Reborn: The Path to Ultimate Power

Aaaaagh. AAAAARRRRGHHH!

The man was crying out in despair in the desolate and scorched wasteland.

All around, as far as the eye could see, there was a sea of blood.

Hundreds and even thousands of what used to be people had stained the wasteland crimson red.

The man had fallen to his knees in the middle of the sea of blood, and was cradling the lifeless body of a woman in his arms.

Irene . . . I'm sorry! I couldn't protect you . . .

By the time the man had reached the battlefield and killed dozens, if not hundreds, of people to finally reach the woman, it had already been too late.

I swore I would protect you. I promised I wouldn't lose you this time . . .

The woman was beautiful.

Her waist-length, jet-black hair flowed across the red ground.

The vivid splatter of blood stood out starkly against her skin, which was so pale it seemed almost translucent in contrast to her jet-black hair.

Her closed eyes would never open again.

Irene, Irene!

The man held the woman, who was still warm, to his chest, crying as he called her name over and over.

Forgive me. I'm sorry.

He continued to call her name as if pleading for forgiveness.

How many minutes, how many hours, had the man remained like this?

His tears had dried up and wouldn't flow any more; he could only gaze at her face in a daze.

I've lost everything.

The man's heart was consumed by that thought.

When he was young, his village had been destroyed, and he had lost his parents as well as a childhood friend who he had thought of as an older sister.

After that, there had been a close friend who supported him when he was crushed by despair.

That close friend, too, had died because of the man's own error in judgment.

If only he had made a different choice at the time, then that friend would still be alive.

And then the only thing left for him to live for had been her, Irene.

She had always been there for him after he lost his parents, his childhood friend, and his close friend.

He had loved her, and she had loved him in return.

But now she was dead.

Right before his eyes.

That's enough, isn't it?

For me, who has lost everything, there's no longer any reason to keep living in this world.

The man was holding his dagger in a reverse grip.

I'm sorry, Irene. We swore to live together.

I'm on my way to you now. Wait for me.

And then the man slit his own throat.

He collapsed backward, feeling his blood rapidly drain from his body.

The taste of blood flooded his mouth as he violently coughed it up from his throat.

The already crimson ground became darker with fresh blood.

When the man looked up, the sky was blue, and beautiful white clouds were drifting across it.

The clear, blue sky was heavenly in contrast to the scarlet sea of blood.

Irene . . . the sky was also this blue on the day we met . . .

The man's life flashed before his eyes as death got closer.

All his memories, both happy and painful, flitted through his mind, disappearing as quickly as they came.

When the man looked to his side, he saw the woman he loved, whom he had been embracing just moments before.

I wanted you to be there to see me off when I died, but I'm content with just having you here beside me.

As he thought this, his pain and all other sensations quickly began fading away.

His consciousness was slipping away, and in his final moment, he felt everything dissolve into nothingness.

The man—Eric—breathed his last.

Consciousness rose to the surface from the darkness.

Why am I alive?

My mind was foggy, but I tried to make sense of my current situation.

I should be dead, I was sure of it. I had slit my throat with a dagger beside Irene and I should have met my end.

Why am I waking up now?

I tried to open my eyes to see what was going on, yet for some reason, I couldn't sit up.

I attempted to look around, but my head was heavy, making it difficult to turn my face to the side.

Summoning all my strength, I managed to tilt my head sideways and saw a wooden railing. Beyond the railing, I couldn't see the outdoors but rather a wall—it seemed I was inside someone's house.

Huh? A railing and a wall? This makes no sense at all.

The surface against my back didn't feel like hard ground either. If anything, it was soft, like feathers.

As I turned my head, I caught sight of a hand—which I instinctively felt to be my own—but it was impossibly tiny.

What? These are my hands? They're an infant's hands!

Then, I tried to lift my legs and pat my body with my tiny hands, and I realized that I was in a baby's body.

Awoo, aaah . . .

Though I tried to speak, my current body's vocal cords weren't developed enough, so I could only make unintelligible noises.

Finally having recognized my situation, or rather, my body's transformation, I attempted to somehow make sense of this change.

It seemed I had undergone what's known as a reincarnation cycle.

