Chapter 2

My situation is much more unusual (and perhaps also more perilous) than what I could have imagined. After I convinced Alfred to stand up and tell me in detail what happened to this …fortress, I had to sit on the floor and ponder the information he gave me.

To summarize what I had learned:

I was the son of a so-called Forest lord, who (as the name suggests) ruled over this forest. Despite this, being of a rather solitary nature, my father did not have a set territory nor did he have a large amount of subordinates. Having relied mostly on a few skilled individuals and his own strength, he had managed to keep any intruders or attacking forces at a bay for decades. However, about a decade ago, a wave of enemies rose up from beyond the edge of the forest and flooded into it. Everyone in this fortress rose up in arms to meet the enemy in combat.

For three days and nights the battle raged in the fortress. Despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered by the foreign enemy, the two forces were in a deadlock. On the fourth day, the odds turned in favor of the fortress dwellers, as the enemy was running out of troops. Victory seemed at hand. However, on the fifth day reinforcements arrived. Despite this, the fortress dwellers might have still had a chance, had it not been for the traps laid by the enemy.

While the fight raged, the enemy had small teams try to infiltrate the depths of the fortress, aiming for the non-combatants (which were mostly children). Alfred did not know if their goal was to kill the children to drop the morale of the fortress dwellers, or if they were plotting to use their lives as bargaining chips… either way, it seems that the plan was only partially successful. They did manage to infiltrate the barrack-like building, where the weak, young, and old were hidden, but I was also there, along with a few adults to protect the children.

Of course, a fight ensued. Father sent Alfred back to help us out when he realized that something was amiss, but Alfred arrived just in time to see me, who was surrounded by several corpses of the enemy, impaled through the chest by a sword. However, it seems that the children were nowhere to be found. In his rage, Alfred slaughtered many enemies, but he was lured into a room, where several seals had been set up to restrain him. They succeeded, but only at the cost of all of their lives.

However, that discord was all that was needed. Several other traps were set around the fortress by the infiltrators as well. The traps reduced the power usable by the fortress dwellers, and tipped the balance of the fight. Alfred, who was bound, was unable to help at all. Struggle as he might, the sealing chains sapped his strength and restrained his power, rendering him unable to break free. Thus, he heard the entire fight rage for two more days, before everything went silent.

At first, he had assumed that the Forest Lord had won, but no one came back. Days passed, and not even the enemy came around to loot or check for survivors. Nothing was to be heard. Alfred had concluded that both forces had utterly annihilated each other.

Which left him, Alfred, all alone in the remains of the once glorious fortress, condemned to die in solitude and silence in the carcass of a once great fort.

Or so he thought, until I arrived.

The story was… very unpleasant for me, considering that I died. However, thanks to Alfred I had managed to draw up a couple of conjectures about my circumstances.

Firstly, I was not exactly “reincarnated” in the normal sense of the word. Rather, it seems that my soul was forced upon a body that no longer had a soul… How I managed to skip in time several years into the future, I have no idea. Second, Alfred had been tied up for at least ten years without food or water and somehow he was still alive and kicking… that was most definitely not normal, even if he had some way of hybernating through it all. Third, it seems I’m not of a human species. Fourth, it seems that this body of mine has some outrageous abilities if I was able to kill trained infiltration personnel while barehanded. And lastly, this world clearly has some sort of natural laws that I don’t know about… It’s probably magic, if I had to guess. How else would these “seals” that managed to capture Alfred work if that wasn’t the case?

“Uwaa…” I groaned out. This was too much information. Way too much! What kind of unreasonably difficult world is this? Its like I’ve been thrown in the middle of an RPG when I don’t even know the rules of the game. Isn’t the dificulty level set way too high for me? Moreover… shouldn’t I be freaking out like a lunatic right now? Why am I not? What the hell happened to me?

Just as I was about to complain out loud, Alfred interrupted my thoughts.

“My lord, what should we do now?”

“Hmm? I’m supposed to decide?”

