Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Advice
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“Ahem.”
Seeing the inside of my dorm room after several years filled me with a fresh sense of nostalgia. There was a decent bed, along with a desk set up for studying.
As my old belongings caught my eye one by one—things I'd half-forgotten—it felt strangely wondrous.
“Whoa, this sword really brings back memories.”
I picked up the sword my sister had gifted me when I first entered the academy and examined it from every angle. Back then, I'd cherished it so much that when I got expelled from school, I hadn't even packed it.
Drawing it from its sheath produced a resonant ring, revealing a sharply honed blade.
My sister had said she'd picked it out carefully as a gift, and it certainly seemed worth it. In the end, though, I'd treasured it so much that I'd never used it even once.
“Anyway, it turns out everything really is real.”
I pinched my cheek, and the sharp pain was still there.
I'd pinched it so many times today that my cheek was probably beet red by now.
Trying to apply common sense to this situation felt like pointless flailing. Better to stop overthinking and just accept it. I'd returned to my 18-year-old past.
The leader of the Army of Death—my childhood friend Rin—had stabbed me in the heart, I'd closed my eyes... and woken up at the moment I'd been expelled from the academy.
“And on top of that, I even spat out some curse words.”
Fuck off.
I'd never used language like that before, but I'd blurted it out on impulse—and the dean's face at that moment...
It was a unique thrill, a wave of satisfaction surging from my toes upward.
She'd shrieked at me in that high-pitched voice, and even then—still thinking it was all a dream—I'd fired back with all sorts of arguments.
“Fine, then prove it!” the dean had snapped, granting me a grace period.
Exactly one week.
I had to bring back proof that I was innocent within that time.
“If my memory's right, it probably started with poor grades...”
Failure to attend practical exam, assault on a classmate, sexual harassment of a female student.
That was probably the list.
I hadn't made it to the practical exam because of all the interference around me at the time. And the assault and harassment charges? Total frame-jobs, of course.
My head's already starting to hurt.
The grades could be sorted out to some extent, but those last two were the real problems.
Guess I'll figure it out from here.
At first, I'd thought getting expelled wouldn't matter much, but I'd gradually changed my mind.
Why had Rin become the master of the Army of Death and destroyed the world?
In my previous life, expulsion had severed all ties with her, but I was certain.
No matter how I looked at it, it had been Rin.
Ten years had passed, but she hadn't lost her beauty, and the tears streaming down her cheeks had convinced me.
“Guess I need to stick around the academy, if only out of curiosity.”
At 18 now, expulsion meant ten years until then.
Exactly ten years until the sweet, kind girl everyone loved turned into the calamity of death that slaughtered all life on the continent.
I had to stop it.
Eris.
Yes, if for no one else, then for Eris—who'd proposed to me at the end.
Just thinking about it made my chest ache for no reason. Come to think of it, if I didn't become a guide in the Demon Realm Forest, I wouldn't meet her.
“Still, putting off the guide gig for now.”
If I got expelled and became a guide, I'd meet Eris—but then Rin would destroy the continent.
I could become a guide after graduation, or even if not, I could head to Yggdrasil to find her.
She wouldn't remember anything, but somehow it'd work out.
“More importantly... this body's in great shape.”
After becoming a guide, I'd been locked in a constant struggle for survival, leaving my body creaky from injuries. But now? Just a country boy who'd only trained—no scars or wounds.
Peak condition, in a word.
I let out a hollow chuckle at how my fragile mind had buckled despite this—and that's when I stripped off my shirt, twisted my body this way and that, working up a sweat in the room.
A knock came from outside.
I wiped off the sweat roughly and opened the door. There stood a girl with swaying black hair—Rin.
“Oh? Were you working out?”
No blushing squeal of surprise here.
She was my childhood friend—how many times had she seen me shirtless and exercising?
“...Yeah, something like that.”
“I heard about the expulsion. Is there anything I can do to help?”
I tried to play it casual, but it must've shown on my face—Rin stepped closer, looking worried.
I took a matching step back, scratching the back of my head.
I fought to hold it in, but in the end, I averted my eyes and said it.
“Hey. Could you leave?”
“...Huh?”
“Sorry, but I don't really feel like seeing you today.”
“Oh...”
Rin's expression hardened as she bowed her head, murmuring a gloomy “Got it” before stepping out.
