Black Haired King Chapter 3

「…..Morning huh. Mnnn!」 (stretching sfx)

I got up before the sun even rose. It was a daily routine of mine—to the point where my body now did it unconsciously.

I changed out of my sleep wear into clothes that are easy to move in, and then…

「I’ll work hard today too!」

I went out, holding the sword mother gifted me.

Walking to the courtyard of Baron Glemond’s home, once I reached I did a few light warmup exercises.

After, I jogged to warm up my body. A single lap around the courtyard was about 300 metres. I guess I'll run 10 laps.  

After which, I do a few hundred pushups and drew my sword. (TL: That abruptness though)

3 years ago, even holding it was difficult, but lately I’ve been able to swing it countless times. 3 years since my mom pa.s.sed away.

Ever since then, I've sworn before my mother's grave to do my best that I could; and so I’ve made sure to train my body daily.

Still, it’s only at the level of self-study; only at the level of moving a little bit better than the other kids.  

Maybe if I had been able to see other people using swords, it would have been different, but Balt and my elder sister took lessons in magic, so they’ve never been taught swordsmans.h.i.+p.

I think Balt was taught a little, but it was only for a moment.

The soldiers of the manor had swords at their waist, but I’ve never seen them wield them.

So, for the past 3 years, I've just put in effort to build up my body, afterwhich, swing the sword around I guess.

The sword was pretty heavy in the beginning, and it felt unsteady,  but lately it’s been exactly as the book said it would be, losing all its unsteadiness.  

Staying true to the basics: Get in stance, Swing up, Swing down. That’s it.

This is what I do on a daily basis, thousands of times.

I also asked my my elder sister to teach me about this world, about magic.

While I learnt about magic, It was heart-wrenching, but I wanted to at least be able to use a little of it.

Firstly, about where I am from. This world is apparently called Grinotia. 1 Year is 360 days, 1 month is 30 days for 12 months a year. Every day has 24 hours.

Every week has 6 days, named after the magic attributes; Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Dark, and Light, with day of Light being the day of rest. (TL: that last bit might be inaccurate)

Finally, the country I live in is called 『Albast Kingdom』. It’s located in the center of the Yumeria continent, surrounded by other countries.

The total population is around 500,000.

The surrounding area was where mid-leveled countries gathered, and there were around 10 similar countries gathered here.

There’s a mountain with a large plain to the south, but the development hasn’t progressed because there are too many monsters. All the while, various countries are gunning to develop the south. There seems to be a country beyond it, but to get there you’d need to cross the monster infested mountain and then pa.s.s through another country, which is apparently not good, so I guess it's impossible.   

To the north of the『Albast Kingdom』, there are several countries joined together to form the 『Belgirus Empire』, to the east is the 『Melt Faria Kingdom』.

These two countries are beyond the Melt river, which has a width of 10 kilometers, but my sister said they are in a situation where their ceasefire could explode at any moment.  But, that doesn’t really have anything to do with me.

As for magic, to put it simply, I was taught how to cover my body in magical power.

It’s basically the so called body strengthening.

With just this, I can raise my running speed, strength and eyesight.

My elder sister showed me an example, but when I jumped in that form, I was surprised when I was able to jump to the second floor of the mansion.

According to my Sister,  while it’s true I don’t have an element, I have the magical power comparable to a 3 element possessor.

I was very happy when I found out. If I train, it could grow to be comparable to even a 5 element possessor.

After that, I trained by covering my body in magical power and meditating daily.

In the beginning, I didn’t really understand what exactly magical power was, but lately, I’ve become conscious to the warm current flowing through my body.

I got so over my head from being able to feel it that I thrust into the wall while covered in magical power.Elder Sister was very scary that time.

Mia also got angry at me for it.

Before I knew it, 3 years have gone by.

It seemed Balt didn’t have any interest in me anymore, since there hasn’t been a time I’ve been hit in the last 2 years. Madam Keri also doesn’t meddle with me anymore since my mother had pa.s.sed.

