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Chapter 18: Don't Be Cocky, Me
🕑 Added 2024-07-31 11:51:38 +0000 UTC“Feyt! Dinner’s ready!” Mom shouted. Her voice reverberated inside my head.
I could hear you clearly even if you whispered, you know? No need to shout.
“Coming!”
I jumped out of my bed and headed towards the door. As I held the wooden handle though, my mind reminisced about the first time I woke up with two bodies.
Hard to imagine that I woke up in this body just this morning.
I could barely even walk and talk, I was like a baby in the morning. But at night, I could jump out of bed while elegantly eating steak.
Of course, I was carried by the fact that daily routine seemed easy enough due to muscle memory, but it was still scary how much I had improved my control up until this point. Simultaneous dialogue doesn’t seem that far away.
“Feyt! Dinner’s gonna go cold!” Dad shouted.
“C-Coming!”
I hurriedly opened the door handle and headed towards the small dining room. Mom, Dad, and Fray were all huddled up on a small round table, our family’s prized table.
On the table was a large pot of steaming stew, Fray was already chowing down on her bowl as well as Dad. Mom was sitting on the other end of the empty seat. Her face looked gentle as if she wasn’t dead drunk just minutes ago.
I won’t question it.
I grabbed my empty bowl and began scooping up the stew with the prepared wooden ladle.
As I sat down and ate, Mom began talking.
“Oh, this village is truly blessed~” She was still in complete bliss.
Sitting down at the table, it was technically my first time observing Dad from close range. I caught a glimpse of him trying to pull Fray out of the house before we went to the pub, but that was it.
Dad cleaned his mouth with a handkerchief and began talking. “So, Feyt. Had fun with Ricent?”
“A-ah, yes. We played a lot of games.”
“Tch, games?” Dad said, narrowing his eyes. “You shouldn’t just play around all day, you know?”
What’s the point of visiting a friend if we don’t play?
“Dear,” Mom called out to Dad. “Don’t say stuff like that. He’s young! Let him have his fun! You too had friends you played with while you were young, right?”
“R-right, sorry about that.” Dad turned his head towards Fray. “Now, let’s move on to you, Fray. Could you please explain why you are so adamant about staying inside?”
Yeah, I would like to know as well. Thanks to these two not coming with us to the pub, I had to walk Mom home all by myself.
“Hm? I’m not that adamant, am I?”
“You threw me out of the window!!”
“Pfft!!” I spat out my stew.
She what??!
“It’s not like I was trying to, you were just too light, Dad~,” Fray said with a cheeky grin.
“Kh–!” Dad’s eye twitched.
I knew Sis was strong and all, but to throw Dad, a walking tower of muscles, out the window?!
This has to be a Talent thing, it has to be!
Dad stared at Feyt with a glare. “Listen, Fray. You shouldn’t spend all day inside the house! Go out and meet your friends! You’re already rarely here, they might as well have forgotten you ever existed!”
“Cool! None of them actually liked me anyway, so everything’s a-okay~” Fray shot up an OK sign.
Dad held his head, shaking it slightly while letting out a sigh. “First, you told us you didn’t want your Talents checked, now you won’t even go out and socialize. How much are you going to trouble me, Fray?”
“Trouble you? How am I letting you focus on Feyt be troubling? Ain’t those Talent Appraisal scrolls expensive? Save your money for Feyt instead, I don’t want you to buy me a scroll I don’t want.”
“Fray! You better take this thing seriously! We need to know what Talents you have, you need to know what talents you have!”
Fray pouted, “Hmph! I don’t need a scroll to tell me what I already know!”
“And what exactly is it that you already know, young lady?” Dad raised an eyebrow.
Fray hesitated a bit before answering, “I know that I don’t care.”
"You're being awfully evasive," Dad persisted. "Is there a good reason why you're avoiding appraisal?"
Fray let out a big sigh. “ Look, I’m already happy with my work as a trader right now, I don’t want to change jobs just cause of my Talents!”
I see…
In our world, Talents were more than just innate abilities; they dictated our paths in life. From a young age, those who have done Talent Appraisals were guided toward careers where they could excel with their inborn Talents.
It was a culture that was practical, efficient, but also somewhat limiting. Even Magical Talents are part of this culture, being the jackpot of all Talents a commoner could have by almost guaranteeing a spot at the royal knights.
I understood Fray’s reluctance. Being pigeonholed into a specific role based solely on a few symbols could feel like having your future decided before you even had a chance to explore it.
But in Fray’s words, I felt like she was partially lying. I didn’t know where I got that notion though.
Mom interjected cheerfully, trying to diffuse the tension. "Well, well, there’s no use forcing your opinions everyone! We have other things to focus on for now!"
Dad closed his eyes and nodded. “Fine.”
“Great! Now, let us finish dinner.” Mom clasped her hands. “By the way, Fray, you’ll be cleaning the dishes tonight!”
“Huh?! Why me?!” Fray shot up.
“That’s what you get for bullying your dad, Fray,” Mom responded.
“I wasn’t bullied though?!” Dad shot up.
Compared to the serious business-only stuff Carine has to go through, I kinda prefer having banters like these.
I enjoyed the chaotic scene before me as I took another spoonful of the stew.
—
Night arrived, it would be my first time sleeping in this new world. Tucked into bed by Leila and Mom, I once again felt the difference in the bed quality.
I felt like I was on clouds on Carine’s bed, yet like a slightly mushy stone slab on Feyt’s end.
Not that it’s uncomfortable, my bodies were pretty accustomed to the beds already, but the sheer difference couldn’t go unnoticed.
