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# Chapter 1
“Is this the end?”
Ethan, the youngest member of House Calassar, opened his closed eyes.
Whoosh!
The moment he did, the burning buildings of his family came into view.
“……”
Ethan stared blankly at the buildings of the main estate as ashes drifted through the air.
“So it really is over….”
Muttering to himself, Ethan looked around.
Everyone is dead.
The corpses of monsters and barbarians, creatures that had come from beyond the northern lands, were scattered across the ground.
Father too… Valhelm too… Butler too.
Among them were also those who had shared life and death with Ethan.
Starting with Giovanni, the head of House Calassar, all the way to Sebastian, the butler who had served Ethan.
“They’re all dead.”
They had met their end while fighting the barbarians and monsters that had crossed over from the north.
Right here, on the grounds of House Calassar.
-Kieeeek!
As Ethan silently gazed at the horrific scene,
a monster's shriek rang out from deeper inside the corridor where he stood.
Thud… Thud… Thud!
Then, enormous vibrations echoed through the building.
-Grrr…
A monster covered from head to toe in blood appeared before Ethan's eyes.
“……”
Yet Ethan was not surprised.
House Calassar had already been turned into a monster's lair long ago.
I’ll be following them soon enough.
And Ethan knew that he, too, would meet the same fate as the members of his family who had gone before him.
-Kieek!
At that moment, the monster shrieked again.
Then it slowly began approaching Ethan.
“Hah.”
But Ethan could not move.
He had exhausted far too much of his stamina fighting countless monsters and barbarians.
On top of that, the wounds he had suffered during those battles were severe.
“I’ve become prey.”
Ethan knew very well who was at a disadvantage in this situation.
“Yeah. I must look easy enough.”
Seeing the monster's relaxed attitude, Ethan let out a hollow breath.
The slow footsteps approaching him. The overwhelming posture of a predator clearly targeting its prey.
A monster, of all things.
Ethan did not like it.
Even though he was destined to die soon as well.
“Even if I go, I’m not going alone.”
He figured he could at least prepare a monster to take with him on the journey to the afterlife.
Wooong…!
With that thought, Ethan released the aura within his body.
“…At least I reached the realm of an Aura Knight before I died.”
Feeling the aura pouring from his heart, Ethan gave a faint smile.
It was a realm he had been unable to reach no matter how desperately he had trained.
If I had escaped my life as a wastrel a little earlier, things might have been different.
He was happy, yet miserable at the same time.
If I had realized it a little sooner.
He could have prevented all of this.
I regret it.
At the same time, he blamed his past self for having lived like a wastrel.
Two years. No, if I had come to my senses just one year earlier and devoted myself to swordsmanship…
I could have prevented the downfall of the family.
He might have been able to change the fate of his house.
-Kieek… Kieeeek!
The monster flinched at Ethan's sudden aura.
Even it had never expected that prey who was practically on the verge of death would possess such power.
-Kieeeek!
But the monster did not retreat.
Ethan was already on the verge of death, so it judged that it could easily subdue him with its strength.
Even if he possessed aura.
“……”
Ethan knew that as well.
He had only just awakened his aura, so there was no way he could make full use of its power.
And just as he was about to enter the final battle, thinking that he would at least cut off one of the monster's arms—
…Fwaaash!
“…What?”
A faint light began flowing from Ethan's beloved sword, Arin, which he held in his hand.
Then it seeped into the aura Ethan was releasing.
Fwaash!
The size of his aura instantly grew more than threefold.
“This is… Arin’s power?”
Ethan stared at his beloved sword, Arin, which was shining brightly.
A golden light was pouring from the entire blade.
This isn't ordinary aura.
Ethan was left speechless at the sight.
He could sense an energy from Arin that could never be produced with mere aura.
Grin.
Through that, Ethan realized.
He could feel that Arin was lending him its strength.
In other words, he had succeeded in forming a connection with Arin, the legendary sword.
-Kieek!
At that moment, the monster let out a roar toward Ethan.
As it simultaneously released demonic energy and charged at Ethan—
Whoom!
