Chapter 9: Fifth Birthday and a Reunion
It has been three years since that celebration. A lot of things happened in these three years. Blake and Ana got married and had a child. Her name is Soleil, and Ana is training her to be able to assist me in the future. Blake opened a smithy in the village. At first his plan was to open shop in the capital, but he changed his plans once he married Ana. I’m happy for them. Princess Nia also had her wedding. It was quite grand, but that’s to be expected because she is the third princess of a big kingdom.
I also have kept up with my training. My MP broke 1000 a while ago. My stats look like this now:
Name: Luna
Race: Kitsune
Sex: Female
Level: 1
Class: Quad-mage
HP: 20/20
MP: 1774/1774
Vit: 15
Def: 15
Res: 16
Str: 17
Int: 29
Agi: 25
Dex: 20
Skills: Presence detection, Trap detection, Trap disarming, Trap creation, Dagger LV. 3, Short sword LV. 3, Archery LV.1, Poison crafting, Appraisal LV.10, Mana Regeneration LV.5, Stealth LV. 5, Charm LV. 3
Magic Skills: Ice Magic LV.7, Lightning Magic LV.6, Healing Magic LV.4, Space Magic LV.5
Race Skills: Illusion Magic LV.5, Spirit Vision, Fox Fire, Fox Transformation(Sealed), Enhanced Senses, Night Vision, Enhanced Physical Strength(Sealed)
Unique Skills: Status Effect Immunity, Ice Mist, Language Comprehension, Infinite Inventory
Blessings, Divine Protection, and Titles:
Divine Protection of the Moon Goddess, Reincarnated, Fated One of the Moon Goddess, Abyssal Fluff
Today is my fifth birthday. I’m thinking that today is the day I will tell the people closest to me about my reincarnation. As I was resolving myself to tell my biggest secret, I heard a knock on the door.
“Lady Luna, you mother and father are calling for you.” Ana said through the door.
“I’m coming.” I answered.
When I opened the door, Ana was waiting for me. Hiding behind her was Soleil.
“Hello Soleil, did you come to get me as well?” I asked while crouching down to meet her eyes.
She nodded then ran up and hugged me.
“Happy Birfday, Big Sis Luna!” She said.
I felt a dumb smile appear on my face when she said that.
“Thank you, you are so cute Soleil.” I said.
While I was patting her head, Ana spoke up,
“OK you two, I know you like to dote on Soleil, but we are keeping your parents waiting.”
“Then let’s head off to where they are.” I said leading the way when I stopped.
“Where are they anyway?” I asked.
“Fufufu, even you can act your age sometimes, huh, Lady Luna.” Ana said while laughing.
“Hey, I’m always acting my age.” I said with a pout.
We started walking to the dining room, when we arrived, I didn’t see anyone there. While I was confused, my Presence Detection went off. I quickly turned to where my skill told me people were and all the people I knew jumped out trying to surprise me.
“Surprise Luna! Happy Birthday!” They all said in unison.
I didn’t know how to react. When my skill activated, I knew something like this was coming, but I didn’t want to ruin the fun. While I was trying to decide what to do, I heard someone say.
“Did we actually surprise her? Normally, she picks up on others’ presences really quickly.”
When I heard that, I started to laugh.
“Hahahahaha, you guys got me this time. I really was surprised.” I said still laughing.
“That’s good, then.” Said Nia.
“Then let’s get this party started.” As soon as my father said that several people came in carrying large trays of food.
Everything that was brought in looked delicious. I could feel my mouth watering due to the smell.
“You don’t need to hold yourself back, Luna. It is your birthday.” My mother said.
When I heard that I rushed over to the food. I grabbed a plate full of meat and fried tofu. I then started stuffing my face. It was so good that before I noticed it, my plate was empty.
“Hey, we should also start eating before Luna eats everything.” Blake said rushing over to the table.
After a while, everyone had eaten their fill and started to talk about what’s going on with their lives. I got a lot of happy birthdays and other such congratulations. It was then that my mother and father brought over a wooden case.
“Happy birthday Luna, this is a present from the both of us.” My father said handing me the case.
When I opened it, I saw a silver-colored ring.
“This ring is a magic catalyst made of mithril. It will help you cast higher level spells and increase their effectiveness.” My mother explained.
I tried putting it on the index finger of my right hand. Once it was in place it shrunk to a comfortable size.
“Thank you!” I said with a bright smile.
After they moved to the side Blake brought over something wrapped in cloth.
“Here you go, Happy Birthday.” He said, handing me the cloth.
When I unwrapped it, I found a silver and black short sword in the shape of a kodachi.
“I made that out of a mix of steel and meteoric iron. Since my blacksmithing skill is level 10, it won’t break or rust. I hope you like it.” He said moving next to Ana and Soleil.
“Thank you very much, Blake. I really like it.”
After saying that Nia and her husband came up to me and handed me a bracelet made out of the same material as the ring.
“This is a mithril bracelet that is enchanted with a special magic. That magic will activate if you ever get hit by an attack that would be fatal. It will take the damage for you, but only once.” Nia explained.
I got up and hugged her. After everyone gave me these presents, they were getting ready to leave. Before they did, I stopped everyone.
“Before everyone leaves, can you all listen to what I have to say?” I said.
When they saw the seriousness in my expression, they all stopped and then returned to the seats they were sitting in earlier.
“So, Luna, what is it you want to say?” My mother asked.
“There is something I have been hiding from all of you for years.” I began.
“You see, this isn’t my first life.” I said.
When I lifted my head to see their reactions, I was confused.
“Is that all you wanted to say?” Asked my father.
“None of you are surprised?” I asked, shocked.
