Chapter 1: For Now, I Go Astray (1)

Late at night.

Rain began to pour.

Whoooosh!

At the occasional crack of thunder, the knights paused their work and stole glances out the window. A dreadful darkness lay over everything.

It felt as though something might leap out from it at any moment.

“Rain out of nowhere… This feels ominous.”

“What does?”

“The world’s been rather unsettled lately, hasn’t it?”

At those words, every knight’s gaze turned in one direction.

Hans, commander of the Second Order of Knights, clicked his tongue and glared at the young knight who had spoken.

He was one who talked too much even at the best of times.

If he had not been his own nephew, Hans would have sent him out into the rain in full battle gear on a solo march without hesitation.

“Isn’t the only reason we’re all gathered here because of that story, anyway?”

“That story?”

“The rumor, sir.”

“A rumor? Hmph, ridiculous. The reason we are gathered here is because we are the glorious knights of Arcturus. There is no other reason.”

A senior knight rebuked him quietly. But the young knight was not so easily convinced.

“I know. Arcturus. Just hearing the name makes your chest swell. It’s every knight’s dream. But it’s also true that I’m worried. If the rumor is real….”

The word “rumor” rang out like a taboo.

The senior knight glanced at Commander Hans and bowed his head slightly. It was an apology for having failed to properly discipline the lower-ranking knights.

At last, Commander Hans set down the sword he had been polishing and rose from his seat.

“Do you even realize how many rumors are born in a place like this every day? Fool. I only wish the sword in your hand were as quick as that loose mouth of yours.”

“Uh… I am reflecting on that.”

“That answer shows not the slightest sign of remorse.”

“My apologies. But if those bastards from Aldebaran Family make a move, won’t this become a disaster?”

Aldebaran.

In the end, that name had been spoken.

“That will not happen.”

Hans answered firmly.

It was not because he thought it was childish prattle. Rather, he believed the boy had voiced what many of the lower-ranking knights staying here were truly feeling.

And indeed—

From one side came another voice.

“Commander. If it really comes to this, couldn’t war break out? The Aldebaran lot are no easy opponents.”

“Even if it does, we can still win.”

“If war breaks out, we’ll suffer enormous losses too.”

The rumor that Aldebaran Family intended to attack House Arcturus was an old and familiar one.

What was more, a rumor had begun to spread that they were after the head of Simon, Arcturus’s heir.

In the midst of that, a grave incident occurred—Simon fell into a coma with a burning fever.

He had barely recovered, but even that gave rise to rampant gossip that it had been a poisoning plot by Aldebaran Family.

Aldebaran Family had issued an official statement claiming no involvement whatsoever in the affair, but no one in Arcturus believed a word of it.

That was why space had been set aside inside the estate for the emergency standby unit to remain on site.

At the same time, an emergency bell had been installed in Simon’s room, so that he could summon the knights in the event of danger.

If that bell rang, the knights would rush at once to the young master’s chamber and face the enemy there.

“Men.”

The knights snapped to attention. With his hands clasped behind his back, Commander Hans gave his order in a solemn voice.

“Not a single rat has ever broken through our defensive net. Take pride in the fact that you are men of Arcturus, and carry out your duty accordingly. I will not tolerate any more pointless speculation. Do not forget that we are in the middle of an operation. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

Only then did things seem to settle down.

Rumble!

A violent peal of thunder rolled out, and then came the one sound they had not wanted to hear before this day was over.

“C-Commander!”

“……!”

Hans’s face drained of all color.

Brrriiiing!

He seized his sword on reflex. Beneath the thunder, nearly drowned out by it, that sound had been unmistakable.

It was the emergency bell.

“What are you all doing? Move! It’s Young Master Simon’s room!”

“Run! Grab your weapons!”

The knights poured outside in a rush.

Hans ground his teeth.

Only moments ago, he had spoken with absolute confidence that nothing of the sort would happen.

And yet it had happened.

His dignity no longer mattered. All he could do now was pray that nothing had happened to the eldest young master.

You damned bastards. Did you fail to poison him, so now you’ve resorted to force? The duty knights had better hold out!

Hans ran with every ounce of strength he had.

After a fleeting span of time that felt like eternity, the knights reached the residence of the eldest young master.

The knights who should have been guarding the entrance were nowhere to be seen, and the door stood wide open.

“Young Masteeer!”

The charging knights came to a sudden stop.

Then, wearing puzzled expressions, they stared at the bed.

