Chapter Twelve: The Child Who Doesn’t Want to Be in Debt for Favors

“Child, you must become a respected magician!”
Who was speaking?
The voice sounded so familiar, but… who? Who?
Jiang Zhe slowly woke up from his sleep, finding himself lying against a tree trunk in a forest. How did he end up here?
Oh, right—he had traveled through time; this was a world filled with magic…
Magic?
Yes! He had to go to the city of dark magicians, Sassen!
Wait, how did he know about cities in this world?
“Ugh… my head hurts so much!”
Jiang Zhe held his head and stood up, looking around. Suddenly, he noticed that it was getting dark.
Damn, he needed to go back quickly, or she would get angry…
Hm? Wait, go back? Where? Her? Who is she?
Ugh…
Damn it, did he hit his head when he traveled through time? It hurt terribly!
And…
Slowly extending his right hand, Jiang Zhe wiped the moisture from the corner of his eye in confusion.
“Why is this? Why do I feel so uncomfortable? It’s as if I’ve lost something important…”
He had the feeling that he had forgotten something very important…
※※※
One week later, in an ordinary village in the west of the empire!
The village was small, with only a few households, much smaller than the town of Bisset.
In a farm in the southwest corner of the village lived an elderly couple. They once had a strong son, their pride. But ever since that proud child joined the imperial army, he never returned.
In the blink of an eye, that had been over a decade ago…
Since then, every night, the old woman would silently cry over her son’s clothes, hoping that one day he would return…
Compared to the old woman, her husband was much calmer. He drank the wine he brewed until his face turned red before going back to sleep drunk. Perhaps, though he didn’t say it, he was also hoping…
“Shush…”
There was a faint sound of footsteps outside.
It was hard to believe that the old woman, who usually had poor hearing, could hear such a subtle sound.
“Husband, husband, what do you think…”
“Enough!” The drunk old man, seemingly used to this, shook his head and said, “It’s just the wind…”
“No…” The old woman kept shaking her head and stood up tremblingly.
Glancing at his partner, who still hadn’t given up after over a decade, the old man waved his hand and stood up, saying, “You stay here. I’ll go take a look…”

Actually, they all understood that their children had died over a decade ago in the war against the Empire and Thessaly, at the hands of those white magicians. Compared to the old woman’s reluctance to face reality, the old man had long since given up hope. What could be more important than one’s own children? After hearing the tragic news about his son, the old man lost interest in taking care of the farm and let it fall into disrepair, getting drunk every day. Such families were not uncommon in the Empire. “Sssha.” Holding the wine bottle and gulping down the liquor, the old man staggered outside the house. Outside, there was only barren land—no signs of anyone. “Sigh, I guess I should give up now, right?” The old man shook his head and muttered to himself, unsure whether he was speaking to himself or his wife. Suddenly, as he was about to turn around, he paused. He faintly saw a figure by the farm gate. Who could that be? The old man shakily walked over and was stunned to see a child around ten years old huddled on the ground beside the grass pile at the farm gate. “Child, what are you doing here?” The child had dark golden hair, messy but beautiful, fair skin covered in dirt, and eyes like stars in the sky. “I’m sorry… can I hide here from the wind?” The old man was stunned. Looking around, he admitted that the wind was indeed strong that night, making the child, dressed in thin clothes, tremble with cold. “I think you can come inside with me to warm up…” “Thank you!” the child said, but didn’t move. It seemed his thanks were merely for the old man’s kindness, not an intention to accept it. A strong child… but not very cute… “Child, either come inside with me or…” Seemingly understanding the old man’s meaning, the child slowly stood up, thought for a moment, and then walked away from the village. The old man was shocked and quickly said, “Child, there are no villages nearby except here…” The child stopped, hesitated, turned back, and asked, “Then… is there anything I can do?” The old man was stunned. He stepped forward, shook his head, and smiled. “Refusing someone’s kindness so outright isn’t something to praise. What’s your name, child?” “Jiang… no, my name is Thos!” “Thos, a nice name. Come in with me, kid. You can help me deal with those damned mashed potatoes!” The child was stunned for a moment before suddenly saying seriously, “Thank you!”

