I spent almost two hours with them, receiving a few new jokes from time to time. Overall, I really enjoyed the conversation—some old school stories, fun moments from our youth, all sorts of embarrassing situations. I can’t remember a conversation this entertaining since my brothers were home on vacation.

  They headed to Mancor to continue their gathering—they’re probably already drinking. My father and the baron nearly started their drinking party right then, but my mother killed them with a look because I was still in the room. Now they’re probably enjoying themselves even more with alcohol in hand.

  With my family gone and the young nobles resting, I was left alone. What do I usually do in my free time? Before I could even answer that question myself, I was already walking toward the training room.

  “Today I’m going to try something different.” I got inspired by the previous conversation. This should help me improve my new skill more easily.

  I start by creating the typical mana construct in my hands, then immediately make it vanish. I repeat this about ten times in a row—now it’s time to try something different.

  I had a misguided—or rather, rushed—idea before. I wanted to coat my entire body in mana like armor as quickly as possible. Now it's time to be more flexible.

  I begin creating another mana construct over my chest. I can’t cover everything—just the most important parts, like my heart and my core.

  This type of construct takes more time when applied to a different part of the body. My pseudo-domain ability helps me know my exact measurements and how to shape mana around my body.

  I alternate between the head, chest, hands, legs, abdomen, etc. Each part of my body is being coated one by one. It takes longer when it’s a new body part, but once I get used to it and can do it almost instantly, it’ll be a fantastic skill. After all, I can sense where attacks are coming from with my domain—if I can block them, I’ll avoid fatal wounds.

  I continue this for hours. My head begins to hurt, so I activate my Cold Mind skill—it’s the most reliable when I need to train my mana for long periods while combining multiple abilities.

  I gained a level once I got used to it enough. That’s good news. Lately, I’ve been gaining levels, but it takes longer than usual.

  That means the more personal essence or flexibility my skills have, the faster I’ll gain levels by training them. With some extra motivation, I decide to keep training until bedtime.

  I ended training an hour earlier than usual. I need a bit more sleep to have enough energy for all the activities planned with the guests tomorrow.

  There will be a small fair in Mancor. Time to try some games and street food—just thinking about new food makes my mouth water.

  Before I even realized it, I had fallen into a deep sleep. When I glanced at the time, my brain started to think slowly. Should I keep sleeping? I won’t be able to train with Grandma all week… For the first time in a long time, I surrender to Morpheus and sleep just a little longer.

  Sitting in the middle of the training room, I feel refreshed after sleeping a bit more. I have just under two hours before breakfast—it’s time to get started.

  My training is the same: forming compact and flexible mana in all parts of my body. Just as I’m about to finish, I get another notification—I’ve gained another level.

  I walk toward the family dining room. On the way, I find my grandmother chatting with the two young nobles. We greet each other and enter the room.

  My mother was already waiting for us. “Good morning, everyone. Did you sleep well?”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  We all respond affirmatively and sit around the table to wait for breakfast. Where are the heads of the family?

  “Mother, where are Father and Uncle?” My mother shows a brief expression of discontent, which she quickly corrects before answering me.

  “They’re both still resting. Yesterday’s reunion got a bit out of hand, so they’ll be joining us in a few hours.” I understood immediately. They drank too much and are hungover.

  We continued eating calmly. There wasn’t any deep conversation at the table—time to go to Mancor!

  If I have time, I’ll visit the construction site. I want to know how Edd and the others are doing. Should I go with Cris and Luna?

  We head toward the other village, admiring the nature along the way. This road has been my favorite ever since I assimilated into this world. It feels very relaxing—you can see it’s well taken care of while still respecting the natural surroundings.

  We reach the village, and the first thing we see after crossing the gates is the small fair set up. Plenty of typical fair games, the smell of food in every direction—this is so exciting. No matter your age, going to a fair always stirs up emotions.

  Someone grabs my hand before I can react. “Come on, Maki. It’s time to have fun.” Luna grabs my hand and starts pulling me, while Cris waits a few meters away with a clearly excited expression.

  To avoid any incidents, I activate my pseudo-domain skill. I’ll only deactivate it if a game requires it—I don’t want to win by cheating.

  Even though we just had breakfast, I feel ravenous just looking at all kinds of food. What throws me off is the number of people here—there are way too many. Did both villages come together?

  I ask my mother, and I was right—not just two villages, apparently three. According to her, there’s a village about two hours away on foot with no clear ruler. They haven’t decided yet whether to join our territory or that of another nearby baronet. The decision will be made either by them next week or by an envoy from Marquis Timal.

  My grandmother mentioned that the fair would go until lunchtime, followed by a five-hour break before the nighttime fair, where everyone is expected to attend. It’s been set up this way so that everyone can attend at some point—especially the guards, who can’t leave their duties unattended.

  We start by trying food from various stalls. We share two portions between the five of us—we don’t want to eat too much and miss out on trying everything. A wise decision from my grandmother.

  “Maki, have you ever practiced archery?” Cris tugs at my shirt to ask me.

  “No, I’ve never tried it.” I don’t recall practicing archery in my past world, nor in this one.

  “Come on, follow me. I saw a booth where we can compete. I’ve never practiced either—it’ll be a fair match.” Cris pulls me by the arm as the three girls follow behind us. They’re exchanging comments and giggles—I can’t understand them.

  We arrive at the archery booth. Each booth owner is very surprised to see us—after all, we’re five nobles walking around. It’s a bit awkward trying to convince them to speak casually, but they all try their best to be polite.

  After nearly forcing the owner to accept our money to play, it’s finally time for our match.

  “You go first, Maki. I’ll let you start since you’re younger than me.” Cris said that like he was trying to provoke me, probably hoping to win by throwing me off.

  “I don’t want to hear any complaints when you lose.” I wink at him, take the bow and arrow. The arrow tip is different than usual—more like rubber, probably to avoid hurting anyone by accident. How does it work? If it doesn’t stick, there must be another way to score points. The board shows points from 1 to 6, with the center clearly giving more.

  It’s about ten or twelve meters away. Though I’ve never practiced, I’ve watched plenty of documentaries and Olympic competitions—I have some idea of the technique.

  I release the arrow after a deep breath, and it hits the board. It leaves a small blue mark where it touched—I score a three. Not bad for a start. I hand the bow to Cris, who grabs another arrow. We each have six.

  Cris scores a four. He doesn’t say anything, but his face says it all—like, “See? I’m good too.” His attitude makes me chuckle a bit, and it also fires up my competitive side.

  We’ve each shot five arrows. I haven’t missed a single one, with my highest score being five and the lowest one. Cris, on the other hand, missed one arrow. I have a total score of 15, and he has 11.

  On my final arrow, I score a one, bringing my total to 16. “Cris, no pressure—you can still beat me.” I say it with a cheeky tone. I see him roll his eyes and focus.

  In the end, he gets a four, finishing with 15 points and losing to me. He drops to his knees for a moment, being dramatic, but quickly gets up laughing.

  “I won’t lose to you in any other game at this fair, Maki.” His eyes show his determination.

  “One step ahead, always ahead, Cris.” My competitive side won’t allow me to lose.

  I can still hear my mother, grandmother, and Luna chatting—they’re all still laughing behind us. They come over to congratulate us on our efforts.

  My prize was a small ball with spikes all over it—pretty flexible and it bounces off almost any surface.

  Time to keep enjoying the fair!