Chapter 1

A cry can be heard.

Flickering light is visible, but everything before my eyes is blurry. Where am I? I try to look around, but my neck won’t move.

This is strange. What am I doing? I try to make sense of the situation, but I’m confused.

What am I doing? I think about it over and over, but no answer comes to mind. Is there anything around me? I try to reach out, but my hands just flail in the air. Confusion rises again, for the umpteenth time.

The sensation of my hands feels different from what I’m used to. They are soft and short, like a child’s.

“――――!”

A muffled voice echoes. It’s probably a woman’s, and a young one at that. What is she anxious about? When I turn my eyes towards her, I see something golden moving in my blurry vision. It must be blonde hair.

“―― ―――! ――! ――――!”

This time, it’s a man’s voice, with brown hair. His voice is tinged with both anxiety and anger.

“―― ――――! ―――― ――”

“――――! ――――――――――――?”

An argument seems to have started. But I can’t understand what they’re saying. The confusion continues. What’s happening? What’s going on with me?

Eventually, the argument ends. The last thing I hear is the man’s angry shout. Then, the only sound left is the woman’s sobbing.

Suddenly, I’m lifted by the neck. An old woman’s voice comes from above, but I can’t understand what she’s saying. By the way, this is the first time I’ve noticed her. Was she there all along?

Then I realize something strange. The old woman is holding me up, and she’s still above me. My feet are completely off the ground. To do this, she must be very tall. However, her voice is clearly that of an old woman. She must be of average height for an adult woman, but even then, she shouldn’t be able to lift me like this. Come to think of it, how tall am I…?

Hmm, how tall am I…?

Confusion spreads. How tall was I? How much did I weigh? How old was I? I can’t remember anything about myself.

The woman says something again. The old woman sighs and, reluctantly, mutters something while moving me.

A soft hand touches my cheek. It’s warm. It seems to be the woman’s hand. She strokes my head, and the intense crying stops.

It turns out I was the one crying.

“―― ――?”

The man’s voice is heard again. It’s the brown-haired man from before. He gives some orders to the old woman, who nods and lifts me up again. Then she starts wrapping me in a rough cloth.

It’s only now that I realize I’m a baby.

‘Reincarnation’—that word comes to mind. I must have been reincarnated, and these people are probably my parents.

But why? Why am I reincarnated? I can’t remember my previous life. But I was probably Japanese. And this place is almost certainly not Japan. The unfamiliar language, the color of my parents’ hair, and the fact that they’re using a lamp for light—all these suggest that I’m not in Japan. My senses are still underdeveloped, so I can’t tell much more.

Eventually, the old woman finishes wrapping me in the cloth and lifts me up again. A rough sensation envelops my skin, and after a slight floating feeling, I’m placed in a wooden box without a lid.

“―― ―――”

The man calls out to the woman, and she responds with a sob. The man picks up the wooden box with me in it and starts carrying me somewhere.

The man walks silently down a dark path. I’m just along for the ride. A slightly cold wind hits my face. From the rustling sound and the unevenness of the path, I can tell that the man is walking on a bumpy, unpaved road.

…Where am I being taken? Since I was born, it’s been one confusion after another.

Let me try to sort this out. I’m a baby, and I was just born. My parents, or people who seem to be my parents, were arguing, and now I’m being carried by the man who seems to be my father. The woman who seems to be my mother probably tried to stop him, but in the end, the man won.

In the end, I don’t understand anything. As I think this, I yawn unconsciously. My immature body seems to get tired easily. Is this because I’m a baby? I’m suddenly hit by a wave of sleepiness and lose consciousness.

---

It’s blinding. That’s the first thing I feel when I wake up. The sun seems to have risen, and I can feel the light on my face.

Next, I hear the sound of trees. The rustling of leaves never stops.

I’m awake, but I still can’t see clearly. Compared to yesterday, I can make out a bit more of the outlines, but everything is still blurry.

Then I realize something. There’s no one around. The man who brought me here is gone.

I move my short limbs, and the wooden box I’m in starts to shake. From the sound of it, I’m on the ground.

…But why is the man gone?

I can’t do anything without knowing what’s going on around me. Of course, there’s not much a baby can do anyway.

I want to know what’s around me. As I think this, I notice something strange about my body.

My body is covered in something thick and gooey. It doesn’t feel unpleasant; rather, it’s warm and comfortable, like being in a warm, pleasant bath. However, it’s not a liquid or a sticky substance.

It’s an inexplicable sensation. An unknown substance. …But it’s very useful.

When I bring my gooey-covered hand close to the edge of the wooden box, I can feel the texture and shape clearly. I can also sense the hardness, color, and smell.

I don’t know what this is, but it seems useful. Even though it’s an unknown substance, I can’t think of anything else to do right now.

So, I start moving my limbs, gathering information as best as I can.

While stretching my short limbs to their maximum to explore the surroundings, I have an idea.

Can I spread this gooey substance further?

I try to extend my arms and use more force. It doesn’t move.

I struggle for a while. After all, I’ve never handled anything like this before. It feels like suddenly having extra arms. But if I compare it to arms, they’re already there. It should be possible. After a short while, I feel something moving in my arms, probably along the nerves. This must be it. It’s not easy to control, but I get the hang of it.

However, a problem arises. Every time I move the gooey substance, I feel more and more fatigued.

My arms are heavy, and my eyelids are drooping. It’s becoming harder to move the gooey substance.

I’ve reached my limit just by gathering information within my visible range.

So, I fall asleep again, having accomplished very little since waking up in the morning.

---

I wake up again. The surroundings are bright. This time, I’ve only been asleep for a short while.

Still, it was an unnatural sleepiness. The gooey substance… I’ll call it ‘ki’ for now. Does using ki make me tired?

I think to myself.

Is it safe to use this? The fatigue is clearly caused by this. And it’s quite intense. Is it putting a strain on my body, or am I using up some part of myself? I think it’s more likely the latter…

For now, I don’t know. But it’s not good to lose consciousness right now. Fortunately, I’ve already gathered some information about the terrain and the positions of objects around me by spreading my ki. I’ll be more cautious from now on.

…First, I’m hungry.