“Hey!” The old man grinned and headed inside on his own.
Inside, the old woman was murmuring to herself when suddenly she heard a creak. Looking up, she saw the door open as the old man staggered back in.
“Old man, has our child returned?” As soon as she asked, she was shocked to see a child around ten years old following behind him.
“It’s a lost little guy,” the old man said, taking off his coat.
Seeing the child trembling, the old woman stepped forward, stroked his dark golden hair, and asked, “Poor child, are you cold?”
“I’m… fine,” Jiang Zhe replied casually.
“Go by the fireplace to warm up. I’ll get you something to eat.”
“Th-thank you!”
Perhaps it was the liveliest and warmest day in that old house in over a decade. Instead of silently crying over her child’s belongings as usual, the old woman happily prepared dinner for the little boy.
The dinner was simple, just a plate of mashed potatoes, as the old man said, but Jiang Zhe found it delicious.
“How does it taste, child?”
“It tastes great!” Jiang Zhe nodded, holding the spoon.
The old woman was clearly very happy. Sitting at the table, she watched the little boy gobble down his food, as if seeing her own child.
Even the old man stopped drinking. Holding a pipe, he sat at the table, watching the extraordinary child who had surprised him. He had never seen such a special child before.
“You old fool!” The old woman waved her hand to disperse the smoke the old man exhaled, cursed, then smiled at Jiang Zhe and asked, “What’s your name, child?”
“Sos!”
“A nice name. Are you lost?”
“No,” Jiang Zhe finished the mashed potatoes, wiped his hands, and said, “I’m not lost.”
“Oh?” The old man found it strange. Tapping his pipe, he asked, “Where do you want to go?”
“Sason! I want to learn magic in Sason!”
“Sason?” The old woman covered her mouth in surprise. “Are you alone, child?”
“Yes,” Jiang Zhe said with a shrug.
The old man exchanged a glance with his wife and asked softly, “Do you know how to get there? Sason is far from here!” After thinking for a moment, he added, “Very far!”
“I believe I can make it!”
“Child, where are your parents?” the old woman asked, stroking the little boy’s dark golden hair.
Jiang Zhe froze for a moment, hesitated, then lied, “I’m alone!”

“Orphan?” The old woman fell silent, perhaps thinking of her own son. With tears in her eyes, she said, “Child, I’m sure your parents would be proud of you!”
“Well,” the old man glanced at Jiang Zhe and said in a low voice, “Do you plan to walk to Sason? I doubt you’ll be able to make it there…”
“You old fool, what are you talking about?” The old woman grew angry.
Ignoring her, the old man smoked his pipe and said to Jiang Zhe, “Child, to the south of the village, there’s a small city called Ron. Every year, the city lord organizes a caravan to Sason. There’s an old drunkard named Niman in the caravan; he’s on good terms with me. So, what do you plan to do?”
Hearing the old man’s words, the old woman seemed to understand a little. She had felt since the beginning that this child was too polite, as if deliberately keeping his distance from others…
After dinner, the old woman cleaned out her son’s room, which had been empty for over a decade, to let Jiang Zhe stay there.
Watching the old woman busily going about her tasks, Jiang Zhe was deeply moved. He wanted to help her, but the old man stopped him.
“Don’t go, child. You’re still young. You can’t understand the feelings of a mother who’s lost her son. Let her do it…” Saying this, the old man patted his son’s bed and said, “Sit down!”
Jiang Zhe instinctively wanted to say thank you, but after hesitating, he didn’t say anything.
The old man smiled at this, took a sip from his wine bottle, and said melancholically, “We used to have a son named Svi. He was strong and a great young man—everyone around us said so. Later, Svi joined the imperial army. That year, the empire was at war with Salonia, and many people didn’t return, including my proud son… That shock severely affected the old woman’s health. For the first time in over a decade, I saw her so happy… So, child, you don’t owe us anything.”
As soon as the old man finished speaking, just as he said, the old woman walked in with a smile, holding a coat. “Child, try it on to see if it fits.”
Glancing at the old man, who shrugged, Jiang Zhe took the coat and put it on.
“Good, it fits perfectly,” the old woman was very happy. Suddenly remembering something, she said, “I think there are a few more sets. I’ll go look for them!” With that, she rushed downstairs.
“Be careful,” the old man called out, then turned to Jiang Zhe and said, “Some people help others for reward, but others don’t. You’re a smart child. I can tell. I believe you’ll understand…”

Jiang Zhe was stunned for a moment before sincerely saying, “Thank you!” This time, there was no sense of distance in his words.
“Good!” The old man leaning against the door smiled and nodded. “Go to bed early, child. I’ll take you to Ron tomorrow,” he said, winking. “While that old horse on the farm can still run!”
Watching the old man stagger down to the attic, Jiang Zhe closed the door.
This feeling was so familiar—it seemed that after arriving in this world, someone had also treated him kindly in this way…
But why didn’t he have any memory of it?
Also, somehow, he no longer had those nightmares; at most, he would hear a faint “snoring” sound, like that of a sleeping beast.
And…
What was with the pattern on the back of his left hand? It looked like a hexagram magic circle…
It was really strange…