Chapter 8

Chapter 8 : The True Identity of a Reincarnator

When I led the ship into the port, the entry procedures proceeded smoothly.

In truth, there was not much that could be called a procedure.

The black pirate flag had long since been replaced with an ordinary sail, and Orgilian had taken every last item they had plundered from the merchant ships, leaving not even a single seed behind.

“Damn it... Why did he take the spices when he cannot even eat them anyway?”

“We are going to have to do some hard labor to fund the next voyage....”

“.......”

Doran ignored the grumbling complaints of the pirates and waited until the entry inspection was finished.

Even so, unlike the other pirates, he had found an emergency pouch filled with silver coins under the desk in the captain’s cabin, so he would not starve right away.

It was fortunate that his opponents had been undead who hated silver.

Once the procedures were finished and they disembarked, the pirates rushed out in a swarm, then began chattering excitedly as though nothing had happened.

“Hehehe...! Land, I have returned, you bastards!!”

“I am really stepping on the ground! When we were surrounded by the undead, I thought it was all over forever...!!”

“Let us hurry and tell the tavern idiots what happened to us! No one is going to believe it!”

No sooner had they finished speaking than the pirates bolted straight toward a tavern.

However, as Doran quietly watched their backs and turned away, the First Mate cautiously asked him,

“...Captain, are you not going with them?”

“I have something to do separately, so I will not be joining you.”

“If it is something you need my help with....”

“No, it is fine. The journey was exhausting, so recover from your fatigue for five days, then meet in front of the Barba. Tell the crew the same thing.”

Doran firmly cut off the First Mate, who was trying to follow him, and headed deeper into the port.

If things went according to plan, this would be his farewell to them, but he felt no lingering attachment.

Even though they had crossed the line between life and death together, they were people of an entirely different sort. 

They were criminals who lived by plunder and pillage, so nothing good would come from getting involved with them.

Besides, there was another reason that was far more important.

｢Mandatory Quest!｣

｢You have received the grace of the gods and obtained a second life!｣

｢However, there is no such thing as a gift without a price! Find the reason you were reincarnated into this world!｣

｢Quest Completion Condition: Raise your level to 30 within two months!｣

｢Upon Failure: Your soul will be torn to shreds, resulting in death.｣

The joy of having survived the worst tutorial was brief, for a terrifying warning message had appeared in his vision.

Before his reincarnation, the goddess had said, “There will be a few restrictions, but...” as a way of setting up the conditions. To think this was what she had meant.”

‘Level 30 within two months means I have no time to relax....’

No, perhaps this was actually better.

To survive in this insane dark fantasy world where a Lich appeared in the sea before a village, he needed strength one way or another.

And there was one profession perfectly suited to me, who had no connections and no money to open a workshop.

Adventurer.

‘But this port village is too small to operate in....’

Its public order was poor as well, to the point that criminals like pirates could openly run rampant.

There also happened to be no suitable hunting grounds here, so I planned to travel first to the nearest city, Verastin, and register as an adventurer.

If I hunted small-fry monsters in the fields near that place, leveled up, and then challenged a dungeon, I should be able to grow quickly.

Come to think of it, I also had to deliver the letter Orgilian had entrusted to me....

‘Well, I can do that later. It is not as though he is going to come looking for me, is he?’

Doran cleanly pushed everything related to the letter out of his mind.

Then, just as he stepped into an alley to take a shortcut,

“So that was it... You are not Captain Barbo.”

“......!!”

A chilling voice came from behind him.

When he turned around, the pirate First Mate was standing there with wary eyes.

‘...Since when was he following me?’

Doran’s heart sank, but he immediately lowered his voice, put on the most pretentious air he could, and feigned ignorance.

“I do not know what you are talking about! If I am not the famous captain of the Barba, the Terror of the Charybdis Coast and the great pirate Barbo, then who could I possibly be?”

“A lie. You are not the Captain Barbo I knew.”

“...Why do you think so, First Mate Robert? Have I ever done anything to disappoint you?”

“Your walk.”

“My walk?”

“Captain Barbo has a habit of walking with his feet turned outward. On top of that, when he is alone with me, he speaks in a much more frivolous tone. And despite calling himself a captain, he never touches rum, saying it is a lowly drink meant for baseborn scum.”

“...I see.”

Seeing the certainty in the First Mate’s eyes, Doran cleanly gave up the act.

