Chapter 2

Dinner was over, and as my father and mother came upstairs, it was my turn to go in with my sister.

"Ba-throom, ba-throom, let's go to the ba-throom!"

My sister held my hand, looking very excited, and according to her, she was singing the song "Nii-tan to Ofuro" (Big Brother and the Bath). In the past, when the whole family would bathe together, we sometimes sang a different version with the same melody, "Kaa-tan to Ofuro" (Mom and the Bath).

As we passed by, my father gave me a resentful look, but there was nothing I could do about it. After all, my father is quite messy, and my sister doesn't like it.

Considering that and my desire to take my time, we started bathing separately. When my father said, "Tou-tan to, mou, ya!" (Dad and the Bath, no more!), the look on his face was something to see... No, it was very pitiful. The song "Tou-tan to Ofuro" has a sad melody.

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The bath is quite large, about 1.5 times the size of a typical Japanese household bathtub. It seems to be made of stone with the help of earth magic, and it has a glossy finish like marble. The floor is also made of marble-like tiles. Actually, I made it, but I don't remember doing it.

This bath, located in one corner of the house, was created unconsciously using magic when I felt extremely nauseous and desperately wanted to take a bath. It seems to reflect my thoughts at the time, such as the size, the drainage, and the location. Originally, if I had permission, I would have made a wooden tub that only one person could fit in, but I was thinking about something bigger. It turned out to be a good direction for my overthinking.

No matter how many times I try to create it with earth magic, it always ends up in the same shape, but it never becomes marble-like. So, I think that when humans are pushed to their limits, they can exert incredible power.

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"Still, it's so dirty."

"Really dirty."

The bathtub is dirty after my father uses it. This is because he washes off mud and grime in the bathtub. If I can't use magic to fill the tub, I have to endure and use it... But in this village, baths are a luxury. There's only one in the village chief's house, and it's hardly used.

Anyway, I can't let my cute sister bathe in this dirty water. I had anticipated this, so I had already activated my magic and was circulating it inside and outside my body to clean the bathtub and refill it with water. I stopped when the water reached just above my sister's shoulders.

This activation of magic and the circulation of my own magic with external magic is something I discovered when I was a baby with too much free time. To increase my magic, I initially tried the common method of using it to the limit and then recovering, but my body stopped when it reached 5% of its capacity.

I repeated this process of using it to the limit and then waiting for recovery for over ten days, but my magic power didn't increase at all.

Then, when I reduced it to 5% and tried to use it further, I saw death. My instincts told me that using any more would result in certain death. The fear of death made my heart beat painfully, and I broke out in a cold sweat. Of course, I also had a major accident.

As I lost consciousness, I thought that this would increase my magic power.

The next day, my magic power had slightly decreased. The effort to the point of death was terrible... but I realized that this method wouldn't work, so I considered it a step forward. If I repeated it, I would have gone insane.

When I changed my diaper, it had been changed at some point, so I could start fresh.

Thinking of the common pattern, I considered defeating a monster, but of course, I rejected that idea. My parents had mentioned that there were monsters, but I was just a baby.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine something similar to magic, like MP, mana, qi, spiritual energy, vibrations, ether, prana, chakras... Chakras, I remembered checking the locations of chakras when I had a certain illness, so I decided to try opening them. This turned out to be a big hit. By the way, I'm talking about the chakras from yoga and Indian traditions, not the ninja comic.

Since I couldn't sit cross-legged as a baby, I lay down and closed my eyes. I hadn't researched the correct method, so I concentrated my magic and spirit on the locations said to be chakras. I felt a warm sensation as magic gathered in those areas, and I could sense it growing. I concentrated on one spot for a day, then moved to another spot the next day, and repeated this process.

As I increased the number of spots I concentrated on, I reached a state of enlightenment when I focused on all seven spots simultaneously. I don't know if I actually reached enlightenment, but it felt like it. I felt a sense of oneness with the external magic, as if I was expanding infinitely. It was a peaceful, floating sensation with an overwhelming sense of omnipotence.

As time passed, this feeling ended, and when I slowly opened my eyes, the priest was there, and my mother was crying, causing quite a commotion.

According to what I later heard, I had spent about seven days in that state, drinking milk and producing waste, but I didn't cry or make a fuss. I had a calm expression the whole time.

My father, seeing that I looked healthy, was optimistic, but my worried mother called the priest to check on me. The priest said that my affinity with magic was too high, causing my magic to connect with the outside world, and my consciousness to become thin, leading to a return to the divine. This was especially dangerous for a baby.

I don't know if the priest did something or if I naturally woke up, but I returned to normal after the priest came. The priest said that once I woke up, my body would remember, so I wouldn't have any problems if it happened again.

The priest also said, "This child might be loved by the gods and can use healing magic," with a gaze that seemed to be targeting prey, which my mother found a bit frightening.

In other words, what I thought was enlightenment was just a state of losing my self and nearly dying.

Despite the various experiences, when I tried opening the chakras again, the quality of my magic improved, and I could absorb external magic without losing consciousness. I can use dozens of times more magic than my own, but it's not infinite, and it takes concentration and time.

I changed the name from chakras to "magic activation and internal-external circulation" to avoid getting beaten up by people who know about chakras.

Because of this, I can fill the tub with water as I please, and I think I unconsciously used my magic to create the bath.

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There's no soap, so I gently washed my sister's hair and body with water, used body strengthening to increase safety, and lifted her into the bathtub.

"Okay, splash!"

"Yay, splash!!"

My sister loves this, and she always gets excited.

"Again! Splash!"

"Okay, okay, just one more time."

"Yay!!"

She loves it so much that she asks for it several times. I limit it to two times, but sometimes she asks for more. In those cases, I have to be strict and only do one more. But today, it was just two times, which was a relief.

My sister gets very excited in the bath and can't stay still. I can't be too strict, and even when I hold her, she kicks her legs, making it hard to calm her down. So, as a Japanese person from a subculture-rich country, I started telling her stories that begin with "Once upon a time" and adapted them for this world. I found that she would calm down and listen, so I started telling her stories every time we bathed.

"Hey, Nii-tan. A-che, I want to hear a story today."

"Sure, what story should we tell today?"

Smiling at my sister, who was excited to hear the story, I chose and decided on one.

"Once upon a time, in a faraway land..." I began the story, using hand gestures to represent the characters, and continued to tell the story as I always do.

Thank you for reading.