On a peaceful night in the streets of Tokyo, a man in a business suit clutched his briefcase, his face glowing with a mix of excitement. 21-year-old Takahiro Yamamoto had finally landed a new job—a position that would provide him with a decent living.
"Well, that was quite an interview. I mean, I did get the job and it does pay pretty well." He muttered to himself, grinning.
Takahiro chuckled. In fact, I'll go buy some delicious tonkatsu as a reward. His grin widened, and before he realized it,
"YEAH, SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN!" he shouted, abruptly raising both arms in the air.
Two women passing by stared at him, giggling behind their hands. Takahiro froze mid-step as it hit him— I said that outloud didn't? Especially, with two women in front of me. Heat rushed to his face, turning it bright red.
"What's his problem?" the woman in black gossiped.
"I dunno… does he have some kind of condition?" the other woman replies, with a mix of concern and curiosity.
Takahiro overhears the conversation; he decides it's best to duck away to the alley, avoiding any further embarrassment. Dammit… I really need to control myself! That was utterly awkward and especially embarrassing.
Takahiro walks down the alley, feeling paranoid about his surroundings. It was like he had a gut feeling that something felt wrong.
"What's with this place? It's like something straight out of a horror movie–"
Before he could finish speaking–
"AAAH!" a scream of a woman thundered down the alley, like someone was on the verge of dying. Takahiro was startled by the sudden cry, "EEK!" he squeaked.
Curiosity took over his fear, compelling him forward. His heart raced and his breath trembled as he cautiously moved to investigate the commotion.
"DAMMIT WOMAN, JUST HAND THE DAMN PURSE!" The hooded man shouted.
Takahiro's eyes widened as he gasped, stumbling back at the sight of a woman being mugged.
"SOMEONE HELP!" the woman screams, desperately fighting back.
Is she getting robbed?! His legs tremble—not out of fear, but from buried trauma. Dammit… my legs, I CAN'T MOVE THEM! Takahiro desperately tries to move, but his body refuses to obey.
Takahiro hesitated, his body frozen, but his promise to himself echoed louder than his fear. Forcing strength into his trembling legs, he pushed himself forward. No.. not again. I can't just stand here and do nothing! I… I can't make another damn cowardice mistake—EVER AGAIN!
His eyes flared with determination as his footsteps echoed against the narrow alley walls. Breaking into a run, he charged forward.
"You bastard! Get off of her!" Takahiro roared, slamming into the hooded man with all his weight. The two crashed to the ground, struggling for control.
Desperation fueled his fist—he swung wildly, punching directly onto the mugger's face. Each strike, blood splattered all over his fist and face. Panting, he finally slowly forced himself off the man, chest heaving, sweat and blood mixing.
His gaze shifted to the woman, "Call the police… and don't tell them that I was involved," he said, tone firm.
Unbeknownst to him, the mugger had regained his footing. "You know… there's something called minding your own goddam. Business!" the hooded man shouted, fumbling through his pocket.
"Watch out! He has a gun!" the woman yells.
Takahiro slowly turns, eyes widening as he sees a gun pointed at him. The mugger squeezed the trigger—3 shots rang out. With each bullet piercing through his chest, he collapsed.
The woman screamed, her voice tearing through the alley as the mugger fled.
Takahiro coughed violently, blood spilling from his wounds.
H-How did I become so careless? How did I not see this coming? Tears streaked down his face, blurring the world around him.
His vision darkened, each heartbeat harder than the last. Just what did I do to deserve such hell? JUST WHY?! All I just wanted was to change… but what I got is pure BULLSHIT OF A LIFE!
The woman knelt beside him, with her phone pressed to her ear, "Hang on! The ambulance is on its way!" she shouted desperately.
Takahiro let out a soft scoff—not amusement, but resignation. No… let me die. I can't bear this pain anymore. I just want to rest…
The world around him faded. The woman's voice dimmed… and the darkness swallowed him whole.
Pitch black. Then, an unfamiliar yet calm voice echoes:
"Isolating yourself from the cause of your regret only worsens the wound, twisting it until you can no longer bear it. Know this— such a fate can be avoided… if you find the strength to overcome the burdens you carry. Let this be your last… Takahiro."
Takahiro slowly regained his vision, two unfamiliar voices speaking a language that he couldn't understand. W-What… Am I alive? He muttered.
A woman with black hair and blue eyes stands before him, smiling softly at him. Woah! Well, you look at that hottie! He thought to himself, smiling.
Takahiro scans around his surroundings, and the sight of a man with white hair and blue eyes catches him. Surprised, he thought to himself, WOAH THERE, BUDDY! Just how strong are you to be able to pick me up?
The strange man spoke, still not understanding a single word he was saying. Um uh… I still don't understand you, you moron— he thought, before he could finish, a single word from the man struck him.
"Riko Takamo…" The man said, and Takahiro realized it sounded like a name.
Riko Takamo? Is that a name? No doubt, it has to be. Riko is a Japanese name, and Takamo… I don't even know. Eh, what gives? I guess my name is Riko from now on.
Both of the couple laughed and smiled softly as they stared at Riko.
A few months passed, and Riko was on the floor, fiddling with a wooden carved toy, utterly bored. Months of realizing he didn't possess any overpowered abilities—like those characters from the novel he read online— had left him frustrated.
I noticed that I got reincarnated, no doubt—but more importantly, I noticed that I don't have that overpowered "System activate" thingy… He thought, devastation creeping in.
