I was born with a weak heart and a feeble immune system. Now my life was nearing its end, and I’d never even stepped out of my sterilized hospital room.
I watched my father and mother as they held back their tears at me leaving them behind far too soon, trying to see me off with a smile...
I was happy being with you. Thank you.
Ahh... Looks like my life’s drawing to a close with anticlimactic ease. In the end, I never could walk around or run. I needed people’s help to do everything...and I couldn’t even repay my parents for the love they’ve given me...
God, oh God...if I can be born anew, please...let me be born with a strong body that will never ever lose to anyone or anything...
With that wish in my heart, I let my heavy eyelids fall...and greeted...the end...
“I shall grant you that wish.”
“Huh?!” I opened my eyes with a start upon hearing that booming voice echo through my mind, only to be blinded by a bright light.
Wh-What?! What’s going on?! I can’t see! I can’t hear! I can’t feel my arms and legs! Why? How is this happening?! No, make it stoooop!
“Whaaaa! Aaaaah!” I bellowed out.
“She’s out safely. Can you hear how healthy she sounds? It’s a girl, sir!”
And so, on this day, I was born anew—my name was now Mary Regalia.
A few days passed. With time, I gradually regained my composure. I decided that my next move should be to try to get a grasp of what had happened to me.
So, umm...what’s going on here, exactly? Okay, calm down. Just stay calm. I remember reading books like this in the hospital. What was it called again? “Regeneration”? Wait, no. It was “reincarnation”!
Now that I’d calmed down a bit, I examined my body. My hands were small. Little baby hands. There was no more doubting it: I’d been reincarnated with my memories of my past life intact.
Really... Well, I hope my body’s a little healthier this time around.
Enveloped by a sense of relief, I fell asleep, my heart beating with excitement over the possibilities of my new life.
✦ ✦ ✦
Ooooh! I can move! This body moves so easily!
Ever so slowly and ploddingly, I crept along the floor with my baby crawl. Your brave protagonist, Mary Regalia, was now a one-year-old. In stark contrast to the hospital room full of medical devices I’d spent my past life in, this time, I was growing up briskly in a serene, lavish mansion under the watchful gaze of my new parents. So far, my body was perfectly healthy.
I continued to crawl around impishly, only for a lady in a maid uniform to pick me up and cradle me in her arms.
Aww! But I wanted to move around some more!
Between the room’s fixtures, my parents’ attire, and the maids and butlers waiting on us, the place felt like some kind of medieval noble’s mansion, like the ones I’d seen in TV, books, and video games during my time in the hospital.
Well, we really are nobles, though...
When I was born, my father happily declared that I was “the eldest daughter of the noble Regalia family!” as he held me. It turned out he was a duke.
I guess this means I’m a duke’s daughter... It doesn’t feel real. It’s pretty far removed from my life in modern Japan.
Since I’ve gotten another chance at life while retaining my memories, I’m going to do all the things I couldn’t do before!
I believed the voice I had heard back then was the voice of God, so I offered my gratitude to the powers that be. Thank you, God... I can’t wait to grow up and do all the things I always wanted!
As the months flew by, I grew up healthy at a brisk pace. Mary Regalia was now a three-year-old who could stand up, walk, and even talk. My hair, like my mother’s, was long and a shade of silver that bordered on white, and I had alabaster skin. My frilly, high-quality baby dress, not to be outdone, was also pure white.
Although I tottered around the house, in truth, my motor skills had developed much earlier. I was capable of walking around just a few days after my birth, but I didn’t do so because I realized it would be very strange to see a several-days-old infant walking around. Maybe I knew that because of my memories from my past life... Either way, I limited myself to moving around like a baby so as to not arouse suspicion.
Considering I’m still a baby, I haven’t been capable of doing very much in the first place, so I don’t think I’ve accidentally done anything too weird...probably?
As I matured, I grew to learn more about the world I inhabited. This place was nothing like the modern society I knew. I was in a country called the Kingdom of Aldia, and there were swords, magic, spirits, and monsters here. A fantasy world, as it were.
This is like an RPG! A world like I’ve only ever seen in games is now before my very eyes!
Well, that said, I’d have been fine with any world so long as I could live in peace. Going on adventures wasn’t really on my priority list. I mean, adventures are dangerous! And this time around, I wanted to live a long life without worrying my parents so I could repay them for all they’d been doing for me. So I couldn’t run headlong into danger.
So, whenever my parents asked me if I wanted anything, I’d always say I was fine with what I had.
Speaking of my parents asking me things, what was strange was that even though they weren’t speaking Japanese, I could understand their language perfectly well. I could only assume I had God to thank for that too.
“Thank you for everything you’ve given me, God! I’ll live life to the fullest today too!” I declared, looking up to the sky and speaking my gratitude to God. “Ahh, life’s so peaceful... I hope everything stays nice and quiet like this from now on. Oh, no! Did I just jinx it...? Pfft, as if! That wouldn’t happen. I’m so superstitious.”
As one might expect, I would go on to eat my own words in a most spectacular fashion.
What happened next can only be described as an unexpected accident born of carelessness. A large pile of stacked-up wooden crates stood before me, each of them large enough for me to fit inside, and they were all coming crashing down toward me. Needless to say, were they to have hit me, they’d have crushed me under their weight.
Oh no, I have to stop them!
While I was prudent enough to recognize the gravity of the situation, for whatever reason, I felt compelled to try to stop them from collapsing instead of doing the reasonable thing and getting out of the way. I flung one hand forward to stop the avalanche of crates and slapped the other over my face. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for impact, then felt something bump against me...
Whooosh!
What I heard next was a loud breaking sound, like the heavy wooden crates had just hit a large wall and shattered. I cracked open my eyes to confirm what had happened, only to be greeted by the sight of the crates all lying shattered and open on the floor. All I’d been doing the whole time was just standing there.
Huh...?
What?