by Kiri Komori
Table of Contents
Copyright
Cover
Character Page
♣The Beginning
♣The Day I Became a Foster Father
♣Me, Age Four
♣As It Turns Out, My Four-Year-Old Daughter is a Genius
♣Me at Age Five
♣Can Never Let Your Guard Down
♣Me at Age Six
♣My Daughters Are So Cute
Afterword
Other Series Pt. 1
Other Series Pt. 2
Reincarnated as the Last of my Kind, Volume 1
Kiri Komori
Translation by Roman Lempert
Illustration by Yamigo
Title Design by KC Fabellon
Editing by Tom Speelman
Proofreading by Charis Messier and A.M. Perrone
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Reincarnated as the Last of my Kind
© 2018 by Kiri Komori
English translation rights reserved by
Cross Infinite World.
English translation ©2020 Cross Infinite World
All rights reserved. In accordance with U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email below.
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First Digital Edition: December 2020
ISBN-13: 978-1-945341-49-6
♣The Beginning
IT was nighttime. My usual walk back home from work.
I stopped by a convenience store, then made my way to the usual intersection. As I walked down the gentle slope, I pulled out my headphones, although I knew I ought to be more alert when walking outside at night. The idea that some suspicious person might be following me around was frightening.
I turned on my phone and dialed emergency services, so I’d be able to call for help with one push. And to top it all off, I wore a white coat and white backpack—that way, any oncoming cars or bicycles would easily notice me.
This neighborhood was mostly peaceful, but you could never be too careful. You never knew when some pervert might crawl out of the woodwork.
As I walked on thinking such things, I felt something white and cold drop on the tip of my nose.
Snow. I thought it was cold—
Screeeeeeeeeeeeeech!
“Huh?”
The moment I stopped and looked up at the night sky, the sound of a braking bicycle squealed behind me.
Wait. When did a bicycle get here…?
I heard someone shouting. I felt something hit me first, then my head bang hard against a telephone pole. A dull sound rang in my ears. The last thing I saw was a bicycle, with its lights off, sliding to the center of the highway.
God, this is the worst… A bicycle with its lights off… Am I going to…?
The world went dark. It was so cold…so dark.
No, no, not like this. I…I never even had a boyfriend… I couldn’t even repay Mom… Thank her for everything yet…
Mom… No, I don’t want to go… Mom…
♣♣♣
“GOOD girl…”
When I came to, a woman was looking down at me. She had blond hair and a crystal embedded into her forehead. I couldn’t say why, but somehow…this woman registered as “Mother” in my mind.
I reached out to her. My small, baby hands reached toward Mother. Mother gladly enveloped my hands in hers, happily mouthing the word “Rubia.”
…Rubia. Yes, that’s my name.
“Good girl, Rubia. There, there.”
I couldn’t speak. Only meaningless “Aaah”s and “Uuu”s left my lips. But Mother simply beamed at me.
I don’t understand. What’s going on…? Wait. Wasn’t I—uhh…? Working at the pub near the station…? Just an ordinary…? Wait…what…? This is weird. Why can’t I remember…?
“Cindy.”
“…I know. Rubia is…”
A man’s voice called out to Mother and made her raise her hand from my head. The smile was gone from her lips. Her brows furrowed sadly and tears welled up in her blue eyes. The brown-haired, bearded man that approached Mother…that was Father.
“Rubia…my precious daughter… Our country of Jiera is at its end. But you will survive…” said Father.
“May the blood of the Stone of Daybreak…never come to awaken. And may she always be safe…” added Mother.
“Aah… Aaah…”
Father, Mother, what’s wrong? What is this box? Why are you putting me inside it…? What’s going to happen now?
They placed me in an oval, egg-shaped container of some kind. Father put something on top of me and closed the lid. Mother wiped her tears away. Father bit his lips bitterly.
I had no way of knowing that screams and fire were raging beyond that room’s door. And rocked gently, enveloped by darkness, I gradually succumbed to sleep.
That makes sense…I am a baby, after all.
But why were Mother and Father so sad? What did they mean “by the blood of the Stone of Daybreak…?”
“You must live on.”
Father’s muffled voice reached my ears. And that was the last memory I had of my parents.
♣♣♣
HOW much time had passed? I could tell my ark was rocking and jolting, but it was totally dark. When I woke up, I spent some time crying and whining, but I realized no one was around and stopped after a while. Instead, I started listening attentively to what sounded like a river bubbling. I wasn’t cold, since I was wrapped in what felt like two or three layers of blankets, but…
Is this ark drifting along a river…? No, that can’t be…! What am I, baby Moses?!
I’d already learned, at this point, that crying wasn’t going to get me anywhere, so I raised my hands, clenching and opening my fists. I fumbled around, touching my face in an attempt to understand who I was.
