Chapter 1: Reincarnation
Advertisements
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A-
15px
A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.
Where.... am I? All I could see is darkness but...
I feel... so sleepy...
I tried my best to wake up but all I could hear were muffled sounds.
Why is it so noisy anyway? Through the sounds, I could hear people talking with a language I don't know, it's quite similar to french with a mix of a Russian accent in it but I don't have the slightest idea what language it was.
Hmm... other than the sounds, I could also smell a sweet fragrance along with a soft feeling around my body. Don't tell me I'm on my way to heaven with angels hugging me? Well, that would be nice rather than going to hell, and I really deserve this since I just died protecting people so... ugh... I feel sleepy again. I guess I just have to sleep and fully wake up in heaven.
Just when I was about to sleep. I heard sudden sounds of explosions and shouts but I couldn't keep my consciousness awake as I finally went back to sleep.
...
When I woke up and opened my eyes, I was in a daze and found myself in a room. I thought I survived, but what I saw wasn't a white cemented ceiling but a worn-out wooden ceiling with obvious holes showing how old it was. Instead of smelling the scent of medicine and the sound of the heart monitor beeping, what I smelt and heard was the scent of candles and the wails of babies. I tried to move my body, but I felt that I was too weak and couldn't move much, and when I tried to speak... I felt that my vocal chord was as if it hadn't...
I felt like I was a baby...
I shifted my gaze below me and what I saw was not a body of a male teenager but a small baby physique. Another thing is that I'm in a wooden cradle and all I could see through the gaps was a dirty white wall with small cracks here and there. I couldn't turn my head much but what I can perceive through my peripheral vision was another cradle and on the other side was a table with a candlelit on the top of it.
Feeling a sense of complete unease, I began to recall the things that happened from before: I was in a convenience store with my classmate, there was a robbery, I got into a struggle with the crook and when I finally got the upper hand, I got shot in the back by his friend and died.
I should be dead, but I'm alive. No. I did die, but I am not in my old body but a different one. There's only one thing that could've happened and could be said to be a miracle.
I reincarnated.
Was it because I've been watching too much anime with the isekai genre that this happened to me?
I don't know if an otaku would feel happy and excited if they found out they reincarnated into an unknown world, but I feel completely uncomfortable. My heartbeat began to increase, and the feeling of confusion and anxiety also began to well up in me. I just died and got reincarnated to an unknown world! What will happen to me from now on? What happened to Lisa? Did she get shot as well? These sudden thoughts that filled my mind make me unable to calm down! I want answers! But if I can't calm down, I won't get any results...
With the confusion consuming my mind and heart, I suddenly felt like crying, and...
"Uwaaahhh!!"
I did.
I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't help but feel scared. I did try to calm myself down but I just couldn't. Other than that, I feel hungry too all of a sudden which is another reason I feel like crying even more. It must be because of a baby's natural emotions that influenced mine.
"Oh. It seems like you all woke up hungry!"
A gentle and soothing feminine voice was heard right beside me. I didn't hear anyone opening and entering the door so she must've been there the whole time.
As I cried, I saw a woman wearing a sister's clothing appear before me. She must be around the same age as I am before I got killed. Another thing is that she has quite an attractive face. Along with her light brown hair and black eyes, as well as the gentle atmosphere she exudes, she gives off a charming elder sister presence. Just when I saw her, I felt comfortable, and I finally calmed down a bit.
She went closer to me and wrapped her arms around my small body, lifting me. Her scent is different from the one before, but I guess it was from another sister. Also... her breasts feel soft and big. I want to stay like this and enjoy it forever! Wait- no... I shouldn't think of this stuff when all she wanted to do was to take care of me, right?
"Oh my? You calmed down quite a bit when I held you up. You must like this big sis, huh? Then let's feed you first. I am the only one here right now so all of you should endure it for a bit as I feed Klein first," she said with a look that as if she felt sorry when she turned her head towards the other babies. Although, I didn't understand what she just said. It sounds like french with a bit of a Russian accent but that's all I know. I did study some french before but I didn't understand a single word from her.
Where am I anyway? Judging from the other babies I heard that was crying out loudly and the sister in front of me, I must be in a type of church orphanage of sorts. I wanted to turn my head to look around but my head feels heavy and I'm really really hungry.
