July 20, 1495, Age of the Sea Circle
Seven months have passed since Giolla arrived in Peaceful Town. During this time, she settled into a small hut she built herself on the outskirts of the town, on the way to the mountain.
At first, she wanted to stay at Orion's house, and even introduce herself to his parents as his wife. But luckily, he managed to dissuade her after much effort.
Orion could clearly imagine his parents' reaction if a 35-year-old woman showed up at his house and admitted to having a relationship with their 5-year-old son. The only possible outcome was a conflict between the two parties, and given Giolla's volatile nature and lack of self-control, it would be his parents who would lose out.
Giolla settled near where they had first met, canceling her plans to continue traveling the world in search of inspiration. After all, Orion was like an inexhaustible source of artistic knowledge, and that was the best motivation for her.
Orion's routine changed again to accommodate the new circumstances.
He was now 5 years old and could keep his adult mind awake for 12 hours a day, which gave him plenty of time to accomplish several tasks without having to focus on anything specific as he had in his early years.
He alternated consciousness with his child self several times during the day, so as not to put as much strain on the not-yet-fully-developed brain of his small body.
In the mornings, he had his usual swordsmanship practice, but now it started earlier, and the training session was shorter than before.
As for the reason for this change in his already ingrained routine, it was of course because of Giolla.
Giolla wasn't a morning person and woke up when the sun was already high in the sky. Despite her passionate and intense personality, she was quite relaxed about her routine, and you could say she enjoyed her life to the fullest. You could also say that in a less positive way: she was simply lazy.
Orion had to go see Giolla when she woke up, because otherwise, this unstable and beautiful woman was likely to come looking for him in the village, causing a scene, like a scorned woman abandoned by her unfaithful husband.
It had happened a couple of times already, although luckily for him, it hadn't escalated.
Giolla's presence in the small village was impossible to conceal. Everyone in the village knew each other, and the appearance of such a striking woman obviously caught the attention of the island's inhabitants. However, Giolla had no interest in interacting with the townspeople, and the townspeople were a little afraid of the strange woman who lived on the mountain path, so both parties maintained a tacitly agreed-upon distance.
Orion's parents didn't know specifically about the relationship between their son and Giolla, but they knew he often visited her. At first, they had asked him about it, worried, but as time went by, they saw that the woman was simply strange but not dangerous, and they stopped worrying about their son's affairs.
From the perspective of someone on planet Earth, the attitude of Orion's parents might have seemed truly irresponsible, but in this world, social conventions were different, and the way children were raised was also different.
This was especially true in Orion's case, who behaved much more maturely than an ordinary child, even when his childlike mind was in control of his body.
His parents, ever since they had been saved by their young son during the pirate attack, had understood that their little Orion was no ordinary child. They knew he was destined for greatness, and their role as parents became less restrictive and more similar to one of accompaniment.
In short, they trusted their young son, who was very mature, and tried not to interfere too much in his decisions. That's why they had never tried to stop him when they learned he was having some kind of relationship with the strange woman who lived on the way up the mountain.
Orion obviously observed these changes in his parents' attitudes, which occurred after he saved them during the pirate attack, and he could only sigh at the situation.
There was nothing he could do; his adult mind prevented him from living a normal childhood and being a normal son to his parents. And although his childish mind could somewhat compensate for the situation, it didn't completely fix it.
Therefore, in mid-January, when he learned that his mother was pregnant and that he would have a brother or sister in the future, he couldn't help but feel great happiness and also great relief. His future brother could fulfill the role of "normal son" that he had never been able to fulfill.
It must be said, however, that this was the situation in Orion's eyes, as he tended to over-intellectualize things. In reality, his parents loved their son deeply and didn't feel he was "strange." They were quite liberal people and believed that each person was completely different. They had never stopped to think that their son wasn't what they had hoped for, and if they gave him space to make his own decisions, it was only because they trusted him to be capable of doing so.
Now that July was coming to an end, the arrival of the new member of the family was imminent. The midwife, an elderly woman with many years of experience helping women give birth, had indicated that the baby would be born in late July or early August. So the family of three waited anxiously and nervously for the moment to arrive.
Today, the winter air was extremely cold. Orion, who was training with his sword in the courtyard of his house, exhaled a breath, which transformed into steam before his eyes. He concentrated his entire being and performed the final attack of his training session.
"Thirty-six styles, sword of the rising sun!"
The sword drew a beautiful arc in the air, stopping an inch before touching the ground. A small indentation appeared in the ground of the courtyard, even though the sword hadn't made contact with it. This was the most powerful attack Orion could use at the moment.
Orion finished his morning training and left his house for the shack where Giolla lived.
