TTKWQ Chapter 1
Where does the soul come from, and where does it return?
I was thinking idly about that in my 3-year-old body. I was being philosophical at the age of an infant because of reincarnation, because I have memories of my previous life.
In my old life, I was very ordinary guy. I was born in an ordinary household, grew up very ordinarily, and I went to an ordinary university. I thought I would get an ordinary job and live an ordinary life. But, I got employed at a black company.
Furthermore, the world has entered a new ice age—the ice age of unemployment. It was almost hopeless to change jobs. Before I graduated with a new graduate, I was told(threatened) that it would be disadvantageous to aim for re-employment.
And so, I endured for 3 years. After those hard 3 years, I changed jobs! Too bad that my new company was an even blacker company. I want to cry.
Overtime and overtime. To not return home was my everyday life. I finally slept when I thought I could return home. Since I had no memories afterwards, I think I got overworked and went up to heaven as is. Company manager.
For what reason are we born, and for what reason do we live? It makes me think that I’m watching an anime about a certain child. Well, the reason for birth and life is definitely not to become a worker for a black company and to overwork to death… That’s what I want to think. Therefore, I want to enjoy my new life! I want to live with working the least as possible! I absolutely wanteth not to work.[1]
However, it’s only the very wealthy people who can live without working. Although my current family has money, it’s only middle-class. If I try to live without working, I will be a great inconvenience to my parents.
Besides, I have a huge problem. In this world, I’m a girl! In my old life, I was a guy, so this is the so-called TS(trans-sex) reincarnation. Godd*mn.
Although there’s the Equal Employment Opportunity Act[2], there are barriers to the advancement of women in general occupations in Japan. I don’t feel like working until retirement age.
As a woman, I thought it would be great to become a full-time housewife. But, I’m a man on the inside. If I marry a guy, it’s yaoi, and, if I marry a girl, it’s yuri. I have to be single for life.
Even if I don’t work for a company, I thought I could easily earn money with my cheat that all reincarnators in other worlds get. Yet, after trying various things with expectations, I realized that I have nothing to do with supernatural powers, miracles, or magic. Of course, I’m not ever going to try the Return By Death power. God, why have I reincarnated in Japan!? I want my other world slave harem!
However, I should be treated as a genius because I was an adult in my previous life. As they say, a goddess at ten, a talent at fifteen, but a normal person at twenty. That is completely so.
I was ordinary in my previous life, and like any ordinary person, I had no special skills. It’s better to be normal in the beginning; I could have trouble if everyone’s expectations of me go out in vain…
Today, I was watching TV idly while thinking about my future…
“Special feature for genius children! Popular children’s annual income ranking!?”
There was a variety program inferior to the others. When the kid’s show, “Feed My Head,” ended, it turned out to be a wide show among housewives.
“Now, the sparkling top child actor’s yearly income is~”
Deden, and a part of a huge flip board on the TV was hit. How surprising. 9 digits. It’s 100,000,000 yen![3]
The adult version of that child responded graciously to the people with the microphones and talks about daily lessons. When the reproduction VTR showed the episodes of the actor’s debut, it was known that he was acting as a child role from a young age.
All the reincarnated adults should become top children.
A top child earns more in one year than salarymen earn in their life.
What I saw was heaven.
“I want to become a child actor!”
Even if you grow up and become ordinary, if you make money as a top child, you can live luxuriously for life. If I had the money, I could go to the countryside and not work. Let’s go!
“I won’t be good, I’ll be overwhelming! My top child life, here I go! Say yes to lots of money and no work!”
Part 2
Hanamura Nanami[4] is my name. 10 years old and in 4th grade.
Yeah, I know I skipped like seven years. Sorry.
I managed to convince my parents somehow, and I passed the audition to become a child actor.
The audition was easy with a brain of an adult. Sit if told to sit, laugh and smile if told to laugh, and remember some of the words. You don’t ask for too much in a small child.
Many other children forgot the words. Even more would burst into tears in the dazzling light of the camera.
With the appearance of a toddler and the brains of an adult, I am matchless!
In order to be a normal female, I was committed to feminine behavior. Speak like a female. Wear cute clothes. Have long hair.
I was the perfect image of Yamato Nadeshiko.[5] Neat, polite, pretty, cute.
There was even a case where I got a big, white-eyed, cat for work.
This life is in easy mode! Was what I was thinking for a few years.
