It has now been two years since that time Flügel went out alone. Now, at three years old, Sophia and Aragi allow Flügel to go out and play with Mael and Elijah on the street. This was what Flügel wanted. Now, he could put his plan into action—to find the book on the street.


    At three years old, Flügel is 85 centimeters tall. Perhaps due to a lack of vitamins in his diet, he hasn’t grown much. However, he doesn’t know how tall a three-year-old should be, so he isn’t too worried about it.


    Flügel has continued his constant magic training and has even managed to use a bit of electricity magic. But he has mainly focused his training on gravity and wind magic. He can levitate himself for an entire hour before passing out, which he considers great progress.


    He still hasn’t tried healing magic, afraid that he might fail to heal himself and end up with an infected wound. So, his arsenal remains: gravity magic, wind magic, fire magic, water magic, electricity magic, and earth magic.


    When I start using a sword, I’ll be able to make my strikes heavier. Gravity magic will be one of the ones I use the most. I’ll be able to balance better, fly, and even destabilize my opponents.


    Darn, I miss being able to listen to music...


    Flügel sighs inwardly, missing the chance to listen to his favorite "rock" bands. He loved listening to his favorite bands in his past life. It helped him a lot with his problems.


    Flügel trained every day. Apparently, his mana has grown significantly since the first time he passed out from mana exhaustion. And when he doesn’t train until he passes out, he gives a lot of his mana to Nytheris, which also leaves him mana-deprived and causes him to faint.


    And so, his mana has grown a lot. He doesn’t know if it’s because of his training or because he’s growing.


    Night has fallen, and with it, Aragi and Sophia have gone to sleep. They’ve put Flügel, Elijah, and Mael to bed as well. Flügel decided to actually sleep tonight, as today was the day he would go out alone again, to hide the book somewhere and pretend to find it on the street while playing.


    He asked Nytheris to wake him up in the middle of the night and also asked her not to take his mana tonight.


    "Flügel."  Nytheris’s voice echoed in Flügel’s head.


    Flügel wakes up to Nytheris’s voice in his head. He quickly remembers why Nytheris woke him up.


    Flügel now sleeps in the shared room with Elijah and Mael. He has his own mattress, which is just a crib with some extra cloth, and he sleeps on the floor. The bed where Aragi and Sophia sleep is too small for him to share with them, and the same goes for the single bed that Mael and Elijah share.Stolen story; please report.


    Mael is now 8 years old, and Elijah is 6. Flügel is close to turning 4; there are two months left until his 4th birthday. It’s practically the same for Elijah, as his birthday is one day before Flügel’s. And Mael’s birthday is three months before theirs.


    Sophia is now 27 years old, and Aragi is 25. Sophia’s birthday is in the third month of the year, and Aragi’s birthday is in the same month as Mael’s.


    Flügel gets up, yawning slightly. He doesn’t feel tired, as he didn’t do his daily magic training today. He saved as much mana as he could. He’s afraid of encountering something as terrifying as the creature he met in the forest near the kingdom, even though he’s not going there today. But as a precaution, he decided to conserve his energy before venturing out in the middle of the night again.


    He gets up and walks through the dark house. He’s already used to walking around the house in the dark.


    Arriving in the kitchen, with the only light source being the moonlight coming through the window, Flügel looks up at the roof. Among the wooden beams, the magic book is there. Flügel has grown accustomed to walking in the dark in this house, mainly because of the magic book. At least twice a week, he comes here in the middle of the night and tries to read it, even though he doesn’t know the alphabet of this world. It’s better for him to familiarize himself with the letters early on.


    Mael and Elijah already know how to read, thanks to Aragi and Sophia, who are literate. They taught Mael and Elijah to read. The learning started when each of them turned four, and Aragi told Flügel that he would start teaching him to read and write when he turns four, and that at five, he would begin teaching him arithmetic.


    Usually, Sophia is the one who teaches the boys to read, write, and do math, as Aragi is always out on the streets trying to find work and earn money. But when he can, he also helps Sophia teach Mael and Elijah.


    Flügel uses gravity magic to easily retrieve the book from the wooden beams holding up the roof. He has greatly improved his proficiency in magic over these two years, especially in gravity magic.


    He doesn’t even try to read it; he’s already looked through the entire book. Flügel walks to the door. He feels his stomach growl; he’s hungry. His family isn’t in good shape; everyone in the house is malnourished, and Aragi has even started to look more skeletal. It’s because he sometimes skips meals to give more to Sophia and the children. Sophia tries to do the same, but Aragi insists that she eats.


    Of course, she also insists on trying to get Aragi to eat more, but he always refuses, saying he’s not hungry, with a smile on his face.


    This makes Sophia sad, but she accepts it. She knows how much Aragi blames himself for their situation, even though she doesn’t blame him at all.


    Flügel walks to the door. He uses the same vacuum bubble to prevent sound from propagating as he opens it. He does this quickly, using both hands while the book is on the ground at his feet.


    As soon as he uses gravity magic to rotate the key and the doorknob, he deactivates the vacuum bubbles on the lock and doorknob, leaving them only on the door bolts. He picks up the book and pulls the door slightly, slipping through it. He repeats the process to close the door, but this time, he takes the key out of the lock and carries it with him. And of course, he also locked the door.


    Flügel looks to the right and left, checking to see if anyone is around. Seeing no one, he looks up at the sky. The dark night, with the moon not shining much tonight due to the clouds covering it.


    Tonight is a dark night, huh?


    Flügel takes a deep breath, not because he doesn’t know where to go, but because he’s nervous. Even though he’s not going to the forest, remembering the danger he faced there sends shivers down his spine.


    He already knew where he would hide the magic book so that he could "find" it while playing in the afternoon. While playing, he had been searching for a good spot to do this.


    Flügel turns right. He usually plays with the other boys and his brothers to the right; his house is on a corner.


    He turns onto the street to his right, where there’s a grocery store, and further ahead, street vendors.


    He looks to the left, at the house on the other corner. That’s where Klaus, Anya, and Mary live. Flügel knows their names because he usually plays with them. They’re also friends with Elijah and Mael.


    Flügel walks to their house. Although they also live in the outskirts, they have a better income than Flügel’s family. Because they live near the grocery store and on the corner, their house has a higher rent than most houses in the outskirts. That’s why they also have a porch.


    Even though Flügel and his family also live on the corner and near the grocery store, they only live in this more expensive place because it’s the only house available in the outskirts. And living on the street wasn’t an option with a baby and two small children.


    A house in a place far from grocery stores or vendors, and not on a corner, since you’ll have more space, usually costs around 35 bronze coins, but this depends on the condition of the house and the owner.


    However, a house on a corner and near a grocery store usually costs around 60 bronze coins, even in the outskirts.