BDEFML 01

Chapter 1

Did I lose my memory from getting my palm hit?

Whoosh!

A bamboo switch cut sharply through the air.

Before I could even react to the slicing sound, a stinging pain spread across my palm.

Without even understanding the situation, I instinctively screamed first.

“Aaah!”

“Kyaaah!”

The woman holding the switch was startled by my sudden shout. She lost her balance and fell backward with a thud.

I stared blankly at the woman who had fallen in such an undignified way.

Seeing my gaze, her face flushed red with anger.

“Lopez, you…!”

Blue eyes, orange hair—an exotic appearance that clearly didn’t look Asian.

And the wide, flowing clothes that looked like something from the medieval West.

In many ways, the woman looked unfamiliar. Her face was plastered with spite as she jumped to her feet and stood in front of me.

“How dare you make fun of your teacher?!”

I stared at the woman raging in front of me with dull eyes while my mind rapidly spun.

That angry woman wasn’t the real problem.

The problem was me.

Did I… transmigrate into someone?

* * *

Because of the furious woman, I was locked inside a solitary room.

My struck palm throbbed.

Pressing my burning hand against the cold floor to cool it down, I sank deep into thought.

Why am I here?

And why had I been getting my palm hit by some woman I didn’t know?

As I slowly looked around, the memories that had been blurred by shock gradually became clearer.

Once I roughly grasped the situation, I let out a small sigh.

Ah… my inheritance.

Not long ago, a man I had never met before came to see me, claiming to be a lawyer.

He told me that I—who had grown up as an orphan—actually had a mother, and that she had been searching for me all this time.

And apparently she was extremely rich.

But my mother had recently died from illness.

Before the DNA test results had even come out.

The lawyer said he came to find me as soon as the test results were confirmed after her death.

To help me inherit the fortune she had left behind.

Honestly, I couldn’t even resent her.

He said she had lost me in a plaza when I was young and had searched for me every single day since then.

With his help, I inherited a vast fortune, including the huge mansion where my mother had lived.

Since I was the only surviving family member she had left—even though we had never met—I also received her will.

What did I do after that?

I clearly remembered falling asleep while hugging my mother’s will in the big house I had inherited.

Nothing strange happened. I just slept…

But when I woke up—

I had become a child.

And judging by the appearance of the woman holding the switch, this wasn’t even Earth anymore.

I didn’t even get to enjoy spending all that money, and I ended up in another world?

This couldn’t be happening.

On top of that, I hadn’t even read my mother’s will yet.

The crisp white envelope containing her final words floated in my mind.

The lawyer said there was a letter addressed to me inside.

…I have to go back.

I couldn’t stay here like this.

First, I need to understand the situation.

Most people would have been confused, but I accepted it relatively quickly.

Between the unread will and the enormous inheritance at stake, my mind was spinning with cold clarity.

Besides, I had always been a calm person by nature.

First, my body.

When I moved my fingers, tiny hands wiggled.

I was twenty years old.

Now I had become a child.

“…This isn’t a dream, right?”

I pinched my cheek hard and groaned briefly at the sharp pain.

Since it hurts this much, it’s definitely not a dream.

Next, I examined my hair.

Long blue hair flowed down all the way to my hips.

I stared at it intensely.

It had a mysterious blue shade like the deep sea, shining with natural gloss—something impossible to imitate with dye.

At the same time, I realized this child had extremely smooth, straight hair.

That was all I could learn for now.

To find out more, I needed to see what this child actually looked like.

“Is there a mirror?”

After looking around the solitary room, I spotted a handheld mirror in the corner.

I picked it up and reflected my face in it.

Without realizing it, I gasped softly.

“…Oh.”

I had never seen such mysterious violet eyes before.

Sharp slightly upturned eyes, pale skin, and full lips.

The child’s appearance was stunning enough to make someone stare blankly.

While admiring it, I carefully examined the face.

Judging by the youthful features, the age looked around ten to twelve.

Hair this blue and eyes like this… this definitely isn’t any world I know.

I couldn’t figure out where I was or who this child was.

Somewhere I don’t know…?

No matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind.

…Well, there was no point obsessing over questions without answers.

