ALL NOVEL chapter 9
9: **Brainwashed Her**
I never neglect self-discipline.
Since I became bipedal, I’ve been training my body every day.
In front of me is a magical image board (television) projecting videos, where two-dimensional characters dance wildly.
The dancing images loop, and I repeat the same movements as the characters projected on the magical image board until I get bored.
Time flies by at an incredible speed because it’s so much fun.
“Rex, you really love that dance, don’t you?”
“If I show it to him, he’ll keep dancing, and I can do housework in the meantime. It’s a lifesaver.”
My parents don’t understand— they think I’m dancing out of pure interest, but that’s not it.
Dancing uses muscles throughout the whole body.
In other words, I’m training my entire body.
In any world, the body is capital. I know better than anyone that health is an invaluable treasure.
I exercise to stay healthy— please don’t compare me to toddlers who just love “Ryuo-sama Exercises.” Our levels of awareness are completely different.
But I’m starting to get bored, so I turn off the magical image board and ask for a snack.
Mom has recently started making sweets.
She’s attending the same cooking class as the parents who send their kids to the same nursery school as me, including Mirim’s mom.
There were also parents from the kindergarten class there.
In that almost-nursery-school-madam cooking class, I had a dramatic reunion with Anna Onee-chan, but now that she’s in kindergarten, she’s become so mature and somewhat aloof. She won’t hug me anymore…
Onee-chan has changed since kindergarten.
I only have Mirim now.
Maybe it’s not completely unrelated to the fact that she’s become cold towards me because I forgot her name, but she’s already four years old, so I wish she could handle it with more maturity.
By the way, is it snack time yet?
Mom, I’m requesting a snack!
“Your friends are coming today, right? At that time, okay?”
Friends?
I tilted my head.
Friends!
There’s no such thing. I don’t have any. I never had any.
Of course, I’ve gone through a million reincarnations. There were important people. But they were not shallow relationships that could be called friends. They were irreplaceable beings with unbreakable bonds.
Because of the cruelty of the world, I’ve experienced nothing but painful separations with those important people…
That’s why I won’t love anyone anymore. I’ve had enough of being taken away or betrayed…
“Mirim-chan and Anna-chan are coming.”
Wow, really?
Yay!
I was ecstatic. To express my joy, I performed the “Ryuoh-sama Exercise.”
Watching the recorded footage was for the purpose of checking my movements, but in reality, I had memorized all the steps. I could dance lightly without needing to watch the video.
As I was dancing, the doorbell chimed with a “ding-dong.”
I ran towards the front door, not forgetting my step stool. Without it, I couldn’t reach the doorknob.
Welcoming the guests, Anna and Mirim were there, accompanied by both of their parents.
I greeted both sets of parents in the standard manner for the sake of my mom’s social image, then dashed towards Mirim first.
Mirim lightly swayed her pitch-black tail and toddled over to me, embracing me. I hugged Mirim tightly and kissed her cheek. Mirim wagged her tail in delight. She was an expressionless but emotionally rich junior.
As I interacted with my junior, I felt a thump on my back.
Thinking it hurt, I turned to see that it was Anna-chan hitting my back.
“Hey, Anna! I-I’m sorry… Anna, you wanted to meet Rex-kun, right? Why did you hit me?”
“I don’t know!”
Anna seemed oddly angry.
I wanted to be the one angry. Why did she have to hit me? If an acquaintance hits you, especially if you’re an adult, it’s an act that concerns your mental state.
But I thought of a possibility.
Brainwashing.
From my parents’ home to the nursery, the brainwashing education was intense. “This world is peaceful,” “Adults care for children,” “There are no enemies in the world, and you are loved” – I might have been somewhat mentally twisted by this and had my vision clouded from the truth.
If even I, who had undergone millions of reincarnations, was like that, then a mere four-year-old like Anna was probably already thoroughly brainwashed.
But perhaps the brainwashing wasn’t complete yet.
Her violent behavior towards me might be her way of asking for help from the almost brainwashed her…
Living a “life with potential,” I was able to quickly notice many unclear points in that truth.
Thus, what sprouted in my heart was not to discard the nearly brainwashed Anna but rather a desire to help her.
Because I have never forgotten the year I spent with her.
Anna. That name is deeply engraved in my heart. It will surely become a name of a woman that I can’t forget in the past, present, and future. Because the majority of my life was spent with her.
Having a heart that cares for the partner with whom I spent half a year is a negative for me, who wishes to live out a full life, but I don’t seem capable of discarding this feeling.
I hugged Anna, who was pouting.
Anna tried to push me away, but when I persistently hugged her, she seemed to give up trying to push me away. She said in a soothing tone, “I’m not angry.” Really? Your anger was real, right? I won’t forget.
Nevertheless, we reconciled in just ten seconds and decided to play inside the house.
—
『Ryuuou-sama Calisthenics』and discussed the topic of『Sweet Saint Kamikyua』.
Dealing with children is truly challenging.
I laughed cynically while dancing the『Ryuuou-sama Calisthenics』.
The sweets made by the parents were delicious…