Wise Man's Grandchild (賢者の孫)

All done.

How's it comin' for you?

If you're finished, you should join us for a beer.

Sorry, I'm not even close yet.

You guys better go on without me.

Good luck, man. We'll see ya tomorrow.

Don't work all night, okay?

So where should we go?

I know a good dive bar.

This is taking ages. Ehh, what do I care?

No one's waiting up for me.

After this, I can either watch TV,

or try and finish up a game.

It's good to be out of there.

You're all right. Just need to

flush out the system.

There sure are lots of people in this world,

and they're all just like me.

Uh, s'cuse me.

Hey, Watch out!

Call an ambulance!

Oh yeah! Caught myself some food!

My name's Shin Wolford. And I just learned to hunt.

I live in this forest along with my grandpa.

Have my whole life.

But I remember my last life.

I have memories of growing up on a planet called Earth,

in a country called Japan.

I'm pretty sure I died there, but I can't quite remember how.

I'm home!

Ah. So you are. How was your hunt.

I'm eager to see the spoils.

This old man is named Merlin Wolford.

Years ago, he found me in a wrecked carriage in the woods

that had been attacked by a demon.

I was just a baby, and no one else survived,

so he took me in.

Ah! Three chickens and a boar.

Could'a got more but you said not to overhunt.

Wind blade slashes.

That's an excellent choice, my boy.

I feel like they're what's best suited for hunting.

The biggest difference between this world and Earth,

is that in this world, magic's real.

My Grandpa's extremely well-versed in magic.

He's taught me a lot.

Good, now let's see how your flames are coming.

Shin. Set that wood alight.

Sure!

The magic in this world works without any chanting,

you just have to visualize what you want to create.

Whoa!

And honestly, I'm pretty relieved about that.

From what I remember of my past life,

chanting incantations and calling out spell names

would have been a little embarrassing.

Granny Melida's coming, and Michel's with her!

They're here for you. My magic is a good start,

but you should study swordsmanship

and magical gear, too.

Right!

You're hunting boar now?

Merlin! That's far too dangerous, even for him!

This is Melida Bowen.

She's a friend of Grandpa's,

and she comes to visit us pretty often.

It's not really that dangerous. Especially since I still have

the magic gear we made together.

There shouldn't be an eight-year old in this world

that can hunt down a wild boar by itself.

But there is.

Oh, shut up!

Shin's exceptionally skilled with magic, you know that.

Not to mention this forest has practically been his backyard.

Sounds like your magic's gettin' ahead of your combat skills.

That means it's time I took off the kid gloves

for your training.

Uh, you don't have to do that!

We're hunting a demon?

Well, I plan to do the fighting,

but now that you're ten I think you should at least

see what they're like.

What are they like?

Magic permeates this whole world,

and all living creatures can reap its benefits,

But some are unable to keep the magic

they would use under control.

The powerful and wildly violent being

this creates is known as a demon.

Even a human being can become one.

A person turned into a demon a long time ago

and almost destroyed a whole country, right?

Didn't you have to go and save them, Grandpa?

So you're a big hero there, even now.

That was a long time back, but yes.

Now let's start by finding the demon.

How do we do that?

If you thinly spread your magic power around yourself,

you can sense when it comes into contact

with anything else's magic.

And since all living creatures have magic,

you'll know what is where right away.

This is known as search magic. It's quite useful too.

Although, I should mention...

...t requires more finesse than most of the spells

I've shown you.

Wow, I can feel the magic

in all the creatures of the forest.

I can even sense Granny Melida back in her house!

Hm. I knew he could work it out,

but on his first try?

That sinister feeling.

What's it coming from?

Ah. Must be the demon.

You're sensing the magic power that corrupted it.

We need to destroy it right now!

Won't something bad happen if we just let it roam around?

Yes, but this is dangerous, so I want you to be careful.

That's what demons look like.

You're not going one step further!

Shin, no!

Grandpa...? Grandpa?

Hm?

Did I do an okay job? Hope I didn't mess things up.

No, you did great. Left me speechless for a moment.

That was a sight to behold.

I couldn't have done better myself.

You mean it? So our demon hunt was successful?

It certainly was!

Oh yeah!

Exactly what kind of enchantment

did you put on your sword and boots?

Uh. Just the usual stuff. You know...

Shin took down a demonized red grizzly?

Yes. He moved so fast that I couldn't even help.

Shin's a prodigy. I've never seen someone learn so fast.

He's already better with magic than most adults.

He's keeping up with Michel's combat training.

And he's memorized countless enchantments

in the original tongue. It's not inconceivable

that the boy really did come from another world.

Shin's origins couldn't mean less to me.

All that matters is that when he looks up and calls me "Grandpa,"

I can't help but adore him.

Blood or no, he is still my grandson.

I can't believe I'm hearing this from the man once known as

the Lord of Destruction.

Why must you dredge up the past?

Is my embarrassment that amusing?

Let's just say the title of wise man

seems to suit you better.

I adore that boy every bit as much as you do, Merlin.

I'm not able to visit as much as I'd like,

but I think of him as if he were my grandson too.

That's enough for today.

How's your training coming along?

Michel's been going really hard on me lately.

Yet it looks to me like you're keeping up with him.

Anyway, Shin.

Huh?

I have something I need to tell you.

Wait a sec, you're saying I'm not really your Grandson?

Hm. My apologies, Shin.

I should've told you much sooner.

Thing is, I already know that.

This must've been the work of a demon.

There's no saving them, but I can give them a decent burial.

-- --

What is that, a crying infant?

How'd you survive?

Could this be providence at work?

Your temperature had dropped from the rain,

maybe that's why the demon missed you.

But frankly, I wonder if it wasn't the same--

No.

Could it have been that red grizzly?

Shin.

I was just thinking it's possible, ya know?

If it was...

...well, it's nice to think that maybe

I got to avenge my parents.

There's a chance you did just that.

So uh, do you have any idea who my parents were?

Their possessions were nondescript,

and their bodies were both

ravaged beyond recognition, so no.

Oh well.

You're taking this news rather well.

Hm. Well, I know they were my parents,

but I don't remember them.

Also, I've always had a great Grandpa.

Oh, uh...!