I, reincarnate as the leader of the villainous knight order

Chapter 1: The Past Me and the Present Me

How utterly irritating!

Despite being protected by us, these frontier residents only show scared faces. I’m fed up with them!

“Knight Commander! We’ve received a request for assistance from the Rosch unit that went to the eastern forest! It seems that three bear demons have appeared!”

“Tch! Can’t handle something like that. Let’s go.”

I click my tongue and turn on my heel.

If it’s during combat, there’s no time to put on armor. Although it’s light gear for patrols, it should be fine for me.

Returning to the accommodations provided by the frontier earl, the horses are already prepared, and I, along with my four direct subordinates, mount our horses and head towards the eastern forest. Even though it’s still autumn, riding in this northern area steals away warmth with the cold wind.

Upon arrival, three out of the five-man unit are already covered in blood, lying on the ground. And under the shade of a tree, there seems to be a man from the town, trembling as he watches the battle.

“Rosch! What’s the situation!?”

“Commander Justin! We’ve defeated one, but three are severely injured, and there’s a child behind that tree!”

“Rosch unit, fall back! Disperse!”

If there’s a child, we must deal with it before they leap out in fear. Fortunately, even with a short signal, my well-trained elite subordinates can understand. Dismounting, we surround the two bear demons, and as two of them are distracted, we swiftly strike.

Even with their demonized toughened fur, we easily subdue them with my sword imbued with magic. It seems my subordinates managed to defeat the other one.

“Papa!”

“Tom!”

As the bear demons stop moving, a child rushes out from the back. Simultaneously, the bear demon that had been lying since our arrival stands up and leaps towards the child.

Normally, I would have immediately cut down the bear demon. Normally, I would prioritize defeating it over the child’s life. Normally, I wouldn’t shield someone with my own body.

But that child’s figure overlapped with someone… Before I knew it, my body moved on its own. The bear demon, which had risen and attacked, collided with me as I held the child, and at that moment, everything went blank, like when I was hit by a car.

“Where is this…?”

“Commander Justin! Are you awake?”

A foreigner dressed like a knight is saying something to me. Commander Justin… me? I definitely don’t look like anything other than Japanese, so there shouldn’t be any mistake. I remember protecting my younger brother when he jumped out onto the road… huh?

“Ah… my head…!”

“Commander!? Hey, get a healer!”

As a sudden headache strikes, the surroundings become noisy. As I focus on the painful spot to suppress the pain, memories resurface like the fog in my mind clears.

I’m the eldest of eight siblings. When our father had an accident when the youngest twins were young, I was a university student supporting my mother… That’s right. The third youngest brother found me across the road and jumped out, likely causing my death.

And then, I remembered the memories from the time I was born in this world…

I want to think it’s just my imagination, but it’s eerily similar to the contents of a novel I was obsessed with in high school!? If I really have been reincarnated into the extremely wicked knight commander who is killed by the protagonist in the novel…

“Ju-Justin Knight Commander, have… have you awakened…? Shall… shall I proceed with the examination…?”

The one trembling and timidly speaking is the resident healer stationed in this lodging. I’ve been quite harsh with them, so they’re extremely scared.

“Oh, sorry for the trouble. But before that, are that child and my subordinates alright?”

“…………!?”

Including my subordinates present, everyone in the room freezes in surprise. I’m trying not to change my way of speaking, but before anything else, I wasn’t the type of person to care about the well-being of children or express gratitude to my subordinates.

“Y-yes, thanks to Commander Justin, the child only suffered minor scratches, and the subordinates have no lingering effects, so please rest assured. W-well then… I’ll begin the examination. How are you feeling?”

“Oh, I feel a bit confused. I might say something strange.”

“Um… do you remember yourself properly?”

“…………My name is Justin de Vandière, 22 years old, Commander of the Royal Third Knight Order.”

In my past life, I was Naoki Maeno, also 22 years old, a fourth-year university student who had received a job offer and was freed from job hunting.

“I’m the third son of the Vandière Marquis family, currently on a rescue mission to the Taleraan Frontier County, where monster sightings have increased… for about a month?”

While taking care of my seven younger brothers and reducing the burden on my mother, I cooperated with my brothers to handle most of the household chores.

“For now, it seems there’s no problem. However, even though healing magic was used, please rest on the bed today, and continue to rest for three days. Normally, with an injury like yours, you wouldn’t be able to move for a month.”

The healer and my subordinates breathed a sigh of relief. Even if I had an extremely wicked personality, I’m probably the strongest in the country. If I, who could be considered a main force, can’t go on missions, it would be a crisis for this territory.

But still, I’ve been quite arrogant, using the card of being the force for monster subjugation, not only to my subordinates and residents but even to the frontier earls. Because of my attitude, my subordinates probably think it’s natural and I’ve caused a lot of trouble for those around me.

Even though I didn’t have memories of my past life, I must have been really insufferable. As I think about it, tears start streaming down uncontrollably onto the sheets.

“Commander!?”

The room freezes as I suddenly start crying.