Ethan swung his sword diagonally with all the strength he had left.
Slash!
The golden light pouring from the blade cleanly severed the monster's neck.
…Thud!
The headless monster collapsed to the floor, spraying purple blood.
“…Haa… haa.”
Thump!
Ethan stared blankly at the monster.
“Cough!”
Then he suddenly vomited blood.
Clatter!
The beloved sword in his hand slipped from his grasp.
“Ahh….”
After staggering from side to side, Ethan eventually sank to the floor just like the monster.
-Kieeeek!
Having expended the last of his strength, another monster's voice echoed from beyond the corridor.
It’s the end.
Ethan instinctively realized that death was approaching.
He had no strength left to stand and fight again, nor even the will to pick up his sword.
I want to go back.
All that remained was the impossible wish to return to the past.
He regretted his foolish days of living as an immature wastrel too deeply.
Rustle…
Ethan's light eyelids slowly began to close, as though weighed down by water.
And just as his vision was about to disappear completely—
Fwaaat!
His beloved sword, Arin, emitted a brilliant light.
At the same time—
Kuaaaang!
A tremendous explosion erupted, powerful enough to blow the family's buildings away.
“Hah!”
Ethan's eyes opened automatically.
“Where is this…? This is my room.”
And a familiar ceiling came into view.
---
House Calassar was a prestigious noble family with considerable influence among the aristocratic houses of the north.
Thanks to that, they had lived rather comfortably even in the harsh northern lands.
“At least, they had.”
That was, until monsters and barbarians invaded the north.
“……”
Ethan raised his upper body from the bed.
The room is intact.
He looked around.
From the furniture embedded with magnificent jewels
to the white curtains blocking the sunlight from the windows,
everything was exactly where it belonged.
And it’s quiet, too.
His ears were at peace.
What is this?
He could not hear the grotesque cries of monsters.
No matter how much he thought about it, he could not understand.
Could it be…
But there was only one theory that could explain this situation.
Did I regress?
If he assumed that he had returned to the past, everything made sense.
The peaceful silence.
The intact room.
Everything.
Whoosh!
Ethan threw off the blanket and got out of bed.
Then he walked toward the mirror beside the door.
“…Hah.”
Thirty-three years old. That was Ethan's age when he died.
Compared to his twenties, the passage of time was immediately obvious.
But—
I’ve returned.
The face reflected in the mirror was exactly how Ethan had looked in his twenties.
Fair skin and sharp eyes.
…It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this damn body.
And the protruding belly from all that drinking proved it.
I came to my senses when I was thirty… So this is definitely my body from the past.
Ethan in his twenties had been lazy and indolent.
His personality had been terrible as well, so he had not had good relationships with the people around him.
“…Why did I live like that back then?”
Remembering his younger days, Ethan furrowed his brow.
Looking back now, he had been far too immature.
At least my face was better back then.
If there was one thing he could boast about, it was his appearance.
His body, heart, and mind had all been a mess.
But Ethan's face was quite good-looking.
Very much so.
Even without taking particularly good care of himself.
“Hmm. What a handsome fellow.”
After looking over his face from this angle and that,
Tap!
Ethan moved away from the mirror and toward the window.
-Creak.
When he opened the square window, the view of the family estate came into sight.
From the training grounds where the knights practiced
to the large fountain at the entrance of the estate.
All of it had once been destroyed in an instant.
I forgot this place had been this magnificent before the monsters invaded.
Everything had returned to the way it was before the monsters invaded.
…Just in case, one last time.
Ethan stared blankly at the scene.
Smack!
Then he slapped himself across the cheek.
With all his strength.
“Ow!”
A sharp, stinging pain spread across his cheek.
It was vivid enough to make him cry out.
That alone was proof enough.
“I really did come back.”
Ethan stared at his right hand with a dumbfounded expression.
His palm had turned red from slapping his cheek.
“Hah… Haha!”
Ethan laughed as he looked at his reddened hand.
Someone might have thought Ethan had gone crazy.
