Time passed quickly. Geehrt had been under Kanone's rigorous training regimen for more than a year.
Today marked a significant milestone, for it was his sixth birthday. As a special reward for his dedication and progress, Kanone had given him the day off to explore the city of Eiseberg.
It was a rare freedom, as Geehrt had not truly explored the city on his own since his rebirth into this world.
Geehrt stood on the bustling street, looking around with interest. His pockets were heavy with coins.
Frase had provided him with a generous daily allowance ever since his training began, but since his grandmother provided everything he needed at the estate, he had never spent a single copper. He had saved every coin, and now he had a small fortune to burn.
I hope to see something interesting today, Geehrt thought to himself as he confidently navigated toward the main street.
This city is too boring for my taste right now. It is nothing as it will be in the future.
As Geehrt walked, his eyes were doing far more than simply looking. The Six Eyes were active, granting him a three hundred and sixty degree field of vision.
He scanned the entire area without turning his head. He could see the structural integrity of the buildings, the flow of mana in the air, and the presence of people hiding in the shadows.
Specifically, he spotted several guards and knights stationed on the rooftops, tasked with secretly watching over him from a distance.
Geehrt stopped walking abruptly. He tilted his head up and looked directly at the hidden positions of the knights. A massive, knowing grin spread across his face.
Up on the roofs, the guards froze. They thought they were perfectly concealed, but when the boy's blue eyes locked onto their exact locations, they felt a chill run down their spines.
It was not the look of a child. It was a stare that carried an immense, crushing pressure. They were shocked to the core, realizing that the young master had known they were there the entire time.
After a few moments of enjoying their terror, Geehrt chuckled and continued his walk. He eventually reached a large plaza.
He recognized this location from his memories of the manga. This was the very spot where a member of the Shadow Warriors would one day attempt to scam the elf mage Frieren.
Despite the heavy crowd filling the plaza, Geehrt did not need to search physically. His vision allowed him to see everyone and everything simultaneously.
He instantly knew that the specific person he was hoping to find was not currently in the crowd.
However, as he continued observing the area, his attention was drawn to a small, rundown stall near the edge of the market.
The mana around the stall seemed to stagnate and pool in a peculiar way, as if it were trying to call out to him. Curious, Geehrt approached the booth.
The table was cluttered with dusty grimoires and old books stacked haphazardly. Behind the counter sat a middle-aged man wearing a bored, sour expression.
It was no surprise that in the entire bustling plaza, this was the only stall with absolutely zero customers.
Geehrt reached out to open a book, but the vendor snapped at him.
"Please do not touch the items. I do not want to have to clean them again," the vendor said rudely.
He waved his hand dismissively, having already decided that this small child was not a paying customer. He figured Geehrt was just a lost kid looking for trouble.
Geehrt looked at the man with unimpressed eyes. "Is that how you talk to your potential customers? No wonder no one comes here."
The vendor rolled his eyes, ignoring the jab. Geehrt ignored the man's warning and began to read and examine the books laid out in front of him.
As he scanned the pages, he realized they were mostly collections of Folk Magic spells.
"Most of this has no practical use for combat," Geehrt commented aloud, flipping through a page on cleaning magic. "Why would you display them so prominently over your counter?"
"Would you buy anything?" the vendor snapped, leaning forward. "If not, please leave. You are just ruining my display." He was annoyed that Geehrt was leaving the books he had read unclosed on the table, not even bothering to stack them back up.
"Yes," Geehrt said calmly. "I will buy all the books that I have touched. I will take the scripture you are hiding under the table as well, if you still have it."
Geehrt had touched more than ten grimoires full of obscure Folk Magic. While they seemed useless to the average mage, Geehrt saw potential.
He wanted to see if he could modify these simple spells, much like the legendary mage Flamme had done.
Flamme had once cast a flower field spell that created a barrier strong enough to protect the city of Kraft Granat for a thousand years. Geehrt believed he could replicate such feats with enough study.
When the vendor heard the boy mention the scripture, he froze. He hurriedly looked under his table, pulling out a heavy, leather-bound book.
He had been trying to sell this scripture for a long time, but no one wanted to buy a holy text from a suspicious merchant who was clearly not a priest.
He placed it on the table and looked at Geehrt with genuine confusion.
"How did you know I had a scripture down there?" the vendor asked.
"It is not important how I know it," Geehrt replied, pulling out his coin pouch. "What is important is that I was right."
The vendor decided to feign ignorance. He did not care about the boy's secrets as long as he made a sale. He quickly tied the grimoires together with twine while Geehrt picked up the scripture.
The moment Geehrt opened the holy book, he saw the text written in the Language of the Goddess.
To any normal human, it would look like gibberish, but strangely, Geehrt could understand it perfectly. The meaning flowed into his mind as easily as his native tongue.
'Did the Goddess give me the ability to read her language as well?' Geehrt wondered.
He tossed the payment onto the table and started walking away, leaving the heavy stack of tied books behind.
"Hey! You forgot your purchases!" the vendor yelled out.
Moments later, a large, armored knight stepped out from the crowd and silently picked up the stack of books.
The vendor's jaw dropped. He realized too late that the rude child was actually a noble of significant importance.
Geehrt continued to read the scripture as he walked through the streets. He planned to return to his residence and immediately begin studying his new acquisitions.
The Folk Magic spells might have been specific in their usage, but they offered a versatility that standard offensive magic lacked.
As he walked, his peripheral vision caught something else. Sitting on the side of the dusty street was a homeless man.
He was covered in ragged, dirt-stained cloth, asking passersby for change with a calm, almost serene demeanor.
Geehrt stopped. To his Six Eyes, this was no ordinary beggar. The man was radiating a dense, controlled aura of mana and strength that the average person could never perceive.
Geehrt approached the man.
"Are you a warrior?" Geehrt asked bluntly.
The homeless man looked up, his eyes weary. "No."
The man clearly did not want to be bothered, but Geehrt was not deterred.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his remaining money. He dropped three Strahl gold coins into the man's begging bowl.
The sound of the heavy gold clinking against the wood turned heads. Three gold coins were an obscene amount of money.
It was enough to buy an entire residence in the capital, or to live in luxury for a year.
"I want to learn to become a warrior," Geehrt said, his voice serious. "Are you the right person for that?"
The homeless man stared at the gold, then looked up at Geehrt. He examined the boy's stature, his confidence, and the strange depth in his blue eyes.
Despite his initial denial, the veteran warrior within him could tell that there was more to this child than met the eye. The boy had seen through his disguise instantly.
"Fine," the homeless man said. He scooped up the gold coins, a small smile appearing on his face.
"What is your name?" Geehrt asked.
The man stood up, dusting off his rags. He towered over the boy as he prepared to follow him.
"Wehlros," the man replied.
Geehrt smiled inwardly. His knowledge of the future was correct. He would never have approached a random stranger without a purpose. He had found his second teacher.