What does death feel like?
Does it feel like extreme peace, serenity, and relaxation?
Or do you feel your consciousness, or even your body image, detach from your physical form, floating in mid-air, watching the doctors busy themselves around your body as if it had nothing to do with you?
Or perhaps, seeing a beam of light at the end of a black hole, feeling yourself merge with that light, and in an instant, feeling as though you have become one with the universe?
However, these descriptions are incorrect—at least for Itachi, the aforementioned situations didn’t quite fit him.
It was as if he had been startled awake from a nap; with a blink of the eyes, a wave of drowsiness surged over him.
Suddenly, his lowered head snapped up.
By the time he regained his senses, he was no longer in the environment he was familiar with.
An unfamiliar ceiling…
The cliché transmigration event.
After a lifetime of playing the game, I never thought I’d be the one getting played today.
What met his eyes were houses from medieval Europe, looking like something out of a movie, along with hair and eye colors that looked exotic no matter how he viewed them.
Reaching out his hand, what came into view was an arm as white as a lotus root.
Itachi opened his mouth, tentatively wanting to say something, but as if he couldn’t control himself, what reached his ears was the sound of a baby crying.
“…”
I see, an infant transmigration start.
No wonder I couldn’t even manage to roll over.
Letting out a long sigh, Itachi comforted himself with a bitter smile.
This isn’t bad, is it?
In my past life, I was mediocre, just one of the masses.
In this life, perhaps I can start over and live with a different kind of flair, just like the protagonists of the novels or anime I love.
A free second life—any way you look at it, it’s a win.
Just as he was letting his thoughts wander and finding joy in his sorrows, a burly middle-aged man with a determined face suddenly appeared before him.
Is this my father in this life?
Itachi guessed.
He looks quite majestic and isn’t bad-looking either.
Based on genetic inference, maybe I can even be a handsome foreign guy in this life.
Regardless, let’s build some favorability first.
Thinking this, Itachi let out an “Ah~” and happily greeted him, accompanied by a toothless grin.
The being suspected to be his father gave him a look of complex emotion and then said a sentence to him: “＃%$^＆*＆^$$＃＃/,@＃$@＃”
“…”
What?
What are you saying??
Itachi’s little mouth twitched, thinking that this was a total disaster.
He couldn’t understand a word he said.
What kind of situation is this?
You know, transmigration without a built-in translation is just playing dirty!
It looks like I’ll have to learn the language from scratch.
Thinking of this, Itachi couldn’t help but feel a wave of sorrow.
A medieval European living environment plus a completely foreign language system—this starting difficulty is a bit high.
But…
what he said sounded a bit like English.
Did I transmigrate to England several centuries ago?
“…＃$＃%^＃$%%@35＃$%＃$$$”
The handsome uncle lowered his head and said another sentence to him.
However, it was like playing a lute to a cow; if he didn’t understand, he just didn’t understand.
Well…
whatever.
After all, I’m still a little baby.
I can learn the language slowly, and I can adapt to the environment slowly.
The days ahead are long; there’s no point in thinking so much.
There’s a famous Korean saying:’Since you’re already here, what else can you do…’
Thinking this, Itachi pursed his lips and gave him a sweet smile.
He tried hard to let out another “ah” to assert his presence.
Just an “ah” wasn’t enough; he struggled to reach out a pair of short little hands from his swaddling clothes, signaling to the man in front of him that he wanted a hug.
Acting cute is shameful, but effective.
For the sake of how cute I’m being, promise me you’ll be nicer to me in the future!!
However, just as the man speaking to him was like a chicken talking to a duck, everything Itachi did also seemed like playing a lute to a cow.
When the man saw his movements, besides his expression becoming even more bitter and resentful, he actually let out a long sigh and turned to leave.
…!!!
Itachi’s movements froze, and ten thousand ‘grass mud horses’ galloped through his heart.
You’re just leaving like that?!
Why are you leaving?!
Is it because I can’t lift a blade yet, or am I not cute enough?!!
Are you serious with that turn?
Such a small action, yet it hurts so much.
Itachi slowly tucked his outstretched short hands back into the swaddling clothes, comforting himself in his heart.
It’s fine.
As long as I don’t feel awkward, the awkwardness can’t catch me.
But!
Dammit!
Stinky uncle, I’ll remember you!!
The empty room was silent for barely a few minutes when a creak was heard as the wooden door was opened again.
The sound caught Itachi’s attention.
He tilted his head to look and saw a woman who looked a bit aged, appearing to be in her thirties, walking in slowly.
Who is she?
Itachi looked at her simple clothes with patches, guessing her relationship with that stinky uncle who was supposedly his father.
After the father, could this be the mother?!
Doesn’t look like it though?
That stinky uncle was dressed neatly and appropriately, full of majesty; he didn’t look like someone without money.
