『Demon Eater』. That seems to be the term for those intense bouts of heat and pain.

What could it be? I’ve never heard this term before.

Even if I wanted to look it up, I don’t have a smartphone, and I can’t use a computer in this body.

So, the truth remains in the dark.

However, I can tell that it’s something quite ‘bad’.

If I hadn’t endured it, I would have died.

The realization sent chills down my spine, and I almost started crying. No, no, no. I’m an adult inside; I can’t just cry over everything.

I held back the tears and stared at the ceiling from the futon.

What would have happened if that had hit a real baby? Even as an adult on the inside, all I could do was clench every muscle in desperation. A real baby probably wouldn’t survive it.

…Huh? So maybe my mother’s wish for me to “grow up safely until three” comes from this ‘Demon Eater’?

Even though I was just reborn, I started doubting if this was really Japan, and I sighed inwardly. Maybe being reborn wasn’t free after all.

No way. Since I’ve been reborn, I want to live a more enjoyable life.

Thinking about that, I directed my awareness to my lower abdomen.

“…Hmmm.”

There’s something that’s been bothering me for a while.

Heat. I can feel heat accumulating in my belly. I realized this suddenly after the ‘Demon Eater’ episode.

But this isn’t the kind of heat that harms the body like ‘Demon Eater.’

Rather, it’s a gentle warmth that soothes my body.

It feels so natural, like it was there from the start. It’s like my mother put a hot water bottle on me, but I know she didn’t because I checked when she took me out of her arms earlier.

Well, warmth is nice, but…

“Hmmm.”

This heat is making it hard to sleep…

If you’ve ever experienced having your feet cold in winter while the center of your body feels hot, that’s exactly what this feels like. The temperature difference between the core of my body and the outside feels uncomfortable.

So, even if I try to sleep, my belly’s heat keeps me awake.

…What should I do?

For now, I tried chanting ‘Go away, heat!’ but nothing changed.

Well, yeah, of course, it wouldn’t change just like that.

Instead of disappearing, it would be better if the heat spread to my feet and fingers.

With that thought in mind, I focused on the heat itself, and then… it moved.

“Wha!?”

It moved!?

I can’t believe it moved.

I was so surprised that I almost started crying.

But if the heat can move, that’s perfect.

I slowly, bit by bit, spread the heat throughout my body, like dissolving miso in miso soup.

After a while, I could feel the heat that had been accumulating in my belly spreading throughout my body.

…Warm.

Just as I found a solution in an unexpected way and was about to fall asleep, a loud voice boomed from the entrance.

“I’m home!”

I was startled by the sudden male voice and woke up instantly.

In this body, I might start crying… but I was too surprised to cry.

“Where’s Itsuki!? Is he here!?”

“He’s sleeping in the nursery.”

The voice, accompanied by loud footsteps, was clearly a man’s voice, unlike my mother’s.

…Why is his voice so loud?

“Really! I want to see his face!!”

“Of course. Go ahead. He’s your child.”

Hearing my mother say ‘your child’ made my spine stiffen. So, this voice belongs to my father. I do have a father. Well, of course, I do.

As I was processing these confusing thoughts, the sliding door between the veranda and the room was flung open with force.

“Oh…! Is this Itsuki…!!”

“Yes. Please hold him.”

“Uh, um. He’s so small.”

“He’s a baby, after all.”

I couldn’t move freely since my neck wasn’t stable yet.

So, I moved only my eyes to see my father’s face… and I gasped.

He was an astonishingly large man.

His body was thick with muscles that seemed to burst from his clothes.

His face was covered in scars, and he wore an eyepatch over one eye.

Wh-what is this!?

Why does he look like a battle-hardened soldier in Japan!!?

My surprise quickly turned into tears, breaking the dam of my emotions.

“Waaaaahhhhhh!!!!”

“Ugh! He’s crying…”

The overly stern man seemed confused in front of my crying, and it was somewhat amusing, but the shock was greater. My mother gently picked up my crying body.

The familiar feeling calmed me, and my emotions slowly settled.

“He stopped crying.”

“…Um.”

“Now, please hold him. Support his neck properly since it’s not stable yet.”

“Um…!!”

My father, now reduced to monosyllabic responses, nervously took me from my mother. His body was rough and muscular, unlike my mother’s. But wrapped in the same kind of kindness, I noticed a strange sensation.

…What is this?

I felt the same heat in the center of my father’s body that I had in my belly.

“So cute…!”

“He’s our child.”

As my father poked my cheeks, I noticed how thick his fingers were. How does one grow fingers that thick? His fingers were also covered in scars. What is going on?

“Um, honey…”

“What is it?”

“Today, Itsuki experienced ‘Demon Eater’…”

“What?”

Hearing my mother say that, my father’s expression changed.

Could it be that ‘Demon Eater’ is a common term in households with children, and I just didn’t know it?

“He’s not even a month old yet. Isn’t it too early?”

“Y-yes. But he suddenly had a high fever.”

“But he seems normal now. His magic power has stabilized.”

…What did you just say?

Did you say magic power??

That’s something I can’t ignore.

Even if I’m clueless about parenting, I know about magic power.

That’s a term from manga and games, not child-rearing.

“However, I am a member of the Kisaragi family. I wouldn’t mistake ‘Demon Eater’.”

“Hmm… But his magic power is evenly distributed throughout his body. It’s as if he’s performing ‘Kai-jutsu’.”

Kai-jutsu…?

What is that?

“No way! That technique is for children around five years old! I’ve never heard of a newborn using it…”

“Maybe Itsuki is a genius!”

My father laughed heartily.

But my mother didn’t seem convinced,

“Stop saying strange things! If he gets hit by ‘Demon Eater’ again, he might really die next time! We should suppress his magic power immediately…”

“Don’t worry, Kaede. It’s stable now. Touching his magic power recklessly is more dangerous. You know that, right?”

Oh, my mother’s name is Kaede.

I didn’t know her name until now, so I felt like I gained something.

“This child might become the greatest exorcist in the history of the Kisaragi family!”

…Exorcist?

What is that… before I could think further, my father hugged me tightly, and I started crying again.

Crying, I screamed inside.

Is this really Japan!!?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep