So before I begin let me reiterate, this is my do-over of my lightly aged Jieigyō Tensei. I honestly wasn't having it with the story and decided to rewrite it. The idea was to put someone with morals into the mind of Rudeus instead of the MC, who my only grip with is that in the beginning, he is a creepy pervert who only comes off as endearing to those around him because he's a kid and in a world with twisted morality. Kinda failed at that sadly, so here is my do-over.
I will be greatly changing the timeline, adding space to things here and there, yet giving just enough to keep somewhat to the plot. It'll still vary tho.
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Re:Kieigyō Tensei
Self Employed Reincarnation
Can't let death stop the Grind!
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Prologue
Where do I begin? Ah, I was a Twenty-Four year old man, with a good job, a decently pretty girlfriend, some friends and a nice place on mortgage. I was somewhat good looking, was at a healthy weight and could bench over 300, I had my shit together.
And then had my shit ripped apart.
A couple months ago I won a three person vacation to Tokyo, Japan in one of those things companies do to make their workers not hate life. All I needed were two other people and I would be set. It would be a week, something the voucher gave me plenty of, with paid time off on top of it.
It was a dream, so I took the two people who mattered most to me, my girlfriend Emma, and my friend John. I had met Emma through John actually, and kicked things off well. We had been going steady for five years now, and had intended on proposing to her here. Had, was the word for it.
It was barely our second day here when I had found them together, naked as lamb. They hadn't even noticed me when I opened the door, too busy with their copulation to care. When they had finally noticed me there, standing stone cold, they panicked. He was trying desperately to cover up and she was crying profusely.
What was I to think? I was shocked, flabbergasted really. Anger bubbled to the surface and I had considered at that moment doing things that could be ruinous, especially in a nation like Japan. But I had stopped, and actually thought for once in my life of the consequences. I had walked out, all while she had begged me to come back. She told me lies of how it was a mistake, how she would make it up to me, how she wanted me, not him.
Nothing she said stopped me as I walked out of our hotel, like a coward. My blood boiled at what she had done, I wanted to hurt her. I wanted so badly to slap her in that moment, to show her that damned ring I had bought, the one she had kept on alluding to when we went to the mall…
It was pointless, yet I lambasted my five year relationship to myself. For a good hour I mocked myself in my head, walking around Tokyo. I had walked so far that I wasn't even in the city of Tokyo, instead in some random suburb. I could speak Japanese, but read? Most certainly not. I had seen signs, and like a fool I hadn't even brought my phone.
It was raining, something fit for me, I suppose. It caused me to stop, and to think of what my life was now. She was on the mortgage, we had planned everything in our lives to be together. Deep down I wish that, even as immature a thought as it was that I could-
"If only I could go back and do it all over again," I heard behind me, the sound of the words in Japanese behind me took me somewhat. It was something mindful, as I looked at the obese Japanese guy. So even those around me suffer on such a miserable day?
"I see that you also are having a bad day?" I said, my rough and heavily accented Japanese caught his attention for a moment, and I had hoped that perhaps I could talk to someone about my struggles.
"Tch, fucking Gaijin bastard…" he remarked in anger, before stalking off.
"Asshole…" I muttered somewhat under my breath. I walked off in silence, half not paying attention to what was around me. The people here didn't care, I should have expected it. I was in a foreign land, and everything I knew and loved just had to have the veil torn off.
Looking ahead I had seen some kids, they obviously just got out of school, and were already arguing. They were screaming, and I could barely make out what they were saying and besides, it was none of my business.
I hadn't even noticed the truck coming our way as I walked down the street, my feet glancing lowly at the ground around me.
"H-Hey! Look… look out!" I heard from my left, It took me a moment to look up, but it was too late as it came sharply. That man from earlier, who had called me a gaijin, had picked up some steam and smacked right into me, and like a bowling ball striking pins it sent me and the teenagers I was passing sprawling.
