfort. He wanted to help, but with his body, he could barely do anythinf, needless to say carry heavy stuff. He needed to wait until he grow a little bit older before he could acfually help. At this, his mother looked down at him and broke into a cheerful smile. She carried him in her arms, craddling him dearly with a stupendous wide grin spread across her face.
"Ehehe.... Shoku knows the best," she giggled, giving him a tight hug.
"U-Ugh... haha... thank you... Mother..." Shoku choked a little, forcing a smile back at her. He was actually starting to suffocate from how hard his mother was hugging him. With his small body and fragile bones, a bear hug was more than enough to end his life.
"Daughter... please put Shoku down, you are killing him," his grandmother smiled wryly, seeing Shoku's pitiful state.
"A-Ah!! I'm so sorry, Shoku!!" His mother panicked and immediately settled him down on the ground.
Coughing slightly, Shoku stumbled around a little, then falling into his mother's arms again. She giggled apologetically at Shoku and hugged him gently.
"I'm sorry Shoku... can you forgive Mother?" She asked Shoku, showing him her teary eyes. It was as if she was begging for forgiveness from someone she shows respect and admiration to. This situation could be described as a junior apologising to a senior in school, making the scene even more humorous. This only proves that she had a strong attachment to Shoku, maybe a strong mother's bond like no other.
Shoku, who was feeling helpless with his mother's attitude, could only sigh and nod his head, causing his mother to break into tears of relief and hugged him tightly to her chest. With his gradmother smiling at the two of them while continuing to rock in her chair, the drama continued, laughing and crying sounds echoing from the small wooden house.
The day soon started to fall to night, another hard day going by again. As Shoku's eyes started to close, he gazed at the book lying open on the floor. The page shows that it was all about the Imperial government, containing as much knowledge ad the author of the book could write down. With a determined mindset, his heart was set afire. He was aiming to go after the government in the future after he become bigger, much much bigger.
"Akari...." he muttered the name of his previous best friend, using it as a determination to focus on his goal and his eyes fall shut.