A four tatami room.

  The walls were made out of wood. There were sliding doors on three of the walls. The room reminded me of olden Japanese houses, the kind that was common before the modern era. The only light sources were from candles placed at the corners of the room. If it wasn’t for my gun wound, I’d probably be more concerned about where I was right now.

  Yes, I was distracted by my gun wound… and the creature that was in front of me.

  Initially, when I saw the giant baby hand, I was under the impression that I was being saved by an angel. You know, the typical baby angel that you’d see in western media. It was the kind of cliche trope you’d see in manga or anime. Right after an unjust death, god himself or an angel would approach you and offer you a second chance to be reincarnated or transported to another world.

  There was no angel.

  Instead, before me stood a heinous monster.

  It had the body of a baby, the only weird part about it was that it was much bigger. It was roughly the size of an adult. This wasn’t what made me consider it a monster.

  It was its head.

  It had a giant green head that was disproportionate to its body. Even using a baby’s body ratio as a standard, it was far too big. Instead of hair, it had cockroaches crawling all over its scalp. They were eating his flesh. I might have considered this thing to be comical if it wasn’t so terrifying. At first glance, I thought it had empty eye sockets but now that I was taking a closer look, I could see centipedes wriggling around on the inside. To top it all off, it had three mouths. One in the usual spot and one on each cheek. Its teeth were razor sharp.

  It was a monster.

  I just stared at it blankly.

  “You don’t look as surprised as I thought you would.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not exactly in the condition to make a tsukkomi or act all frightened. Or would it have been better if I went ’Ahhhh~. It’s a two-meter tall yokai baby.’”

  I was surprised I had the strength to speak. I didn’t have it in me to shout for help earlier on the streets. I didn’t question it much though, it was the least weird part of my current situation.

  The baby just giggled at my response. Its grotesque head bobbing up and down. As it did this, a cockroach fell from the top of its head. It picked it up and threw it into the mouth of its left cheek and munched away.

  I felt myself retch.

  “So, why did you bring me here?”

  “Not one to beat about the bush, eh?”

  I shrugged.

  The pain from my wound told me this wasn’t a dream. I suppose nightmare would have been a more fitting word but anyway, I was definitely awake.

  “I brought you here to make a contract.”

  A contract? I went back to my earlier thoughts about manga and anime. Contracts with the supernatural were also another common trope. You were granted power or riches in exchange for your soul. Maybe it was ridiculous to use them as a reference but this whole situation was ridiculous anyway and I had no other knowledge regarding these things.

  “I will save your life and in exchange, you have to accomplish a series of tasks I give you. If you succeed, then you’re free to go.”

  “Exactly what kind of tasks?”

  “I can’t say.”

  So much for reading the terms and conditions. I laughed at the thought of yokai following human laws regarding contracts.

  “And if I refuse? You’ll feast on my body and devour my soul?”

  The baby started laughing. It was a high pitched and shrilling sound.

  “Look here, brat. Contracts are a sacred thing. Once they’re made, both parties are bound to it. It is nothing so trivial that I can simply force you into it. You have to make the choice willingly without coercion. If you refuse, I’ll simply drop your body back where I found it and you’ll die a natural death.”

  It didn’t seem like it was lying.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  I weighed my options.

  If I refused and he sent me back, was it possible that someone would pass by and save me? I doubted it. I was bleeding out fast and I’ve already lost too much blood. Even if by some miracle someone found me, I’d die from blood loss before reaching a hospital.

  If I wanted to live, I had no choice but to accept the offer. The issue was that I had no idea what this thing would make me do or if it was even possible to finish all the tasks. What if I was forced to kill other people? Did I really want to become that kind of person?

  Mom and Hina-nee would be sad if I died but they wouldn’t be happy either if they knew I lived at the expense of others. They raised me to be better than that.

  As if it could read my mind, the baby spoke up.

  “A contract cannot be skewed towards the benefit of one party. Once you’ve accomplished enough tasks that can be weighed against the value of your life, you will be set free. I can also assure you that you won’t be forced to do anything that will harm other human beings.”

  “…”

  “Brat, time is ticking. You might have gotten used to the pain but in a matter of minutes, you will be dead from the bloodloss. Quickly make your choice.”

  His words made the offer even more enticing but I still felt like he wasn't letting me in on everything. It sounded too good to be true… but he was right. I didn’t have the time to be carefully considering all this right now. As long as it didn’t mean I was putting others in harm’s way, then it was alright to take this gamble.

  “I accept the contract.”

  The moment I said those words, I felt something within me change. I know it sounds crazy but I felt as if shackles had been placed on my soul, binding me to the deal I just made. It was a surreal sensation, unlike anything I have ever felt before.

  The baby was smiling now. All three of its mouths were in an open grin, the razor-sharp teeth gleaming from the light of the candles. It was an evil look.

  Did I make the wrong choice?

  He raised his arm to his middle mouth, his jaw stretching as he stuffed his arm into his mouth. It was a terrifying sight. When it came back out, it was a small vial.

  He threw it at me.

  “Drink.”

  There was no backing out at this point so I did as I was told, drinking up as much of the disgusting fluid as I could.

  Soon after, I felt a burning sensation throughout my body. It was as if I was on fire, the pain was far more excruciating than what I have ever felt. I dug into my sides with my nails in an attempt to distract myself.

  “What’s… happening?!”

  I force out the words.

  “The pain will fade soon enough.”

  Exactly as he said, the pain subsided. I was on my knees at this point. It couldn’t have been much longer than a few seconds but it felt like an eternity. I never want to die from being burnt alive.

  “Your wound should have healed up.”

  I check for myself to be sure. Even though my shirt was soaked from both my blood and his, he was right. I couldn’t feel the gun wound anymore. I run my hands over my stomach and back and the holes from the gunshot was gone. There was some scarring but I was fine otherwise.

  “What was that thing?”

  “A concoction I developed. It temporarily gives one mid-tier regenerative powers.”

  “Will there be any lasting side effects?”

  Once again, the baby started laughing.

  “Well, time for your first task.”

  So much for answering my question. Wait… what did he just say?

  “Right now?!”

  I sputtered the words in response.

  “Brat, is there anything wrong with using my privileges as soon as I get them?”

  I was speechless.

  “What do I have to do?”

  The double doors that I had first arrived in suddenly opened. Just like earlier, you couldn’t see what was on the other side.

  “Survive.”

  The baby shoved me into the darkness.

  Was it really necessary to push me?