Before finding myself in this situation, I was an eighteen-year-old with a single wish. I wasn't a bad person, nor did I possess any special talents, but I was determined to achieve it.

The first thing I can tell you is that I enjoyed a fortunate family. My parents were the typical loving parents, and although my younger brother had a complicated illness, we made sure his health wasn't a problem.

Everything was going perfectly until, during our winter vacation, the vehicle we were traveling in plunged from a seventy-meter cliff when it collided with a truck.

When the police arrived, my parents no longer showed signs of life. My younger brother was in critical condition, and I had some injuries and a deep cut on my face.

Over time, I managed to make a full recovery. However, my younger brother remained in intensive care. The accident had worsened his health, so the treatments for his illness increased.

In fact, the hospital demanded a large sum of money for the medications, so I dropped out of high school and took on several jobs to cover the costs.

However, even with all the effort I was putting in, my salary was insufficient for the surgeries, so I had no choice but to sell the home where we had been raised.

And since I no longer had a home to return to, I worked during the day and returned to the hospital at night. Unable to afford lodging, I devoted all my time to being by my brother's side.

But that was no longer meaningful. Although I sacrificed everything in the hope of saving him, cursed fate showed me the harsh reality.

No matter how hard I fought for it or the three years I spent watching over him in that hospital bed, all my efforts were in vain when my hopes reached zero.

I discovered this minute before making my decision—or rather, I think it all began long before I entered the rooftop of that abandoned building.

Yes, everything was set in motion on the day my brother died.

When the doctors gave me the news, I felt my world crumble, and my existence lost its meaning. His death showed me that I had nothing left, so I climbed to the rooftop on the tenth floor.

At that moment, my actions were clouded, and even though the wind enveloped me from above, the cold solitude was more intense than the desire to continue living.

During these three years, I watched him weaken day by day, drowning in the arms of death. When our parents passed away, my brother had become the only connection I had to this world, so hearing about his death shattered me.

Frustration and helplessness consumed me. I had invested all my hopes in his recovery, and although I wanted to see him one last time, there was no way to bring him back to life.

So, I stood on the edge of the building, gazing at the vast distance separating me from the ground.

I was sure this was my only way out.

My heart raced, my hands trembled, and the sensation of vertigo squeezed my chest. I was sure fear was coursing through my veins, that this would end me, and yet...

I closed my eyes and let myself fall.

As the seconds passed, the city lights illuminated my surroundings like an unbreakable wall. I could feel the wind enveloping every part of my soul. Everything seemed so fleeting that even memories of my life flashed through my mind.

So, this is what death is like...

As everything was so brief, I allowed myself to be carried away by aspects of my memory, so I didn't notice the moment when there was nothing but darkness around me.

Without a doubt, the sensation of death felt like immersing myself in nothingness itself. And although this might sound strange, if death meant emptiness, I was sure that this tranquility was more intriguing than the concept of death I knew.

Then, time continued to advance, and the absolute darkness faded away—or rather, it would be more accurate to say that it had transformed into a lighter shade. A hue that filled my eyelids with immense light.

It was as if the pain had disappeared, replaced by a constant sense of calm. Then, the image of a woman with pink hair formed in front of me.

"I'm sorry, Kuroji. I'm sorry for making you relive the trauma, but everything will be fine from now on. Our contract is complete, so we'll be together until the end. I hope you like your new family. Don't worry about the language; I'll make you understand it and make things easier until our time comes."

When these words were etched into my being, my consciousness faded away as if that light had transformed my surroundings into an infinite tunnel.

Was that woman an angel?

I assumed she was. Her beauty couldn't be described with simple words; even calling her a goddess would seem like an offense.

And while I pondered this, my senses returned to me.

Although I was utterly confused, a continuous beeping sound left me deaf for a few moments.

Uh?

The deafness lasted for a moment and ended when I heard some voices talking around me. I felt somewhat weak but regained consciousness when I sensed someone moving me.

I opened my eyes at that moment, but my vision remained blurry for a few seconds. This lasted until I blinked several times and realized that my face was covered by a very thin cloth.

What is this?

