Volume 1 - CH 2

CHAPTER 2

Reito’s consciousness awoke to a man’s irritated voice.

“ — what is the meaning of this? How can this be!?”

“P-please don’t shout, darling…”

“Shut up!! And I finally thought I had a son…! What the hell is this trash!?”

“Don’t!! Stop, please! He’s your child too!!”

Reito opened his eyes to see what was happening: the first thing he found was a man wearing medieval noble clothing.

At the same time, he realized that man was holding him up. The man looked at Reito’s face, a hateful expression on his.

“Filthy trash, that’s what this is!!”

So snarled the man as he threw Reito to the beautiful lady standing next to him.

(Whoa!?)

The woman easily caught Reito in her arms.

That very moment, Reito finally realized what had happened to him. His body had become very small in size.

(My body shrunk…? No, could it be that…I turned into a baby?)

While Reito was trying to come to terms with his transformation, the quarrel continued. The woman was now criticizing the man.

“How could you do such a thing…! You brute!!”

“Silence! I was wrong to expect anything from a woman like you…out!! Leave this place, now!! Take that accursed child and leave immediately!!”

“…understood.”

The woman who had caught Reito walked towards the door, tears falling from her eyes. She put a hand on the doorknob and turned around.

“Goodbye. I loved you, once.”

“…please, just go and never come back!!”

The man roared, without even looking at the woman.

The woman, holding Reito in her arms, wept as she left.

From their exchange, Reito realized she was his mother and the man was his father.

His new life was already in turmoil, but unbeknownst to him, the future held many more trials and obstacles in store for him.

◆◆◆

“Aah…how could this happen…this boy did nothing wrong…”

Outside the room, the woman who held Reito fell to her knees, crying.

A short while later, a group of people appeared before her.

Reito looked at them and shuddered. Their clothes and weapons made them look just like soldiers from the Middle Ages.

(What’s with these guys…are they cosplayers? Those don’t look like costumes though…could they be, real soldiers…?)

One of the “soldiers” called to the woman.

“Milady, please settle down. It is truly regrettable, but you and the child are not allowed to stay in the castle anymore. We shall lead you outside.”

Reito looked at the group’s armor more closely.

(That’s not fake…these guys are real soldiers.)

The full realization finally struck. He was in a different world now, just like Airis told him.

It was still a mystery, however, why his mother was in tears, or why his father was so angry with him. The adults, naturally oblivious to his confusion, continued to talk.

A male soldier addressed the woman.

“Let us go. The airship is ready to depart. We should be able to leave without anyone noticing now.”

“Where are you going to take us!?”

The soldier fell silent for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.

“…my deepest apologies, milady. I cannot say that.”

“Is that so…very well. I will not resist, so please, do not harm this child.”

One of the soldiers reacted loudly to the mother’s words.

“Harm…? How can you say that, milady!? We have sworn our loyalty to the kingdom! You are the royal consort, thus we serve you as we serve His Majesty. Please do not say such sad things…”

“Because I am the royal consort…you say. Can you also swear your loyalty to this child then?”

The mother quietly looked at Reito.

The soldier bit on his lower lip then looked away from the mother and continued.

“…I am truly sorry, but that child…regrettably, that child cannot qualify as royalty…”

“He cannot qualify as a member of the royal family? This child is my son!! He was born from the king and me…!”

The woman interrupted the soldier’s words, agitated, but the latter voiced a cruel sentence.

“His Majesty has personally stated as much, milady. But even before that, He has claimed to have no sons…”

“No…he can’t…”

The mother fell to her knees.

“Milady…we must be on our way.”

“Don’t touch me!! I will walk by myself!”

The soldier extended a hand towards the mother, but she pushed it away forcefully.

The soldier lowered his head, respecting her wishes. Reito reached for her body with his tiny arms, trying to console her.

“Mah…”

The mother’s expression grew softer, as she started talking to her child.

“Oh, I’m sorry, you can sleep, dear…mommy was too loud and woke you up? I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…”

The mother, Reito in her arms, followed the soldiers out of the castle.

Reito, unable to stay awake any longer, fell into a deep sleep.

~

Some time later…

When Reito woke up, he thought he was outside. He looked up and found his mother’s face.

Her face seemed so distraught the last time he saw her, but now the light of a strong resolve shone in her eyes — she was looking straight ahead.

Reito followed her gaze and found a large residence.

“Ah, mah…”

“Oh dear…did I wake you up? Look, this is our new home.”

“Uuh..?”

The residence was certainly not new, but it had a very dignified appearance.

Reito was in the residence’s spacious gardens. In the distance, he could see iron fences, taller than a human adult, surrounding the area.