I had heard somewhere that a reincarnation cycle meant the rebirth of a dead soul into the world of the living once more.

Wait, I remember everything from my previous life. Isn't reincarnation supposed to erase your memories so you can walk a new path?

Why do I remember everything from my previous life, my entire existence as Eric?

It was no use. No matter how much I thought about it, I would never get an answer.

I cursed the fate that had orchestrated this reincarnation cycle.

I had wanted to die and stay dead.

I had no reasons to live anymore.

My current self had absolutely no willpower to keep existing in this world.

If I had to be reborn, at least my memories of my previous life could have been erased.

If I'd had a razor in my hands right then, I probably would have slit my throat without hesitation.

If there were any other way for me to die, I would have done it immediately.

But, in this baby's body, I couldn't kill myself.

I might be able to die if I tried to hold my breath long enough, but this was a new life.

The parents—especially the mother who had endured excruciating pain to give birth to this child—had brought me into the world.

It would be inexcusable to end this life just because of the circumstances from my previous life.

But what purpose could I possibly find to live for?

Even if I continued living and met countless people, or acquired something new—losing Irene meant I had essentially lost everything.

That's how much Irene meant to me. She was everything to me.

Yet it would be cruel to this child's parents to end this life right now.

I would try to live as positively as possible, but would I really get anything out of it?

As I was thinking, I felt something warm around my crotch area . . .

Oh, I've wet myself.

Being a baby, I had no control over these bodily functions yet.

It was true, okay? I didn't realize I was wetting myself. If I'd done it intentionally, I'd be a pervert, which I wasn't.

However, while it felt warm and pleasant when it was coming out, it was now starting to feel rather uncomfortable.

Uuu . . . waaaah—

I tried making some crying noises.

Since I was doing this deliberately, there were no actual tears despite the crying sounds.

It was said that a baby's job was to cry, so I was simply doing my job properly.

Perhaps in response to my cries, I heard footsteps approaching from outside the room.

Then the door opened.

Now, what do my reborn parents look like?

With that thought, I looked up at the face of the person peering down at me.

Huh? Wait a minute . . .

What's wrong, Eric? Did you wet yourself? I'll change your diaper right now.

The person standing before me had long blonde hair that was tied back, perfectly defined features, and sky-blue eyes. Her relaxed way of speaking was soothing, a healing voice I had heard many times before.

I had seen this woman in my previous life.

She was my mother, Serena.

How was this possible? There was no mistake. The mother I had seen even in my dreams was standing right in front of me.

But . . . my mother is supposed to be dead . . .

While I was lost in my thoughts, the mother before me changed my wet diaper, and the uncomfortable sensation in my lower body disappeared, leaving me feeling refreshed.

Are you really my mother?

Wanting to know if this woman before me was truly my mother, I reached toward her with my undeveloped hands.

Hmm? What is it, Eric? Do you want me to hold you?

The woman gently lifted my body with both hands and held me against her full chest.

My body sank into hers as if being enveloped by her soft body.

Cradled against her, warmth radiated through my body and I was surrounded by her scent.

It was what I had felt as a small child in my previous life. It was that same warmth and that same scent.

It was my mother. My mother who should be dead was right there in front of me, holding me tight in her arms.

I clung to her desperately, not wanting to lose that warmth I had lost as a child.

Tears streamed down my face as I nestled against my mother's chest, and this time I let out genuine cries.

My, my, Eric. What could possibly be the matter?

My mother gently rocked her body in small motions to soothe me, puzzled by my behavior.

But since I wasn't crying for typical baby reasons, I continued to sob against my mother's chest for what seemed like an eternity.

About a month had passed since my reincarnation—or whatever this was—into this body.

The day I had been reincarnated, I had cried so pitifully. Although I was now a baby, I had been over twenty in my previous life.

It was embarrassing to think a grown adult had sobbed so much.

I think anyone would cry if their long-dead mother suddenly appeared in front of them. At the very least, I was so surprised that I cried.

My body had been growing steadily since that day, yet it was undeniably my own body.

I, from my previous life, had somehow returned to my own infancy.

It made no sense.