When I focused my sight accurately, a slight shiver ran through my body.

"Uaah... Uwaaah."

Huh?

Although I tried to say, "Where am I?", the only words that came out of my mouth sounded like meaningless babbling. No, in fact, they were just whimpers.

It's strange. It's almost as if I were a...

At that moment, sudden voices interrupted my thoughts as my body swayed.

"This still seems unreal to me, Valerie. I can't believe we had twins."

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"Dear, please calm down. I know you're happy, but if you keep moving the cradle like that..."

"Aaaah! Buaaaaah!"

When the cries of a baby reached my ears, my confusion increased even more.

"Valerie, if babies cry when they wake up, why doesn't our Seth do the same?"

Hearing the deep voice of a man, a young, cheerful woman lifted the blanket covering my face. Apparently, this woman named Valerie was reaching out to me.

"Not all babies cry, Dust. And... Seth...? We haven't decided on their names yet."

From what little I could observe, Valerie was a beautiful woman in her thirties. Her reddish eyes shone as brightly as fire itself. They harmonized perfectly with her beautiful waist-length crimson hair.

If I were to describe her, I would categorize her as an exotic beauty. Her smiling face displayed a submissive and joyful expression, although her gestures revealed some subtle hints of maturity.

Undoubtedly, she would win a beauty contest if she set her mind to it.

As for the man accompanying her, his name was Dust. I was sure he was her husband by the way he behaved toward her.

Dust had long white hair tied in a ponytail. He also had a short beard and sharp gray eyes that exuded a hint of aggressiveness—or even a demeanor reminiscent of a mountain wolf.

In any case, Valerie and Dust were sitting on the side of the bed where I lay.

But that wasn't the problem.

"Awhuaah... Awhuaaah... Uwaaaah... Uwaaah."

Despite my repeated attempts to seek help, my babbling seemed utterly nonsensical. I would be calmer if the fall had broken some bones, and this were a hospital, but this wooden house didn't seem like one at all.

Anyway, it wasn't just that.

I didn't have the strength to get up, and I didn't feel sick or like I was missing limbs. Without ignoring the fact that there was a crying baby nearby...

Why on earth was I in this place?

I remembered being on the rooftop of that building, also the fall and the beautiful pink-haired woman. However, when I tried to remember the reason, I felt a piercing headache.

The pain was so deep that some tears fell.

Upon noticing this, Valerie picked me up and rested my head on her shoulder. At that moment, I saw the sunlight reflecting in a small mirror.

What the hell?!

Right at that moment, my assumptions about being in a hospital were completely erased.

This is a dream, right?

Yes, I wished it were a dream. In the end, what I saw in front of me made no sense.

Had I turned into a baby? No, of course that wasn't the case. It was more likely to accept that I had died and that this was nothing more than a hallucination before nonexistence.

Yes, it was most likely all an illusion.

Anyway, even feeling this way, Valerie and Dust continued to converse naturally.

"Honey, what if we name them Eizk and Jizhe after our little gunmen? Think about it, woman, our children would have the names of my grandfather's guns."

Valerie's face showed a bit of annoyance.

"I don't think so. They are identical to me, so I doubt they will become gunmen. Maybe they will have the berserkers' gift thanks to my family's lineage, so I will decide their names and training."

"Like swordsmen or berserkers? Can't you see the color of their manes? They have white hair like me! Obviously, they will be gunmen, not brute force warriors, woman!"

At that moment, Dust snatched me from Valerie's arms and started lifting me while making some strange gestures.

Huh? What is he doing?

Although I tried to push him with all my strength, it was not enough to move a man as robust as he was.

Then, Dust continued with what he was doing.

"Who's daddy's little champion? Who's going to use a demon hunter gun? You~! Yes~! You, my little precious angel."

Seeing her husband, Valerie smiled slightly and took the other baby from the crib. Both started a duel of weird faces while watching us.

Although this made no sense at all.

In any case, it was strange to me that a man who looked like a bandit would behave like an idiot, so I just stared at him in silence.

For this reason, Dust looked at me strangely.

The other baby was laughing heartily, while I only showed a face of incomprehension.

