Rebirth From Ordinary Person To The Strongest Chapter 40: Trending on the Internet

That evening, when my father ca ho unusually early, I told him about the letter I received from the Kamiarizuki family. He responded with a thoughtful "Hmm," his expression serious.

"I had been aning to discuss sothing about you, Itsuki. This is perfect timing. We'll go tomorrow."

"About ? Why?"

"Well, I suppose it's ti I explained what's going on."

My father nodded, took a sip from the teacup in front of him, and winced, muttering, "Hot."

"You exorcised Raikou Douji."

"Yeah, I did."

"That's beco quite the topic of discussion within the exorcist community."

"A topic of discussion?"

This was the first ti I'd heard of an exorcist community. Could this be what the man in the black suit ant by an "uproar"? Is that what's happening within this mysterious community of exorcists? The thought made curious.

I wonder what they're saying about . Maybe sothing like, "Did a five-year-old really exorcise it?" That sounds plausible. If it were in my previous life, I'd probably be saying sothing similar on social dia, casting doubt and spreading rumors.

"What exactly are they saying?"

I asked lightly, trying not to sound too concerned, but the response I received was more serious than I anticipated.

"There are three major factions regarding you, Itsuki."

"…Factions?"

"Yes. You could call them the 'Believers,' the 'Doubters,' and the 'Skeptics.' The 'Believers' think you should be trained intensively to exorcise other Sixth Rank 'Mon' in Japan. The 'Doubters' are unsure if you actually exorcised Raikou Douji and prefer to wait and see. And the 'Skeptics' think it's impossible for a five-year-old to exorcise a Sixth Rank 'Mon,' and believe I'm the one who did it."

"But I have Raikou Douji's Iho, don't I?"

"Yes, but it seems the Doubters and Skeptics believe that I'm the one who exorcised Raikou Douji, not you."

…Wow. That's unexpected. I an, I can understand why they might think that. My dad probably could have exorcised Raikou Douji himself without much trouble.

"I understand you might feel sothing about this, but there's no need to worry about the Doubters and Skeptics. Since they don't believe you did it, they won't take any action. The real issue is the 'Believers.'"

"The people who think I exorcised Raikou Douji?"

But doesn't that include my father and Renji-san? What's the problem with that?

"Among the Believers, there are so extremists. They're saying you shouldn't go to school and should instead train nonstop, or even that you should be given a fiancée and have lots of children."

"…Uh."

I could understand the reasoning behind this, so I quietly groaned.

Skipping school to train nonstop. Even I've thought about that for a mont. If I spent the ti I'd be in school practicing magic or training in close combat, I'd get that much stronger. It's obvious that soone who trains for one hour and soone who trains for 100 hours will have a vast difference in skill.

But what would that an for my educational background? I didn't go to kindergarten or preschool, so I'm not a "kindergarten graduate" or "preschool graduate." Would I end up with no formal education at all? How would that affect my future?

"Dad also wants you to beco stronger, but I'd at least like you to attend school. I want you to make friends and acquaintances who aren't exorcists. Life isn't just about work, after all."

I found myself montarily speechless as I listened to my father say this with a deep sigh, his eyes serious but gentle.

To soone like , who spent my previous life repeating the sa routine, the words "Life isn't just about work" shone with a blinding brightness. It's true; I can't argue with that. But I also couldn't help but think, what about a life where you just waste ti between work by watching YouTube and playing mobile gas? Could that kind of life really justify the phrase "Life isn't just about work"?

Was I truly living a fulfilling life in my previous world?

"Of course, you have to work to live, but I don't want your life to be only about work, Itsuki. There's so much more to life than that."

"…Yeah."

I nodded and brushed away the lingering thoughts I'd been harboring.

…That was my life in my previous world.

In this life, I'm allowed to have a fun life. I don't have to fill predetermined boxes with the sa stamp like in a stamp rally. I can live a life that's more enjoyable, more aningful, more varied.