But—
“Hah.”
There were many emotions contained within Ethan's laughter.
There had to be.
He had personally experienced the end of his family.
Of course this situation would feel complicated and strange.
I’ll stop it.
But there was one thing Ethan could be certain of.
This time, he would never surrender his family to those monsters.
I can become stronger faster than I did in my previous life.
Aura.
In the end, he had even reached the realm of an Aura Knight.
Though it had only lasted for a fleeting moment, Ethan vividly remembered the sensation.
And—
If I can regain the power I felt through Arin… I can definitely stop them.
The hidden power of Arin, the sword that had been called a legendary masterpiece.
Ethan was certain that if he could obtain that power again, he could accomplish anything.
First, I need to lose some weight.
Of course, he could not use aura right now, nor could he awaken through Arin.
For one thing, he did not possess an Aura Heart.
And it was not something he could simply force into existence.
So he needed to get his body into shape as quickly as possible.
Aura could come afterward.
Rustle…
At that moment, Ethan heard something moving behind him.
“!”
Whip!
Ethan immediately turned around at the subtle noise.
At the same time, he instinctively assumed a combat stance.
“…What is it?”
But there was no one in Ethan's line of sight.
Only the furniture from his twenties remained scattered around his room.
Something definitely moved.
If it had been the Ethan of his previous life, he probably would not have paid much attention to it.
But Ethan, now living his second life, was different.
Through all the combat instincts he had accumulated over the years, he knew that this was precisely when he needed to be even more suspicious.
…Rustle!
At that moment, the noise reached Ethan's ears again.
At the same time, he noticed the blanket moving.
Tap!
The instant Ethan confirmed it, he pulled the blanket away without the slightest hesitation.
Then he backed away toward the door, putting distance between himself and the bed.
“Who are you… Hm?”
Just as he was about to speak to the unknown intruder—
A child?
Ethan unconsciously furrowed his brow.
Soft, steady breathing.
A little girl was sleeping beneath the blanket.
She was wearing a blue silk outfit that looked quite comfortable.
…Who in the world is this child?
Ethan quickly searched through his memories of the past.
But no matter how he thought about it, he had never caused such a problem.
Although he had lived as a wastrel, this much he was certain of.
If he had had a child, the family would have kicked him out long ago.
No. He might not even have been allowed to see sunlight for the rest of his life.
Then who is she?
Who was this little girl sleeping in his bed right now?
Ethan could not find an answer.
No matter how I look at her, I don't remember her.
She was a child he did not know.
“Mm…”
Just as Ethan was lost in confusion,
the girl, deprived of her blanket, flinched.
“……”
Rustle.
Seeing that, Ethan picked up the blanket he had stolen from her.
Then, just as he was carefully placing it over the girl's body—
“Hm?”
The girl's eyelids lifted.
At the same time, her eyes met Ethan's as he tried to cover her with the blanket.
“……”
Ethan examined the girl's face.
Judging solely by her appearance, she looked to be only about five years old.
And she has white hair.
On top of that, her hair was the same white color as Ethan's.
The only difference was the length, but the overall impression was remarkably similar.
“Who are you?”
Who in the world was this child?
With that question in mind, Ethan asked her.
“Me?”
The girl tilted her head at Ethan's question.
“Yes.”
Ethan answered the girl in an indifferent voice.
Stare.
The girl blinked her eyes at Ethan's response.
Then she sat up on the bed and stared intently at Ethan.
“Hehe.”
Grin.
She gave him a bright smile.
“Don't just smile.”
If someone else had seen the girl's face, they would have made a huge fuss over how cute she was.
But Ethan was the exception.
His very survival was at stake here.
“So, could you at least tell me your name?”
And so he asked the girl a second question.
“My name… My naaame… Ah!”
The girl opened her mouth as if she had suddenly remembered something.
Then she made a little “He” sound.
“I remember my name! I’m Arin! Daddy!”
She answered Ethan's question with an innocent expression.
At that moment, Ethan's body involuntarily flinched.
Arin was—
My beloved sword?