“Of course. As the young master, all power of the Zilvamane household rests upon you.” Alfred said with a dignified bow.

Oi, Alfred… Even if you say that, I am new here you know? I’m not even from this world. How should I know what I am supposed to do? Also, does my family even have any power right now? I mean… hasn’t the entire population of this fort been erased from existence, with the exception of you and I?

I want to say all of that out loud, but I suppose I can’t say it. This man seemed to be truly overjoyed when he saw me alive, and I can’t find it in my heart to disappoint him. Moreover, isn’t his loyalty too amazing? How many people would spend a decade in chains and still be willing to serve under someone else?

“Well…” I start to reply, rubbing my jaw slowly with my hand as I think of how to proceed. “Alfred, you were alive right? Do you think anyone else might be captured in a similar fashion?”

To be honest, I truly doubt anyone could survive like he did… but he if he could stay alive for years without food and water, why couldn’t someone else do it too?

Alfred met my question with silence for a moment, apparently deep in thought as he stroked his beard. “It might be possible…”

Wow… really? What kind of superhuman monsters used to inhabit this fort?!

Of course, I do my best to retain a stoic face. “I see. Then perhaps the first thing we should do is search all the rooms.”

Alfred bows at me obediently. But I get the feeling I am forgetting something…

Growwwllll~

Ah that’s right. Food. I need food. My stomach demands it.

“Young master.” Alfred says sharply all of the sudden; his eyes stare at me, looking sharper than before. “May I recommend acquiring some sort of sustenance before we proceed with the search?”

“Um… sure. That will be fine.” I reply uncertainly. Come to think of it… he hasn’t eaten in at least a decade has he? He must be far more hungry than I am. “But I am pretty sure that there is not much food that could have survived a decade unattended.”

“I understand your concern.” He says smoothly. “I will acquire fresh meat from the forest. Please wait here for me. I shall return shortly.”

“Ah, I understand. But please do not push yourself too hard.” I reply. I don’t really know why I feel the need to say this, but it seems appropriate. Rather, it seems that something in me tells me its necessary to tell him that.

“Understood.” He replies with a perfectly elegant bow. “When I return master, I would be curious about you as well. Please consider answering a few questions from this servant when I return.”

It might have been my imagination, but I swear I saw his eyes sharply glare at the scar in my chest for a brief instant.

“Ah… O-of course. You better get going then.”

“By your will.”

Then he was gone. Like a gale of wind, he left the room, quickly and silently disappearing as if he was never in it. If I had blinked, I might have missed him leaving. What an outrageous walking speed he has.

Wait no, that’s not the problem. How am I going to explain myself to him? I can’t tell him that I’ve been reborn after a decade… can I? Hmm… actually, maybe I can. I can tell him a partial truth. He doesn’t have to know that I am not the exact same person that he knows. Also, how did I know his name? Could it be that I’ve retained some of this body’s memories? But that would be ridiculous wouldn’t it?

No, if I think about it, this entire situation is already beyond ridiculous. Why not also have the memories of this body too? It would certainly explain how I know Alfred, and why I feel at ease with him. If thats the case, it would not be the weirdest thing that has happened to me recently anyways. Im pretty sure being brough back from the dead and reborn in someone elses body top the list on that front.

If that’s the case… I should try to recall as much as I can from this body’s memory as I can. It would be good to have at least a simple grasp on this body’s abilities and knowledge before it died. I might even discover something useful.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Try as I might, there seems to be lots of holes in this body’s memory. If I had to hazard a guess as to why there are holes in my memory, it might be because this body was dead, at least briefly before I took it over. But I did discover a few things of use, after meditating on it.

