Inn Overlord: Reincarnated with Enhancement Magic, Now Worshipped as a Divine Messenger! - Chapter 1

“Ugh…”
A dull sound echoed as a groan followed.

Right in front of me, a boy was being attacked by a group of delinquents. I had the power to save him.

And yet, I hesitated.

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Shusaku Tanaka’s Perspective

Oh, God! Why do You remain silent!? Why must I endure such suffering!? You, who are kind and merciful, who reach out to those in pain—please, I beg You, reach out to me as well!

But God remained silent. He did not reach out to me, Shusaku Tanaka.

My parents were devoted believers in a certain religion. Because of that, they forced their faith upon me. Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I was never able to make normal friends. Instead, I spent every day following my parents, helping them recruit more followers. The way people looked at me… it was unbearable.

My parents told me to ignore those stares and think only of God. But they never truly listened to my struggles.

So, I put my faith in God. I believed with all my heart. Yet the stares continued, and a deep sense of loneliness consumed me.

In the end, I fell ill with an incurable disease.

As I lay in bed, I prayed desperately. But my prayers were never answered.

And then, I died.

The next thing I knew, I was an infant, cradled in the arms of a woman who seemed to be my mother. She was kneeling, offering me to a man dressed like a priest.

That’s right. I had been reincarnated.

I had no idea what kind of world this was. After all, I was just born.

I also didn’t know why I instinctively believed this woman was my mother. But I could feel the bond of bl00d between us.

“…Goddess… please, I beg you…”

Her pleading voice echoed through the room.

Behind my mother stood a man and a woman dressed in elegant, noble clothing. Somehow, I understood that this man was my father in this world. It was the same instinct that told me who my mother was.

However, I had no idea who the woman next to him was. She was dressed just as extravagantly and held a newborn baby in her arms. Her eyes were filled with disdain as she glared at my mother and me.

Meanwhile, the priestly man who had taken me from my mother whispered a prayer.

“Our Father, who art in heaven—”

It was a prayer I had heard before in my past life.

As the words were spoken, light rained down upon me. The man, seeing this, spoke.

“The Goddess has declared that this child possesses Enhancement Magic…”

Hearing those words, my mother’s sorrowful face filled with hope. She lifted her head, took me into her arms, and held me tightly.

Behind her, my father, who had been standing with his arms crossed, scowled and spoke.

“So, that means he cannot use the four major elemental magics?”

“It appears so…”

My father muttered, “Useless.”

The noblewoman beside him looked relieved and gazed at us with even greater contempt.

After holding me close for a long moment, my mother turned and addressed my father—the man who had just called me useless.

“As we agreed… I am allowed to raise him, correct?”

“Yes, but never show yourself before me again.”

“…I understand.”

And so, my second life began.