Demon Progenitor Development Project

You've traveled through time and landed in Heian-kyo, where everyone around you is speaking a language you can't understand.

Bad news: I've been transported to ancient times and am living a mundane life, without any cheat codes or special abilities.

Good news! After transmigrating into the body of a nobleman, I'll never have to worry about food or drink, and I won't starve.

People online say they'd rather die than travel back to ancient times. If they did travel back to ancient times and ended up as a commoner, they'd rather commit suicide than suffer.

Unfortunately, Tsuruchiyo is now that unlucky guy.

Let's not mention his name before he transmigrated.

It's something I can't say out loud.

Tsuruchiyo, the eldest son of the contemporary Fujiwara no Kanpaku, is currently six and a half years old and has an excellent fever.

Lying in bed, feverish and dizzy, Tsuruchiyo could only vaguely see the people around her on her retina. Their voices sounded like aloe vera stuck together, indistinct and just muffled whispers.

With his cheeks flushed red, Hiiragi looked like a roasted sweet potato in his blanket, cursing inwardly.

Ancient times were like dog shit.

Closing my eyes and stopping listening to external sounds reduced the amount of information I received, and my mind became much calmer.

My head doesn't hurt as much anymore.

Tsuruchiyo tried hard to recall the historical knowledge about daily life in ancient times and the original owner's memories.

He had some knowledge of local history, and his first impression of the noble families of Heian-kyo was Fujiwara.

According to the current aristocratic inheritance system, he is likely to inherit his father's position and become a powerful head of the family.

If only he could live that long.

Having just landed and immediately received the illness debuff, Tsuruchiyo gulped down the strange-tasting medicine served by the maid, and really wanted to give the heavens the middle finger.

In modern times, if you have a fever, you can just go to the pharmacy to buy some fever reducers and take them. But for children, it's a bit more troublesome; you have to go to the doctor to get a prescription for special children's medication.

In ancient times, fever was a highly dangerous disease, and one that made children most likely to die young.

Ancient medical knowledge was still limited to impoverished rural areas, during the Heian period when supernatural and ghostly culture was at its peak.

Will he die from a quack doctor's treatment or from a shaman's ritualistic exorcism?

Hey! This kind of death must be on the list of the most frustrating deaths for time travelers, right?

The time traveler refused to die this way and struggled desperately.

Fortunately, Tsuruchiyo survived this serious illness and her health gradually improved.

During her convalescence, Tsuruchiyo ate extremely bland food, but felt like a cat was scratching at her heart.

No matter how much the locals boast about their extremely elegant Heian-kyo.

Tsuruchiyo, who actually lived in Heian-kyo, just wanted to spit out any fantasies about a peaceful life in the future.

The aristocratic meals of this era consisted of a bowl of rice, a boiled fish, a bowl of pickled vegetables, and a small dish of sauces that far exceeded the staple food.

The food was served in beautifully patterned utensils, which looked nice, but the portions were small.

He had to ask for the extra bowl of rice.

Seeing his appetite, the servant gave him a strange look.

Because in this era, gluttony was considered a bad quality among nobles, meaning that nobles could only eat less.

Therefore, the rice bowls used by nobles were naturally small and beautiful, which perfectly matched the aesthetics of the nobles in Heian-kyo.

Despite having a normal appetite, she was portrayed as a gluttonous eater. Tsuruchiyo: ...I have truly come to understand the beauty of contrast.

Ha ha.

Serves you right! You malnourished nobles don't live past forty on average; you all go to meet your ancestors far too early.

Six-year-old Tsuruchiyo chewed the hard rice in her mouth fiercely, cursing inwardly.

Numbly picking up the fish, Tsuruchiyo swallowed it before her tongue could even taste it. It was fish over and over again; her modern soul was protesting.

After finishing breakfast, Tsuruchiyo counted the time, her expression like that of a student waiting for the school bell to ring, anticipating dinner at four o'clock in the afternoon.

They only eat two meals a day, and the timing is fixed.

Nobles have so many broken rules!

Tsuruchiyo is always swearing and cursing.

As for why I can't sleep well?

Taking a bath and going to bed—a four-character phrase closely linked in modern times.

However, the nobles of Heian-kyo did not.

Not taking a bath is their normal routine.

