Even if you succeed in jobless reincarnation and time magic, you must live life to the fullest.

At the age of twelve, he has become the eldest brother in the eyes of his younger siblings, who are used to relying on him when they encounter difficulties.

This gave Yars a sense of accomplishment, but also made him worry that helping too much might be detrimental to the growth of his younger siblings.

"Well then, that's all for today's story."

Ars closed the fairy tale book, shooed the still-entertaining Sieg, Luria, and Christina up from the floor, and urged them to go back to bed.

"I want to be a cheese person when I grow up!"

Zig stood with his hands on his hips, full of confidence, and said.

“Cheese people are no fun at all,” Luria said casually. “I want to hear the story of the hero fighting the dragon.”

"You've heard that story ten times already, haven't you?"

"No, I only listened to it eight times."

For some reason, Sieg and Luria didn't get along very well.

Zig loved listening to the stories of the Cheese Man.

Lyria, on the other hand, loves stories about heroes.

As for Christina... she didn't care, and listened attentively to any story she heard.

"Alright, alright, go back to sleep now," Yars urged.

Zieg and Christina returned to their respective rooms.

But Lulia grabbed Ars's leg and said with a grin, "Big brother, I have some nice things in my room, come and see."

Ars sighed and patted her head, knowing that Lulia wanted him to sleep with her again.

Normally it wouldn't matter, but not today—after dinner, my father told me to come to the study before bed, as he had something important to discuss.

"Sorry, I'll definitely do it next time."

Ars extended two fingers and poked Lulia's head.

The latter covered his head in dissatisfaction, seemingly feeling somewhat aggrieved.

Ars thought for a moment and said, "Next time we have a break, I'll take you to the business district."

"Great!"

Luria immediately beamed with joy and skipped back into the house.

Ars looked at Lulia's petite and agile figure and couldn't help but smile knowingly.

……

……

"Boom boom boom——"

There was a knock on the door.

Rudeus raised his hand, stopping Alice from continuing her argument.

"Please come in."

Ars pushed open the door and glanced inside. "Dad... and Mama Red is here too."

“Jars, I’m sorry to disturb your rest, but I’d still like to talk to you about this matter,” Rudius said with a smile.

"Yes……"

Ars entered the house somewhat nervously.

If you look closely, you'll see that Red Mom is sitting on the side of the desk with her arms crossed, looking somewhat unhappy.

Could it be that I did something that caused a huge uproar and made Mama Hong angry?

Ars couldn't help but shiver.

As the family's toughest member, Red's mother is capable of hitting people if angered.

But no matter what he thought, nothing had happened recently that would make him furious.

He walked shakily into the room and sat down in front of Rudius.

"Um... Dad, if I did something wrong, please allow me to apologize first. I definitely didn't mean to."

"Ok?"

Rudeus was stunned for a moment.

He then turned to look at Alice's face and couldn't help but laugh.

“You’ve misunderstood, Ars. Alice and I just wanted to discuss something with you, something… about the future, about our ideals.”

“…” Ars was completely bewildered.

“Yars should know our family’s rules: after the age of 12, one must go to the capital of the Kingdom of Asura for further studies.”

Rudius tapped the table with his fingers. "As a father, of course I still want you to stay by my side, but for this world, Sharia is still too small. That's why we need to go to a wider, more prosperous city to broaden our horizons... That's what I think."

Ars nodded.

Learn the basics in Sharia, and then go to the capital for further studies.

Both Lucy and Lala did it this way.

I remember that Lala was very reluctant to leave home at first, but after being persuaded by her father, she finally agreed.

"Hmm... that's how it should be, but Alice has other expectations for you."

Rudeus turned to look at Alice, who was standing to the side with her lips pursed and her arms crossed.

"Alice wants you to go to the Water God School's dojo for further training."

"The Water God School...dojo?"

Ars muttered to himself.

As one of the three major schools of swordsmanship, the Mizushin-ryu school has dojos all over the world.

Because of its elegant and solemn style, it was widely popular among nobles. The main training center of the Water God School was located in the capital of the Kingdom of Asura.

Yars has gone there many times with Mama Red.

"That's it."

Alice said seriously, "Ars has a talent for swordsmanship. If he had trained from a young age, he might have surpassed me in skill, so..."

"That's not how it works, is it?"

Rudius tapped the table, his tone somewhat serious.

“Alice, I understand—your friend Izuru died because you were bewitched by the gods and stood on the opposite side. So you’ve always felt guilty about it and wanted Ars to be Izuru’s replacement… Am I right?”

“…That’s not the case.”

Alice said, her gaze drifting.

Judging from her expression, you could tell that her words lacked any real conviction.

Rudius smiled helplessly.

“I understand how you feel… I killed Isorte with my own hands, and I am very grateful to Reda for being able to resolve the conflict without holding a grudge.”

"But these are two different things."

Side Story: The Tale of Ars (3)

"We cannot arbitrarily decide a child's future based on the mistakes made by the older generation."

"If children cannot decide their own future, then it is a dereliction of duty on the part of the parents."

“Jars’ future is for him to decide, and it is our duty as parents to do our best to fulfill that wish.”

Rudius said very seriously.

Alice pursed her lips and remained silent.

Clearly, Rudius's words hit the nail on the head, and were exactly what she was thinking.

"So, what are Jars's thoughts?"

Rudius turned to look at Jars.

"Huh?" The latter was taken aback.

"Whether you go to school like your sisters or go to the Water God School's dojo for training, the final decision is in your hands."

"You can rest assured that no matter which path you choose, your father and mother will support you unconditionally."

"If you have other things you want to do, that's okay, you can say so."

"The important thing is to make your own choice."

Choose for yourself...

That’s what Dad said.

Even so, if I choose a different path, Red Mom will still be unhappy, right?

Ars glanced up at Alice.

It seemed that they had noticed Jars's gaze.

Alice suddenly spoke up: "Rudy is right."

“Yars, although I wanted you to go to the Water God School dojo for further studies, the path of life only has meaning when it is chosen by oneself.”

"So just make your decision with confidence. No matter what... I'll support you!"

Alice said very seriously.

"I understand……"

Ars met their gazes, took a deep breath, and then made a decision.

……