Otoko Aruji - Side Story 7

47 tonight doesn't seem like its happening, doubtful even tomorrow morning. By tomorrow night at latest.


Side Story 7 - In the case of Kendou Ayako (Age 66 at time of accident)

I have a class reunion today at a restaurant in Shinjuku. I wonder how many years it's been since I graduated, I wonder if it's been around 50 years? I try to

remember the classmates I haven't met in decades but I can only remember the few I was close with and that was their young energetic appearance. I wonder if it's the

same from how they look at me? It's laughable I've become this old woman.

I get on the train that slides into the station and since it's the early afternoon of a weekday there's quite a bit of room. I guess it's good that I left

considerably early to do some shopping before the class reunion. I sit in an empty seat in the middle of the train and enjoy the scenery as it flows by. While

looking at the scenery I remember back to the fun episodes of my school years. Come to think of it the Olympics is being held in Tokyo again in a few years. The last

time it was held when I was in school I think it was. I remember that my father pushed himself so he could buy a television in time for the Olympics.

I remember back to the memories of my younger days while looking at the scenery that's changed quite a bit but is not much different from that time at all. Even

though I've become this age the memories from when I was young still haven't lost their color and are shining. Ah, come to think of I liked the guy in my class that

was in the Kendo club. I wonder what he's doing these days? I wonder if he's going to be there today. Even though I already have grandchildren in junior high what in

the world am I getting so excited about?

While thinking about that I realize that my face was grinning before I noticed and I suddenly felt embarrassed. Oh my, I hope no one realized I was grinning. In order

to meet my classmates for the first time in a while I pretend to be making myself look younger by taking out my hand-mirror and peeking in.

I shut away the hand-mirror in my bag and look at the scenery again with a clear face. And suddenly the train must have used the emergency brakes all of the people

in the surroundings including myself are screaming as they fly towards the first train car. I'm no exception and flying as well. Ah, I wonder if the zero gravity

that astronauts feel in space flight is like this?

.............

It's painful and my consciousness awakens. I somehow feel like my body is being squeezed. Probably, I wonder if I was saved in that accident somehow. Or maybe I'm

wandering the border between life and death? It's unfortunate that I wasn't able to make it to the class reunion but it's a bargain just that I survived. I'm sure my

husband is worried as well.

Worried...That's right worried. I'm sure my husband is but if I have a heavy impediment like this remaining it'll be terrible as well. I can't control my feelings of

uneasy.

"A..a..aaaaaaa"

In the happiness that the restriction on my body disappeared I raised out a cry. I'll be laughed at by doctors and nurses like this. Ah~ how embarrassing.

"A...u..uaaaaa"

It was so embarrassing that my voice came out again.

"＃＄％’”＊＋）”＃＄”（！＝～＞"

I wonder if it's a foreign language, I don't really understand but I hear a person's voice. I wonder if there was a foreigner riding on that train. If that's the

case then is this the large room of a hospital? Ah, but I'm sure there were tens of people injured in the train accident and it might be someone that was

hospitalized from the start.

"？＿｝＋＃）’＆｛‘￥！！％＃！？"

This time I heard another person's voice but as expected it's a foreign language. I don't know what they're saying at all. There might be only foreigners in this

hospital room. This is bad, I don't understand English well. Since we're in the same hospital room it would be a good distraction being able to talk a bit but...

Previously, when I was hospitalized with an illness I was able to get along with the people I was in the same room as and I wasn't uneasy at all. However, it seems

there's foreigners here. And several of them. I feel uneasy being unable to have a conversation. It's inconvenient in various ways if Japanese doesn't work, I'm

worried. Ah, I'm so worried.

"E..A...aauuuuaaa..."

I cried again. I didn't know I cry this easily..

................

After several months pass I finally was able to get a grasp on my surroundings. This seems to be a foreign country. Even if I put in effort to say my and have them

get into contact with my family I can't speak well, I can't raise a voice except like that of a baby. That's only obvious after all, I realized after my eyes could

clearly see but no matter how I look at it my body has become that of a baby.

Most likely, there's my father, mother, and a helper as well. Going off of the clothes of my family, the scenery I can see from the window, and the furniture in the

house, it feels like Europe. But let alone a television it seems there's no radio or cell phone. I thought it must have been a considerably poor family but the cloth

used for their clothes is a high-quality natural fiber and polyester wasn't used for the blanket and sheets, it's the feel of natural fibers.

