Chapter 1: First Appearance, the Boy from Cocoyashi Village
As autumn deepened, a heavy rain swept across Cocoyashi Village.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, why did it suddenly start raining so hard?!"
"Brother Siano, run!"
At the orange orchard gate in the dusk, a black-haired boy dashed out, two baskets of oranges balanced on his shoulders, sprinting madly toward the village.
Suddenly, there was rustling noise from the baskets. Two little ones popped out from the orange pile with a "pa!"—one on the left, one on the right—sticking their heads out from Siano's shoulders.
"Charge, Siano-go! The fork in the road is three hundred meters ahead, full rudder to the left!"
The orange-haired girl on the left raised her right hand high, full of spirit.
"Nami, be sensible, brother is already tired."
The blue-haired girl on the right held up an umbrella, frowning slightly, her voice gentle.
"Hah? You're the sensible one? If you were, you wouldn't still be sitting in the basket!"
"Nonsense! I'm holding the umbrella to keep the rain off brother. He's a head taller than me. How else can I block the rain if I don't sit up here?"
"Tch, I say it's better for me to stay up here to help guide him in case he lowers his head and can't see the road. I'm way more useful than you!"
...
Listening to the familiar bickering of his two little sisters, Siano was long used to it. He glanced at the umbrella that completely missed his head and quietly quickened his pace.
Even though he was carrying both the girls and 130 kilograms of oranges.
The boy still moved with flying steps, his breathing steady.
A moment later, a familiar house appeared in his field of vision.
The lights were already on.
Through the glass window, a slender figure could be seen busy in the kitchen. Smoke curled from the chimney, mixing into the misty rain and quickly vanishing.
He gently pushed open the wooden door with his right hand, and the orange glow of the fireplace instantly wrapped around him.
In the warm halo of light, the sweet scent of oranges and pine wood hit him head-on, pushing the cold and damp out the door.
Siano dropped the baskets to the ground with a thud, shut the door, then collapsed onto the old sofa, arms and legs spread wide, stretching comfortably.
The firelight from the hearth thickened the dusk into rich caramel, flowing over his sprawled limbs.
In that moment—
The soreness and fatigue seemed to fade away with the sound of the falling rain.
"Eh, you're back, Nojiko, Nami."
Footsteps sounded from the kitchen, growing closer. "And Siano too. You've really worked hard these days."
Crap!
The two little ones scrambled out in a panic, but knocked over the bamboo baskets with a crash, both falling flat on the ground as golden oranges rolled all over like little suns.
"Ah, I knew it!"
A young woman in an apron, her deep red ponytail tied back, stood with hands on hips, glaring at the two girls.
"You say you're helping your brother, but you were just causing trouble, weren't you? Sitting in Siano's baskets again—are you only happy when he collapses from exhaustion?"
"Belle-Mère, we know we were wrong..."
Nami and Nojiko looked pitiful, staring at their feet.
"It's okay, Belle-Mère."
Siano turned his face on the sofa, his tired voice gentle. "Don't blame them. The rain was heavy and sudden, I told them to hide in the baskets. It kept them dry, and it's also a good way for me to train."
"Yeah, exactly!"
The two guilty little imps instantly echoed in unison.
"Agh, you two are so frustrating. When will you learn to be as sensible as Siano?!"
Belle-Mère gave each of them a light knock on the head, but didn't really use strength.
"No more of this next time. Go dry your hair with a towel and come eat dinner!"
Saved!
Nojiko and Nami looked gratefully at their big brother, then cheered as they ran to the kitchen table.
"Belle-Mère, what's for dinner tonight... Orange sauce duck breast? Yay!"
"And honey-glazed ribs too? Waaah, let me try!"
"Hey! Did you even wash your hands? Don't just grab with your hands! You two little devils, at least wait for your brother!"
...
Listening to the lively chatter from the kitchen, Siano leaned back in the sofa, when suddenly, a warm ceramic mug touched the back of his neck.
The warmth of ginger cola mixed with honey snaked into his nose like a serpent.
"Drink it while it's hot."
