Veteran Reader in a regression novel

In the Kingdom of Elmira, ruled by King Roderick, there was a report of a forest fire. Upon hearing the news, King Roderick commanded the knight commander, Sir Henry Steelheart, to lead a legion of mages, knights, and priests to extinguish the fire.

Upon arriving at the scene, Sir Henry heard a scream in the distance, prompting him to shout an instinctive command:

“There’s someone near the fire! Prioritize rescue!”

Henry felt agitated due to the urgency of the situation, but his comrade helped him stay calm.

“Sir Henry, despite the size of the fire, we only heard one scream. It’s likely there aren’t any other survivors or even anyone else nearby.”

Acknowledging his subordinate’s point, Henry nodded and issued a new command.

“My apologies, the adrenaline must’ve clouded my judgment. All of you, focus on extinguishing the fire. I’ll go rescue the survivor.”

After giving the order, Henry rushed toward the source of the scream. Upon arrival, he found a young boy, pale and exhausted, lying on the ground. The boy appeared to be around 15 years old, with no distinguishing features.

“Hey, kid! Hold on!”

Seeing the severity of the boy’s condition, Henry encased both himself and the boy in his aura, rushing through the flames to his comrades.

“Priests! Medics! Quickly, take care of this boy!”

Father Antonio, the priest, rushed over to assist, looking perplexed by the situation.

“Sir Henry, let me handle him. He seems to be dehydrated. He should recover soon. You should return to help the knights and mages with the fire.”

“Much appreciated, Father Antonio. Notify me when he wakes up.”

After giving his thanks, Henry hurried back to help with the fire. However, upon his return, the situation seemed to be under control. Just as he was about to sigh in relief, someone patted him on the shoulder.

“Commander, why are you slacking off and letting your subordinates handle everything? I’ll report you for abuse of authority!”

Sneering at the comment, Henry replied, “Slacking off? I was the one who ran through flames to rescue a survivor. If you’re jealous, go learn how to use aura.”

“Commander, you’re no fun to tease! Anyway, did you find any clues about who started the fire?”

Henry’s brows shot up. “So, you’ve concluded it was man-made?”

“Yes, sir. If we had arrived any later, there would’ve been nothing left, but we found remnants at the fire’s origin. After thorough investigation, we believe it was caused by humans.”

“I didn’t notice anything unusual when I was in a hurry to return.”

“Why would someone start this fire? What’s the purpose?”

“It probably wasn’t to lure us out, right? At least not for an ambush.”

“Sir Henry, maybe—just maybe—since we’ve sent an entire legion, our security has weakened. Could this be a ploy to infiltrate the kingdom?”

Henry’s eyes widened at the realization.

“What kind of crazy person would do that? Besides, if that was their goal, they could’ve made it look more like an accident. If they planned something like this, they must have quite the team.”

“Exactly, sir. That’s why this situation is ominous. We can predict a known enemy, but an unknown adversary is much harder to deal with.”

“Our only lead is that boy, but the fact that he was found here is suspicious too.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a scream from the medical tent.

Recognizing the voice, Henry rushed to the tent.

‘Father Antonio said he’d notify me when the boy woke up, but using a scream certainly is a creative way to do it.’

The boy, who looked to be around 15, being conveniently found alone in the middle of the forest was certainly suspicious.

The boy seemed genuinely confused—was he suffering from memory loss, or was it all an act?

‘I need to talk to him more to figure out his intentions.’

Deciding to give only minimal information, Henry spoke:

“This forest is right next to the Kingdom of Elmira, ruled by King Roderick. We were dispatched here to put out a forest fire. We’ve concluded that the fire was most likely started artificially.”

He dropped a hint to gauge the boy’s reaction, but the boy just went into a daze. He didn’t even seem surprised that the fire was artificial. Did he already know, or was he trying to act nonchalant to avoid suspicion?

Attempting to stir the boy a bit, Henry teased him.

“Why did you suddenly space out? Was it my charm?”

Unfortunately, the boy ignored the comment, looking at Henry with a slight hint of pity.

‘This kid… why does he keep staring at my head?’

His gaze made Henry want to pull the boy’s hair out, but for the sake of interrogation, he kept his cool.

After a while, the boy finally spoke.

“My apologies, but may I ask a question to help check my memories? Do either of you know Cadet Elise Fletcher?”

His speech was polite, but somehow, Henry felt he was being a bit sassy.

Father Antonio seemed delighted that the boy remembered something and began singing Elise’s praises. Thankfully, the urgent situation limited his usual enthusiasm.

Interrogating the boy wasn’t getting them anywhere. If he was telling the truth, getting his memory back should be the priority. If he was lying, he might’ve started the fire himself.

The boy kept bringing up the academy. Was this part of some plot, or just the curiosity of a child trying to recover his memories? Henry didn’t know, but either way, he decided to play along.

As the knight commander, he could easily get the boy into the academy, where they could monitor him. No matter the situation, keeping him in the academy had its advantages.

After weighing the pros and cons, Henry made an offer.

“Kid, what do you think about enrolling in the academy with my recommendation?”

It felt like Henry was being lured, but if this was a trap, he would make sure the trapper would be the one caught. He didn’t know if this was the right choice, but he needed to find the culprit and their motives.

The boy smiled brightly and agreed to the proposal.

In a small corner of Henry’s heart, he hoped the boy’s story wasn’t a lie.