"Riko!" a familiar woman's voice echoed through the house. Startled, his facial expression twisted to fear. "EEK," he squeaked.
Forgot to mention, my parents— well, new parents' name. My "mom's" name is Rimara Sylphine, and my "dad's" name is Ruther Takamo, of course. He thought to himself as he scrambled to hide.
Hiding, Riko's heart raced, and his breath trembled in fear. You may ask, Why am I hiding? Oh, there's a reason for that…she… she did things to me… he shivered.
Riko was still cautious, a cold whisper to his ears shivered down his spine. "Honey… why are you hiding from me?" Rimara asked, but with a cold and very intimidating tone.
Riko gasped, sweating bullets, his face turned pale as if he had just heard a demonic voice. SINCE WHEN YOU WERE THERE?! He thought, trembling.
Rimara quickly grabs Riko, not giving him a single chance of even reacting. "You have to take your bath, you dirty little baby!" she said, pouting.
Riko struggled foolishly, his face twisted into a not-so-baby-like face, failing to escape her grasp.
Riko notices Ruther outside the window, training, and his hope increases. Ah yes! If I try to catch his attention, maybe I'll have a chance to escape her!
Thinking that he has a chance to escape from Rimara, he shouts Ruther's name.
"PAPA!!" Riko shouted as loud as he could. Ruther paused for a moment, "Huh? Oh, have fun with mama, Riko!" he said, smiling brightly.
Riko's face turned pale, as if his hope had just collapsed to flat zero. Guh… NO YOU DUMBASS! GET ME AWAY FROM THIS WOMAN— A few minutes passed by, Riko sat at the dinner table with Ruther and Rimara. Riko wasn't pleased at all, eyes glaring with a dark, menacing aura.
A bead of sweat slid down Ruther's forehead. "Uh, Riko, are you okay?..." He asked nervously.
Riko pouts and turns. "Hmph!" ignoring him completely. "EH!" Ruther flinched.
"Um, Riko, did I do something wrong to upset you?" Ruther asked, worried.
Not responding, Ruther turns to Rimara in desperation, "Did you do something to the baby?" He asked.
"Well, I did notice his sudden change of mood today when I was taking a bath with him. Perhaps something made him mad while we were in the bath?" she replied, also concerned.
Riko noticed that Ruther was thinking hard, but had no idea what conclusion Ruther was drawing. Then suddenly, something clicked for Ruther. "Ah, yes!" he said as his fist hit his palm.
Riko was intrigued; he felt like Ruther finally got what he actually meant. Yes, Ruther, did you finally get it? Like, how long did it take you to understand?— Before he could finish, Ruther turned to Riko with a smile.
"When you called me' papa, ' you actually wanted me to join you in the bath with you! AHA! Yes! That's what you wanted. Don't worry, Riko, next time I'll be more aware, okay?" Ruther shouted confidently.
Riko was in complete disbelief, realizing how much of a dumbass Ruther truly was.
You said what now? You taking a bath with me? ARE YOU EVEN HEARING YOURSELF?! THAT IS ABSOLUTELY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT I WAS THINKING OF! He thought, enraged.
Rimara gasped. "You're right, dear! That might be it!" she shouted, proud of Ruther's guess.
No, it's not! So, now we have two dumbasses in the house?! Riko thought, utterly shocked, that they both got the wrong idea.
"See, Rimara dear, I am the ideal father after all!" He said confidently.
Riko gave up and decided not to argue about it. It's utterly hopeless. So what's the point of even trying if I can't reason with dumbasses like these two?
After lunch, Riko always heads to this one specific room. A room full of old books. Didn't I mention? Magic exists in this world, and it's really unique. Well, obviously, mana is needed to cast magic. Mana is similar to those energy bars from a video game, where you use that energy bar to shoot beams or other kinds of abilities.
Riko crawls toward the bookshelf, reaching for a red book. This book talks about different kinds of magic— Or so he thought, it's probably like one of those novels I've read in my old life. Riko is sticking his tongue out, trying to reach for the book . Well, uh, I c-can't reach it…
Riko is frustrated by the fact that he can't reach for the book he wants. Dammit… why can't I reach it?!
He stretched his arm as far as possible until, finally, he got hold of it—but in the process, every single book tumbled down on top of him. Aha! Gotcha– uh oh…
A loud thud startles Ruther, "Huh? What was that about? Eh." he shrugged it off and went back to sleep.
Oh… that actually hurt. Riko pushes the books off his body while he rubs his head. Oh, there, well, it doesn't have any title to it, but it does have a hell of information about magic.
Riko opens the book; his eyes sparkle in amazement.
Riko chuckled with excitement. Oohoho, instead of long incantations in this world, they are much shorter than I expected. First, there are 3 types of magic: Sugrio-based magic, Veno-based magic, and Ashton-based magic. He stared at the pages like a kid in a candy store.
Determined, Riko decided to try one of the spells.
So focus your mana, which is located in your heart. Transfer that mana towards your arm, cast the magic that you want to cast, which is uhh… Veno Aquatigaru… A splash of water shoots out of Riko's arm.
Oh, woaho! I DID IT! I cast my first ever magic! HAHaaa…! But the excitement quickly faded as a wave of fatigue slammed into him—like he'd been hit by a truck. His vision blurred, and his body felt heavy. Oh, what the hell… I feel like a complete shit– His vision turns pitch black as he collapses.