“Aaah. Uuu…”
That was the extent of what my voice could utter. I couldn’t speak. And that meant…no question, I was now a baby.
Yeah, I figured! I figured that’s what this means! But how does this make sense?!
A bicycle ran into me and made me bump my head against a telephone pole. That was the reason. But…!
Wait. So, does this mean I…d-died? Died and got reborn as a baby? Doesn’t it all end when you die? It normally does, right? Does reincarnating with my memories intact make any sense?! Wait, hold up. Is this really Japan? No, even if it isn’t Japan…am I even still on Earth?! That woman back there…my new mom had a jewel in her forehead! And it wasn’t a decoration. It was in her forehead! Was there a tribe like that out there?! Like in the Amazon? One of those Indigenous tribes…?
Wait. Then this river…
Hold up, hold up, a river?! Aren’t there, like, crocodi
les in the Amazon?! Nooo…!
A crocodile could probably swallow this little ark of mine whole… Aaah! And now I remember some TV show saying giant serpents are breeding in the Amazon! Big snakes that can swallow human children whole… Big, giant snakes… The Amazon’s like a breeding ground for dangerous creatures!
Noooooooo! I just died five minutes ago; I can’t die again so soon!
“Aaah…”
I was on the verge of bursting into tears but managed to quiet down. I didn’t know how far I’d drifted, but I was probably far from civilization by now. Crying and screeching here would only alert predators to my presence…
Aaaah… Why did this happen to me?!
♣♣♣
“………!”
I jolted awake. How long has it been…?
What happened… I… Wait, did I fall asleep?! Ugh…I guess it makes sense. I am a baby.
But being a baby just made a whole slew of other problems rise to the surface. Real issues that tormented me in the here and now. Like being hungry…and really, really needing to pee. The hunger I could put up with—or rather, it’s not like I had much of a choice—but my bladder issues were approaching critical mass!
The fact I’d been a grown adult in my past life not a few hours ago made it absolutely awful to put up with. But worse yet, this little ark I was in was hermetically sealed. Whether I went number one or number two, it’d be a catastrophe, both in terms of smell and, worse yet, my dignity. How could I live it down?!
Still, crying about it would only attract predators that might gulp the whole ark up and put a swift end to my newly gained second life before I even had a chance to properly start it!
I can’t die this soon! Someone help meeeeee!
But then, I thought I heard something.
Huh? Did I imagine that…? Wait, no, I definitely heard it!
I could clearly hear someone wading through the water, approaching me. Someone was here to save me!
“There we go…mm?”
Yeah, I just heard someone’s voice!
I opened my eyes just as someone roughly opened the lid to my ark. A dirty, bearded face looked down at me, with the starry sky as its backdrop.
…Er…he totally looks like some kind of villain… B-But wait, no, I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. M-Maybe he’s actually really nice?
Given the situation, I had no choice but to rely on this person for help.
Please help me! Don’t send me down the river again!
“Tch, a baby?”
With a click of his tongue, the man closed the ark’s lid, and I could hear him walking. But this time, it was different from the sloshing water. He was probably carrying me up a hill.
“Hey, what happened?”
“What was inside?”
“Take a look.”
I could hear more adults. As I looked up, the ark opened again, except this time, several grimy, bearded faces greeted me, blotting out the starry sky.
…Th-They all look like scumbags. Nooooooo!
“Gaaaah, gaaaaaaaaaaah!” The scumbag face roulette made me bawl.
Th-They stink! Haven’t they heard of a bath before?!
They smelled of iron and the distinctive body odor given off by middle-aged men.
“Aaah, someone shut this pipsqueak up!”
“Hey, is there anything expensive-lookin’ in there? All I see is this dirty rock.”
“Oh, but this silk cloth looks kinda snazzy.”
“Nothin’ else of value in there… Tch. Hey, Boss!”
…Boss?
The man that picked me up and a few other men roughly lifted up my ark and started walking. The sound of a bonfire’s crackling and crude laughter reached my ears.
I have a bad feeling about this…
“Yo, boys. What did you find?”
“This silk cloth is the most valuable thing. The only other things in there were this baby and some pebble.”
“Oh, silk sells for a pretty sum. A baby, though… What race is it?”
“She looks human. See, no fur or fluffy ears.”
“No scales or a tail, either… Oh, but check it out; it’s a girl!”
Noooooooooooooooooo!
They tore my blanket and clothing away, unveiling me for all present (a group of middle-aged men!) to see.
Creeps! Perverts! Sick perverted creeps!
One of them lifted me up by one leg and dangled me upside down in what was probably the worst possible way to hold a baby. But forget appearances or gentleness. Him holding me like that only made me…
“Gaah!”
…incapable of restraining myself. And it really, honestly wasn’t my fault, but…
Aaah… Just kill me… I thought as shameful relief overtook me.
“Gaaaaah! Gaaaaaah!” I cried out.
