Reincarnated as a ______.
To fill in that blank, I had been thinking about it all morning.
The reason I was pondering such a thing in the first place was that, just this morning, I remembered I was a reincarnator from Earth.
While getting out of bed and going through my morning routine as usual, memories of my past life had suddenly come rushing back.
Though calling it a "past life" made it sound far grander than it actually was.
In my previous life, an innate chronic illness forced me to spend almost my entire existence in a hospital room—an exceedingly short lifespan.
In terms of actual life experience, I had far more in this world. I had to thank my parents here for bringing me into the world with a healthy, functioning body. Not that I wasn't grateful to my parents from my previous life, of course.
At any rate, since I had been given the chance to reincarnate, I wanted an identity of my own: "Reincarnated as a ______."
Why was I reborn, and what kind of person was I meant to become? Perhaps the reason I sought answers to such abstract questions was that I had ended my previous life without ever accomplishing anything.
Seven years had passed since I was born as the eldest son of the Walker family and named Brendan. My parents passed away before I was old enough to know them, and I now lived alone with my grandfather out in the middle of nowhere.
Gramps was apparently a somewhat renowned mage in his youth, and he had been teaching me the fundamentals of magecraft and blacksmithing so that I could survive on my own someday.
Thanks to that, my magical skill seemed to be quite exceptional for a seven-year-old, and the old lady next door constantly praised me as a child prodigy.
Well, this place was practically a marginal settlement with no other kids my age, so I had no idea what the actual average was.
My only point of comparison was Gramps, but if Gramps was a 100, current me was a 1.
Even so, they still treated me like a prodigy.
At best, I was probably just a country prodigy—or something even less impressive.
I suppose that was about it.
Looking back on it, my life was still pretty shallow.
I'd only been reborn seven years ago, so that was only natural.
In other words, "Reincarnated as a Country Prodigy," huh?
The "country" part really wasn't necessary.
Actually, more than just the country, it was a prodigy of a marginal settlement.
Honestly, being a plain, normal prodigy would've been much nicer.
"What is the matter, Brendan?"
Perhaps sensing I was lost in thought, Gramps paused the hammer he was bringing down upon the anvil.
We were in the house's smithy.
We were currently forging a magic sword, and I was serving as his assistant.
"No, it's nothing."
"Space out, and you'll hurt yourself."
"I know."
Nodding silently, I swung the sledgehammer down onto the spot Gramps indicated.
Magic sword refining.
That was the Walker family's secret art, the magecraft I was slated to inherit.
For now, studying magecraft was fun.
Thanks to being born with a healthy body, everything I did was enjoyable, but magecraft was truly special.
Even outside our lesson times, I spent all day and night engrossed in the pursuit of magic.
For now, this was probably fine.
Why was I reincarnated, and what was I living to achieve?
I could take my time searching for those answers over the rest of my life.
◇
Living vaguely like that, about ten years somehow flew by.
I was already seventeen now.
As for what happened during that decade, pretty much nothing did.
Over those ten years, the depopulation in my village only worsened until there was literally no one left besides old men, old women, old women who looked like old men, and old men who looked like old women.
It wasn't just close to a marginal settlement anymore—it had become a full-fledged one.
State administrative services barely reached out this far.
And no pretty childhood friend ever showed up, either.
My daily life hadn't changed much, either.
Farming for food, helping with the blacksmithing work my grandfather did, and training in magecraft as usual.
However, Grandfather's lessons came to a provisional end just the other day.
After presenting the results of my research and scoring a passing grade in a mock battle against him, I had successfully graduated.
How I applied and built upon what I learned was entirely up to me now. To put it in terms of my old world, it was like finishing compulsory education.
There was another reason the lessons ended, too.
Gramps suddenly fell ill and became bedridden.
We called the doctor several times to examine him, but his condition was deemed critical.
Lately, I had been looking after him around the clock.
I had already prepared myself for the worst.
"Brendan, are you there?"
"I'm here."
Though I had been standing right beside his bed the whole time, Gramps seemed unable to tell where I was.
