I opened my eyes to the sight of a woman looking down at me with a loving expression—one that could only belong to a mother.
For a brief moment, confusion gripped me.
Then it clicked.
How could an anime enthusiast like me not understand what was happening?
I had died.
And now I was staring up at a beautiful woman who clearly wasn't my previous mother.
There was only one logical explanation.
I had been reincarnated.
Of course. That was the only thing that made sense. I died seconds ago, and now I was here—alive again. Reincarnation. Just like the stories.
Fine. Let's assess the situation.
The woman holding me was most likely my new mother. If I was going to avoid repeating my past life's path, then logically, my so-called "father" would soon appear as well.
Still… they weren't truly my parents.
I loved my previous mother far too much to simply discard her memory the moment I received a replacement. A new "mother" didn't erase the old one.
The door opened.
A handsome man entered, followed by three others. One looked to be in his twenties or thirties. Another seemed around fifteen to twenty. And in the arms of a maid, there was a sleeping child—perhaps two to five years old.
The older man stepped forward and spoke first.
"Honey! Relax, dear. I'm fine. I've been through this three times already."
The woman—my supposed mother—sighed softly. "Honey, could you give him to me? I want to hold him."
"But I'm the one who names him, as is tradition," the man replied gently.
"Very well," she said—Lady Phoenix, apparently—before handing me to her husband.
He held me up slightly and studied me.
Indeed, I was a cute baby. Obviously.
But why was he staring at me like that?
Why did I feel like I was being examined… like some dissected animal on a laboratory table?
This man—my supposed father—was strange. Whenever I looked at him, I felt something radiating from him.
A fiery aura.
It didn't make sense. It barely registered logically, yet I felt it clearly. Heat. Power. Authority.
It irritated me.
And my mother…
Why did she look so familiar?
I had seen her somewhere before. The recognition was right at the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't grasp it.
"Ruvel, look at your youngest brother," the man declared proudly.
Patriarch of the Phoenix Clan.
Wait.
Phoenix Clan?
The younger man—apparently Ruvel—sighed in mild annoyance.
And from there, I was passed around like a rag doll between my new "parents." It got on my nerves almost immediately.
So I did what any rational baby would do.
I cried.
Loudly.
They quickly handed me to the nurse, who laid me down to rest.
Peace at last.
Ten Years Later
"Yes… yes! My perfect creation is finally coming to life!"
A young girl with long black hair slowly emerged from a cylindrical capsule filled with fluid. Steam hissed as the chamber opened.
I watched with pure satisfaction.
My secret project had succeeded.
I was practically glowing with pride.
You're probably confused by the sudden time skip. Understandable. Let me explain.
The girl standing before me was the result of Project: Perfection.
Yes, I am aware of the ego in that name.
This was my twenty-third attempt at creating life.
Now, before you misunderstand—yes, I succeeded back on attempt ten. But those were failures in my eyes. Weak humans. Enhanced animals. Nothing worthy of the title perfection.
I wanted more.
So I began building a hybrid.
Not just any hybrid.
The perfect hybrid—constructed using the DNA of every mythical being I could legally, illegally, or discreetly obtain.
Let me list them, because why not show off?
First—my father's DNA. After discovering the world I had been reincarnated into—and more importantly, the family—I wasted no time investigating my so-called "immortality." Naturally, I added my father's Phoenix DNA into the project.
Not mine.
I'm not ready for a child yet.
Second—young Sirzechs. I had access to him due to being the apprentice of the great Beelzebub-sama. Of course, I added Beelzebub's DNA as well.
Grayfia's DNA followed—for her ice abilities.
Later, during a trip to Kyoto, I acquired fox yokai DNA.
Leviathan's DNA was included too—again thanks to my connection through Beelzebub.
When Azazel visited my ever-so-great master, I managed to obtain fallen angel samples as well.
I even included human DNA.
For a specific reason.
A Sacred Gear.
And I also—
"Are you my creator?"
The black-haired girl stepped fully out of the capsule, looking at me calmly.
"Yes," I answered.
She bowed deeply.
"Then you will be the one I serve for the rest of my life."
Honestly… that didn't sound bad.
But I remembered the second purpose of her creation.
"No," I corrected her gently. "My dear, I made you as perfect as I possibly could. And since I am a perfectionist, it is only natural that the one who will remain with me for eternity must also be perfect."
She blinked.
"I created you to be my wife."
Direct. Efficient.
"And your name shall be…" I paused dramatically. "What name could possibly match such a masterpiece? Something elegant. Something fitting of—"
"Master, could you please get to the point?" she interrupted flatly.
I coughed.
"Right. Your name is Kaguya Phoenix."
She tilted her head slightly.
"…I suppose that name is tolerable."
Good enough.
"Anyway, we need to return home."
"This is not your home, Master," ten-year-old Kaguya-chan pointed out calmly.
"No. It isn't. I deliberately conducted this project far from my family estate. I had no intention of them discovering what I was doing."
"I see," she nodded. "Then how do you plan to explain my existence?"
"There will be no need," I said confidently, handing her a glass filled with a red, wine-like liquid.
"What is this, Mas—"
"First, stop calling me Master. Call me Ed. You are my future wife."
"…Understood. Ed. And second?"
"This," I explained, "is an artifact inspired by the Evil Pieces system."
I smiled proudly.
"The Cup of Reincarnation. It contains all of my Rook pieces… combined with a Queen."
She stared at it.
"…I do not understand."
"I'll explain on the way home. For now—drink."
Without hesitation—
Gulp. Gulp.
"Good. Now let's head back, Kaguya-chan."
"Very well, Mas—Ed."
I narrowed my eyes.
"…We'll work on that."
And with that, we began our journey home.