She probably thought I was asking her to go because the expulsion had me down. But that wasn't it.
It had only been a few hours ago, subjectively, that this face had plunged a blade into my heart. I had no idea how to face her now.
“Huff... huup.”
On top of that, my breathing wouldn't settle.
Just looking at her brought back the master of the Army of Death, fear constricting my whole body—I felt dizzy, couldn't breathe right.
I barely stopped myself from snapping at her. The last thing I needed was to accidentally hasten the moment she became that monster.
I tried to shake off what just happened by overexerting my rejuvenated body with more exercise—when another knock sounded.
This one heavier than before.
I hadn't even opened it yet when the door rattled open, revealing a handsome blond boy slightly bigger-built than me.
“Daniel! I heard from Rin. You must be going through a lot...”
Ares, my other childhood friend—just like Rin.
Unlike me, he was popular, top of the class, beloved by everyone.
But I also remembered how he wouldn't act like he knew me in front of others back then.
That hurt at the time.
He'd come to my room at night now and then for talks like this, but never spoke to me at the academy.
I'd thought back then it was his way of protecting our friendship.
That if I—scorned and shunned by the nobles—clung to the popular Ares, he'd get bullied too.
What bullshit.
Looking back now, was that even what friends did? We'd been inseparable as kids, but the moment I fell on hard times, he'd cut me loose clean.
Still dropping by occasionally at night when no one would see, because it felt awkward otherwise.
“Anything I can do to help?”
“Hm, nah. Don't think so.”
“...Huh?”
He hadn't expected the firm refusal—Ares looked flustered.
Even flustered, he was handsome, which hit me with that old feeling. No matter what Ares did, it always made me feel shabby by comparison.
Ares could be useful.
With all the girls around him, one word from him and rumors would fly mouth to mouth, gathering all sorts of info.
But I didn't need that.
This guy wasn't someone I could call a friend anymore.
“And I'd prefer you didn't sneak over like this from now on. If you wanna talk, do it at the academy. Not like a thief slipping in at night.”
“Huh?”
“I'm saying I don't want you begging for friendship out of guilt.”
I jerked my chin toward the door, and Ares—flustered—mumbled, “L-let's talk later,” before shutting it behind him as he left.
I kept exercising for a good while longer when yet another knock came.
Now annoyed, I yanked the door open roughly and demanded who it was.
“Kyaa! What the hell! Why aren't you wearing a shirt?!”
A blond girl I'd never seen before stood there.
Who is she?
Well, “never seen” wasn't quite right. She was in my memories somewhere, but the exact face and name escaped me.
“You're the one who came to my room—what's your problem? Girls' floor is upstairs.”
“F-first, put some clothes on.”
“No. State your business or I'm closing the door.”
As I moved to shut it, she panicked, grabbed the edge, and straightened up. Then she let out an awkward fake cough, pretending to be calm.
“Y-you're bolder than you look. Fine! I'll tell you why I'm here.”
She crossed her arms and tilted her head, so I nodded for her to go on—while racking my brain for who she was.
Who the hell is she?
I could almost recall, but it wasn't clear.
Just one clue, and it'd click—but it nagged at me like food stuck between my teeth.
“Over the past few days, why has Ares been coming to your room? And at such late hours.”
“What?”
“He won't even talk to you at the academy, but he comes to your dorm room? Even after turning down dates!”
Ah!
Aha!
Now I got it!
One of the girls who'd fallen into Ares's web!
Friendly, but overly so—bordering on sleazy—and quietly jealous of the other girls around Ares.
What was her name again?
Sorry, no clue on the name.
But hey, ten-year-old memory—good enough, right?
Sigh, poor thing.
I'd gotten expelled, so I didn't know exactly how things ended for her and Ares, but it probably wasn't great.
Ares had stolen plenty of girls' hearts back in the village too, but he'd never returned any of them.
He hadn't been like that before, but once the attention started, he'd grown into a real Casanova.
Thinking about it made her pitiful.
Her wide-eyed innocence, oblivious that she'd been snared—seeing me as some obstacle to her love.
Kind of cute in a youthful way, but also kind of sad.
“Hey, don't waste your time chasing a guy like that. Go hit the books instead.”
That was the best advice I could give as I closed the door.