Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Apology
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On the first day he came to his senses, he couldn't accept the fact that he had regressed.
Of course not. He had returned to the past.
That's why he first thought it was a deathbed flashback.
That his regrets about the past had created this very moment.
But it was too vivid to be a mere flashback.
The next hypothesis that came to mind was that a demon had intervened.
There had been a demon nearby, so it was more plausible that the fiend had taken some action.
How could he be sure this wasn't some devil's prank from a fairy tale?
However, if demons could turn back time, this continent would be ruled by them, not by gods.
He also considered the hypothesis that the last spell he used had been unstable, causing it to run rampant...
‘Is this too unrealistic?’
This theory wasn't very likely. But he couldn't rule it out just because the probability was low.
‘Even if I can't rule it out, it's practically impossible.’
Turning back time meant reversing the axis of time, which was fixed to the present.
The academic world had long since concluded that reversing time was impossible unless one could rewind the planet—no, the entire universe.
Propelling it forward was another matter.
The last hypothesis he considered was simple.
Death.
That his own death had triggered something, precipitating this situation.
In truth, any of them could have been the correct answer.
Who was to say some passing transcendent being hadn't turned back time as a joke?
In the end, when his rational mind as a mage failed to reach a conclusion, this was what made him finally accept his regression.
His eyes turned to the empty air.
"Books..."
There, three books invisible to others were floating in mid-air.
An incomprehensible something that proved he had returned to the past, a past different from the one he remembered.
The three books, visible to him ever since he'd regained consciousness, were bizarre.
They couldn't be detected by any magical or mystical means.
No one but him could perceive them.
He could move them with a mere thought.
"And..."
His hand reached for one of the three books, the only one with a pure white cover.
The book flew into his hand and slowly opened.
*Fwip-*
"──Allen Reinhardt, died at the age of 27."
This was the first sentence on the very first page of the book.
He lowered his gaze to the next paragraph, which was a little longer than the short preceding line.
『Allen Reinhardt, regressed to his 17-year-old past. Unable to accept the reality of his regression, he begins to analyze the current situation.』
The next entry was the same.
『...After dozens of recollections and various behavioral experiments on those around him based on those memories, he comes to accept the conclusion that he has regressed to the past.』
After that, the book continued to record his every move since his regression, as if it were documenting his every action.
As if someone were observing him.
It was the same now.
『Begins to analyze the most plausible among the dozens of hypotheses for the cause of his regression. Afterward, the book connected to ■■■■...』
‘...■■■■.’ Who could it be? A god? A demon? Or something transcendent? If not, it could even be the world itself. The limits of imagination were infinite, stretching in any direction.
However.
*Snap.*
‘It doesn't matter.’
Whatever it was, it was the being that had sent him back to the past.
It was difficult to judge whether this outcome was simply an act of goodwill.
‘If so, I just have to pay the price.’
As he closed the white book, it floated back into the air and returned to its original position.
Allen's gaze shifted to the other two books. Unlike the white-covered one he had just read, these two were shrouded in a dusky black.
One of them was bound in chains, impossible to open, but the other was not.
"One is about me... and the other is."
*Fwip.*
He opened the book.
The introduction on the first page read:
『──Reader Kim Woojin, age 21. Possessed the extra 'Julius Reinhardt' in the novel [The Reincarnated Demon Lord's Conquest].』
* * *
Leaving his room, Allen immediately went to find the fiend.
Julius was at the training grounds used by the soldiers.
Spotting him was easy. The family's characteristic bright blue hair was easily distinguishable even from a distance.
Allen walked slowly. The soldiers' shouts began to die down as he entered the training grounds. When he finally stood before his brother.
"What are you doing?"
A silence fell over the training grounds.
Allen stared intently at the fiend's face.
Still the same face as his brother, but the contents were some unknown entity.
"...Haha, if it isn't my dear brother. I was just training with the soldiers."