The mother started walking, carrying Reito with her, and opened a door inside the residence.

Inside, a large group of people seemed to be waiting for them. They were probably the residence’s servants: most of them seemed to be in their thirties or forties, with the youngest in their early thirties. Some of the men had quite well-built physiques, suggesting that they were soldiers before starting to work as servants.

Reito was intimidated by the rows of servants, but apparently, his mother shared his feelings too. Her expression and tone of voice betrayed her worry.

“Who are you all…?”

A white-haired man, possibly the servants’ representative, stepped forward and bowed deeply.

“We have been eagerly expecting you, milady. We have been charged with the maintenance and management of this residence. As per His Majesty’s orders, we vow to serve you.”

“He did…? Do you know about this child too?”

The mother’s expression became clouded, out of concern for Reito. The white-haired man then smiled kindly.

“We have. Many of us are in the same situation as that child, in fact. So please do not worry: no one here would ever think of causing him any harm.”

“…is that so…that is good to hear.”

The mother breathed a sigh of relief, but something in the man’s words bothered Reito.

(They’re in the same situation as me? What exactly does that mean…?)

The white-haired man then continued speaking.

“Please come this way, Milady. A room has been prepared for the child as well.”

“There is a child’s room, in a residence like this? Yes, please show me.”

“With pleasure, Milady.”

The mother headed towards the child’s room, Reito in her arms. Inside, she carefully laid him down on the bed, and Reito quickly fell asleep.

Reito’s first day in the new world thus came to an end…

~

When Reito woke up, once again he found his mother with him.

“Ah…..!?”

“Oh my, you’re already up, dear?”

The mother gently picked up Reito in her arms.

Reito tried to say “good morning”, but…

“Wah…! Oh..!”

…couldn’t speak properly yet.

He recalled that he was still a newborn. He could only use his body language to express himself at this point, but his mother seemed to think he just wanted to play.

“Good boy, good boy…”

“Muh…”

“Oh dear, did we wake up with a sour mood?”

Reito looked up at his mother, the dissatisfaction clearly showing on his face, and she smiled warmly, putting him back on the bed. She then playfully poked his cheeks.

“Awuh, uuh…”

“My, aren’t we very energetic today? You looked a bit sick yesterday, so I was worried, but…”

The mother then seemed to remember something.

“I should give you a name, now that I think about it. Let’s see…how about Rena? It sounds like a girl’s name, it’s so lovely!”

“Nah….!”

Reito protested as much as his limited vocal capabilities allowed him and his mother cocked her head to the side, looking troubled.

“Oh? I wonder if it’s not to your liking. In that case…Rena…Rea…Rei…”

By sheer coincidence, the mother mentioned part of Reito’s former world’s name, so he reacted loudly to signal his approval.

“Awaaah!!”

“Eh? Rei? Do you like the name Rei?”

She got it…almost. So thought Reito, and tried doing his best to express that he liked the name Reito, not just Rei.

“T…to…!!”

He somehow managed to utter the letters, but the mother seemed still confused.

(She didn’t get it…)

Reito was about to give up, when— 

“Rei…to? Reito? Is that the name you like?”

“Awahh!!!”

“Oh my, you seem to like it a lot. Okay then, Reito, it’s still nappy time. Sweet dreams…”

His mother kissed Reito’s forehead, then left the room.

Reito, alone in the room, started thinking.

(Good thing I managed to keep the same name. So…I was reborn in the new world safely, more or less, but there are too many things I don’t understand yet.)

At that moment, he remembered.

(…that Airis person told me I could ask her anything I wanted, didn’t she?)

Reito immediately tried whispering the name “Airis” to himself, and something changed in him.

The world before him turned into a shade of grey and he couldn’t move anymore. But that wasn’t everything: he had lost all sensation in his body.

『What’s going on now!?』

Reito voiced his surprise, but nothing came out. Having lost all sensation and command of his body, his throat and mouth did not obey him anymore. His voice simply echoed inside his mind.

Unable to understand what was happening, Reito was close to panicking.

『Hello ~~ hello ~~ can you hear me? You were successfully reborn as a human child, I see~』

Suddenly, Airis’ voice resounded in his head.

『Waaah!?! What exactly is happening!?』

Airis’ voice continued.

『Please calm down, Reito, we’re just communicating. I stopped time, so your body can’t move, but I made it so we can talk mentally. Since time is still, we can talk as much as we want.』

Reito was surprised, but calmly accepted Airis’ words.

