Reincarnation with AI (Unemployment-Free)

She's five years old.

Since his reincarnation, Rudeus has never celebrated his birthday, because the country does not have the custom of celebrating birthdays every year.

However, when they reach the ages of five, ten, and fifteen, there will be more grand celebrations every five years, and family members will give them gifts.

In this world, people are considered adults after the age of fifteen.

On this day, Rudius held a small birthday celebration at his home.

It's called small, but that refers to its size; it only includes Rudeus's family, plus Lilia and Loki.

The dishes looked quite elaborate, with the table laden with sumptuous food, including a whole pig's head in the center—a sight Rudeus had never seen before in his previous life.

In my past life, a banquet would only include a whole chicken or a fish, plus a pork knuckle.

Back then, for Rudius, an ordinary commoner, celebrating his elders' 90th birthday simply involved going out to a restaurant, ordering two dishes, and buying a cake.

I did see pig heads at the harvest banquet after I traveled through time.

However, Rudius felt that the medieval nobility was a bit too hardcore in turning a family birthday celebration into this kind of event.

However, if you celebrate five birthdays together, the cost doesn't seem to be much.

He's a nobleman, after all; he can't be shabby.

In the brightly lit room, Paul's sword-wielding performance, including holding a large sword in his mouth, completely astonished Rudius.

That was a real, sharpened sword, which Paul always carried with him.

Paul was always carrying a sword.

Even after returning home, he would still walk around with his sword.

Rudius also noticed this while listening to bedtime stories.

As the family of three lay in bed, the sword lay within Paul's reach.

Even when Paul got up to use the toilet at night, he would make sure to bring his sword with him.

This must be a habit Paul developed during his adventurous life.

In his previous life, Rudeus lived in a peaceful era, so even though he knew about the cruelty of the world and the existence of war, he honestly didn't feel any sense of urgency.

Paul's habit was indeed stimulating Rudius's sense of crisis.

It keeps Rudius vigilant even in this cozy daily life.

The existence of that sword was like a signal, a reminder. Every time Rudeus saw it, it would remind him not to waste too much time on things unrelated to the battle.

Thinking about it this way, in the original work, Paul was carrying a sword after he was teleported away by the Great Transfer.

This is related to the fact that he is always armed.

During the transfer, once Paul realized his predicament, he immediately used the gold coins hidden in the scabbard of his sword and rushed home without regard for anything else...

We've gone off on a tangent.

Returning to Paul's sword-swallowing performance, the sword Paul used was not the kind of rapier that Rudius had seen in movies and TV shows in his previous life.

It's not the kind of immortal sword with a uniform blade width; it should be called a Taoist sword or a Shu Mountain sword.

The sword Paul used, perhaps because it was meant to fight monsters, had a very wide blade to ensure its strength.

It has a design that gradually widens from the tip of the sword to the grip.

Swallowing a sword of that width would definitely cut the esophagus; there's no way to avoid contact through any skill or technique.

Since contact has occurred, and it's a sharpened sword.

Rudius believed that Paul must have used his fighting spirit to protect his throat and esophagus during the performance.

Otherwise, even if the legendary acrobat from a past life came, he wouldn't be able to swallow this sharp sword.

The shocked expressions on Loki and Rudius's faces made Paul stick out his tongue and make a face, seemingly showing off his unharmed tongue.

Happy birthday, Rudy. This is my birthday present for you.

After the meal, Paul solemnly presented Rudius with two swords.

One is a real sword, crafted to the size of an adult, and is a sharpened real sword that would be too heavy for a five-year-old child.

The other one is a shorter wooden sword, which seems suitable for playing or training.

As Rudius caught the sword, Paul, with a serious expression, began to speak as if he had prepared for a long time.

"Ahem." Paul clenched his fist and put it to his mouth, feigning a light cough. "Giving you this sword may be too early, but as a man, you must have a sword in your heart."

Educating children is also a new experience for Paul. I wonder if he gets nervous, or if he'll fake a cough.

However, it seems he also thinks it's a bit premature to give Rudeus a real sword.

Birthday gifts are indeed hard to choose. Although Rudius may act like a child, he doesn't actually need any things that a child would be interested in.

An ordinary child would be happy and content just to see a wooden sword.

At the same time, even with a wooden sword, normal parents would still worry that their child would use it to hurt other children; as for a real sword, there are even more considerations...

"To protect what is important, you need to be prepared in your heart. Your wife or children—you will meet people like that in the future—and protecting them is your duty," Paul continued.

