Kays Translations

Chapter 4: The Privilege of Being Reincarnated

It has been exactly one year since I was reborn in this world.

Of course, my head is sitting up, and I am starting to speak, albeit a little bit at a time. It is good that my sense of taste has grown and I can enjoy the taste of food, but I didn’t expect that the baby food tastes bad. No, it's not that it tastes bad, just that it tastes odd to the body. ......

However, I made it to my first year without dying.

That is a wonderful thing. After all, I had survived the dreaded "magic-eater" many times.

And through this year, I have come to understand something.

There is magic in Japan.

And by magic, I mean that. They make pumpkins into carriages, they make houses out of sweets...... and so on... I know I'm being pulled too much by picture books, but anyway, such things exist in this world.

At first I thought, "This is not Japan”.

But I was wrong. This country is definitely Japan, and I live in Tokyo. The difference is that there’s a concept of magic power and magic exists.

And it seems that every human being has magical power....... "Magic", in other words, creatures called monsters, demons and so on, are attacking people. That's the kind of world I was born into.

I was born into the Kisaragi family, whose family business is killing and exorcising such monsters, and I am the eldest son of the Kisaragi family.

When I was born into this world, my father didn’t come home at all because he was away from home on his job as an exorcist. Moreover, the wounds that covered his entire body were apparently inflicted in a battle with monsters. He told me such a saga before I went to bed.

The "mamono" is hard to describe, so let's call it a monster, shall we?

I heard that this monster was strong. Very strong, in fact. Usually it takes a group of exorcists to defeat it, and some of them end up dead.

As I was crawling and running around the house, I was a little startled when I found a Buddhist altar with an unusual array of images, but I was convinced when my father told me about it after.....

And why my mother was praying so fervently when I saw the baby pictures lined up amongst the remains.

I probably had an older brother.

And he died because he couldn't stand the "Magic-eater".

That's why I'm the eldest son.

It is a sad story.

It is true that the "magic-eaters" are terrifying.

If left unchecked, it will kill you. I know that.

The image of death that is etched in my brain will never leave.

So, without thinking, I complained.

“Ya!”

The "ya" as in "I don’t like it"(Iya). 

I couldn't get the word out with a baby's mouth.

No, I don't care how it’s pronounced.

I'm not happy with the situation.

I was stabbed to death by a passerby. And I was reincarnated.

Let’s take one step further and say it’s fine.

But!

Why do I have to face death right away even in the place where I was reincarnated?

What's more, what awaits me now that I've grown up is a job as an "exorcist," a job with a high rate of death in the line of duty. Of course, I don't want such a job. I don't want to be in pain anymore, and I don't want to die.

But worst of all, I don't have the option of "not becoming an exorcist”.

After all, I’m the only child in this house, the eldest son.

And, as was the case in the past, the eldest son is supposed to be the one to succeed to the family business of an exorcist.

That means I have to become an exorcist.

That's strange, isn't it? What kind of three-stage argument is that?

"Hey.....”

I don't want to die anymore.

How can I avoid the pain and the death?

I thought as I complained in my head.

Maybe I could just stick to logistical support? That was the first thing that came to my mind, but then I remembered that there are monsters that go around killing supporting exorcists first, and I almost cried half the time. This idea was rejected.

Then, maybe I could tag-team with a very strong exorcist to protect me. This sounds like a good idea, but then I remember that my father sometimes goes to work alone, so I reject this idea as well. No matter how strong the exorcist is, he will eventually have to go to work alone.

Oh, no! What the hell am I going to do?

I thought for a long time and then it hit me: .......

That's it. I wish I was strong.

It was an obvious thing to think about.

I wondered why I hadn’t thought of that.

There is a saying in my past life.

Kill before you are killed.

The reason it hurts is because the monster is attacking you. If you kill the monster before it eats you, it will never hurt you. And you won't die. If the rails of my life are laid out, then I have no choice but to struggle on them somehow without dying.
Looking back, I had never struggled in my life before. I had never tried so hard in high school, college, or even job hunting. I had never tried so hard to do anything.

So, I think.

I think it's not so bad to try....

A flash of genius got me high.

Ah, yes.

It's my second life, so I'm going to make an effort.

Let's be strong.

Then I wouldn't have to feel pain anymore.

I wouldn't have to die.

I was elated.

But then I realized the heat in the pit of my stomach, and I calmed down.

Yes, I had it. I had this thing, this magic power.

The "magic-eater" that attacked me. It was the magic that had overflowed from the "vessel" inside me.

I had been sensing the movement of heat for a year, but I realized something in the middle of it.

This magic power increases on its own just by breathing.

It increases on its own, accumulates in my body, and the moment it overflows the "vessel," it attacks me. It’s an outrageous thing.

Every time this happens, I have been able to get the magic out of the "vessel" by either channeling it through my entire body or by exerting myself to get it out of the "vessel" by making a strong effort. But more than once, I was attacked by a "magic eater" because I couldn't do it in time.

The only way to escape that pain and suffering is to rapidly excrete the magical power.

I don't know how many times my mother has had to take care of me. It is good that I am only one year old, but thinking about the future, it’s inevitable that if I do not suppress the "magic-eater" at an early stage, it will eventually become a terrible thing.

That’s why my main goal right now is to obtain a "vessel" capable of suppressing magic power.

Then, how can I make my vessel bigger?

I have realized something during the past year.

I have noticed that I am attacked by "magic-eater”.

To avoid the magic-eater, I have to be attacked by magic-eater. It may sound contradictory, but it is not.

I don't even want to imagine it, but every time I’m attacked, my vessel gets a little bit bigger. I can see that.

Perhaps my body is growing in response, trying to suppress the rampant magic power. It would be easier to understand if I say it's like a muscle ache going up a level.

So, in order to make the "vessel" grow, I need to induce the "Magic-eater".

How to do this is a simple matter of storing magic power in the vessel so that it doesn’t go out. Then it will overflow on its own.

However, it would be a complete disaster if I die because I don't want to die.

This is where I hit a dead end.

I was stuck, and when my mother was changing my diaper, a question came to me.

What would happen if I put all the magic in my body back into the vessel at this point?

Normally, I intentionally spread magic throughout my body to prevent "Magic-eating" from occurring.

If it were to be returned, the vessel would be overflowing with magic power, and the "magic-eating" would occur.

But excretion is possible.

I can do it right away.

Let's try it......

It's a test.

I put all the magic in my body back into the vessel.

The next moment, heat flooded from the pit of my stomach.

Just before the unbelievable pain and heat hit me, I rushed to get out what I needed to get out.

“Good gracious, Itsuki! It's a good thing it was before I changed your diaper....."

I got scolded by my mother, but the question was whether or not my "vessel" of magical power was getting bigger.

I turn my attention to my body and try to feel the total volume of the vessel.

...... It’s increasing.

No doubt.

Even with that momentary "magic eating," the vessel of magical power has grown.

The time to endure the pain was very short, and the expansion of the magic vessel was successful without the fear of death. The next moment, my tension jumped up.

I had done it! The experiment was a success!

A training method that only a baby who is willing to poop in public can do!

I call it defecation training!

Look at this! All the exorcists in the world!

This is the privilege of the reincarnated!

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