“It doesn’t seem to be a dream.”
Seated upon the bed, Kail muttered while his head and chin were still throbbing with pain.
“A dream shouldn’t be this painful… then what the heck’s going on?”
He was fully conscious, however he couldn’t grasp his current situation.
I should be in the Demon King’s castle where I was battling the Demon King and just barely won, I should have even received a fatal wound but if this isn’t a dream then what’s going on?
The first possibility that floated to my mind was that I was under attack via magical hypnotism or illusion from the demons.
I immediately looked out the window but the same gentle town of the past spread out towards the horizon.
There’s no mistaking it, this is my hometown, the town of Rimaze.
Also, I saw Lize walking back home with her shoulders perked up and an angry pace so I tried to call out to her, but I didn’t know what to say so I just saw her off.
It’s possible for large-scale illusion magic to recreate a town like this, but only a high level mage would be able to create an illusion close enough to mistake for the real thing.
However, in order to reproduce the appearance you’d have to know what the original looked like.
I tried to look for any differences, but on the bed were the same scratches, and in the books were the same doodles I made as a kid. It’s impossible to make such a realistic illusion with this amount of detail.
It isn’t hypnosis or memory tampering as I’ve already heightened my magic resistance so those things won’t work on me. Even if it was hypnosis once the target becomes aware of it the magic is destroyed, it’s that kind of thing.
(In the first place, they shouldn’t have felt the need to use such an attack on me in that situation.
I was so gravely injured that, even if they didn’t finish me off, I would’ve just died….)
After I thought about all that, I checked my left arm. The result was that there weren’t any particular wounds that would make it unusable.
The injuries were to such a degree.
“It has healed…. No, it’s different.”
Even the world’s greatest healing spell shouldn’t be able to heal it, it’s shocking.
and there should be a scar. Speaking from experience it shouldn’t be wrong…
However, my left arm wasn’t injured at all. Of course I can move it without a problem. It was as if there was no injury from the start.
“Even old injuries have disappeared.”
The scar from last year that should have been there was gone. Further examining my body the wounds on my arms and legs were gone too.
Trying to move my body was abnormally nice. Things like fatigue and pain that were bothering me had all cleanly disappeared..
“But my body’s ability has somewhat dropped… I also feel as if my arms have gotten thinner.”
I jumped trying to confirm it but compared to before, it felt as if it body’s ability had significantly dropped compared to half a day ago.
Kail decided to try to leave the room after thinking a little.
Heading for the first floor’s living room, where there should be a mirror.
For the time being I left the room while checking my surroundings but nothing happened, after leaving my room I understood this was exactly as I remember my old home.
After checking the mirror in the living room I became even more certain.
It´s certainly my face, but all my facial scars have disappeared, but above all else.
“Like I thought…. I’m young again.”
I had completely forgotten my birthday because of my day-to-day battles, but I should have at least been more than twenty years old.
Yet reflected in the mirror is a face that’s of someone in his mid-teens at most.
That means, that was… no this was a thing for rejuvenation?”
Taking out the red gem that was inside his pocket.
Like always it gives of an otherworldly beautiful glow that’s as mysterious as ever, but I don’t feel any tremendous magic like that time.
Certainly rejuvenation magic exists however it’s a forbidden art that needs a tremendous amount of magic power.
“No, even if it was rejuvenation it shouldn’t need that much magic. Also it wouldn’t explain this situation…”
Kail had been holding his head while in front of the mirror.
My hometown that was supposed to be destroyed, my childhood friend that was supposed to be dead and my rejuvenated body….. There is only one answer to explain this all.
But I shook my head to that foolish thought.
But Lize certainly said that today was my sixteenth birthday.
“Sixteen years old… Then it’s that? I came to the past?”
Although it’s not impossible. Just like a story out of a fairy tale.
Those four years, it would still be more believable for those four years to have been a dream or a delusion.
But there is the red gem that could be called material evidence. Above all, the experience of fighting with the fierce demon tribe, there is absolutely no way that could have been a dream or a fantasy.
But common sense denies it by saying there’s no way it could have happened.
“Shit, something like this…. It’s more convincing to say that I’m crazy.”
Kail had been holding his head for a while but made a wry smile when his belly growled out in hunger.
“No matter what kind of situation it is, I still gets hungry… No I should think of it as proof that everything’s normal.”
Kail went to the kitchen hoping he’d find something.
But a decent meal was already in the kitchen when he got there.
On the table was freshly baked bread, dried meat and vegetable soup. There was also scrambled egg with salad and also a dessert.
For breakfast they were all elaborate dishes.
“Seems like Lize prepared all of this.”
In a family where everyone sucked at housework nobody could stand up against her who cooked all the meals.
Tempted by the nice smell I reached out my hand, in that instant the possibility of poison entered my head but I lightly shook my head and began eating.
It was a nostalgic taste.
This soup was said to be a specialty that was handed down in Lize’s family as a special recipe.
