Reset Life – Chapter 2

Chapter 1: The Beginning of a Restart

KR Translators:

・StarrySkySailor
・KawaiiKage
・ImmortalInk
・KingPotato
・SugoiSenpai

Chapter 2: You’re Wrong. Study. (1)

It’s a strange thing, everyone. I, who definitely thought I was dead, have come back to life. No, I should say it’s a little different. When I came back to life, it was 10 years before the day I died.

Ah, let me introduce myself. My name is ‘Arisein Ka Herduke’. I’m called ‘Risel’ as a nickname, so please call me Risel.

I am definitely a knight who received the title of ‘Ka’, and I belong to the Empire’s 3rd Knight Order. I’m 26 years old, and I think I had a pretty decent feeling about myself. And I’m single.

Anyway, I lived like that and died on the battlefield. But when I opened my eyes, I was back to being sixteen years old. Eh? Is this what they call a near-death experience? No, maybe an after-death experience would be more appropriate.

“It’s not fun to say things like this.”

I turned my head and sighed gloomily.

Before waking up and eating breakfast, the image of myself that I saw while washing my face was exactly the same as when I was sixteen. And the bathtub I broke when I was seventeen and the sink I smashed at eighteen were also intact.

I thought about matching my memories by breaking those things first, but let’s stop doing things that would make me look crazy.

Well, how should I put it, actually, in this state, the answer is already obvious. But somehow, I don’t want to admit it, because if I admit it, I feel like what I’ve believed in is collapsing.

“Did I go back in time?”

But my mouth betrayed me like this morning.

I had to shudder and flinch, and then I nodded again.

“I’ve traveled back in time.”

The appearance of my room, my appearance, the appearance of my surroundings.

Everything was the same as it was 10 years ago in my memory.

Somehow, I feel like I’m looking at a painting. Like looking at a detailed landscape painting I drew 10 years ago and feeling a sense of incongruity at its unchanged appearance.

How? Why?

……

“Ouch, my head hurts.”

I shook my head, holding my head. No matter how much I think about it, I don’t know what I don’t know.

Surely it’s not really a dream, is it? But a dream of living the next 10 years of my life, even that death is too certain a dream that I’ve never even heard of.

“Ugh……!”

The thought of death made me feel nauseous. It felt like something hot was refluxing from my stomach and trying to crawl up my throat.

That’s how I was sure.

Yeah. I died. I definitely died.

Charging at the forefront of a stupid and reckless operation, I became a hedgehog from crossbow bolts and fell off my horse. And after breathing a little, I died.

Hoo━ Ha━.

Through my hand covering my mouth, a sound reminiscent of that time came out. My head is pounding. The feeling of nausea I get after riding in a carriage for a long time is welling up in my throat again.

“Haa……! Haa!”

I leaned on the sink and took a deep breath.

That’s right. I was dead.

I look up. My pale face reflected in the mirror. Cold sweat is running down my forehead. And thanks to my breath, the mirror is fogging up.

Slowly reaching out, I stroke the face reflected in the mirror.

Cold and smooth feeling. And as my fingers move, a small squeaking sound.

“I’m alive……”

I’m alive.

With the body of a sixteen-year-old.

In the time of 10 years ago.

The silent meal continues.

A good noble should make as little noise as possible while eating. The Herduke family is one of the three Duke families in the Empire, and they must learn the exemplary laws accordingly.

“Oh my, there are no mistakes today, Risel.”

“I can’t keep making mistakes forever.”

At my answer, my mother smiled contentedly and nodded. ‘Father’ also looked at me with a new perspective, even if he wasn’t happy.

It’s embarrassing, but when I was sixteen, I still hadn’t learned all the table manners. My brother and sister were doing well enough, but I was clumsy and couldn’t learn the aristocratic way of eating.

But that’s the story of that time.

Now I can show off my manners like flowing water.

I secretly glanced at ‘Father’ during the meal.

The being who didn’t acknowledge me, didn’t accept me, and killed me.

Surely, when I was sixteen, I loved and followed my father without thinking. But I doubt I can do that now. I just wanted to be loved, but come to think of it, my father always kept his distance from me.

Sigh. It’s a strange feeling.

“Brother, what’s wrong?”

“Huh?”

“You never make a mistake, do you? Usually, you would have dropped and broken a glass around this time. But why aren’t you doing it today?”

Berselia tilted her head and looked up at me. She’s twenty years old this year……no, she’s a ten-year-old little lady. A cute little girl with curly blonde hair, black eyes, and a white face.

