The Baby Isn’t Yours

<The one who remembers the past will save the world from the desires of the black dragon.

Oh hero, remember the solemn vow of the white flower.>

Suddenly, the Temple of the Sun God was turned upside down by an unexpected divine proclamation.

It had been only two years since the end of the war with the demons.

Why did the god, who had never said a word before the demon war, suddenly issue a divine proclamation now? And to top it off, the desire of the black dragon…

How terrifying must things be for a divine proclamation to be issued!

“…Oh god. Have you truly abandoned our land?”

The priests gathered in the temple, their faces pale, as they clasped their hands together.

It was roughly two years since Kalia ascended to the throne of the Purito Kingdom, and exactly three years since Shaik Tacskate Terroan turned three.

* * *

“Sasha, happy birthday. May you always grow up healthy.”

Kalia’s lips, curved into a gentle smile, lightly touched Sasha’s forehead, revealing her motherly affection.

She caressed Shaik’s cheek with her strong and beautiful motherly face, then passed the next turn to Simon.

“My beloved Shaik, may you be endowed with strength and kindness to fulfill your desires.”

Simon gave a speech and placed a magical bracelet he had been working on for a year and a half on young Shaik’s wrist.

As Shaik curiously examined the bracelet-shaped magical tool with his curious eyes, Simon added a brief explanation.

“It’s a magical tool that conceals your presence and appearance. It’s called ‘invisibility.’ It’s a unique invisibility magical tool that has never existed in the world before. I don’t know why Louismond kept asking for it. That tiresome guy… I put so much effort and dedication into making it, but would I give it to an Emperor or something?”

Shaik’s eyes twitched slightly at Simon’s nonchalant explanation, but fortunately, no one noticed.

“Invi… sibiwity?”

At first, the child seemed to be uncertain about the meaning of the word, but as he mimicked Simon’s words in a vague tone, a sparkling light emitted from his wrist, and he smiled widely as if he liked it.

“Abbia!”

The best child! Hooray! The best!

A voice that hadn’t come out burst loudly from within Shaik.

Watching Shaik with pride, right by Simon’s side, Kalia intervened.

“Simon, why are you leaving out the part where I obtained the blue gemstone? I worked so hard to find it. Shaik, this even contains your mom’s love.”

‘Oh, Mother. Mother…’

Shaik, with the brightest smile he could muster, tightly embraced Kalia and shouted:

“Mom, you’re the bwest!”

Simon and Kalia had proud smiles on their faces.

It was a grand festival in the Kingdom.

In the kingdom that had abandoned the name of Akan and received the new name of Purito, an unprecedented feast was held.

The king opened the grain warehouses to feed the hungry, and the songs of the fairies, known as the bloodline of the kingdom, echoed throughout day and night.

Thanks to the blossoming flowers and fruits blessed by the fairies, the country became prosperous.

Shaik, surrounded by gifts, watched people dancing to lively music.

Only three years had passed.

It was the day when he had been given such a blessed life, only three years after his birth.

Shaik turned his large emerald green eyes, inherited from Kalia, towards his mother and father.

Pale lemon-colored hair, eyes with a hint of green, his mother standing at the pinnacle of tragedy and comedy, with the culmination of darkness.

Beside her stood his father, a dazzling silver-haired and exquisitely adorned handsome man, a great Archmage who transcended enlightenment.

Above all, there were people who showed an immense and unblemished love towards him, who sometimes displayed a mysterious appearance.

He rejoiced in his birth and danced with the people, offering them warm food, and his heart swelled with love from his parents who embraced the sick and the poor on his birthday.

‘Oh god. What are your intentions?’

The baby raised his small fist towards the sky.

Though it was just a plump and round fist, tightly clenched, nothing more.

Sasha, or rather Shaik, was reborn with memories of his past life.

People called such individuals ‘reincarnators.’

In his past life, he had no parents.

He was born amidst war, and a monster took him away and raised him amidst corpses.

He miraculously survived when he was on the brink of starving to death, and there were times when he almost died with a pierced back from an enemy.

He almost crossed a weeping river with his throat choked by a traitor, but he also saved his life by the hand of a beautiful woman.

Looking back, he had never experienced such a pitiful life.

‘Anna.’

The hope and first love he had met in his weary life.

Before he could fully feel the warmth of their first kiss, he was forcibly dragged into another world and reluctantly joined the war.

Damn demons, monsters.

He would see those detestable beings even in his new life.

However, surprisingly, all he had done in this life was slightly increase his body’s fluctuating purification power.

‘Everything was done by those two.’

Sasha whispered, exchanging secret words and looking at Kalia and Simon, who burst into laughter.

He still couldn’t forget the image of his mother, who fought against the demons, and his father, who protected his mother.

Especially the image of his mother, who bravely overcame countless tragedies and sorrows and sought happiness.

They were admirable individuals.

But that’s why Shaik had even more questions.

Why was he reborn again?

In his previous life, his physical body had withered away after fulfilling its purpose.

After experiencing too much suffering, dimensional shifts, and absorbing magic, his body could no longer withstand it and disappeared.