She passed away before I got to ask her so when I was free I tried to reproduce the taste but it didn’t work.
“I should eat it…. before it cools down….”
Kail began to eat furiously while tears involuntarily welled up.
Warm food after a long time of only eating preserved food was really delicious.
“As expected I ate too much.”
There was a considerable amount, but not being able to control myself I ate it all.
“After eating it all it seemed like a first rate meal…. right?”
At that time I heard a sound coming from the front door, I understood a person came inside.
I thought Lize was back but the sound of the footsteps were different.
But it wasn’t an unfamiliar sound. Actually it was a presence and sound I was familiar with and that person went straight to the kitchen.
“Yo.”
Who came in was someone with short blond hair that was well kept in it’s own way, but he was a guy with the impression of a neighborhood brat who had just grown up.
Wearing clothes easy to move in and a cheap sword on his waist.
“Seran……”
Kail had an inseparable bond with this bad company, he was childhood friend of his like Lize and that shitty bond continued until the very end.
“Well, this is rare that you who’s weak in the morning is already awake.”
“Oh, oh …… Oh, that it’s umm ….. How’ve you been?”
“We also met each other yesterday, what’re you saying?”
Seran answered with a strange look.
Kail stabilized his breathing and had a good look at Seran’s calm face but was different.
“….. It’s still the same old stupid face, the Seran of now still misses the experience that he had in the future. But the guy in front of me is still the same failure as in the past.”
“I don’t really understand what you’re saying, but I understand that you’re insulting me.”
And he’s young. He’s probably the same age as the Kail of right now.
I didn’t notice because of the confusion this morning but I felt as if Lize was also as young as I remember.
“Well I don’t have time to bother with you, now for breakfast, breakfast….. isn’t there?!”
Seran that looked at the empty pot spoke out.
“You, couldn’t have possibly eaten it all!?”
“Oh It was delicious.”
Kail recalls that this guy was always making a racket about food.
“Damn, because Lize seemed so hyped while cooking yesterday I intended to take it for myself today, although she’s really violent her cooking skills are really good.”
Seran who was trying to lick the pot with his finger.
“If you want to eat it that much just ask if she could make you some.”
“It’s already impossible, don’t you know how much I pissed her off yesterday. Even now I only came in after she left.”
Kail didn’t really care about something like that, so he asked something that bothered him.
“Oh, I’m going to ask you something weird.”
“What?…. Ah there’s a little bit of meat left.”
“Just listen ok….. What day and year is it today?”
“What?”
“Well, I kind of forgot the date.”
“You really ask weird questions, today is the 24th of the 5th month of year 2823.”
It’s the date of four years ago. This really seems to be the past.
“You aren’t mistaken right?”
“I don’t know what’s bothering you but I’m not mistaken. Well It might be wrong by one or two days though.”
After Seran said that he clapped his hands while saying “Ah”.
“Speaking of which it’s your birthday today, I totally forgot this bastard’s birthday…. What? did you want a present or something?”
“No, I don’t have a hobby of getting a present from someone who calls me a bastard you know.”
Seran had cleaned out the pot of all the leftovers and said there’s no helping it to me.
“Well it can’t be helped I’ll settle with giving the breakfast as birthday present.”
“Hey? Isn’t that kind of cheap?”
Hey this wasn’t yours in the first place, Kail who was saying that was ignored by Seran who was trying to leave.
“Where are you going to?”
“If there isn’t any food I don’t have any business here anymore. I don’t have a choice I’ll go to Lize and see if I can get something to eat.”
It was probably delicious, I heard such murmur from him.
“Wasn’t she upset a little while ago? She’ll either punch or kick you while asking no questions.”
“What, if I apologize with my head to the ground she’ll at least give me a serving. Because even she has a soft spot for beggars.”
“Since the old days…. No, like always if it’s in order to obtain your target you’ll choose any means necessary, even if it means throwing away your pride.”
“Fu, don’t praise me like that.”
“I wasn’t praising you.”
“Oh, my birthday is on the eight of the 2nd month, so as my present you should give me precious metals or a fine woman.”
Seran left while waving his hand.
“Should I say that guy hasn’t changed at all or should I say he doesn’t change at all.”
Kail makes a wry smile while watching Seran’s back.
It’s been a long time since this kind of exchange. It was one of the casual things in our everyday life, but now it makes me really happy to be able to do this again.
“Well, I wonder what I should do from now on.”
Kail folded his arms and began thinking.
It seems like I really came to the past but just how did it happen.
Magic to return to the past, or those who tried to use it, I’ve never heard anything about it.
Even if I think about it alone I won’t find any answers. I would like to talk to someone who actually knows about it so I can’t ask just anyone for a consultation.
At the moment there is only one person I can think of that can help me.
“…. Like I thought there’s only one person, I just hope that person is awake though.”
While scratching his head Kaill decided to go to the person who could help him.