Regressor, Possessor, Reincarnator

Julius crossed the inner gate to enter the industrial zone.

‘What I have right now isn’t cutting it.’

He felt the need to acquire a decent weapon for himself. The sword he was currently using was passable, something he’d gotten from a blacksmith's shop in the Capitol. However, considering what would come in the future, that weapon wouldn’t be enough.

In the original work, there were a good deal of altercations that arose during the main character’s time at the Academy, so Julius found it necessary to prepare in advance.

Some light chatter filtered between the loud blows of hammering.

"Did you see the entrance exam this year? I don't know where that kid from the Kailus family came from… If I were that much of a talent, they'd’ve started throwin’ a festival by now.”

"I liked Allen better than Heisel. I was kinda sad when he didn’t win, to be honest."

"Ah, that… The fight for second place was a close one… Maria stood out the most to me—she's even more beautiful than the rumors say.”

"The Draghiases must be disappointed. Even if he is the youngest of them all, he did worse than my brother, even.” 

The mercenaries spoke business in conversations passed back and forth. The enthusiasm for the entrance examination, which had ended yesterday, had yet to subside.

Around him, the tall street lamps blinked on and drove out the dusk, replacing the scarlet sunset that disappeared over the horizon.

Julius's expression grew nervous.

‘Ah, fuck—’

He’d used the potion to dampen his magic in order to aim for the supplementary class, where he’d encounter a great opportunity. If he’d achieved good results on the exam and entered into the same class as the main character, he wasn’t sure how the course of events would change compared to the book.

However, he regretted that choice a little now.

What if there had been some kind of mistake, one that was distorting the ’s sequence of events? What if the flow of time had changed from the original story? 

It couldn’t be.

The future as a whole hadn’t completely changed or been erased just because of some small change to past events—it couldn’t be. It’d be much easier for fate to proceed according to the events of the original .

‘I need to calm down.’

If he were to run wild now, there was no telling what kind of change could occur.

He was surprised that Allen had taken second place. However, Julius was sure that if he had done his best, the top position might have been his.

He just wasn’t ready to take such a risk.

Julius quickened his pace to soothe his uneasiness. Today, he was on the hunt. He was looking to find those impoverished blacksmiths he’d read about in the original —the ones whose skills exceeded their age, but who weren’t properly thriving because of one reason.

The ones who became villains because of a single incorrect choice made in the moment.

The Sindri siblings.

‘It's probably about time to consider whether or not to sell the old blacksmith shop.’

Because of the discrimination and resentment they experienced, the brothers later became members of the group who terrorized the Academy. 

He had wanted to meet with them earlier in the morning, but had been delayed because of other guests visiting.

"Thank you for coming! Have a good one!"

He needed to get them on his side, quickly. He could have recruited them a few months ago, but gave up because it would have taken too much time to reach them here.

Instead, he did something else.

‘They needed to be put through the wringer first.’

If he’d reached out to them too early on, they may not have chosen to rely on him.

Julius hoped that they would pledge blind fealty to him. Once you suffer, you learn how to prioritize. So before they met each other, Julius sent out his men.

The men were to spread a malicious rumor.

‘Ruining a life or two isn’t that big of a deal, right?’

Even less so if it made his job go a little faster.

After a few months, he learned that the Sindri siblings had experienced more disastrous failures than he’d originally read.

And now, it was time to be rewarded for all his hard work.

Julius couldn't stop smiling at the thought of them joining him.

‘And I have a backup plan, just in case.’

The sensation of the earrings in his ear was slightly uncomfortable. They were an item that made the wearer appear more amiable to others, conjuring up an emotional tie from those who beheld them.

For those who are entirely emotionally stable, the earrings’ sole effect is rather insignificant and is easily shaken off…

But for those who’d lived hard lives, it was much more difficult to forgo such warmth. 

"Please come again! Welcome to Valholl!”

However, finding the blacksmiths turned out to be hard.

He’d heard that they owned an old blacksmith’s shop along the intersection of the industrial and the research districts. He found it strange that he couldn’t locate it for hours, though, no matter how hard he tried.

"What was the name of the blacksmith's shop? Val…? Val—"

"Welcome to Valholl!"

"Yes, it was ‘Valholl’!"

Julius’s eyes went wide as he turned to the source of the voice.

"Our weapons are some of the finest you’ll find in Elpis!"

He’d passed it several times already because he didn't think it could be the place he was looking for.

