The sky was gray, just like the heart of the baby lying in the grass.

“How many times has this happened now?”

Staring up at the gloomy sky, the baby felt utterly miserable.

The baby was called Chen Yunying. He was a single man in his twenties from Earth, and this was already his fifth reincarnation.

“I’ll take you all on! Damn heavens, you’re messing with me, aren’t you?!”

The baby roared inwardly. He didn’t know if Meng Po in the underworld had forgotten about him or what, but somehow, he’d reincarnated with all his memories from his past life.

Unlike other reincarnated protagonists who went on to reach the pinnacle of life, his experiences had been downright miserable.

The first time, he died as a baby—snatched by a wolf just after turning one. The second time, a plague broke out in the town where he was born, and not a single person survived. The third time, he was born into a primitive society. After seeing the apelike people waving clubs around, Chen Yunying chose to end his own life. And the fourth time was even worse: the birth was so difficult that he died before he even made it out.

So far, this fifth life didn’t look much better. There was only one reason a newborn baby would be left lying here all alone: he’d been abandoned!

Worse still, this time around he’d reincarnated on a one-person ticket. His little brother hadn’t come along. He was still a baby, but he could tell that the little guy who used to swing around down there was gone.

As a single shut-in, he’d never even been in a relationship! And now they’d gone and taken away his right to have fun altogether?

“Is there anyone who’s had a more miserable reincarnation than me?!”

The more Chen Yunying thought about it, the angrier he got. He wanted to curse the heavens, but as a baby, he obviously couldn’t.

This was too much to put up with!

With that thought, Chen Yunying struggled to lift one arm and gave the sky a firm middle finger.

“Village Chief, come quick! There seems to be a baby here!”

Just then, a gentle voice sounded in Chen Yunying’s ear, and a beautiful, gentle face appeared before him.

As soon as he saw the person in front of him, Chen Yunying became perfectly well-behaved. Whether he’d make it through this reincarnation depended on whether the people who’d found him would take him in.

“A baby?”

An elderly-sounding voice reached Chen Yunying’s ears.

“How could a baby have appeared in our village?”

As he spoke, an old man with a gray-white beard appeared before Chen Yunying.

“High Priestess, you should know how special Di Village is. We can’t just let anyone in. We should send her away.”

Hearing this, Chen Yunying nearly jumped up and punched the old man—if only he were still the six-foot-tall hunk he’d once been.

“Village Chief, she’s so little. If we send her away, she’ll die. Just look how cute she is!”

The High Priestess’s voice was full of pity. At her words, Chen Yunying immediately flashed an adorable smile, bringing out everyone’s instinct to protect a baby.

“Look, she’s smiling at you!”

The High Priestess played with Chen Yunying, holding her hand and waving it at the Village Chief again and again.

That was clearly very effective on the Village Chief. And seeing such an adorable baby girl made it even harder to abandon her.

The Village Chief was torn. On one side were the village’s rules; on the other was this adorable little girl. What a dilemma!

“Sigh, fine. Since you’re asking so earnestly, we’ll take her in for now.”

In the end, the Village Chief relented.

“Hehe, thank you, Village Chief!”

The High Priestess was so excited she nearly jumped for joy. Life in Di Village was so peaceful; adopting such an adorable baby girl would surely brighten things up.

At the same time, Chen Yunying breathed a sigh of relief. At last, he wouldn’t have to go through that hellish reincarnation process again!

“Village Chief, this child looks like she was abandoned. Why don’t you give her a name?”

As she spoke, the High Priestess carried Chen Yunying over to the Village Chief.

He hadn’t gotten a good look before, but now that he studied the baby, he realized she really was adorable. Her round cheeks and utterly cute features could bring out any woman’s maternal instincts. No wonder the High Priestess couldn’t bear to turn her away.

“Hmm... Let’s call her Alina.”

Looking at the baby girl before him, the Village Chief smiled and stroked his gray-white beard as he chose a name he was quite pleased with.

“Alina, hmm? Did you hear that? From now on, your name is Alina. Everyone’s sure to love you.”