Until Dust continued with the matter of names.

"So... What will we name them, honey?"

Valerie answered immediately.

"Well... If you want to name them after weapons, how about Grammied and Yozek? Those are the names of the legendary weapons attributed to the hero."

"I don't know, Valerie. Why don't we choose names that are more in line with the times? I don't know... perhaps something we like and that signifies something powerful."

While they both pondered, I noticed someone peeking through the wooden door on the left side of the bed.

"Forgive my intrusion, Mr. and Mrs. Clocksaint. In that case, why not name them after the legendary brothers? Jhozeu and Arces, both are described as relentless warriors. With so many names of powerful weaponry, don't you think it would be fitting for them?"

When these words were heard in the room, a woman with a black veil and a large coat entered. She seemed to have heard Dust and Valerie's discussion from the beginning. Furthermore, she was also carrying a baby in her arms.

"Shyla, how have you been?"

Valerie held me in her arms and hurried toward her.

"I told you not to worry about using that here. We are part of your family, and we don't make distinctions of species or races in our family."

Saying this, Valerie took the coat and removed the veil that covered much of Shyla's face.

Then I saw something extremely strange.

Is this even possible?

My thoughts had hit rock bottom when I got the impression of having turned into a baby, so seeing something that only appeared in novels left me dumbfounded.

Yes, Shyla's appearance was like that of a normal human, there was no doubt about it. However, the pair of golden ears protruding from her head and the multiple fox tails that emerged from the back of her black dress indicated something that wouldn't go unnoticed in a thousand years.

In simple terms, Shyla was a demihuman.

"Arces... Jozheu... In their story, both had to compete to see which of them would bear the fate of the world," Dust added to what Shyla had said. "You know, I'm starting to think she's right. What do you think about the names, honey?" he asked Valerie, who was still playing with the other baby.

Seeing that the baby stopped crying when Shyla mentioned the names, Valerie didn't think twice.

"Then it's settled."

◇◆◇

Condensing my first three months in this place, I accepted that I had become a baby. I came to the conclusion that this wasn't a dream in my first week, so there was no turning back.

But how did I arrive at this conclusion?

Well, I tried many things to wake up during the first few days. I blinked for extended periods, I even tried to wake up by jumping from high places, but I was always saved by my new parents at the exact moment.

And although they were both first-time parents, they seemed to be trying their best to protect me with everything they had. Dust even built me a baby-proof crib. The walls of my cell were made of cotton patches, and the floor was a small pad.

In other words, a baby jail.

Since I had exhausted methods that led to self-harm, my new method was to sleep for several hours to check if this dream would disappear, but it didn't work.

The only thing that came to my mind back then was an answer that went against all logic.

My name was Kuroji Allenleaf. I was twenty-one years old, the last thing I did was jump from a ten-story building, and for some reason...

I reincarnated in this world as Arces Clocksaint.

Yes. That was the only answer. I had read some stories of people being sent to other worlds after they died. They appeared in various novels where a new life was given to someone who lived miserably.

Although I still didn't understand why it had happened to me.

Apart from all this information, in this new life, I had a twin brother named Jhozeu, and my parents were two knights who had escaped from a war.

Shyla and her husband Thyek had helped them escape from the Human Territory, so now my new family was living in this Kitsue demihuman village called Kurait.

The problem with this was that according to Dust's own words, all species and races other than humans were considered impure by a group of nobles from the Human Territory.

With that in mind, if this group of radical nobles found a demihuman outside the Territory of Beasts, they would capture them to sell them as slaves.

For that reason, no demihuman in the village wanted to travel to the Human Territory voluntarily because they could be captured as slaves for the nobles.

Initially, Shyla was surprised that Dust and Valerie didn't say anything when they arrived in Kurait, so everything was strange at first.

After all, most of the Kitsue lived in captivity because of humans, and for that reason, they despised them.

Despite this, Thyek spoke with the leader and the other villagers. He told them about how they had met, and they were allowed to stay with the condition that Dust would protect the place.

By that time, it was unthinkable for a human to live in a village of demihumans, but my new parents didn't seem to mind.