The building stood a meager three stories high, inconceivably short compared to the old buildings around it. In contrast to the gloomy sky above, there was a bustling crowd and glistening exterior that seemed to have been freshly renovated. A girl greeted people cheerfully at the entrance.

Julius went inside with an incredulous look on his face.

The interior was just as clean as the exterior.

Numerous weapons were neatly organized on the walls of the first floor, and weapons of even better quality than the first floor were arranged on the walls of the second.

"This is…"

Looking closely at one side of one of the swords, he became sure.

This was a weapon that they had forged.

He could tell by the small, unique hammer pattern that had been carved under the handle.

Julius frowned.

"But why is this…?”

Why had things changed compared to the book?

If this had happened, then his plan to get them on his side wouldn’t go accordingly.

He approached the clerk nearest to him.

"I’d like to meet the owner of this shop."

"What?"

"I said I want to meet the owner of this place."

The clerk, who had looked suspicious until Julius first spoke, sighed as if he was used to the request.

"I'm sorry, sir, but the Sindri siblings are not currently accepting requests for interviews."

Sindri. His heart began to gallop quicker and quicker in excitement upon hearing the name he was looking for.

"Do you know who I am? I am Julius Reinhart! I'd like to meet the owner here…”

"Security, please show this kind gentleman out.”

Upon the clerk’s call, two mercenaries guarding the inside grabbed Julius's arms.

"Do you know who I am? I'm from the Reinhard family…”

"Yes, yes, of course. And my name is Bill."

Their grip made his arm grow sore.

The clerk's annoying expression made him want to gather up his mana, but it didn’t budge. Shit.

“Ah, fuck…”

Because the effects of the potion had yet to wear off.

"I'm a student at the Academy. I said I'm a student! Unhand me right now and lead me to Sindri!"

Sigh.

His face grew more and more red as he shouted. Bill shook his head in silence at the sight of him swinging about his arms and legs.

Julius didn't stop blabbering until he’d been fully dragged out.

"Have a good one."

Thud!

He continued.

“FUCK!!!”

* * *

* * *

The sounds of the night rang even louder than the day’s. Even though their room was soundproofed, muffled noises from the floor below could be heard.

"It's so noisy outside."

"Well, let me tell you real quick!!”

"Nevermind. This has already happened several times.” Cathleen shook her head nonchalantly. There had only been a few incidents since the maintenance of the blacksmith's shop had been completed.

“Who do they think they are? Must be some kid of a noble or wealthy family. They’re so full of themselves, aren’t they?”

Fwip.

A fully unfurled fan hid her mouth.

"Don't you think so, Sir Allen?"

"Yes, I suppose they are.”

Allen laughed. Did they know who had been shouting outside?

「Julius carefully approached Sindri, still wary. He’d still yet to learn to trust others again. The walls of the old blacksmith's shop were full of holes of various sizes…」

Allen glanced at the black book, depicting a time in the future now different from that of the present.

"He must be an uncultured, uncivilized person. Can't you tell just from how he was acting?”

"That's right. He must be new money, right?"

"Y-yeah! I'm sure he's just, like, a bad guy!!!"

The one behind that stuttering speech possessed a large voice that did not match their small body.

Looking at the window that had been blocked off so that no light could come in, Allen said, "How's the shop doing?"

"Yes, well, it’s been performing much better than I expected. When you first asked me to help them, I was quite suspicious of your intentions…” Cathleen folded her fan again. There was a subtle smile on her face, now completely revealed. "Now, I can't help but believe you, sir."

“Th-thank you s-so much for your help!!”

Was it impossible for her to not stutter every time she spoke?

Allen looked at the woman sitting next to Cathleen. She had red, bobbed hair atop a tan complexion and an incredibly small stature that didn’t even come to his chest. Her small hands were full of calluses, and her eyes shook as if trying to avoid his gaze.

"If it weren't for you, we would certainly be d-dead."

She was half-dwarf, the illegitimate spawn of man and dwarf—and discriminated against by both parties.

"It was me who made the suggestion, but it was Miss Cathleen who took action directly. Please thank her rather than me."

"Oh, thank you, ma’am!"

Half-dwarves were different from half-elves. Unlike the elves, who were generally relatively well regarded, those with the blood of the dwarves were seen as naive and narrow-minded.

