The Herb King

'What is this warm and wet sensation I'm currently feeling? Oh right! I ascended Mt. Bargan despite the heavy downpour of rain and I even fell asleep after eating that golden fruit. Wait! Warm? It's rainwater, so it should be cold! Then why the hell do I feel warmness throughout my body?' Leric thought to himself as he struggled to open his eyes.

Just as he was about to curse himself for carelessly sleeping in such turbulent weather, he suddenly heard the voice of an unfamiliar woman.

"Sir Lassiter, Mrs. Lassiter, your child is a boy!" The joyous exclamation of the woman stunned Leric.

'What the hell?!' He thought as he snappily opened his eyes, but what made him even more dumbfounded was the scene in front of him.

There were three people inside the room. One was an older woman, probably in her sixties. She had an excited expression as she held Leric in her arms.

The other two people were a couple. The man was wearing a battle armor with quite a few sword marks and scratches on it. This man was in his forties and he had a dignified appearance which made him look rather intimidating.

Lying on the bed was a gentle-looking woman with long black hair. Her countenance was pale, but a sweet smile can be seen on her face as she glanced at Leric.

"Honey, look! Our child is a healthy little man just like his father! Hahaha!" Said the man happily as he stood up.

The older woman gently handed the baby in her arms to the man when she saw him walking towards her.

'What the fuck is going on?!' Leric tried to utter a sound, but a series of unintelligible words came out of his mouth.

"Babababa!"

"Did you hear that? He said papa! What an intelligent kid! He is definitely my son! Hahaha!" The man said as he proudly glanced at the newborn child in his embrace.

The man's smile and his rough facial features made him look silly. Leric wanted to slap this man away, but he could feel a distinct connection between him and this stupid-looking guy.

'Could it be that… I was reborn?! But at the peak of Mt. Bargan, I don't remember being struck by lightning… Wait! It must be that golden fruit! It should be the Fruit of Rebirth mentioned in the book!' Leric exclaimed in his heart as he analyzed the absurd thing that happened to him.

"Honey, come here. Let me see our child." The weak voice of a woman echoed beside Leric's ears.

"Alright."

Leric wanted to look at this woman who was also his mother, but he couldn't even muster the strength to move his head, so he could only wait as his silly father gently placed him beside his mother.

When he finally got a clear look at his mother, her unfamiliar face made him feel a sense of closeness that made his heart warm.

"Bababa."

The woman smiled as she caressed the little guy's face.

"You're my son. When you grow up, you will be as strong as your father and you will also inherit my medical skills. Your name will be… Leric." She said as she affectionately gazed at her newborn child.

'Oh come on! This name again?! Why can it not be Drake or Cale? Whatever… Sigh! And I definitely don't want to become a soldier like this guy here! That's so dangerous! As for learning medicine… No one might be more familiar with the human body than me…' Leric boasted proudly in his heart.

At first, it was quite strange to have this couple as his parents when he was more than twice their age, but there was also this feeling of closeness that made it hard for him to reject them.

'Since I have been given the chance to be reborn, I will gladly accept it! In my past life, it was also my greatest regret to have never seen my parents. To have this kind of opportunity must be related to fate…' Leric thought deeply to himself.

Unbeknownst to the family of three, the older woman had a strange expression on her face as she looked at the baby in the middle of the couple.

'How come this child did not cry after his birth? I even slapped his butt and shook his body, but this kid did not even utter a sound.' The older woman muttered in her heart. It was the first time that she had encountered this kind of newborn child, but since nothing was wrong with the boy, she decided to bury this matter aside.

Sensing the older woman's gaze, Leric shifted his eyes in her direction.

Hm?

The older woman was slightly surprised when she saw the clear eyes of Leric.

'Those eyes… I must be hallucinating…' She muttered in shock.

When Leric saw the odd expression of the older woman, he wanted to curse.

'Hey! What are you looking at?! Never seen a naked and handsome man before?!'

"Bababa bababa baba!"

"Hahaha!"

Everyone inside the room laughed when they heard his adorable voice.