Chapter 2 - Damn Omegaverse World

“Haah, this insufferable debt. Won’t someone take it away?”

That day too, I was working a package loading and unloading part-time job.

Recently, the package volume had exploded, so I worked until my back was breaking, and was running like crazy down the sidewalk to not be late for my next part-time job.

“Huh?”

Suddenly my vision went dark and I slammed my head into the pavement.

When I opened my eyes.

…I had become a 5-year-old kid.

“Waaah, teacher! Julia took and ate my chocolate!”

“No I didn’t! This is my chocolate!”

“You kids! Fighting again!”

“…”

In the mirror covered in character stickers, a boy I didn’t know at all was blinking.

I was just scratching my head wondering ‘What kind of dream is this?’ while looking around the nursery with peeling wallpaper.

“Are you ‘Gabriel Lewis’?”

“We finally found you! You can relax now!”

Some handsome and pretty young couple appeared and hugged me with tear-stained faces.

Dragged along with both hands held by the couple, I eventually arrived at an ultra-luxurious apartment overlooking the Missouri River and Cibola National Forest.

“From today, you’re ‘Gabriel Bailey’!”

“Welcome to our home, Gabriel!”

Pop, pop!

Toward the two people who suddenly set off firecrackers and thrust a three-tier cake in front of me, I struggled to open my mouth.

“…Was I adopted?”

“Yes! From today, Gabriel, you’re our son!”

That’s when I realized.

I, who had worked myself to death, had finally died.

And.

‘Thank you God Jesus Buddha Zeus!’

The deity who took pity on this gave me a second life!

Hallelujah!

* * *

Unlike my previous life as a complete orphan sitting on a pile of debt, my second round of life was extremely comfortable.

“Gabriel, is there anything you want to eat?”

“Anything you want to have?”

“Is there anything you want to do?”

The wealthy adoptive parents were nothing but devoted.

I put a gold powder dessert worth hundreds of thousands of dollars that I’d only encountered on Yeytube in my previous life into my mouth in one big bite, displayed a limited edition block toy collection that was far too expensive for a 5-year-old child to have all over my room that was over 20 flat, and even enjoyed a 7 nights 8 days hotel vacation at a 5-star hotel penthouse where famous actors frequently stayed!

‘I just mentioned it once as a joke, and they’re actually doing all of this?’

Even as an adopted family, to treat someone else’s child with not a drop of shared blood this well. At this point, I wondered if this couple had some ulterior motive with me, so I asked subtly.

“Why are you treating me so well? I’m not your biological child.”

But suddenly this couple. Suddenly… started bursting into tears?

“Sob! I’m sorry, Gabriel! I haven’t earned enough trust to be called mom yet!”

“Yasmin. Gabriel just isn’t used to it yet. Having a new family…”

“No, honey! It’s because I’m an inadequate mother!”

“No, I’m the inadequate father…!”

“Waaah!”

Then the two of them clung to each other and wailed.

‘Wh-what kind of situation is this.’

A moment later, Yasmin Bailey… that is, my adoptive mother, cooled her reddened eyes with an ice pack her adoptive father brought and faced me.

“Whew, it seems the time has come to tell you. Listen without being surprised.”

After a pause, what she told me was as follows:

“You’re the son of an employee who worked for our Bailey family.”

Adoptive mother Yasmin Bailey carefully unfolded the story, choosing words that would be easy for a young child to understand.

To summarize what she said next…

Yasmin Bailey is a member of ‘BK Group’, a leading domestic conglomerate. (She seems to have quite a high position, being the second of the CEO’s 2 sons and 2 daughters.)

At the main house where Yasmin Bailey lived as a child, there was a cleaner… a young live-in housekeeper named ‘Juliana Lewis’.

Juliana Lewis was like a real older sister who took care of Yasmin Bailey with utmost devotion, and also a benefactor.

Juliana Lewis had a child she gave birth to alone, but it’s said she was so overwhelmed just managing her debts that she had to send the child to a nursery.

That was me. ‘Gabriel Lewis’.

No wonder I took my mother’s surname. So there’s still matriarchal society or adopted son-in-law stuff these days. I was inwardly amazed at how society is more progressive than I thought.

“Shortly after we got married, Juliana was hospitalized with pancreatic cancer and… begged us to take care of you, Gabriel… left that request, and then… to heaven, to heaven… sob!”

“Yasmin. Don’t push yourself.”

“No, this is something I must tell Gabriel myself…”

My adoptive mother, breathing deeply with “hah, hah,” smiled painfully.

“Jude… my husband and I didn’t have children for a long time… But, to us like that, you appeared like an angel.”

To think there was such a tragic story.

“I’m an inadequate mother, but could you please become family with us?”

To this, I answered:

“Yes, mother.”

“Ga-Gabrielll!”

Having lived a life full of betrayal, fraud, and lies, I know.

That there wasn’t a single lie mixed in her tears.

And that it wouldn’t matter at all even if it were a lie!

“We’re sorry for being inadequate parents!”

Inadequate parents? What are you talking about?

You’re already excellent tier-1 parents! Both in heart and in wealth!

“Sob sob sob!”

Now all three of us clung together and shed tears of joy.

The two spouses celebrating the birth of a new family.

And me celebrating a new life!

…However.

This joy

Didn’t even last a full year.

* * *

Two months later.

The unobstructed Washington scenery outside the high-rise apartment window was completely white.

December 24th. It was a white Christmas Eve.

“Happy sixth birthday, Gabriel!”

“This is the birthday present we prepared for you!”

Apparently my birthday in this life was the day before Christmas.

‘A birthday present from my parents…’

It’s something I have no memory of receiving in my previous life.

Even though I’d received countless gifts already, I was newly choked up. After barely composing my emotions, I unwrapped it to find.

“…”

A state-of-the-art computer where just the graphics card and parts would easily exceed a million dollars at a glance.

An expensive racing wheel game machine that car racing gamers go crazy for.

The tears that almost came out from the excessive gift as always completely retracted.

“Gabriel was watching the circuit championship broadcast intently before! So I made up my mind and got it!”

“Father…”

“Well well, it seems Gabriel is moved by father’s sincerity?”

“No, that’s not it. I don’t think I can use this because I’m not tall enough yet.”

“Wh-what?!”

The racing wheel is a kind of large game machine that recreates an actual driver’s seat, and naturally the seat was too big for a 6-year-old kid to sit in.

‘They should have just bought a kids’ toy car. Really ridiculous people.’

So in the end, one gift went straight to my room and the other to storage.

Leaving behind the depressed adoptive father, my adoptive mother who had brought warm hot cocoa sat down gently beside me.

“Gabriel. Actually. In just one week, it’s my birthday?”

“Oh, mother’s birthday is right after?”

“My, you even know the word birthday. You’re so smart like your mother, really.”

My adoptive mother pinched my cheeks gently as if I was too cute for words.

Then, unlike before, she continued speaking with a tense face.

“At that time, there’s one gift I really want to receive from you, Gabriel.”

“Just say the word. I’ll get you anything!”

For reference, as for my bank account balance, it’s exactly 20 times the highest amount I ever had in my previous life. I saved every bit of the monthly allowance my adoptive parents gave me and accumulated this much. Honestly, sometimes I felt reality hit me, but anyway, what’s good is good.

‘Let’s just enjoy it. Living without any lack under wealthy conglomerate parents, becoming a perfect three-person family like something out of a picture!’

That was the goal of this second round of life.

“Gabriel. What I want isn’t an object.”

Right then, my adoptive mother smiled warmly and requested an unexpected gift.

“Would you gift a name to your younger brother who will be born next year?”

“What?”