Belle-Mère's irritated voice sounded.
"You're always protecting your sisters, but you never take care of yourself."
She grabbed a clean set of clothes from the wardrobe, and before Siano could react, she stripped off his soaked shirt and began wiping him down with a hot towel.
"Uhh, Belle-Mère..."
Siano tried to back away, but was pulled right back, blushing with embarrassment.
"I'm already thirteen, really, you don't need to do this—I can do it myself."
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Belle-Mère spoke with the firm authority of a mother.
"You're only two years older than Nojiko. Stop pretending to be a mature grown man. Stand still!"
What a pain.
Siano could only stand there like a rag doll, wearing a reluctant expression.
But in his heart, a wave of warmth quietly rose.
To live in Cocoyashi, to grow up in a family like this...
It's really nice.
In his past life, when did he ever experience this?
First time changing a lightbulb in the orphanage at age twelve—cut his hand.
Collapsed from overwork on a night shift at twenty-five—taken away in an ambulance.
Flatlined in the ICU on his twenty-sixth birthday.
Until he suddenly opened his eyes again—
And found himself as a five-year-old boy, covered in blood and filth, in the middle of rubble and ruin.
A female Marine in a white justice cloak was struggling to reach out a saving hand.
...
"I've told you so many times!"
Belle-Mère suddenly twisted his ear hard:
"Don't push yourself too hard! Don't push yourself too hard!
You picked twelve baskets of oranges today, and you still insisted on running the seventh trip? Do you know the ones who try to play hero always catch colds?!"
Siano bared his teeth in pain, trying to grab the towel, but a dry set of clean clothes smelling of citrus was thrown over his head.
The rough sweater itched slightly against his neck, and the crackling sound of the fireplace mixed with Belle-Mère tidying up the wet clothes.
In his past life, he'd only ever worn stiff grid-pattern shirts that never smelled like sunshine.
Now, even this coarse cloth brushing against his skin brought an odd ache to his chest.
Siano looked into the mirror.
Black hair, black eyes—the outline of a handsome thirteen-year-old boy, soaked lashes still wet from the towel, caught in the glow of warm light.
The shadow once standing alone at the top of a skyscraper was long crushed into dust under the tick-tock of this cozy living room clock.
"Thank you," he suddenly said softly.
Belle-Mère's hands paused as she bent down to pick up the clothes, but soon resumed like nothing happened.
"What do you mean, thank you? I should be the one thanking you.
You took on all the hard labor in the orchard.
Doesn't that make me, the mother, seem useless?
You're still such a little guy, yet you're already so strong it's scary."
"I wonder who your birth parents were.
Sometimes I feel like you've got some amazing bloodline—like when you hit a certain age, boom, you awakened some incredible power..."
Bloodline powers?
What bloodline?
What awakening?
I'm not some Joy Boy.
Siano paused for a moment, almost laughing.
For the first few years after his reincarnation, he'd lived in a daze.
Every day just playing and arguing with his sisters, picking mushrooms on the mountain one day, fishing in the river the next—just like a real kid.
Until about two years ago, when he turned ten and his brain finished developing, his memories from his past life started coming back more clearly.
His birth parents in this life were just regular people from the Kingdom of Oikot.
They died in that brutal war.
Nothing special about them at all.
And when he crossed over into this world, if Belle-Mère hadn't happened to rescue and raise him...
He'd probably be a corpse in the rubble by now.
Even so—
He could understand Belle-Mère's rambling thoughts.
After all, his abilities were a bit too unusual for a kid from a small town like Cocoyashi in the East Blue.
At just thirteen, his strength was already off the charts.
During the recent harvest festival wrestling contest, out of over a hundred adult men in the village, not one could last more than a few rounds against him.
Ordinary background, ordinary bloodline.
No famous teacher or fancy training.
All thanks to the cheat he brought with him—
"Deep Sea."
Siano silently called out the keyword.
The system activated instantly. The air shimmered like water.
A dark blue screen, visible only to him, floated up before his eyes.
This was the "Sacrifice and Exchange System" he awakened three years ago.