They would only take a bath when the divination indicated that the day was unlucky, in order to remove bad luck.

When Tsuruchiyo, who didn't understand the situation at first, insisted on taking a bath, the maid summoned her adoptive father, who then called an Onmyoji to exorcise the demon for her.

They believed that Tsuruchiyo needed to ward off bad luck, which is why she did such a strange thing.

As he watched the Onmyoji chanting incantations and making strange hand gestures, Fujiwara Shugo showed a weak expression.

I can't live like this for even a second longer.

After that, no matter how hot the weather was, Tsuruchiyo could only wipe her body with a damp cloth before she could barely go to sleep.

Little Life, a country only suitable for living in the world of anime and manga.

Tsuruchiyo, who was just getting by, had her biggest dream right now: to get through her coming-of-age ceremony as soon as possible.

The Genpuku ceremony was held after which noblemen were considered adults and qualified to participate in many affairs. In the Heian period, it was usually held when the child was around ten years old.

Only adults have autonomy.

The child needs adults' permission for everything he eats and wears, and even the servants outwardly comply with his orders but inwardly disobey, treating him like a child.

Sure enough, there are adults everywhere who think they're superior just because they've eaten a few more years' worth of food!

Having just recovered from a serious illness, Tsuruchiyo wore a brightly colored straight robe and sported a hairstyle that her maid had styled in a way that seemed strange to her.

Her hair was parted in the middle, and her black hair was styled into circular hair rings that hung below her earlobes.

"It reminds me a bit of Nezha," Tsuruchiyo thought to herself.

Even aristocratic children have to attend classes. Tsuruchiyo is currently in the stage of learning to read, and the only pleasant surprise is that Tang Dynasty language is also part of her curriculum.

She had to learn wherever she went, staring blankly at the pages of a book filled with words.

Keep learning, keep learning, there's no end to learning, it's all knowledge.

Tsuruchiyo closed her eyes.

The professor in charge of teaching simply read from the textbook, making the course very boring.

No wonder the original owner often felt sleepy and skipped classes to play in his memories; the course was really boring.

Tsuruchiyo yawned.

"Young Master, would you like to go for a stroll in the courtyard?" The attendant beside him smiled obsequiously, suggesting as usual.

Tsuruchiyo turned her head to look at the servant who looked like a cunning and treacherous villain. This servant seemed to be called Hayato.

In the original owner's memories, he did indeed do this often, and Hayato never objected, only went along with it. He was very good at understanding the original owner's thoughts, and thus gradually rose to prominence and gained a high status among the original owner.

Tsuruchiyo narrowed his eyes. He wasn't interested in playing, but he was very interested in getting this person away.

After a few days of adjustment, Tsuruchiyo has basically figured out the situation from the original owner's memories.

Among the people around the original owner, the one most likely to discover his flaw was Hayato; the others were not particularly clever.

Tsuruchiyo didn't want to be led to the execution ground like a medieval witch.

“Okay.” Tsuruchiyo smiled.

The two of them slipped away to play in the courtyard as usual.

There is a pond in the courtyard, about half the height of an adult.

After deliberately distracting Hayato, Tsuruchiyo jumped inside.

That day, the head of the Fujiwara family flew into a rage, disposed of Hayato, the servant, and prepared a new attendant for his eldest son.

The butler, who arrived with a large group of people, said: "The master wants you to choose a new personal attendant."

A group of eligible servants were already kneeling in the open space in front of the passageway.

After scanning around, Shugo immediately picked out one of the boys who looked the cleanest and best-looking.

"Just him."

"May I have your name."

"My name is Taro. Please bestow a name upon me, young master."

The young servant boy remained kneeling on the ground, speaking respectfully.

Taro, a fairly common commoner's name.

"Ren-kō. Ren in 'Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, Xin' and Guang in 'Guangming'." Shugo said, looking at the boy in front of him who was performing his etiquette exceptionally well.

After that, Tsuruchiyo studied even more diligently, and the people around her gradually accepted the new version of Tsuruchiyo—a well-behaved child who studied hard and made progress.

The head of the Fujiwara family felt he had done an excellent job.

My son used to skip school and doze off; it must have been because of that spoiled brat Hayato!

Kang Youwei, who lived hundreds of years ago, gave it a thumbs up.