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Having grown accustomed to my life after reincarnation, I recently feel that my sleep has become somewhat shallower. Until now, I would feel sleepy at any time of day, but lately, I’ve settled into a cycle of waking up in the morning and sleeping at night.

In my previous life — in the memories of Glass=Dimelia — there are no memories of my infancy. Judging from the environment where I found myself, it seemed miraculous that I had survived.

My earliest memories as Glass=Dimelia were of a dark room smeared with filth and a foul smell. Although they are fragmented memories, it’s easy to imagine that it wasn’t under the gentle protection of people like Leaf’s parents, Natal and Rudra. After all, the next thing I knew, I was scavenging for garbage in back alleys.

It was the cold season of winter. Children huddled together, shivering as they slept, waking up in pain. There were many companions who couldn’t survive the winter. That was “normal.”

My current life as Leaf is entirely different from the “normal” I experienced living as Glass.

For instance, as long as I’m in this house, I can spend most days without being consciously aware of whether it’s hot or cold. The room temperature is regulated by something called air conditioning magic equipment, maintaining a nearly constant temperature.

During the time I was living as Glass, on cold days, we would start a fire with magic and warm ourselves by the fireplace, but neither Natal nor Rudra use the fireplace. There was a fireplace when I was born, but at some point, it stopped being used. I overheard in a conversation between the two of them that they replaced it with an air conditioning magic device, thinking of my sake.

I had the impression that every aspect of daily life was arranged to suit me.
I just slept, and my parents took turns caring for me, alternately.
I never suffered from hunger or thirst. Natal and Rudra would not allow for any endurance in the first place.

Surprisingly, they seem happy when I communicate my condition. Though my vocabulary only consists of sounds like “ah” and “uh,” somehow they perfectly understand my circumstances and desires.

I thought it would increase their burden, yet I couldn’t understand why they were happy about it. It became clear as my vision gradually improved. They were always smiling when they took care of me.

“You’ve gained a little weight, haven’t you, Leaf?”

Even now, upon waking up, my mother notices and joyfully pulls me into a warm embrace, pressing her cheek against mine.

“I wonder if it’s because you’ve been drinking your milk well. Thank you.”

Even though I’m just fulfilling one of my needs, my mother expresses her gratitude. It should be me who is expressing thanks, and somehow I want to convey my gratitude, but I don’t have a way to do that other than smiling.

“Ah- uuh-ah.”

Every day, I try to voice sounds while being conscious of the shape of my lips and tongue, but I cannot achieve satisfactory results. However, my mother seems content, gently stroking my head.

“Good girl, Leaf. You’re a very good girl.”

Being held by my mother, who has a gentle and sweet scent, and hearing those words, I feel an almost strange sense of relief. This sensation was something I had never experienced in my life as Glass.

“That’s right. I’ll make sure you’re born into a good environment next time, so compared to that terrible life, it should be considerably better. Well, it might be difficult for you, who doesn’t know what happiness is, to feel it though.”

Unexpectedly, Fortuna’s words passed through my mind.
Perhaps what the goddess said is true. I have never considered my life as Glass to be happy. I didn’t know what happiness was, so I didn’t know that such a world existed.

In the alchemy association to which I once belonged, people gathered who were similar to those around me. I got sick of that world where envy and desire swirled, where people wouldn’t hesitate to steal research results for their own success, so I chose to leave the association and live alone.

I don’t feel any of that from Natal and Rudra.
They seem to love me and appear to love me unconditionally.

— Could that too be a means to deceive me?

The abominable memories of my foster father resurface, admonishing my overly trusting self. But still, I couldn’t at all imagine them using me as some kind of “material.” They were so devoted to taking care of me as a baby.

— For what purpose?

As I delved deep into thought, I felt as though I was sinking into a bottomless swamp, as if in a daydream. A sensation like cold sweat dampening my back made my small body tremble.

“Leaf.”

Called out to, I snapped back to reality. While holding me, my mother reached out and put her finger in my mouth.

