The War Hero Desires to Retire
Ten years had passed.
The land had changed, and it had been enough time for a child to grow into a proper adult. It was also the time it took to conclude a long war for a nation.
The elderly hypnotist had died of old age, and the period during which the hypnosis cast on me was lifted.
And I had become the 'War Hero Arthur' who protected the Leon Kingdom.
The moment I was shaking the coin in front of my eyes felt like yesterday, but the 14-year-old boy had become a 24-year-old adult. (Actually, it still feels like yesterday to me.) My vision had become much sharper, and my arms and legs had become thicker than the memories. The face reflected in the mirror was that of a stranger.
It took me a full day to adapt to this sense of estrangement.
In the blink of an eye, the world had changed. Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, fiddling with my fingers. Is this my hand? It felt like inhabiting someone else's body.
Thud!
The door burst open.
"General Arthur! His Majesty is looking for you!"
The soldier, who looked a bit younger than me, shouted while panting. His face was flushed. It was an expression as if he had received some great honor just by seeing my face.
I slowly sat up.
So. Hypnotized, I had done something for 10 years, and as a result, I became a war hero. But actually, I don't remember what happened during those 10 years at all. It seems only I know this fact.
The soldier stood in front of the door waiting for me to get up, shifting his feet.
Taking a deep breath, I straightened my clothes.
"I'll go right away. Lead the way."
Hmm, that sounds pretty in character.
Just as I was self-praising inwardly, the soldier covered his mouth with both hands, eyes sparkling.
"General, you spoke to me! I thought I would never hear your voice until I die!"
His voice was so loud it made my ears ring.
"Even though we worked together on operations for the past half year, you didn't even say a word... It's an honor!"
He clasped his hands together as if praying, in admiration.
I maintained a blank expression and nodded. It seemed that the me under hypnosis was much more taciturn than I thought. I lived without speaking for 10 years?
I stored the new information in my head and nodded to the soldier.
"I will guide you right away!"
The soldier kept moving his mouth without stopping as he walked ahead.
"General's taciturnity was to maintain concentration during the operation. Everyone thought that. I can't say for sure, but I believe that."
His eyes were sincere.
"On the day you jumped into the enemy's camp and cut off all the commanders' heads... I was watching from afar. You didn't say a word. Just quietly."
He clenched his fist.
"That was scarier. If it had been the enemy, they might have peed themselves."
I couldn't say anything.
Me? Doing that?
The me who hadn't fought properly in my life? Until conscripted at 14, I was just a normal boy dreaming of adventures, swinging a sword in the back mountains.
The soldier interpreted my silence as 'as expected, humble', and opened his mouth with an even more excited face.
"Ah, this is just my opinion, but... I think General deliberately avoided speaking to not make subordinates fearful. Seeing you walk straight ahead with a blank expression while fighting, I felt at ease. Ah, since General is here, it's fine."
His words were so vivid it was hard to tell if it was imagination or truth.
I just nodded as if pretending to listen.
To me, who was timid even before reincarnation, this bundle of stories was too heavy. The 'General Arthur' being praised was completely different from the me in this place.
As I followed him down the corridor, we arrived in front of a huge door.
A door that was three times my height, with ornate patterns carved on it. The soldier stepped aside and saluted. This seemed to be the audience room.
As someone who had no military experience in either past or present lives, I awkwardly tried to raise my left hand.
But my body moved first.
My right hand naturally rose and touched my temple. Without any will, it saluted at a precise angle as if it was a separately trained machine.
Is this the famous muscle memory?
My body was that of a soldier who fought in war for 10 years. No memory, but muscles remembered.
Upon entering the audience room, a space that seemed to choke the breath opened up.
It was so inefficiently wide. The ceiling was high, and the red carpet on the floor was laid long from the entrance all the way to the throne far away. Knights lined up on both sides were all staring at me with their armor gleaming.
That gaze was not light.
It carried weight. Something that couldn't distinguish whether it was reverence, caution, or both.
And at the end, in the high chair, an old grandfather sat with imposing dignity. It was the king, I was sure. The dignity that could make one's neck fly off if one said the wrong word.
I cautiously approached the king's front and prostrated myself in the posture seen in dramas.
Kneeling, head bowed, holding breath.
"General Arthur. How is your body?"
Much kinder and gentler tone than I expected.
"Hearing that after the victory report, you didn't come out of the room... Our hero seems to not ignore the fatigue of war."
It was actually the case that I couldn't adapt to the suddenly changed world and was fiddling in bed wasting time. But this grandfather seemed to accept it as 'war fatigue'.
While I was desperately thinking what to reply, the king nodded as if understanding.
"Quite taciturn as I heard from rumors. It's fine. It's a hero who protected our kingdom, and such a point is not a flaw."
Anyway, I lowered my head a bit deeper in the situation.
It might be better to entrust my past actions rather than say one wrong word here and have my neck cut off.
"Raise your head, our hero."
The king smiled benevolently and continued.
"I'm really grateful that you protected the kingdom."
After that, it was about rewards.
He would give the title of baron. Through marriage into a noble family, help receive a higher title. Grant an enormous amount of money and jewels.
While nodding my head, I was thinking something else inwardly.
Titles? Strategic marriage? No need for those.
I just want to go home and rest well. Bury myself in blankets and do nothing for a week.
Fortunately, the king added.
"Of course, if you have no greed for titles and don't want strategic marriage, you can do as you wish."
A sigh of relief almost came out.
Now, looking at the king who looked like a kind grandfather unlike the first impression, I listened to the conversation with a comfortable heart. Award ceremony, compliments, and other trivial stories followed.
Then the king sat up straight.
His expression became serious.
"General Arthur. I know that you are not the type of person who would enjoy honor by staying in the army."
The king tapped the armrest of the throne slowly with his finger.
"I would like to hold you back from retiring if I could... but since it's an action I can't do for a hero who protected the kingdom, I won't do such an action."
After pausing for a moment, he opened his mouth.
"But would it be okay if I make one last request?"
I was lost in imagination, letting the king's words go in one ear.
Finally, freedom.
Now, go back home and live a happy life. A romantic adventurer life as before is good. Since I wasted 10 years of life, it might be worth thinking about inheriting the family business solidly. No, maybe just stay home for 1-2 years and live lazily?
The king continued.
"As the general knows, the kingdom won the war, but lost many things in the process, and it will take a lot of time and effort to recover it."
"So, can you go to the Empire Academy as a professor for the next 3 years and show other countries that our kingdom is still alive, that the kingdom is not weak?"
...What?
I stared blankly at the king.
What did he just say?
"If you do that, I will be able to send my daughter Isabel, who is entering the Empire Academy this time, with peace of mind."
The king's eyes were serious. It was not a joke.
"Will you fulfill my request, General?"
Me?
When I looked at the king with confusion, the soldiers standing on both sides of the king came into view.
Without saying it, the heart was conveyed.
'If it's General, he won't refuse the king's request.'
'General is a perfect person as the representative of the kingdom!'
I, with a timid and delicate heart, could not ignore that gaze.
The word "refuse" rose to my throat and disappeared.
"Yes... Understood."
I shed tears of blood inwardly.
The future of sending family and living happily and abundantly with war rewards was set aside for now. When I return, I need to find a book on 'how to refuse without hurting the other person'.
"Thank you, General!"
The king's face brightened.
"Departure is tomorrow, and if you go with my granddaughter Isabel, it will be fine. If General goes with us, no other escort will be needed!"
I couldn't avoid the king's face smiling happily.
I quietly bowed my head and nodded.
Bye bye, my pretty civilian life.