Anyway, I closed my eyes, hoping tomorrow, I would start a new day with a new energy.
Sleep came fast for Feyt, probably because Fray’s tortu–, I mean, training exhausted every last bit of energy in that body.
With my other body’s consciousness in sleep mode, the only body I could control was Carine’s. I couldn’t sense anything major from Feyt’s end, only a small feeling of my chest heaving up and down.
With my full focus on Carine’s perspective, it was as if I had returned to having only one body again.
I wasn’t feeling particularly sleepy in this body. But well, not like there was anything for me to do anyway. So I just closed my eyes and waited for sleep to come.
—
An intense cry of a rooster woke me up. Feyt was the first one to get up, Carine, meanwhile, was still sleeping. I looked out the window to see that the sun had barely risen, it was early morning.
Not having both of my bodies active at once felt weird for some reason, so I tried to wake Carine up from this end, but to no avail.
I can’t even wake myself up, great.
I decided to let Carine’s body rest for a while.
Focusing back on Feyt, I got up, dressed myself, and headed outside my room.
Mom was in the kitchen, cleaning some vegetables. Dad and Sis were nowhere in sight.
I walked up and greeted her, “Morning Mom!”
“Ah, morning Feyt!” Mom put down the vegetables and dried her hands with a towel. “Is your head okay?”
“Yeah, I think I’m fine, I don’t feel any bumps or anything.”
“Good! Let’s get that bandage off of you!”
Mom grabbed a small pair of scissors and slowly cut the bandage off of me. The wind hitting my head suddenly got a lot colder.
“Thanks, Mom. What’s for breakfast?”
“There’s bread on the table, I just bought it!”
I looked at the dining table, a small basket carrying several bland breads sat on top of it. I sat down at the table as Mom continued washing vegetables at the counter.
I grabbed one piece of bread and took a bite. Coarse and bland were the only words that came to mind.
Well, this was the life of a struggling family, can’t complain about having food. I finished two pieces of bread and settled them down with a glass of water.
“Okay, now that you’re in tip-top shape, can you go and help your dad with the fields?”
“Huh?”
I looked out the window near the kitchen, an expansive field of various vegetables was laid out in front of me with Dad and Fray tending to them.
Right, forgot that I’m a farmer in this life.
“O-Okay, I’ll help them.”
Ugh, I wanted to relax tho~
…
With a hoe in hand, I stepped out onto the field.
“Do the usual, Feyt!” Dad shouted from across the field. Though if he talked normally, I was sure my ears would pick his voice up just fine.
“Okay, Dad!” I shouted back.
With practiced movements, I began tilling the field. It was a simple cycle. Raise the hoe, drop it, drag it, then move on to the next patch and repeat. It’s simple, supposed to be, anyway.
Despite my determination, it took only ten minutes for me to run out of breath, my whole body calling out for rest. I stopped, leaning on the hoe for support.
I heard Fray approaching me and she slapped my back. “Hey, tired already?”
I turned to her, she had her usual cheeky smile.
“Well, I’m just… not used to this…” I panted, wiping the sweat off my forehead. “But I’ll get the hang of it.”
I—or Feyt, rather—used to only help with watering and sowing seeds occasionally. But ever since last week, Feyt requested to help with tilling instead of just watering.
Why, past me, why?!
Tilling the fields was torture, why would I even want this?! But as I looked at the rows I’d completed, a small sense of pride bubbled up.
There was a desire hidden inside this body to get stronger.
“Look, if you’re tired, let me do it! Haven’t been home in ages, might as well help out!” Fray extended her hand, asking for the hoe.
I considered letting her do the work, but I ultimately shook my head. “Nope, I can do it!”
I didn’t know why I was so adamant about torturing myself, but I just felt the need to continue trying my best.
“Oh, back to your usual self already, huh? Welp, good luck!” Fray waved her hands as she walked away to continue watering the plants.
“Fuuh… Okay!” I stood up straight, putting the hoe on my shoulder. “Let’s do this!”
Not five minutes later, I was face-down on the ground.
…
I was brought into the house’s exterior shack. The inside of it was empty, only a functioning well and a wooden chair were inside.
I was sitting down on that chair, my dirt-covered shirt hung on the door outside.
“Ah, jeez, you just had to push yourself, don’t ya’?” Fray said, reluctantly scrubbing my topless body with a towel. She was trying to hide her amusement, but her “hidden” snickering gave her away..
“I can clean myself up, you know. I’m not a kid.”
“Nuh-uh, you could barely lift your arms, let alone hold a towel.” Fray let out a sigh, but her hands were uncharacteristically gentle as she continued cleaning me. “You just had to land onto the dirt face-first into the dirt, can’t you land in a less dirt-filled place next time?”
“Yeah, sorry…”
“Nah, don’t apologize, that was hilarious,” Fray chuckled.
Why you–
I couldn’t even retort at this point. I just let the cold water run through my body, soothing my muscles.
“Alright, all done!”
After the impromptu bath, Fray helped me into a clean shirt before heading back to help Dad.
I sat on a wooden chair right beside the house as I watched Fray help Dad with watering and also tilling the fields.
Seriously, what was up with her stamina and strength? There was no doubt they were from her Talents. But she didn’t seem to care about appraisals.
Is she really that carefree? Or was there something she was hiding?
Either way, it wasn’t in my position to judge her choices, I was just really curious, that’s all.
Seeing her work so energetically gave me another urge to get up and work. But I slapped my thighs to stop myself.
Stop it. Don't be cocky, me. I’ll end up dead if this keeps up.