Rudeus looked at Loki after hearing his wife's voice, and Loki returned Rudeus's questioning look.

Luo Qixi is a blockhead.

"Don't get carried away just because you know a little magic. Magic isn't good at close combat and can't keep up with the ever-changing nature of close-quarters fighting. From that perspective, swordsmanship is the real thing..."

Paul seemed to have a lot to say, but couldn't find an opportunity. Once the topic was started, his thoughts flowed smoothly, and he seemed to get more and more comfortable talking.

Paul continued to teach Rudeus, imparting his experience in combat, but Rudeus was unable to use his fighting spirit or explain it to Paul.

He could only offer a polite smile as he watched Paul, who had already raised his chin and was beginning to immerse himself in teaching.

"You've said too much!" Senis interrupted Paul mercilessly with a chop to the neck.

Paul crouched down with a wry smile, holding his head in his hands, and looked at Rudius, concluding, "In short, unless absolutely necessary, remember to put your sword away."

Rudius thought that Paul probably wanted to teach him about the mindset for fighting.

Indeed, this should be very important.

After pushing Paul away, Senis crouched down, a hopeful smile on her face, and handed Rudius a thick book hidden behind her back.

"Happy birthday! Here, this is a birthday present from your mom."

Rudius took it, opened it, and glanced through it briefly; it was a botanical encyclopedia.

It comes with illustrations and detailed instructions.

Because there is no printing technology in this world, this thick book is entirely handwritten and hand-drawn, making it immediately apparent that it is extremely valuable.

However, the sword Paul gave him was quite valuable.

Books and metal were not cheap items in the Middle Ages, let alone such excellent books and well-made weapons, which would only be more valuable.

But compared to swordsmanship that hasn't even been practiced yet, the knowledge that can be acquired immediately is obviously much more valuable.

Or rather, in Rudius's view, knowledge has always been more important than force.

Knowledge is power.

This book is clearly of at least equal importance to the three books: "The Magic Textbook," "Travel Around the World," and "Fitoa's Monster Ecology and Weaknesses."

Moreover, Rudeus had always loved plants and animals and natural science in his previous life. The plants and animals of this world, which were different from those on Earth, often aroused Rudeus's curiosity.

Therefore, Rudyus did indeed appear happier after receiving Senis's gift.

"How is it? Do you like it?" Senis asked expectantly.

"Thank you, Mom, I like it very much," Rudius replied loudly.

"Oh, what a good child!"

Senis flashed a bright, girlish smile and pounced on Rudeus, hugging him tightly.

"Mom, you're so cute too," Rudeus thought to himself as he was held in Rudeus's arms and nuzzled Senis's face affectionately.

This caused Senis to hug her even tighter.

Senis was clearly very happy, so much so that Rudius felt slightly suffocated by the embrace. Fortunately, the slight feeling of suffocation was not uncomfortable; when fully experiencing his mother's love, it only temporarily squeezed the air out of his lungs.

Watching the mother and son laughing and joking, Paul awkwardly scratched his chin.

I have a feeling that I've lost...

Perhaps I shouldn't have lectured you just now...

Finally, Loki gave Rudeus a magic wand.

A simple-looking magic wand, about thirty centimeters long, with a small red stone set at the front.

"This is something I made a few days ago."

Because Rudy could use magic from the beginning, I accidentally forgot, but as a master, I should make a wand for my disciple who can use basic magic.

I'm so sorry...

Luo Qixi, who was squatting in front of her, said apologetically.

It seems it was done in a panic a few days ago when I rushed to the city.

Rudeus took the wand from Loki and looked at her.

"Master?" Rudeus called out tentatively.

Although Lokishi was reluctant to be called "Master" by Rudeus, since it was said that the wand was a gift from the master to the disciple.

Well, it's okay to call him master, right?

Upon hearing Rudeus's words, Loki gave a wry smile.

Seeing that Loki didn't object again, Rudeus happily rushed into Loki's arms, repeatedly calling out, "Master, Master..."

Senis and Paul gave her warm looks.

After a brief moment of shyness, Loki smiled, hugged Rudeus back, and gently patted his back.

Lilia, on the other hand, did not give Rudeus a gift.

Rudius wasn't quite sure what the other person's feelings were for him, or whether they would see him as a weirdo.

However, Rudeus never saw any expression of distress or disgust on Lilia's face, so she probably wouldn't be disliked.

Maids shouldn't need to give gifts, right?

After all, Lilia sends all the money she earns back to her hometown, so even if she really wanted to send something, she doesn't have the financial means to do so.

……