I have consistently good memories of this child. Because she was a family member who treated me without hesitation.

On the other hand, that brother of mine……

“Hmph. It seems you’ve finally realized that you’re a noble.”

He keeps bringing up my bloodline like this. He’s still good at not pointing it out directly and talking about it in a roundabout way.

This handsome man with neatly trimmed black hair and a smooth, sculpted face is my older brother. But his blue eyes, which looked at me, were always filled with contempt.

If I were sixteen, I would have tried to get into this brother’s good graces because I didn’t know anything, but now I don’t want to do that again. To someone who has no intention of treating me well, I treat them the same way.

“How are your studies going, Donthernon, Risel, Sera?”

Even at Father’s sudden question, Donthernon Herduke, the eldest son of the Herduke family, answered calmly without being flustered.

“Yes. There are no particular problems.”

After that, I, and then Sera answered in turn.

“I have no problems either.”

“Me too.”

We answered in order of rank, but my brother gave me a disgusted look. A contemptuous look that asks how dare you answer before Sera. He definitely favored Sera.

In the past, I suffered a lot. I wondered if he could treat me well even though we were family. Of course, this was before I knew about my birth, and after I learned all the facts, I had no other feelings than absurdity.

But now that I see my brother in person……he’s just a childish young master putting on airs.

It’s so ridiculous that it’s almost cute.

Father nodded with the same usual indifference.

“Good. I’m glad there are no problems. I’ll call your teacher occasionally to check, so don’t be lazy and keep working hard.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Understood.”

“Yes, Father.”

That’s all Father said. This man, who seems to exude indifference when touched, is called the ‘Iron-Blooded Duke’ even within the Empire. This is because he treats people coldly and indifferently both at home and outside.

He has the same black hair that was passed down to me and my brother, but now he’s starting to show some gray hairs. His chin is slightly angular and his beard is neatly trimmed. His face is full of dignity, enough to fulfill the roles of the head of a household, father of three children, and Duke of a country.

He has a personality that gives the impression of being precise and cold-hearted, and he actually acts that way. His strong adherence to justice without being swayed by factions is quite threatening to both the Emperor’s faction and the nobles’ faction.

On the other hand, Mother is……

“Red, don’t be so stiff when we’re with family. That’s why Donthernon already has a habit of not smiling. I’m not worried about Risel because he’s doing well, but I’m worried that Sera will become like that too.”

She speaks so nonchalantly.

The ‘Mysterious Duchess’, who is so incompatible with Father and yet fits in so well, is Mother.

She has the blonde hair that was passed down to Sera and the blue eyes that were passed down to my brother, and she has the image of a mature lady who must have been quite beautiful in the past. She has the special ability to soften the atmosphere around her, which makes her popular among noble ladies.

And, along with Sera, she is the one who truly loved me.

“But Red, yesterday……”

Mother tried to start a conversation with Father. Father’s questions always give my brother an excuse to attack me, so she does this because she cares about me. Even though I know all the facts now, they are treating me as I am. Knowing that I don’t know anything.

It feels strange.

This is not the time I lived in.

It’s an era where only a few memories and small reminiscences remain, as everything except my mind and memories has retreated 10 years into the future.

For example, the fork and knife I’m using now.

When I was twenty-one……yes, in 5 years, the trend in cutlery design will change.

Right now, it’s the trend to make them out of gold or silver to prevent the taste from mixing with the food, but in 5 years, a new alloy will be invented, changing the landscape of iron products, including cutlery.

I heard that the alloy was invented in a small workshop in the west of the continent, but who knows? If I go there now and give some clues to the people in the workshop, maybe they can make the same metal?

Haha, that’s an interesting thought. Then I could really change history……

Huh?

Suddenly, a thought came to my mind and my hand stopped.

I was so focused on the fact that I had traveled back in time that I hadn’t thought of it.

I’ve returned to 10 years ago.

With all the memories of the next 10 years.

Of course, I can’t remember everything that happened in those 10 years in detail, but I remember the major events roughly. There are even events where I remember the cause, the development, the conclusion, and even the mastermind behind it.

Those are things that haven’t happened ‘yet’.

And they are things that will happen ‘soon’.

If I’ve traveled back in time, things will unfold as I know them. Then I can prevent those events from happening, or make them happen even more severely.

Is that all? Knowing what’s going to happen, I can use it to my advantage.

Because I know everything, I can prevent those things from happening.

I can……dominate the next 10 years.

“Brother, what’s wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, no.”

“Hmph. To think about something else during a meal. How rude.”

