Chapter 4

※Preface Revision

Although the childhood period turned out to be longer than expected, I made sure to leave no omissions before moving on to the later part of early childhood (2-3 years old).

※Please note that there will be breastfeeding scenes while the protagonist is an infant.

The rural town of Mizer, at the foot of the western mountains of the Duchy of Juenegan. That was the place where I was born.

In the game version of Eternal Magia, there was a marriage system, but there was no system for having children. Time flowed in the game world just as it did in real life, and the players in the game also aged. The starting age varied by race, but for humans, it was 15 years old. You could also use bonus points to make the character younger or older.

However, in the world of Eternal Magia where I found myself—called "Magiaheim" in the game—there were 0-year-old characters, like me, an infant.

Here, married characters—no, they shouldn't be called characters anymore. Married couples had children and raised them over a period of years. A year had 360 days, and a month had 30 days. It took more than a year for me, as an infant, to start walking.

There were various ways I could express my will, but the first thing I realized was that the passive skill associated with the Negotiation skill did not activate when used on my parents. While it wasn't a problem that it didn't activate, it seemed to be a limitation of the world's system.

"Ogya, ogya!"

"Oh, it's already that time. Wait a moment, Hiroto."

I cried in the cradle. However, when my mother in this different world—Remilia—approached, I couldn't help but look away.

In my memory, I had a Japanese mother who was about to turn forty.

Suddenly, I had an 18-year-old mother. It was impossible to see a woman two years older than my original age as my mother.

To make matters worse, or perhaps better, Remilia was beautiful. My father in my previous life had once said, "When your mother was young, she was the school's queen." But compared to the beauty of a different world, it was a different story.

"Ah, uh..."

"This child always turns away. This is your mother, you know? Look at me properly."

Words like "Look me in the eye when you speak" were heard about once every two days after I returned home a week after being born.

This suggested that I would be a burden to my parents in this life as well... No, I couldn't let that happen again.

The passive skills associated with Negotiation don't work on real parents. If high-level Negotiation skills like "Charisma" or "[Against Opposite Sex] Charm" worked on parents, it would be a bit problematic. If I said anything selfish, and the charm activated, I would be heard.

Well, as an infant, I could say things like, "My diaper is itchy," "I'm crying because of a bug, please comfort me," or "I'm hungry, please breastfeed me," and these things would be done without negotiation. So, I didn't need to rely on skills at all.

—And before I knew it, the inevitable time for an infant had arrived. Yes, the multiple daily feedings.

"Here, look this way... Good boy, good boy."

(…Kuh… Is, is it really okay…?)

I was an infant, and Remilia was my mother. But she was an 18-year-old beauty with her flaxen hair in a ponytail, and she was about to let me suck on her full breasts. Even though I knew that breasts swell during the breastfeeding period, seeing my mother's chest, which was already not small, swollen to the point of pain, was overwhelming and stimulated my infantile instincts.

—I want to suck. This impulse, unique to infants, was incredibly strong.

However, it felt like I was doing something forbidden, and there was a mix of joy and embarrassment. I couldn't always accept breastfeeding naturally. Remilia had no idea that the infant in front of her was struggling with a conflict not typical of an infant, which only added to my guilt.

"Mom, the milk isn't coming out much, so if it's not enough, please wait a bit."

Breast milk recovered over time. In this world, the act of breastfeeding was set as an "action skill." It consumed mana, and the amount consumed seemed to depend on the "Maternal" skill.

This was inferred from Remilia's status. To see someone else's status, you needed the "Charisma" passive skill obtained through the Negotiation skill, but since we were treated as a party, I could view the status of other party members.

◆Status◆

Name: Remilia Zieklid

Human, Female, 18 years old, Level 10

Job: Lady

Life: 76/76

Mana: 24/24

Skills:

Handicraft: 25

Dignity: 18

Blessed Body: 3

Maternal: 23

Cooking: 10

Action Skills:

Hand Sewing (Handicraft 10)

Weaving (Handicraft 20)

Breastfeeding (Maternal 20)

Simple Cooking (Cooking 10)

Passive Skills:

Manners (Dignity 10)

Raising (Maternal 10)

Remaining Skill Points: 5

From her status alone, I could gather a lot of information.

First, she lived in a village in the countryside, but in a fairly good house. Her job as a "Lady" indicated that she was born into a noble family. It seemed that her parents were nobles, and our family was living in a secondary residence they had given us.

The Dignity skill increased as she performed her duties as a lady, but it only increased by one point per year, so her Dignity skill had reached 18 without allocating any bonus points.

I wasn't sure how the Maternal skill increased, but since "Breastfeeding" could be obtained at Maternal 20, it was probably that the skill increased when she had a child.

The Blessed Body skill increased Life by 12 points per point, and added a +3 per level to physical attack power and +2 per level to defense. It increased without allocating points, but the growth was incredibly slow. For an 18-year-old with a Blessed Body of 3, it meant she had done some exercise but had not experienced much life-threatening combat.

In the game, I hadn't allocated any points to "Blessed Body" and had found an efficient way to raise it to 100 on my own, but that method couldn't be applied as an infant, and it would require a lot of effort. Clicking a mouse and actually moving were different, but I was willing to accept the effort. The Blessed Body skill was essential for progressing in the game.

