Reincarnation

Voices echoed faintly in the dim light. Takahiro groggily blinked, his eyelids heavy, as a soft glow reached his eyes.

What the hell…? Didn’t I just die minutes ago?

Confused, he took in the two figures standing before him, both smiling down at him. His gaze swept across the unfamiliar room.

What the—where the hell am I?

The first was a woman with long black hair, piercing blue eyes, and clothing that definitely didn’t belong in modern-day Tokyo. The second was a man with, blue eyes, white hair, neither long nor short. His outfit consisted of a compressed long sleeve turtleneck shirt, a cloak with a grey hood, and black underlayers.

Takahiro’s eyes lingered on the woman for a moment, and he couldn’t help smirking. Good god… isn’t she a hottie?

He quickly turned his attention to the man. Not meant to be weird, but why the hell is he majestic?

They seemed to be speaking, but Takahiro couldn’t understand a single word. All he could do was watch, trying to make sense of their gestures and expressions.

“Isn’t he just adorable?” the woman said in a language he couldn’t understand.

I can’t understand shit, you know, he thought flatly.

The man looked down at him, a faint worry crossing his features. Takahiro froze, caught off guard by the sudden expression.

Uh… what is with that look?

“Yeah, I know. But is it normal for him to stare at us like that? I mean… he isn’t crying. Is that normal for a baby?” the man asked, a bead of sweat sliding down his cheek.

The woman chuckled softly. “Well, you do have a point, but doesn’t that mean he might be a tough baby?”

The man gave her a deadpan look. “Yeah… I don’t think so,” he replied. Then his expression brightened with excitement. “Well, he’s going to be a strong and handsome baby, that’s all I know. I mean… doesn’t he look like me? White hair, blue eyes.”

Before Takahiro could react, the man scooped him up effortlessly.

Woah, mister! I can’t be that light! I’m a grown man!

Suspicion set in as he began to feel the reality of the situation. Everything felt real—the man holding him, the warmth of his hand, the solidity of the room. Wait… this feels too real. I can feel his hand like it’s… a real human hand. Is this a dream or something?

Takahiro lifted his tiny arm and froze. His eyes widened as the truth hit him. He was… a baby.

No… way…

The man smiled brightly. “Let’s name him… Riko Takamo,” he said, chuckling as he held the baby.

Takahiro stared in surprise. Riko Takamo that’s a name. He didn’t fully understand what the couple was saying, but the words sounded like… a name.

Riko Takamo… no doubt about it. Those words he just spoke—it was definitely a name.

He looked up at the couple.

“Welcome, Riko, to this world,” the woman said softly.

Riko… she’s definitely talking about me.

Takahiro—or rather, Riko—finally accepted it. Welp… I guess my name is Riko Takamo… from now on.

The couple chuckled softly. In the distance, a house sat atop a grassy cliff, bathed in sunlight. Beyond it, a peaceful village stretched toward a mountain view. Grass and trees swayed gently in the breeze, birds singing.

Five months later…

Riko sat on the grass outside, his hair lifted by the gentle breeze. In his hands, he fiddled with a wooden sword, utterly bored.

Welp… great news. I realized that I was indeed reincarnated. He paused, glancing at the sword. Well, I say that because of all those light novels and manga I read in my old life. Isekai… yeah, that’s what they called it.

He pouted, flinging the wooden sword across the grass in frustration.

Dammit! But there’s one thing… I didn’t get any of those “system activation” powers that OP protagonists always get from some goddess or whatever!

Riko’s frustration boiled over. He grabbed handfuls of grass and ripped them from the ground. WHY DIDN’T I GET THOSE?! WHY, WHY, WHY?!

“EH! WEH! GYA!” he shouted, flailing his tiny arms in pure rage.

Riko yawned and stretched. Oh yeah, speaking of that… I finally found out my “new parents’” names. Dad’s Ruther Takamo, probably in his mid-thirties. Mom’s Rimara Sylphine, also mid-thirties.

He wandered around, bored, his eyes following a trail of ants crawling past a huge rock.

HOW BORED AM I TO JUST WATCH ANTS WALK?! he thought, letting out an abrupt, frustrated whine.

“WHA!”

—Then—

A familiar voice called his name.

“Riko!”

Riko froze. His face went pale. Ah, crap… it’s her. IT’S RIMARA!

What only popped up in his mind was to hide. He darted behind the huge rock, sweating bullets as his tiny body trembled.

Why am I scared? Because every time I take a bath with her… she does things to me… he thought, too afraid to even say it aloud.

Before he could breathe, a cold, menacing voice whispered behind him:

“Riko… why are you running away from your mother? You know how that makes me feel.”

His face drained of color. Slowly, he turned around. “EEK!” he squeaked, wriggling in a desperate attempt to escape.

Get away from me, you monster!

Rimara scooped him up effortlessly, pouting as she held him face-to-face.

“You dirty little baby,” she scolded, wagging a finger. “You know you need to take your bath, or else you’ll be stinky! And do you know what stinky boys get? No one likes them!”

Riko struggled, wriggling desperately in Rimara’s grasp, but she didn’t budge. Panic surged through him. He scanned the front lawn, and his eyes landed on Ruther returning from a distance.

Then it clicked. If he called Ruther’s name and caught his attention, maybe… just maybe… Ruther would save him from Rimara—or so he thought.

“PAPA!” he shouted, waving his tiny arms frantically.

Ruther noticed him and grinned brightly. “Well, hi Riko! Have fun with Mama!” He waved innocently.

Riko’s face was drained of color. His hope shattered instantly.

Guh…

Furious, he shook his tiny fists, whining and yelling at Ruther in frustration.