"Here's your milk! It's fresh from madam Hilda's farm," she said with a delightful and doting tone of voice as I felt something entering my mouth. It was some sort of liquid that tastes like... milk! It really is good! Where did you get this!? I don't understand what you just said but I'm sure you said where it came from. Ah, who cares I'm just gonna chug it all down and go to sleep so I could grow some more and be able to move around.
As I chugged the milk down, I heard the sound of a door opening along with a rough voice,
"Have you fed all of them, Iris?"
"Not yet, I just began feeding Klein just now," she replied calmly but her tone changed when she said the next sentence, "Father Bernard if you're here to check them then leave already. Just with your presence would just scare all of them!" She spoke with a clear sign of annoyance written on her face.
"O-of course. But I was just wondering if there's anything unusual with Klein since the couple who carried him were already on the verge of death when I found them, I thought there might've been something wrong with his condition," he replied with a grave tone but slightly stuttered.
Soon, heavy footsteps approached behind the sister who's feeding me. She didn't say anything else and turned me towards the person. I wonder if it was the church's guard or something along those lines since his voice's rough and hardy.
While I was wondering, I saw a large man in a priest's clothing. His muscles were already big enough to be comparable to a bodybuilder that it gives off a weird feeling like it could explode at any moment and tear through his clothing. He had auburn hair with streaks of gray showing his approach to the old age, his face was riddled with wrinkles that scattered all around, and his eyes reveal that he had vast experiences that can only belong to someone who had been to a life filled with bloodshed. But what was the most noticeable thing about him is that he has a horrifying scar on his face which was from his left brow to his right cheek crossing through his nose. If he was wearing a different set of clothing and told me he was a priest, I wouldn't believe him! He looks like a freaking bandit for Christ's sake!
I just... looked at him with eyes filled with shock instead of fear because I just really couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing.
As if he felt my unwavering gaze, he looked at me intently with those eyes comparable to a murderer. The edges of his lips twitched forming into a terrifying smile that was way worse than him not doing it.
"Hmm? He isn't crying? Did he like my smile?" He said in a surprised tone with a pleasant expression. He went closer to inspect my face and did different expressions to see if I had any other reactions. He seemed to have expected a change until his face made a surprised expression.
"Huh? Just seeing a glimpse of you would immediately make all of the babies and children cry in fear," the sister said with a wondering tone as she looked at me with a perplexed look beside him.
"Hehe. Then this means that other children don't find me scary at all! Hahahaha!" The bandit- I mean the priest said and laughed heartily startling the other babies and made them cry even more.
"Look at what you just did! You scared them! Get out already and Klein only had a mild fever but its all gone now and got hungry," the sister said in a scolding tone and noticed the bottle of milk feeding me was now empty. She then turned around and laid me back in the cradle and proceeded in calming and feeding the other babies.
"S-sorry..." the priest meekly replied and seemed to be apologizing as he quickly walked out of the room whilst minding his footsteps that already softened and gently closed the door.
"Finally..." the sister sighed in relief, "Now, now, the scary man is gone so all of you can be rest assured," Her soothing voice reverberated in the room as the cries died down one by one. At one point, I also began to feel sleepy again. My hunger was already sated so all I have to do now was to sleep again. I have to grow up fast so I could find out where I ended up in.
...
After a short nap, I woke up once more. It was already dark. I suppose it was already in the middle of the night. I couldn't see anything else in the dim light given by the moon's light through the window in my far right, but I'm sure its still the same worn-out wooden ceiling I am staring at.
Nothing seemed to have changed while I was asleep, but now I woke up, I can't sleep again. Like, my drowsiness faded straight away for some reason. Maybe it was because I got reincarnated all of a sudden. Well, I guess I could start collecting my thoughts about what happened and what my current identity is.
So... I was a student graduating from high school in my past life. I had a gifted brain and could be said that I had a bright future. But I used my gift in gaming, anime, and... gambling, so my future didn't get too bright like it supposed to be. Because of my behavior, I constantly got into trouble.
