Chapter 1: The Beginning of a Restart
Imperial Year 382. May 23rd.
Hoo━ Hah━.
The sound of my breath scattering through the air holes sounds strange.
As the time for the charge approaches, my breathing becomes more ragged. My breath, laden with tension, swirls inside the helm that covers my head.
Hoo━ Hah━.
Damn it.
I am ‘Arisein Ka Herduke’.
A knight belonging to the Empire’s 3rd Knight Order.
Right now, I am on the battlefield.
Hoo━ Hah━.
My heart is pounding like crazy. The surroundings are quiet, and the horses are neighing silently. Occasionally, one of them scrapes the ground with its hooves. The sound of breathing continues to tickle my ears.
I cast my gaze forward.
There was no one. Only the open ground for running and the enemy army a little further away could be seen.
Damn it.
The Azot Kingdom Army.
The country that raised its sword against the Empire. Because of them, even I, who was living a comfortable life, had to be dragged to the battlefield.
I didn’t really want to know why they started the war, but as I participated in the war, I found out. It was a dog-like reason that even I, the son of an Imperial Duke, couldn’t help but curse the Imperial family for.
Why in the world did they bring another country’s princess and, instead of treating her with respect, drive her to suicide?!
Those sons of bitches who are the Emperor’s sons!
They attacked her in a group!
For three years!
They played with her!
Damn it! Even I get angry when I hear it! Those bastards!
To improve the worsening relations between the two countries, the princess voluntarily became a hostage. The purpose was marriage to the Empire’s 3rd Prince, and the point would have been to plan a beautiful future for both countries.
However, that princess was abused by the Emperor’s five sons for three years.
I won’t beat around the bush.
It was g@ng r@pe.
I don’t know how the story reached the Azot Royal Family, but the King was naturally furious when he heard it. It is said that the entire country was heated with anti-Empire sentiment.
However, the King of Azot calmly demanded the punishment of those involved and a proper apology. At this point, I, who have a cute younger sister, could fully sympathize with his feelings and decided to respect the King of Azot.
Despite that respectable act, the war broke out.
If only that damn bastard, His Majesty the Emperor, hadn’t beaten up the envoy who came to protest, without properly punishing those cowardly little prince bastards who were hiding behind the Empress’s skirts, it could have been prevented.
Damn it.
Hoo━ Hah━.
Thanks to that, I was dragged here. I, the second son of a Duke who was living a comfortable life, was dragged into this absurd war.
No, I was thrown into it.
Hoo━ Hah━.
“Chaaaarge! Reaaady!”
The commander’s voice stretches out. At his voice, everyone lined up thrusts their lances forward.
The iron pieces, thirsting for blood, are aligned and scream.
Clang!
Along with them, I also thrust my lance forward. And I fix it by hooking the shaft onto the ring of my armor. It’s a habit that has become ingrained in my body even during the short training period, if I do say so myself. A regrettable habit.
Hoo━ Hah━.
I can hear it. The sound of my hot breath spreading through my ears.
Entangled with the sound of breathing, I hear the commander’s shout.
“Drive back the arrogant villains who pointed their swords at His Majesty the Emperor! To the enemies of His Majesty the Emperor, the only and highest leader in the world! Death!”
Death━!
The chanting following the commander. A huge roar echoes as if words are being carved into the air of the battlefield. Within it, I am alone, isolated, looking only at the enemies I must charge at.
“Death!”
Death━!
The shouts seem to contain truth. They will surely be able to bring death. Whether to themselves, to the opponent, or to anyone.
“Death!”
Death━!
I shouted with a despair that made my heart crumble.
“Death!”
To myself.
Hoo━ Hah━.
“Charge, begin━!”
I don’t know why my left hand struck the reins. But there are things in the world that happen without reason. Against my will, the horse stepped forward vigorously.
The things inside my body move as if sloshing around. I feel like I’m going to vomit. If I vomit inside the tightly closed helm, the vomit pouring out through the air holes would be quite a sight.
Damn it.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The horse’s hooves strike the ground. The noble echo of pounding the earth is engraved in the sky, and I move forward. The others beside me also move forward.
The Azot Kingdom Army is getting closer and closer. Their ranks are fidgeting, as if preparing something. They seem to be busy moving, not panicking, in order to give us a proper blow.
Hoo━ Hah━.
The sound of my breathing, which I used to find so tedious, is now more comforting than ever.
Only now, I realize that I want to breathe for even one more day.
I resent it.
I resent the reality that I have to be here right now.
I hate that I have to stand at the forefront of the Imperial Army and run towards the enemy who are fully prepared to tear us apart from the front.
After the battle is over, everyone will say,
<Number of dead, number of injured, the list of collected loot is as follows.>
There is no way to escape from the vanguard position where 90% die. I will now become part of the numbers that someone will say after the battle.
A few drops of ink on the death list will be the only proof that I lived.
I hate it.
I hate that I have to die like this.
I haven’t……done anything yet.
Hoo━ Hah━.
Something flashes in the air ahead and rises all at once. Needless to say, it’s the Azot Kingdom Army’s specialty, the crossbow.
There is no sound.
The iron pieces, filled with malice, that rose towards the sky are getting closer and closer. Countless arrows, which would take hours to count, are approaching.