It knocked them out of the way, all three, yet I could see an almost pinkish glow around me, all the while I and that fat Japanese man were struck. It was like I had seen my life flash before me, all the good, and all of the bad.
As I felt the truck slam into me and the fatass who got me killed, all I could think of was… that fuck, that bitch was going to get filthy rich off my thicc life insurance policies…
All the while the fat fucker and I were crushed between a wall and that truck, blood running down my chin and cheeks as my final moments were looking into the eyes of that old truck driver, who was staring in shock as the two of us bled out infront of him, mangled messes that we were.
And then I was dead.
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Chapter I - A Whole New World
When I started to feel again, I had thought and half expected to wake up in a hospital room. Yet it most certainly wasn't.
My vision was excessively blurry, and I could barely see my hands as I struggled to even hold them up. It was uncomfortable to look, and hurt my head profusely. I also couldn't move much either, the feeling of being weak was an uncomfortable and foreign concept to me. I had no intent to brag, but I was definitely a bulky son of a bitch. To feel so powerless. It was disheartening. How long had I been out?
It took me a further moment to realize that I myself wasn't in a hospital. There was too much wood here! I could finally start to see past myself, and found myself looking at a Giant.
She was huge, beautiful but huge! She had to be twice- no ten times my size! Whoever she was, she was definitely beautiful. Her long blonde hair and blue eyes fix her well. Beside her another man, with one of the strangest hair styles I've ever seen. Who the hell keeps most of their hair short and untamed while having a ponytail?! It's revolting to look at!
They spoke to one another, their language was so very alien to anything I may have ever heard, yet then they picked something up that was besides me.
A baby?
They sat him down after a moment, right beside me. He must have been a giant baby, the size of me!
And then they picked me up, bringing me close. It was then that I had slowly begun to piece together what the hell had happened...
I think... I just reincarnated.
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It had been around two years since my current predicament took root. It took me way too long to understand just what happened, but I had somehow, been reincarnated into a whole new world.
It was a bit of a shock, at least to me. I wouldn't say I was the best with faith- Oh I did believe in Christ and his words, but I wasn't a perfect follower. I failed time and time again, yet here I was, in a new life. Which begs the question, Just what happened?
My working theory is that I was wrong, and the answer was somehow Buddhism instead of Christ. Of course that doesn't really matter much to me, theories and beliefs aren't going to solve the issue of my new life, if they even can be considered in the mess I was in now.
I was now Arthur Greyrat, son of Paul and Zenith Greyrat and slightly older brother of Rudeus Greyrat. It was somewhat a mark of pride to me to be first born not just once but twice. Yet that was an issue itself. I was a fucking baby.
I didn't want to drink from my own mothers tits. Let's be honest, I had already grown to care for her somewhat, despite her being my second mother. I didn't want to perv on her, but survival itself demanded it. I certainly hated myself for it, but survival it was. However steadily I had begun to finally wean off of it, and despite my distaste for it, began to eat oatmeal. It was one of the few things I could actually eat here, what with my teeth not coming in yet.
My brother however seemed to revel in it. Honestly I had begun to suspect he was much like me, reborn into a new life foreign to his own. In this I had somewhat thought he would be mature, yet all I could see was a perverse childishness. That smirk he had while breastfeeding and that light giggle and delighted look… I had a real piece of work for a brother if it was the case.
I think I will just keep my nose to the ground on this issue. What I don't know doesn't hurt me. And If he does end up being one of those types…
I'll deal with it.
Speaking of, I now lived in a life that was definitely different from my last life. My parents themselves seemed to be rich, or at least rich compared to the rest of the world. The village we lived in was medieval in nature. I would say if anything it was close to… twelfth century living? I was somewhat uncertain, but they were definitely pre-gunpowder, that was for sure.
