What was my life, anyway?

Forty-two years old.

Single.

An office worker.

I believed I had worked hard enough and done my best.

But before I knew it, my heart had reached its limit.

Work wasn’t going well.

I couldn’t see any future ahead of me.

Everyone around me seemed to have families, raise children, and move forward with their lives.

It felt like I was the only one standing still.

“I’m tired…”

I muttered those words as I walked down the road at night.

It wasn’t like I wanted to go anywhere.

I just couldn’t bring myself to go home, so I wandered aimlessly.

Then it happened.

A blinding light.

A deafening crash.

A violent impact shot through my body.

Ah.

A car.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, my forty-two years of life came to an end.

…Or at least, they should have.

‘…Huh?’

I was conscious.

That was strange.

I should have died.

Then again, could someone who was truly dead even think, ‘I should have died’?

I slowly opened my eyes.

But something was wrong with my vision.

Everything was blurry.

A man and a woman stood before me.

They were young.

Both looked to be in their mid-twenties.

The man had a sunburnt face, while the woman wore an exhausted expression, yet still smiled gently.

‘Who are these people?’

The moment that thought crossed my mind—

“You did well.”

The man spoke to the woman.

“It’s a healthy baby boy.”

An elderly woman nearby smiled warmly.

The man looked at me.

“So this makes eight.”

‘Eight?’

What was he talking about?

“It’s another boy.”

The woman gave a wry smile.

The man scratched his head.

“Well, another pair of working hands is always a blessing.”

Working hands?

That was the first thing he thought of after seeing his child?

Then again… maybe that was normal in the old days.

“But having at least one girl would’ve been nice.”

The woman laughed softly.

“What are you saying? We’re still young. We might be blessed with one yet.”

“Hehe. You’re really good at making boys.”

“Don’t say things like that.”

The man smiled sheepishly.

“I’d like to hold a daughter someday too.”

What kind of conversation was this?

It all felt strangely real.

Then I noticed something odd.

‘Wait… am I being held?’

I tried to move my body.

I couldn’t.

No… I could.

But I had no strength.

A tiny hand came into view.

Small.

Far too small.

‘No way…’

A baby.

I had become a baby.

Me, a forty-two-year-old man.

Reduced to a newborn infant.

“Now then, about his name.”

The man spoke.

“Since he’s the eighth child…”

He thought for a moment.

Well, only for a few seconds.

“Hachiro should do.”

‘That was way too quick!’

I couldn’t help shouting in my mind.

So that’s how my new life’s name was decided?

Still, both the man and the woman looked genuinely happy.

“Hachiro.”

The woman, who appeared to be my mother, called my name while holding me.

“Grow up healthy.”

‘Hachiro…’

It seemed that was my new name.

After some time, I figured out a few things.

First of all, this was Japan.

I could understand the language.

The way people spoke felt somewhat old-fashioned, but it was definitely Japanese.

The real question was the era.

‘It’s definitely not the near future…’

I looked around the house.

Wood.

Earth.

Paper.

There was no electricity.

No lighting.

Forget smartphones—there wasn’t a single piece of machinery anywhere.

‘This isn’t just some old-style traditional house, is it?’

That was what I thought at first.

But I was wrong.

This was the real thing.

The entire way of life belonged to another age.

Then I realized something else.

I still had my memories.

Memories from the Reiwa era.

Being an office worker.

Being forty-two years old.

All the worries that had weighed on me.

And all the knowledge I had gained in the modern world.

‘So those memories stayed with me.’

Even so, I had my concerns.

This was the body of a baby.

I had no idea how long these memories would last.

They might disappear as I grew older.

One day, I might think all of this had only been a dream.

‘Before I forget, I’ve got to do something.’

But…

There was nothing I could do right now.

I couldn’t walk.

I couldn’t talk.

I couldn’t even feed myself.

All I could do was sleep.

Drink my mother’s milk.

Listen to the people around me.

Gather information.

That was all.

‘Well, panicking won’t help.’

In my previous life…

I was always in a hurry.

Work.

Money.

The future.

Other people’s expectations.

I spent my entire life being chased by something.

But now it was different.

I had nothing.

And because I had nothing, I could build everything from here.

‘Hachiro…’

It wasn’t a bad name.

The life of Hiroyuki, the forty-two-year-old man, had come to an end.

So then…

In this new life…

I’ll give it another try.

As Hachiro.

Cradled in my mother’s arms,

I slowly closed my eyes.

And so, my second life began.