The year: 2001
In a dimly lit living room, a small boy with short red hair lay sprawled across a sofa. His youthful face carried a hint of charm despite being slightly gaunt.
After a while, the boy's eyes fluttered open, taking in his surroundings before a sudden wave of memories surged into his mind.
"Ugh! It hurts!"
He clutches his head and grits his teeth because of the pain.
"Ha...ha...ha.."
Minutes later, the boy sat up, breathing heavily, sweat dripping from his brow. He stumbled toward the bathroom to wash his face, attempting to regain his composure.
Once refreshed, he changed into clean clothes and headed to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water and sat at the table, resting his chin on his hand, deep in thought.
'So, I'm Aito Asahi in this world too. I'm six years old and living in Japan. Before, I stayed in the countryside, but I decided to move into my grandpa's old house on the shopping street in Nezu, Bunkyo borough. My family has been adventurers for generations, but an accident claimed my parents when I was very young. My grandfather took me in, but he passed away from old age. The rest of my relatives? They won't take me in—they think I'm cursed.'
Asahi sighed, the weight of his circumstances pressing down on him. Determined to push forward, he focused on his future.
He sketched out a training regimen and reviewed his skills, trying to devise a plan.
Hours later, a rumble from his stomach reminded him of his hunger. Nodding in acknowledgment, Asahi headed to the kitchen, rummaging through his sparse supplies.
"Ah, Lucky!"
He found a cup of instant noodles and a can of food.
Heating water, he prepared the noodles and opened the can. Once ready, he sat down and clasped his hands together.
"Itadakimasu!"
As he took a bite, a strange sensation overwhelmed him. His expression soured as information flooded his mind.
'The taste is… terrible.'
The realization hit him—he now possessed the God's Tongue, a unique skill granting an extraordinary sense of taste. Even the tiniest flaw in a dish was apparent to him. Despite this, hunger compelled him to endure the unpleasant meal, washing it down with plenty of water.
After eating, he explored his room. On the desk, he found an envelope and a large box wrapped in ribbon.
Opening the envelope, he discovered a letter and several documents.
Asahi opened it and found some checkbooks, an ATM card, and some letters and documents.
He opened the letter and was surprised by what he saw.
=============================
Letter:
Hi, Asahi!
If you're reading this, it means you've arrived safely. Good for you! Hohoho. I've left you a little gift—check it out later. Also, there's a box with documents, a checkbook, and an ATM card containing 10 million dollars. That should cover your expenses for a while.
P.S.: Get stronger, and I hope we don't meet again too soon.
P.S. 2: Be careful. Some gods in this world have noticed your arrival.
—Your Old Man God
================================
Asahi's eyes widened in shock as he read the letter.
The warning about the gods made him uneasy.
Pushing his concerns aside, he checked the documents and found the ATM card.
The checkbook made him pause—it contained more zeroes than he had ever seen.
'Thank you, old man,' he thought, grateful despite the overwhelming amount.
He carefully stored the letter and card in his [Storage] before turning his attention to the gift box.
Tearing off the ribbon, he opened it to find… stones?
He ripped it off and opened the box. He looked inside and looked at it carefully, emotionless.
'Stone?"
Disappointed at first, his Synergist Class skill activated, and the information flooded his mind.
"Awesome!"
His room echoed with excitement as he realized the box contained rare materials:
Magic Crystals, Damascus Steel, Hihiirokane, Orichalcum, Mythril, Adamantine, and more.
A map was also included, marking locations to harvest additional resources.
After appraising and storing the materials, Asahi decided to explore the neighborhood.
-----------
He continues looking at them one by one, then decides to put them all in the inventory and go out for a while to check out of the city before going to bed.
He changed his clothes and went out of the house for a while.
A few hours later...
Asahi went out of the house, checked most of the streets near him, and bought some accessories and groceries for the house, especially a cellphone. He went to the corner to put the groceries in his storage box and continued walking.
After walking around, he returned to his house and pulled out the groceries from the storage box, put up a table, and arranged the items according to their rightful place.
After he was done arranging the groceries in the kitchen, he cleaned the whole house; it took him 30 minutes to clean it, and Asahi rested on the sofa for a while.
*knock! * knock! * *knock! *
A sudden knock interrupted his rest.
Cautiously approaching the door, Asahi prepared to use his transmutation skill in case of danger.