Naturally, as his physical body decayed, he also faced death.

He thought everything had come to an end.

Overwhelmed by exhaustion, he fell into the world of the afterlife as if falling asleep.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a comfort and warmth that he had never experienced before.

‘…So that was amniotic fluid. Who would have known?’

Remembering the now hazy sense of comfort, Shaik let out a small sigh.

Until then, he had thought, ‘I’m just in that world. My soul hasn’t been extinguished yet,’ but now he wasn’t so sure.

Then, at some point, he heard a piercing scream that woke him up.

-Help me… Save me. Save me. Save me…!-

It wasn’t a scream in language, but it was imprinted clearly in his mind.

Begging for help, pleading desperately and screaming.

The sound was so loud and desperate that Shaik thrashed around.

It felt as if someone was urging him to save that person.

How long did he struggle like that?

Suddenly, the noise quieted down, and the desperate cries that had been desperately screaming, enough to awaken his consciousness, also stopped.

And he felt a clear power similar to that sound nearby.

Shaik had a hunch.

‘…They’re alive.’

With a sense of relief, he closed his eyes again.

He thought it would be fine to fall asleep forever like this, but his rest was not long-lasting.

With a sudden external shock, he was pushed out in an instant.

“Guge… you were a troublemaker, Juri.”

Shaik murmured, reminiscing about the past.

Kalexia, who was sitting next to him, affectionately looked at his young grandson and asked:

“Huh? Sasha, are you bored? It might not be fun for a child. Should Grandpa take you for a ride on a wooden horse?”

Shaik looked at Kalexia, the Fairy King, with a mysterious gaze.

The most difficult part for him to adapt to was exactly this.

‘Kalexia…’

The fact that the one he fought alongside became his grandfather.

And even more, his comrade’s face hadn’t aged much.

“Kal, Sasha doesn’t like you. Maybe playing with Grandma would be more fun for Sasha?”

…It was outrageous that such a thing was said by someone like them.

For a fleeting moment, Shaik’s gaze wavered, but it had already been three years since he had become a human baby.

“Kyaa~!”

…He had already fully adapted.

Shaik raised both hands towards the empty space as if inviting anyone to hold him.

Kalexia gently lifted Shaik’s small body into his arms.

Then, Leah’s voice mixed with dissatisfaction came from the side.

“Kal! You were holding him a lot earlier. It’s my turn this time!”

“You were the one holding him all the time last time, Leah. I also want to spend time with our Shaik.”

“When are you talking about the past? It’s a story from a whole ten days ago. Come on, Shaik, come here. Grandma has prepared a gift for Shaik. It’s a record of the previous Holy Demon War.”

‘…What?’

Shaik’s eyes widened at Leah’s words.

A record? It was something he desperately needed.

After being reborn, Shaik was gradually losing his memories of his past life.

The memories of his past life were drifting away, one by one, like dandelion seeds being blown away by the wind.

Shaik spread his arms wide and smiled brightly at Leah.

“…Gwandma!”

Social life was important.

Strictly speaking, it was a strategy.

From a life where he crawled on the ground and chewed on insects to survive to reaching the pinnacle, he had survived relentlessly. In comparison, changing his posture was nothing.

Moreover, he was happy these days, so he could endure this level of self-sacrifice for his own happiness.

…To achieve what he desired, 3-year-old Shaik, who had reached the maximum level of reincarnation, knew the art of sacrificing something.

“Oh my, dear Shaik! Grandma is the best, right?”

Hearts popped up in Leah’s eyes.

“Why is our Shaik so cute and lovely like this? Although he’s my grandson, he somehow reminds me of someone else. Anyway, Grandma loves our Shaik.”

Kiss.

…Hmm, it feels like receiving affectionate advances from an old comrade.

“No, Sasha, isn’t it the most fun to play with Grandpa? Grandpa also brought something for our Sasha. He raided the Shrine of the Divine Dragon to get it. The sword of our old comrade was buried there… The sword he cherished…”

…Shrine of the Divine Dragon? Sword? Could it be…!

Shaik quickly turned his head and looked at Kalexia.

He urgently opened his mouth and shouted:

“Swo, Sword…!”

“Oh my goodness, my little puppy!”

Kalexia, sensing the urgency, swiftly took Shaik from Leah’s embrace.

Leah pursed her lips in frustration, but Shaik, who couldn’t miss Leah’s gift either, decided to conquer both of them at once.

“Ah Gwandpa and Gwandma. Everyone listen!”

‘Oh, goodness, this cuteness…’

Whether Shaik’s choice was excellent or not, the eyes of the two fairies became teary.

‘Hmm, it seems I’m cute after all.’

After receiving so much love for three years, such thoughts now came to him without any hesitation.

The child raised his round chin and glanced sternly at his old friends, who had become Gwandpa and Gwandma.

There was no point in intensifying the competition between the two.

Shaik decided to end this fight with one final statement.

He stretched out his short arms towards Kalexia and Leah, placing his round hands on each of their cheeks, and shouted solemnly.

“The fwight is over!”

At that moment, everyone surrounding Shaik held their breath tightly.