Jason sighed as he hoisted me onto his back and adjusted my weight. "Hold on tight, little sprout. It's a long walk to the border."
My face heated instantly.
In my head, I was a grown man with absurdly powerful wishes and the face of some legendary anime magus. In reality, I was a four-year-old getting carried around like a sack of flour. I thought about protesting, but one look at my tiny legs was enough to kill that idea. We still had six hours ahead of us.
Free ride it is, I thought, resting my head against his shoulder. Being a kid had its perks.
The journey was quiet. The only light came from distant fires on the horizon and the occasional pale wash of moonlight. Jason's boots crunched steadily against the dirt road, and somewhere along the way, I drifted off. By the time the sky turned that cold gray before sunrise, the exhaustion of my so-called reincarnation day had finally caught up with me.
We reached a modest stone house tucked into a quiet valley just as the birds were beginning to stir. Jason moved carefully as he climbed the porch steps, trying not to wake me. Inside, the house smelled of old paper, dried herbs, and fireplace soot.
Martha led the way to a small guest room and pulled back the thick wool blankets. Jason lowered me onto the mattress, and I barely reacted. I just curled into a ball and kept sleeping.
The two mages stood in the doorway for a long moment, watching me in the dim morning light. Martha's expression had gone soft, a sharp contrast to the woman who had been haggling over money only hours earlier.
"Look at him, Jason," she whispered, her voice catching. "He looks so peaceful. Like he didn't just crawl out of a nightmare."
Jason leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms. "He's a miracle, Martha. No child should've survived that village."
She turned to him, her eyes bright in the dark. "You know... we spent thirty years chasing monsters and gold. We always talked about having a family, but there was always another war, another job, another reason to wait. We're fifty now. In another twenty years, we'll be lucky if our knees still work."
She looked back at me. "Maybe this is a sign. I don't want to leave him in some orphanage, not after what he's been through. I want to raise him. I want to know what it's like to be a mother before it's too late."
Jason was quiet for a while, staring at the floorboards. Then he gave a slow nod.
"I was thinking the same thing. And did you feel the Ethernano around him? The boy's overflowing with it. If no one teaches him how to control that power, he'll blow a hole in the roof the first time he has a nightmare. We could retire, settle down, and teach him ourselves. Sounds better to me than dying in a dragon's fire with no one left to remember us."
Martha smiled through tears. "I'll start the kitchen fire. He's going to be starving when he wakes up."
I woke to the loud sizzle of a pan and the smell of something incredible, like bacon, only richer. I sat up, stretched my tiny arms until my joints popped, and yawned.
Great Sage, you there? I thought, rubbing sleep from my eyes.
[Notice: I am present. You have been asleep for approximately six hours and twelve minutes. We are currently inside the residence of the mages Jason and Martha.]
Cool. Any news?
[Analysis: While you were asleep, Jason and Martha discussed your future. They have decided to adopt you. They intend to retire from adventuring, raise you, and train you in magic.]
I nearly rolled off the bed.
Wait, seriously? That actually worked? I played the confused-kid card for ten minutes, and now I've got parents?
[Confirmed. Your current appearance and behaviour produced a strong parental response. The strategy was successful.]
"Anime logic wins again," I muttered as I slid off the bed and landed with a soft thump. "Alright, Merlin. Time to face the music."
I padded out of the room barefoot, following the smell into the main living area. The house was cosy, lined with crowded bookshelves, strange magical trinkets, and heavy wooden furniture. In the kitchen, Jason and Martha were already at the table, eating eggs and thick-cut meat.
The moment I stepped into the room, my stomach let out a growl loud enough to make me freeze.
My face went red.
Jason and Martha looked up. After one beat of silence, they both laughed.
"Well, that's a louder greeting than I expected," Jason said, gesturing to an empty chair. "Come sit down. There's plenty."
Martha piled food onto a plate and set it in front of me. "Eat, dear. You need your strength."
I didn't need to be told twice. I dug in, and for the next few minutes the only sound in the kitchen was the clink of forks. The food was rich, hearty, and full of flavor. When I finished, I leaned back in my chair and, without thinking, let out a huge burp.
I froze.
Oh no. I'm supposed to be a mysterious Merlin-type figure, not a cave goblin.
But neither of them looked offended. If anything, they seemed pleased that I'd eaten so well.
"Feel better?" Jason asked, leaning forward on his elbows.
I nodded shyly and looked down at my empty plate. "Yes. Thank you. It was... the best thing I've ever eaten."
Martha reached across the table and squeezed my hand.
"Merlin, we wanted to talk to you. As we told you yesterday, we're mages. We've spent most of our lives travelling as adventurers, but we're tired now. We have this house, and we've saved enough to live comfortably."
She met my eyes, her expression serious and kind.
"You don't have anywhere to go back to, and this home has been too quiet for too long. We want you to stay here with us. If you want... we'd like to be your family."
I looked from Martha to Jason. They were both trying to stay calm, but I could see the hope in their faces.
I had come into this world expecting war, death, and dragons. Instead, on my first day here, I'd been given something I hadn't even known to ask for.
A home.
"I... I'd like that," I said.
And for the first time since waking up in this body, I wasn't pretending.