Now about my family, well, my parents weren't that lovable since they only saw me as a key to make their lives better when they found out about my gift. The way they tell and convey their love to me was too transparent. I also had siblings, a little sister, and an older brother. They despised me... a lot.
My little sister wasn't too bright but she wasn't dumb, she was average. Our parents always told her to be like me. She did try her best in her studies, but she really couldn't reach their expectations. That made them scold her a lot. Because of the constant scolding and feeling unwanted by her own parents, my little sister got depressed and frequently hurt herself. I did try to show my care for her but she hated me to the bone and always cursed at me whenever we were alone about how things would've been different if I didn't exist in the first place.
Then there's my older brother. He isn't all too successful and was constantly looking for a decent job, but soon left the family. Before I and my sister were born, my parents doted him. He always got in one of the top five in his class and when he graduated from college, he became one of the students who achieved the highest grade. But luck wasn't on his side. The company that hired him after he graduated got bankrupt. He hunted for a job soon after, but he couldn't get one, he even tried to get a job different from his original expertise just for the sake of getting it, but he always messed up and got fired. He got pressured by our parents and even stopped supporting him. That pissed him off and tried to put all the blame on me, beating me up whenever he gets the chance. There's this one time he had beaten me up so badly that he thought he killed me. This made him leave our home and was never to be seen ever again. Our parents didn't even try to look for him.
My parents could be said to be sh*tty- no, the sh*ttiest. They put all the attention to their brightest child whilst forgetting their other two. This made me lose all interest in taking an effort into my studies. So to pay back their "kindness", I disappointed them. I decided to spend my whole time and money playing video games, anime, and gambling. Although I was able to maintain my grades and ranking, they always pressured me to aim for the top, but I lied and said that I was trying my best. They did tolerate my lifestyle for a while even though there's gambling in it. But they gave up and didn't bother me for a while, and their so-called "familial love" wasn't felt again. I even heard them talking about whether they should use force to control me and lessen the money they gave me.
My lifestyle should've made my future plummet even further but I met a certain person that wouldn't stop bothering me. She always reprimanded me and even though she was dumb, she had great instincts comparable to an animal that when I am doing something wrong, she would sense it and stop me right away. Because of her, my life was able to get back on the right track. But before I even get a proper footing on the "right track", I died protecting her. Even if I died trying to protect her, I still owe her a lot. I hope she's alright and could forget about me soon.
Moving on. Let's discuss about my current identity and situation. From what I found out, the name that was given to me was Klein. That's not a bad name, I guess? For who I am and who are my current parents and family? That I don't know. Actually, I don't care at all. Whether I have a family or not, it would just be a hindrance for me if I had.
But... if I were, to be honest, I want to feel what true familial love feels like. Unfortunately, I won't be feeling any of that again in this second chance given to me. This place was obviously an orphanage. I could try looking for them when I grow up.
Now to think where and what era did I ended up at. Of course, I concluded that I ended up in the medieval era in another world. Why? Because... well... intuition?
"...."
No. I could've concluded that I ended up in the countryside away from the cities and didn't have any current. But as I said before, I am capable of observing people. I am still not that good but judging from their mannerisms and actions, they are too... what word should I describe them with? Outdated, I guess? Also, how in the world could one have a 6ft tall, ripped, scar-faced man as a priest!? I know it is highly possible to have a person like him in my past life to become a priest but... he was just too intimidating and I never saw one! Another thing is that I don't know what language they were even using. There were roughly 6,500 languages in my past world and even if I haven't heard all of it, the language the people of this world that I have been in contact used was something that didn't feel familiar.
I know this is something I merely speculated, but I was rarely wrong.
Well, I guess I will find it out as soon as I grow up. I should go back to sleep.
...
I don't know how long I was trying my best to fall asleep, but I suddenly felt cold. My body was covered by only two layers of cloth, but I still felt cold and my body was... heating up. I can feel my body heat rise even further. I was even letting out raspy coughs.
This is bad, my body got into a bad condition all of a sudden. If I was left alone like this, I could die since my constitution against sickness is still weak and currently developing.
I let out loud moans and tried to make myself cry but I am undeniably calm for some reason.
For an unknown amount of time, I felt that I was getting weaker than before, and every time I coughed, I tasted blood.