Everything was far too peaceful.

Click.

A young man in nightclothes pressed a pocket watch and murmured in a drowsy voice,

“You were later than I expected.”

“Y-Young Master…?”

To put it simply, Simon, the eldest young master of House Arcturus, was safe. More than safe—he was lying on the bed with his chin propped on one hand.

“It took you a whole 1 minute and 27 seconds to get here. Pathetic, isn’t it? And you still call yourselves the glorious knights of Arcturus?”

Simon muttered lazily.

The knights stood dumbfounded. It was a relief that the eldest young master was unharmed, but he was criticizing their training attitude and bringing up their response time.

“What in the world happened, Young Master? We heard the emergency bell and….”

“I was testing you.”

“Pardon?”

Right before their eyes, Simon pressed the bell lying on the bed once more. From far away came the sound of the emergency alarm ringing again.

“I was seeing how fast the men of the Second Order would come. The men of the First Order could at least keep it in the twenty-second range. You lot are a full seven seconds slower.”

From behind them came the clink of metal. At some point, the emergency standby unit of the First Order had gathered there, and they were beginning to sneer openly.

“At first, I didn’t understand why the emergency bell was set up so that only your waiting room could hear it. But now I think I do. Wasn’t Father implying that you occasionally needed drilling?”

“…….”

“Hmph. All that spirit you had, and now you’ve all gone mute. You do know how long seven seconds is, don’t you? It’s enough time to draw a sword, release aura, and even fire off a blade of sword energy. In a real situation, my head would already have been rolling around at your feet.”

“W-We are deeply sorry!”

The knights dropped to their knees. Simon looked down at them as though they were hopeless.

“Do better, hmm? Truly fine knights are not the sort who need to be nagged.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I’ll let it pass this time, since it’s the first offense. But remember—there won’t be a next time. Return to your posts.”

The knights exchanged glances, then slowly began to rise one by one. At that moment, Simon called them back again.

“Commander.”

“Young Master, I am truly ashamed. Beginning tomorrow, we will commence special training. We will not fall behind the First Order—”

“No, forget that. Since you’re here, turn off the lights before you go. I’d like to sleep.”

A chill ran down Hans’s spine.

Could it be… had this young master summoned them just to have them turn out the lights?

“Ah… yes.”

After giving a formal salute, Hans personally extinguished every light in the room with his own hands.

Darkness fell over the chamber, and left alone, Simon closed his eyes—but sleep did not come easily.

Ha, just what the hell is going on?

Opening his eyes, Simon raised a hand and turned it over. The old, shriveled skin was nowhere to be found. Instead, his sight was filled with a pale, smooth hand.

I definitely died.

The sensation of his last breath still remained vividly with him. He had thought he was falling into a sleep as eternal as death itself, but when he opened his eyes, he had returned to the past.

And not in someone else’s body, either, but precisely in the form of his own younger self.

He had realized that only yesterday.

Simon was now facing his second night after returning to the past.

Damn it.

All he had wanted was to rest.

He was the one who had elevated the marquis house into a ducal house, the one who had won countless honors in the continental war of unification. In his later years, he had even reached the realm of Sword Master and earned the respect of all.

The process had not been an easy one.

The moment he accepted the fate of being the heir, he had been forced to give up many things. What he wanted to do, his dreams, even the person he loved.

And yet Simon had done it.

He saved those who had to be saved, and killed those who had to be killed without hesitation.

In that way, he set his house upon solid rock and lived out the span of his natural years.

Time passed, and he had expected to close his eyes peacefully upon his deathbed—

Only to return to the past.

You’re telling me to do all that insane shit all over again?

He wanted it to be a dream.

But no matter how hard he pinched his cheek, the pain was far too vivid.

Haa….

There was no escape.

Letting out a sigh, Simon pulled the blanket over himself. But he was far too brilliant a man to do nothing but flee from reality.

No. No, that’s not right. Isn’t this an opportunity instead? It isn’t only my body that’s grown young again. My mind has, too.

All at once, his heart stirred.

He did not know what had caused him to return to the past. Perhaps it was the whim of a god, or perhaps some turn of fate.

But one thing was certain.

He had been given the chance to set right the things he had regretted in his previous life.

The moment that thought took hold, memories from his former life began to flash past like a panorama.

I can do all the things I wanted to do to my heart’s content. So yes—this is a good opportunity.

But for that, one premise was necessary.

First, I go astray.