When I woke up, it looked like I was indoor of a wooden house.
Together with the smell of dense wood, sounds of firewood crackling could be heard. I had apparently survived one way or another.
The stifling pain in my body had also disappeared, and perhaps because the mud in my eyes were gone, I was able to open them.
When I looked at the surroundings, I saw an elderly person with a rich, white long beard, and a similarly white, long hair.
Was he some kind of principal?
Putting my retort aside, the person who helped me was probably this old man. To give my expression of gratitude, I called out.
"Aiauo—"
Again, my tongue didn't move too well.
I was shocked because all the pain had already gone away, so I wondered if it was because I suffered a disorder. The old man heard my voice and came over.
"☆◎○▽◇□※▽△"
As expected, I still couldn't understand the spoken words.
Looking at me and blinking with surprise, the elderly man smiled at me tenderly and brought a bowl of soup to feed me.
With wide-eyes, I stared at his hand moving to feed me; it was indeed embarrassing to be fed.
At the bottom of my sight, I saw a hand of a child. I tried to move it, and it was no doubt my own hand. Once again, I saw the old man tilting his head with a puzzled expression.
'This old man, doesn't he look too big?'
Then, the old man looked at me with a worried expression on his face, held up a spoonful of soup to my mouth, and I drank it.
The old man's worried expression turned into tenderness as I drank all the soup in the bowl. When I finished everything, he stroked my head.
Once my stomach was full, I soon became sleepy and immediately fell asleep.
With that, my consciousness faded away.
'As I thought, the old man is too big.'
He really was.
* * *
The next day, when I woke up, I tried to verify the surroundings once more.
I had apparently turned into a baby.
No, no! Just how the hell did I turn into a baby?! But nevertheless, this seemed to be reality.
Sleeping and awakening twice, it seemed this is definitely not a dream. Then, assuming this is reality, how the hell did I turn into a baby? While thinking so, the answer arrived quickly and unexpectedly.
The old man who helped me walked to the fireplace and ignited fire right from his hand.
Magic.
That word crossed my mind. When I looked around the house, I noticed there were no modern appliances.
Although the place looked like it was still during the primitive era, the standard of living didn't seem low.
From a modern person's way of thinking, it was feasible one would think the situation was odd.
'This place is definitely not Earth.'
There was no such thing as magic on Earth.
Perhaps it does exist and I just didn't know anything about it. However, even after assuming "magic does indeed exist," from what I saw of the state of the house, it was suggestive that this place was not Earth.
Given the situation, why am I here?
Not Earth, but a world where magic exists.
I, myself, have turned into a baby.
A language I couldn't understand.
The answer I arrived after considering the situation was…
Reincarnation.
A situation that could only happen out of a fantasy was readily accepted.
Because the memory I have regarding the death of my previous life was rather vague, it was probable that I encountered some kind of accident. Somehow, I seemed to have died without my knowledge.
But now was not the time to think about it; my parents had already passed away, and neither did I have a lover. Apart from the round trip from my house to the company, my past times were watching anime, reading manga, and reading light novels. Occasionally, I would also tour around riding my motorcycle. Although the future always had its uncertainties, it was sad not knowing how one died.
…When one looks back at such life, it was impossible not to feel sad…
To be reincarnated in a world where magic exists; everyone must have thought of such things at least once. But now, I am experiencing the reality of 'being reborn with the memories of the past.'
While being thrilled about the fact, the old man who helped me once again brought a bowl of soup.
Again, after my stomach was full, my consciousness drifted away.
No matter how excited I was, I could not oppose the sleepiness coming from the body of a not-yet-one-year-old child.