Help! I need immediate help. I just got reincarnated and my life could possibly be cut short. Have the sister and the priest heard my moans and coughs yet? I feel uneasy but I feel calm at the same time. How is that even possible? I need to cry! Cry you little brat!
Just when I thought I wouldn't get help soon, I suddenly heard the door softly open. 'Finally!' I thought with hope filling my heart. The footsteps I heard were small, I thought it was because of the other babies were sleeping that's why he/she had to be quiet.
But what happened next surprised me.
Through the dim light, I concentrated on my peripheral vision on my left side and saw a small figure through the gaps of the cradle. It was a little girl. The cradle I was on was quite high so it isn't possible for someone as small as her to be able to reach me was she standing on a chair? I didn't hear any sound of dragging or even a bang, it must've been there all along when the sister was taking care of me and the other babies.
I tried my best to see what she looked like, but all I could see was her physique. Without saying anything, she reached out her hand through the gaps of the cradle and her palm touched my forehead. Her hand was small, soft and supple that made me want to be held by it tenderly.
But as soon as her hand touched me, she let out a surprised gasp. She quickly withdrew her hand and I noticed that her figure began trembling, seemingly to be in a state of panic.
"Y-you're too hot! Big sis taught me that if a person's body temperature was hot, he is sick. But you're very very hot!" She said in an adorable yet troubled tone of voice. Then again, I didn't understand what she just said but it was surely about me and my condition.
"I should call Big sis! But she also said that we don't have a doctor in the village and the city is far far away. This is very troublesome! I even doubt that Old Bandit could do anything since he only knows how to swing a sword and there isn't anyone that could use Healing Magic," she said to herself whilst crossing her arms. It was as if she was discussing something with herself. The way she acts and move aren't like her age, but I don't care about that at the moment. Get some help already!
"Oh!" She suddenly let out a weird cry as if she remembered something. However, she quickly covered her mouth realizing that there were the babies that were still sleeping peacefully in the room.
"Healing Magic... Healing Magic..." she spoke those words a couple of times trying to remember something, "I remembered that Old Bandit brought a spellbook about Holy Magic back from his old workplace in the city. It was supposed to be for Big Sis, but I always kept it for myself and read what's inside it, hehe..." she let out a mischievous chuckle before continuing, "There was Healing Magic written in one of the sections. Maybe I could use that to heal little Klein even just a little then call Big Sis and Old Bandit!" She said then swiftly left.
Huh? What the heck was she talking about? I guess she realized how grave my condition was and decided to call the sister and priest.
But contrary to my expectations, she brought something with her. It was a large and thick book that was almost the same size as her upper body.
Huh? Where's the sister, or the priest? Why do you have a large book with you? Don't tell me you're going to read me a story so that the "boo-boo" will go away? Yeah! Let's do that and then when you're done, I am only a cold corpse!
Sigh. She's still an innocent kid... It isn't surprising for her thought process to be filled with rainbows and unicorns.
As I began to wonder whether I will die again, I felt the same small and tender hand on my forehead once again and heard her adorable voice who began to read the book's contents out loud as if she was reading a nursery rhyme.
"Oh gentle angels, hear my pleas, heal the injured and cure the sick, Gentle Healing!"
Ugh... I guess I could be glad that I had the chance to reincarnate even though it was short- Eh? Why do I suddenly feel like my condition's getting better? I can feel a warm sensation coming from my forehead spread throughout my body. Even my body heat began to lower at acceptable levels. It feels nice. What the heck did this kid do? She just read a book and I felt better. Did her "boo-boo go away" plan actually worked!?
When I finally go into a stable condition, the small hand on my forehead was removed and what I heard next were hoarse and heavy breaths.
"Huff... huff... I... I did it!" She said with a weak yet excited tone, "I dreamt that a baby named Klein will die here. So I came to check if it was true, but... It was scarily true..." her voice began to soften but it sounded satisfied. She turned her gaze at me once more and suddenly let out a frightened gasp, "Oh... no..." her weakened voice that was satisfied suddenly became sullen.
Thud!
It was just then I saw her body sway and fell, letting out a low yet dangerous thud.
Silence loomed over once more.
6
Dropped?