(Where is this...?) That was the impression when I saw the room.
Is it a Western-style aristocratic mansion? It was such a place that I witnessed.
"Ah...!" I tried to make a voice, but it didn't come out. The body does not move satisfactorily.
A strange place, and the body that does not move. Normally, it would be a panic. But I wasn't impatient. This is because this is the third time to bother others like this.
(I... I fell again). That was me—no, the occupational disease of the office workers I work with.
Mr. Sawada, who was taking care of me, was too busy to go to the hospital even if he was ill, and died of cancer.
Colleague Tamaki committed suicide due to mental illness.
The company I was in was a genuine black company.
"Mr. Amemiya, this is the second time you've overworked. The next time, I can't guarantee your life."
And I seemed to have collapsed for the third time.
It doesn't seem to be a hospital, but someone kind may have picked me up. I have to thank them, but my body doesn't move, and I can't speak.
I have to contact the company, and even my business partner cannot be bothered.
What day and what time is it now? First, I want to know that. The outside seems to be bright, so it's already noon. My last memory was leaving the company after the last train.
In other words, unauthorized absence or being late is confirmed. Sorry for everyone. If I get out now, my subordinates will fall down...
When I was worried, I heard multiple footsteps. It seems that someone is coming to this room.
"Xxxxxxxxxxx!" A man of about 20 years came into the room with a maid. It's a great handsome guy. Did this person pick me up?
(But what word? I can do a little English...)
The handsome guy seems to be a Westerner—a man with blond hair and green eyes. He happily speaks words that I don't understand well, toward someone behind me.
Yes. I just noticed now. Someone is hugging me.
"Xxxxxxxxxxx"
"xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx..."
"xxxxx!"
I don't know what they're saying. But they look really happy. I know that much.
It's bad to pour cold water on this, but this doesn't help my company. Let's call out.
I didn't hear the voice a while ago, but how about this time? I squeezed my strength and tried to form words for greetings.
But what came out of my mouth:
"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!"
"Xxxxxxxxxxxx!"
"Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx!"
They desperately tried to calm me down. But this is also a panic.
"What's going on!?"
"Where is this!?"
Such words were all converted into cries. So, I had to notice.
Apparently, I have become a baby.
Six months have passed.
What did I do during that time? Eat, sleep, cry. That's it.
Of course, I actively collected information. However, I am still a baby in the second half of my life. Baby food started last week. It was this week that I was able to crawl and walk. In such a situation, the information I can gather is limited.
Time passes quickly. After all, when I notice, I am sleeping. When I stay up late, I'm sleeping. It feels like I'm awake only momentarily, and time flows rapidly.
However, I began to understand a lot of words. Still, speech does not work well. My tongue does not cooperate, which is frustrating.
I don't know the letters yet. I want to learn this soon.
Alto Clay Sloup. That is my name in this world. My father is Stephanus Nakkan Bayle Felt. My mother is Lyska Clay Sloup.
I haven't remembered my father's name yet. He has only visited once, and his name seems unnecessarily long. However, the names of my mother and father differ.
Apparently, I am the child of a concubine. It's the child of a nobleman's mistress. So, I claim my mother's surname. In other words, I am a noble child, but not recognized as a nobleman, since my mother is not the formal wife.
But if you live in the house of a commoner, this is also different.
The "west separation." In an annex that is called so, my mother, a few servants, and I live together. My father seems to be in the main building, but I've only seen him once after my birth.
Why is this happening?
If I write a reasonable explanation from fragmentary information, it looks like this:
My father liked my mother but was forced to marry a noblewoman.Naturally, he still loves her and doesn't want to part, so he made an unreasonable demand to let my mother live in the west.The name Bayle Felt is the name of the family, and concubines were forbidden from bearing children.However, my parents opposed that rule and had me.The first child with the official wife is yet to be born, so my existence is resented.My father cannot visit freely because of this delicate balance.Nevertheless, my father prioritizes my mother emotionally, making his official wife hate my mother even more.The servants here belong to the Bayle Felt family and hold no loyalty toward my mother and me.
(This life... It's dangerous, isn't it?)
I realized I had to learn how to protect myself. I needed to become strong, without thinking about my precarious position.
(Because they talk about monsters appearing...)
This is not Japan. Of course, not Earth.
A different world. That is where I am.
It's a ridiculous story, but I couldn't help but conclude it. Various things were far too removed from Earth.
(Speaking of which, a wizard acquaintance of my mother is supposed to visit me.)
If magic exists in this world, I must learn it. To protect myself and my mother.
(Magic... I wonder if I can use it?)
I felt like trying it out.
I wanted to do muscle training, but now I couldn't move much. So, I decided to try magic instead.
"Ai," I shouted. "Ai," fire.
Nothing happened. Of course.
I don't know the conditions for using magic. There may be various prerequisites, such as magical power and magical tools.
But I couldn't give up. First, I assumed there was magical power and thought about whether I could feel it.
I was lying on the bed at that moment. It was nap time. No servant or mother was around.
Some light building blocks were in my field of view. Let's focus on that and try.
(Can you move...?)
I clenched my hand and imagined strongly.
(Move, move...)
I concentrated so hard that I was drenched in sweat, but it had no effect.
(Is it impossible after all? Let's be more specific.)
I pushed out with the image of my will.
Then—
(Oh!)
It was only about two centimeters, but the building block moved.
(I did it! I did it! I can use magic-like things!)
I was thrilled.
But the next moment, I screamed:
"GYAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The shock felt like a blood vessel in my brain had burst. A collapse of my soul, like it was being drained from my entire body.
In severe pain, I lost consciousness.
One week has passed since the first magic.
In conclusion, I was about to die.
The maid rushed in after hearing my screams. I had apparently been bleeding from my eyes, convulsing violently.
A doctor was immediately called. My father, who hardly ever came to the west, rushed over with a pale face.
The cause? Unknown.
The servants seemed to conclude that someone from the Bayle Felt family had tried to poison me.
But I knew the truth. It was magic.
That was the price.