Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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I sat on the fence, fiddling with my hair.

The rough texture of the bandages was the only thing I could feel at my fingertips.

Falling from a tree and hitting my head led to recalling memories from my previous life.

How many people would actually believe me if I seriously confessed this fact?

On the first day I regained consciousness, I tried to seriously explain it to my mom, who was giving me first aid, but all I got in return was her tears.

Seeing her like that made it impossible for me to bring up my past life any further.

But is the memory of my previous life really clear? Could it be a possession? Perhaps it was the shock from falling that made me go crazy.

Heavy thoughts, unworthy of a 13-year-old girl, began swirling in my mind.

“Emily!”

In that moment, a boy rushed over to me.

He had a basket made of intertwined branches on his back, filled to the brim with potatoes covered in dirt.

His gaze, as full as the potatoes piled on his back, was directed at me.

How much affection could a boy of this age really have for a pretty girl?

The boy’s feelings were uncomplicated, and thus, quite intense.

It felt burdensome.

I slightly averted my gaze from the boy and opened my mouth.

“Why?”

“Is, is it okay now…?”

The boy seemed somewhat flustered by my cold response.

Naturally, his eyes were on my head.

The worry in his gaze as he looked at the bandaged area made me feel even more burdened.

“I’m fine. See, I’m moving like this.”

“I see…”

The conversation broke off. The boy continued to look like he wanted to talk, but I had no intention of opening my mouth again.

The slowly blowing wind scattered my hair.

It looked as if golden threads were slowly breaking apart.

“Hey.”

“Uh, huh?”

I was the one to break the silence. It was about time to head home, and I couldn’t remember the boy’s name.

“What was your name again?”

“M-my name…?”

The boy’s expression twisted into a pout.

If I tried hard enough, I could probably remember his name, but I didn’t want to go through the trouble of recalling the name of a sweaty boy.

“Jack!”

“Right, Jack. I hope you find a bean stalk.”

“B-bean stalk? We grow potatoes at home.”

I blurted out whatever came to mind.

But of course, Jack was bewildered by it.

I jumped down from the fence and walked away.

“Where are you going…?”

“Home.”

As I headed home, I looked up at the sky.

In the vast sky, a giant creature was flying.

A fantasy world, huh?

It was hard to believe, but this world was my reality now.

After recalling my previous life memories, the most common remark from the village elders was that I had “become more docile.”

In a way, it made sense.

Having lived as an adult man for longer than as Emily, how could I possibly live the same way as before?

Moreover, Emily’s personality significantly differed from the one I originally possessed.

“Are you going out again today?”

“Yes.”

A week had passed since I recalled my previous memories.

Nodding at my mother’s question, I left the house.

Staying home would only get my mom pestering me to help with chores.

Even if I protested about my injury, it was useless. Didn’t she say since I could move my hands, I could do sewing too?

In the end, I chose to go outside.

Though my mom watched me with concern, she didn’t actually try to stop me.

She seemed to subtly hope I’d bring home a suitable suitor while I was out.

Of course, I had no intention of fulfilling her expectations, so I headed toward the village entrance.

At the village entrance lived Watchman’s Uncle, and his cabin was refreshingly cool even in hot weather. I planned to spend time there.

“Are you here again…?”

As I approached the village entrance, a scruffy-looking middle-aged man in leather armor wore a disgruntled expression.

Despite his appearance, I knew he was subtly welcoming me.

“Shall we just go?”

“No…”

He shook his head in response to my question.

I couldn’t remember his name, but it didn’t feel awkward at all.

According to the village elders, Watchman’s Uncle was said to be a retired knight.

He neither confirmed nor denied that rumor, leaving everyone unsure of its truth.

“Uncle.”

“What?”

“Show me swordsmanship.”

“Hmm…”

As a knight, he should naturally possess suitable swordsmanship.

I looked at him with eager eyes.

However, Uncle merely raised an eyebrow and turned away from my request.

“My sword isn’t drawn just anytime…”

“But you pulled it out when chopping firewood.”

“Hmm…”

In the end, Watchman’s Uncle didn’t draw his sword.

He seemed to be in a mood today.

I had no intention of being stubborn, so our conversation naturally came to a halt.

It was only natural for me to be interested in his swordsmanship.

This world had things like magic and swordsmanship that didn’t exist in my own.

How could I not be fascinated by them?