In this world, my name was Terra Zilvamane, and at the time of my death I had barely turned 15 years old. Quite a flashy name in my opinion, but nothing I can really do about it. Also, seems that my species is called “Worgus Chimera”, which essentially seems to be a breed of creatures with humanoid form, but with wolf-like ears, hair that looked sort of like the mane of a lion, and… I think that there is more to it, but I can’t recall it. Anyways, other than that, the appearance is that of a human. As for my abilities… there seems to be numerous gaps in my memory, but it seems like I received some sort of formal military training from my father in this world.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

From what I can recall, it seems that this body is particularly tough. I am not sure the extent of it or the limit of my abilities, so I’ll have to experiment at some point. Next, I also managed to discover that this world does indeed have magic, and also something called “Skills”. This had me very excited. What kind of man doesn’t want to be able to use magic? As for skills, they seem to be something similar to magic, but able to work on a separate system. They sound really handy, however, it seems like there are conditions to acquiring a skill, so even the basic ones are as hard to obtain as magic, and the advanced ones are almost impossible to acquire.

That was as far as I got before a delicious scent filled the air around me. It smelled like roasted meat with honey, and several other spices. It made my famished belly growl all the more loudly once again. Less than a minute after the air reached my nose, Alfred stepped into the room, carrying a full roasted boar upon a slab of wood in one hand, and a bottle of wine in the other. How he was carrying what seemed to be a 50-kilogram boar, to his side, without bending over even slightly was beyond me.

“… That looks delicious.” I said after staring at it for a few seconds. If I had a little less self-control I might have seriously started drooling.

“You flatter me, master.” Alfred said with a slight bow of his head, though his eyes looked regretful as he set the platter down before me. “Forgive the presentation. It’s the most I could manage, given that most of our food reserves are gone, save for the wine, and honey. Unfortunately, the plates and silverware need a thorough cleaning before being useable. And as far as I can tell, none of the wooden furniture survived. I beg your forgiveness, but I believe that for now you must use your bare hands... and sit on the floor.”

Alfred cringed as slightly as he said that last sentence. It seems that for him, eating in a proper dinning room is a big deal. Or maybe it’s about class? Either way, he doesn’t seem too happy about eating on the floor with bare hands.

On my part, I could care less about that right now. I’m so hungry I feel I could faint now. I’m slightly puzzled from were this hunger suddenly appeared, but the food before me is far more important. I mean… the boar is cooked to a nice bronze-brown color, and coated slightly with honey. Garlic around the edges, and a few ground up leaves are scattered on it. I don’t know what Alfred considers presentable, but this is already plenty!

“Don’t worry about it Alfred.” I say with a grin, reaching out to tear a hunk of meat. “Well, thanks for the meal!”

I started eating ravenously. Seriously, I can’t remember ever eating more hungrily in my life. I had eaten at least a tenth of the boar before I realized that Alfred was just standing there, his arms crossed behind his back, looking completely dignified. This made me feel a bit self-conscious to be honest. It also made me feel bad. Wasn’t he tied up for a decade? He must be far hungrier than I am, yet he isn’t eating. With this in mind, I swallowed the chunk of meat that I had been chewing on and looked at him.

“Alfred, why are you not eating?”

Looking surprised, Alfred replied. “Young master, it is not proper for a servant to eat at the same table as his master! What would other people say if they knew?!”

…. This guy really has an iron will. Is this how all butlers are? No, probably not. This guy must be an exception. I think.

“Is that so? But Alfred, we are the only ones here, and besides, you are technically not eating at the same table as me.” I say with a grin.

“But young master, I--!”

“Stop standing there Alfred. Just sit down and eat, you haven’t eaten in a decade, yeah? You must be starving. Also, I feel self-conscious right now. I don’t want to eat on my own, don’t make me say it again.” I said with as much of a commanding tone as I could muster. Even though it feels a bit awkward dishing out orders like this, I don’t think he would listen to me otherwise.

Alfred seems to hesitate for a second, a small frown appearing on his face, before melting away into a small smile. “As you will it.”

Finally he sits down, and we can eat and drink together. How he manages to eat with bare hands and still look dignified is not something I understand right now.

As I thought, eating with someone else is better than eating alone.

