Chapter 2

Two weeks had passed.

It seemed certain that I had become a baby.

The word "reincarnation" came to mind. In the light novel I was reading in my last memory, the protagonist was involved in an accident and reincarnated into another world.

It was so cliché that it was almost laughable.

But even if I had been reincarnated, I couldn't be sure that this was another world.

The possibility that I couldn't understand the language suggested I might be in a foreign country. Most importantly, I couldn't see, so I couldn't observe my surroundings.

However, I could confirm the presence of people as distorted white mists, and I had recently discovered that other things, besides the ceiling light, appeared as white lines or shapes.

A heating device, which I assumed was on the wall, emitted a thin, white mist-like substance, raising the room's temperature.

There seemed to be small lanterns in addition to the ceiling light. I suspected they were lanterns because the people who came to the room at night always carried small, white, cylindrical objects.

I couldn't be certain.

The sense of day and night was quite vague, and I realized how important the information I received through my eyes was.

The most significant discovery was that I could now see my own body in white.

At first, I couldn't see it. After spending several days in the room, observing the people who interacted with me and those who came to the room, my vision, or whatever it was, gradually improved to the point where I could roughly distinguish shapes.

This led me to understand that my eyes were growing.

When I looked at my hands, I could see thin, small, white lines. Since my neck barely moved, I couldn't see other parts of my body, but I tried to see them clearly.

I made several discoveries.

I could gradually thicken the thin lines by focusing. However, even when thickened, the lines remained pale and unreliable, so I tried to focus on making them more intense and pure white.

It took much longer, but the intensity gradually increased. When the almost transparent white became slightly more visible,

I lost consciousness.

It seemed that increasing the intensity and thickening the lines consumed different amounts of energy.

It was my first time, and I didn't know how far I could push myself before losing consciousness, so I started with the dangerous task of determining my limits.

I would push myself to the brink of my limits, sleep to recover, and then push myself again. After repeating this process many times, I realized that I could push myself to the point where I had previously lost consciousness without consuming as much energy.

It seemed that this ability was also growing.

Of course, it could also be that my baby body was growing and gaining more stamina, or that I was becoming more efficient at focusing.

This needed further investigation, but since it couldn't be quantified, I decided to take my time.

I began to think that this white something, which I could see from my own body and others, needed a name.

Currently, I couldn't communicate with others, and reading books was impossible with my baby body.

I wasn't even sure if I could read text.

Moreover, being unable to see was a fatal obstacle to reading, so I had no way of gathering information.

I decided to hold an internal meeting, or rather, an internal debate.

Me A: "Since I can see the mist from my body and others, isn't it reasonable to call it life force?"

Me B: "But what about the white mist I see from the lights, heating, and lanterns?"

Me C: "There's no proof that those are lights or heating. Is it even daytime or nighttime? What time is it? Is it snack time yet?"

Me D: "Do we even need a name? Why not just call it 'power' for now?"

Me E: "Since it's such an interesting ability, we should give it a name! Something with a middle-schooler vibe!"

Me F: "Just say the name you have in mind!"

Others: "Yay, yay, wah, wah!"

Me in a judge's robe: "Silence! Silence! I will now deliver the verdict!"

Me D: "Wait, when did this meeting turn into a trial?"

Me in a judge's robe: "The name of this power will be 'Magic Power (Provisional)'! Given the hope that this is another world, I have adopted this name!"

The internal meeting, or rather, the internal trial, concluded successfully.

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For several days, I repeated the process of changing the intensity and thickness, then sleeping to recover. As a result, my vision seemed to have improved. I could now roughly distinguish shapes.

The people who had appeared as mists could now be identified as human forms, though I couldn't yet distinguish them as individuals. They were just human-shaped mists.

The person who spent the most time with me was currently feeding me. Since I was about two weeks old, it was natural that my main source of food was breast milk.

I couldn't see the details clearly, so it wasn't embarrassing. If I could see clearly, it might be embarrassing.

