Prince Herscherik and The Kingdom of Sorrow Reincarnation, Tiny Autumn Leaves and Squishy Cheeks (1)

Note: No gender reveal yet so I’m using feminine p.r.o.nouns~

Chapter 1. Reincarnation, Tiny Maple Leaves and Squishy Cheeks (1)

Through the darkness, the scenery spread out in an instant. It became bright as if an illumination was suddenly placed before her and Hayakawa Ryouko squinted her eyes.
And when the dim view gradually became clear, there was a porridge-like meal she had no memory of and a spoon being gripped by a hand in front of her.

“Uuuh?”

Together with that remark that came out of her mouth, Ryouko dropped the spoon she was holding to the plate. The impact of the spoon falling into the plate with the porridge-like substance made it splatter and soil her clothes. The spoon jumped out of the plate and made a sound as it rolled on top of the table.

The clean tabletop was stained with the porridge. The small sigh of a woman reached the ears of Ryouko who stiffened, unable to understand the situation.

When Ryouko slowly turned to that direction, a woman who looked around 20 years old with brown hair pulled back to a bun and wearing a simple but elegant dress was smiling wryly. Slightly drooping big brown eyes are charming, men around the world will surely want to protect her, Ryouko thought.

The woman picked up the fallen spoon, wiped it with a dish cloth and placed it on the tray on top of the side cart. Then she moved the plate still filled with porridge to a place unreachable to Ryouko and promptly tidied up the tabletop. Lastly, she wiped Ryouko’s soiled clothes with a napkin.

“There, it’s clean.”

The woman said so and smiled. The baby wanted to do it by himself and because she knows he cannot eat properly, this was within her a.s.sumption.
However, for the perpetrator who made the disaster on the table, for Hayakawa Ryouko, the current situation was beyond the range of a.s.sumption and was a bolt out of the blue.

“Uh? Uwa? …Uuh?”

First, she cannot talk very well. The expressions that came out of her mouth were not words but merely sounds. Even when she tried moving her body, she can just barely flap her arms and legs. Her fingers do not move as she expected.

Ryouko turned her head and look at her right hand. It was a fair-skinned, small hand similar to a baby’s. The white, small, maple leaf-like hand opened and closed slower than she expected.

(What the heck is this? A dream? A dream, but on my perspective!? …No, no, wait a moment, I’ve become awesome. I’m the type of woman who can do anything once I put my mind on it.)

Ryouko was on the verge of panic but tried to persuade herself to calm down. By the way, her mother always told her she was stupid because she refused to do something even though she was able to do it.

Ryouko looked at her left hand next. The small, white hand moved according to her thoughts. However, the movement is very sluggish like the right hand.

(A dream of the reincarnation manga I read the other day? Or rather, a novel? Which reminds me, I remember I played a game like this, too.)

Ryouko remembered the manga, novel and game she was recently addicted to.
Before she knew it, a female high school student was already a different person in another world, thereupon a romance drama with handsome men unfolded. The body she reicarnated into had a beautiful appearance that was unimaginable in j.a.pan, she had reflexes that would even astonish an Olympic athlete and was the possessor of superior magic power…

Such woman was once pressed by her earnest childhood friend, the knight once pledged his allegiance to her while anguis.h.i.+ng over his romantic feelings, and she even captivated the villain at one stage…

(The villain’s defeat was really interesting. I wonder if there’s a sequel…no, that isn’t it, Ryouko. This is not the time to be grinning while reminiscing. This is a dream, a dream! You have to wake up and go get the game you reserved…)

Ryouko made a self-retort in her mind and slap her cheeks with her small hands. There was a pechin~ sound, but only the feeling of squishy face remained on her palm.

Or rather than face, they were her cheeks. It seems soft for some reason.

(S-soft… These are without a doubt, squishy cheeks! They probably feel better than my niece’s.)

Among Ryouko’s family of five composed by her parents and three daughters, she was the eldest of the three sisters. The parents were not strict to the three women but they were fault-finders.

Among such sisters, the second daughter married earlier than Ryouko and gave birth to a daughter. That niece who was the first grandchild to Ryouko’s parents was really adorable like an angel. Rather, because she was too cute, Ryouko’s parents endlessly bought her everything. The hards.h.i.+ps the three sisters experienced in order to stop them were now good memories.

That niece who was promoted to grade school this year had a precocious personality peculiar to girls, and was heading to a rebellious age. Her parents were troubled, but the child became emotionally attached to her aunt Ryouko for some reason and never opposed her.