So, there's no reason for to be bound by the thoughts from my previous life.

That's right. I'm living a new life now, one filled with opportunities I never had before.

"By the way, there are already about 30 people who want to be your fiancée."

"…Huh?"

"I've declined them all because they're all over 20 years old."

My father said this as if it were nothing, but that was the most shocking part! I'm still only six years old! Why are won over 20 proposing to be my fiancée? This is absurd!

"Moreover, within the Believers, there are unfounded rumors spreading since they believe you exorcised Raikou Douji."

"Rumors?"

"Yes. They say you're a two-ter-tall giant, that you ate Raikou Douji, or that you're actually 50 years old and not five… It's all absurd."

…Isn't that half the work of pranksters?

I thought so, but I kept it to myself and asked the question that had been bothering .

"But Dad, why does this lead to a discussion at the Kamiarizuki family?"

"Well, they oversee the exorcist community. If Lady Akane tells the Believers to calm down, the situation should settle down quickly."

Lady Akane, the head of the Kamiarizuki family, is the blonde priestess. Since she oversees the exorcists, she's practically their leader. I knew she wasn't just any ordinary person, especially since all the other family heads are n and they all use formal language with her, but I didn't realize she held such an important position.

"Can't you tell them yourself, Dad?"

"When I tried, Renji told , 'That'll just make things worse, so don't do it.'"

Renji-san. You're absolutely right.

"In any case, the sooner we calm things down, the better. Rumors spread quickly, after all."

My father made a sour face as he spoke, his expression reflecting his concern.

I don't want to miss out on school or making friends, but couldn't we just ignore the rumors? Is that not an option? It seems like such a trivial thing to get worked up about.

Well, I don't really care about the rumors, but I do have so business with the Kamiarizuki family. First and foremost, I want to thank them for the talisman. It's thanks to that talisman that I was able to survive.

And if I'm being greedy, I'd like to ask for another one since I used it up in the fight against Raikou Douji.

As I was thinking about these things, my mother called out to my father and .

"Dinner's ready!"

"Coming!"

Tonight's dinner is curry. As soone who loves curry bread, it's naturally one of my favorite foods.

The next day.

It was just my father and in the car heading to the Kamiarizuki household. Hina would have been bored if she ca, so she stayed behind, which ans my mom is looking after her at ho.

My dad was driving us because, given the short notice, there wasn't enough ti to arrange for a driver from the Kamiarizuki family.

As we drove, a section of the highway sound barrier stood out, looking much newer than the rest.

…That's from the ti I exorcised the monster.

The sound barrier that was destroyed when I encountered the monster on the way to my Shichi-Go-San ceremony at age five had already been repaired. It's only been a few months since that incident, but the highway looks so clean that you wouldn't think anything had happened.

Humans are amazing.

Amazed by the speed of infrastructure repair, we arrived at the Kamiarizuki household without any incidents.

"Welco. I've been waiting for you, Itsuki."

Standing at the top of the stairs was Lady Akane and another woman.

The woman beside Akane-san was dressed in what looked like a black suit but was actually more dieval in style, with a silver rosary hanging around her neck.

But before I could focus on that, sothing else caught my attention.

"Wait, your hair…?"

Lady Akane, who had once been a blonde priestess, now had pastel pink hair.

"It's an image change. Doesn't it look good?"

She puffed out her chest proudly as she said this, seemingly unbothered by my confusion.

Wait, priestesses can change their look like that? I thought they were supposed to maintain a certain traditional image.

As I was still trying to process this, the woman standing next to Akane-san crouched down to et my gaze.

Blue eyes, golden hair.

Not Japanese.

She's from the West.

"Nice to et you, Itsuki."

"N-Nice to et you…"

Her fluent Japanese, despite her Western appearance, only added to my confusion, so I could only manage a small greeting in return.

Wait, who is this person?

Seeing the confusion on my face, she smiled and introduced herself.

"My na is Irena. I'm an exorcist from England."