Dream Life - Episode 3

　I left my parents’ bedroom in this world, astonished at the fact that I was reincarnated.

　Walking down a wide corridor with high ceilings, I arrived at a large room that looked like a dining room.

　I am still getting used to my body and the gap between it from my old adult body is confusing.

( Looks wider, but that’s probably because of my size. Maybe it’s because my vision is narrower.)

　There is a large table in the dining room with seating for ten, and there is a nice smell in the air, as if breakfast is being prepared.

　In the kitchen at the back of the dining room, a well-dressed woman of about forty years old is cooking the food.

“Morning, Molly.”

　My mother greets the woman.

　As I watched, I searched frantically for the memories inside me.

(Molly huh? …… I believe she’s some kind of maid. She’s supposed to be the wife of someone named Walt. ……)

　After my father greets her, I’ll greet her too.

“Morning, Molly.”

“Good morning, everyone. ××○△○, please hold on a moment.”

( Kind of like a caring aunt. But I still get some words I can’t understand……)

　As I am thinking about this, she chuckled and went back to the kitchen table.

　There is a wooden plate and a wooden spoon on the table, as well as a round loaf of bread.

　The bread is country style, like campagne, and it smells nice and fragrant, perhaps because it’s freshly baked.

　A few minutes later, a boy about the age of an early elementary school student appears and sits in a chair next to my mother, greeting her.

(That’s my brother, Rodrik. I think i calls him “Nii-sama.”)

　I try to sound as toddler-like as I can, saying, “Good morning, Nii-sama” and I make a smile.

　My brother looked at me with a slightly startled look on his face, but he quickly returned the greeting.

(Did I do something wrong? I have a fuzzy memory of my normal behavior, so I have to make sure I don’t messed up…..)

　After a while, Molly takes a large pot and distributes what looks like soup on each wooden plate.

　There is very little garnish in the soup, just a few pieces of meat and a few cabbage-like leafy vegetables floating around.

　After the food is served, my father, mother, and brother picked up the bread and began to eat.

(Poor food. Even though it’s in decline, it’s a knight’s house……. I’m sure it’s the usual meal because it’s not much different when I search my memory…….)

　I got my mother to help with the shredded bread and dip it into the soup.

　The bread is too hard for my toddler mouth, and my mother would finally get it to an edible hardness by soaking it in with a spoon to crush it down.

(The flavor is pretty strong, but not bad. The only seasoning is …… salt? Are they using anything that looks like spices?)

　I eat two loaves of bread the size of an adult’s fist, filling my stomach.

　While the other three of us eat, I think about what I should do today.

(Well, I have a lot of gathering to do. Yesterday I was playing in the garden with a girl called “Mel” because it was a nice day. Should I explore the house today, or should I follow my mother or father around …… I’m not sure I have enough information yet. I’ll have to wait and see what happens before I decide.)

　When we finished eating, my mother took me outside.

　It looks like we’re heading to the well behind the mansion.

　Perhaps the mansion are at the top of a hill, the surrounding area are gently descending. And the slopes were grassy, and further away, a patchwork of fields stretched across a series of hills.

(The hilltop huh …… patchwork is distorted, but it reminds me of Biei, Hokkaido. But I can see clearer in the distance, probably thanks to my enhanced eyesight……)

　As I look at the scenery with a dumbfounded expression on my face, my mother rushes me.

“Do you see anything interesting?　But let’s wash your face first.”

　When I arrived at the well on the north side, behind the mansion, I saw a stocky man in his mid-forties, with a stout build, drawing water.

“Good morning. Madam, Zach-sama.“

“Morning, Walt.”

(Walt. He must have been the guy who helped us around the house.)

“Morning, Walt.”

　Walt responds once again to me with a “Good morning, Zach-sama,” but quickly resumes his water fetching in silence.

　The well is pretty deep, I guess, it takes even a big man quite a while to pull up after throwing in the well bucket.

( It’s up on a hill so maybe it’s inevitable, but it’s pretty hard work.)

　I looked at my mother and saw that she had put white powder on her fingers and had begun to brush her teeth.

　I imitate that and put my finger on the white powder to brush my teeth.