Reincarnation itself, I could understand. It seemed to follow the natural laws of this world.

But why had I retained my memories and sense of self?

And the greatest mystery of all: why had I reincarnated as myself?

Nevertheless, after a month, I was certain of one thing. This body, this baby, was me. It matched perfectly with the Eric from my previous life.

Even the room I was in now, when observed calmly, was the same room I had spent my early childhood in.

Is this what reincarnation is? Or has time completely rewound itself?

So, I understand this body is mine, but have I truly gone back in time?

I had pondered these questions countless times over the past month, but never came to any conclusion.

As I was lost in thought, the door to the room opened.

And it was my mother, Serena, who came in.

Eric, it's time to eat!

My mother held the baby bottle she had brought with her to my mouth.

I opened my tiny mouth as wide as I could, bit down on the rubber nipple, and sucked with all my might.

Is it tasty? I'm sorry it's cow's milk. I wish I could have given you breast milk.

Apparently my mother couldn't produce milk. Still, she bought bottles from town and fed me with formula.

Though my jaw got fairly tired, since I was mentally an adult over twenty, I kept drinking steadily.

Good job! You drank it all up. What a good boy you are, Eric!

I burped to release the air that had entered my body as I had been drinking without taking my mouth off the bottle.

My mother would have liked to feed me with her own breast milk, but for me, it was better that she couldn't.

Being breastfed by your mother when you were mentally an adult over twenty would be rather uncomfortable.

After I had unhurriedly finished drinking my milk, my mother cleaned my mouth and straightened up my bed before leaving the room.

With my stomach full and my mother gone, I could think more calmly.

For the past month, I'd been completely focused on sorting out and understanding my current situation, but now I needed to think about the future.

I was almost certainly back in the past. Though I couldn't understand why this was happening, my mother and this house were undeniable proof.

Did it mean I could start my life over again?

I had failed to protect anything.

My village's destruction, the deaths of my parents and childhood friends, my best friend dying, Irene's death—it all happened because I wasn't strong enough.

If only I had been stronger . . .

How many dozens, even hundreds, of times had I thought that?

And now, I'd returned to infancy, in the position to start everything over.

Could I possibly save them all?

Could I truly undo all the things I regretted endlessly?

This reincarnation—no, this rewound destiny.

I thought it was a reincarnation cycle and resented that, but I should be grateful for this fate.

I would save everyone, no matter what.

If I failed to save even one person, it would be game over, a bad ending right then and there.

The village, my parents, my childhood friend, my best friend, and the woman I loved.

If I lost even one of them, there would have been no point in returning to the past.

In my previous life, I had lived a continuous cycle of loss and regret.

I couldn't even protect the person I had sworn to guard with my life. I let her die, and in my despair, I took my own life.

I had been given this chance to come back and do things over. What did I have to lose? I would make right every regret I ever had.

I will live defiantly and bend fate to my will.

Right after I thought that, perhaps due to my full stomach and mental exertion, an overwhelming wave of sleepiness washed over me.

There was more I needed to think about and do, but I couldn't fight against this sleepiness as my consciousness faded away.

The next day . . .

I began taking action to save everyone.

Though my neck couldn't yet support itself, there were things I could do.

I could practice magic.

I couldn't train my body, but I could still practice magic without moving.

Of course, in practice, I couldn't actually produce fire or water yet. Not right away, anyway—though I had managed it in my previous life. I figured I'd be able to do it again with a bit of practice, but that would have to wait until I could walk and go outside.

Right now, I needed to focus on controlling the source of my magical power within my body, my Mana Essence, to increase its maximum capacity.

Both the capacity and quality of this Mana Essence were crucial in activating magic.

The capacity of Mana Essence was essential for increasing both the scale of and the number of spells one could cast. Without increasing it, I would quickly run out of magic and be at a disadvantage in battle.

And I needed to improve its quality to be able to cast powerful spells using minimal Mana Essence. Increasing the capacity without improving quality wouldn't be very efficient.

Both increasing the capacity and the quality of Mana Essence could be done without moving.

It was just a matter of controlling the Mana Essence within my body.

Ideally, I should practice by absorbing Mana Essence from the air outside, but since I couldn't do that now, I couldn't afford to be picky.

Moreover, Mana Essence capacity grew rapidly until around the age of eighteen, and after that, the maximum capacity barely increased.

In my previous life, I'd only started practicing at sixteen, so I'd only had about two years to increase my capacity.

At first, handling Mana Essence had been so difficult that I couldn't even focus on increasing my capacity.

However, this time, I could practice from infancy while already knowing the techniques.

In other words, I could keep increasing my Mana Essence for eighteen years.

This was a huge advantage. Since I'd likely find myself in all sorts of battles in the future, being able to increase my Mana Essence capacity was something to be grateful for.

So, I decided to get started right away.

I manipulated the Mana Essence inside my body, pushing it toward my hands, or more precisely, concentrating it at my fingertips.

After practicing for about three minutes, I was already exhausted.

As Mana Essence depleted from the body, it caused extreme fatigue and eventually led to unconsciousness.

I pushed myself to the limit, using up my Mana Essence until I couldn't even move a finger, and then my consciousness faded away.

I slowly opened my eyes.

Had it been about an hour since then? I couldn't see a clock, so I wasn't sure exactly, but that seemed about right according to my internal sense of time.

Since this was my first time fainting from using up my Mana Essence, I was only our for about an hour. But as my capacity increased, the time spent unconscious after using it all would grow longer.

While unconscious, the body absorbed Mana Essence from the air, and consciousness returned once it reached about eighty percent of its maximum capacity.

That's why the period of unconsciousness grew longer each time my capacity increased.

However, by improving the quality of my Mana Essence, the speed at which I could absorb it from the air would increase, thus shortening the time I spent unconscious.

This further demonstrated how both the capacity and quality of Mana Essence were important.

Good, I'll continue at this pace.

With that thought, I began manipulating my Mana Essence again just as I had before.

About five months had passed since I woke up in this body.

At last, I could hold my head up and I had learned how to crawl.

For someone who had lived for more than twenty years as I had, being unable to move from my bed for five months had been rather difficult.

I escaped from my bed and practiced crawling, though only within the confines of my room.

Since crawling used both arm and leg muscles, doing it continuously made those muscles ache and become painful.

However, this young body didn't ache the next day, so no matter how much I practiced, the pain only lasted for the same day.

There in front of me was someone clapping, praising, and cheering me on as I crawled.

Eric! That's it! Keep it up! You can go further! Get fired up!

Loud, irritating, annoying.

This man who perfectly embodied these three qualities was none other than my father from my previous life and my current one—Dean.

His black hair was cut short with an unkempt beard that he probably thought looked cool, but since he just let it grow wildly without caring for it, anyone else would likely find it unhygienic.

He had sharp, chiseled facial features and a rugged physique that embodied the very definition of masculinity.

I used to address him as Dad when I was little, but seeing him now, Father seemed more fitting, so that was what I would call him from now on.

My father used his formidable body as a hunter in the forest just by the village, hunting various monsters and animals.

There were several hunters in this village, but my father was the strongest of them all and trusted by everyone.

He'd apparently defeated some pretty strong monsters before, and, when I was little, he bragged about it to me countless times.

Despite his strength, in my previous life when the village was being destroyed, my father was the first to step forward to fight, and he died.

So after being reborn, when my father came alone into my room and peered down at my face, I was almost overwhelmed with emotion and I was on the verge of tears again, just like with my mother.

My son, Eric! You will surpass me! Don't become like those weaklings in the village!

He said such absurd things to me, a mere infant, that my tears quickly retreated.

Seriously, if I were a normal baby, I'd be crying from that loud voice of his.

You'll become a man of valor like me! And we'll be hunters together!

My father kept saying that, but I had absolutely no intention of doing so.

I planned to leave this village once I eliminated the cause of its destruction.

Even in my previous life, I'd had no intention of following in my father's footsteps.

Because I never thought being a hunter was cool, and it seemed like a lot of bother.

The main reason was that, after seeing my father hunt a few times, I just didn't think it suited me.

Well, since he was cheering me on, I guess I would put some effort into my crawling.

