what do i want?

"Yeah, we both were knights in our youth"

He replied, ruffling her hair gently.

Aric turned his gaze towards me, a smile on his face.

"Micheal, I know you're still young, but when you grow up, what do you plan to become?"

I froze for a moment, caught off guard by the question. What did i want to be? what did i want to do in this second life?. I hadn't really given it much thought.

"What do I want to become"

For the last four years, I had been living a life of peace and comfort. I had a loving family, a home to call my own, and I was surrounded by people who cared for me. It was a life I never thought I'd have again what happened in my previous life.

If i could just continue this life, i would be happy.

But still, it didn't answer the question.

What do I want?

"I want peace, i want quiet, i want to live with the people that i love." I said to myself

The answer finally hit me. The only thing i really craved in this life was to live in peace, to have a quiet life, and to cherish the people i care about. I had lost my previous family, and i was left with an empty, lonely existence, but now it was different.

I looked back at Aric, a smile on my face.

"I want to be someone who can protect the people i love"

Aric and my parents looked at me in surprise, not expecting such a serious answer from me. Rose, on the other hand, looked at me with a gleeful smile, happy that i had answered the question.

"Protect the people you love, huh?"

"quite a mature answer for a boy your age"

Robret said with a small smile, also impressed with my answer.

"Looks like we have a young hero in the making."

Aric chuckled lightly, looking at me.

"I'm not a hero yet"

I said with a laugh, still not sure if i was capable of protecting anyone.

The conversation then shifted to other lighter subjects, and we continued our dinner.

Time passed quickly, and soon the sun was beginning to set, bathing the room in a warm orange light. After lunch, we had spent some time talking and catching up, but Rose's yawning began to fill the room. Aric chuckled as he glanced at his daughter, who was trying to stay awake.

"Alright, looks like someone is tired"

He said, standing up from his seat. Rose yawned again, her eyes fluttering shut for a moment before she jerked awake and looked up at her dad.

"I'm not tired, I'm not!"

Aric chuckled at her stubbornness.

"Sure you're not, little princess. But it's getting late, we can get into our carriage now and start moving again and by nighttime we would already be at the city of torarou in a nice inn room ready to rest."

Rose let out another yawn, proving her dad's point. She knew she was tired and couldn't deny it anymore. She then pouted and looked at me with a sad expression.

"But I don't wanna go."

She whined, upset at the thought of having to leave.

I chuckled at her protest. She seemed reluctant to leave, but i understood it. We had played a lot that day.

I walked up to her and placed a hand on her head.

"We've played enough today, don't you think? Next time we'll play even more, ok?"

"Promise?"

She looked up at me with hopeful eyes.

"Promise."

I said with a smile and a pat on her head.

"You better keep your word"

She huffed and folded her arms, trying to look stern. But her expression only made me laugh.

"Alright, that's enough, come on"

Aric chuckled and gently pulled her away from me. Rose pouted a bit but didn't protest, reluctantly accepting to go.

With that, Aric and Rose left our home as the setting sun painted the sky with hues of orange and pink. We stood at the door, waving goodbye as they climbed into their carriage and rode off.

"You should get some rest too, it's your nap time."

Robert said, turning to me. I nodded, a little tired after a day of playing with Rose.

This little body of mine could only do so much before it got tired.

"Okay", i said with a nod, heading towards my room.

As i got to my room, i layed down on my bed and closed my eyes, quickly falling asleep. The events of the day swirling in my head.