"I'm hungry."
I'm just a kid from the slums, nothing special. At only 12 years old, I'm not yet an adult, so I can't become an adventurer a job you can take on at 15.
When I was 7, the woman who gave birth to me passed away. My mother worked as a prostitute, and I was the result of one of her encounters with a client.
I don't know who my father is, and I don't care. All that matters is whether he would have fed me or not. That's it.
My mother wasn't exactly what you'd call a good parent, but she did make sure I had at least one meal a day. It was never enough to fill me up, but I only realized how lucky I was to even have that after she died from an epidemic.
"I'm hungry."
After my mother died, I was quickly kicked out of where we lived and ended up drifting into the slums. There were plenty of other kids like me, without parents.
And one by one, the younger ones started dying.
At first, I was sad when the kids I got along with died, but humans are creatures who get used to things. My feelings became numb, and I stopped caring when someone I knew died.
I was too busy trying to survive. Even if I made it through today, I might be dead tomorrow.
That kind of life went on for years.
"I'm hungry."
It's been a few years since I ended up in the slums. Today, like every other day, I'm scavenging for leftovers in the back alleys of a cheap bar. The owner here might see it as charity for the slums, so he turns a blind eye when a dirty kid like me rummages through the trash.
In some places, just walking past a shop could get you killed. That's why this place is so popular among the slum dwellers.
But today, I must have been too late. No matter how much I searched through the trash, I couldn't find any food.
"I'm hungry."
Yesterday, there were only a few scraps, so I'm starving. My head is spinning, and in my dazed state, I wandered into a place I'd normally never go.
And then.
"Hey, kid! This isn't a place for the likes of you!"
Before I knew it, I'd been lured by the smell of food to a bar guarded by burly bouncers.
This is a bar run by the slum's underworld, a gathering place for thugs. My hunger had made me so out of it that I ended up here.
"Come here! I'll teach you a lesson so you don't pull this crap again!"
"Ugh…"
Two men surrounded me and started beating me up. I lost consciousness halfway through.
---
"Ouch… Why does my body hurt so much? What time is it?"
I woke up feeling groggy and a little disoriented, but I managed to sit up.
"Huh? What's going on?"
I was shocked when I got up. My whole body hurt, my perspective felt lower, and I was still starving.
"Wait, wait, this is bad. My arm's bent the wrong way! Oh no, no, no. Now that I've noticed it, it hurts even more!"
What's going on? Is this a dream?
"Hold on, don't panic. It's not time to freak out yet."
I carefully sat back down, trying not to aggravate my injuries, and slowly started piecing together my memories.
"Ow! Ouch, ouch, ouch! Wait, wait! This is definitely bad!"
The moment I tried to recall my memories, they came flooding back like a tidal wave both my past life and the memories of this boy's life. My brain didn't hold back, and the memories rushed in with overwhelming force.
"Ahh, ahh! My head's gonna split!"
I screamed and cried without any shame. I've never felt pain like this before. What the hell is happening?
"Shut up! You want another beating?!"
"Eek!"
Some muscular, scary-looking guy started stomping toward me. He's way scarier than any yakuza from my past life not that I've ever met one, but still!
But right now, that's the least of my worries…
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!"
My head is killing me. This is really bad. When is this going to stop?
"Looks like you're not getting it, huh?!"
"Ugh! Cough, cough!"
I heard a crack! Something definitely broke! One of my ribs, I think! But I can't even feel it because my head hurts so much that I can't register any other pain!
"Next time, I'll kill you, you little brat!"
After beating me to his satisfaction, the man finally left.
I heard a lot of cracking sounds. Is my body okay? I don't have osteoporosis, do I? Since I can't feel the pain, I have no idea how bad it is.
For now, I crouched down and waited quietly for the headache to subside, not wanting to risk another beating.
I don't know how much time passed, but the moment the headache finally went away, I passed out.
---
"Good morning, world."
I can't move my body. I think every bone is broken. Now that the headache's gone, the pain in my body is unbearable.
Why did this happen? Since I can't move, I stayed crouched and started sifting through the memories that had been automatically sorted while I was unconscious.
"Huh? I've been reincarnated?"