Rebirth From Ordinary Person To The Strongest

After finishing my training with Renji-san, Momoka-san kindly offered to drive me back to the temporary apartment where we were staying.

I insisted that I could manage the trip home on my own, trying to assert a bit of independence, but she countered with the unassailable logic that it was far too dangerous to let a child walk home alone in this day and age, especially with everything that's been happening. So, in the end, she drove me back herself, ensuring I got home safely.

Aya-chan wanted to come along for the ride too, her eyes practically sparkling at the thought of spending more time together, but Renji-san reminded her that she hadn't yet finished her training for the day. Reluctantly, and with a little pout, she stayed behind to continue her lessons with him, promising she'd join me next time.

"Say hello to Kaede-san for me."

"Okay!"

"Okay! I will, thank you!" I replied, waving goodbye to her as she drove off. I watched her car disappear around the corner before turning toward the entrance of the apartment building. As I approached the door, I noticed a familiar man in a sharp black suit standing by the entrance, looking somewhat out of place in the residential setting.

Wait a minute, isn't that one of the people from the Kamiarizuki family? When I got closer and saw his face, I remembered. He's the one who taught me about Attribute Change.

You could even say he's one of my magic mentors, considering how much I learned from him. The man, who was about to drop something into our mailbox, noticed me approaching and I called out to him.

"Hey there! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Itsuki-sama. It's been a while. Are you just getting home?"

The man looked surprised to see me and quickly bent down to meet my gaze. There's no need for him to go that far, though.

"Yeah. I was training with Renji-san to sharpen my sense of Silveit."

"At six years old, you're already training with Silveit… As expected of Itsuki-sama."

What does he mean by "as expected"?

"Do you enjoy practicing magic?"

"Yeah, I do. It's challenging, but it's also a lot of fun."

"That's wonderful to hear," the man smiled warmly.

"So, what brings you here?"

It wasn't every day that someone from the Kamiarizuki family showed up at our door unannounced.

"Well, my master wanted to have a brief conversation with you before your elementary school entrance and asked me to deliver this letter since no one was home earlier."

"Huh? My mom and Hina weren't home? That's odd…"

"No, it seems I just missed them. They probably stepped out just before I arrived."

So, they must've gone out shopping or something. My mom, who hadn't stepped out of the house until I turned three, has recently started going out for shopping and errands instead of relying on online orders. She's the type of person who enjoys doing things herself, finding joy in the small tasks that others might find mundane.

So, I must have just missed them. Well, it's not a problem since I have a spare key.

"Are you here again because of Kamiarizuki? Why?"

"Well, you see, ever since you exorcised Raikou Douji, things have… um, caused quite a stir in our community."

A stir…? Did I do something wrong? No, I exorcised a monster. That shouldn't be a bad thing.

"Why is that?"

"Raikou Douji was a 'Demon' who had lived for hundreds of years, and countless skilled exorcists lost their lives trying to defeat it. The fact that it was exorcised is huge news…."

So that thing was that old? No wonder it spoke in such an old-fashioned way.

"Yes, and once the news spread that it was you, Itsuki-sama, who exorcised Raikou Douji and not Souichirou-sama, it caused an uproar. The story has even reached overseas."

"Really…?"

"Yes. My master would like to discuss these matters with you, among other things."

The man in the black suit bowed politely and handed me an envelope.

"So, if it's not too much trouble, could you please deliver this to Souichirou-sama?"

"To my dad? Sure, no problem!"

"I appreciate it."

After exchanging a few more words, the man in the black suit and I parted ways. I pressed the elevator button and let my thoughts wander as I waited.

Still, the man said there's been a stir because Raikou Douji was exorcised, but what exactly does that mean? It seems like people know I was the one who exorcised it, so maybe the big deal is that a child exorcised a Sixth Rank monster? I hope this doesn't mean they'll make me fight even stronger monsters….

As I mulled over these thoughts and unlocked the door with my spare key, I realized the apartment was indeed empty. Looking at the shoe rack, I saw that my mom and Hina's shoes were missing, so they were probably out shopping.

…Which means I have a chance, don't I?

"I'm home!"

Even though no one was there, I made sure to say my greeting out loud, something I'd never bothered to do in my previous life.

It's a habit now.

I took off my shoes, washed my hands and rinsed my mouth, then headed to the living room. In the corner of the room was a Japanese dictionary, something I had brought with me from our now-destroyed house. It was one of the few items I had managed to save before everything was lost...

I pulled out the dictionary and declared with enthusiasm:

"Today, I'm finally going to name my magic spells!"

Yes, this dictionary is also my magic spell name dictionary.

As I flipped through the pages, I started looking for names for Raikou Douji's Body Enhancement spell and other lightning spells I'd used today. This is a secret ritual I can only perform when I'm alone. The reason I have to do this alone is simple, I've only been taught basic kanji by my parents, and I can only read hiragana and katakana.

Imagine what it would look like if my parents saw me flipping through a dictionary trying to come up with spell names.

It would be weird, wouldn't it?

That's why I sneakily choose names for my spells when my parents aren't around.

Back at our old house, it was big enough that I could sneak off to a room where no one was watching while my dad was at work, my mom was doing housework, and Hina wasn't paying attention. But here, in this smaller apartment, there aren't any good places to sneak off to, so I can only name spells when my mom and Hina are out shopping like now.

"…'Raisou' (Lightning Armor)? Hmm, that's a bit too straightforward. What about reversing it to 'Sourai' (Armored Lightning)…? Hmm, doesn't quite feel right."

Why do I even bother naming my spells? Well, it's to establish a magic activation routine.

To explain briefly, exorcists tend to have certain habits or rituals when they cast spells, which help stabilize their magic. These habits could be anything from stomping their heels on the ground, blinking twice before casting, and so on.

Having such a routine helps exorcists stabilize the power, output, and success rate of their spells.

But it's not just exorcists who do this.

It's the same as how athletes have pre-game or in-game routines. Whether it's eating curry every day, taking a shower at halftime, or striking a unique pose before taking a shot, there's no shortage of examples among world-class athletes.

And according to my father, the success rate of spells in extreme situations is significantly higher when you have such a routine.

When I tried to figure out what my routine was, I realized that I had been unconsciously using Chanting.

Originally, I started saying the spell names out loud to memorize what each spell did, but before I knew it, I was muttering the names of every spell I cast. It's become a habit. So, my routine has become Chanting.

And since I'm going to say the spell names anyway, I figured I might as well make them cool and exciting, which is why I'm flipping through the dictionary.

"…Should I try using English for the lightning spells? No, that might be a bit much…."

As I muttered to myself while flipping through the dictionary, I suddenly heard the front door open.

"Itsuki? Are you home?"

"Big brother! Welcome back!"

The familiar voices of two people echoed through the apartment.

Oh no, I need to hide this.

"Oh, welcome back! Mom! Hina!"

I quickly closed the dictionary and set it in the corner of the living room.

"Make sure you line up your shoes when you get home!"

Oh right, I forgot.

I hurried over to the entrance to find that Hina had already lined up my shoes for me. Having a three-year-old take care of me… What kind of big brother does that make me?

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