(Salt? More like a crushed rock salt. There’s no toothbrush? ……)

　Brush my teeth with my powdered finger.

　It has a sour salt taste with a chalk-like powdery taste and is not refreshing at all.

(Is it salt and lime? I hope it’s not bad for us…… And yet, my teeth are all grown out. No cavities, so that means I’m healthy for a start……)

　Sip water in a wooden bowl and rinse my mouth.

　Imitating my mother, I washed my face with the water in the tub. The water are very cold, and my sleepiness quickly faded away.

(The level of civilization seems to be medieval or earlier. If the information I got when I created the character is correct, there should be magic in here, but I don’t see any trace of it anywhere at the moment. Is it not so common, or is it specialized in attack magic? I’ll have to get a good grasp on this area as well……)

　When I returned to the mansion, I began to have a bowel movement, perhaps as evidence of my health.

　I make my way to the bathroom I remember. My mother yells something in a hurry, but I don’t have time to do that, and I make my way through the mansion almost as fast as I can run.

(The kid’s body doesn’t seem to have much patience. I’m not good at this, I’m about to leak…….)

　When I arrived at the bathroom, I didn’t have time to feel relieved and quickly did my business.

　The toilet is different from my original world, there is no toilet bowl or anything else, just a hole in the floor. Furthermore, underneath it is just the ground and the smell is amazing.

(I’ve never seen a toilet as dirty as this one. We don’t have toilet paper, and we wipe it down with the cloths we put there, but the hygiene is horrible.)

　I think about washing my hands, but the bathroom doesn’t even have a hand tub.

(This is going to make the kids sick. If I don’t fix this, I won’t be able to live a comfortable life…….)

　As I walked out again, I promised myself the first improvement that came to mind in the other world: “Improve the toilet.

　As I washed my hands and walked back into the mansion, my mother approached me with a look of concern on her face.

“Did you get dirty?　Do you want to change your clothes?“

　Apparently, she assumed that the fact that I went to wash my hands was a toilet failure.

“I’m fine. I just went to wash my hands.”

　My mother checked my clothes and looked at me with a strange look on her face when she saw that it is okay.

(I guess I didn’t do it right. But I need to wash my hands to calm down. I’ll be more careful next time….)

　After the morning’s flurry of activity, I looked around a little more calmly and saw that my father and brother were gone, and it is just my mother, Molly and me.

(Well, yesterday it was just the four of us, Mel, Dan and Sharon the brother and sister. As far as I remember, I was either playing with the three of them or chasing after my brother’s group. Now, let’s see what I”m going to do today……)

　I decided to first check to see if the boy’s memories of Zack were consistent with reality.

(Kid’s memories aren’t that good. I’m sure there are a lot of misconceptions, so I’m going to check this out…… It looks like it’s going to be another beautiful day, so outside the mansion, Let’s check around the “garden” “Mel’s house” and “Dan and Sharon’s House”)

　I tell my mom that I’m going to Mel’s house, and I run off without a sideways glance to make it look the same as it always has.

　Go through the gate--A poor double-door gate made of wood– of the mansion and walk out of the house. Mel’s house is located on a hillside, so I have to go down the road that leads from the mansion.

　Looking back toward the mansion, I saw that it is larger than I expected, a two-story wooden building with black columns, white plaster walls, and a slate roof. There is a chimney protruding from the roof, and a thin plume of smoke is rising from it, perhaps from cooking.

　I stopped running, making sure no one are watching me. And as I walked, I am thinking about my body.

(But it’s hard to run. Maybe it’s because my head is too heavy, or maybe it’s because I’m still not in control of my body. If I’m going to live in this world, my body will be my capital. Especially in my house, a knight’s house. It’s supposed to be a world where fighting ability is a big deal. …… If I start training my body properly from the age of three, I’ll have an advantage over my peers by the time I’m an adult. ……)

　I thought the outside of the mansion are a grassy field, but there were fields here and there.

　The morning’s fresh breeze took me further into my thoughts as I descended the path, which is only trampled.