“Ya little shit!”
“Gahahaha! The baby pissed on ya!”
“Shit, wait, the fire’s goin’ out!”
He flourished me about, still holding me by the leg. This time, I wasn’t screaming just out of embarrassment—it hurt.
O-Ow, my leg! What are these guys doing?! Wait, no, did this guy just try to throw me into the fire?! You can’t do that to a baby—Ow! My leg feels like it’s tearing off! Stop it! Let me down! It huuurts!
“A baby, huh…? What do we do with it, Boss?”
“Well, we could probably sell her to a slave merchant in Edesa Kura for some coin. It’s a girl, so we could also keep her around for our pleasure, huh? Or… Here’s a thought. We could teach her how to kill and make her work for us as an assassin! She’ll net us a fortune.”
“Oh, I like it! And if we have her to keep us company, we won’t have to kidnap any village girls anymore either!”
“Nah, there’s that extra-special something about bedding girls you kidnapped yourself…”
“I guess…”
“’Sides, stealing’s our job! If we don’t taste the spoils every now and then, we’ll lose our touch!”
“Ahahaha! Ya ain’t wrong!”
Wh-What are these people saying…?! Are these guys… No, they’re definitely thieves! No way… Why did I get picked up by them, of all people…? They’re going to make me a slave…or an assassin…? To hell with that! If I stay with these people, they’ll kill me sooner or later!
Someone! Anyone! Heeeeelp!
“Gaaaaah! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” I bellowed out.
“Zip it, pipsqueak!”
“Gaaaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Forget it, Boss, let’s just flay this tyke. You really think we can raise a kid?”
“Well, I guess you’re not wrong there… Though we could just abduct some girl from a village and have her raise the kid for us… Huh?”
Help! Somebody! Anybody! I don’t want to die here and I don’t want these creeps to take advantage of me or make me a slave! Please! Help, please!
The only thing I could do was wail and cry out helplessly. I squeezed my eyes shut and cried out as hard as I could, so I didn’t even have the leisure of appreciating the starry sky.
But before long, the bandits started fighting something. Apparently, my crying had summoned something they hadn’t expected. I could hear gurgling and screams and the ominous sound of something snapping. By the time I’d grown too tired to cry any longer, the sound of an animal’s growling had reached my little ears—a distinct gurgling sound.
W-Wait… Wait up… I just imagined that, right…? Th-This isn’t happening…
“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…!”
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” I cried out in fear.
A-Animals!
A pack of animals, crimson blood dripping from their jaws, was circling me! And while I couldn’t see it, I could clearly hear the sound of crunching and smashing.
“U-Ugh… B-Boss… H-Help… Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
The thief then fell silent, as if the agonized howl he’d let out clogged his throat. I could hear the men screaming and moani
ng, calling out for help and begging the animals to stop. But little by little, their voices were replaced with the sound of something being torn off and eventually followed by silence.
The only thing I could see was the back of one animal. But I heard the growling of several more.
I silently accepted that my life was over. It was short and its end came all too quickly. My only way of surviving this was for the animals to not notice me and leave, but my ark was wide open, and my gaze was locked with one of theirs.
What was that red, blood-like fluid dripping from its mouth? I was afraid to ask and didn’t really want to know. So, I closed my eyes.
Just hurry up and end this… What is this even? A nightmare? I’m probably not gonna wake up in a hospital after being hit by that bike, am I…?
When that thief dangled me in the air from my legs, it really did hurt, after all…
The animals sniffed my scent curiously.
Is this gonna be one of those cases where they decide to raise me as one of their young or something…?
“Gaaaah!”
“You mustn’t harm her.” A mysterious voice echoed out.
The voice seemed to echo at first, but it gradually became clear. Was that a man’s voice? Maybe one of the bandits…? Whatever it was, it made the animal bolt away from me with a yelp. And the next moment, a mysterious young man with hair as black as night peered down at me. He was dressed oddly and clearly wasn’t there with the bandits.
“…You didn’t have to kill them… You lot have taken it too far…”
“Humans, burn, territory.”
“Burn, kill.”
“Our kind, many, dead.”
“Humans, unforgivable. More! Kill!”
Those voices spoke not so much in words as utterances… But those sounds they produced were thick with anger and rage.
Wait…the animals are talking? Is this some kind of baby power?
“I know. But revenge will not bring back your lost kinsmen or restore your land. Even I can do nothing about those who have died.”
The voices simply returned a wordless growl.
“You should migrate to the Mythical Continent. Go east from here. If you see humans along the way, you mustn’t attack or devour them. Do so, and they will hunt you down. And they far outnumber you. Once you reach the eastern tip of this land, ask the water dragon Lenne to help you cross the sea. Mention my name and he will ferry you. You wish to protect your clan, yes? Then restrain yourselves for now and make your way east.”