02. Poor Child

This was the first time Reynard called his name in a long time. Who wouldn't be worried to see a 7-year-old child living alone after the death of his parents, anyone would sympathize with his misfortune. But Reynard often stayed away from them, the little boy confined himself to his house more often than playing with his peers.

It made the villagers worried about Reynard's future, after all mental health was incurable, at least that was their thinking.

"Y-you... You just called me?" Owen asked in disbelief. He never thought he would hear Reynard speak to him after all this time.

"Yeah, there's only grandpa here, who else would I talk to?" asked Reynard with his innocent face, looking so relaxed, in stark contrast to the old Reynard.

"O-oh, yes... I'm the only one here... Ah, it's getting late, I also know you haven't eaten anything from the morning. I see the breakfast Aunt Jean prepared is still intact on the dining table, how can you endure hunger all day? Your stomach will be damaged later..." Owen warned, neither he nor the other neighbors ever forgot to give Reynard food, it was just that Reynard never ate it which made them all worried.

Reynard sighed softly, he lowered his head, looking at his features that were completely fleshless. His entire body was probably just bones covered with skin, 'Reynard' really didn't take good care of his own body.

"What did I expect from a 7-year-old's mentality, but this is too much. I also wonder how he can go this long without eating and drinking, even before I could only fast for three days, but it seems like this kid is fasting longer than me..." he muttered. He held his own cheeks then rubbed his flat stomach lightly.

Owen frowned, not understanding what Reynard was saying. "What are you mumbling about? Never mind, the food will cool down quickly, it's better eaten while it's warm. You go back, I'll pick up Fiona in the garden, see you!"

Owen had not forgotten his original intention, he had to pick up his granddaughter who used to play in the garden with her peers. It was getting dark, he couldn't let the kids play in the garden any longer.

Reynard returned Owen's grandfather's wave with a limp, he really had no energy. After walking a few tens of meters, he stopped at a simple house, it looked so horrible because there was a lot of grass and shrubs growing around it, it looked very unkempt.

"Gosh, this little kid has so much to do. It seems like I have to clean all this up with my limited stamina, it's really tiring. Before that, I'll eat first..." Reynard continued his steps, opening the door of the house, greeted with a house that was certainly far from tidy.

Once again, the little boy exhaled, his exhale sounding so heavy, yet adorable at the same time.

He finally reached the kitchen after the struggle of walking from the small hut to his house, "huh... Tiring..." he muttered, he sat down on the small chair where he usually ate, then opened the serving hood that was placed on the table.

"Hmm, looks pretty good..." There were several types of dishes on the dining table, all of which looked delicious, at least that's what it looked like to Reynard's hungry eyes.

With his small hands, he reached for the wooden spoon on the table and scooped a few dishes onto his plate. He ate heartily, forgetting the fact that he had transmigrated earlier.

After struggling with his food, Reynard downed a glass of water, refreshing his full throat. "Huh... I can finally feel alive again. It's amazing that this little kid can fast for that long, I couldn't even do it in my previous life. But I understand his distress, losing the two most important figures in his life at such a young age does take a toll on his mental health..."

Reynard pitied this 'Reynard' who previously occupied his body. Their story was the same with the same ending, except that Reynard ended up committing suicide due to his own will, while 'Reynard' ended up starving to death due to his mental disorder.

"I know the world is cruel, but this is too cruel for a 7-year-old. He even has trouble mingling with others because of his mental illness, luckily some people here still care about him..." What amazed her was that even though 'Reynard' stayed away from them, they didn't take it to heart and continued to try to get closer to 'Reynard'.

It was not easy to remain steadfast in their pity after seeing 'Reynard's' attitude back then. He had to say the villagers of Oshley were indeed merciful, at least that was the conclusion he could come to based on the memories 'Reynard' had passed down to him.

"There's no point in dwelling on this. Since things are already like this, I'll live out my days as Reynard Fillmore in this Isekai world, well although I don't know what I'll do later, but that's fine, I'll think about it. I can't kill myself a second time anyway, who knows I might end up transmigrating to a world filled with horrible creatures."

Reynard rested for a while, when night fell, there was no light in the house. Reynard took the initiative to light candles in several corners of the room, fortunately there was a tool like a lighter, making it easy for him to light all the candles.

He lay down on the living room sofa as he looked up at his ceiling which was no longer pure white, there were several stains and cobwebs on its surface. "I have a lot to do starting tomorrow... Can't I transmigrate into a prince's body to make things a lot easier? Now that I'm sure that Goddess Fortune hates me, luck has never been on my side at all."

Finally, Reynard, who was trapped in the body of a 7-year-old child, fell asleep on the sofa.

The sound of birds chirping could be heard from the courtyard, Reynard opened his eyes slowly, what he saw next was the window of the house that he forgot to close last night, making the morning sunlight shine into the living room and him.

"Good morning... This isn't a dream, ah, I committed suicide, how can someone who committed suicide still dream? Never mind, I have a lot to do today, also it looks like Owen's grandfather and Luna's aunt will be here any minute, bringing me breakfast..." he muttered, and he was right. The sound of footsteps came from the backyard, Owen entered the kitchen through the back door and placed the breakfast plate on the dining table.

Reynard walked into the kitchen, he greeted Owen, "Grandpa! Wow, today's breakfast sandwich? Perfect!" He exclaimed, approaching Owen like the adorable little boy he was.

"Yes, I haven't gone to the market in two days, so the rice supply is getting low. This is all I can prepare for you for breakfast, do you mind?" asked Owen, worried that Reynard wouldn't like the sandwich and end up skipping breakfast.

Reynard shook his head as he smiled sweetly, displaying his row of white teeth to Owen, "what's wrong with sandwiches? I don't mind at all, grandpa! Thank you so much for breakfast."

Owen was stunned to see Reynard's adorable smile, he forgot the last time he saw the adorable smile of the little man in front of him. Owen lowered his position, aligning him with Reynard then gently stroked the top of Reynard's head, "thank goodness, you seem to be different from the Reynard I knew a few days ago. You've become more cheerful and more open, well, it's not something I can complain about. In fact, I'm grateful that you finally didn't close yourself off from me or anyone else."

Reynard was silent, not saying anything even though he wanted to reply. Normally a 7-year-old child would be confused about how to communicate with adults, so he would act like a 7-year-old. It was also impossible for him to tell Owen that his soul was actually 21 years old, after all that sounded absurd.