It was also inconvenient that she throws a tantrum whenever they come over, saying she wanted to stay.

Her niece was cute but Ryouko didn’t want anything that will lead her to the same road as herself, she had those sentiments of an aunt. However, if her niece wants to go ahead that road, Ryouko will back her up with all her strength.

“My my, what’s wrong, Herscherik-sama?”

The brown-haired woman spoke with a smile. It was the woman whom Ryouko troubled a while ago. Apparently, Ryouko was named Herscherik and the woman doesn’t seem like her mother.

“Aah…”

Ryouko intended to apologize but only a lovely voice came out of her mouth. Unfortunately, she still cannot speak.

“Have you already finished eating? Or can you still eat?”

The woman said so and placed a newly-prepared, steaming dish it on the table. In addition, she scooped the porridge using a new spoon, blew it several times to let it cool and brought it to Ryouko’s mouth.

It was a simple dish of sweet potato and rice gruel simmered together. Ryouko felt like eating it very much and bit into the spoon. The rice gruel by itself is salty but the potato is sweet, it’s easy to eat and an exquisite taste spreads in her mouth.

“Is it delicious? It’s good, isn’t it?”
“Uuh~!”

Ryouko was thinking of answering the woman that it was delicious but what came out of her mouth were still baby talk instead of words.

Ryouko was not aware of it herself but it seemed like she was famished. Ryouko ate the food presented to her without a pause.

(It’s like the young bird I kept a long time ago.)

The bird and herself carried a delicate atmosphere but had an unstoppable appet.i.te.
When she finished eating the contents of the plate, she even let out a shameful burp. The woman who heard that gently wiped Ryouko’s mouth with a napkin, then tenderly dropped her off from the baby chair onto the soft carpet. Then a stuffed animal that’s probably a dog was placed near Ryouko.

(It’s like Kuro from my parent’s home…)

It was a stuffed toy of a black dog the same size as herself. It reminded her of the large black dog being kept at her parents’ house.

When Ryouko tried to touch it, she immediately liked the silky fur that feels good to the touch. Rather, it was probably placed beside her because it was her favorite.
She saw off the woman who placed the dishes on the cart and went out to put them away. Ryouko then surveyed the room.

This room was not her apartment. Even if all the rooms in her own home was added up, this area was still even more s.p.a.cious. The room was European-style in the Middle Ages found in fantasy novels. Incidentally, she realized that the woman from before was wearing a dress that also came out of a novel.

The room had a calm, deep green wallpaper, a bed with an attached canopy and a soft, fluffy carpet. Even the quality of the furniture such as the sofa were good. Ryouko unconsciously thought of how many months of her salary they cost.

There was also a fireplace and a portrait of a beautiful blond woman displayed above it. The pose of that person was similar to the one displayed in the art room that often come out in the school’s seven wonders.¹

(I wonder if the eyes move at night…?)

The muscles along her spine froze as soon as she thought that. Ryouko had always been weak at those kind of stories and hated them to death.

Ryouko turned to look at other places but she lost her balance and tumbled on her back. She didn’t feel any pain at all thanks to the expensive-looking carpet, instead it was comfortable.

The warm sunlight from the window attached to the balcony induced drowsiness. I want to nap~ Just as she arrive at that thought, Ryouko snapped out of it.

(This isn’t the time to take a nap.)

Ryouko tossed about and got up. As is expected, suddenly sitting up was impossible with the body of the baby. Well, there was also the hards.h.i.+p of a 30-something’s flabby stomach in the original body.

But even if she looked around, she couldn’t discover anything new. Ryouko looked at her body again.

Small hands, short arms and legs, flabby stomach.

(I’m a baby no matter how you look at it, I’m truly thankful.)

Hmm, hmm, hmm, Ryouko was lost in thought.

(Before I came to this body, what was I doing?)

While recalling the memories of her original body, she crossed her arms that became short and creased her forehead.

(I worked overtime even though it was the game’s release date, when I left the company, there was a heavy rain…)

Unexpected rain and the green light which began to flicker.

White light.

Dull sound.
Screams and angry roar.

…and then pitch black darkness.

Guessing from there, Ryouko understood the cruel reality and could do nothing but be convinced.

(Ah, that’s right. I died.)

1. The seven wonders (七不思議, nana fus.h.i.+gi) of a certain place is a popular urban legend in j.a.panese culture. It consists of seven stories, mostly of paranormal nature, which revolves around the school and/or a location inside the school. It is commonly utilized as a central plot device for series with mystery elements, or used for a filler story in a series that belongs in other genres.