A normal baby wouldn't be able to crawl for such a long time, so a normal parent would find it suspicious, but unfortunately—or, perhaps fortunately?—my father wasn't normal, so it was fine.

As I was crawling under my father's watchful eye, the door opened suddenly.

My father and I both turned to look, and there stood my mother.

Seriously? You're making Eric crawl for too long again!

Serena. That's not true! Eric was already crawling when I came in here.

It's our job to stop him from doing that!

My mother was a normal parent, so when I crawled for too long, she'd put me back in bed and sing lullabies to help me rest.

I was happy that she was doing all this out of love, but as someone who was eager to stand up quickly, it was somewhat frustrating.

While my father was trusted and respected by everyone in the village, he apparently couldn't stand up to my mother, hunching his back as he was being scolded, his earlier bravado nowhere to be found.

Oh, never mind. I don't have time to deal with you right now. We have important guests here.

Serena? Isn't that a bit harsh?

Ignoring my father's protest, my mother left the room and turned right. Going right meant she was heading to the living room.

After a short while, my mother returned to the room with a man following her. This was probably the guest she mentioned earlier.

Sorry to intrude, Dean. We moved in next door today, so I thought I'd come and introduce myself.

Oh! Is that so! Let's get along well as neighbors from now on!

The guest came properly into the room and extended his hand to my father in greeting.

My father took his hand and continued talking while shaking it, but why hadn't he let go by now? I thought I heard a strange sound coming from the neighbor's right hand.

Finally, my father released his grip, and the man, hiding his right hand from sight, rubbed it with his left hand to try to massage away the numbness.

I've brought my daughter with me as well, she's an only child. Tina, come on, don't hide, come out and say hello.

Our new neighbor gently pushed forward a small child who had been hiding behind him and encouraged her to speak.

Hello . . .

Though her voice had grown quiet after being intimidated by my father's fierce face, she still managed to properly greet them.

Nice to meet you, little miss!

My father reached out to pat her head, but she quickly ducked behind her father to hide.

I-I'm sorry about that.

It's because you tried to pat her head with such a scary expression.

But I was smiling when I approached her . . .

Your smiling face looks like a monster's to children. It's traumatizing.

Is my smile really that terrifying?!

Leaving my father frozen in shock from her words, my mother crouched down to make eye contact with the little girl and spoke to her.

Nice to meet you, Tina. Do you think you could be friends with an auntie like me?

Yeah . . .

Thank you, dear.

My mother spoke gently to the girl and stroked her head. The girl seemed to enjoy it.

I mean, my mother wasn't an auntie at all, whether in appearance or age. My father, though, he definitely looked like a old man.

Tina, I have a son too. Would you like to be friends with him?

Yes . . .

That's wonderful. Now, dear, please move aside. I need to introduce Eric.

Oh . . . right.

My father was still frozen in shock, but he moved away from in front of me, allowing me to see the girl.

His name is Eric.

Eh-rick . . . Eric . . .

That's right, you're a quick learner.

That's right! Tina is only two years old, but she's incredibly smart!

Tina's father overreacted to my mother's words. Like a typical doting parent, he proudly bragged about his adorable daughter. My mother nodded along with a smile.

Ignoring the adults, the girl, Tina, approached me.

Despite her young age, her well-formed features convinced me she would grow up to be quite pretty. She had red eyes and reddish-brown hair.

Her large, bright, double-lidded eyes were fixed on me.

Yes, this girl was my childhood friend—someone who had been like a big sister to me in my previous life, someone I hadn't been able to save.

I was sitting on my bottom on the floor, and Tina approached and sat next to me.

As Tina stared at my face so intently it felt like she might burn a hole through it, I nervously gazed back into those red eyes of hers.

Cute . . .

Tina whispered that softly and then embraced me.

Well, of course I was! I took after my mother, after all.

My sky-blue eyes and my face were exactly like my mother's! The only thing I inherited from my father was my black hair, nothing else! I knew he was a bit sensitive about that, but let's put that aside.

I mean, I was actually glad I didn't look like my father. He wasn't ugly or anything, but his face was just a bit too masculine. Even though that was apparently what my mother liked about him.

