As the days passed, the day of the feast finally arrived. Knight woke up just as early as he had the day before; knowing how much work there was to do. Lydia also woke up with him, for today would require all hands on deck.
Knight quickly finished the daily cleaning and went out to fetch Cobal and Leif. The day before, while inviting villagers to the feast, he had specifically asked Cobal to act as the head chef and Leif to help with the preparations.
Fortunately, Uncle Kaelan had already brought all the necessary items back from the city yesterday evening. Knight had gone to his house to store everything separately; there were so many supplies.
It was a village tradition that during festivals or feasts, at least one member from each family would come to help, and Amoris's feast was no different. Knight and Lydia knew they would be incredibly busy.
Luckily, Cobal had come over yesterday to pre-cut the vegetables and prepare other ingredients, as one cannot expect a chef to handle all the prep work and cooking simultaneously—at least, not for a feast of this size.
There wasn't much decoration needed, as this was only a feast. However, to provide a little entertainment, Knight and Lydia decided to hold a ceremony at the end of the feast.Due to the magical nature of this world, magical energy was present in the air which people breathed in. Even if they couldn't harness this energy, constantly breathing it in had strengthened the bodies of everyone, including infants. This meant that a one-month-old baby could slowly crawl using all four limbs. With this in mind, they would place Amoris on a blanket on the ground. A short distance away, they would arrange various items such as a book, a small wooden stick, a dull knife, a gold coin, and other common objects.
The book represented a scholar; the wooden stick was for a mage, the dull knife for a warrior, and the gold coin for a merchant. They held this ceremony to increase the participation of both Amoris and the people who had come to the feast, which was a double win as the village didn't have much entertainment and it would allow Amoris to get familiar with the crowd.
The villagers of Wyrm usually held only small feasts both due to poverty and because a baby's one-month celebration was not considered a major event. However, it was different for Knight and Lydia. Their recent streak of luck had provided them with more money than usual.
While they were grateful for this money, they didn't value it as deeply as the coins earned through their own hard work. They lived by the saying, "Easy come, and easy go." Furthermore, they were thinking that this feast could be their last in Wyrm Village. Why not make it a little grand?
As people began to gather, helping with the final preparations for the feast, Knight and Lydia stood ready to welcome their guests.
Today, Knight wore a clean, well-fitting tunic in a dark, earthy color. It was his best one, made of nicer wool than his everyday wear. After a glance in the small house mirror, he thought he looked quite handsome, But when his gaze fell upon Lydia, his eyes filled with nothing but love and admiration.
Lydia wore a simple but pretty dress in a soft, earthy color. Her black hair was beautifully braided and tied with a simple cloth tie. Truly, it was a case of "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," for in Knight's eyes, Lydia had never looked more beautiful.
Lydia, seeing Knight looking at her with such open admiration, began to feel shy. A blush gradually spread across her face, growing redder and redder. Feeling a mix of embarrassment and affection, she lightly slapped his arm.
"Honey, what are you doing?" she said, her voice a flustered whisper. "Don't you have guests to meet? Go, quickly! I have to get Amoris ready for the feast."
Seeing her blush only filled Knight's eyes with even more admiration. But with so much to do, he couldn't linger. He leaned in teasingly, gently placing a hand under her chin.
"Woman," he said with a grin, "you look quite the beauty today."
Seeing Lydia ready to use her ultimate weapon—the infamous twist of Pain—Knight beat a hasty retreat. He could still hear her calling after him, "Just you wait, I'll see you tonight!"
After Knight left to greet the guests, Lydia turned her attention to grooming her baby. She had asked Knight to prepare a special dress for Amoris, which was a tunic with red with a golden trim. As she began to get him ready, Amoris opened his eyes.
Lydia immediately picked him up and cuddled him with deep motherly affection. For Amoris, this sensation was a first; in his previous life, he had been an orphan, and this pure, unconditional love was an entirely new experience.
A jolting sensation stirred Amoris from his sleep. As he opened his eyes, all he could see was the blurry figure of the person he knew, who was his mother—Lydia. While his infant eyes couldn't resolve the details of her face, the feeling of radiant, unconditional love that washed over him left no doubt.
Though he spent most of his time asleep during this first month, the core awareness within him knew the truth: he had been reincarnated.
He didn't remember much of his previous life. The memories that had survived the journey were fragmented pieces: modern principles, basic knowledge of science, and a great deal of what he had watched—mostly anime. He didn't even know how he had gotten here. The last clear memory was of being in the shower, searching for a slippery bar of soap. Then came an overwhelming, all-consuming pain.
Everything after that was a blur of agony, until he could feel a golden light enveloping him. And then, suddenly, he was born into this new world.
Suddenly, being a baby threw him into confusion, as he didn't remember much of his past life. From the bits he could remember, he could make out that he was in a house with a woman and a man, surrounded by a white light. As days passed by, with the constant care of the woman and the man, he came to realize that they were his parents in this life. He had been an orphan in his previous life and had never experienced this much unconditional love. This feeling and emotion were completely new to him.
During the period after he was born, he wasn't completely conscious as he was constantly adapting to being a baby. Today, he had completely adapted and could process what was happening. With this complete adaptation, a piece of knowledge came to his mind. This knowledge completely excited him, as he came to know that he had an innate talent.
This piece of knowledge was about how he had an innate talent and what it was. It came from his subconscious mind after it had processed the information.
As he tried to process the knowledge, it completely overwhelmed him with its huge volume. With the constant bombardment of information in his mind, he once again lost consciousness.
Lydia, seeing him fall asleep once more, was amused. After cleaning Amoris's body with a warm, wet cloth, drying him, and dressing him in the outfit which, she had Knight prepare. The final look completely captivated Lydia with a sense of motherhood. After a month, the wrinkles on Amoris had completely faded, and his cuteness had begun to flourish. 'Ahhh, how can my baby be this cute?' she thought as she cuddled him.
As she was cuddling her baby, Knight, who had finally finished welcoming the guests, came to call for Lydia. The feast was about to start, and almost all the guests had arrived except for Uncle Kealen and his friends. He had informed Knight the other night that they would be late for the feast as they had to travel from the capital.
So, with the baby in her arms, Lydia went towards the hall where people were gathered in groups, sitting at different tables.
With the baby in her arms, Lydia came to the gathering place where a wooden crib had been placed. As she laid Amoris in the crib, people gathered to see the baby. They came in groups, placing money in a basket near the crib—a part of the ceremony, as seeing a newborn without a gift was considered unlucky.
As people came and went to admire the baby, the atmosphere of the feast completely ignited.
Then, Knight stepped into the center of the room with a glass of ale in his hand, his voice booming over the chatter. 'Friends!' he called out as he raised his glass. "Let's start this celebration!"