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"About me? Why?"

"Well, I suppose it\'s time 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 become quite the topic of discussion within the exorcist community."

"A topic of discussion?"

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

I wonder what they\'re saying about me. Maybe something like, "Did a five-year-old really exorcise it?" That sounds plausible. If it were me in my previous life, I\'d probably be saying something similar on social media, 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 mean, 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 something 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 some 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 moment. If I spent the time I\'d be in school practicing magic or training in close combat, I\'d get that much stronger. It\'s obvious that someone who trains for one hour and someone who trains for 100 hours will have a vast difference in skill.

But what would that mean 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 become 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 momentarily speechless as I listened to my father say this with a deep sigh, his eyes serious but gentle.

To someone like me, who spent my previous life repeating the same 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 time between work by watching YouTube and playing mobile games? 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 same stamp like in a stamp rally. I can live a life that\'s more enjoyable, more meaningful, more varied.

So, there\'s no reason for me 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 women 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-meter-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 me.

"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 men 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 me, \'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 some 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 me.

"Dinner\'s ready!"

"Coming!"

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

The next day.

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

My dad was driving us because, given the short notice, there wasn\'t enough time 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 time 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.

"Welcome. 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 medieval in style, with a silver rosary hanging around her neck.

But before I could focus on that, something 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 meet my gaze.

Blue eyes, golden hair.

Not Japanese.

She\'s from the West.

"Nice to meet you, Itsuki."

"N-Nice to meet 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 name is Irena. I\'m an exorcist from England."