In truth, he had never thought he could deceive him perfectly from the beginning.

Even with the assistance of [Antagon’s Rune], it had been impossible from the start to fool a comrade who had eaten from the same pot through acting based entirely on improvisation.

He had also known that, at some point, the First Mate had begun to suspect him.

He had merely hoped the man would pretend not to know until they reached the port and Doran left the village....

‘...Can I win?’

As he quietly placed a hand on the cutlass at his waist, the First Mate stepped back and added,

“Do not misunderstand. I did not come here to fight. I did sail with Barbo for a long time, but he was such a piece of trash that I have no attachment built up for him.”

“In that case... Why did you come looking for me? What reason did you have to go out of your way to stop me?”

“That is... because there is something I want to ask you.”

“Something you want to ask?”

“Yes.”

After a brief pause, First Mate Robert opened his mouth.

“Are you, by any chance, a Reincarnator?”

“What...?”

Reincarnator.

It felt as though I had been struck in the head with a hammer.

‘...What did I just hear?’

How did this man know of the existence of Reincarnators?

What had allowed him to realize it?

Doran struggled to maintain his composure while suppressing the shock and questions boiling up inside him.

Being exposed as someone other than Barbo and being exposed as a Reincarnator were entirely different matters.

He swallowed dryly and asked in return,

“You know... about the existence of Reincarnators?”

It was practically an admission, but he had to confirm it.

He needed to grasp information about Reincarnators in this world, and if there had been anything in his behavior that could expose him, he had to correct it.

For some reason, however, the First Mate snorted and replied,

“Of course I know. Is there anyone in this world who does not know about the existence of those disgusting bastards?”

“.......”

“To add a little more, since you seem to know nothing yet, beings like you are called Reincarnators here, or evil spirits, parasitic souls, and takers. The derogatory names differ depending on the region, but the meaning is the same. That includes the fact that everyone hates you terribly.”

“...I see.”

Doran recalled what had happened just before he came to this world.

The goddess had also advised him not to let the people here discover that he was a Reincarnator.

If he was discovered, he would meet a horrifying end, such as having his limbs torn apart or being thrown to the Goblins as bait.

‘Was it not something enforced automatically...?’

When he had heard it from the goddess, he had thought that the moment his identity was exposed, causality would twist or something of the sort, causing some kind of penalty. 

But apparently, that was not the case.

Otherwise, information about Reincarnators could not have spread so widely, as this pirate before him was saying.

It seemed quite a few people had reincarnated before him.

‘Just how many people did that goddess kidnap...? ’

It seemed obvious that many had already come to this world before him, and that the residents of this world also knew of the existence of Reincarnators.

But why?

Why did the residents of this place hate Reincarnators so terribly?

When he voiced the question, the First Mate answered in a cold tone.

“Because you evil spirits are born by stealing our bodies.”

“...Stealing bodies?”

“Yes. The moment the souls of you outsiders dwell inside our bodies, those bodies lose their past memories and become vessels that contain only the personality of the new soul. They become entirely different beings who cannot even recognize their parents, spouses, or children. ...Like insects whose brains have been eaten away by parasites.”

“I see... I understand.”

Only after hearing the First Mate’s words did I realize it clearly.

What I had experienced was not reincarnation.

This was possession.

It was not that a body was created in this world the moment a character was created, like in a game. 

Instead, the body of a resident who had originally lived in this world was stolen.

The body of the newly born “Doran” had merely looked exactly the same as my past self; it had originally belonged to a resident who had lived in this world.

Only after hearing the First Mate’s words did Doran understand to whom the impulse and elation he had felt when killing Tirosh and the captain with his own hands had belonged.

He also understood the principle behind how he had naturally understood and spoken this world’s language from the very beginning.

He understood why the man before him was looking at him with hateful eyes, and why the residents of this world were hostile toward Reincarnators.

To them, we were nothing more than unfamiliar outsiders who had stolen the bodies of their precious people.

He also understood what misunderstanding Robert had.

‘He thinks I possessed the captain’s body.’

Strictly speaking, I had possessed “Doran’s” body, then disguised myself as Barbo through [Antagon’s Rune], but I did not correct him.

It was true that I was a Reincarnator, and there was nothing good to gain from honestly revealing my original identity.

“...Yes, I have experienced reincarnation. But why? If you dislike me that much, you could have secretly approached and killed me, or informed on me.”

“...Repayment.”