If this were his wife, why would her face be so sorrowful, and her clothes, though clean, be so worn and simple?
Moreover, the wrinkles on her face and her cloudy eyes…
when you look at her, the first impression is that she is constantly conveying a sense of life’s hardships and suffering.
Could she be a nanny or something?
Itachi watched her walk up to him and then watched her carefully pick him up.
Through her eyes, he could feel this woman’s affection for him.
Listening to the beautiful nursery rhyme humming in his ear—though he couldn’t understand it—the feeling made Itachi very comfortable.
Now this is more like it!
This is the correct way to treat a human hatchling!!
That inhuman stinky uncle should really take a good look at this scene!!
The gentleness and maternal love radiating from the woman made Itachi feel like he could make it after all.
Let’s act cute!
Let’s build favorability!!
This time it definitely won’t be like playing a lute to a cow; I, Itachi, guarantee it on that uncle’s head.
Holding the mindset of proving that he was the most adorable thing in the world…
He unhesitatingly gave this very comfortable-feeling lady a crinkle-eyed smile, smiling so much his toothless gums showed and his eyes curved into crescent moons.
Itachi used Charm on the lady!
It’s super effective!
This woman, suspected to be a nanny, was clearly struck by my cuteness.
The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes deepened as she smiled, and even the arms holding him began to sway gently.
She reached out a finger to tease Itachi, and the humming from her mouth sounded increasingly soft.
After interacting warmly with the lady for a while, Itachi began to feel a bit drowsy.
Makes sense, I’m still a baby after all.
He opened his mouth wide and let out a yawn, his eyes slowly beginning to close, and before long, he sank into dreamland.
By the time he woke up again, the sky outside was already dark.
How long have I been asleep?
Itachi squinted his eyes and scanned his surroundings; he didn’t see anyone else in the room besides himself.
Feeling the hunger in his belly, he settled into his role very well.
As an infant less than four or five months old, what do you do when you’re hungry?
Just cry and it’s settled.
So he gathered his breath, and in an instant, a loud baby’s cry echoed through the entire room.
He hadn’t been crying for long—in fact, Itachi hadn’t even finished his fill of wailing—when he saw the woman who had coaxed him to sleep earlier rush in through the door.
She walked quickly to him, her eyes full of anxiety as she looked at him.
So Itachi gave her two more symbolic wails to indicate he was hungry.
This lady seemed experienced; while she was mumbling something, she skillfully unwrapped his swaddling clothes.
!!
Wait!
What are you doing?!
Itachi’s eyes widened, and he watched dumbfounded as she stripped him bare in a few quick motions.
How can your movements be so fast!
If the woman could read minds, she would surely have answered him: “It is nothing but practice.”
He didn’t care if she was practiced or not!
As a Itachi who had sworn to be a cool guy in this life, his face was now as ashen as his name.
No?!
I’m hungry, I didn’t wet myself!!
How can you shamelessly pull down a cool guy’s pants like this?
Dammit!
Perhaps because his struggle was too intense, the woman lost her grip for a moment, causing him to tumble over.
Fortunately, he fell on the bed; otherwise, on the first day of his transmigration, he would have had a second meeting with death.
However, Itachi no longer had time to be afraid.
Using the momentum from the roll just now, he discovered to his horror that he was missing a certain most important thing.
As the iconic symbol of a male, Itachi’s Gatling cannon!
It was gone!!
“This has to be a joke, right Σ(っ°Д°;)っ!!!”
Before Itachi could even react, and before it had even accepted the reality of the situation.
The woman, taking advantage of Itachi being stunned into immobility, quickly checked the status of the diaper.
Upon discovering that the diaper wasn’t wet, she intuitively understood that the baby was crying because of hunger.
“So, it’s hungry.”
She skillfully fastened the diaper and pulled the petrified Itachi back into her arms.
Before babies can eat solid food, what do they eat?
The answer is well-known.
And so, as expected, what brought Itachi back to its senses was something suddenly shoved into its mouth.
After unconsciously sucking twice, it swallowed a mouthful of sweet liquid.
Recovering from its petrified state, after already having turned into a girl, Itachi shed tears of humiliation once again.
People die if they don’t eat; that is an immutable truth.
And so, as if in retaliation, she (it) snuggled into the woman’s arms and gulped down the food it relied on for survival.
Sad tears streamed uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.
Crying while eating—this state of affairs left the woman feeding her bewildered.
She skillfully sang a local ballad, looking at the baby in her arms with concerned eyes.
“I’m not paying attention to her; this baby has quite the temper.”
Itachi was so angry that it ate until it was stuffed!
Looking at its bloated belly, humiliation made this young lady burp after the woman patted her back.
“So miserable, truly so miserable…”
Having eaten and drunk her fill, she closed her eyes, tilted her little head, and fell fast asleep in the woman’s embrace.
Escapism may be shameful, but it’s damn useful.