Me and Rudeus had one thing in common, our knack for reading. We had gone through one of the rows on the small bookshelf together, despite me having to drag him to do it when we first started reading. Rudeus had a knack for it (another reason why I believed him to be a reincarnator), more than I in that department I could almost say, though I wasn't far behind him. We had mostly deciphered the language here, and at such a young age too…
We had discussed it somewhat, but the world itself was somewhat a low fantasy one. On one hand, Magic and Dragons, on another, is horribly dull. The stories I had read (see Manga) all had a Demon lord the summoned heroes had to slay. Yet here, the 'Demon God' Laplace had long since been defeated, and the world ever since had been at peace. Lucky me, I guess.
Oh sure there had been wars, there was still slavery in the world, to my chagrin, but nothing I could do. At least yet if ever, because largely there wasn't much I could do. what was I, the heir to a landed knight to do in comparison to a world wide trade backed by Kingdom's, Warlord's and Ne'er-do-well's worldwide? Absolute Madness to think I could do something about that...
Then Again, there was magic in this world, If I could just get my hands on it- get a jump start on a magical education, maybe I could do something? Not that I could, all of the books mother keeps on Magic were high up- on the top of the shelf, I doubt that I could get my hands on them if I tried.
Maybe we could get a broom to knock them off? But then someone would surely hear, and although I wouldn't mind being prodded as a prodigy to already be able to read, I do not want to deal with my parents getting a big head and overestimating me or Rudeus for that matter. If I was wrong, and he was just a truly brilliant yet perverted child, I could be setting him up for failure if he gets a big head.
No, best to let sleeping dogs lie and enjoy my childhood.
It was while thinking of such things that I heard a sharp crash rattle the floor, before peering over to see my brother Rudeus on the ground. Tears were welled up in his eye, threatening to hit the floor in puddles.
Perhaps I might be correct in the assessment that he was a child after all.
It was a small ugly wound, one that would leave a gnarly scar, right on his brow. Why you could almost see his bone, under all of that blood that caked onto his hair. It wasn't long before our mother came barreling towards us, worry beset upon her face.
"Rudy?! Are you alright?" My mother asked frantically, bringing her hand to her mouth. She dropped the laundry basket she had been carried and hurried over to him all the while he looked up at her with tears in his eyes as she picked him up, cradling him carefully. There was a thin trail of blood that threatened to drip down the side of his head and onto her clothes. He sniffed lightly, as she put her hand on his head, and there the magic truly started.
"It's alright Rudy, nothing too bad, just a flesh wound." She said, running her hand over his head, checking for any further damage. "Though, I suppose to be sure…" she said, before hovering her hand right over his wound. "Let this Divine Power be as satisfying nourishment, giving one who has lost their strength the strength to rise once more – «Healing»." Light danced from her hands, and truly magic struck an awe in my sight.
It was near instant, but for a moment I could see as small veins appeared, and then meat and flesh. All that could be seen of the wound was the blood that caked the hair around it, and a small barely noticeable scar- as if just fresh skin around the old mess.
Was this the power of magic? To be able to heal wounds in an instant? What was the extent of this? How far could magic truly go?
Could I do that?
"There we go, Rudeus, All better!" She said, smiling. She patted his head, before taking a clean rag and wiping the blood off of his noggin'.
I could see it in his eyes, Rudeus, who had been a somewhat decent kid (if excessively perverted for his age) was in shock. He could see the potential like me, with wonderment in his eyes. That thought of what could be and what was…
Magic… it was truly wonderful.
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Time had flown by quickly since the last incident, where I had for the first time seen magic. It was now the year K 410 I had more than once thought of picking up a book and learning a thing or two on magic. Thought. Rudeus had tried to get his hands on one, which only ended in the bookshelf room being locked up after he had accidentally knocked the bookshelf over and nearly crushed himself. But despite that we were still allowed a good lay of the land.
Now that we could both walk and talk, our parents let us roam throughout the house and the walled off yard. We could play, and do whatever we wanted, something we both did plenty of. Maybe it was childish, but who cares? There was little to do. It was a struggle at first, Rudeus didn't want to do it at first, but after I got him to play swords with me the first time, he begrudgingly accepted.