The servants of the house are the same as before, but it’s better for nothing to happen.

But, this lifestyle ends today.

The reason being, I’m leaving the manor.

This year, Elder Sister turns 14, which is the age when n.o.ble children attend school.

For that reason, she has to go live in the capital, leaving the Barony  and living in a dormitory.

So, the people who would protect me in here  would be gone.

Until now, my elder sister helped me if anything happened, but that won’t be the case anymore.

I guess Gelman also thought the same, so he personally called me earlier to inform me about my sister's enrollment, but also about my disinheritance.

Well, my black hair also played a part in it.

Either way, I gave an immediate reply.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep my promise to my mom if I stayed.

I thought that, no matter how painful it will be, as long as it's a path I chose, I would be able to bear with it.

I also received a bit of compensation from Gelman for leaving.

As for Mia, I’ve already asked Elder sister.

Mia was attached to my mom before, but she’s also been attached to me until yesterday.

If I left the Glemond Family, Mia would probably be dismissed.

So, she became one of my sisters maids.

My sister likely knew that as well, indicative of when she immediately went to Gelman to ask.

So, Mia is going to be her maid starting today.

Although I made Mia cry, I somehow was able to convince her; I’d be able to leave with peace of mind.

「It’s already time, huh.」

Before I knew it, the sun rose, and it was time for the maids to start working.

I had to prepare to depart.

So I headed back to my room, wet a cloth to wipe myself and change.

I had called it 'preparation', but there isn’t really much for me to take.

At most it was just a few pairs of clothes and some money. And then there was this this sword, I guess.

Like that, I began to pak.

*knock knock*

Knocking sounded.

I opened the door and who appeared was-

「You were preparing after all, huh?」

Sister and Mia…

「Elder Sister, Mia, what’s wrong?」  

「Don’t give me that “what’s wrong”, …You’re already leaving?」

「Yes, today is the last day of the agreement after all.」

As I spoke, a soft smell of flowers brushed my nose.

Before I had realized it, I my Elder Sister had embraced me.

「I’m sorry, if only I had talked to Father a bit more, you probably wouldn’t have had to leave.」

「No, I knew this would happen eventually, it just happens to be today. Plus, I was planning to talk about leaving anyways, so the end result would have been the same. Don’t mind it, Elder Sister.」

After embracing me tightly for some time, Elder Sister separated herself a bit.

At the corner of her eyes, tears welled up.

「Redius-sama」

「Thank you for everything you’ve done as well, Mia. From now on, serve Elder Sister and live happily, ok?」

These weren’t words you’d say to someone 7 years older than you, but they came out naturally.

Mia probably couldn’t hold it in, and she began to cry as she hugged me.

「Yes! I’ll work hard to serve Eris.h.i.+a-sama」  (she’s stuttering in tears, not sure how to convey in english)

I patted Mia’s back. My 2nd older sister, stay well.

After Mia and Elder Sister calmed down, we talked a bit while we walked to the mansion's gate.

The guards stationed at the there looked at me with suspicion, but I ignored them.

「Elder Sister, Mia, Thank you very much for all you’ve done for me. Please get along happily from now on.」

「Geez, why do you keep speaking formally…we’ll be able to meet again, right?」

To be honest, I couldn’t really say “yes” but..

「Of course, Elder Sister. The next time we meet, I’d love to see Elder sister’s child.」

「G-Geez, Redius! ….Stay well」

「Redius-sama, stay well!」

….Mia, snot is leaking from your nose. You’re ruining your cute face.

「Stay well, both of you.」

I said as the gate drifted away.

So, what will I do from now on, you ask?

I guess I should go to the adventurer's guild, and become an adventurer.

With my current abilities, I can’t go to another country if I don’t get at least a bit stronger.

Mom, even though I’m all alone now, I’ll do my best to live.

Please watch over me.