(If it’s as set up, this is probably the frontier. But what kind of climate is the land and what will the summer and winter be like? I don’t even know what latitude or elevation …… or even what month it is in the first place. Ah!　I don’t even know how many months and days of the year it is! There’s a pathetic lack of basic information……)

　I am depressed that I had so little information.

　From a world where the internet is the norm and you can get the information you want anytime, anywhere on your cell phone, the situation where you don’t even know how to get the information you want is a frustrating one.

(But if you’re going to reincarnate them, there should be at least a little explanation! …… I didn’t realize how frustrating the lack of information was……)

　Mel’s house is a small, one-story house about fifty meters down the road from the mansion, with a windbreak-like forest surrounding the house.

(Mel’s dad is Hector, who always had a bow. Her mom is Polly and she’s the one who often comes to help out at the mansion. Her brother is Sim, and I don’t know if he’s the same age as my brother or if they has a …… surname, but I know them well as a three year old. Or maybe it’s just that my consciousness has come back to me so I can sort through the information and understand it ……)

　Without knocking to act the same as usual, I suddenly opened the door and said, “Mel’s here!” I shouted.

(Maybe it’s a good thing I’m the son of the lord, but manners-wise, it’s kinda wrong……. Well, i’ll just have to slowly improve it from now on.)

　Immediately, Mel, a adorable girl who is slightly older than herself, appears from inside with short-cut brown hair and big brown eyes.

“Zach-sama, what are you going to do today?“

　I hadn’t thought about it, and I am at a loss for an answer, “A walk, I guess?” I answer like a three year old.

(A 40+ year old man playing a toddler huh …… I feel my shame being torn to shreds.)

　Mel gave me an adorable smile and nodded at me, “I’m going to go play with Zack-sama!” She shouted and ran over to me.

　A pretty-looking woman in her mid-twenties, Mel’s mother Polly, comes out of the back, wiping her hands on her apron.

“Mel!　Make sure Zach-sama doesn’t get hurt!　Take care of yourself too, Zach-sama.“

　I smiled and nodded broadly, holding hands with Mel.

　And then I’ll try to use my reference ability to secretly see her.

(Melissa Marlon, four years old. So it’s Melissa, that’s why it’s Mel. But still, they usually have a last name, don’t they? They have a surname because they’re squires in a knight’s house …… And yet, this little girl is one year older than me……)

　Hand in hand with Mel, we headed to Dan and Sharon’s house.

　Their house is about twenty meters from the Marlon’s, and there are trees growing around the house as well.

(If I look closely, I see a walnut-like shell falling off. Is it an edible fruit tree?)

　As we passed through a small forest, there is a field with leafy vegetables, and sheep grazed in the meadow beyond.

(So Dan and Sharon are about my age too? I guess their father is Guy and their mother is Claire. I got the impression that this Guy fellow has a bow too. He’s like an English Archer.　I have a strong feeling that this Claire person is like my mother. Like a nanny or a nursemaid? …… But I thought they were squires in the service of House Lockhart, but are they hunters or farmers or something?　There’s a lot of things I don’t understand……)

　At Sharon’s house, as well as at Mel’s, I opened the door suddenly and said, “Dan!　Sharon!　Let’s play!” I shouted.

　I am embarrassed to the point that my face is hot, but I try very hard to keep up the act to avoid being suspicious.

　From inside, a blond boy about my age, his hair looking like an ear of slightly bleached wheat, emerges and quickly approaches me.

“Morning, Zach-sama!“

　I am a little confused by Dan’s voice, full of energy, ” Morning, Dan!” I return the greeting.

　Sharon, a quiet-looking girl, approaches from behind him.

　Sharon is a beautiful doll-like girl with pale blonde hair that is almost silvery and pale blue eyes.

I called out, ” Morning, Sharon,” and she returned the greeting with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.

　Their mother, Claire, also shows up from behind.

　Claire is in her early twenties and looks about the same age as my mother, Tanya, a slender, blonde beauty.

　She smiled and greeted me, then asked, ” What are you going to do today?” She asks gently. Apparently she is the caretaker of these four, and she was watching over us yesterday as well.

“I think I’ll go for a walk today.“

　Claire tilted her head at my words, “A walk?” She asks.