We would almost routinely smack each other around, and chase after one another around the yard. It was… nice to be able to be a kid again. To be able to enjoy life. I honestly hadn't realized just how stressed life had made me before. Here I was free, free of the constant office work. I could enjoy my life once more. No more rushing to meet deadlines, no dodging cougars, nor having to suck up to my dickhead of a boss... Heaven.
That and I get to play fight, of course I almost always got to smack down my brother, though I still let him win from time to time. Couldn't let him pitch a fit and decide to stop playing after all, my boredom would be unending if that were the case.
Though things are nice now. I sighed. We were getting older, and soon Paul, our father, would want us to train with him. I knew I wanted to, but Rudeus definitely wants magic. He yearns for it almost. I turned over in my bed, looking over to his bed to find it empty. When had he left? Had I been too deep in my own musing?
The answer was a resounding yes, as a few moments later the door would crack open, and in would come the little bugger, silent as a mouse, and carrying a prize that brought a smile to my face. We weren't getting much sleep tonight.
"And what do you have there?" I asked him, stopping him. He wasn't as sneaky as he thought.
"A…uh. A book." He fessed up, not seeing much of a point in lying. He squirmed, as I could see our mothers magic book 'A Textbook of Magic' in his grubby little toddler hands. The hands of a thief.
"Well, open the book. If you're going to learn magic, then your big brother will have to be right alongside you, to make sure you don't get yourself hurt!" I said, not because I wanted to learn MAGIC or anything…
After spending near all night reading the first segment of the book, Magic was… somewhat easy, when you learned to get a hold of it. Rudeus understood it better than I did, though perhaps that is because he's from this world, while I am not? I don't quite wholeheartedly understand, but Magic itself could be categorized into three distinct types; Attack Magic, used to fight and kill your foes. Healing Magic, used to heal and save the lives of those around you, and Summoning magic, used to call forth things. That was all there was too it, though I suppose that is all you really need for categories. Magic itself wasn't used too much in daily living here, for whatever reason.
Then of course came the Magical Power or 'Mana' you needed to wield spells. If your body didn't have enough of it, you could kiss your sorry ass goodbye to using magic. Some people were born with an innate set limit to how much mana their bodies could store. All people had magic, but not everyone had enough to wield efficiently. The book mentioned ways one could expand their Magic Power, but mentioned it to be illegal in most of the Kingdoms and Republics of the world.
Which itself was a shock, just how bad was it to be illegal? Things in this world were quite morally dubious, why the King of Asura had married a twelve year old at forty! The people here were fucked up in the head, and if it was that bad to be banned near worldwide? Yeah, shits definitely the most cooked up evil amalgam known to man and I do not think I should even consider approaching it.
There were of course expendable mana packs available, but you are still recharging your mana, not providing yourself with more. Supposedly the book writes that Magical Adulthood is 20 in the world, and after it is quite hard to expand one's mana reserves without breaking the law. All it becomes then is managing your control, and making ones mana more potent. But even then it takes years to do so…
There was more to magic, but it made my head hurt to think about ultimately. Though I guess it had Rudeus excited. He had droned on and on about how Magic Circles sounded so cool and how useful it could be. Honestly it made my head hurt to think about.
Looking over at him I saw him nodding off, too tired to continue. "Rudy?" I asked, as he looked up, bags under his eye. "Y-yeah?" he asked, almost smacking his head against the book.
"I think it's time we go to bed." I said, taking the book from his hands. He pawed at it for a moment, trying to stop me. But he definitely was weaker, and had a shorter reach than I did.
"B-but the… Naruto stuff…" he said, nodding off. I covered him up with a blanket, before laying down in my bed. Naruto… where had I heard that before…? I shrugged. It must be something in one of the other books we've read. I sighed, before letting sleep take me.