Remilia had 5 remaining skill points, but it wasn't clear whether she didn't know how to allocate them or was intentionally not doing so. Since I had only been born for about two weeks, the information I could obtain was limited.

"You're not full, are you? Here, Hiroto, it's time for your milk..."

(Damn... I ended up in sage mode with her chest exposed... Breast milk tastes a bit watery, but it feels incredibly delicious.)

In my previous life, I had been fed with a bottle, so being breastfed directly by a mother was a first for me after being reborn. I placed my hand on her full breast and, with Remilia watching, I took the nipple into my mouth.

"Hiroto, try to suck harder. Mom, the milk doesn't come out well at first... Ah, it seems to be working..."

Breastfeeding was a joint effort with my mother. I became absorbed in the process, receiving nutrients and immunity from her.

As an infant, I couldn't survive without breastfeeding. If I didn't, I would have to drink goat's milk, which was actually quite expensive. For the sake of our family's finances, I had to be breastfed as much as possible.

"…Mmm, ah..."

"Good, good... Don't stop yet. If you don't drink enough, you'll get hungry soon... That's a good boy..."

I couldn't help but think how great mothers are every time. The amount of milk that came out was more than I had expected—she gave it to her son every day and still managed to do housework. I felt like I would never be able to repay her.

Remilia didn't get impatient and let me suck until I was satisfied. When she sensed that I was full, she picked me up and patted my back to prevent air from getting trapped in my stomach.

"Kepu..."

"Hehe, you did well. Hiroto, drink your mother's milk and grow up healthy."

"…Auu…"

I couldn't act cute, but Remilia still pressed her forehead against mine and made a face as if I were the cutest thing in the world.

Each time, I remembered my previous life and regretted not being able to do anything for my parents—simultaneously, I felt a strong determination not to leave this life unfinished.

"You're a bit aloof now, but I'm sure you'll smile cutely soon. After all, your father is a bright person."

(I hope I can smile naturally... but the future is still uncertain.)

I thought this, but when Remilia comforted me, I felt like I was smiling more naturally than I thought.

◆◇◆

My father in this different world was a lumberjack. Wood was used for initial equipment and was needed in large quantities to build houses and other facilities, so in the game, it was the first choice for initial production jobs.

My father—Ricardo's status was as follows.

◆Status◆

Name: Ricardo Zieklid

Human, Male, 22 years old, Level 15

Job: Lumberjack

Life: 340/340

Mana: 24/24

Skills:

Axe Mastery: 30

Armor Mastery: 15

Shield Mastery: 10

Woodworking: 12

Dignity: 10

Blessed Body: 25

Action Skills:

Chopping Wood (Axe Mastery 10)

Splitting Helmets (Axe Mastery 20)

Great Slash (Axe Mastery 30)

[Wood] Carving (Woodworking 10)

Passive Skills:

Axe Equipment (Axe Mastery 10)

Armor Equipment (Armor Mastery 10)

Shield Equipment (Shield Mastery 10)

Manners (Dignity 10)

Remaining Skill Points: 0

◆◇◆

He was quite a brainy warrior type. The fact that he had Armor and Shield Equipment and the Dignity skill suggested that his family background was decent. It was similar to the skill allocation of a knight NPC. Knights sometimes held titles, which raised their Dignity skill. The fact that his Woodworking skill was 12 indicated that he hadn't been a lumberjack his entire life.

Ricardo went to the forest at a fixed time every day to cut wood, and sometimes he would return with items from defeating monsters or from hunting animals. Hunting required the "Hunter" skill, but he could benefit from it by forming a party with his village friends.

The hunter's family was the Ronea family. A child was born in their family not long after I was born. The wife of the Ronea family, Sarah, occasionally brought her child to visit us.

Riona Ronea. That was the name of Sarah's daughter.

"Riona will probably grow up to be a beautiful lady. She looks just like Sarah."

"Hiroto will probably grow up to be a handsome man like Ricardo. I hope he gets along well with Riona."

Sarah had a gentle demeanor but seemed a bit fragile. I couldn't see her status, but she was hiding her ears, indicating she wasn't human.

Actually, she was an NPC with the same name in the game, so I already knew what kind of person she was. The game's graphics captured her features, but I didn't immediately recognize her beauty.

"Our child doesn't really get along with us or Ricardo. But that's what makes her cute."

"Hehe... My daughter is the same. Sometimes I'm at a loss because I can't figure out why she's crying."

"Ah, in that case, Hiroto is easy to understand. He cries when he's hungry, but when I come close, he gets fidgety."

"He's happy to see you. He's really attached to you."

Well, if an 18-year-old girl comes to breastfeed, it's hard not to get fidgety. It had been a month since I was born, and I hadn't gotten used to it at all. I tried not to be too happy, but sometimes Remilia looked so content that I didn't know what to do.

While this was happening, Sarah came to my cradle. Hmm, as I thought... She's a half-elf. A gentle, beautiful woman with a healing aura, and her chest was much larger than Remilia's.

Half-elves rarely appeared in public. I knew the circumstances and that she would be involved in a quest that would occur later, but as an infant, I couldn't progress the quest, so I could only observe.

The next update will be after 20:00.