-0-0-0-0-0-

After the meal, Alfred cleared away the glasses and the remnants of the boar, before I was subjected to a small bombardment of questions from him. In the end, I ended up telling him that after I died, I had a dream of going into a different world before a mysterious voice sent me back, warning me that there would be a price to pay for coming back to life.

It’s mostly the truth, so it should be fine…. Right?

By the end of my tale, Alfred, who was standing up right, shed a single manly tear from his eye.

“To think that the young master would undergo such an ordeal… The ancients must favor you young master! To think that the young master would be chosen by them… I am in awe! This old man is honored to serve under the head of the great Zilvamane house!”

Oi, Alfred, this is… aren’t you being a bit over the top? And how do you manage to still look so refined while crying and saying such things?! If this had been a movie, the camera would have deffinitely focused on Alfred, and there would have been sentimental yet beautiful background music to suit the scene.

This man is a mystery to me.

“However,” He said once he stopped his ramblings, “As amazing as your revival is, young master, what concerns me is the price that the great voice spoke of. Coming back to life and receiving a gift from it… however I look at it, the price must be something directly derived from you. This is just speculation but… if it was a celestial being that did this, then the price must have been directly correlated with your soul or existence.”

That sounds quite serious. I hope he isn’t right.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if you were just a soul when you met the voice,” he explains, “What other method of payment would you have other than yourself, young master? No money, no land, no possessions of any sort other than your own essence. I assume you must have paid with part of something that makes up… well, you.”

… That sounds scary. What if I lost something important like the ability to feel love?! Or satisfaction? Or what if I lost my ability to relate to people? Wouldn’t that make me unable to make any bonds with anyone? That would be awful!

Worst of all, it sounds like he could be right.

“Well… You have a point Alfred. Unfortunately we have no way of testing this out though. I guess we will have to find out eventually.”

“…If you don’t mind me saying so, young master, I had noticed some change in your behavior from before. Though I could attribute it due to essentially your first… death, this old servant can’t help but to wonder if there is more to it now that I have heard the story.”

Alfred looks concerned, and rather… anxious too. Well, only slightly. I think he has excellent control of his emotions, so he must be really worried.

“Ah… that is…” How to explain this to him? I don’t want him getting suspicious about my lack of knowledge. Wait, this is a great excuse!

“Alfred, to be honest… I can’t recall many things. I feel like I am missing parts of me.”

Alfred’s eyes widen such that it was almost funny. Or it would have been if they had not become so solemn and sad immediately afterwards. It makes me feel guilty honestly, because it feels like I am taking advantage of his trust. However, he shortly regains his composure in a matter of seconds, and nods slowly.

“I… see. This is quite a grievous matter, young master.” He says with a low voice, one hand reaching out to stroke his beard slowly. “Young master, this may well be the price you had to pay for your revival… or at least part of it.”

I don’t reply to him for a second, thinking it over. How had this not occurred to me? But if you think about it, it’s a price I will gladly pay to live again. It also gives me an excuse for acting different than what Alfred recalls. I suppose you could say that I got lucky? Still... It doesn't feel too good to know that there could still be more to this 'price' I am paying. It can't be helped, I suppose. At least I am alive, so I should really be thanking that... creature? Being? Hm... Maybe it was a conglomerate of beings? The ancient ones that Alfred talked about maybe? Ugh... mataphysical entities give me a headache. I'll think about it later.

“That seems likely.” I reply carefully. How am I supposed to reply anyways? What's the etiquette is there? He clearly expects some sort of behaviour from what he said earlier.

The mood settled into something of a more uneasy sensation. But above all else, Alfred seems to be honestly loyal to me. I had not expected him to cry at my tale. It seems like he is an ally I can depend on, and at this moment, that’s priceless!

Honestly, I am more at ease now that I have someone like him around. At least I wont go crazy from loneliness.

After our talk, we set out looking for people through the rubble of the fortress. For three days and three nights we found nothing but destruction and rocks. It wasn’t until the fourth day that we found something.