Chương 39: Chapter 38: Weight of Evidence

Bren was already reaching for his coat by the time they finished.

"I'll speak to Hadrik." Elna looked toward the window.

"Now?"

"Now." Ren nodded while Bren pulled on the coat and fastened it. Before leaving, Bren crossed the room and rested a hand briefly on Ren's head.

"Stay here." Ren stared up at him. Where exactly did he think a baby was going to go? Bren caught the look and gave him the faintest smile before turning toward the door. Tessa hurried after him for two steps.

"Papa?" He glanced back at her.

"Make him believe you." Bren's expression settled as he nodded.

"I'll try." He stepped outside a moment later, and Ren listened as the door shut behind him and his footsteps faded down the road. There went the plan. Or at least the part of it currently capable of walking into Hadrik's house and explaining itself without needing Elna to translate half the words. Ren sat quietly for several seconds while Tessa wandered back from the door and Elna remained standing nearby. Nobody had anything else to add, so Ren looked toward his training toys instead.

He did know one thing he could do while Bren argued.

"Train." Tessa followed his gaze immediately.

"Magic?" Ren nodded, which earned far more enthusiasm than waiting beside the door. He took the patterned ball first and let Mana Sense settle over the carved surface until the hidden route became clearer beneath his attention. Ren already knew the irritating difference between seeing what needed to happen and actually being capable of making it happen. The route was there, and so was his mana. Convincing the second to follow the first remained the problem.

Ren held the pattern in mind and carefully worked his mana into it. The first stretch went well, but his attention drifted too far toward the mana itself, the shape of the route faded, and the attempt broke down. He stopped, reset, and started again. This time, he made it farther. The extra point in Concentration helped when Ren had to keep Mana Sense active, hold the pattern clearly in mind, and move his mana through it at the same time.

Paying too much attention to one still made another slip, but the balance was improving. He tried again and made it farther before the attempt broke down. The next one carried him cleanly through another section. He kept going until the familiar mental strain began to build and his mana had dropped low enough that another attempt would mostly just prove he knew how to exhaust himself. But it was worth it. [Skill Level Increased: Mana Sense Lv. 6 -> Lv. 7] Ren grinned, and Tessa immediately leaned closer.

"Level?"

"Seven."

"Yes!" She threw both hands up as though she had personally defeated the ball. Ren grinned at her enthusiasm before settling back to rest. He still wanted to keep pushing, but wasting his remaining mana would only make the next session shorter. Resting had finally become good enough to have noticeable effects. And he intended to make full use of them until sleep called. Once his resources had climbed enough, he picked up the wand and started again.

The resistance met him immediately as he pushed mana into the first section. It moved reluctantly, so Ren held the pressure until he could force more through, then pulled back what he could before his control slipped. He rested, then tried again. By the time the System appeared, Ren had almost stopped thinking about Bren. [Skill Level Increased: Mana Manipulation Lv. 4 -> Lv. 5] Ren let the wand fall into his lap after the second skill increase.

The door opened before he could decide what to train next, and Tessa was already on her feet by the time Bren stepped inside.

"Well?" she asked. Bren shut the door behind him.

"Hadrik will search." The knot in Ren's chest loosened as Elna crossed the room toward Bren.

"He believed you?"

"Hadrik only believes hard evidence. But reasonable concern was enough to make him move. After some convincing." Ren exhaled and settled back on his hands. Bren had gotten Hadrik to act much easier than his baby attempts ever did, which was all they had needed from the conversation. He yawned. Uh oh. His baby body called, and Elna chuckled, picking him up.

"Our smart baby is still a baby, I see!" …He supposed some food and a nap wouldn't hurt.

Hadrik returned before midday, and the change in his father's face told Ren enough before anybody spoke. Bren shut the door behind him, looked toward Elna, and nodded once.

"They found goblins farther out." Ren felt his stomach tighten despite already knowing what had been out there. Elna set aside the cloth she had been folding.

"They did?" Bren nodded.

"Hadrik's group found a small group and killed them. But they also found signs of more." Tessa, who had been sitting on the floor near Ren, stopped playing with the cord tied around one of Yara's training toys and looked up. Bren came farther into the room and sat at the table.

