A cute voice came behind him. The man turned and saw a beautiful lady walking towards him with a child in her arms. The lady had smooth, flowing silver hair with a hint of purple that reached her waist. Her hair swayed in the wind as she walked, leaving a bright silver trail behind her. She had gentle blue eyes, pale white skin, and looked very young, between the ages of 15 to 20. Despite her young appearance, she was already married and had a child.
The demonic instructor, whose face was feared by all, showed a rare smile. People who knew him might have been shocked, but it would not be surprising if you were in the warm presence of the lady.
"Tina, what brings you here? It's really rare to see you visiting the academy."
"I just wanted to let Eru see his father's workplace, so I made a detour from our usual stroll."
"I see. Eru, what do you think of dad’s job?"
The man asked the child held by his wife, but was completely ignored. The child kept waving his short limbs about, staring intently at the Silhouette Knights sparring on the training ground.
"Eh, he doesn't seem to be listening..."
The man smiled as he patted his 3 year old son's head. Their son had inherited his mother's adorable features ― silver hair with a touch of purple, an oval face exactly like his mother's when she was young, and a pair of bright blue eyes. His sharp gaze showed a hint of his paternal heritage.
"Ara, Eru, you are paying more attention to the Silhouette Knights than your own father, just like a boy. Do you really like the Silhouette Knights so much?"
"I heard that a lot of kids dream of being a knight, Eru seems to think so too."
Both parents smiled as they watched Eru display his curiosity for this boyish interest. He was so cute. The little boy watched the scene excitedly while waving his arms and legs, unfazed with being the centre of attention. He focused on the training ground without blinking, displaying his exceptional concentration. The man rubbed his son's soft hair for a while but gave up after getting no reaction.
"You really like it, huh. How is it, Eru? Those are Silhouette Knights, gigantic warriors that defend our kingdom."
"Silhouette... Knight..."
The child seemed to acknowledge the words of the man for the first time, repeating his words with a slur unique to toddlers as he fell deep into thought. The man smiled bitterly after seeing his child behave this way, and returned to his post after conversing with his wife for a while. On the training ground, the gigantic knights finished their match and were preparing to leave.
"Right, let's return home. We need to prepare dinner and wait for daddy to return."
The lady coaxed the child who kept looking back, reluctant to go. They were going home.
"Silhouette Knight..."
The child in her arms watched the gigantic knights on the training ground until they were out of sight.
The child's full name, referred to as Eru, was Ernesti Echevarria. He was the son of Mathias Echevarria, instructor of Laihiala Pilot Academy, borne by his mother Celestina.
It has been three years since his birth. This was the age when a child forms his sense of self, a period when they become playful. But Eru was very sensible. He understood his parents from an early age and was well behaved. Everyone felt that he was a bright kid, but his intelligence came from another source.
Ever since becoming self aware, and developing his own character, he became conscious of memories he had never experienced before ― the memories of his past where he lived in another place. A place called Japan, the civilization of computers, and the name Kurata Tsubasa.
A theory known as reincarnation.
Reincarnation describes the phenomenon that occurs when the spirits of those who have died are reborn into the world over and over again. It is mentioned in Buddhism, and all Japanese would have heard about this theory, whether they believed it or not. Kurata was no exception, but he didn't believe it at that time and never expected to experience it himself. He had even retained the experiences from his previous life, a successful reincarnation.
But including himself, no one truly knew what happened. The only thing he was sure of was, that he was Ernesti in this world and Kurata Tsubasa in his previous world. That's why, compared to children around his age, he had an 'experienced' mind, and a calm and matured analytical ability.
Because of his mother's whim, he visited his father's workplace. The impact of this visit inspired him to devote his second chance at life to this.
When the sun started to set in the west, a lady and a child walked along the streets of Laihiala academy.