I can’t dodge them. I can’t block them. I can’t run away.
Unstoppable death approaches.
Damn you, Father.
Did you find it so unpleasant that I was staying at home? What was so wrong with it? Did you say that participating in the war would change a person?
Oh, yes. Good. I’ll definitely change now.
From a living body to a corpse!
Why can’t you be honest?
That I’m not Mother’s child!
That you just want to kill me because I’m too uncomfortable to keep at home and you don’t want to marry me off to another family!
Just tell me I’m a burden. Then I could have disappeared.
Damn it. I wanted to be a useful child to you. You never even looked at me…………as I was trying so hard for that!
Hoo━ Hah━.
Resentment, anger, and sadness gather together.
I looked at the approaching arrows and poured out all of it.
“Uwaaaaaah━!”
I don’t want to die. I can’t die in a place like this.
I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.
I want to live━!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
In my stomach, shoulder, leg, chest.
It’s as hot as being hit with burning firewood. I hear a disgusting creaking sound. I don’t know if it’s the sound of the armor pierced by arrows being crumpled, or the sound of the arrows embedded in my bones scraping against them.
There’s only one thing I know for sure.
The world……is tilting.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
I can’t breathe from the shock that hits my back. My throat is clogged, and it’s painful. My head is throbbing, and it feels like blood is rushing to my face.
“Gah……Ugh!”
I finally managed to catch my breath. But I haven’t survived. The arrows embedded in various parts of my body, including my upper body, were showing that I would soon die.
Hoo- Hah……
My breath scatters.
Black dot-like arrows continue to fly in the air. Behind those arrows, I look at the sky.
Blue, with white clouds…………
Hoo……Hah……
I don’t know what to do with the reality that has come so simply. The death that has arrived so refreshingly is not even painful. It only stings a little, but my consciousness is easily scattered.
Slowly. Slowly.
Hoo……
I want to breathe……just a little longer.
Hah……
My eyes close.
With the darkness approaching, and the faint feeling of my body sinking into a swamp, as if falling asleep. The coldness, the chill, envelops my body.
The midwinter wind. Engraving the falling snow on my skin.
Like that, I……
If I’m reborn, I won’t die like this.
★⭐★⭐★⭐★
“Young Master! Young Master!”
Someone shakes my body roughly. Who is it? Don’t they know the saying that even a ghost who died from overeating looks good……? This isn’t right.
“Young Master, wake up!”
Wake up? What are they talking about? I’m already dead. How can a dead person wake up? But why is my body shaking?
“Young Master!”
Huh?
Besides, that voice sounds very familiar……?
“Uh……? Marlin?”
“Ah! Young Master, you’re finally awake!”
I barely opened my eyes and looked at the maid standing in front of me with her hands on her hips. The middle-aged maid with dark brown skin and brown hair is……Marlin, who died when I was sixteen……?
I nodded. I understood the whole situation in an instant.
There’s no way I, who just died a little while ago, could be alive.
“Ah, I see.”
“Yes?”
“So even the world of the dead still has a class system. It’s unfair even in death. Marlin, how’s the afterlife?”
“What are you talking about? The afterlife?”
Marlin furrowed her brows and tilted her head. She’s looking at me as if asking if I have a stomachache, or to be precise, if I ate something bad.
I tilted my head in return and asked her.
“What do you mean? You’re dead. When I was sixteen.”
“Um, I……Young Master? Are you feeling unwell perhaps……”
Marlin cautiously placed her hand on my forehead. But seeing as her hand is trembling a little……Hey, you don’t think I’m going to bite you like a crazy person, do you?
“Thankfully, you don’t have a fever.”
She said so and let out a light sigh. Hey, were you really thinking that? Did your head become a little strange after you died?
As I looked up at her with a crooked expression, she said.
“Young Master, you must have had a strange dream.”
“Dream?”
“Yes. Why are you saying I’m dead when I’m perfectly alive? And when you were sixteen? You’re talking as if it’s something from the distant past. Young Master, you’re sixteen years old right now. It was just the other day that you celebrated your birthday, have you already forgotten?”
“What?”
I muttered in disbelief and tilted my head. Then, suddenly, I turned my eyes to the large mirror standing across the bed.
Marlin’s back and a boy sitting on the bed were reflected there.
A boy with messy black hair and yellowish skin was sitting on the bed, looking at me.
When I raised my right hand to touch my face, he raised his left hand to touch his face.
Look! Look at that! I raised my right hand! But he raised his left hand! It just so happens that the guy on the other side of the bed is doing the same thing as me! Mwahahahaha!
But……why does that face look familiar? It’s a face I saw a lot when I was sixteen, isn’t it? Huh?
My mouth opened unconsciously.
“Marlin……?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“What year is it……?”
“It’s Imperial Year 372. Young Master, are you alright?”
372?! Wait, isn’t it 382? I’m sure it was 382 when we fought the Azot Kingdom Army! That’s the date written on the operation order!
“Now, stop talking in your sleep and get ready for breakfast. The Duke and Madam will scold you if you’re late.”
Marlin took the blanket and walked towards the balcony. A moment later, with the sound of the blanket flapping, I sat on the bed and looked at the boy reflected in the mirror, looking at me.
That’s……my face from 10 years ago.
What’s going on?
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