As if to prove his words, he was dressed in the same uniform as the soldiers, standing among them.
Seeing that, he wanted nothing more than to smash that smiling face and scream.
*Why am I your brother?*
*Who are you?*
*Why did you do such a thing?*
But.
"Julius."
He didn't.
Without voicing his inner thoughts, he quietly called his name.
The fiend's name,
His brother's name,
but a stolen name.
He called it.
The fiend, perhaps sensing the awkward atmosphere, chuckled and scratched his head as he asked Allen's purpose.
"...So, brother, what brings you here?"
Without so much as a frown at the undignified display, he answered simply.
"Julius, let's take a walk."
"...Pardon?"
Was he expecting to be cursed out?
Yes, perhaps in the past. When he knew nothing, he might have.
But now, he knew.
Acting as he always had would only lead to the same end.
To change the future, he had to change himself first.
『...Kill him.』
The voice he'd heard on the brink of death.
‘Whether it was my real brother or just an auditory hallucination, I don't know...’
It was enough to give it a try.
However,
there was no guarantee his brother would return even if he erased the fiend's consciousness or soul from his body.
‘...And I'm not confident I can deal with him with my current abilities.’
So, Allen put a smile on his dry face and asked again.
"I wish to apologize for my previous insults. Will you walk with me for a moment?"
There was no need to deliberately create hostility until he found a way to completely protect or reclaim his brother's soul or consciousness.
* * *
Julius and he left the training grounds and headed for the manor's garden.
He could have spoken right there at the training grounds, but he didn't.
The reason was simple.
‘If it were my brother...’
This is what he would have done.
His brother was gone.
But by acting this way, he wanted to honor his existence. Even if it was meaningless.
Allen walked side by side with Julius.
For someone who had trained for only a short time, the fiend's steps were steady.
The mana flowing around his body enveloped him, and his muscles were tense, ready to move at any moment.
His breathing?
‘Steady.’
Do I have a chance?
There's a difference in our mana levels. But within three meters is my domain.
If I close the distance in an instant and rattle his brain with a shockwave? And then launch a surprise attack immediately after...
"...Uh, brother?"
"Ah."
A voice called out to him, pulling him from his thoughts.
"What did you mean by that earlier...?"
He looked around.
The silence was unbroken by any presence. Realizing they had gone deep enough into the garden, he spoke.
"Yes, this should be fine."
A few maids were still tending the garden nearby, but he paid them no mind.
This conversation wasn't something to be hidden; it was a story that needed to spread.
"It's exactly as I said."
He took a few more steps forward, then turned to face Julius.
"I want to apologize to you."
"...What?"
The fiend's expression twisted into one of disbelief, as if he'd heard something impossible, something he must have misheard.
"You? To me? An... apology?"
"Yes."
He answered calmly, but seeing the fiend so flustered that his steps faltered brought an inward smile to his lips. He'd landed a blow.
An apology?
It was unimaginable before his regression, and it was the same now.
But if it could make the fiend lower his guard, if he could seize a single opportunity.
"However, a verbal apology alone lacks sincerity. So..."
He bowed his head.
"I'm sorry."
With an outwardly sincere heart.
"You were known as a scoundrel, and seeing you act that way, I suppose my distrust was great."
Not exaggerated, just calm.
As if stating a simple fact.
"I should have trusted you as 'family,' but I judged you by your usual conduct and failed to believe. For that, I am sorry. So, will you forgive me?"
The fiend's jaw dropped as if he'd just seen his fiancée cheating on him, his face a mask of incredulity.
Of course. The original me would never have said such things.
Seeing this, he put on a sorrowful expression with a bitter smile.
"I suppose it's hard to believe. After how coldly I've treated you. I understand if you're wondering if there's a hidden meaning, or if this is all an act. I would feel the same."
The fiend flinched for a moment as if the words had hit their mark.
‘Still so immature.’
So much so that he can't even hide his naive reactions.
