I woke up early in the morning and was out in the yard swinging my sword.


    Yesterday I slept with Tina and I couldn''t sleep soundly because I was constantly thinking about today, but my body is fine.


    In my past life, I even fought all day long, so compared to that, I''m in near-perfect shape now.


    I''ve been training until now, and I''ve been able to bring my strength to a point where I can say that it''s almost the same as it was in my previous life.


    I''ve been training since my rebirth for this day--I''ll definitely save everything.


    With my resolve in mind, I concentrated on wielding my sword and preparing for the demon attack that would follow.


    Then I heard footsteps that were quieter than usual, probably because it was early in the morning, and my dad appeared in the garden.


    ''''Oh!　It''s Eric!


    Dad, morning.


    Oh, oh my God, I''m sorry.


    My dad lowers his voice a bit when he''s warned by me and then starts talking.


    ''Good thing you''re training so early in the morning!　I''m going to go hunting in the woods now, but I''m going with you!


    Yeah, I''ll be there.


    I was reminiscing about the situation in the forest yesterday.


    Around noon, demons would suddenly come attacking, but as far as the situation yesterday was concerned, it was completely different from the usual forest, so I thought it would be a little different if I went there now, so I decided to go to the forest with my dad.


    ''''I see!　Then we''ll go quietly.


    My dad almost says it out loud again, but when he sees me put my index finger up to my mouth, he lowers his voice and starts walking, killing his footsteps. I follow him.


    ''Strange I don''t see the demon in sight.


    I was listening to my dad muttering that next to me as I explored the forest without a care in the world.


    ''There have been times in the past when there have been no demons in the mornings but never before has there been any sign of demons this far away.


    My dad says that demons are more likely to be nocturnal types.


    If they were out in the forest last night, they should have left some kind of trail.


    But........that''s not in the forest today. I can''t find a single footprint.''''


    Dad said as he looked around at the dead leaves on the ground and the soil situation.


    ''Hmmm ... no use thinking about it here. Let''s go back to the village, Eric.''''


    Okay.


    I thought my dad would know something about this situation but I still don''t know what caused it because apparently this hasn''t happened before.


    I don''t know the cause either but I know what''s going to happen after this.


    ''''Maybe something bad is going to happen...?''''


    I''m not ready to assume that just yet, but I will tell everyone in the village that there is something wrong with the forest.


    I tried to tell my dad to prepare for the demon attack accordingly but he doesn''t seem to think it''s that important.


    It''s no use. I''m the only one who knows about the attack. You wouldn''t believe me if I told you.


    So... I was the only one with the strength to protect you.


    And then my father and I would return to the village and go home.


    My father told the villagers he met while he was returning home about the situation in the forest and told them to stay away from it, but that much caution wouldn''t do them any good.


    ''I''m home.''


    Eric, welcome back.


    I''m home!


    You....


    Serena...?　What''s going on?


    ''Taking little Eric out to the woods again this early in the morning...''


    When I see Mom start to get angry at my dad, I distract myself and leave the place. I''ll be pissed off too if I stay there. Dad, forgive me.


    I didn''t sweat in the woods, but I did sweat a little in the morning training, so I head towards the washroom for a towel.


    When I got to the bathroom, I saw Tina brushing her teeth with her eyelids (eyelids) looking a little heavy, as if she was asleep.


    ''Good morning, sister Tina,''


    Hmm. Hi. Hi. Here, towel.


    Thank you.


    Tina always has a towel ready for me when I''m done with my morning drills, and she''s always ready with a water-cooled towel.


    She''s not very good at mornings, but she''s a good sister for always making sure I have a towel ready for me. Well, we''re not blood related.


    I lightly wipe my face and body, and Tina brushes her teeth and splashes cold water on her face to refresh herself before heading to the living room.


    In the living room, my mom and my dad, who looks a little depressed after his sermon, are already sitting down to prepare breakfast.


    Good morning, Tina. Come home for breakfast today, too.


    Yeah, thanks again.


    ''It''s okay! And Eric, you''re allowed to visit Tina''s house too.


