Seradion's Mad Wish

The original Valter had suffered devastating injuries from being run over by a carriage, his entire body shattered.

Judging from the fact that my soul had taken over his body at that moment,

it must have been a wound fatal enough to kill him.

"I've finally come back to life properly after all this time, but if things stay like this, I'll be stuck in bed for months. Fuck that—I can't let it happen."

But just sitting around waiting for natural healing to do its work was making me itch with impatience.

I'd opened my eyes vowing revenge,

vowing to slaughter them all—only to end up unable to do a damn thing.

Anyone would feel the same frustration in a situation like this, but my temperament in particular refused to accept it.

I was dying to devour every detail of what had happened after my death,

and the structure of this changed world was stirring a maddening thirst in me every second.

So, to resolve it,

I drew upon knowledge from 300 years ago, dusty with age.

No.

To me, who had transcended time, it was common sense I'd wielded at every moment.

Having fought off the evil spirit that tried to shatter my mind at every blink, using this relentlessly,

it didn't require any special preparation just because I was in a new ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠body now.

Hoo, hoo—.

With that, I steadied my breathing

and invoked Extreme Mana Circulation to reshape this body.

Soon enough, even in this unfamiliar body, I felt the sensation of it floating lightly.

"...I see. Valter. So this was the mana structure of your body."

Before long,

the mana diagram of young Valter's body flowed into my mind.

Once that happened, the rest was straightforward.

Mana circulation spreads mana clumped oddly throughout the body, maximizing human potential and vitality—a basic technique.

For most people, doing it a few times heals minor wounds in no time...

In other words, it was the root of a frontline warrior's endurance in battle, a regeneration art.

But mine went ten steps further.

The sensation I'd cultivated

was a higher realm, specially trained to resist the evil spirit mentally.

Once high-ranking mages laid eyes on it,

they slapped "extreme" in front of the usual mana circulation, didn't they?

So, of course, it worked wonders on the body of young Valter, who apparently had never done mana circulation before.

"No more need for splints or bandages."

Three days later,

I'd shaken off all my injuries and rose, prowling the count's palace.

Of course, I hadn't told anyone I'd woken up.

I knew the proper etiquette called for visiting my parents first and paying respects,

but as I'd said, there were facts I needed to investigate, so I hurried straight to the Tak family library, where everything seemed verifiable.

"Oh my, young master!"

"Who are you? Judging by your clothes, a servant."

"Eek?! You forgot me?! But how are you even moving...? No, more importantly, I'll inform Countess Valeria, your mother, right away! Please wait just a moment!"

"Tell Mother? I'll go see her myself, so don't bother. Keep it secret that I passed through here—I have things to do."

"S-secret...."

Gulp—.

"Then, at least let me fulfill my duty as a servant. May I examine your body to check your progress, just for a moment?"

"Examine? What do you mean by that."

"Of course! Take off all your clothes and let me inspect your naked—"

"To put it elegantly, I have no hobby of beating women. Unless you want a slap, get off me and shut your mouth."

"—Eek, eek♥ ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Young master? Th-that, what you just said... please, one more time...."

"Fuck, you horny pig bitch...!"

Thud thud—.

Nothing else explained it.

The reason the world was filled with women going insane over men

was an enormous dissonance that couldn't be chalked up to mere changes over 300 years.

I had to know why.

"This must be it."

Finally arriving at the library with some difficulty,

I pulled books at random and flipped through them.

But there was one problem.

......

.....

....

The characters were definitely the ones I knew.

But damn it, I could read them sporadically, yet I couldn't understand.

Had there been some kind of script reform over the past 300 years?

It hit me anew that 300 years was quite a long time, long enough to alter even the script structure.

Just then, a frail wheezing—not quite a voice—came from behind, calling my name.

"Valter oppa...?"

Well, I didn't know much about the original owner,

but a flash of info crossed my mind.

There was only one person who'd call me "oppa."

"Ia."

So I called her name as carefully as possible to avoid a fuss, but

sure enough, she was the little sister Yeret had mentioned—Ia—blushing at the name and fidgeting as she spoke.

"I heard you woke up, but you're moving around already. I wanted to visit you constantly, but...."

"It happened that way. Thanks from the heart."

"Ah."

But as I bantered casually,

Ia blushed even deeper on her cheeks and replied.

"You never talked to me before, and now you even called my name.... I'm so happy, Ia."

She closed the book in her hand

and hugged it tight to her chest, looking truly blissful, just as she said.

