Chapter 20: My 10th Birthday

POV Eliza

I opened my eyes. I was in my bedroom in front of my closet. Inside there were lots of clothes that I didn't like for various reasons. Wrong color, wrong cut, I only wore it last week, etc. That couldn't be true. Didn't I have anything suitable to wear this evening? I glanced at the clock hanging above my door. It was almost an hour before Jessica came over. We wanted to go to the cinema together. The latest film with our favorite actor was on, but of course without her brother. It should be a really nice women's evening without men. Neither of us had boyfriends, so it wasn't a big problem. Ever since her crush had ripped her off mercilessly, she hadn't wanted a new boyfriend. This evening should serve to change her mood. I never had a boyfriend myself, but there were also other reasons. So far there hasn't been a single man who has interested me.

I turned back to my closet full of nothing to wear when I heard a faint noise in the edge of my awareness. I tried to ignore it, but it kept getting louder. It wasn't just a sound, it seemed to be a voice. I turned around, but I couldn't find anyone the voice could belong to. I listened to understand what the voice was saying. It seemed to be a name.

“..za…..liza…..Eliza, little one, wake up….”

Eliza? The name seemed somehow familiar, but where did it come from? I continued listening, my curiosity piqued. Then I remembered how I knew the name and why it sounded so familiar. I opened my eyes.

“Eliza, little one, please wake up.” <Mimi>

I opened my eyes and saw a familiar woman with dog ears leaning forward and looking into my face. She held my hand and I saw the worries about me reflected in her eyes.

“Mama, I’m fine.” <Eliza>

With a cry of joy, Mama hugged me. I heard her sobbing quietly. She accidentally hit my left arm and a sharp pain shot through it. I screamed loudly and Mama let go of me in a panic.

“Ah, I'm sorry, little one. I was so relieved that you woke up that I forgot about your arm wound. I’m so sorry.” <Mimi>

She was still sobbing, additionally from embarrassment for causing me pain. My arm hurt like hell and I could barely move it. I saw that he was heavily bandaged. Still, I tried to sit up somehow. When Mama saw this, she carefully helped me up. She still had a few tears, but she had stopped sobbing.

"What happened then? Why did I bandage my arm? Oh yes, the wolf, I remember again. The fight, the fear, all the blood, the pain. I must have lost consciousness.” <Eliza>

“Kira brought you here. Don't worry, before the wolf could kill you, she intervened. But I think she took far too long. I've already scolded her about it, but she was unfazed. She just meant that if you want to survive in the harsh reality, especially as a non-human in the Empire, you have to have at least one near-death experience. Only then does he or she value his or her own life highly enough not to risk it carelessly. You can't imagine what I went through when she brought you to the camp half-dead. I thought my heart would stop.” <Mimi>

Mama sniffled once and then wiped the tears from her face. I saw the relief on her face. The friendly smile, the bright eyes, this woman was as valuable to me as my own mother over the last few years and I had grown to love her accordingly. She was my mother. I wouldn't want anything to happen to her either. That day I had made up my mind that I would protect the community and especially this woman, come what may.

“But luckily you’re still alive and the bite wound the wolf left on your arm hasn’t become infected either. You won't be able to use your arm for a few weeks, but otherwise we'll get you back in shape quickly. You're still weak, but pretty tough for your age. Lie back down and get some sleep. I'll tell the others that you've woken up." <Mimi>

With that, Mama hugged me again, this time much more gently, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. After she left the room, I lay back down. I still felt the warmth of her kiss. Her affection reassured me and I was happy that I had found such a loving person in this world after a very bad start to my second life.

I couldn't do much for the next 3 weeks because I wasn't allowed to put any weight on my arm. This meant that most physical training and combat exercises were no longer possible. Healing magic would be really handy, but no one here can do it except Yuna, and she was outside of the camp. But I didn't want to just sit around, so I did what I could. I read a lot and talked to my people and continued to deepen my knowledge of animals, monsters, plants and medicine. I also had a lot of time to train my magic control. Afterwards I got the arm bandage off and was finally able to resume my physical training. I preferred doing exercises that required me to use my arm to restore it to use.

So the weeks and months passed and we approached winter. There was a special day coming up in winter, my 10th birthday. The class election ceremony took place on this day. In winter our three adventurers were in camp again and I discussed with them which class had which advantages. I want to choose a class that was a good fit for me and helped me the most in my goal of protecting the community. A pure fighter was eliminated, as was a pure magician. I lacked the strength for the first and a suitable teacher for the last. I had to rely on the teachers of the community. With my advantages in agility and intuition, it was best to choose a class based on them. I also learned that there are basic classes and advanced classes. Of the basic classes, only the scout and the hunter were suitable. The scout was more urban-oriented, while the hunter was nature-oriented. In addition, the scout usually traveled alone, while hunters often relied on animal companions. Both had advantages and disadvantages, but ultimately the fact that the hunter preferred to use a bow, which was difficult for me, was the deciding factor for me. I didn't want a bow as my main weapon, so I'd choose the scout.

The day before the New Year, the other members of the community prepared my birthday party. It was a big celebration because it coincided with the New Year celebration, which was celebrated in our community. I still helped out because we were a big family and everyone had their own tasks. My job was to help prepare the food. We were lucky with the weather. It hadn't snowed for days and the sky was clear of clouds. At night it was starry and the full moon was shining. We built a large campfire in the middle of the camp. Tables with food and all sorts of drinks were set up at the edge. The mood was exuberant. We sang and danced and laughed. Lennand played all kinds of songs on his guitar. Then we approached the turn of the year. I was starting to get nervous, even though I knew exactly what was coming. But then my gaze unconsciously fell on the moon. As always, he had a strong effect on me. My heartbeat calmed down and my nervousness disappeared. I looked at the moon for a few minutes and then noticed a slight change within me. A quick self-appraisal confirmed my suspicions. I was now 10 years old and that meant I could choose my new class. I looked at mama and nodded at her.

“The time has come. The new year has begun. I will choose.” <Eliza>