By the time I got to elementary school, they start making you actually act, and the children at this age have quick progress and strength. After all, the real geniuses who aim to be a top child are different; better than the ordinary me with no special skills. Some children act better than me, and yet others can perform acrobatics that make you want to say that they’re descendants of ninjas. Isn’t it better to go to the Olympics than to aim for a child acting role? Do you want to be an action actor? Well, action actors do get paid well, try hard.
I was supposed to be bored being a genius child, so I was shocked at seeing real geniuses. As a matter of fact, I’m in a hurry to strike it rich; I only have so much time before my advantage as an adult goes away. Yet, I was caught up to just before entering elementary school. Genius children, why???
I studied acting desperately to become a NEET in the future. I also took an acting lesson program, which was free since I’m a “special student.” Hyahhou!
The lesson program had everything; basic acting, singing, voice training, dancing, Japanese dance, conduct, action scene practice, and more.
In addition to the more normal things, I received lessons on tea ceremony, flower arrangement, horseback riding, swordplay, archery, and martial arts…
Martial arts? You’d think it isn’t useful, but it’s a dojo that teaches the know-how of stage combat.
There are some scenes in historical dramas with swords. If not swords, then bare hands.
So, such skills are essential in order to be chosen for a role. If you want to learn the basics, you can just learn from the child actor’s office, but, if you want to get more specialized, you need to go to a dojo like the one that I’m in.
I learned a lot when I found out it would be useful, and I got accepted to play a role in a historical drama. Yet, it seemed that I didn’t need to know this as a girl. Basically, I was in a princess’ childhood role and a village girl role… Why?
When I thought I wasted a couple years of my new life, another offer came in. I could be the childhood persona of a female ninja.
The producer was looking for a girl that could ride horses and wield a sword. I wasn’t allowed to jump from horse to horse because I didn’t learn how. I could possibly die if I attempted it. It seems that people have died from riding normally too.
Eh? Is there any other child who could do it? Ah, there was the child who was an acrobatic action actor; the one that probably descended from ninjas. It turns out that we were childhood friends in the same ninja village in the production.
Yeah, that actor was jumping, while rolling, from horse to horse. A ninja? A ninja. Amazing.
Well, since even the seemingly useless art of jumping from horse to horse is, in fact, useful, I give up on using common sense for this. I learned piano, violin, classic ballet, rhythmic gymnastics, sports, and things from any scene that I could think of.
There are so many fields, I was tempted to quit half-way. It’s still meaningful that way, but, if you don’t know certain things well enough, it’s bad. For example, if you play the piano, your movements look amateurish despite the fact that the sound comes from a pro, so I had to practice to make my piano playing look like a pro. After I was able to play some famous songs on the piano, I only practiced every so often so my skills wouldn’t get rusty. I quit violin and ballet after I could perform some famous songs and dances. I thought I had the basics down.
It’s too late to wait for the audition. Sometimes, you only get notified of an audition a day before. If you’re an adult, you can substitute with a stunt double or another actor with the required skills, but children don’t have fancy things like that. Basically, a child who can do it gets the role.
Because of my efforts, I passed the auditions of various roles, and my exposure increased. As I was well known, there wasn’t the need to actively search for auditions; the offers came by themselves. And, as the offers gain in number, I was able to choose the job, my popularity increased, and my guarantee[6] also increased. In order to maintain my popularity and income, I took more lessons.
And, I’m also at an elementary school student’s age, so I’m undergoing compulsory education.
Yes, compulsory education.
There’s an obligation to receive education. I’d like to say that I’m a reincarnated adult that went through this in my previous life, but there are obvious problems in saying that. When I don’t have a job, such as photo shooting, I have to go to school on weekdays. Considering my age and status, most of my jobs are on the weekends and holidays. I go through lessons and lessons on each minute of my free time. Of course, I do my homework too. Then, without the time for anything else, I go to bed.
It’s super black, really, thank you very much.
“I want to quit…”
Since I worked for a black company and died from overwork, I was aiming to be a NEET, but how did this happen…
[1] He says “de gozaru”
[2] 男女雇用機会均等法, a law in Japan [Sera: Act on Securing, Etc. of Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in Employment; translation here if you’re interested.]
[3] That’s 1 million USD
[4] If anyone’s interested, the name 花村菜々美 (Hanamura Nanami) means: 花(flower)村(village)菜(greens)々(kanji repeat character; same as another 菜)美(beauty)
[5] Yamato Nadeshiko is the traditional Japanese ideal woman/housewife
[6] ギャラ in Japanese; it’s a borrowed word that came to mean a different thing. Anyways, it means a fee for performers and the like.