"I do not have long. There is something I must tell you before the end."
"What's with the sudden formality?"
"Listen closely, Brendan."
With an uncharacteristically solemn expression, Gramps spoke slowly.
"I was the one who summoned your soul from another world."
For a moment, I couldn't comprehend what he had just said.
"Using an artificial body crafted through secret arts as a vessel, I brought about your incarnation into this world."
What in the world is this guy talking about?
True, it wasn't as if I had never wondered about the circumstances behind my rebirth in this world.
At this sudden revelation, the scenery around me seemed to warp.
"My daughter and her husband lost their child; I pitied them so deeply that I laid hands upon the worst taboo. Forgive me."
Even if he asked for forgiveness, this was so sudden that my brain couldn't keep up.
In other words, this whole time, this man had been treating me like family while knowing everything?
"Wait... then am I an artificial human?"
"Aye."
"Don't just say 'aye'!"
"Rest assured, you are hardly different from an ordinary human."
I instinctively clutched my head.
And here I thought Mom and Dad had simply done their best to give birth to me normally.
I didn't know how to process such a truth.
That makes it "Reincarnated as an Artificial Human," doesn't it?
"Also, I haven't mentioned this either, but through an affair, I had a daughter who is only slightly older than you. Your grandmother left long ago because of that."
"What...?"
Did I really need this piece of garbage information right now?
It didn't seem useful to me in the slightest, so I really didn't want to hear such sordid details.
"Also, I haven't mentioned this..."
"There's more...?"
"Before long, the calamity that once threatened the peace of this nation shall be revived."
"A calamity?"
A national-scale threat at that—hardly a peaceful topic.
The exact truth was uncertain, but Gramps hadn't lived this long for nothing.
He seemed to have been an active mage in his youth, so as a citizen of Gleefia, I should probably listen carefully.
"That... calamity, what is it?"
"Ah... the one I defeated in my youth."
"Any other information?"
"The one I defeated in my youth."
Why did you say that twice?
"When and in what form it shall revive, I do not know. However, this nation shall soon enter an era of chaos. Whether you flee or stand and fight is your choice. But keep it in mind."
"I... see..."
There was just too much information to sort through.
I was already full to bursting just from learning the secret of my birth.
Before I could even figure out how to process that fact, he threw in past infidelity and a revived calamity; it was an absolute mess, and I kind of wished he would just stop.
"Also, I haven't mentioned this..."
"Give it a rest already..."
"Regardless of the circumstances, I love you as true family. That alone is the unvarnished truth."
"...Gramps."
"It was fun, Brendan. Forgive me for dragging you into my selfishness. From here on, live as you please, and enjoy your life however you wish."
Leaving behind those words, Gramps slowly closed his eyes.
In the end, those were his final words.
◇
Do not hold a funeral.
That was Gramps's dying wish, so I complied obediently.
It wasn't as though I felt no frustration over being unable to give my only blood relative a proper burial.
Still, Gramps must have had his own reasons.
Together with the old woman next door, I held the barest minimum of a memorial service and laid his body to rest in a grave prepared in our yard.
"What should I do now...?"
I muttered to myself in front of Gramps's grave.
Taking this chance to leave the settlement and go see the outside world might not be a bad idea.
Come to think of it, I had never even gone to school.
He had said he would enroll me in a proper academy when the time came, but things had gotten far too chaotic for that now.
For the time being, I'd maintain my daily life while giving serious thought to how I wanted to live from here on.
—And right at that moment.
The doorbell, which almost never rang, chimed.
It wasn't the old woman next door.
A visitor, for the first time in ages.
"Coming."
Giving a brief reply, I opened the front door.
Standing there was a red-haired woman.
Wearing a large pointed hat and draped in a black cloak, she had the unmistakable appearance of a witch.
Going by my past-life standards, she was a sophisticated, stylish woman who looked about the age of a college student.
"Brendan Walker, right?"
I gave a slow nod to the woman's question.
"I'm Coffey."
After introducing herself simply, she continued:
"I'm your aunt."