“Hachiro, you’re amazing!”

On the way home from the temple, my older brothers were bursting with excitement.

Normally, the brother who carried me on his back simply looked after me.

I was the eighth son.

Only two and a half years old.

As long as I didn’t cry too much, that was enough.

That was how everyone treated me.

But today was different.

“You answered every math question the monk gave you.”

“And you could read the characters too.”

My brothers spoke over one another.

I had mixed feelings about it.

‘Well… I did spend forty-two years in my previous life.’

Addition.

Subtraction.

Reading.

In the Reiwa era, those were the most ordinary things imaginable.

But this era was different.

Even grown adults who couldn’t read weren’t uncommon.

Simply being able to handle numbers accurately made a person valuable.

And for a two-and-a-half-year-old child, it was only natural that people would be astonished.

When we returned home, my brothers immediately ran to tell Father and Mother.

“Father!”

“Hachiro is incredible!”

Father looked up from repairing a farming tool.

“What’s all the commotion about?”

“Hachiro read the monk’s characters!”

“He understood the numbers too!”

“He even got all the pebble counting questions right!”

My brothers eagerly explained everything.

Father simply laughed.

“Hahaha, it must have been a coincidence.”

Mother smiled as well.

“Hachiro is only two years old.”

“You boys just want to praise your adorable little brother.”

Well, that was only natural.

If I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t have believed it either.

A two-and-a-half-year-old understanding written characters and doing calculations?

Normally, that would be impossible.

Neither Father nor Mother took it seriously.

Still…

“Hachiro really is a smart boy.”

“You did well.”

My brothers spent the entire day praising me.

They patted my head.

They lifted me onto their shoulders.

They gave me far more attention than usual.

‘Well… this isn’t so bad.’

It was a feeling I had never experienced in my previous life.

But it didn’t end as a one-day event.

The next day, we went back to the temple.

The monk showed me characters.

I answered.

The following day, he gave me math problems.

I answered those too.

After several days of this, even the monk’s expression began to change.

“This… is no coincidence.”

The monk stared intently at me.

“Hachiro.”

“Yes.”

“Come again tomorrow.”

I tilted my head.

“But my older brother…”

The monk turned to my brother.

“Carry Hachiro here every day.”

“Huh?”

“This child is interesting.”

The monk smiled.

“I’d like to teach him.”

From that day onward, my daily routine changed.

Every morning, my older brother carried me to the temple.

At first, I studied together with the other children.

Characters.

Pronunciation.

The iroha syllabary.

Of course, I already knew all of it.

But I never pretended to know everything.

Little by little.

I only wanted to appear as a child who learned unusually quickly.

…Or at least, that had been the plan.

“Hachiro.”

“Yes.”

“What is this?”

“Ro.”

“And this?”

“Ha.”

The monk smiled.

“You’ve already remembered them?”

‘Oops.’

Perhaps I had progressed a little too quickly.

But the monk wasn’t frightened.

If anything, he found it amusing.

“Very well, then. Let’s continue.”

After the other children went home, the monk began asking me to stay behind.

What started then was no longer simple reading practice.

“Hachiro.”

“Yes.”

“There are three sacks of rice.”

The monk placed three pebbles on the floor.

“Then the villagers bring two more.”

He added two more pebbles.

“How many are there altogether?”

“Five.”

“Now suppose the temple uses two of them.”

“Three.”

The monk narrowed his eyes.

“That was quick.”

Then he changed the subject.

“The temple receives rice from the village.”

“Yes.”

“It also receives radishes and leafy vegetables.”

I nodded.

The temple wasn’t merely a place for prayer.

It was deeply connected to the village.

The villagers brought rice and vegetables, and in return the temple provided education and a place where people could seek advice.

In a sense, it was the center of village life.

“Then if the temple has ten sacks of rice and uses two each month, how many months will they last?”

“Five months.”

The monk laughed.

“Are you really only two years old?”

I remained silent.

There was no answer I could give.

The monk gently patted my head.

“Hachiro.”

“Yes.”

“You’re a fascinating child.”

Then, smiling, he continued,

“Once you’re three or four, you may become more useful than your older brothers.”

“More useful than my brothers?”

“That’s right.”

The monk nodded.

“Those who can work with numbers are strong.”

I understood exactly what he meant.

Strength wasn’t limited to fighting.

Calculation.

Management.

Commerce.

Those were forms of strength as well.

“It would be even better if you could write…”

The monk looked at my tiny hands.

“But handling a brush is still too difficult for you, isn’t it?”

That was true.

In my mind, I knew how to write.

But my hands couldn’t keep up.

The fingers of a two-and-a-half-year-old simply weren’t capable of such fine movements.

“But…”

The monk continued.

“If your mind can already think this way, that will become your strength one day.”

I nodded.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

The monk smiled with genuine delight.

Half a month later, the way my brothers looked at me had changed.

“Hachiro, did the monk praise you again?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s amazing.”

There wasn’t a trace of resentment in their voices.

No jealousy.

No suspicion.

The reason was simple.

“Well, Hachiro’s the eighth son.”

“It’s not like he’s going to inherit the family.”

“He’s not going to get in our way.”

My brothers laughed.

“In that case, we’ve got to help him.”

I was grateful.

Alone, I couldn’t do anything.

I still walked slowly.

I couldn’t carry heavy loads.

I wasn’t allowed near fire.

But…

‘I’m finally gaining allies.’

The monk.

My older brothers.

This was where everything would begin.

Whether it was making food.

Starting a business.

Or changing the village.

I’d need people.

I was only two and a half years old.

My body was still small.

But step by step, Hachiro was steadily moving forward.