“Repayment?”

“Yes. I hate evil spirits like you enough to kill you, but... in any case, you saved the lives of my subordinates. That is something Barbo himself would never have done.”

You would not understand, since you do not know the bond we share....

After adding that, the First Mate lit a cigarette from who knew where and spoke.

“But yes, what you said is also true. If the undead had not taken my weapon, I might have stabbed you in the back by now. What choice would I have made... I do not know either.”

“.......”

“But this time, I have decided to help you, so do not waste my advice. If you intend to hide the fact that you are an evil spirit, hide it to the end, no matter what happens. ...Even if the other party becomes your friend, companion, or lover. And most importantly....”

First Mate Robert pointed at my head with eyes that looked as though he were staring at a sack filled with gold coins.

“Evil spirit hunting pays well.”

***

After sleeping deeply at an inn and waking up, Doran lay in bed and pieced together the information he had obtained.

His head was tangled with what Robert had told him and the information he had already known.

It felt as though someone had stuffed a mass of tangled thread into his mind.

‘Whew....’

The goddess had told him not to let anyone discover that he was a Reincarnator.

He had not thought deeply about it at the time, but it was not an issue he could pass over as lightly as he had imagined.

If information about Reincarnators had spread this far, that meant any number of people like the First Mate might see through his identity in the future.

‘...That was a bit of a shock.’

He had not expected to receive such openly hostile eyes all of a sudden.

If it was merely a matter of being resented, he could take that into account, but Robert’s gaze had clearly seemed to suppress both hatred and greed.

Perhaps there was an enormous bounty offered for capturing evil spirits.

And then.......

‘Why are the gods standing by and watching this situation?’

No matter how he thought about it, he could not understand.

Was the conflict between the residents of Velheim and the Reincarnators not an action that went against the will of the gods who had brought him here?

It would have been better to seek the residents’ cooperation. No matter how he thought about it, he could not imagine what benefit there was in allowing the conflict to continue.

Was there some hidden background he did not know?

And how many Reincarnators, or rather evil spirits, were there besides him?

If they were still living secretly after blending into this world, could there be someone he had known in his previous life?

Those were not the only questions that arose after he arrived at the port village.

‘...Why is the infrastructure intact?’

The place in his memory had not looked whole like this.

It had been a place where the harbor had been destroyed by a tidal wave the size of a house, and the wreckage of broken ships and buildings had lain scattered everywhere.

A place where pirates and the merfolk race walked the streets and plundered as they pleased, while the stench of rotten seawater and fish hung over the entire village.

But what about now?

‘It is strange from the fact that the pirates changed out their pirate flag before docking.’

The fact that entry procedures were being conducted meant that a proper public authority was still alive, did it not?

Under normal circumstances, there should not even have been a decent inn like this.

Was this the difference between the game and reality? Or else....

“...This will not do. I have too little information.”

Doran held his throbbing head and slowly rose from the bed.

The matter of Reincarnators and the intact fishing village were both things that had not existed in the game.

There was no way an answer would come out even if he racked his brain over them now.

For the time being, he had no choice but to learn little by little while making sure his identity was not exposed.

After washing his face with cold water, Doran headed out of the inn into the dim light of early dawn.

Today was the day he would leave this small port village and head for the city.

For this occasion, he had visited the Adventurer Guild the previous day and requested an escort.

With his current specs, crossing a forest teeming with monsters and bandits alone would be suicide.

Doran moved on in his original appearance, having released the Disguise skill.

After passing the village guards dozing off before the wooden fence and coming out onto the green plains, he saw a small procession surrounding a baggage wagon.

Wagons bearing flags with the words Ophelia Trading Company, and mercenaries.

These were the people he would be traveling with to the city for the next three or four days.

However, when he approached the procession, a man who seemed to be an adventurer came toward him, his green robe fluttering.

Blond hair, green eyes, and even a handsome face. He had the typical appearance of an elf from a fantasy story.

But......

‘H-Huh...?’

The man’s face was especially familiar.

No, it was not simply familiar.

I had definitely seen this man in the game!

No, I had not merely seen him!

The doubt that had been slowly swelling as I traced back through my memories became a sense of déjà vu, and that sense of déjà vu became certainty the moment he approached me and offered a handshake.

“Oh, are you the final client? My name is Malton, and I will be your dedicated escort for this mission. I look forward to working with you.”

No, what the hell is this bastard doing here?