The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

How did it come to this?

Lately, I feel like I've been thinking that a lot.

Four months had already passed since the Mataisa Royal Capital Stampede incident.

The seasons in Mataisa had moved from summer to a brief autumn, and now winter winds were blowing... though in the Bargia Dragon Duchy, which is warm year-round, seasons didn't really matter.

The new year had begun, and with the continuing clear weather, the atmosphere in the city was bright.

In contrast to the cheerful mood of the dragon capital, I, the adventurer known as the "Child of Mystery," was at home, awkwardly watching a middle-aged man prostrating himself before me.

"Please! I beg of you...!"

The man pressing his forehead to the floor was a tough-looking guy in his forties.

Though dressed in light traveling clothes, all his equipment was of extremely high quality. This man, who had traveled to my house with five max-level bodyguards, was the king of the Maguu Empire -- Emperor Renya.

However, I don't have any particular fetish for getting excited over seeing middle-aged men prostrate themselves.

Groaning over what to do, I carefully answered:

"Look, first explain the situation. And please, a ruler of a country shouldn't be prostrating himself."

"S-Sorry, Nanairo."

Renya raised his head but remained seated on the floor, looking at me seriously.

"Then let me explain. First, I was born in the imperial court 42 years ago, but my mother was one of the previous emperor's courtesans--"

"Is this going to be long? Please keep it as brief as possible."

"...Then, I'll start from when I met the previous generation's saint. It was when I was traveling at 15 years old."

Renya began to speak.

About his life so far, filled with hardships.

Why am I listening to the self-narrative of a middle-aged man who, despite being a former classmate, is well into adulthood?

...That's what I'd like to know.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Ioo Renya was born as the child of the previous emperor and a concubine, and then abandoned along with his mother.

After that, he grew up in the slums, hiding his lineage.

His mother worked herself to death raising Renya, but when he was ten, she collapsed from overwork and died. Abandoning the Maguu Empire that had killed his mother, Renya became a mercenary, living by fighting in the outside world.

It was when Renya was fifteen, starting to make a name for himself as a mercenary, that he met the previous generation's saint.

When he visited the Holy Nation for work -- while in the eastern wilderness, he witnessed a woman wrapped in rags desperately running away. Chasing her were knights on horseback in formal attire.

However, they didn't seem to be pursuing a criminal, but were slowly riding their horses with lewd expressions.

From their words, it was clear they intended to exhaust her by chasing her slowly, then violate her. These men called themselves holy knights of the Holy Nation, but they looked like nothing more than villains.

Renya didn't hesitate to help her and killed the knights.

That woman turned out to be the saint of that time.

Apparently, the saint had been caught up in a power struggle and falsely accused of a crime before being driven out.

In fact, he learned for the first time that "saint" was just a title given to a shrine maiden who had received certain skills, and was actually a replaceable existence for the Holy Nation. It wasn't even a position that would cause trouble if vacant.

As she aged and her beauty faded, losing her appeal to the people, she had unknowingly been used as a political tool.

Renya escaped together with her.

During their life on the run, the saint taught him various information that was kept secret in the Holy Nation. One of these was about the Creation God Skill and the existence of the "Book of Wisdom" needed to acquire that skill.

Renya continued to flee with her, but near the border with the Beast Kingdom, they were ambushed by knights, and the saint was killed right before his eyes.

Enraged, Renya killed the knights and escaped from the Holy Nation carrying the saint's corpse.

Heartbroken, Renya returned to his homeland. He made a grave for her next to his mother's grave in the imperial capital, and continued to gain strength in underground fighting rings.

Five years later, when Renya was 21, he led discontented citizens in a revolution and killed the previous emperor -- his father -- with his own hands.

Several years passed, and Renya had taken three wives and had several children.

He actually had a woman he loved from his previous life, but as an emperor, he couldn't remain unmarried. There were political implications, so he married daughters of influential people in the country and had children.

Around that time, Renya heard a rumor about a certain elf.

This elf had unusually left her country, eventually fell in love with a human and had a child, and after her husband died and her daughter became independent, she was working as a musician.