When he opened the door, he was met by four people standing in front of him: one looked like grandpa in his late seventies and had charisma despite his age; one was grandma around the same age as the old man; and another was one boy who looked the same age as him; and lastly, the small girl looked younger than him and was hiding behind her grandma.
Asahi felt quite familiar with the two children standing in front of him, so he looked at the old man and asked. "H-how may I help you?"
The grandpa looked at Asahi, smiled at him, and said, "Good afternoon. My name is Kusanagi Ichirou. My family noticed someone new moving here earlier, so we thought of introducing ourselves to our new neighbor.
Asahi noticed the name of the grandpa and looked shocked at the two kids in front of him.
'No wonder they look familiar. Kusanagi Godou… the future Seventh Campione, and his sister Shizuka.'
The black-haired kid, the same height as Asahi, looked puzzled and asked. "Is something wrong?"
Snapping back to reality, Asahi shook his head. "No, it's nothing. Nice to meet you. I'm Aito Asahi, but you can call me Asahi." He bowed politely.
"Ah, nice to meet you as well; my name is Kusanagi Godou," Godou replied at Asahi's introduction while bowing too.
Grandpa Ichirou nodded and introduced his family to him. "Nice to meet you too, lad. This is my wife and my grandkids."
The grandma bowed as well and said. "Fufu, what a polite child. Nice to meet you, Asahi-Kun. Im Kusanagi Chiyo. Im the grandma of these two kids."
Asahi nodded and looked toward the only person who didn't introduce herself.
The little girl stepped forward a little, bowed a little, and said in a low voice, "Um...Shizuka Kusanagi," and she returned toward the back of her grandma again.
Grandma Chiyo chuckled a little and said, "Fufu, I'm sorry, Asahi-san. Shizuka is quite shy around people."
'She is cute.'
Asahi, though he nodded in understanding and didn't mind it, approached Shizuka, smiling at her, and said.
"Well, nice to meet you too, Shizuka-chan; I hope we get along."
Shizuka blushed a little and nodded as a sign of response to what Asahi said.
After the introduction, Asahi welcomed them into his house and made them sit in the living room.
He went to the kitchen to make juice for them.
When he came back with juice and a snack for them, Grandpa Ichirou asked.
"Lad, where are your parents? I want to meet them as well."
Asahi, who was placing the juice on the table, sat on the sofa and replied. "My parents died in an accident at an early age, so I live alone."
The environment suddenly became heavy and silent in the room, and Grandpa Ichirou felt sorry for asking about his parents and said, "I'm sorry, Lad."
Then Asahi waves his hand, saying it is all right, and answers, "I don't mind."
Gudou and Shizuka looked at him in pity, and they knew how he felt since their parents were busy with their careers and seemingly had little time for them. Because of this, they were raised mainly by their grandpa and grandma, and their parents eventually divorced.
"What about your other relatives? Where are they?" Grandma Chiyo was sad about what happened to him and asked next.
"Well, since my parents passed away, my grandfather took me in, but he passed away too because of old age, and my other relatives don't want to keep me, so I just moved here with the money I got from my grandpa," Asahi replied.
After Asahi replied, the atmosphere started to get denser, but it was broken when Grandpa Chiyo hugged him suddenly.
"Don't worry, Asahi-Kun, from now on we're here for you." Grandma Ichirou was crying about Asahi's circumstances, trying to comfort him.
Godou and Ichirou, and lastly, Shizuka, agree as well with what Chiyo said to Asahi.
Asahi received a hug from Grandma Chiyo. For a moment, he felt so warm that he lost feeling long ago. However, while feeling something lost, he was trying to break free of suffocation because of the tight hug.
"I...I can't breathe."
Grandpa Ichirou and Godou notice that Asahi is asking for help, and they hurriedly try to get Asahi away from the tight hug of Chiyo.
After a while, Asahi gets back to his breathing after almost suffocating in the tight hug, and Grandma Chiyo apologizes for what happened.
"Growl!" "Growl!"
They heard something growling, and looking at the origin of the sound, it was Shizuka, who was hungry and embarrassed about what happened, and everyone started to laugh.
Grandpa Ichirou stood up and suggested, "How about we go to the sushi house with us, lad? Don't worry, it's my treat."
Godou also agreed with his grandpa and said, "Yes, Asuka-san's sushi shop is delicious." The other two agreed as well and grasped Asahi's arm and looked, saying, 'Youre coming with us.'
Seeing the Kusanagi family's determination, Asahi gave up and agreed with them.
--------------------------CUT!--------------------------