I don't know what happened but I wonder if this the cycle of reincarnation? I can't think of an explanation for why I've become a baby other than that. I think about

that while sucking my mother's breasts and drinking the thin milk.

...............

Six years have passed, I've completely learned the language. My new name is Lencia Geglan it seems. I realized this wasn't Earth before I could completely learn the

words. I almost panicked when I realized it but my mother embraced me tightly and soothed me so I was able to quickly calm down. That's right, my parents were

magicians. I think that was when I was one year or one and a half years old. I think it was before I had become two years old. There was an incident where the helper

spilled the pot when she was making food and suffered a serious burn on her leg. Between her scream and my scream my parents rushed into the kitchen in a panic.

After confirming that I wasn't injured at all my parents used magic to heal the burned leg. Since she had spilled a boiling soup her leg looked terrible. However,

after my parents hands shined with a blue light and slowly moved it close to her leg and touched the burn. And then unbelievably the skin started to move heal

quickly as I watched. Almost like a film rewinding.

The only one surprised was me and while the helper was grateful for being healed she wasn't surprised by the magic at all. After that while trying to understand the

words I observed various things. And I noticed that things that were impossible on Earth kept appearing once after another. That was really a succession of

surprises.

Just by touching something while you say Status Open and a small window with the name of the thing you've touched will appear. There's a strange tool where even

though it doesn't have any power source it lights up like a light bulb. When I was wondering if it had batteries but that wasn't the case. In the first place, the

portion that gives off light wasn't a light bulb. Ah, I was glad I realized before I was able to speak.

Suddenly having an accident in Japan, then before I realized it I've taken the place of a baby in this house, I doubt anyone would believe that. Even if I were to

eventually say it right now isn't the time, at the very least I need to become an adult, find a job, and be able to support myself.

................

By the way, there's a lot of mysterious things about magic. A short while after I was able to talk I gave it my all and asked my parents, "I want you to teach me

magic" but the reply was "of course we'll teach you but that'll be after your body grows and you've become an adult". It seems that before you become an adult you

don't have enough mana so you can't use magic.

However, I had them teach me small magic Cantrips. Just as it sounds small magic, is a little magic so it supposedly doesn't use very much mana. Even if it doesn't

use up much mana I thought it was still bad if it consumes some but after asking it was the persistent answer that there was no problem if it's small magic Cantrip.

Obviously, even though it's small magic Cantrip, since magic is still magic I gladly practiced it. As a matter of fact I admired that movie of the magic school that

was popular a little while ago. It's not like I particularly have anything else to do I have lots of spare time so I was quickly able to use small magic Cantrip

without a problem. However, if you've got low mana you can't do training, seems to be true after all. After using small magic once I can't use it again until I

sleep. No matter how much will-power or fighting spirit I put into it I couldn't use it anymore.

When I tell that to my parents they laughed and just said, "That's why your body hasn't grown up yet. You don't have enough mana". It was helpful that they taught

that I would be able to use it again after resting but while saying that they see me completely make use of small magic and my parents happily say, "as expected of

our child."

When my parents are so delighted somehow I'm happy as well. Come to think of it, after I was able to talk there's something that I've understood but my way of

thinking about things seems to have become more youthful. Without much trouble at all I was able to talk like an adult but when I'm thinking about something or feel

something and try to express that I can't help but say cute words that match my age. It's no problem if I consciously talk but if I just relax a bit then I start

talking like a child. Well, I am a child so it's not like there's a problem with that.

............

Since it seems I nagged my parents too much about, "I want you to teach me magic" it must have become annoying. At one point, "if you're going that far" and taught

me magic with the condition that I could feel mana.

It seems there's a small magic Cantrips called mana detection. If you can constantly use this small magic Cantrip without failure then it means you've got talent

with magic. My parents said, "since you're our daughter then you obviously have talent, do it properly without giving up" my heart tensed up. In my previous life I

lived 66 years. And I've started my new life from a baby. If I live to the same age as my previous life then that's a total of 132 years old. In addition to that I

might be able to use magic. Does this happiness really exist?

My parents started me off by giving me a magic tool which makes fire when you pour mana into it so you start off by feeling the mana of the fire. This seems to be

the first step for magic training. Also, since I'm still young I have to patient build up my training in order to use magic it seems. It's not like I have anything

in particular to do. I'm not worried at all about giving it my best to train. On the contrary, the anticipation of being able to use magic is overwhelmingly strong.

Once again today I'm holding my hand over the flame from the igniting magic tool.