Her music was said to be very innovative, somehow cheerful yet melancholic, and her songs were sung in mysterious words.

By chance, Renya invited her to perform at a party in the imperial court.

The song was in Japanese, and the singer was his former classmate, Seto Nadi.

After learning that he wasn't the only reincarnator, Renya used every means to find others from his homeland within the empire.

Akimoto Midori, the daughter of a merchant.

Okazaki Tomohiro, who was an adventurer.

Shishido Naoki, a retired nobleman.

Tokuma Juso, a dwarf blacksmith.

Hachinohe Yuka, who had become a prostitute.

Mita Shinji, who was a knight in his own army.

And three years ago, he found his former girlfriend, Watabe Neon.

Neon was born as the daughter of a minor noble and raised gently.

Renya provided generous protection to the eight reincarnators he found.

He housed them in the residential area behind the emperor's room that had been used as the inner palace for generations. Although he faced criticism from his official wives, by that time Renya's power had become absolute, so there were no openly critical voices.

The problem was the ages of Shishido and Tokuma.

Shishido was human and already over sixty. Tokuma was a dwarf but approaching two hundred years old.

It wouldn't be strange if death came for either of them at any time.

Renya grew impatient.

He had finally found his friends, and he wasn't about to let them die before finding a way back to their original world.

Seeing loved ones die before his eyes -- his mother and the saint were more than enough.

...I absolutely won't let them die.

Before that happens, I'll send you all back to our original world.

Renya steeled his resolve and carried out the attack on Mataisa Royal Capital.

However, the result was a swing and a miss.

The "Book of Wisdom" had already been used, and the skill wasn't what he was seeking.

But Renya saw hope in learning about Ruruk's existence.

As he investigated him over these past few months, he realized Ruruk possessed skills on a completely different level of strength. Moreover, he was convinced that Ruruk was also a reincarnator.

The emperor moved quickly after that.

He used connections with the Luney Trading Company to request a meeting with Ruruk.

Gaining approval as a fellow countryman, the emperor immediately left a body double in the empire and departed. Disguising himself as a mere merchant, he traveled all the way to Bargia.

Even on his way here, the emperor had been gathering information about [Rozewill].

He learned that not only Ruruk, but also girls named Saaya and Nagi were strongly suspected of being reincarnators. From her fighting style, he immediately recognized Nagi as one of the "Three Goddesses" -- Onitsuka Tsurugi -- but he couldn't figure out the true identities of Ruruk and Saaya.

When they met again and introduced themselves, he was surprised to see the most unremarkable Nanairo and the most flashy Ichinomiya from their class getting along so well.

However, it was well-known in their class that Ichinomiya had been fixated on Nanairo, so their pairing wasn't incomprehensible. More importantly,

"Nanairo... tell me. You have the Creation God Skill, don't you?"

This is what Renya came here to ask.

What he wanted was the power of the 5th God Kianus -- the authority over time and space.

Ruruk made an obviously displeased face.

"Why do I have to reveal my hand?"

"Please, I beg of you! I'll do anything!"

And so, Renya explained his circumstances to Ruruk and the others without hiding anything.

He couldn't let his bodyguards see the emperor prostrating himself, so he had them wait outside the room and sincerely told them everything.

But Ruruk's expression remained sour.

"...I understand your circumstances now. But why did you involve uninvolved people? If you were just doing as you pleased in your own country, that'd be one thing, but Mataisa is another country, right? Stoania was in danger too. What would you have done if one mistake had led to many deaths?"

"I'm sorry! I was impatient... Honestly, I thought I didn't care about this world as long as it was for my comrades. But now I understand. I was just treating the lives in this world lightly... I'm sorry, it was my fault!"

"...Well, what's done is done. There wasn't much damage anyway."

Ruruk seemed exasperated.

Renya once again pressed his forehead to the floor.

"I know it's an unreasonable request, but please! If you have the Creation God Skill, please help me! Even if it's just them, I want to send them back to our original world, those who have suffered terribly in this world!"

Some of his comrades had lived lives incomparably worse than in Japan.