But even with a mental age of 30, being breastfed shouldn't be embarrassing, right?

I wasn't even excited...

I've never really been interested in breastfeeding...

Why, I felt more comfort and warmth than embarrassment.

This person might be my mother in this new life, but it was still unclear. If not, she might be a wet nurse.

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This person took care of my feeding, changing, and other needs. She would carry me around the room, sit me on her lap and read books, or sing songs. I couldn't understand the content of the books or the lyrics of the songs, but the songs were soothing, like lullabies or children's songs. Listening to them was very relaxing. I was sure her singing was at a professional level.

I spent most of my day with this person. Even when I was in the crib, she would talk to me and play with me using toys, though I couldn't see them, only hear the sounds they made.

However, she wasn't always with me. When I was in the crib, she would clean and tidy the room.

By the way, she wasn't doing any sweeping, which would be dangerous with a baby in the room. Instead, she seemed to be mopping the floor.

When my neck's range of motion improved, I could see her waving her arms, probably cleaning the windows.

Even though I could identify people, I couldn't identify windows or walls, so I couldn't be sure, but it seemed she was cleaning the windows.

Two weeks postpartum, cleaning the baby's room, and taking care of the baby must be quite a lot of work. It might not be as difficult since I didn't cry at night, but I had a feeling this person wasn't my mother.

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Every day, two small human-like figures, who I assumed were my siblings, came to the room.

I couldn't tell their genders by their voices alone. Adults could usually distinguish genders by voice, but not in this case. When they came, the room became very lively.

They would speak to me in curious, warm, and gentle voices, and sometimes touch me tentatively. When I touched them back with my small fingers, they would be very happy. This skin contact with my siblings (provisional) was a daily routine, and they spent a considerable amount of time in the room.

Their room might be this one, but they seemed to have a separate bedroom, as they would leave after some time. Before leaving, they would always kiss my cheek or forehead and say something.

I still couldn't understand what they were saying, but it might be "goodnight" since they said the same thing every time.

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In addition to my siblings (provisional) and the wet nurse (provisional), another person came to the room every two days or so. This person was a woman who was very warm and released Magic Power (Provisional) slowly and gently when holding me. The released Magic Power (Provisional) was incredibly warm and comforting to touch.

Yes, I could touch this Magic Power (Provisional).

The first time I touched it, I was very surprised. No, I was moved. I was truly moved.

I don't know why, but the moment I touched the released Magic Power (Provisional), an indescribable, overwhelming sense of emotion flooded me.

Only this woman released Magic Power (Provisional), and only when holding me. The wet nurse (provisional) and siblings (provisional) showed no reaction when the release started or stopped, so this might be a normal phenomenon or something they couldn't perceive.

I thought this woman was probably my mother. The warmth and kindness when holding me were very similar to my siblings (provisional), if not more so.

The wet nurse (provisional) and siblings (provisional) didn't release any Magic Power (Provisional). Neither did the man who came once or twice a week.

I assumed he was my father. The warmth and kindness when holding me were very similar to the mother (provisional) and shared traits with the siblings (provisional).

When the father (provisional) was around, I was almost always held. However, he didn't stay for long, usually only an hour or so. He must be a busy person, and it must be tough for him.

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So far, these five people were the only ones I had encountered. It was only two weeks, so it was natural.

The wet nurse (provisional) stayed in the room even at night, which was understandable for night-time care and to avoid leaving the baby alone.

Interestingly, I hadn't cried once in these two weeks. I found crying embarrassing, and I wouldn't compromise on that.

That's how I spent the first two weeks.

Thanks to the time I spent training my Magic Power (Provisional), I had become quite skilled at controlling it. I could now thicken, thin, intensify, and weaken it quite freely.

I decided to move on to the next step.

Releasing Magic Power (Provisional).

2/12 Minor corrections and revisions

3/9 Periods, leading spaces, and ellipses corrections

3/10 Typographic corrections

1/9 Typo corrections

5/3 Typo corrections