The boy kept asking about the gigantic knights that he had seen, and his mother answered him gently and patiently. Looking at her excited son, his mother cheerfully replied:
"You really like Silhouette Knights, don't you? Does Eru want to be a knight in the future?"
"Knight... Okay! I want to be a knight!"
"Ara, such a dependable child. Let's ask daddy to teach you when you get a little older alright?"
"Okay!"
No one knew what would happen because of this dimension travel. But he was certain that his second life as Ernesti Echevalier was developing beyond his control.
The Echevarria residence was situated near Laihiala academy.
Apart from this family, the people in this nation awaken early. As the sun was rising in the east, the young mother, Celestina, got up to prepare breakfast. When she was done, the whole family ate together as usual.
The only child of the family, Ernesti, awoke the latest.
"Silhouette Knight!"
Eru seemed to have dreamt of something, as he kicked off his blanket and leapt up from his bed. He was unaware of his mother laughing because of his shout. Eru looked around him, realising he was in the bedroom, he climbed back into bed.
He was too excited last night and couldn't sleep. Instead, he laid in bed daydreaming, with a smile on his face.
Those are robots, and humanoid in shape, gigantic humanoid robots...! Ernesti ― or rather the Japanese Kurata Tsubasa shed a tear of joy in his heart for this unexpected blessing, and couldn't stop smiling. Retaining the memories of Kurata Tsubasa means he inherited similar interests and hobbies from his previous life. In Eru's previous life, he was Kurata Tsubasa, a heavily addicted robot nerd.
As a working adult, he spent almost all of his income on his hobby, browsing modelling magazines and games, even searching for visual works at times. He put double the effort into his hobby compared to others, and it wouldn't be wrong to say that he was obsessed. But despite his obsession, he was still an ordinary man. He didn't have the passion to join the self-defence force just for the chance to operate a tank. But the situation was different in this life. That's right, gigantic humanoid robots ― Silhouette Knights actually existed here.
When he 'awakened', he was disappointed to find himself in a world with no models or computers. But he was grateful from the bottom of his heart for this miracle, be it by chance or by the will of a mysterious force, allowing him to reincarnate in this world, his disappointment changed when he had discovered Silhouette Knights. This was not a joke, gigantic humanoid weapons 10 metres in height actually existed. For a robot nerd like him, seeing the Silhouette Knights had enough impact to completely change his life. In other words, he believed the reason that he came to this world was to pilot these gigantic robots. He had no basis for it, but he still strongly believed this.
He had the resolve, but his tiny body lost to his sleepiness, and he napped a bit more before breakfast was ready.
It was almost noon, Celestina and Eru were in Mathias's study room.
The study was filled with simple, but practical wooden furniture that was kept clean and tidy. Mathias was primarily a sword instructor, but he was involved in other fields as well. The shelves in the study room were filled with all sorts of literature, including picture books for children.
Tina sat on the couch in the room, resting the tiny Eru on her lap, reading the picture book slowly to him. She spoke clearly and calmly. Eru, who was enjoying this yesterday, listened for some time before he started to fidget. He called out to his mother:
"Mum, mum."
"What is it, Eru? You don't like this book?"
Tina tilted her head, but Eru's next words dispelled her confusion.
"I like books... But, I want to know more about Silhouette Knights!"
Tina set the book aside and studied Eru's expression. Looking at his bright eyes filled with curiosity and joy, she couldn't turn him down.
"Ara ara, I see. Although it is still early for you, Eru, if you want to pilot the Silhouette Knights, you have to first become a knight."
"Knight... how do I become a knight?"
Eru had a fixed goal in mind, but he was still a 3 year old toddler body-wise. Even with the intellect of a grown man, his actions were still restricted, including the most crucial part, information gathering. How does a toddler, with limited access to resources, obtain information? He has to rely on his parents.
"Let's see, you need to read many books and practice swordsmanship. Right, let your daddy teach you about swords. Your father teaches swordsmanship at the academy anyway. How about reading your favourite book, where Silhouette Knights make an appearance okay?"