(Was it poorly performed?　I guess when you say it’s not childlike, you may be right, but I never raised kids, and I had very little contact with little kids. Remember what Zach likes to do….horses huh….no, I’ve been told to stay away from the stable….)

　Seeing my silence as not understanding the question, Claire asked, “Where are you going for a walk?” She asked again.

( I see, she asked me where I am going…… I just want to see the vicinity of the mansion, but how should I answer that?)

“Hmm. I’m going to see the sheep, and then I’ll be near the mansion.”

　She said, “Don’t go too far. And then, don’t get too close to the sheep, because it’s dangerous,” she laughed and warned me.

(She sounds gentle. It feels like she’s a mother to all four of us. ……)

　I nodded widely and took Sharon’s hand.

(Even though they’re kids, I’d rather hold a girl’s hand than a boy’s. Now, let’s use the reference……)

　Using the reference skill on Sharon, I got “Sharon Jakes, three years old, human, female.”

(You guys are the same age? Dan seems a little older than me, so I guess he’s four. There are kids this close in age in the neighborhood, which makes me wonder if there’s a surprisingly large population around here.)

　I have a lot of questions in my head, but I push them to the corner of my mind and run out of the Jakes’ house, pulling Sharon and Mel’s hands away.

　Dan is smiling and following behind me.

　Once outside, I stopped running and walk west toward a meadow-like grassland.

　As I walking, I took my time looking around.

　At the foot of the hill where the mansion is located, there is a two or three meter high wall made of wood that surrounds it. In addition to the wall, there is also a watchtower-like structure made of logs.

(This whole hill might be more of a castle than a mansion. The fact that it’s surrounded by a wall means that there’s an outside enemy, right? For that, I don’t see any soldiers……)

　Then I take a closer look at the entire hill.

(At a quick glance, the hill itself has a diameter of two or three hundred meters. At three hundred meters, the wall is about a kilometer long. If you’re going to defend this castle, you’ll need at least a few hundred soldiers. But even the watchtower was empty. I have no idea what the situation is.)

　Mel’s house and Sharon and the others’ house were on the south side of the mansion. And from there, a few more houses could be seen closer to the mansion.

(It’s not a barracks or anything, it’s just a regular house. Even though it’s small, there are fields and …… the entire hill is fenced off …… to protect livestock from wild animals.)

　With that in mind, we continued on through the meadow.

　There are fuzzy-haired sheep grazing in places, but they are used to us and completely ignore us.

　Dan was about to mess with the sheep, but I ignored him as we walked through the pasture. As we approached the western slope, I slowly turned my gaze to look at the western landscape.

　At the end of the hill is a river, and the waterwheel in the watermill house is slowly turning.

　Further ahead there’s a dark green forest and a series of black mountains in the distance.

(There was a series of hills and fields to the south. Far beyond that I could see a mountain range in the distance. To the west, a river flowed by, and beyond that, a deep forest huh …… What about the north and east?　From what I remember, it feels like the forest is spread out to the north and east? Apparently, our mansion is the northernmost part of this territory, and the village is spread out to the south……)

　We were walking about a hundred meters through the pasture when Dan called out to me from behind.

“It’s not much fun just walking around. Come on, let’s play knights.“

We headed to the mansion, quieting Dan, who foolishly said that as i reply, “I’m going to take a little more of a walk.”

　As we approached the mansion, “Ei!” And “Hey!” I can hear the shouting.

　On the west side of the mansion, several men in leather armor were wielding swords and spears.

　One of them was my grandfather, Govan Lockhart.

　My grandfather wore metal armor that looked like plate armor on his slender, well-trained body while swinging a long sword.

　His face had deep wrinkles that seemed to be etched by years of hard work, but he looked younger than I had expected.

　He looked old in my memory, but on closer inspection, he looked to be in his mid-forties, about the age before I came over here.

　I’m three years old now, and my mother is twenty-three. I don’t know how old my father is, but considering he’s in his mid-twenties, it’s not surprising that he’s in his mid-forties.

　Zack’s memory of his grandfather is that he was pretty scared of him, and he doesn’t have a great impression of him.

　A soldier about the same age as my grandfather with a spear appears to be training a few young men.

　That soldier was Walt, who had been fetching water in the morning.