My appearance wasn’t the only clue about whose body I had possessed.

“Lopez.”

That was the name the woman had called earlier.

To be honest, when I heard it, it felt like something almost came to mind…

But the sting in my palm kept distracting me, making it impossible to focus.

“If I could just understand the people here or the outside situation a little more, I might figure it out.”

But the only person I could meet right now was the orange-haired woman.

So without learning anything at all, my first night in this strange place passed.

* * *

It had already been three days since I possessed this body.

I stared at the woman who kept raising the switch without hesitation toward a small child’s palm.

Finally, I asked:

“Um… may I ask who you are? I haven’t remembered anything since before.”

And who exactly are you to be hitting children like this?

Does the concept of child abuse not exist here?

The woman glared at me sharply and shouted in a shrill voice.

“Instead of reflecting on your behavior, you’re playing tricks?! That’s it! Five more strikes!”

Watching the “teacher” shout enthusiastically, I felt wronged.

Seriously… who are you?

* * *

Five days after being locked up.

The woman who hit my palm with the switch every day still didn’t believe I had lost my memory.

But I couldn’t stay like this forever.

I wanted information about this world, but being stuck in solitary confinement gave me almost nothing.

And besides—

I couldn’t just sit by and watch children being abused under the excuse of discipline.

“Next, Lopez.”

When I stepped forward, I asked her:

“Are you aware this is considered abuse?”

“…What?”

Her face twisted dangerously.

Well, it was natural she’d get angry after I suddenly accused her like that.

But I deliberately provoked her further.

Since I supposedly had no memories, I could act arrogantly.

And maybe I could also make her stop hitting the other children.

“I don’t know what terrible thing I did, but I see several kids locked up here. You know this could be reported, right?”

“….”

“No matter what a child did wrong, this kind of discipline isn’t good.”

I fired off my words without giving her a chance to reply.

Her expression warped, then shifted to disbelief, and finally hardened seriously.

Then she slowly lowered the switch and scanned me as if evaluating.

Maybe she finally noticed something was different.

“Did you really just say that to me?”

“Yes.”

Without avoiding her gaze, I answered confidently.

After silently studying me for a moment, she suddenly left the room—leaving both me and the children behind.

So… do you believe I lost my memory or not?

Without giving a clear answer, she just left.

While I sat there blankly, a girl who had been punished with me spoke up.

Her name was Lisa.

“Lopez, if you talk back to the teacher, you’ll be the only one who gets punished.”

“I’m already getting hit.”

“You idiot! You’ll get hit more!”

“Why are you here?”

“I pulled my friend’s hair!”

“Why did you do that?”

“Because she looked down on me for being in Class 1!”

“Class 1?”

“Lopez, are you dumb? You’re in Class 1 too.”

I quietly grabbed my head.

Lisa giggled.

“Since Lopez never teased me, I won’t pull your hair!”

“…Don’t you think that’s unfair?”

I thought it might be a difficult word for a child, but Lisa seemed smarter than I expected.

Brushing her vanilla-colored hair behind her ear, she calmly replied:

“Even if it’s unfair, you have to live somehow.”

The brown eyes that said those words were strangely mature.

It didn’t match her cute, gentle appearance.

“Um… do you know what possession means?”

“What’s that?”

So she wasn’t another transmigrator.

Lisa smiled brightly and asked:

“Lopez, you’re the one who falsely accused someone and got locked up. Why are you complaining?”

“…I don’t remember.”

Another girl nearby snorted.

Her name was Sally.

“So you’re pretending to forget to get out of this? Stop babbling. If we get punished more because of you, will you take responsibility?”

Sally was a girl with as much anger as her bright red hair suggested.

Her sharp eyes matched her personality perfectly.

“Stop it, Sally! Lopez is a good kid.”

“Did you forget how arrogant she was outside?!”

“Did you just yell at me?!”

The gentle-looking Lisa suddenly snapped and lunged at Sally.

Sally’s pink eyes widened in surprise, but she immediately fought back.

“Wait, calm down—ah, ow.”

Guys, stop.

It’s my fault.

Trying to break up the fight, I got caught in the middle—

And had my hair pulled from both sides by Lisa and Sally.