A long week had passed since Ryn's birth, and he had been stuck in this damn crib for days now, making him incredibly irritated and restless. Like shitty hell, he was going crazy from being trapped in the same small space every single day. The wooden bars felt like a prison, and he was desperate to explore the world beyond his tiny room. But now—he had finally learned the most powerful and important skill in this world that would change everything.
"A bsjsjs bsjeiaoe! hoehst ye!"
(Translation: I finally learned how to crawl! Hell yeah!)
<-<-<-<-<-<-༒︎->->->->->->
Ryn climbed out of his crib with determined effort, then moved to the desk on the right side of his crib, then to the short wooden chair, and finally to the ground below. Each piece of furniture acted like stairs for Ryn, helping him descend to the ground safely without getting hurt. His tiny hands gripped each surface carefully as he made his way down, feeling proud of his clever escape plan. The whole process took several minutes, but he was finally free from his wooden prison.
―Now, where do I go from here?
Ryn thought to himself, his small head turning left and right as he took in the sight of this new world that was waiting for him to explore. Everything looked so much bigger from down here on the ground, and the house felt like a massive castle full of mysteries. It was a completely new experience for him to see this house from a baby's perspective. His heart raced with excitement as he planned his first real adventure.
As he crawled his way to the opened door leading out of his room, he peeked carefully from the doorframe and was completely amazed by what he saw. The hallway stretched out before him like a long tunnel, filled with interesting things he had never noticed before. Everything looked so different and exciting from this low angle, making him feel like a tiny explorer in a giant world.
"Oeoe..!"
(Translation: Wow..!)
―Never thought I'd be this shocked from just seeing a simple house, but... it's been a whole week since I could explore like this!
He crawled his way into the long, wooden-walled hallway, where a beautiful painting of Ophelia and Jan was placed on the right wall. The floor was made out of smooth wooden planks that had a nice texture and weirdly felt comfortable for Ryn to crawl on. His tiny hands and knees moved across the polished surface as he made his way down the corridor, taking in every detail of his surroundings. The hallway seemed to stretch on forever from his baby perspective, filled with doors and decorations he wanted to investigate.
But after crawling for a few minutes—he suddenly heard distant footsteps coming from the right turn in the hallway, making his heart race with panic. He didn't know what to do or where to hide from whoever was coming, so he just quickly crawled into a tight fetus position and pretended to be asleep. His tiny body curled up against the wall, trying to make himself as small and invisible as possible. The footsteps were getting closer and closer, making him hold his breath in fear.
―Please work! Please don't see me!
Ryn begged desperately in his thoughts, closing his eyes shut as tight as he could and trying to control his breathing. His whole body was tense with nervousness as he waited for the person to pass by. Every second felt like an eternity as the footsteps grew louder and louder. He prayed to whatever gods existed in this world that his plan would actually work.
As Maria, the doctor-maid, came out of the corner with her usual confident stride, she surprisingly didn't even notice Ryn at all. Due to his tiny figure curled up against the wall, he just looked like a small dust particle or piece of debris sitting in the corner. Her eyes scanned the hallway casually as she walked past, completely missing the baby who was hiding right there. Ryn couldn't believe his luck as she continued walking without stopping or looking down.
Ryn didn't hesitate for even a second and took the perfect chance to quickly crawl toward the right turn in the corner of the hallway. His little arms and legs moved as fast as they could carry him across the wooden floor. The sound of his movement was barely audible, just tiny squeaks and shuffles. He felt like a master spy completing a secret mission as he made his escape.
"Hm?"
Maria suddenly turned around to look at the source of the quiet squeaking sound she heard behind her, but there was absolutely nothing visible there anymore. She stood still for a moment, scanning the empty hallway with confused eyes as she tried to figure out what had made that noise. After a few seconds of seeing nothing unusual, she just shrugged her shoulders and decided to ignore it completely.
―Am I hearing things now? Maybe I need more sleep.
She thought to herself, scratching her head in the process as she continued on her way down the hall. Her footsteps gradually faded away as she disappeared around another corner, leaving the hallway completely quiet again. The house returned to its peaceful silence, with only the sound of Ryn's excited breathing filling the air.
After she had completely left the area, Ryn had already crawled all the way to the end of the long hallway, where there was an interesting open door waiting for him. Above the doorframe, there was a wooden sign that clearly said 'Storage Room' in neat letters, making him curious about what treasures might be inside. Without any hesitation at all, he instantly crawled inside the dark, small, and suspicious-looking room and sat down on the cool floor. The room smelled like old wood and leather, filled with the scent of adventure and mystery.
To his right side, there was a large wooden box that was completely full of swords, daggers, and shields that looked well-used and maintained. They were probably from Jan, since he had looked like he was an experienced swordsman, which would perfectly explain his unique muscular physique from last week. The metal weapons gleamed slightly in the dim light coming through the doorway, looking both dangerous and fascinating. Ryn stared at them with wide eyes, imagining all the battles they must have seen.
And to his left side—there were stacks and stacks of books piled up against the wall like a treasure trove of knowledge. It was the perfect material for him to learn more about this magical world he had been reborn into, though Ryn suddenly realized he didn't know how to read yet. The books looked old and worn, with leather covers and golden letters that seemed to glow mysteriously. His baby brain was already getting excited about all the secrets these books might contain.
―Beginner's guide to... geography? Wait a minute, I can actually read these words! Oh, I'm so stupid, I should've realized this already—last week, I could also understand all of their conversations perfectly.
―Geography, swordsmanship, Hollow Love, Ma...gic. Oh wow, Magic!
He instantly reached out and pulled the thick 'Beginner's Guide For Magic' book toward him, but the heavy weight of the book immediately fell onto his tiny body, making him fall backward onto his back with a soft thump. He groaned quietly from the impact, his small arms pushing desperately against the heavy book to get it off of him. The book was much heavier than he had expected, and his baby strength wasn't quite enough to handle it properly. After a few moments of struggling, he managed to push it away with great effort.
The thick book fell onto the wooden ground with a dull thud that echoed slightly in the small storage room, and Ryn slowly stood up on his wobbly legs. He brushed himself off and looked down at the book with determination, ready to try a different approach. His eyes sparkled with excitement as he prepared to open it and discover the secrets of magic. This was exactly what he had been hoping to find in this new world.
"Ryn!? How did you get all the way here..?"
A familiar voice suddenly sounded from directly behind Ryn, making his heart nearly stop with surprise and panic.
―Oh fuck, I'm caught!
He slowly turned his tiny head to look back at Maria, and the natural weight of his oversized baby head made it tilt to the right in an adorable way. Her expression was a mixture of surprise, concern, and slight amusement as she stared down at the adventurous baby. She had her hands on her hips in a classic 'you're in trouble' pose, but her eyes seemed more worried than angry.
"Waeaoeo?"
"..."
"Let's get you back to your room where you belong."
―I WANT TO READ THESE BOOOOOKKSSSS! This isn't fair!