It might have been better that they were still alive, but even so, they probably couldn't honestly say this life had been good.

Renya wanted to save them.

To overturn the fate that had thrown them into such a dangerous world.

Ruruk was silent for a while, but eventually muttered softly:

"Sorry, but it's impossible."

"Please, somehow!"

"No, that's not it. That was the answer to your question. I do have the Creation God Skill, but it's not the skill you want. If reverse reincarnation is possible, it would probably be the '5th Numerology Skill', right? Well, mine's different."

"...I see."

Renya had vaguely sensed it, but knowing the reality, he hung his head.

Another lead had disappeared.

He was back to square one.

"I'm sorry for asking..."

"It's fine. A classmate came all this way to see me. I just showed my sincerity in return."

"Thank you, Nanairo."

"I'm Ruruk now. That name is in the past."

For some reason, those words struck deep in Renya's heart.

Pretending not to notice that pain, Renya asked something that had been on his mind.

"Ruruk. Don't you want to go back to Japan?"

The man called Nanairo was so unremarkable that he was only ever seen reading books. Renya had never really talked to him properly.

If he wished to return, he would be an ally to Renya and the others.

But,

"I don't think so. Sure, there are important people I left behind, like my parents and childhood friends. But that's just memories from my previous life now. That's what I think."

"But isn't that... because you've been successful in this world?"

A mansion as large as a castle, a reincarnator who has obtained powers on a completely different level.

He has status and honor as an adventurer, and moreover, Ichinomiya and his other companions are excellent.

He thought it was because of these successful experiences.

Ruruk didn't deny that point.

"Maybe. But so what? I have many important people now. I have many things I want to protect. Even if I could go back to my previous life, probably only Saaya and Nagi could come with me. I can't abandon everyone else."

"But not all of our classmates have become as happy as you."

"Maybe so. That's why I won't stop you guys from going back. Do you want me to help?"

"...What?"

Renya's eyes widened at the unexpected offer.

Nanairo seemed uninterested in others in his previous life. Even talking to him as Ruruk, that impression hadn't changed.

"What's with the sudden change of heart?"

"Well... it's just a feeling, just a feeling."

Ruruk looked away, seemingly embarrassed.

Then Saaya, who had been sitting quietly next to him until now, said:

"Fufu. Ruruk is a boy too, so he thinks it's cool how Renya-kun is willing to risk everything for his comrades. This guy is twisted, so he can't take that attitude himself. Right?"

"Hey Saaya, what are you saying!"

"What? Am I wrong?"

Saaya tilted her head and grinned, while Ruruk's voice caught in his throat and his ears turned red.

What's with this atmosphere?

He thought about teasing them a bit, but it would be meaningless if he offended them.

Renya immediately bowed his head.

"Then please. If you're willing to help... Well, when you enter the Holy Nation, I'd like you to somehow gather information. I hear even the Luney Trading Company hasn't touched the Holy Nation."

"That much is fine, but couldn't an emperor like you negotiate better with a major country?"

"Impossible. I'm a wanted man in the Holy Nation."

"Ah right, you beat up the Holy Knight Order."

Because of that, the current Holy Nation and Empire are on very bad terms.

Being on opposite ends of the continent, it didn't affect diplomacy much, but it's inconvenient at times like this.

Renya took out a bag of gold coins from his item box and said:

"I'm formally asking this as a request outside the guild. This is a down payment."

"I don't need money. But I have conditions too."

"What are they?"

"When you meet reincarnators, thoroughly confirm whether they want to return or not. Even if it becomes possible to return, forcibly taking them is not allowed."

"Of course, I'm careful about that. The ones I'm sheltering are all those who want to return to Japan."

Especially Neon, his former girlfriend, who wanted to return.

Her mother was bedridden, and her brother was only five years old. They lived a poor life with the small fortune left by their deceased father, and she had always taken care of her mother and brother while working part-time jobs.

Renya had often gone to her house to help her.

What happened to her mother and brother when Neon suddenly died...

Ruruk shrugged.

"Alright, then I'll look into it when I go to the Holy Nation. I was thinking of traveling anyway."