    Mom was right, I often go to Tina''s house to visit her. Most of the time, it''s because Tina invites me over, but....


    When I go to Tina''s house, there''s a good chance I''ll sleep in her room and eat at her house in the morning.


    So when Tina stays here, my mom makes breakfast for her.


    Me and Tina sit down at the table and start eating breakfast.


    "Oh, Mom. Can I have another?


    ''Oh, that''s very unusual, Eric. Have you been moving in the woods that much?


    Mom says and turns her attention to my dad. Dad shakes his big body, looking uncomfortable.


    ''No, it''s not like that but I''ve had a long morning of training and I''m hungry.''


    ''Really?　All right, eat lots of food.


    Mom hands me a big bowl of rice on my plate. .........I didn''t expect it to go this far, but I feel bad for Mom, who smiled and prepared the rice for me, so I''ll eat it all properly.


    I remembered that there would be a demon attack around noon after this, so I figured I wouldn''t have time to eat rice around that time, so I decided to eat well into the morning for lunch.


    ''Eric, what''s going on?''


    Hmm?　No, I''m just hungry.


    Tina asked me if my unusual behavior was bothering her.


    I eat a second breakfast, acting as usual so that she doesn''t notice.


    After eating twice as much as I usually do, I go out into the yard and start training again.


    Rather than training, it''s more like a last physical checkup.


    I swing my sword and increase my concentration - Tina is next to me, but she''s still watching me, as if she''s noticed that I''m acting differently than usual.


    After an hour or so, I stop training and take a breath.


    Tina comes up to me and hands me a towel that I''ve magically wet and cooled.


    ''Thank you, sister Tina,''


    ''No ... Eric, what''s going on?''


    There''s nothing there.


    -- right now, I swallow the word "now" and wipe my face with the towel I received.


    I think I''m doing what I always do, but Tina is still suspicious.


    ''Eric, Tina. I''m going to go greet everyone in the village~


    Mom called out loudly from the doorway to us in the yard.


    ''Yes!''


    I was building up the tension as I answered the call.


    --At last, it''s here........!


    Since Tina and I are the only children in the village, everyone there watches us grow up as if we were their parents.


    That''s why everyone in the village always gets together on the day after my birthday to celebrate me and Tina''s birthday.


    Now my father, mother, Tina, and I are going to go to the square in the center of the village and all the villagers are going to get together for a festive celebration.


    And - in the middle of the festivities - there will be an attack of demons.


    I remembered to carry my sword at my waist and headed to my mother''s place.


    And -.


    ''Hahaha!　My son is sixteen years old!　Congratulations!　It''s all thanks to you guys!　You''re welcome!


    My dad is in the middle of the square doing something like a speech.


    Since I was the star of the show, I was allowed to stand in the middle and give a speech, and then everyone had something to eat and drink, but as soon as everyone started to drink, everyone started to get rowdy without regard to me.


    Well, it was the same as always. It allowed me to sit in the corner and watch them go nuts.


    My dad, my mom, and Tina, everyone is smiling and wishing me a happy birthday.


    They don''t think for a second that this peaceful life will ever be broken.


    I didn''t think so either.......I believed this happiness would last forever.


    But - I''m the only one who knows that this happiness is going to fall apart.


    Then I am the only one who can protect it.


    Slowly, I leave the square without anyone noticing.


    I walk alone towards the forest.


    When I arrive at the entrance to the forest, I draw my sword and hold it ready for the moment.


    After a few minutes of me holding my sword up and meditating, I start looking for a sign - the time has come.


    With an earth tremor that you can understand even without looking for signs, you can see that a horde of hundreds of demons is approaching this village.


    When I open my eyes, various demons rush towards me from deep within the forest in a state of excitement.


    ''''As I thought.......there''s something here.


    Normally, if the demons are of different species, they will fight each other in territorial disputes.


    However, the horde of demons in front of me right now are all kinds of species trying to attack this village at the same time.


    ''''Well okay we''re going to do the same thing.''''


    Come to me from wherever you are and I''ll protect your village!