Apparently, the original young Valter had been extremely passive—or hostile—with those around him.

Even my curt words made her beam like the picture of a lovestruck girl.

Normally, I wouldn't care how she acted,

but considering my earlier panic over not reading the books...

This might actually be perfect.

She'd come at just the right time.

"Ia."

"Yes, oppa?"

"Perfect timing—sit beside me. There's literature I want to read, but even though my body's better, my head's still foggy; I can't make it out."

"I can do that anytime. But...."

"But what."

"Beside you.... Is it okay for Ia to sit there?"

"What's wrong with it? You're my sister."

With that, Ia— who hadn't been puffing her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chest noticeably—didn't go into heat like the other women.

She just took a deep breath in place and settled beside me like a falling feather, reading the books I handed her.

"This part here interests me."

And

as I listened, I thought,

...As expected, the gender ratio is utterly fucked. Big sis Yeret was right.

Right now, this world had warped into one where for every one boy born,

sixty girls were born.

It was bizarre, hard to grasp easily,

but simple math made it clear....

In a kingdom of 1.5 million,

women numbered 1,475,000.

Men? A mere 25,000.

Somehow, in the 300 years since my death, the world had restructured itself, making men that scarce.

Thus,

of course the world had gone this insane.

"Read this next one, Ia."

What I'd opened next was

the Tak family statutes.

In short, males were dragged ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off at birth to serve as seed stallions for humanity's survival.

"But why wasn't I dragged off?"

"Because you're the sole heir of the Tak count family across four generations.... You have the right to choose 'propagation.' If you wish it, everyone is prepared to obey for the species' preservation?"

With that, Ia glanced up at me slyly.

I couldn't read her expression,

but it was profoundly meaningful.

"So it's all for species preservation in the end. Dragged off or not, it's a fucking power either way. I don't need it."

"........."

"Do you want to do that with me? If it's for preservation."

"I-I'm not sure."

"Me neither."

Making this into law.

300 years ago, even a stray dog would've laughed.

But hearing all the facts,

I fully understood why such a law was inevitable.

With the gender ratio collapsed so extremely, to keep the nation and world afloat—whether as food or fodder—they had to cling desperately, right?

So rather than despair, it felt relieving.

With the world in this state,

even the grandest community—the nation—veins bulging as it snatched men,

it was obvious the taboos in the basic unit of family would crumble.

The reason my big sis Yeret panted at me stemmed from this very mindset.

In that case, it was beyond my personal control.

I'd just have to adapt moderately from here.

"Sorry for the boring questions, Ia. My head got hurt too, so I really can't remember—could you tell me more?"

"If it's what Valter oppa wants, Ia can tell you everything. You were hurt, after all."

For some reason, it felt like her address had shifted from "oppa" to something even more intimate, but

whatever.

"Why aren't more boys being born? It's not divine punishment—someone must've caused this shit."

"Obviously because of Hero Seradion."

And at that name,

I could only blankly ask back.

"What the hell did Seradion do."

"...After losing to the Demon King and getting captured, he was granted a wish. And that wish was 'I want to live in a world with a 1:60 male-to-female ratio.'"

"What?"

And what followed was enough to blow my mind even more.

All of this was Seradion's doing, intentionally.

Fuck.

Is he sane?

"Ia doesn't know the details. But that's what Seradion wished for."

And that was

the dumbest story I'd heard since reincarnating 300 years later.

"He was once called a hero, but he's still alive, forcing that wish on all humanity.... He's the worst. A demon. Useless trash, oppa."

But at Ia's next words,

all my focus snapped to her.

"Seradion is alive?"

"Uh...? O-oppa. Why that scary face? Ia is a little scared."

"Sorry. But that guy from 300 years ago is really still alive?"

"Y-yes.... It's famous knowledge."

If so, I take it back.

Calling the evil spirit in my body "hothead" was a mistake;

I'd have to apologize when I saw her again.

300 years was a bizarrely long gap,

but I'd apparently dropped in at the perfect timing.

I didn't know how he was still alive,

but if so, I could pierce Seradion's heart in this life.

Just like he'd done to me.

That was the moment a clear driving force lit up my once aimless life.

After leaving the library,

I picked up my sword.

And exactly three months later.

"Valter, sole heir and successor of Tak County, receive this direct appointment to the Royal Knight Order."

I was summoned to the Royal Knight Order.

The moniker "Sword Ghost" couldn't be hidden.

But

having fully adapted, I simply said,

"No."

Fuck off.

Royal Knights or whatever—none of my business.

I had things to do.