If there were a word to describe Akira's life, it would be "rollercoaster."
Ups and downs, an extraordinary thrill.
He bought a lottery ticket, hit the jackpot, and thought he could live an easy life from then on, only to be hit by a car the next moment.
Just when he thought he was done for, he found himself reincarnated—and with a golden start, no less.
Kamo Noritsuna.
In Japan, where family lineage is of utmost importance, Akira was born as the only legitimate son of the Kamo family, one of the oldest of the Three Great Sorcerer Clans.
And to add more to it, this family still practiced the polygamous system of one husband with many concubines.
If nothing unexpected happened, he was set to be the next head of the family—talk about a guaranteed win!
Wait a minute, Kamo? The Three Great Clans?
Isn't this the setting of Jujutsu Kaisen?
While it was nice to figure out which world he had reincarnated into, being the legitimate heir of the Kamo family... wasn't all that great. In the original story, this guy didn't even have a name.
The Kamo family, a clan that controlled extraordinary power—cursed techniques, lived by the principle that jujutsu was everything.
If you inherited a cursed technique, you were on top; if not, you were no different from dirt beneath their feet.
It didn't matter if you were the legitimate heir.
In fact, being the heir made it worse—a burden.
The higher you were lifted, the harder you would fall.
The determination of cursed technique inheritance wasn't at birth but around six to eight years of age, so for the time being, Kamo Noritsuna still enjoyed the status of the heir.
Once he passed his "expiration date," he would fall from heaven straight into hell—a fate worse than being born in hell.
Without ever knowing hope, one wouldn't understand despair.
When the truth came out that Kamo Noritsuna didn't have the qualities of a sorcerer, his biological parents—the Kamo family head and his legal wife—made a heartless and cold decision.
They switched identities.
The concubine's son, Kamo Noritoshi, born to Kamo Hayami, was actually the real heir, and Kamo Noritsuna became the useless concubine's son.
Since the judgment of cursed technique inheritance was kept secret, manipulating the information was easy.
The reason was simple.
The legal wife's son had no talent, but the concubine gave birth to a genius capable of inheriting the family. This threatened the legal wife's status.
To protect her position and the so-called "stability" of the family.
Not only did they make this switch, but they did so completely.
They leaked information to the public, spread rumors internally to tarnish the concubine's reputation, and pressured her, indicating that if she left, the family would truly be stable, and her child would have a bright future.
As for the cruelty of forcibly separating a child from his mother, the concubine's and Kamo Noritoshi's feelings, or even the emotional toll on the heir who had to live in anonymity—who cared?
A mere low-born concubine wouldn't cause trouble, and neither would her children.
In the end, as the legal wife had planned, the concubine made the "wise" choice, leaving the Kamo family and severing all ties, convincing Kamo Noritoshi to accept the reality.
The only unexpected thing was Kamo Noritsuna's decision. Using the excuse that he couldn't become a jujutsu sorcerer, he left with the concubine, saying he'd rather live as an ordinary person.
But this wasn't a big deal. From the moment Kamo Noritoshi was declared the heir, Kamo Noritsuna was irrelevant to the legal wife. In fact, this outcome was better, as it completely erased any traces of him, leaving no loose ends.
This was precisely what Akira wanted. What mattered wasn't the choices of the "invisible man" in the story, but that the transmigrated Kamo Noritsuna no longer wanted to stay in a place where jujutsu ruled all and endure disdain.
The outside world was vast—why hang himself on a single tree?
Without them, without jujutsu, he could still live well. If he couldn't do even that, his twenty-six years of life in his previous world would have been for nothing.
Even though leaving the family required signing a strict "contract"—an ancient term for a binding agreement that, when imbued with cursed energy, would enforce severe consequences for breaking it.
Even if it meant living under surveillance for five years in a designated location, it didn't matter. Youth was his greatest asset.
However, Akira had calculated everything—except for one thing. The Goddess of Fate was an insane wildcard, never playing by the rules. Just when you think you've figured her out, you realize she wasn't wearing anything under her skirt at all.
Right after they moved, his golden finger awakened—a Pokémon Trainer System, complete with a starter pack containing a Pokémon egg.
When it hatched, it was Ralts, the initial form of Gardevoir and Kirlia.
At that moment, Akira's feelings could be summarized as:
If not for the fact that he got hungry, he could have stayed on a high all day.
After that, there wasn't much to say. It was all about raising Pokémon.
Hayami Minami didn't have much to say about it either.
Living in the world of jujutsu, she wasn't limited by common sense, and she knew Akira was an unusual child.
So, for eight years, he raised Ralts until she evolved into Gardevoir.
At this point, there were few things in the world that could threaten Akira. The timing, age, and conditions were all perfect.
It was time to descend the mountain and re-enter the world.
Not using his advantage of foresight would be a waste.
Having a Pokémon Trainer System but only one Pokémon was equally wasteful.
"Mom, you've worked hard these past eight years. From now on, you don't need to hold back anymore. Go chase a better future."
This was said not only to Hayami Minami but also to himself.
Eight years of patience, all for the day when he no longer had to endure.
Akira stood up, holding his mother's hand with one hand and Gardevoir's with the other, conveying his resolve.
With the two most important people in his life by his side, he would press forward fearlessly.
Hayami Minami didn't immediately agree, nor did she refuse. After some hesitation, she asked a question:
"Regarding the choice you mentioned earlier, I want to know your opinion. Do you want me to stay or return to Noritoshi's side?"
"For me, it's about the same. If you stay, I'll take care of you for the rest of your life. If you go back to Noritoshi, you'll still be my mom, and I'll visit and take care of you. If Noritoshi dares to object, I'll beat him up. Just don't be too biased."
Where reason rules, you can go anywhere; where there is no reason, you can't move an inch. And Akira had both reason and physical force.
"I understand."
Hearing this answer, Hayami Minami finally let go of her worries.
"A child grows up, and a mother can't control him forever. If you want to move, then move. This place is indeed getting a bit lonely."
"Mom, you're the best!"
Perhaps because he was used to lifting Gardevoir up, Akira considered lifting Hayami Minami too.
Tokyo, here I come.
A bigger world, more Pokémon, greater opportunities.
And Akira's own ambitions—after arriving in another world, of course, he had to show his true skills to live up to his second life.
Of course, Hayami Minami quickly swatted his head, saying, "Mind your manners. I'm not your little girl. By the way, what's her name now?"
"Gardevoir."
"Gar~" Gardevoir responded, maintaining her perfect poise throughout.