Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 3: Already on the Brink of Death
The city’s level of civilization was roughly medieval.
Far down a back alley on the outskirts of Saisi lay a slum built by criminals—a veritable human refuse heap.
A gaunt, battered child lay there, blood streaming from his head as he hovered on the verge of death.
He had been caught stealing in order to survive and beaten with full force until he lost consciousness and collapsed.
An adult approached and looked the child over.
“Damn it, he doesn’t have a single thing worth money!”
The man spat, kicked the fallen child, and walked away.
Such incidents seemed to be an everyday occurrence here.
Perhaps the kick had brought him back to consciousness, because the child’s fingers twitched faintly.
A mechanical voice sounded in his mind.
“One activation condition for the special skill [&%$#], <Soul Return from Death>, has been confirmed. [Memories of Previous Life] acquired.”
His consciousness gradually returned amid excruciating pain in his head.
As he felt the cold brick paving stones beneath his body, his memories became clear.
My name is Tauro Satou. I’m eight years old.
In my previous life, I was Taro Sato, twenty-one.
And just now, my soul nearly died before my body did—and came back!
“That was close!”
Still sprawled on the ground, Tauro Satou—formerly Taro Sato—muttered to himself.
When Tauro underwent the baptism ceremony at the age of six, it was discovered that he possessed [Garbled Text], a worthless skill that had never manifested any useful ability.
His father, already a habitual drunkard, had said that after seeing what skill the baptism revealed, he would decide whether to abandon Tauro in the dangerous, monster-infested Calamity Forest. Knowing this, Tauro fled to Saisi, a relatively large city several days away from his village.
For the next two years, he survived by gathering nuts in the forest and scavenging for scraps.
His existence had been so precarious that he ate only once every few days. Earlier, driven mad by hunger, he had tried to steal from a shop whose owner was notorious for being frightening—and had nearly been killed for it.
He had been fortunate enough to return from death, but with the memories of Taro Sato restored, he could tell that his body wouldn’t last much longer.
“This is bad. I’m about to hit a dead end…”
He forced his weakened body upright, even though merely standing was almost unbearable.
“Now that my memories have finally returned, I can’t die…”
Though he was still at death’s door, Tauro’s eyes shone with determination to live.
“What should I do now…?”
Tauro Satou, the eight-year-old reincarnation of Taro Sato, set his mind racing at full speed.
His body was screaming that it had very little time left.
He had to obtain food and eat soon, or he would be in serious danger.
But if he stole again, got caught, and was beaten to a pulp, he would certainly die this time.
He had no starting capital, no physical strength, and no sympathetic adult to rely on. Worse still, he was only a child.
“Then… when it comes to another world, there’s only one place to go…”
Tauro made his way toward the city’s main street.
“So this is the Adventurers’ Guild…”
Under normal circumstances, the sight would have moved him deeply, but right now he was fighting simply to stay alive.
Dragging his skeletal, battered body along, he opened the door.
The moment he entered, every adventurer inside turned to stare at him.
“You’ve got to be kidding…” some of them muttered.
“What do you want, brat? This is the Adventurers’ Guild! Get lost!”
A man dressed like a veteran adventurer shouted at him.
Tauro ignored him and headed for the reception desk.
He had to register and earn money by taking whatever work he could get, no matter how difficult. Otherwise, he would die.
It was the only path left to him.
“Don’t ignore me, brat.”
The supposed veteran adventurer grabbed Tauro by the scruff of his neck and lifted him into the air.
The woman behind the reception desk immediately called out,
“Hey, Mr. Mauve! No violence!”
She waved her hands frantically.
Still holding Tauro by the scruff of his neck, Mauve carried him to the reception desk and gently set him down.
The receptionist leaned close and whispered to Tauro,
“Mr. Mauve deliberately approached you first so none of the other adventurers would bother you.”
Apparently, Mauve had grabbed him because he was worried Tauro might not even be able to walk to the reception desk. He had lifted him up knowing that the receptionist would intervene.
“…! (He’s the first kind person I’ve met in this world!)”
Deeply moved, Tauro said,
“Thank you, mister.”
“Shut up, brat! Don’t get the wrong idea!”
Mauve shouted before walking away.
Tauro bowed to the man’s retreating back, then turned to the receptionist.
“I’d like to register, please.”
He bowed again.
“I hate to tell you this, but there’s a registration fee…”
Tauro reeled in shock.
It does?!
Nobody told me that! Well, she just did, but still!
…Huh? I feel like this has happened somewhere before…