"Of course, I have been i-indebted to Miss Cathleen for f-forgiving my debt, for which I have been indebted t-to her once again. B-but if it weren't for you, sir, nothing would’ve changed at all!”

Although they possessed an advantage in that they were deft-handed, dwarves were quick to form grudges against those who had transgressed them in even the slightest way. Thus, they gravitated toward making use of their excellent dexterity by crafting cursed weapons to resolve their grudges.

Spending their whole lives living in the dark and gloomy underground and rarely being exposed to the sun, dwarves as a race were not very well received.

To put it simply, they were viewed as even less reliable than the worst of humans.

"So y-you are our b-benefactor!!”

Because of stereotypes like that, she—a half-dwarf—did not feel as though she belonged to the humans nor to the dwarves.

“Ah!” Sindri covered her mouth with both hands and looked over at Allen, as if startled by her own shouting. "Is that okay? To say that?"

"…It certainly is."

The current situation was a distinctly different one from the rumor-filled reputation they had picked up in their previous life. Also different now was the way that they had not become loyal to Julius, supplying him with countless weapons like slaves.

In the black book, the original Sindri siblings also happened to fall deep into paganism. 

‘Did that mean that whatever they went through during those months was so impactful that they were willing to blindly follow whatever he said?’ 

Making a move early on was the right choice.

When he’d met with Cathleen alone, Allen told her what to do and asked for the sister’s whereabouts, as he thought that he might be able to lure her, the one who’d easily tripled the power of the heathen forces, over to his side.

"I-I'm sure my brother agrees with me!"

"Your younger brother… I heard he’s been badly injured. Is he okay now?"

"Yes, yes. W-we thought he would never walk again… but he was able to survive th-thanks to your s-support.

She looked pale, perhaps a result of the reminiscing over that difficult time. Her little, strong arm flexed.

"That's a relief."

It was his first time meeting her, but he couldn't say it was his first time meeting with Cathleen, seeing as he had contacted her several times prior via letters.

And when the sky had turned utterly pitch-black, what suddenly came upon them was silence—a promised silence.

"So…"

Cathleen penetrated through that silence.

"Can I know the real reason why you called us together?"

"Why? Is it too late in the day for a grown man and a woman to be together?"

She smiled softly at his remark and shook her head. "No, but sleep is a must for maintaining one’s beauty. Isn’t that something you asked me to take special care of?” Her hand flipped her well-groomed blonde hair elegantly. "For 'him'."

There was no reason to put it off any longer. Allen nodded.

"Sh-should I leave?”

Had she sensed something? Sindri half-raised herself up, perhaps thinking that she wouldn’t want to wait even a moment if he asked her to take her leave.

"I'd appreciate it.”

"Y-yes!"

"Though, I do have a favor to ask of you, so could you wait for me?"”

"Wh-whatever you ask me to do, I'll do it!!”

Allen smiled, saying thank you. She left the room in a flash.

Thud!

Allen began without looking at Cathleen.

"Since the entrance ceremony has now ended, I'll tell you what to do for next week."

Starting tomorrow, he would go to the Great Library to investigate soul-tracking magic. Linbelle and Inellia, too, were assigned to seek information on the same topic as well.

"It won't be easy to win Julius’s heart. But you know that. There’s his personality, and…”

"There are so many women around him." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Yes, there are many people who are interested in him because of his appearance—he is pretty. How many of them are there already? Three? Four?"

“……”

"There will surely be a lot of obstacles. Besides, no matter how hard you try, it’s hard to get him to give a second glance if he’s passed you over once. He seems to look for something else in people first.”

That something was called talent.

He’s able to judge someone’s worth using some sort of strange ability.

"So you have to go at it from another angle."

"What angle?"

"If he wants people, then something to do with people. If he wants weapons, then something to do with weapons. If he wants opportunities, then something to do with opportunities. And even if what he wants is…”

He imagined the invisible sky beyond the curtain blocking his view.

The same moon rose, while the stars spun as always. The next day the sun would set, and the sun would rise again.

Over and over again.

"Love."

Allen's lips contorted.

He sharpened a blade in his mind.

"Go at it so that he’ll look back at you, even if you don't meet whatever his standards are. Become an integral figure in his life.” 

If he wanted a good brother, he’d be his brother.

If he wanted to play pretend as an ordinary family, he’d go along with it.

But unlike before…

"Give him your everything and gain his trust. Let me help you with that."

One day he'll have to pay for it.

He absolutely would.