— No!

I twisted my body, but it was no use.

“Ah, ah-uh!”

With my mouth obstructed, I recalled the foster father who once nearly suffocated me, and I cried out in fear. But Natal remained smiling.

“Sorry, did you dislike that?”

Her fingertip gently traced my teeth, and then it ended.

“I thought maybe your teeth are starting to grow because you’ve become good at talking recently.”
“Ah…”

As she rocked me soothingly, my mother lowered her eyebrows in what seemed like an apology. At the same time as I felt genuinely relieved, I noticed an unfamiliar feeling and moved my tongue. Upon being told, indeed, I realized that I had no teeth.

I can perceive vowels somewhat, but the other sounds are difficult. Could it be because I don’t have teeth yet…? If it’s due to that, perhaps I will be able to speak to some extent once my teeth grow in.

“Ah, a-oo?”

I reach towards Natal’s mouth to ask when the teeth will come in. Naturally, it isn’t formed as a proper question, but surprisingly, it seems to reach her. She smiles and opens her mouth.

“The gums are beginning to harden, so we can start giving you weaning foods soon. I’ll prepare so you can eat a lot of delicious things.”

I see, it seems that I can be given things other than milk once my teeth come in. Smiling as a way of saying thanks, my mother lifts me up high and smiles back at me.

“Heh heh. I must learn how to cook from Mr. Clifford in the neighborhood.”

“That’s right. Mr. Clifford’s daughter is the same age as you. Let’s play together next time.”

Come to think of it, I have never left this house. I wonder what kind of place it stands in? I am not aware of the full picture of the house itself, but I became curious about the outside world.

It seems that there is a house named Clifford in the neighborhood, so this house does not seem to be in an isolated place. Considering that Rudra is a soldier, it might be reasonable to assume it is in a considerable town.

“I’m home, Natal. I’m home, Leaf. I have a souvenir today.”

As I was pondering, Rudra came back.

“Oh, what happened?”

My vision is blurry and I can’t see well, but I can tell Rudra is holding a large package. My mother approached while holding me, allowing me to know the contents of the package.

“I received a birth celebration gift from my subordinates. There are toys and books… This panel here seems to be a new toy for early education. Is it a bit early for Leaf?”

“Maybe. She should be speaking sooner…”

No, with that, communication would be considerably easier. I gestured eagerly, not wanting the panel that almost got put away.

“Hm? Do you want this, Leaf?”

“Ah- ah!”

My father noticed and showed the panel to me.

“Showing interest in this suggests a promising future.”

I stared closely at the panel brought near me. It had basic characters that I also knew, and pictures and symbols indicating emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. Not only the language but the characters being used seemed to leverage the knowledge of Glass-Dimeria, which was reassuring.

“How is it? Is it still a bit difficult?”

“A-oo!”

Denying that, I hit the picture of “joy” with my palm, causing Rudra and Natal to simultaneously express their surprise.

“Did you see that, Natal! This child is a genius!”

“Heh heh, probably so.”

Whether seeing my reaction as a coincidence, my mother’s reaction was calmer than my father’s.

“That’s right! Are you happy, Leaf!”

I would like to communicate more, but judging from the earlier reactions, it seems too early to manipulate words.

For now, I deceive them with a smile, and show a frolicsome behavior by tapping the panel exuberantly.

“It seems she likes it.”

“Little Leaf won’t let go.”

“The edges are rounded for children, let him hold it freely. It will also serve as practice for using his fingertips.”

“Let’s do that, Leaf.”

I hit the picture of “joy” and pulled the panel towards me. It was heavy and I couldn’t hold it on my own, but my mother kindly laid me down on the bed with the panel.

Since I can’t turn over, I move my newly mobile neck to gaze sideways at the panel. While looking at the panel where the words corresponded with the pictures, I could guess the intelligence of a child who could handle this.

I’m still a baby now, but communicating like a normal child in the future might be quite difficult.

It would be nice to refer to a “normal” baby somewhere…

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