Once there, they would discuss art techniques, and he would declare his love for her at least a few times.
Orion had discovered that Giolla's personality was in a much more delicate state than he had originally expected. Now that she had fully accepted his story of reincarnation and love through time, she had become much more attached to him, and if Orion didn't show her enough affection, she began to feel insecure and could become aggressive.
Mission 02, which he had received from the system, required him to satisfy Giolla's desire for knowledge about art, and he also had to stabilize her personality, which had been on the verge of collapse.
Currently, the first half of the mission could be considered accomplished, as the information about artistic techniques and concepts he had poured into her was innumerable. She had not yet finished processing all the information Orion had given her, and her art had returned to its previous state of excellence, and had even surpassed it. Now, she no longer painted horrible doodles that were unintelligible and absurd.
The second part, however, was not so easy to complete. Giolla's mind was very unstable, and it was probably a lost cause to try to get her back to that of a normal person. The most he hoped to achieve was to keep her mind from being destabilized by her moods swings, although he knew she would always be an eccentric person.
Regardless, no one could be perfect, and he quite liked Giolla's personality, at least when she was in her "normal" state; her eccentricity increased her charm.
If he had to describe Giolla's personality using terms from her past life, he could say that she was currently a yandere.
This was his fault, since to prevent her from kidnapping him and taking him to a distant place, he had invented a crazy love story between the two.
She, who was in a somewhat unstable mental state, had taken that story and made it a fundamental part of her new sanity, which was causing Orion great problems now.
His task for the future was to eliminate Giolla's yandere state and completely stabilize her mind.
However, he had no idea how to do it! After all, in his previous life, he hadn't had many experiences with the opposite sex, and he was even considering marrying a robot, which demonstrated his emotional ineptitude.
Day by day, Orion did everything he could to stabilize Giolla, without neglecting his training and maintaining his global improvement activities, which consisted of trying anything that could bring about a positive change in his small village.
So, the days passed without much change, and immersed in routine, the day of his sibling's birth approached.
..............................…
August 15th, 1495, Age of the Sea Circle
Today the weather was rainy and cold. Orion was waiting with his father Paul for the birth of his little sibling.
His mother, Lira, had gone into labor more than six hours earlier, and there was still no news.
To entertain himself, Orion watched the system screen, where his skills were displayed.
*Skills:
Fencing (1)
Drawing (3)
Carving (2)
Strong Body (2)
Medicine (1)
Hand-to-Hand Combat (1)
Herbalism (1)
Painting (5)
Unused Points: 151
*
During these months, he hadn't gained a large number of system points, and he had used the ones he had previously accumulated to enhance some of his skills. He had increased his hand-to-hand combat skill, as well as his medicine and herbalism skills.
He had increased the latter two the moment he learned his mother was pregnant. He knew that in an environment where there wasn't much technology, it could be dangerous for a woman to have a child.
Therefore, to feel a little more secure, he leveled up these two skills.
He hoped everything would go well, but if there were really complications, perhaps his skills could help control the situation. After all, there was only one doctor in this small village, and his knowledge was rather superficial.
After looking at the skill screen, he checked the favorability screen.
*Favorability:
Gion: 92
Hound: 10
Shyarly: 72
Giolla: 88
*
Giolla's favorability had shot up to 88, which was a huge increase after just over half a year of contact. After all, her initial favorability had been -25!
Looking at the system's infallible numbers, Orion could get an idea of how important he was in Giolla's mind, and that was why he was worried that her yandere tendencies weren't diminishing in the slightest.
Giolla was a very powerful woman; if she found out he had Gion as his fiancée, she'd probably rip his head off with a single blow or... perhaps try something worse, like locking him up and preventing him from coming into contact with anyone else for the rest of his life. He, who was in daily contact with Giolla, knew she was capable of it.
He couldn't help but tremble and redouble his resolve to normalize the beautiful artist's psyche as soon as possible!
While Orion was letting his imagination run wild, the cry of a baby could be heard from the room.
Both he and his father, Paul, sighed with relief upon hearing the baby's cry, and immediately the house was filled with joy. Finally, his little sibling had been born!
They approached the door, which opened before they could do anything. The midwife appeared with a kind smile, holding a small pink baby wrapped in a blanket.
"Congratulations, Mr. Lysander, it's a very healthy baby girl," the midwife said, showing the little girl in her arms.
Paul didn't dare to pick her up right away, afraid his clumsy hands would hurt the little girl. He looked at her with a look filled with paternal love, and his eyes filled with tears. This was his little daughter!
Orion looked down at the little girl and made a vow in his mind: he would never let anything bad happen to his little sister.
