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I was surprised by the speech and the gesture shown by Yan Valton (Aron's father). From the memories I had seen, Yan was not an emotional man, and Aron also didn't have any recollection of such behavior from his father.
But I remained calm and said, "Thank you, father. And don't worry, I will not be swayed by the opinions of people like them."
Hearing that, father was stunned. He didn't expect such an answer. Aron had always been shy and cared about the opinions of almost everyone around him.
Father then said, "Good. Then go and prepare. And don't get disheartened if you don't get high results in your aptitude."
I nodded and walked away from the room.
This ceremony is something every child between the ages of 10 and 15 participates in. During this event, magicians, knights, and nobles of the family, along with members of other distinguished families, gather to witness it.
In this ceremony, children discover their talents, aptitude, and elemental affinities. It is the day they learn what role they may play in the future.
Through Aron's memories, I tried to recall the path to my room. Fortunately, it wasn't far. When I opened the door and checked the condition of the room, I saw that it was mostly empty. There was nothing excessive in it—only basic necessities.
I closed the door, locked it, and sat on my bed. Then I closed my eyes.
I was exhausted, so it didn't take long for me to fall into a deep sleep.
I woke up the next day when the maid called out to me.
"Young Master Aron, please wake up and get ready for the ceremony. Miss Rem is also calling for you."
I woke up and immediately went to take a shower.
I had a strange feeling about today's ceremony, but I couldn't quite place it.
Either way, today I would meet Aron's real mother and other family members. Even though I didn't have any emotional attachment to them, I still felt anxious.
What if, through my behavior or some subtle clue, she realized that I wasn't the real Aron?
From what I could remember, his mother was kind but also very clever. So I had to be on my best behavior.
After getting ready, I stepped out of my room and met Rem Valton, Aron's mother, along with his sister Lily Valton.
"Mom," I said.
Rem turned her head and looked at me with love in her eyes.
"How are you feeling, Aron? Today you will have your affinities and talents tested. Are you nervous?"
I hesitated for a moment before answering.
"No, mother. Nothing like that is on my mind right now. Where is Lily?" I asked.
"Ah, she is with her cousins playing. So you don't have to worry about her. Now get ready, we are going to the Calacium."
(The Calacium is something like a stadium used for ceremonies.)
We started walking through the palace, and soon we reached the market. There were so many people that for a moment I felt like I had returned to the modern world.
I thought the countries in this world were always at war with each other, so how could there be so many people here?
Seeing the shocked expression on my face, mother said,
"Today is the talent ceremony, my child. People from all over the country come here to witness this occasion. It is the day they see the future geniuses."
I silently cursed myself.
"Since coming to this world, have I become stupid or something? Of course many people would come to watch the ceremony that showcases the geniuses of the younger generation."
Not only that, but mother also looked at me with slightly suspicious eyes after seeing my reaction.
I didn't know if I was being paranoid, but being careful wouldn't hurt.
I scolded myself internally and said to her,
"Of course. I was just surprised. I don't see such huge crowds every day." I replied with a slightly cheeky voice.
After that, we walked through the market and soon arrived at the Calacium, which wasn't far away.
The moment we entered and I looked inside, I was stunned.
Not only was it much bigger than I had imagined, but there were also many strange animals inside, along with an unbelievable number of people.
There had to be at least 200,000 people present.
I was completely shocked.
Even on the biggest events on Earth, the attendance wouldn't be this large.
For the first time in this new life, I felt truly excited about living here.
My god... I didn't realize until now that I was truly living in a different world.
What I was seeing defied everything I knew about physical reality.
There were bizarre animals inside the arena—creatures so strange that I had to take a step back and process what I was witnessing.
"This is the best..."