The day continued like any other in the training room; my routine returned to what it always was. The only difference was the addition of Malleable Mana to my sword training.

  Today, only two skills leveled up by the end of the day: Cold Mind, which I had been using constantly to avoid thinking about tomorrow’s nobles, and Malleable Mana—I imagine the latter leveled up because I’ve only just started using it.

  Before going to sleep, my grandmother visited me to share some news: there will be no training tomorrow. She wants to sleep a little longer so she can be fully focused and have all her senses sharp for the arrival of the nobles. Looks like I’ll be training on my own tomorrow.

  My morning training can only go until ten o’clock, as Baron Camux is scheduled to arrive around 1 PM—right at lunchtime.

  I’m already cleaned up, dressed appropriately, and waiting for the Baron at home.

  “So nervous…” I don’t know how to feel—this is my first time meeting another noble. In all the books I’ve read, nobles tend to be arrogant. Only a few are like my family.

  I can see a beautiful, noble-worthy carriage approaching, completely adorned. The most notable thing about it is the creatures pulling it—far from typical horses, they resemble small rhinoceroses.

  “Maki, I hope you haven’t forgotten noble manners,” my grandmother says with a chuckle.

  “Don’t make me more nervous right now, Grandma.” I can only touch my forehead in mock defeat.

  “Nervous? The boy who awakened two years early and already has almost all his skills at Rank II—that’s quite unexpected.”

  She stops teasing me as the carriage pulls up. I see my parents walking forward for the first interaction.

  Baron Camux has long, silky black hair. He’s in excellent shape and moves with elegance. He’s quite tall—about the same height as my father, roughly 185 cm.

  His children also have black hair. The eldest son shares his father’s black eyes, while the younger daughter has striking green eyes that make her pale skin and black hair stand out.

  All three of them could be considered attractive by beauty standards.

  They’re only a few meters away from where I’m waiting. Time to calm my mind and let go of these pointless thoughts.

  “Camux, you already know my mother Rita. This young one is my youngest son, Maki,” my father introduces us. They must be very close if he addresses him by name without a title. I didn’t know that.

  “It’s always a pleasure to see you in good health, Lady Rita.” His voice matches his appearance perfectly—it’s a flawless match.

  “Thank you, Baron. I’m glad to see you and your children well,” my grandmother replies politely, and they shake hands.

  “Young Maki, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Your father has told me a lot about you. It’s an honor.” He turns his attention to me.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Baron Camux.” I bow in greeting, keeping my hands together behind my back.

  “No need to be so formal, Maki. You can call me uncle.” Uncle? I wasn’t expecting that. Camux smiles casually and turns to the children behind him.

  “These are my children, Cris and Luna. I hope you all get along well—you’re close in age.”

  Cris and Luna introduce themselves, and I do the same. We head toward the dining room for lunch.

  During the meal, I learned a lot. My father and the Baron have been friends for years—they went to school together in their youth and became close friends. As future heirs with neighboring territories, it was easy for them to become like family.

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  Some embarrassing stories from their youth came out, along with exciting tales of expeditions and moments of camaraderie.

  It was a relaxed and joyful lunch, completely defying my expectations—in a good way. I didn’t expect any of this… if only my father had told me beforehand.

  We move to a private, spacious room filled with luxurious sofas and noble-worthy decor.

  The seven of us get comfortable, but before I can organize my thoughts, I’m hit with unexpected questions.

  “Maki, you’re eight, right? It’s rare to see someone awaken two years early.” His smile is calm, but his eyes are reading every reaction of mine.

  Before I can reply, his eldest son speaks up. “Huh? Maki has already awakened his magic?” His gaze feels judgmental, like he can’t believe his father’s words.

  “Yes, and he’s made significant progress. I can feel the pressure from his Imra and Mana. He should be in Advanced Amethyst Rank—just like you, Cris.”

  Quite accurate. From the stories I’ve heard, Uncle Camux and my father always had similar strength levels. For someone of that caliber, guessing my rank must be easy.

  “Yes, uncle. I awakened not too long ago. I’ve been dedicating all my time to training and managed to increase my overall strength a bit, though I’m still pretty weak.”

  I try to downplay their impressions in hopes of changing the topic. I don’t like being the center of attention.

  “Don’t be so modest, Maki. What you’ve achieved is incredible.”

  I can only offer a shy thanks while scratching the top of my head. My uncle senses the mood and changes the topic immediately.

  The only downside is Cris—he’s still staring at me intensely. I’m not looking directly at him, but with my pseudo-sensing, I can tell.

  After a while, and more cheerful conversation and laughter, we younger ones are asked to go elsewhere. Looks like the adults are about to discuss their business.

  Honestly, I’d love to know what they’re talking about and all the details… but I doubt I’ll find out anytime soon.

  I lead the way to another room, similar to the last but more modest in size and decoration. Cris and Luna walk behind me, and I can still feel the boy’s intense gaze.

  “You can sit wherever you like. I hope this room is to your liking.” I try to be as courteous as possible. Speaking slowly and trying to sound refined is such a pain.

  “We’re like cousins—we can speak like family. No need to be so formal when no one else is around,” says Cris. His mature response is a breath of fresh air.

  “My brother’s right, Maki. We can skip all the fuss of trying to sound so elegant,” Luna adds. Her voice is sweet—the kind you instantly associate with a little girl.

  “Thanks, that takes a huge weight off my shoulders. I’m not used to this kind of situation. You two are the first nobles from another family I’ve ever met.”

  The three of us laugh at the situation—we’re clearly more relaxed now than we were ten minutes ago.

  “Maki, you really did awaken already? That’s amazing. When my father said it, I could hardly believe it. But now that I focus, I can feel it—your Imra and Mana exert a certain pressure.”

  I follow his lead and concentrate on the two kids in front of me. I can clearly feel the pressure.

  “Yes, I awakened not too long ago.”

  I don’t know how to continue the conversation. I want to ask about affinities and skills, but I hold back—it doesn’t feel right to ask such personal things so soon.

  “I’ve never met someone who awakened so young. You’re eight—that’s really impressive. What affinities do you have?”

  There’s a saying about this: kids ask questions regardless of the situation or embarrassment.

  “I have three affinities.” I decide to give a bit more detail so I can ask the same in return. “Ice, like my mother. Electricity, like my father. And lastly, Gravity. What are your affinities?”

  “Three affinities? That’s pretty rare—it’s already hard to master one. I can’t imagine having two or three.”

  He’s right. It’s tough to train all my affinities.

  “Cris and I both have Fire affinity, though I chose to keep an additional one. Fire and Earth have good synergy,” Luna explains.

  Interesting—this is the first time I’ve met someone else with more than one affinity.

  We keep talking about our awakenings, our first lessons, and similar topics. They had a tough time learning to fight and use their mana.

  They’ve struggled with using Imra, so they’ve put it aside until reaching Emerald Rank.

  Being an assimilated person has many advantages—my sword control, knowledge, and other strengths helped me learn quickly.

  “Want to train together, Maki?” Cris asks, eyes shining with excitement—he’s almost leaping from his chair.

  “Yes, I want to train with you too, Maki,” Luna says with a smile, waiting for my answer.

  “Sure, why not? Though I think we should ask our parents first.” I don’t want to cause trouble if we leave the house to train.

  “Don’t worry. It’ll just be a light training session, and our parents are like family—they won’t mind,” Cris continues pushing for it.

  I gave in to the pressure, and now we’re heading to my training room.

  Nothing bad should happen, right? It’s just training.