While I was thinking about all this, I realized Tina's hug was getting a bit stronger than before.

I mean, normally I could handle this level of strength, but she was choking me a little.

When I managed to break free from her strong embrace using the muscles I'd been training, Tina looked utterly heartbroken, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

Overwhelmed with guilt, I reached out and clung to Tina on my own initiative.

Oh, hehe.

Tina laughed happily and hugged me even tighter than before.

Ugh . . . well, at least this time she isn't choking my neck, so I can bear it.

And so I remained locked in Tina's powerful embrace until our parents finally noticed.

A little over a year had passed since I'd woken up in this body.

By now, I could stand and walk for extended periods. For a normal baby, this would typically happen a bit later.

That's my son! That's what being a man is all about! You can do even better!

With my father loudly encouraging me, I was able to stand up and walk without it seeming unnatural.

I had thought it would be better to wait a bit longer before I started walking around regularly, but thanks to him, it seemed like the setting was okay to do it now. But man, was he loud.

Even now he was yelling noisily beside me.

Get fired up, son!

Get fired up? What does that even mean? Is he telling me to spike a fever or something? I'm pretty sure that's not the kind of thing you should say to a child!

I walked outside while ignoring my father.

Sure, outside was just the backyard, but after being cooped up in my room for so long, I was happy to get out.

I had been training by lightly jogging around the yard when someone knocked on the front door, and then Tina burst into our backyard at lightning speed.

Eric!

Tina ran toward me and leaped forward to wrap me in a hug.

I willingly received her embrace, but so far every time I end up falling back on my bottom because I can't withstand it.

Rubbing my sore backside that just smacked against the ground, I let her continue with her usual powerful hug.

Ever since we first met the year before, our neighbor Tina had been coming over to our house almost every day to hug me.

At first, when I couldn't stand yet, she would just hug me normally, but once I started standing, she began leaping at me like she just did.

I was technically still young enough to be considered a baby, so a normal child would definitely cry if they were tackled with that much force.

As I was thinking this, Tina's father appeared and, seeing Tina hugging me as usual, turned pale and began desperately apologizing to my father.

I'm so sorry! I always tell Tina it's dangerous and she shouldn't do that . . .

My father laughed in an exaggerated way.

Ha ha ha! Don't worry about it! It's good that she's so energetic! Besides, my son is tough—I've been training him myself, so he'll be fine.

Well, I had been training, but I don't recall ever being trained by my father. I'd been training myself.

Even while our fathers were talking, Tina continued to cling to me.

I'd become quite capable of speaking now, so I had thought about subtly cautioning Tina about this.

Hehehe, Eric . . . mmm!

Getting hugged by a three-year-old with a smile that genuine? There was no way I could just shrug that off.

She was incredibly cute, right? I was over twenty in my previous life, so if I'd had a child, they might have been around Tina's age by now, which only made her even more adorable to me.

I had absolutely no idea why she was so attached to me, but she was cute, so I would let it slide.

Who do I think I am, anyway?

Besides training my body, I was of course also training my ability to control my Mana Essence.

I had been at it for about a year now, and this aspect had shown more remarkable progress.

When I first tried it, I could only maintain control for about three minutes before fainting. But after a year of practice, I could sustain full power for an hour without passing out.

An hour might not seem like much, but I'd actually regained the level of Mana Essence control I had in my previous life.

While my capacity had increased to match what I had in my previous life, I still didn't have the skill to properly handle it.

Since the skill for Mana Essence control was normally developed while actually using magic, I probably didn't need to rush things yet.

In my previous life, I was absolutely terrible at magic. I had barely known the basics.

I was more confident in my swordsmanship. In my previous life, I had never lost a one-on-one sword match.

However, once you threw the unpredictable elements of magic into the mix, it was a different story.

Magic could vary in power and scale depending on your condition and emotions at the time.

For example, if someone used the same amount of Mana Essence for fire magic—whether for cooking or for killing someone they hated—the latter would be far greater in scale and power.

That was why even someone who was bad at controlling Mana Essence could, on extremely rare occasions, overpower a more skilled magic user if they cast a spell using intense emotion.