"I'm in your debt."

"Don't expect too much. It's rare to even meet someone with numerology... no, never mind. Well, I'll do what I can."

For some reason, Ruruk's words trailed off.

And so, Renya returned to the empire with some harvest.

As he said goodbye and looked at the faces of Ruruk, Saaya, and Nagi, all three looked happy, and Renya felt glad as if it were his own happiness.

 □　□　□　□　□ 

After seeing Renya off, Saaya immediately said:

"Is it okay? Making a promise to help like that."

I tilted my head at her tone.

"Should I have refused? He's desperate to help his friends, right?"

"That's true, but... you know, reverse reincarnation is basically time travel, right? I wonder if it's really okay in various ways."

"Ah, you mean the time paradox?"

I can understand Saaya's concern.

If they succeed in reverse reincarnating even just them, and if only their consciousness returned to graduation day, they would naturally try to stop the photo-taking to avoid dying.

Then our past selves wouldn't die, Ruruk would die at age five, and the rest of us wouldn't even be born.

"I've heard that rewinding time is that dangerous."

"That's probably fine."

Of course, it's not that I haven't thought about that danger.

But rather, I expected that worry to be unfounded.

Pointing at Nagi, I said:

"If you want a reason, there's one right there."

"...Nagi?"

"More precisely, Nagi's brother's necklace."

It's a legendary accessory that can heal fatal wounds up to three times.

"Among the magical devices Lilith developed, there's one that uses a divine-level formula for time reversal, right? Apparently, Nagi's 'Sage's Secret Treasure' was repaired using that, and Lilith, worried about manipulating time, experimented first."

"...Experiment? Can you figure it out that easily?"

"It's simple. You know those water flowers that grow in a day? She used those. First, she prepared one water flower seed and grew it in water. She took one root from the newly born water flower... let's call it Water Flower A, and grew the seed attached to it in a separate container. Calling this separate container's water flower B, she split the stem of Water Flower A to extract water, and grew Water Flower B using only that water. After confirming that Water Flower B had grown sufficiently, she put the withered Water Flower A into the magical device and rewound time to the state of 'Water Flower A before the stem water was extracted'. If a time paradox occurred, the water used to grow Water Flower B should have been lost, but Water Flower B remained in bloom. To be sure, she rewound Water Flower A further back to its 'seed state'. If a time paradox occurred, Water Flower B shouldn't have existed in the first place. But Water Flower B remained in bloom. From this, she concluded that in this world, the time paradox theory doesn't apply to time reversal -- in other words, when time is rewound, that timeline is preserved and a new timeline is born."

In short, it's a theory that parallel worlds are created each time you rewind time.

Saaya understood after hearing it just once.

"I see. So even if Renya-kun and the others reverse reincarnate, we won't disappear."

"That's right. Well, I thought it would be fine from the start, given the existence of the World Tree."

"The World Tree? Why?"

"The World Tree stores all the information from past to future of all worlds without time or space restrictions, right? Then all timelines are naturally preserved. So this world isn't structured in a way that time paradoxes can occur."

"Ah... I see. Since the World Tree has records, what has already happened won't disappear. So there shouldn't be time paradoxes."

That's right.

It's quite a difficult topic, but Lilith, who came up with this idea, experimented, and solved it, is very talented. She's truly an angel I'm proud of.

"Well, that's why I thought I'd cooperate honestly."

"Hmm. Ruruk, you really thought it through. I'm impressed."

"Right? Praise me more."

"...Isn't that the achievement of your super clingy sister?"

Nagi chimed in from the side.

Saaya chuckled and said:

"That's right. Then Ruruk, forget what I just said."

"What~! Hey Nagi, you said something unnecessary! My praise points decreased!"

"I don't understand. What are praise points?"

"They're Saaya points that accumulate when I'm praised! I just got 100 points for that!"

"...Does it mean anything when they accumulate?"

"It makes me very happy."

"...I'm going to train."

"Hey, wait! We're not done talking!"

I follow Nagi, who's quickly leaving for the backyard training ground.

Saaya watched us go with an affectionate smile.