I guess I was thinking for a while. Everyone in the family is looking at me. I shook my head and acted as if nothing had happened. But inside my chest, an uncontrollable joy is bubbling up.

Maybe I……can prevent the war that killed me.

No, I can prevent it!

After breakfast, for about an hour until the tutor arrived, I decided to make a concrete plan.

What’s happening to me now is incredibly mysterious, but it’s foolish not to use it just because it’s suspicious. I don’t know why it came into my hands, but if what I have in my hands is gold, I should use it first.

First, I decided to organize the events that will happen in the future by time.

The Empire and other great powers, and the small countries caught between them.

In 10 years, quite complex and subtle things will happen between them. Some are caused by people, some by nature or supernatural things. Or a mixture of both.

“Hmm, the biggest event would probably be the upheaval of ‘Mangya’, called the ‘Black New Moon’. The beginning of that will happen in a year and a half……so it would be good to move on this in a year.”

After briefly organizing the events like this, I prioritized the events I could intervene in. As with everything in the world, there are things I can intervene in and things I can’t.

What was the biggest thing when I was sixteen?

First, there’s Marlin’s death, but that happens about 3 months later. It’s May 24th now, and if I think of one thing per month……

“May 24th, 372nd year of the Imperial Calendar. The appearance of the Sword King ‘Levidian’……”

When I was sixteen, that is, now, at present, there are five people considered to be the best on the continent. This will become eight people in 10 years, but that’s a story for later.

Those five are the ones competing for the title of the strongest on the continent. They each use different weapons, but they have unparalleled skills in their respective fields. Among them, Levidian, called the Sword King, is a wandering swordsman who doesn’t belong to any country.

That person will appear in the capital of the Empire today.

And she will visit our family.

“This is it……!”

I smiled.

On the first day I traveled back in time, an opportunity came to me.

“It is an honor that the Sword King has come in person, an honor that will never happen again in my life. I am Donthernon Herduke, the eldest son of the Herduke family.”

My brother, Donthernon, greeted her with the utmost humility. However, Levidian only nodded expressionlessly and did not respond. According to the stories I heard before I died, she likes people who challenge her.

When the Sword King only gave a cold nod, my brother was flustered but stepped back slightly. It must be the first time that my brother, who is handsome and the primary heir to the Duke, has been ignored by a woman.

I calmed my pounding heart and stepped forward slightly, bowing only about 45 degrees. And I held out my right hand and said with a serious expression.

“I am the second son, Arisein Ka Herduke. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Risel!”

“You, how dare you……!”

“Brother……?”

My father, brother, and Sera reacted immediately. Of course, asking for a handshake with the Sword King would be taken as meaning that you and I are equals. They must think it’s arrogant.

But the Sword King, Levidian……

“Nice to meet you. You have courage.”

She smiled faintly and took my hand. Success!

“You’re welcome.”

It was a hand that held a sword, but it was strangely soft. Her white and soft hand was warm. I shook her hand and stepped back. My brother was looking at me as if to say, how big is your liver?

Next, Sera greeted her beautifully, and we sat down. And I calmly observed the Sword King, Levidian.

Her black hair flowed down like a smooth waterfall from her shoulders, resting on her slightly raised, shapely chest, and then falling down again. The fact that she was wearing leather armor didn’t hinder my appreciation of her figure.

Her white face, with a beauty that made it impossible to tell whether she was a swordsman or a noblewoman, was as beautiful as the crystallization of beauty. She looked to be in her early twenties. Moreover, there was not a single wrinkle on her skin.

Despite having such beauty, she is 26 years old this year. Despite her young age, she is one of the five strongest on the continent, so her skills must be truly fearsome.

She is a woman, but she has the dignity worthy of the title of King. Originally, if a martial artist was recognized as a master of the sword, regardless of gender, they would be called the Sword King, but Levidian was more deserving of the title than anyone else.

“Indeed, a family of heroes. It seems that you have inherited the childishness of the legend as well.”

Levidian said, lifting her teacup with a straight face again. However, there was warmth hidden in her tone, not coldness. I replied with a gesture of an awkward smile.

It’s a world of difference from the answer that remains in my memory.

Translator’s Blog

Blog

• My Two Classmates Just Went Full Anime Fight Club Over… WAIFUS?!
• Sword Art Online: A Grown-Up’s Journey Through A Virtual World
• Lost in Translation: When Your Brain Goes on a Tangent While Reading Light Novels
• How to Deal with Your Cringey Otaku Classmate (Without Turning into a Weeaboo Yourself)
• Goku Goes Yandere: A Dragon Ball Z Nightmare