I wanted to learn the magic that people in stories used, but nothing related to magic could be found in this remote area.

So, I began visiting this retired knight.

Watchman’s Uncle would show me his swordsmanship whenever he felt like it.

Even if to me, it only appeared as a faint afterimage, just watching was enough.

It felt like observing a fascinating magic show.

“Emily!”

“Emily, come out!”

While I was reading a book in Watchman’s Uncle’s cabin, I heard the voices of two children outside.

Peeking out the window, I saw twin children waving with long fishing rods.

From the fish dangling behind them, it looked like they had a good catch today.

Playing with little kids felt bothersome.

But since I would be here for a while, I had to at least acknowledge them to some degree.

I stepped out of the cabin, recalling the names of the two children.

The girl with long blue hair was Su, and the short-haired boy next to her was Shu.

I thought their names lacked creativity and waved at them.

“Hello. Looks like you caught quite a bit today?”

“Yep!”

Of the two, only Shu had a matter to discuss with me.

With a slightly flushed face, Shu proudly recounted what had happened today.

His tales, filled with lies and exaggerations, made catching small fish sound like battling a giant monster.

It was a tedious story, but with a little smile and encouraging responses, he was very pleased.

The end of the story always led to a gift.

Shu handed me the biggest fish he caught today.

“Thank you.”

“Uh, um…!”

After giving the gift, Shu mumbled something and then ran away.

Left alone, Su stared at her twin for a while before turning away.

Unlike Shu, who was expressive, Su seemed like a child without emotions.

“Is it fish today?”

“Yes, it looks pretty big.”

“Oh…”

I walked towards Watchman’s Uncle, who was approaching slowly, handing him the fish.

It’s instinctual for animals to want to possess beautiful females.

Most boys living in the village would bring me gifts to win my favor, while I handed all those over to Watchman’s Uncle.

This was a kind of transaction.

Had I not given him these presents, Watchman’s Uncle would have chased me away.

News that I spent time at Watchman’s Uncle’s cabin spread quickly, leading more boys to come visit.

As a result, the number of gifts also increased, and today I received more than usual.

Today’s haul included a large fish and five potatoes.

Two sweet potatoes, three ears of corn, and a small chunk of cheese as well.

Cheese was particularly rare in this rural area.

Seeing the gifts, Uncle laughed heartily.

He looked pleased, so I thought he might agree to my request.

I subtly approached him and started talking.

“Uncle.”

“What is it?”

“Teach me swordsmanship.”

“Swordsmanship…? You? What do you want to learn it for…?”

“For self-defense. The outside world is dangerous, you know.”

“Hmm… Is that so…?”

*

The next morning.

I headed towards Watchman’s Uncle’s cabin as usual.

He threw a long wooden stick toward me.

Upon closer inspection, it was a well-carved wooden sword.

“What is this…?”

“You asked me to teach you swordsmanship, right?”

“Are you really going to teach me?”

“Of course, don’t you want to?”

“No!”

And so, I began learning swordsmanship from Uncle.

Of course, what he taught me was nothing more than the basics of swinging and thrusting.

I couldn’t hide my disappointment and asked him.

“Is there no way to handle mana…?”

“What, mana? Do you want to become a wizard or something?”

“No, I read in storybooks that knights use mana too…”

“Don’t talk nonsense, just swing your sword.”

Did he truly intend to teach me properly?

Warily observing him, Watchman’s Uncle shook his head and returned to his post.

It was up to me whether to follow what he taught or not.

Word that I was learning swordsmanship from Uncle soon spread.

As a result, the boys who had a crush on me started seeking Uncle out to learn swordsmanship too.

Uncle didn’t drive away the boys. However, he didn’t welcome them either.

Since he didn’t appear to intend to teach anything in particular, the boys began bringing bribes to Uncle as if those gifts were meant for me.

Uncle’s income naturally doubled as a result.

Most of the kids who started learning swordsmanship gave up within a week.

After toiling all day, they had no energy left for sword training.

Of course, since there was not much progress to be seen, the children quickly lost interest.

But there were still those who didn’t give up.

The twins Su and Shu remained, and also a boy named Jack, who reminded me of a bean stalk.

Shu and Jack seemed to stay not for the swordsmanship but for the time spent with me, while Su looked a bit different.

Time flew by quickly.

Winter had arrived.