Futari De Hitori No Fuguu Hime-tachi Ha Jiyuu Ni Ikitai~ Isekai Tensei O Shitara, Bishoujo No Nake De, Utahime O Suru Kotoninarimashita~ Chapter 2

That day, I rode the bus late at night home to my parents house.

It'd be nice if I could sleep until my stop, but probably because I'm not really used to doing so, even in the dark i couldn't quite sleep, I was blanking out, I think.

Because of that, I remember it.

The sudden floating sensation, the unbearable impact.

The feeling of pain making it bothersome to even lift a finger. The painful groaning around me.

While thinking to myself, ‘If only that last thing I hear was the sound of someone's song…', I died.

***
But just when I thought I was dead, for some reason I woke up.

And suddenly, it was just cold. The air itself just feels cold, everything that touches me also just feels cold, and even the clanking I hear just feels cold. Just everything I can feel really felt cold.

And even though I was is this situation, I can't make a sound, my body can't even move, and even my eyes can't see.

Am I blindfolded and tied up to something?

Even so, I should be able to move a finger.

I should be able to move my neck and I should be able to raise my voice. And yet, I can definitely feel my body, but I can't move anything.

I definitely should have died, so is this h.e.l.l?

Will I be tortured like this, unable to do anything, forever? Will my body be burned, chipped, and torn apart with my senses intact?
The more I think, the more my mind thinks of horrible things. And even though my body should be shivering, even though my hearth should be racing, even though I should be at least having cold sweat, the reality that none of those are happening was just absolutely frightening.
How much time has pa.s.sed, I wonder?

Since nothing has started happening, I managed to calm down a bit.

Though I can't see or even move a finger, since I still have my senses, I tried to have a grasp of the current situation. And just as I thought so, my vision suddenly opened up.
My line of sight was clearly high, if this is really my height, then I would easily go over 2 meters.

Still, it doesn't feel like I became taller, but more like, that I'm floating in the air — which reminds me of my last moments, definitely doesn't make me feel good. I was overlooking myself but, what I saw where I should be was a newborn child.

Am I dreaming? Maybe death was just my imagination and I'm just in my bed sleeping at home.

I started to think so to myself, but the vivid memory of death brought me back to reality.

So, because I'm dead, maybe that means I'm a ghost? Up until now, I didn't really believe in things like ghosts, but seeing how I am right now, I can't really deny it.

Still, I definitely felt the cold, so I can't be sure that I'm a ghost.

I can't really be sure that ghosts can't feel the cold but for some reason, rather than thinking of myself as dead, I feel that it makes more sense that I'm still alive right now.
So was I reborn? If the cold I feel is the same as what this child feels then it still makes sense.

So I'm currently in that out-of-body experience thing. There's a lot of stories where people have a special power after being reborn but, maybe this is that?

It is convenient, but really?

People having memories of the past life is something I've seen in TV before, so it's not like I don't understand. But just like the ghost thing, I didn't really believe in it, thought.

Thinking about it, even if I was reborn as the baby right in front of me, the chances of me staying alive is really hopeless.

That's because my body, maybe to keep me from escaping — not like a baby this age can actually run away — is chained by the limbs.

The chains extending from the shackles have not a trace of rust, hang down parallel to my bed, and is fixed to the ground with stakes.

The bed itself is made of stone, the very opposite of comfortable, and the only clothing I have on is a thin piece of white cloth.

The room is overall made of stone, stone walls, stone floor and even iron bars, so I'm pretty sure it's a prison cell.

I want to look outside too but it seems like I can't go far from my body, so all I can see from beyond the bars are some similar looking cells in front of the room.

Definitely not the best place for a baby to sleep.

Even if I was taken care of in this environment, would I even stay alive?

Really, what a bizarre place to be reborn. And though I'm in this terrible situation, surprisingly, I don't feel any anger. Maybe it's because I've already died once but, if I had to say, I've just given up.

Still, I wonder why this is happening.

With skin white as silk, bright golden hair, and blue eyes clear as the sky, I'm quite the cute baby if you ask me.

Shifting my gaze as I was thinking so, I met with my own gaze.

Like it was looking closely at me, I could feel clear intent.

Clank…… the chains rang.

I was shocked by the sudden noise, but it looks like the child was try to reach its little arms at me.

But maybe it's because of the chains' weight or maybe due to it's short length, the tiny arms are once again sewn back to the bed.

Right now, my — soul?– is out of my body.

In that case, there's no way that my body is conscious at all. And yet, why did it gaze so intently at me?

Then I realized. I just rejected the possibility of being a ghost but, maybe I am a sort of thing possessing or haunting this child.

Maybe some sort of split personality even. If that's the case, then this body isn't mine, it's this child's body.

It's not a second life, not some sort of bonus stage but it's the beginning of this child's only life.

And yet, why is this child getting this kind if treatment.

It's unthinkable that this child had committed any kind of mistake. At this age, it's not like this child can and even if something did happen, it's the parent's job to take responsibility.

The more I think about it, the more anger just boils in. If it was just me, I would've taken it as my fate, but if this child really has a separate soul, this situation is absolutely unforgivable.

However, my boiling rage was interrupted by the sound of footsteps from outside the prison cell.

The footsteps from outside slowly draw closer to our cell.

And in front of this cell, the gradually louder footsteps suddenly stopped.

The one who stopped there draped in luxurious clothes was a man the very image of n.o.bility. A tall looking man with a prominent nose and chiseled features. His combed long hair was brown in color but his eyes were blue. And as he is clearly not j.a.panese, it's hard for me to gauge his age, but I'd say he's about 30-40 years of age.

He has the feel of a cool mature adult, and if not for the current situation, I'd probably admire him.

However in fact, the situation is the worst it can be and his facial expression is as well.

The man was, unfitting for his orderly features, displaying a vulgar smile while entering the cell with some kind of flask.

With the baby side by side, I see that they have the same eyes, making it clear that this man may be the child's father. However, even if it's true, I just can't feel relieved.

Rather, I feel less relief and more danger.

The man approached the baby and whispered something but since it wasn't anything j.a.panese, I couldn't understand what he said.

After that, he flashed a wide grin, placed the flask on the bed and took the baby's right arm.

The grasped wrist felt extremely unpleasant. Like I thought, our senses are linked.

In the first place, what did he even come here for? Thinking so, I closely observe the man and notice something shiny on his right hand. The next moment, a sharp pain ran through my right arm.

I reflexively look at my own right arm but all I see is the stone floors and walls, my right arm doesn't exist. Rather, my whole body doesn't exist — probably because I'm just a soul.

And yet, the burning pain won't disappear.

I see, that's how it is. Bearing the pain, I shift my gaze at the baby's arm and see a bright red stain.

In my sight, the beautifully pure red flow ceaselessly onto the stone cold prison floor.

That same red slowly, little by little, stain my own mind with its color. I don't think I can keep thinking anymore.

The next thing I felt, was even more pain and the disgusting feeling of something entering my body.

Shifting my gaze, I see that the man poured the contents of the flask on the baby's wound.

The feeling of something going inside probably was the thing in the flask.

Even though I want to stop him, the the fact that I can't do anything but scowl at him only frustrates me.

As the liquid from the flask ran out, the man puts his hand on the wound and whispered something. Then a faint light started leaking from the man's hand and, before I even notice, the wound suddenly healed.

Seeing that the baby never cried during the whole operation, the man audibly rejoiced and left the the cell still in an excited state.

The remaining baby began to silently fall asleep but I couldn't about forget what just happened.

From then on, I started thinking of ways I could somehow protect this child.

???: We've only got one short chapter today. Go home and leave.

Me: No, there is another

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