『…the things you can do are pretty godly…』

『Oh, even humans can stop time in this world…at least three of them?』

『What an incredible world I ended up in…』

There was a lot that Reito wanted to know, but he first asked questions meant to understand his current situation.

『Where am I?』

『The residence you are in is located in a kingdom ruled by humans…a race just like the humans in your world, by the way. You were born into a royal family, Reito.』

『A royal family…』

Reito recalled the man he first saw in this world and the hateful expression on his face.

Airis apparently realized what Reito was going to say next, so she replied in advance.

『Well, yes, you were born in quite a complex situation. Scorned by your father, the king, you were exiled from the royal castle. That is all true.』

Reito already knew, but couldn’t help feeling a little shocked nevertheless.

He then shook the feeling away and asked a different question.

『What’s going to happen to me now?』

『…I can’t tell. Anything related to you is outside my knowledge, Reito.』

『Eh? Wait a minute…when we first met, you said that you possessed all the information about this world…』

『I’m sorry, I suppose I didn’t explain enough. I possess all information about this world, its past and its future, that is really true. But Reito, you are originally from a different world, so my ability does not extend to your own future.』

『Eeh!?』

Reito was mildly stupefied by Airis’ “carefree” attitude. There were too many things going on already, however, so he decided not to dwell on it.

『W-well, anyway…it’s normal to not know the future, anyway…by the way, why do I understand what people say in this world?』

『Oh, let me explain that. The reason is the “Translation” skill you have. Why don’t you try saying the word “Status”?』

『Status?』

The moment Reito thought the word, a crystal liquid-like screen appeared before his eyes.

『What’s this? It looks like a menu window from a video game…』

『It’s a kind of magic called “Status”. Anyone in this world can use it. You can see your current state on this screen.』

『This is magic? And even a baby can use it? …mah-mah?』

『What’s the point in talking like a baby now!? And you know well that I am NOT your mother!』

Reito couldn’t help feeling a bit excited as he looked at his status.

.

NAME: Reito Baltros

MAIN JOB: Support Magician

SUB JOB: Alchemist

STATUS: Normal

TECH SKILLS: Translation — Allows the user to understand all languages and alphabets

BATTLE ARTS: None

UNIQUE SKILLS: None

.

Airis’ voice echoed in Reito’s head.

『Very nice, it’s all displayed neatly, without any bugs. You are not Shirosaki Reito anymore, but Reito Baltros now.』

It all happened so quickly, with no way for Reito to do anything about it, but as he looked at his status he felt a kind of resolve growing inside him.

『Right…I am going to live as Reito Baltros from now on.』

Reito took a closer look at his status.

Most of his skills, however, were simply accompanied by the word “none”.

The only one he found was the skill “Translation”, which Airis had told him about, in the “Tech Skills”  group.

『I can understand what mother and the other people say thanks to this Translation skill, then?』

『That’s right. Thanks to that, you won’t need to learn reading or writing in this world’s alphabet either. Isn’t that nice?』

『I see. It’s pretty helpful that I won’t need to study that, but…if I’m a baby, does it mean that my meals and toilet will…』

Reito had more or less figured the answer already but tried asking Airis all the same.

『Your mother or a wet nurse will take care of all that, of course. You’re a baby, of course, you can’t do that on your own!』

『Please tell me you’re joking….I mean, waaaahhhh!!!』

『Why did you switch to the baby crying voice…?』

Reito’s protests did not relent.

『I might look like a baby, but I’m 15 years old!! I can’t let other people do my toilet duties…!!』

『Well, it can’t be helped, can it…you are very different from the other babies, though, so you will only have to endure it for about one year, I’m sure.』

『Kh…just kill me already*…!』

『When exactly did you become a female knight captured by orcs…?』

『I don’t wanna!! Why do I have to get my diaper changed?! I don’t wanna I don’t wanna!!』

『Did you start regressing mentally too now!? …ahem.』

Airis cleared her throat, paused for a little, then spoke again.

『If you hate it so much, you simply have to become independent quickly. Among the many skills in this world, there is also magic to clean dirty things. It’s normally used to heal status effects, though…』

『Eh?』

『Hmm, but looking at your status…now I see why that happened…』

『…?』

Airis seemed unsure whether to say something or not, so Reito looked at his status again. He didn’t have any skills other than Translation: there wasn’t much to know after that.

Reito didn’t know how to find more detailed information in the status window, so he asked Airis about it.

『What exactly are skills? It looks like there are several categories, but…』

『I suppose I should explain more about that too— 』

Airis’ following explanation could be summarized like this:

Skills could be separated into three categories: “Tech Skills”, “Battle Arts” and “Unique Skills”, which all had different usages.

“Tech Skills” were the most numerous and also the most varied: in simple terms, they consisted of talents. For example, learning the Sniping skill would increase accuracy when using bows or guns. They were only talents, though: if the user’s abilities did not take advantage of these skills, there was no point in learning them.

“Battle Arts” were the techniques and magic spells often found in RPGs, all skills useful in battle. A Swordsman job would learn sword techniques, while a Magician-type job would learn magic spells. Battle Arts consumed physical or magic power, however, so using them too much would quickly deplete the user’s energies.

Lastly, “Unique Skills” were skills permanently active. According to Airis, some of them could be turned on and off at will.

After Airis finished explaining, she asked Reito if he understood everything.

“ — and that’s the gist of it. Is it all clear, Reito?”

“Hmm, well, more or less…if there’s anything I don’t understand, I’ll ask again.”

(I just have one skill now, so it’s normal to not understand much…right?)

So thought Reito, then decided to ask about his situation.

『Can you tell me why I was thrown out?』

Airis’ tone then became a shade lower.

『Do you really want to know? Well, I suppose you would. You were just born and they called you an accursed child, after all…』

『Do you know the reason why?』

『Yes. Like I said before, I basically know everything about this world.』

Airis then started explaining.

『The reason why you were thrown out is your job, Reito.』

Reito looked again at the jobs displayed on the status window.

There were two: one main job and one sub job.

『This Support Magician and Alchemist?』

『Correct. But before we talk about them, let me explain in order.』

Airis then started talking about the complex circumstances of the family Reito was born in.

『Your father is the current king of the Baltros kingdom, King Baltros XIII. The former king was your father’s older brother, but after he died of illness, your father succeeded the throne. The older brother had three daughters, but the law in this kingdom dictates that only males can govern. The former king’s consort was already dead, so the three daughters were taken in by your father.』

『King Baltros…so the kingdom and the king have the same name?』

『Exactly. When the king ascends to the throne, he also takes the kingdom’s name. So Baltros is not only the name of the royal family but also the symbol of the king.』

Airis paused a little, then approached the main topic.

『Normally, when a king can not produce male offsprings, his lineage ends in that generation.  Needless to say, the king was overjoyed when you were born. Your jobs, however, were a problem.』

『A problem…? Why, are they too dangerous or strong?』

Reito didn’t understand what Airis meant and tried to guess the reason, but she sadly denied it.

『It’s the opposite, actually. In this world, Support Magician and Alchemist are considered hopeless jobs.』

『Eh? They’re weak?』

Airis became quiet for a moment, then continued.

『…the abilities you can learn with these jobs are very particular; almost no one can use them effectively. Compared to other jobs, their growth ratio and ability increase ratio are also very bad.』

Reito was shocked, but Airis continued.

『They both have very few battle-oriented abilities, so you can’t defeat monsters by yourself with them. But even if you join a party, your level rises so slowly that you’ll quickly become dead weight. They’re not actually “weak” jobs, but it takes a very long time for them to become useful. If you continue to train your skills and increase your level, one day you can become a great warrior…but no one manages to get so far.』

『Even if they’re hopeless jobs, isn’t it strange for a royal heir to be thrown out, just like that?』

Reito voiced his criticism, but Airis replied calmly.

『That is proof of how important jobs are in this world. What do you think would happen if you became a king in a world where such worthless jobs are made fun of and looked down upon? The people would surely riot and overthrow the government,』

『That can’t be…』

『It is sad, but it is the truth. In this world, those with worthless jobs are considered less than human. I believe you are actually quite lucky, Reito. You were cast away when you could have been killed…』

Reito listened to Airis, without uttering a word.

Eventually, he started speaking again, a renewed resolve in his voice.

『Well, at least now I know why my father despised me so much. Instead of worrying about the past, I should think about what to do from now on.』

『That’s the spirit.』

Encouraged by Airis, Reito asked her another question.

『You said that people with worthless jobs are considered less than human…do you think I’ll be able to live normally, without making particular preparations or countermeasures?』

『I very much doubt it. Your father might change his mind and order to have you killed. There is also the possibility of someone else targeting your life, because of succession disputes. Even if such things do not happen, in this dangerous world it is necessary to become strong.』

『…what a world…』

『I understand how you feel. All I can say to you, however, is to do your best. Now that you are reborn, the only thing I can do for you is to talk like this.』

Airis’ tone suggested she truly felt sorry.

『No…that’s more than enough. I think you’ll be a great help from now on.』

Reito recalled that Airis said she knew everything about this world. He then asked something he had been wondering about for a while.