Unlike the fiend of the future, the one before him now was just a greenhorn with nothing to his name.
Regardless of his 21 years of age, the fiend—Kim Woojin—was inexperienced.
"I won't ask you to believe me right away. There's nothing less sincere than that. Just watch. Watch how I act from now on. How I change."
It didn't matter how complicated the fiend's thoughts were or what he was thinking.
The goal of offering an apology had been achieved.
Their future relationship could be established slowly.
"I'll be on my way."
Julius remained frozen until he brushed past him.
* * *
The frozen Julius finally moved a full five minutes after Allen had left the garden.
"What went wrong?"
Did my actions cause a butterfly effect, changing Allen, the original story's villain?
But why? For what reason?
Allen wasn't a major villain in the original story.
He was a typical third-rate villain who appeared briefly at the academy in the beginning, only to be taken down by the protagonist.
Except for the fact that he made a pact with a demon to heal his brother... Ah.
"Is that it? Is that the reason Allen changed? Because he saw me trying to change myself? No, even so..."
If Allen made a pact with a demon to heal his brother's body, it was safe to assume the brothers had a good relationship.
Without a strong brotherly bond, he wouldn't have become a demon contractor, a title that came with an immediate execution order upon discovery.
Was he a scoundrel but still good to his family?
Julius suddenly found it amusing.
"Then, what was the reason he was at the academy?"
Did he come to the academy to find a cure, and when he couldn't, he turned to the dark side?
‘No, that still feels a bit...’
A sense of unease began to creep in, a feeling that something was being forcefully pieced together.
"Just thinking about the original protagonist and collecting points is giving me a headache... Ah, seriously."
[You've been branded the scoundrel of the family! Restore your reputation within the time limit! Time Remaining: 102:33:47]
[Reward: 10x Random Elixir Draw Tickets]
He couldn't find the cause even after checking the [Status Window] and [Quest Window] that only he could see.
They still showed the same information.
As he was deep in thought, a maid approached him.
It was Reina, the loyal maid who had stayed by his side even after he became a scoundrel.
As a bonus, she was also very beautiful, just his type.
"Young Master. What are you doing here?"
"Ah. It's you, Reina."
"I heard from the other servants that you went to the garden with Lord Allen, Young Master. Did something happen?"
At her question, Julius's expression became ambiguous.
"Um, well... my brother apologized to me?"
"What? Lord Allen did?"
Seeing her shocked expression, Julius felt a sense of relief.
So it wasn't just him who found it strange.
"Yeah, my brother brought me here and apologized. He even bowed his head and said he was sorry for not believing in me..."
"Hmm..."
At his words, Reina fell into thought before nodding in agreement.
"If Lord Allen went that far... then he must have truly been apologizing."
"Really? Why?"
"Lord Allen is very proud. He would never bow his head unless it was absolutely necessary or he was admitting his own fault. So for him to bow..."
"You mean he was sincere."
Julius's expression grew complicated. Is the original story already being twisted this much?
"And, um..."
She glanced at him with a cautious expression before speaking again.
"...You may not remember, but you and Lord Allen were very close when you were children. Considering that, perhaps your recent actions changed his mind..."
"Is that so...?"
At her words, Julius could only manage a vague smile.
He didn't know the entire backstory of a mere extra villain who wasn't even a main character in the original story.
"In any case, it's a relief that he apologized. It's a shame you lost your memories, Young Master... but you've changed for the better, and now Lord Allen has apologized to you first."
She smiled as if relieved, then naturally bowed her head to Julius.
"Well then, I have things to attend to, so I'll be taking my leave."
"Alright. You'll be back before dinner, right?"
"Yes."
As Reina left, Julius, who had been feeling uneasy, decided to give up on his complicated thoughts and just see how things played out.
"Ah, whatever. Let it be. I'm just a mere extra, not even a supporting character."
With a relieved smile, Julius headed back to the training grounds.
He was running out of time to complete the quest.