"Hadrik didn't like what he saw, and said those weren't regular goblins either. He's taking it very seriously." Tessa shifted closer to Ren.

"So there really are goblins out there already." Ren nodded. He had known, but hearing somebody else confirm it made the knowledge heavier. Bren rubbed both hands over his face before lowering them again.

"Hadrik is going to handle the rest of it. He wants people watching what they can without blundering into anything, and he wants to decide what can safely be done before anybody starts spreading fear through the whole village." The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Knights?"

"Soon," Bren said.

"He needs to decide how to present what was found and who should go." So the village no longer depended entirely on a timelooping baby convincing people that his impossible memories were real. Good progress! Bren looked toward the window, then back toward Elna.

"I am going to Tovin." Elna's brows rose.

"Now?"

"I said I would learn." Ren nodded with approval. His dad was a man of his word! Elna studied Bren for a moment before nodding.

"Stay safe. And do not come back missing anything important." Bren almost smiled.

"I will try to remain fully assembled." Tessa perked up.

"Oh, oh! Can I come?"

"No."

"Booo!" She frowned at him, but Bren was already turning toward the door. Ren watched him leave. There was nothing else he needed to relay urgently. Hadrik had the proof, Bren had chosen what he could do next, and the rest would move from there. He couldn't think of anything else to do now that the largest warnings were out of the way.

Village preparations and the warning reaching the knights in time were things out of his baby hands now – not that those tiny stubby digits could grab all that much at the best of times. So Ren turned to the things he could do that wouldn't result in him becoming a restless worrywart. There was training to get to! Though with his mana still low, his options were limited to physical training. After walking toward the open stretch of floor, he looked down at his legs.

His physical training had changed dramatically since Athletics first dragged him from crawling into semi-competent walking. He could now cross rooms, handle small obstacles, recover from bad steps, and keep moving long enough that every attempt no longer ended with him sprawled somewhere inconvenient. His field of possible operations increased by a lot, and he had no intention of stopping here either. Still…

That also meant he had reached the point where ordinary walking was no longer difficult enough by itself, and so far he failed to push his baby body in ways that would challenge his other stats. Weight training sounded like the next best option! He looked around for something he could carry, then paused. That would make the exercise harder, but it was awkward, and his hands were still quite useful for catching his balance. His gaze moved to the sewing basket beside Elna, and an idea formed.

"Mama." Elna looked over.

"What is it?" Ren pointed at his ankle, then toward the basket. He mimed tying something around his leg before lifting his foot several times. Elna watched the performance with a growing frown.

"You want something tied to your legs?" Ren nodded, then spread his hands slightly apart.

"Heavier." Elna looked from him to his legs, then toward the basket. Ren pointed at the cloth inside.

"You want me to make something?" He nodded. She frowned at his ankles again.

"... Very well. But absolutely not anything hard! And if I catch you doing something stupid, you're going to be sorry, little spark!" Ren nodded readily. Anything was better than nothing, and he trusted his mom to do good! Elna pulled the sewing basket closer and sorted through it until she found several scraps of sturdy cloth.

"If you are determined to make walking more difficult, we can at least make something that will not bruise you every time you fall." Ren's eyes caught movement. Uh oh, now Tessa was interested too.

"What are you making?"

"Apparently your brother has decided walking normally is too easy." Ren approved of this interpretation. Tessa leaned over the table, staring at him.

"You want weights?"

"Yes." Elna folded the cloth into small pockets and stitched them closed on three sides, then added soft ties long enough to secure them without digging into Ren's skin. She tested one empty pouch around his ankle, adjusted the fit, and only then opened it again to add a small amount of weight. Ren watched closely. Elna caught the look.

"We are starting light." He nodded. That had been the plan. Mostly. She made a matching one for his other ankle and tied both in place before having him stand where she could watch. Ren took his first step. The difference was small, but immediately noticeable. Lifting each foot required more effort, and the added weight changed the end of the movement enough that he had to control where his foot landed more, lest he risked stumbling and falling on his butt.