『Airis…tell me just one thing. You said that Support Magician and Alchemist are jobs that take a long time to become useful, right? Is that the truth?』

『…yes. The people of this world treat them as worthless jobs, but both of those jobs have incredible abilities. With proper training and fighting style, they can be used to defeat powerful monsters single-handedly.』

『Then please tell me…what should I do from now on?』

『Good question. I was waiting for those words.』

Reito couldn’t see Airis, but he somehow felt she had to be smiling.

No matter how much resolve he mustered, he was still a baby: there weren’t many things he could do. Aware of his small size, nestled in the cradle, he asked Airis the same question.

『So, what should I do?』

『Let’s see…first, you should try to learn as many Tech Skills as you can. You can learn skills as a baby too, so please try doing as I say.』

Reito nodded mentally and Airis gave her first instructions.

『Tell me what you can see around you.』

Reito started attentively checking his surroundings. He couldn’t move his body, as time was still frozen, but he could see ahead, at least.

Reito then started naming everything he saw.

『…I see the ceiling…and an open window. Then…a butterfly is flying.』

The butterfly was frozen in midair, during the motion of flapping its wings.

『That’s perfect. They won’t move while time is stopped, so try observing the butterfly.』

『Observe? What do you mean?』

『Be quiet and keep looking at it. Try to notice as many details as you can.』

『Okay…』

Reito was not entirely convinced, but he decided to trust Airis and continued looking at the butterfly. He then mentioned the insect’s characteristics as he noticed them.

『Its body and wings are colored black. Only its eyes are shining blue, though. Looking more closely, I can see a striped pattern on the wings, formed by two shades of black, one lighter and one darker. Then— 』

Reito continued describing everything he noticed, then suddenly the status window appeared before his eyes.

.

<Tech Skill “Observing Eye” acquired.>

.

Reito checked the message and immediately tried casting the spell.

Another window appeared, displaying the new skill’s detailed description.

.

Observing Eye — increases observation ability to the limit.

.

『That’s a pretty simple description…』

Reito tried looking at the butterfly again.

He could now see tiny details that he couldn’t tell before.

『That butterfly has a different composition of scales on the left and right wings, huh. Airis, looks like I learned a skill called Observing Eye…』

『Very nice, congratulations on your first skill acquisition. Have you checked its effects yet?』

『Yes, I could see some details I wouldn’t be able to tell normally.』

Reito was surprised to have learned a skill just by observing a butterfly. He then tried to figure out the rules for acquiring skills in this world.

『Could it be that I learned “Observing Eye” just by observing the butterfly?』

『Correct. By the way, those with the Merchant job can learn the superior version of Observing Eye, a skill called “Appraisal”. It’s more useful, but you can’t learn it.』

『Really…I wonder if I’ll be able to learn other skills like this.』

『That all depends on you, Reito. Well, I can give advice if you need it, so please rely on me.』

Just then, Reito suddenly felt very tired.

『Thanks…I’d like to go back to normal now…』

『Very well. Until next time…』

Airis’ voice faded away and color returned to the grey world.

At the same time, the butterfly frozen over the cradle started moving again.

Reito looked at the butterfly fly out of the window, then the fatigue assailed him again. His eyelids grew heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

~

When Reito woke up again, it was already dark outside.

He felt extremely hungry and tried expressing it to his mother.

“Ah, aah…awaahhh!!”

“Oh dear, did you wake up?”

The mother quickly ran up to the cradle and gently held Reito in her arms.

(Now that I think about it, I don’t know my mother’s name yet. I’d like to ask her, but I can’t talk…I’ll ask Airis next time.)

Despite his thoughts, Reito’s extreme hunger made him instinctively bury his face into his mother’s ample bosom.

“I’m sorry to leave you alone all this time…you’re hungry, yes?”

“Ba-bah…”

“Here you go, dear. Take your time and drink slowly.”

The mother promptly exposed her breasts and held a nipple towards Reito’s mouth.

(Oh yeah, I’m a baby, so I’m going to feed on my mother’s milk…)

It was slightly embarrassing to suck on the breasts of a beautiful young woman, even if Reito knew she was his mother, but he couldn’t suppress his hunger.

Reito started sucking on his mother’s breast.

“Mmah.”

“Hehe, look at you, sucking all intently. So adorable…”

(So embarrassing…)

While he looked like a baby, Reito’s mental age was 15: a high school sophomore’s age.

He found the situation nothing but embarrassing but had no choice but to let his mother take care of him right now. In the end, he sucked until he was full.

*T/N: The words used by Reito here are the typical sentence used often by female knights/elves when captured by orcs in hentai, which became something of a meme