YOU COMPLETE DUMBASS! DID YOU NOT GET IT?! I’M TRYING TO ESCAPE FROM THIS WOMAN!

“WAH! EYAH! BAH! BAH!” Riko screamed, flailing wildly.

Ruther just stared, blinking in confusion. “What was that about?” he muttered, a bead of sweat sliding down his cheek.

Riko panted, his tiny body going limp as he rested his forehead against Rimara’s shoulder. He had completely given up.

Dammit… no point in even trying. I can’t blame Ruther for not understanding baby talk anyway, he thought with a tired sigh.

A few moments later…

Riko sat at the dinner table with Rimara and Ruther. While the couple enjoyed their meal, Riko just glared angrily at his food, poking it with his tiny spoon.

Ruther noticed the change in mood and turned to Rimara, scratching his head.

“So, uh… what’s with Riko’s attitude?” he asked, a bead of sweat sliding down his cheek.

Rimara frowned and looked at Riko. “I don’t know. Ever since I took him to the bathtub, he’s been staring at me angrily for some reason,” she said, sounding both puzzled and worried.

Ruther blinked, then looked back at Riko. The baby puffed his cheeks and turned away with a pout.

“HUH?!” Ruther gasped, leaning closer in disbelief.

Ruther lowered his gaze to his food, tapping the table with his fingers as if deep in thought. Riko turned toward him, curious, but unsure of what was going through that man’s head.

Suddenly, Ruther stood up, slamming both hands onto the table.

“HA! I know why Riko’s mad!” he shouted triumphantly.

Riko tilted his head, crossing his little arms with a confident smirk.

Hmm? Did he really figure it out? Okay, let’s see what you’ve got, Ruther.

Ruther pointed dramatically and winked. “When you screamed out ‘Papa,’ you wanted me to join you in the bath! Aha! I knew it!”

Riko froze. His face went pale. His soul practically left his body.

You said what now? he thought, in complete disbelief. And second of all—don’t ever wink at me like that. And third—NO! THAT’S THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF WHAT I MEANT, YOU SHITHEAD!

Rimara clapped her hands together, smiling brightly.

“You might be right, Ruther! Perhaps that is the reason Riko was mad. Aw, you wanted your papa to come too, didn’t you?” she cooed softly.

Ruther grinned proudly. “Don’t worry, Riko. Next time, I’ll be sure to go in with you,” he said with absolute confidence.

Riko’s eye twitched. In the next instant—splat! His bowl of food flew straight into Ruther’s face.

NOW WE’VE GOT TWO COMPLETE DUMBASSES IN THE HOUSE?! PISS OFF!

“WAH!” Riko screamed furiously.

Ruther froze, still grinning, dripping with soup, while Rimara blinked in shock.

“Oh my…” Rimara said in shock.

A few minutes later…

Riko was crawling inside a room filled from floor to ceiling with books. It was his favorite place to spend time after dinner or lunch. Every day, he would come here to read—trying to learn more about magic.

Welp, that was quite a dinner experience, he thought with a sigh. Anyway… this room’s pretty interesting. Especially in this world.

He crawled toward the tall bookshelf and scanned the rows of spines before pulling out a green-covered book. The title read: “The Great History of Thyvarra.”

Oh, never read this one. Thyvarra, huh?

Opening the book, his eyes darted across the pages, absorbing each line. He was surprisingly invested at first.

So the area we’re living in—the nation—is called Thyvarra? He blinked, tilting his head. It was founded by God himself. Well, that’s… interesting.

He flipped through more pages, reading further.

The being they call God is known as “The Being Above All.” And this village is named after the third king of Thyvarra, Thornveil.

After a short moment, Riko sighed and tossed the book over his shoulder.

Meh, never liked reading boring history books. They lose my interest so easily.

Now, the book that really caught Riko’s attention was the blank red one.

This world has magic, by the way, he thought to himself with a smirk. Hehe, of course it does—just like every isekai world I’ve ever read about.

He scanned the shelf until his eyes landed on the red book. Carefully, he reached out, grabbed it, and flipped it open.

Riko’s eyes sparkled as a grin spread across his face. Ohohoho! Now this is interesting!

According to the text, there were three primary types of magic. Sugrio-based magic, Veno-based magic, and Ashton-based magic.

Riko then thought of one thing—he decided to try casting a spell himself, to experiment and replicate what the book described. He raised his tiny hand, a wide grin spreading across his face.

Ohohoho! Yeah, this is what I’m talking about! he thought, excitement rushing through him. Okay, what magic should we do?

His eyes darted across the pages with pure excitement until one spell caught his attention. A smirk formed.

Heh, let’s try this one—one of the Veno-based magics.

He closed his eyes, focusing. Alright, concentrate into your core—well, heart, I guess. I don’t even know why they call it a core, but oh well. He shrugged.

Once he focused, he felt a strange warmth deep inside him. Then… transfer the mana into your arm, he recalled from the book.

A calm blue aura began to swirl around him, gently lifting his hair. The air around him rippled faintly as he took a deep breath.

Veno Aquatigaru, he whispered in his mind.

A small ball of water formed above his palm, spinning in midair before shooting forward with a splash. His eyes widened in awe, reflecting the faint shimmer of the magic. A bright smile spread across his face.

He threw both of his tiny arms into the air. “WUAH!” he shouted.

I did it! My first magic in this new damn world! Ahah—

Before he could finish celebrating, a sudden wave of fatigue slammed into him. His limbs felt heavy, his head light, and the strength in his body vanished in an instant.

Uh-oh… What the hell…? I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck…

His vision darkened, his knees buckled, and he fell face-first onto the floor.

Guh… I can’t get back up. M-my body it feels like its giving up on me…

Despite struggling to stay awake, his body didn’t respond. His eyes completely closed shut.