“Luna, you do realize we knew this for a while now right. I know you were trying to hide it, but you weren’t really good at it.” My mother said with a gentle smile.
I was stunned. Was I really that bad at hiding it? My shoulders dropped.
“Does that mean you also knew about all of my secret training?” I asked, my face red with embarrassment.
“Yes, it was quite easy to tell actually. Most of us have been on the battlefield for extended periods of time. We learned to get a feeling for the amount of strength in people, so we could tell you have been training. Though it is surprising just how much you have improved yourself.” Said Nia.
“I see, then all of my resolve was for nothing.” I said letting out a long sigh.
“Not necessarily, while we all figured this out some time ago, we are still glad you decided to tell us.” Ana said while trying to cheer me up.
“If you don’t mind sharing, would you tell us about your past self?” Blake asked.
“Sure, though out of everyone here, you would know me just as well as you know me now, Blake.”
When I said this, his eyes went wide.
“Don’t tell me, Jason!” He said loudly.
“The one and only.” I said with a smirk.
“So, I guess gifting you a short sword today was fate, huh.” He said chuckling.
“Would you mind explaining that, Blake?” Said my mother.
“Remember back when I first started staying here, you called me to your office to have a conversation about Deacon’s letter and the two idiot heroes. I said they killed my friend in a dungeon. That friend’s name was Jason Strider.” Blake explained.
“And you’re saying that you are the reincarnation of this Jason Strider, Luna?” Asked my mother.
“Yes, that was me in the past, but over these few years, I have embraced my new life as Luna.” I said.
“I see. Speaking of those two, do you want to take revenge on those two for what they did?” Asked my father.
“If the opportunity arises, sure, but its not the top priority I have for this life.” I answered.
“What is your top priority in this life then?” Asked Nia.
“It would be easier to explain if I showed you all my status.” As I said this, I pulled out a piece of paper that I had written my status on earlier.
When they read what was there, they could hardly hide their shock.
“Luna, there are many things that could be said about your status, but there is something that you need to sure of. That is, never show this to anyone else after this. The people in this room are an exception, but with everything in the title category, people will want you for various reasons, and not all of them good.” My father said with an extremely serious face.
“I know that, why do you think no one has been able to appraise me before. Sure, I thought I was hiding everything from everyone, but I am confident that no one has been able to read my status.” I said.
“How are you doing that?” Asked Blake.
“It’s a hidden perk of the Reincarnated title.” I explained.
“If that is the case, then it’s fine. But to think my daughter has the divine protection of the moon goddess. I guess I need to start thinking up excuses to turn down marriage applications from nobles.” My father said massaging his temples.
“Why would any nobles want to marry me?” I asked.
“That’s because you are the daughter of a general of the Beast Kingdom and the Head Shrine Maiden of the biggest shrine in the country. As well as having a connection with a member of the Celestia Kingdom royalty.” My mother explained.
“Seeing as this is the case, we will need to train you even more than originally planned.” My father said.
“I’m looking forward to helping you train your magic, Luna. By the time you reach 15, I will have you at a high enough level of mastery, you will be able to freeze anyone who gets in your way.” My mother said with a scary smile on her face.
When I turned to look at my father, he had a similar smile on his face.
“I will have you so proficient with short swords even that old demon friend of mine will need to watch his back.” My father said.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked as I took a small step back.
“He’s talking about the general of the Demons. He is a master of short swords. He is also your father’s best friend and old adventurer party member.” Nia explained.
After talking about this and that, everyone left. As I returned to my room and jumped on my bed, I fell instantly asleep. After a while I felt something strange beneath my head. I opened my eyes and was greeted with a pair of golden eyes staring straight into mine.
{It’s been a while, Jason. Or do you prefer to go by Luna now?}
“Luna is fine, and yes it has been a long time, Tamamo.” I said while giving the biggest smile of my life.
{I’m sorry I haven’t talked to you for so long. It’s just that your body had to get accustomed to the divine protection. All I could do is watch over you from here and wait.} She said with a lonely smile.
When I saw that, I sat up and hugged her.
“It’s fine, I knew I would be able to talk to you one day, though I didn’t expect to be able to talk with you face to face.” I said while tightening my embrace.
{You being able to be here is a special case that can only happen on nights with a full moon. Normally we would only be able to speak with each other.} She said, hugging me back.
After hugging for a while, we started chatting about everything that happened over the last five years. When I got to the part about that scary title I got the day I met my father, Tamamo immediately started petting my tail.
{It’s true, your tail is addictingly fluffy and soft, I’m quite jealous.}
“Don’t be, every time I come here, I will brush your tails until they are as soft as mine.” I said with pride.
“I have also decided that the only person allowed to touch my tail from now on is you, Tamamo.” I said.
{Ufufufu, good. Then I will make the same declaration. From now on, Luna is the only existence that is allowed to touch my tails.}
After hearing her say this, I started to feel sleepy.
“What’s going on, why do I feel so tired?” I asked, trying to fight the sleepiness.
{It seems our time is up. While unfortunate, this is the way things go, but don’t worry, now that your body has become completely accustomed to the divine protection, we can talk anytime, anywhere, for as long as we want.} She said.
“Then I guess I will talk to you later.” I said, slowly closing my eyes.
{I will be waiting then. Do your best in your training.} She said before my consciousness faded.
When I next woke up, I heard an announcement in my head.
<Body has become fully accustomed to the Divine Protection of the Moon Goddess.>
<Communication between both parties is now available>
After hearing that I couldn’t help but smile.
Author's Note:
A very long chapter to commemorate this reunion. I hope I delivered a good amount of sweetness. Let me know what you all think. I'm thinking of writing a side chapter to go between this one and the next so look forward to it. Thanks for reading.