The High Priestess affectionately tapped Chen Yunying on the nose as she spoke.

Chen Yunying obligingly smiled, showing how pleased he was with the name.

Of course, the fact that he’d moved too vigorously and accidentally plucked out a tuft of the Village Chief’s beard was purely an accident.

After all, what could a baby possibly be up to?

And so Chen Yunying—no, she should be called Alina now—began living as a member of Di Village.

As the first baby ever to appear in Di Village, Alina was looked after by everyone there.

“Little Alina, it’s time to eat.” That was the High Priestess’s gentle reminder.

“Oh? Little Alina’s interested in magic too? Haha! Let me tell you, magic is incredibly difficult to learn. The elements aren’t stable things, you know. You’ve got a lot to learn!” That was the Archmage’s hearty laugh.

“Alina, alchemy is an extremely profound discipline. As an alchemist, the first thing you must remember is to always show absolute respect for life.” That was the Golden Alchemist’s patient guidance.

“Alina, a knight is someone who always puts their life on the line to protect others.” That was the Knight King’s—uh, uh... the Knight King’s sisterly instruction.

...

Time passed amid lesson after lesson, until the tiny baby girl had grown into a sixteen-year-old beauty.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo!”

At six in the morning, a rooster’s crow brought all of Di Village to life—and woke Alina, too.

“Haaah~”

Alina sat up in bed and stretched languidly. The sunlight revealed her graceful figure in all its beauty.

She walked over to the vanity and patted her cheeks, trying to wake herself up.

“It’s been sixteen years already...”

Looking at the girl in the mirror, Alina let out a sigh.

Before she knew it, she’d spent sixteen years in this world as a reincarnated soul. Even the memories of her past life had started to grow hazy.

“Tsk, I’m way too cute!”

Alina clicked her tongue. It was as if the heavens had played a joke on her: they’d taken away her little brother and given her a face of peerless beauty in return.

Her perfect figure, delicate features, and smooth silver hair were enough to drive any normal man wild. And those clear, sky-blue eyes hit all of Alina’s buttons.

Plenty of people in the village had said that even among the Elvenkind, who were famed for their beauty, few could match Alina’s looks.

“If only I’d had a girlfriend this gorgeous in my past life. Damn it!”

Alina shed bitter tears inside—the tears of someone who’d spent years single.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

“Little Alina, are you ready yet? The Sword Saint’s waiting for you in the village square.”

A gentle voice came from outside. Alina recognized it at once as the High Priestess’s.

“High Priestess, just a moment! I’m coming!”

Alina answered and hurried to get herself ready. After a quick wash, she tied her silver hair into a ponytail and tossed it behind her. She gave herself a confident smile, put on her coat, slung her sword over her back, rolled up her sleeves, and headed out.

That’s right—her main task today was to fight. She was going to crush that Sword Saint, who was always claiming to be the best in Di Village.

“Good morning, Little Alina!”

The moment Alina stepped outside, she plunged into a sea of love.

“Hff... I... can’t breathe...”

Like someone drowning, Alina flailed her arms, trying to escape the High Priestess’s embrace.

“Mm! Little Alina’s even cuter today.”

Just as Alina was about to suffocate, the High Priestess let go. She looked at the somewhat dazed Alina and nodded with satisfaction.

“Come on, everyone’s waiting for you.”

With that, she took Alina by the hand and led her toward the village square.

“Come on, don’t worry, everyone. As if I’d bully Little Alina! She’s everyone’s darling. I know how to hold back.”

“Haha, you think I’m going to lose? Little Alina’s going to make me lose? If she beats me today, I’ll eat this sword right here!”

Alina heard that obnoxious voice long before she reached the square.

It was the Sword Saint, no doubt about it.

Alina’s face was a picture of exasperation. From the looks of it, this guy was probably the youngest person in Di Village after her.

But for all his big talk, he was frighteningly strong. Alina had beaten plenty of people lately, but the Sword Saint was the one opponent she still couldn’t beat.

But she’d prepared thoroughly for today. She was going to teach this guy a lesson.

With that, Alina rolled her shoulders and headed toward the square.