Another Reincarnation
The train clattered along with a rhythmic rattle. A proud symbol of the Rihel Empire—a magitech locomotive. The sight of its massive metal frame hurtling forward was striking enough to draw the eye, yet few citizens spared it a glance. The reason was simple: it had become utterly familiar. When these trains first appeared, they were marvels of wonder. Now they were simply part of the landscape, woven into the fabric of everyday life.
Today, however, the air inside the cars felt unusually lively. The cause was obvious. The Academy’s new semester was about to begin, and the train carried both freshly admitted students and those returning from vacation in their hometowns. In one of the carriages, within a private room designed for overnight travel, a man sat with his eyes closed.
Given the long distance and the presence of sleeping compartments, it wasn’t unusual to see passengers resting. Yet something about this man felt distinctly wrong. There was no movement whatsoever—not even the faint rise and fall of breath that should accompany sleep. He looked less like someone dozing and more like a corpse.
Then, the man who had been deathly still—
—snapped his eyes open.
He blinked, staring around with a bewildered expression. After a moment, his lips parted.
“...What?”
I could see. For anyone else that would be obvious, but for me it was anything but. After all, I was supposed to be dead.
Had I somehow survived? The thought flickered through my mind, but I immediately dismissed it. I distinctly remembered the explosion swallowing my body. I’d compressed the blast to its absolute limit and taken it with no defense whatsoever. If even a single bone fragment remained, that would have been a miracle. So yes—I had definitely died.
Then what was this?
Was this the afterlife everyone spoke of?
My hazy mind was still trying to process the idea when I suddenly realized the scenery felt familiar. I was trying to place where I had seen it before when—
“Ugh…!”
A sharp headache slammed into me. It wasn’t unbearable, but it was intense enough to scatter my thoughts. For a while the pain drilled mercilessly through my skull. Then, without warning, foreign memories that I had never experienced before began pouring into my head.
Having someone else’s memories flood your mind is usually a horrifying, nauseating experience. Yet I only frowned slightly. It wasn’t because I possessed some extraordinary courage. I had simply been through this once before.
Yes. This wasn’t my first time.
It had happened when I possessed Gunter’s body as well. Experiencing the exact same phenomenon again could only mean one thing.
Another possession…?
I had reincarnated into yet another person’s body. Once I accepted that fact, I quickly sorted through the memories that had entered my mind. The first thing I needed to determine was whose body this was.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long.
Kyle Berwen.
That was the name of this body. And it was a name I knew—though perhaps “knew of” would be more accurate.
Strictly speaking, Kyle Berwen never actually appeared in the game. He was only mentioned in passing, and even then so briefly that unless someone had scoured every corner of Elion, they probably wouldn’t recognize the name.
“...Ha.”
A dry laugh escaped me. Was I laughing because I’d ended up in the body of a mere extra? No. It was because I could see the intention behind it.
When I had first possessed Gunter’s body, I spent a long time trying to guess the purpose of whoever had arranged the reincarnation. I never believed such a thing could happen by pure coincidence. In the end I gave up because I lacked any clues. But this time was different.
This time, the intention was clear.
They want me to intervene.
Whoever it was desired me to step into the story. The circumstances pointed to that conclusion. Otherwise there would have been no reason to bring me back from death or to place me in the body of an Academy student at this exact moment.
I glanced around the room. Now I understood why the scenery felt familiar. This was a train bound for the Empire’s Academy.
You could have given me a proper explanation.
I understood the desire for me to intervene. What I didn’t know was exactly what they wanted me to do. A faint irritation rose, but I quickly shook it off. Whatever the intentions of the one who had reincarnated me, the important thing was that I was alive again.
Though this second possession had been unexpected, I welcomed it. It wasn’t that I lacked any attachment to life, but there was a far more pressing reason.
I wonder if they’re doing well.
The three girls—Alice, Lana, and Julia. I was worried about their safety. Had they been captured by the Church? Were they living peacefully?
This was precisely the moment the main story began. Imperial Year 322. Eight years had passed since my death. Eight years was more than enough time for lives to change completely.
I skimmed through Kyle’s memories. I couldn’t examine twenty years’ worth of detailed recollections, but I could at least glance over the more recent ones.
At least their names don’t seem to have spread.
The three girls’ names weren’t in Kyle’s memories. Still, that alone wasn’t enough to put my mind at ease. They would have changed both their names and appearances as I had instructed, and in the game their identities weren’t widely known at this point either. In other words, I still couldn’t determine whether they were safe.
Then there was only one option.
I have to find them.
That was my top priority—locating the girls and gathering information about them. But for now—
I need to focus on the current situation.
There was no time to lose myself in thought. If my memory served correctly, an incident would occur on this train very soon.
After examining more of Kyle’s memories, I became certain. This was that train. The very stage where the prologue of Elion took place.
I probably won’t die here, but…
The scale of the event wasn’t that large, and there was someone else destined to resolve it. So even if I had slept through the entire thing, it wouldn’t have mattered.
In the game, that is.
But there was no guarantee that this world would follow the same script. That was why I intended to see it with my own eyes—whether the story was unfolding exactly as I remembered.
And—
Whether “that guy” exists.
Perhaps the most crucial question of all. I needed to confirm the presence of the person who was supposed to resolve the upcoming incident on this train. The odds were low, but if he didn’t exist, I would have to revise all my plans from the ground up.
In short, I had more than enough reason to move.
The problem was—
This body’s condition is terrible…
It was worse than I expected. Though that wasn’t particularly surprising. In fact, it was only natural. After all, this body had already died once. I hadn’t possessed a living person; I had entered a corpse.
At least it didn’t seem to have died from external injuries. So what had killed it?
I searched Kyle’s memories once more.
So he was sickly from the start.
Kyle Berwen had apparently never been healthy. He was born fine, but at some point his body began to weaken. He should have taken proper care of himself, but instead of managing his health, he drank himself into a stupor every day. As a result his condition deteriorated further until he was practically an invalid. Even then he couldn’t stop drinking. He had continued to drown himself in alcohol on this train until he finally died.
Honestly…
I didn’t want to speak ill of the dead, but no kind words came to mind. Clicking my tongue, I examined the interior of the body and paused.
Wait a moment.
Something was off.
This isn’t just from drinking.
I had assumed the wrecked state of the body was solely due to alcohol, but upon closer inspection that wasn’t the case. There were traces that alcohol could never cause scattered throughout the body—subtle marks that would go unnoticed unless examined with extreme focus.
Well, well.
Now I understood. Kyle’s frailty wasn’t simply the result of drinking.
With something like this inside, of course the body would break down.
This was a curse. Or perhaps a poison. An exceptionally vicious one. It was only natural that the body would weaken with something like this lodged inside it.
I can smell the conspiracy.
The thick stench of schemes and plots hung over it. However—
This isn’t something I need to worry about right now.
It was certainly something I would have to address if I intended to live in this body, but not immediately. I had more urgent matters to attend to than chasing imaginary conspiracies.
“Ugh…”
Letting out a groan befitting my rag-like condition, I pushed myself to my feet.
It was time to go meet the protagonist.