Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Reincarnation
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'It's been a while since I found something good.'
This was my impression after reading the prologue of an unfinished webnovel.
Don't we all have those moments sometimes? When you're not in the mood for overpowered Munchkin stories and just crave something with steady growth.
So I scoured the depths of the web and picked this one out.
The Hero Grows to Survive
Having grown tired of Munchkin novels, I was drawn to the title right away. A noble hero growing stronger just to survive? It felt refreshingly different from the start, building up my expectations.
'Fantasy, harem, academy, growth.'
The tags were straightforward and sparse.
Probably a classic academy story where the protagonist gets stronger and earns recognition.
Thinking about it that way, it sounded pretty ordinary...
But seeing the harem tag, I hoped there wouldn't be too many heroines.
Too many, and you start wondering, How's he gonna handle all that?
'Three would be just right.'
The cover featured a silver-haired youth and three beauties.
It was the usual pose, emphasizing their chests.
Zooming in for a closer look, I saw the beauties striking coquettish poses with varied expressions.
Very webnovel-esque cover art.
'The redhead's the prettiest. And the biggest chest.'
After a quick appraisal, I returned to the prologue chapter and hit the recommend button, which I hadn't touched yet.
I even opened the comments and typed my thoughts.
'Glad I found a story that suits my taste after so long. Cheers!'
Yeah, satisfying.
Confirming the comment posted, I leaned back in my chair, stretched, and rubbed my tired eyes.
Maybe because I spend every weekend glued to my PC all day, my eyes always got bleary by evening.
...
But today, it felt especially bad.
'?'
—Flicker, flicker.
It was like the lights were blinking.
Did I close my eyes?
—Flicker, flicker—flicker, flicker.
...Suddenly, I'm so sleepy.
—Fli
With the final flicker, everything went dark, as if all light had vanished.
'...'
And with that, my consciousness faded.
Chirp chirp—zzt zzt zzt—
Birdsong from beyond the window and sunlight pouring in.
Turning away from the glare, I saw wooden floors scattered with picture books and toys.
Age two.
This was when I became aware of my past life.
Probably due to my brain's development rate—two years after being born in this other world, my memories fully returned.
I had reincarnated.
Born anew in a world unlike Earth.
With all my memories from my previous life intact.
My birth memories were a chaotic blur.
Eyes wouldn't open, incomprehensible voices, a body that wouldn't move.
Someone picking me up and carrying me, then surrendering to encroaching sleep—over and over.
'Wait, how do I even remember that?'
Remembering the moment of birth... something was off.
What was my last memory from before that?
Recalling my previous life's final moments brought it vividly to mind.
'Watched anime during the day, read webnovels in the evening. Last was the prologue of that deep-web novel...'
Then I blinked and fell asleep.
That was it.
No memories between that and waking up here.
...So there was only one answer. I died and reincarnated.
Whether cardiac arrest in my sleep or some accident, there's no way for me now to know.
But perfectly retaining my past life's memories? That's a classic cliché.
It made me wonder if there was something special—like reincarnating into a game or novel world.
Along with that, various candidate works popped into my head.
'Recent game I played... post-apocalyptic humanity extinction, no. Anime...'
Honestly, it didn't matter much. This new life was great on its own.
'...No way I ended up in that last webnovel I read, right?'
I dismissed it.
I'd only read the prologue.
But a nagging doubt lingered.
Because my very last scene from my past life was right after reading it.
What was the prologue about again? I recalled the content.
Roughly like this:
'The protagonist, mortally wounded in battle and dying, is approached by a mysterious blonde girl who heals him with magic. Thus begins their fated encounter between handsome hero and beauty. Then the blonde girl says, "I've come by revelation of Goddess Arsetra," "You are the chosen one"...'
Something like that.
Followed by a few lines egging on the protagonist.
'To survive, you must grow.'
'See you next year at Arcana Academy. Make allies and grow together.'
After such lines, the prologue ends with the protagonist heading to the academy to find her.
'Has nothing to do with my current situation.'
Completely useless for reference.
No character names even appeared, so the only clues were "Goddess Arsetra" and "Arcana Academy."
I wondered if I might be the protagonist, but quickly ruled it out. My hair color didn't match the cover's silver-haired hero.
I leaned toward it not being related. Reincarnating from just one prologue? Ridiculous.
'Still, you never know. Once I grow up and can talk properly, I'll check the clues.'
With that settled, all I felt was excitement for my new life.
What kind of world was this? Did I have any special looks or talents?