In his previous life, Orion was an only child, so this was his first time experiencing what it was like to have a sister, and he had to admit it was a good feeling.
"Mr. Lysander, your wife has put in a lot of effort and she needs to rest. We'll take the baby back , so she can be in contact with her."
The elderly woman was the most experienced midwife in the small town; she had helped countless women give birth over the years, and having her in charge of the situation somewhat reassured the uneasy Paul.
It must be said that it wasn't uncommon in this world, where there were no modern hospitals and technology to assist women in labor, for both the life of the baby and the mother to be at risk during delivery.
One of the midwife's assistants, who was in the room with Lira, hurried over and said something in a low voice to the elderly woman.
The midwife raised her eyebrows in surprise, and a solemn expression appeared on her face.
She looked at Paul seriously and said:
"Mr. Lysander, your wife Lira is still in labor; it seems there's a second baby!"
Hearing the midwife's words, Paul felt overjoyed, but seeing the midwife's solemn expression, he restrained his emotions and inquired if there was any problem.
The midwife patiently explained that Lira had had a rather complicated delivery and was weaker than usual, and she feared that the birth of the second baby in her womb might be problematic.
She tried to reassure him, telling him that she would do everything possible to ensure the well-being of the mother and the second baby. But she still told him that he needed to be mentally prepared for a possible outcome that might not be so rosy.
Although the midwife tried hard to say it as gently as possible, both Paul and Orion understood the underlying warning in her words.
At that moment, an alarm sounded in Orion's mind.
*Ding*
*New mission available*
*Mission 03 - Brother, son.
Description: A family is the basic unit of any society. If you want to steer the world toward a better future, the first step is to build a solid foundation.
Objective: Ensure your mother and little brother survive this episode.
Reward: Health boost for all family members, random talent card (rechargeable), system points *
*To help the Host complete the mission, the system will grant him a special herbalism recipe, as well as any materials he cannot obtain on his own in the next few hours*
*Herbalism recipe received: Vitality Boost (Advanced)*
*Materials obtained: Mushroom (Desert Ear), Seaweed (Ice Chain), Fruit (Volcanic Orange)*
A complex recipe appeared in his mind, and Orion closed his eyes, mentally observing the production process of the medicine he was to prepare to help his mother and the tiny unborn baby.
Orion opened his eyes, looked at his father Paul, who was holding his little sister, nervously staring at the bedroom door, which had once again been closed, and immediately sprang into action.
"Dad, I'm going out for a moment. Don't worry about me, I'll be back as soon as possible!" Orion said before running off.
He grabbed his short sword and started heading toward the mountain. The system had given him the recipe needed to save his mother and brother, but it hadn't given him all the materials.
Clearly, it had given him the recipe ingredients that were impossible for him to obtain, so the remaining ingredients had to be found nearby.
Where else could he find the remaining herbs? Obviously, he could only find them on the mountain!
He ran at full speed and reached the hut where Giolla was living. Then, without even knocking on the door, he entered and saw the beautiful woman, who was sleeping peacefully sprawled on a small bed.
Orion didn't have time to admire the woman's naked beauty; he simply approached and woke her up.
Giolla, who was still half asleep, opened her eyes and saw little Orion in front of her bed.
She smiled contentedly and tried to hug him and tuck him under the covers next to her, but Orion skillfully dodged her hand.
Looking at her seriously, he said,
"Giolla, I need your help."
She immediately sensed Orion's seriousness and restrained her behavior. She sat up in bed, her bare breasts shaking violently from the sudden movement, creating an exquisite image. Only an eccentric person like Giolla could sleep naked in the middle of winter.
Orion wasn't distracted by the beautiful mountain scenery. He walked over to a small table where drawing materials were placed and immediately drew, with perfect precision, the three herbs he needed to obtain in the mountains.
Then he turned around and looked at Giolla seriously.
"I need you to help me search for these herbs in the mountains. I need them as soon as possible."
Giolla said nothing; she simply dressed quickly and grabbed the drawings.
"Very well, wait for me here," Giolla said, preparing to leave.
Orion shook his head in denial.
"No, it will be faster if we both search for them. If you find the herbs, give me a signal, and I'll try to get to you as quickly as possible."
After saying this, Orion ran off at high speed, leaving Giolla alone inside the small hut.
Orion's speed was three times faster than that of a normal five-year-old child, making him faster than a normal adult in this world. However, Giolla was no normal adult; with her monstrous innate physical fitness, she could quickly catch up to Orion if she so desired.
However, she wouldn't do such a thing. She had sensed the impatience of the little boy who housed her lover's soul, so she would do everything she could to help him.
Orion ran toward the mountain, and for the first time in his life, he entered the territory of the powerful beasts that lived there.