　Grandfather shows a flowing sword pattern and Walt shoots several sharp thrusts into the air.

(I don’t know anything about martial arts, but I do know that my grandfather’s swordsmanship is great. Walt’s spear is simple, but it looks powerful.)

　Mixed in with the young soldiers was a boy about the same age as my brother, Rod, swinging a sword.

　Rod and the boy are wobbling their hips under the weight of the wooden stick.

( They’re about early elementary school age, so I guess it can’t be helped, but it looks tough. The other boy is …… Sim? Mel’s brother?)

　After a few minutes of watching the training, we headed to the garden–just an open space with bare dirt– of the mansion.

　Dan insisted and we played knights, but I am in a mental wreck as I am forced to play as a toddler again.

(What’s sad is that I have to imitate a serious toddler. If it like this, it would be so much more fun to join in on the training.)

　I thought about that, but I also understood that my body wasn’t yet built to withstand the training.

　While swinging a wooden stick with Dan and Mel, I developed my own training plan.

(Building up your body through play is the most natural way to do it, isn’t it?  Let’s start with something like gymnastics so the body can move freely. If it’s on a pasture, it looks soft if I pick a spot, and I’ll start with basic exercises like forward and backward rolls, and then work out with tree climbing and rope playground equipment. ……)

　Aside from Dan, Mel is also an active kid, and seems to enjoy playing with a wooden stick, swinging it around.

　But Sharon is a quiet child, as she appears to be, that’s why she can’t join our group.

　I looked at her who bored, “What do you want to do Sharon?” I call out to her.

　She shook her head and muttered, “Anything is fine.”

( Memories about Sharon huh …… playing house or listening to Claire’ s story is fun for her huh ……)

“Okay, I’ll tell you a story.”

　I said, and told the story of Aesop or some other fairy tale that I knew.

　I’ll tell stories about the north wind and the sun and the cunning fox, but at some points, the story doesn’t come together well due to lack of vocabulary.

　Still, Sharon was amused and listened to the story with a happy look on her face.

　Unbeknownst to me, both Dan and Mel were also listening, and they looked interested as they listened.

　Sharon said, ” Zach-sama, great!” She hugs me, but for some reason, Mel does the same.

(Do these two have a thing for Zach?　Even at the age of three or four, is that possible?　I don’t get it.)

　I kept getting pestered to talk until it was time for lunch.

　After lunch and a nice nap for the four of us, we went for another walk around the mansion.

　The walk confirmed that there was a small forest on the east side of the property, horses and cattle were released on the north side, and occasionally a villager would come into the property and greet us.

　As the sun was beginning to set and the three of them returned home, a sense of exhaustion washed over me after a long day.

(I haven’t been doing much physical activity, but it’s absurdly tiring. I’m hungry, but I don’t have the energy to eat. I know exactly what it’s like to be a little kid, tired and foolish.)

　I whip my tired body to wash my hands and face at the well then head to the dining room.

　As I was resting my tired body in the dining room, my grandfather and the rest of the family gathered around.

　When I arrived at the table, as I did in the morning, I found Molly, the maid, as well as two young women of about twenty years of age helping her.

　One was Tricia, Molly’s daughter, who, like Molly, always had a smile on her face. The other was Jean, a quiet woman with beautiful dark hair and a calm demeanor.

　The soup is divided into wooden plates as it was in the morning, and more chunks of grilled meat are cut up.

　The bread was the same country bread as in the morning, and a wooden mug was placed in front of my grandfather and other. That seemed to be all that was left for dinner today.

( I’ve got all the protein and carbs, in case you were wondering. So the only vitamins are the vegetables in …… soup. I don’t think I’m going to get any heat-sensitive vitamins …… but I don’t know much about nutrition.)

　We don’t say a prayer, but somehow the meal begins.

　The only dishes are wooden plates, no forks, just spoons and knives, and except for the soup, the food is basically grabbed by hand.

( I need to improve my diet and the way I eat, too. If we don’t even wash our hands and just grab our food by the hand, there are too many hygiene issues. ……)

　I made a mental note of what I felt throughout the day and promised myself that I would definitely improve it in the near future.

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