Still, it was obviously better to be skilled at controlling it, which was why I was practicing and training right now.

This was my current situation: during the day, I pretended to play in the garden while actually training and increasing my stamina and muscle strength, and at night, I pretended to sleep while practicing my Mana Essence control.

Well, at night it was not so much pretending to sleep as, after about an hour of Mana Essence control practice, I actually ended up sleeping until morning.

As my Mana Essence ability and the quality was bad, it took me quite a while to wake up after passing out.

I wanted to start casting magic quickly and keep improving its quality.

It was midday now, so I had been training in the yard, but like always, Tina showed up, so I decided to take a break.

Tina really likes Eric.

As I was resting in the shade of a tree in the garden with Tina hugging me, her father came over and spoke to us, or rather, to Tina.

Yes! When Tina grows up, Tina is going to marry Eric!

Well, I guess that's just a child's dream. You know how it is. Just one of those silly promises about the future that kids make.

I see. Ugh! My daughter is already growing away from her father.

No, that's wrong, Tina's father. You shouldn't take that kind of thing seriously when it comes from a child.

She never once said she wanted to marry her father . . . damn it!

That's what you're upset about?

Tina's father hung his head dejectedly and sulked back into the house.

Tina, that's a bit tight.

Her embrace was starting to choke me.

I couldn't speak as fluently as an adult yet, but I was able to talk.

Sure, normally it might take longer, but since I was really a twenty-year-old on the inside, this much should be possible.

Well, my mother did find it suspicious that I was speaking so early, but not my father.

That's my boy!

My father had been proud, so everything worked out somehow.

Oh, I'm sorry . . .

Feeling tremendous guilt as Tina moved away on the verge of tears, I stood up and continued running around the yard as training.

Tina sat under a tree and stared intently at me. She was fidgeting as she watched, looking like she wanted to say something.

Want to play together?

Tina's face lit up like a blooming flower.

Yes!

She nodded enthusiastically, stood up, ran over to me, and hugged me again. I somehow managed to catch her without falling over.

I always thought this, but when she jumped at me so energetically, it was definitely tough. I thought I was stronger than her, but there was still our height difference.

Completely unaware of what I was thinking, Tina moved slightly away from me and had an expression of uncontained excitement on her face.

What are we going to play?

Well . . . how about tag?

Tag?

Yeah, I'll run away and you try to catch me.

So I just need to hug you? Got it!

Well . . . she's not wrong, so that should be fine.

With a big nod, Tina lunged toward me.

I hastily dodged and moved behind her.

Catch me if you can!

I clapped my hands behind Tina to taunt her. Probably not even realizing she was being teased, Tina chased after me with a smile.

Wait for me! Hahaha!

Tina chased after me, looking like she was having a blast.

Given our height difference, you'd think a one-year-old boy would be instantly caught by a three-year-old girl if they were seriously playing tag, but I had been training, so I wasn't that easy to catch.

I might be slower than her if we ran at full speed, but this was tag. I just needed to avoid being caught.

Like the child she was, Tina charged straight at me, and I evaded her with minimal movement before circling behind her.

This was turning out to be better training than I expected. I felt like I was gradually recalling instincts from my previous life.

After a while, I could close my eyes and dodge Tina just by sensing her movements.

I wanted to continue for a bit longer to reconnect with how things felt in my previous life, but Tina suddenly stopped moving.

Puzzled, I opened my eyes to find Tina standing there with tears welling up in her eyes, looking like they could spill over at any moment.

Wah, Eric keeps running away . . . I don't like it . . .

Oh no! Did I go too far?

I stopped moving and waited for Tina to come rushing toward me.

Tina came charging toward me more slowly than before, but I had no intention of running away again and simply waited for her.

When Tina tagged me and hugged me, her teary expression vanished instantly and she clung to me with a beaming smile, holding on tight.

Eric . . . hehehe . . . !

She hugged me even tighter.

Even though she was clinging to my neck, I had been in the wrong, so I decided to quietly endure it.

With that thought, I let Tina keep hugging me and tried to see if I could still perform Mana Essence control even in this uncomfortable position.