"Okay!"
Eru finally focused back on the book. Tina rubbed his head, took out a book related to Silhouette Knights, and read it to him slowly. Eru listened to the story that was simple enough for a child to understand excitedly.
Eru imagined himself piloting the gigantic knight, standing before humongous demon beasts in order to protect those in danger. He reforged his mind once again. He wanted to pilot a Silhouette Knight no matter what, and the sooner the better. To achieve this, he needed to use his mature mindset to his advantage and achieve all he could with his power. He prepared a schedule for the future in his mind, but for now, he listened quietly to the story.
"Dad, do you have a minute?"
Mathias Echevarria, who was resting in the study, heard the sound from behind him. He turned and saw his son, Ernesti Echevarria run towards him. Eru, who was now 5 years old, had a bowl cut, with his hair just above the eyebrows. He had bright silvery purple hair just like his mother; the resemblance to her cute appearance remained the same. Even the strict Mathias, with his merciless face smiled often in front of Eru.
"Oh, I have time. What is it, Eru?"
"I want to ask you a favour, dad."
Eru was young, but he spoke clearly. His slightly slurred speech when he was three, was now smooth at the age of 5. This child had always been polite to everyone since he was young. As his speech grew clearer, this became more obvious. But this didn't feel weird, and actually complemented his cute and small appearance. Mathias smiled happily, as he looked at Eru's pleading face. His 'doting' towards his son had been getting worse over time.
"Dad, I want to be a knight, please teach me swordsmanship."
It's finally the time. Mathias was troubled, but he didn't show it on his face. He knew his son had been keen on being a knight ever since he was really young, and there was no problem with his goal. If he had the motivation, that would be great. But Eru was only 5 years old, so it was still too early to teach him swordsmanship. If they rush it and start before Eru's body develops, it would be detrimental to him. Also, Eru looked more similar to his wife with every passing year, and was smaller in stature than children his age. To be honest, Mathias wondered if his son could even handle a sword.
But Mathias still faced his son firmly. Since Eru was showing his resolve, he couldn't ignore this as an instructor or as a father. Mathias advised his son not to rush, and start by building up his physical strength first. He also informed him that aside from swordsmanship, knowledge in magic would also help him in his quest to become a knight, encouraging him to study it.
"Magic... I understand dad, I will seek your advice on swordsmanship in the future.
Looking at the unwavering face of his son, Mathias nodded, promising to teach him swordsmanship one day.
".. That's what happened mum, so please teach me magic!"
After making the promise with Mathias, Eru immediately went to Tina and asked her. Why was he asking his mother? Because Tina's father, who was Eru's grandfather, was the current dean of Laihiala Pilot Academy ― Lauri Echevarria. Tina accepted gladly, gathering the necessary teaching materials within her means.
― Magic.
It goes without saying that in Eru's previous life ― back on earth, magic did not exist. It only appeared in stories and fairy tales. Most people only heard about magic when playing role playing games, like dungeons and dragons. But this powerful force existed in this world, and knights used magic often as support when fighting.
Under the guidance of his mother, who was doubling as a teacher, Eru read textbooks related to magic.
From the moment Eru decided to pilot a Silhouette Knight, Eru had started taking action. What he had been doing was the very basics, simply learning to read. Learning to read at the age of 3 was a very early start. Even the privileged class of this country ― the aristocrats ― didn't start so early. Because of this, Eru could handle materials that were quite advanced.
It was natural for kids to detest studying, but Eru was not a normal child. All of his effort was for the goal of becoming a knight. When he thought about piloting a Silhouette Knight, studying was no hassle in comparison to the reward. He could even read through textbooks from cover to cover. Because the contents were so stiff, it was better to treat it like a game, and enjoy it instead of thinking of it as studying. With the fast learning pace unique only to children, Eru learned the contents at an incredible pace.
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