Ren carefully crossed the room, turned, and came back with little trouble. Elna watched the whole attempt.

"How does that feel?" Ren grinned.

"Good."

"That was not the answer I expected."

"Gotta. Train."

"I gathered." He tried another crossing, adding a squat at the far end before standing and turning back. The added weight made both harder. Tessa watched for a while before disappearing into the other room. She returned with a small backpack strapped over her shoulders, the bag hanging low enough that Ren immediately suspected she had filled it with every heavy object she could find. Elna looked at her.

"What did you put in there?"

"Training things!" The 'training things' inside the bag clunked when Tessa adjusted the straps. Ren stared at her. Apparently his sister had skipped straight past sensible resistance training and moved on to the part where removing the weights was supposed to reveal terrifying speed. Considering Tessa, Ren was not entirely sure the floor would survive the demonstration. Tessa tightened the straps and stood straighter. A clack followed. Ren stared at her.

"I am training too," she declared with all the confidence of a child. It was quite admirable! And he supposed having company wouldn't hurt. They began together. Ren walked with the cloth weights around his ankles while Tessa marched beside him under the mysterious burden of her backpack. Tessa copied whatever Ren did, crouching when he crouched and turning whenever he turned. Her enthusiasm lasted considerably less time than his.

By the time Ren finished resting and started another round, Tessa managed a few more crossings before dropping onto the floor and pulling the backpack off.

"You are still going." Ren nodded, smiling despite the sweat and labored breaths. The extra weight caught up with them quickly, but the rewards were there too. [Vitality +1]"You already did loads." He nodded again, but kept walking. Tessa watched him turn at the far side of the room.

"Why?"

"Train."

"Yes, but you already trained!" Ren reached her again, then turned for another crossing.

"More." Tessa stared after him before lying back against the floor.

"Mom! Ren is being strange again!" He nearly stumbled at his sister's call to higher authority. The gall of this girl! Elna just laughed, but eventually stopped him when his steps began losing the same precision they had started with. She untied the weights, checked the skin beneath them, and fed him when his body betrayed him with unstoppable needs again. But when his mom finally set him down again he noticed how Tessa had already become bored enough to start poking at one of the backpack straps.

His sister being bored reminded Ren of his other plans. Although he had already spoken with his parents, set things into motion, and learned some things about the System and the village… The other children might still know or ask adults about things he did not know, and his parents might have never cared to learn. Children overheard things. Their parents talked, they asked questions, wandered through parts of the village Ren rarely saw, and knew what their own families could do.

There might still be nuggets of wisdom hidden there, at the low low price of candy! He called Tessa over and, with some effort, explained the idea. He wanted to know more about the System, useful skills, the village, and anything else the kids might consider 'important enough to learn'. Ren didn't expect miracles, but it was certainly worth a try. Tessa understood quickly, especially once Ren mentioned using the candy to reward useful answers.

"So I ask everybody questions and give them candy?"

"Yes."

"For good answers?"

"Good answers." Her grin suggested that distinction might become rather flexible very quickly. Elna looked over from her sewing as Tessa reached for the treasury pouch.

"What are you two arranging?"

"Research!" Tessa answered far too quickly. Ren made no effort to deny it. A few minutes later, his sister had the pouch over her shoulder and was heading out with considerably more energy than she had shown during the final rounds of training.

"Stay in the village," Elna called after her.

"And do not spend all of them on Niko."

"I know!" Ren doubted that would remain true once Niko entered negotiations. He watched the door close behind her. Any one answer might be useless, and hardly worth the effort. …But enough answers might not be. Ren looked back toward the cloth weights beside Elna.

"Again?" Elna followed his gaze, then shook her head while looking at his legs.

"Only after you finish resting." He supposed that was fine. Physical training wasn't high on his list of priorities anymore. What Ren needed more of was magic. If his Master warned him about it being too dangerous to handle carelessly, it should also be dangerous enough to give goblins a run for their money. Ren had three weeks, his master to ask questions about magic from, and training toys at hand.

No other skill or stat promised more, and it was the cleanest shot at having a real impact beyond what he already set in motion. And Ren would not waste that opportunity.