Suddenly, I thought of the inhabitants of this "forest" where I was born.
They had black hair and apricot-toned skin.
The distinctive feature? Long ears. Like elves from all sorts of fiction.
But aside from long ears and living in a forest, they resembled East Asians from Earth.
'So not real elves, I guess. Gotta lower expectations for looks.'
My body was only two, so ears were still short, and my face was too young to judge.
I just hoped to grow up handsome this time.
Two years later, on my fourth birthday.
Creeeak—
"Roin, why are you just standing there?"
The door opened, and Grandmother's voice rang out.
'Roin' was the nickname Grandmother used for me; my full name was Aroin.
Grandmother was my guardian and only family.
Regrettably, Mother passed away giving birth to me, and Father was away working far off.
"You're back early. You must be tired."
I tried to greet her maturely, but Grandmother frowned slightly, displeased.
"'You must be tired'? What's with that formal speech? Children should talk like children. I shouldn't have shown you adult books."
"But thanks to the books, I learned to read quickly."
Grandmother smiled as if she couldn't help it.
Even frowning or smiling, her face was youthful without a single wrinkle. So my initial misconception made sense.
Yes, it was a misconception.
I'd first assumed she was my mother.
Anyone would—she looked early thirties, with a young voice.
Soft features, kind nature, polite speech to a child. Everything felt warm.
I learned she was truly Grandmother when she explained our race.
'Long Ears—that's our race's name. It means long ears and long lifespan.'
'We can live up to a thousand years? Grandmother's already over five hundred.'
A lifespan reaching a millennium.
Being able to stay young and live long like her felt like a dream.
"So what books did you read today?"
"Volume 1 of the Flora and Fauna Encyclopedia, and Basics of Magic. Those two."
Grandmother was an elder instructor at the "Education Unit."
Her bookshelf was always stocked with excellent books.
"Good choices. The forest has diverse plants and animals—useful knowledge. Basics of Magic might be a bit early, though."
To learn about the world, I had to read a lot. Nothing else to do, anyway.
What I learned from books: much of the world resembled Earth.
Time units, calendar, nature, animals—similar or identical.
But 'magic' existing? That was astonishing.
No one taught me, I'd never seen it—but reading Basics of Magic today confirmed magic was real.
'Stuff only possible in fiction exists here... so there is something special...'
Over the past two years, adapting to this world, I'd accepted there were no clichés.
But one word—"magic"—stirred my past-life memories, flooding my mind with stories.
The webnovel's prologue I'd just read also featured magic.
'Maybe ask about the prologue content now?'
Language was an issue before, but at four, no problem.
"Grandmother, are there gods in this world?"
"Curious about gods today?"
Sudden topic shift, but as an educator, she seemed pleased by my curiosity.
She came close and gently stroked my head.
"Yes, there are gods in this world. The sole deity is Goddess Arsetra, goddess of providence and balance."
Eh?
The name from the prologue? No way...
"Th-then, is there something called an academy?"
Topic jumped again, but unavoidable.
Important question.
"...? Did a book mention it? Yes, there is. Arcana Academy, in the Arcana Empire to the northwest. A school for adults."
Ha, haha, hahaha.
I couldn't close my gaping mouth.
I'd asked about the goddess name thinking coincidence, but it was real. Arcana Academy too.
"Roin?"
The sudden truth blanked my mind.
Thoughts tangled, heart growing complicated.
'What do I do? Feels like I really got pulled into that webnovel.'
'...No, what do I need to do? Just live my life.'
I knew next to nothing about the webnovel.
Not possessing a handsome body for harem fun, or using future knowledge to solve problems—that cliché.
My four-year-old face was ordinary; no future knowledge beyond the prologue.
'Nothing I can do, so what role did I even get?'
Not a talented rich extra or fiancée-dumping villainous side character.
Just some unknown kid.
Ah, wait.
Haven't tried this yet.
"Status Window—"
"...Roin? What was that?"
Er, um. Nothing happened.
No status window, same even shouting in my mind.
'Pulled in from just the prologue? Doesn't make sense.'
Grandmother just tilted her head at the weird kid talk.
'No status window, but shouldn't there be system alerts or perks...'
I tried mind-controlling to stay calm, murmuring inwardly.
"Roin, are you feeling unwell?"
My odd reaction worried her.
A child's body can't do much anyway; I could think slowly until adulthood. Growth first.
"I'm fine, Grandmother. Thanks for answering. It helped a lot."
"Good, Roin. Ask anytime you're curious."