Occupied Territories Everywhere
“Occupied territory, occupied territory, occupied territory…”
No matter how many times I looked.
No matter where I turned my gaze, it was all the same.
Occupied territory.
“Indeed, seeing it like this makes humanity’s war situation look pretty dire, young master.”
“A real headache, that’s for sure.”
Ever since Valeria found out about my reincarnation.
To reach my goal of heading to the valley where I died, I’d been surveying a world map.
Of course, a detailed world map was a precious commodity.
Maps like that were practically war materials, strictly controlled by the kingdom, making them damn near impossible to access.
But a count’s family had enough clout to get a rough grasp of the global situation.
So, stuck without official access, I’d made my own—simple enough to read at a glance.
I didn’t need anything too precise anyway.
I just summoned some scholars and bards, had them cobble together scattered info on the fragmented world.
Without Valeria, this whole endeavor might’ve been dismissed as some young master’s eccentric whim, wasting time and effort on a weird hobby.
“Tell my son about the world. I’ll pay handsomely, everyone.”
With the countess stepping in like that,
Anyone in the territory with even a scrap of knowledge came flocking.
Her full backing really made anything possible.
Now that I thought about it, the power of blue blood was truly formidable.
Anyway, with this project wrapping up, the picture was crystal clear.
Just like that scholar peeking over my shoulder had said—humanity’s position was utterly hopeless.
In the 300 years since my death,
Humanity had been on a steady downhill slide the whole time.
No chance of recovery in sight.
‘Compared to 300 years ago, we’ve lost about half the territory. If things keep going like this, extinction’s basically a done deal.’
The world I remembered sure as hell wasn’t like this.
The worst-hit area was the northeast, where all the major strongholds and families I knew had long been wiped out.
The cities under their control that I’d memorized? Uprooted from the map ages ago.
Any ruler worth their salt would be sighing every damn day at this mess.
Once demon forces occupied a place, it meant total destruction of settlements and massacres.
Reclaiming it and saving the humans under demon rule? Flat-out unrealistic.
So, the focus had to be on protecting the people we had and rebuilding.
Even if we somehow retook a spot, recovery would take just as long.
‘And without enough able-bodied men, women would have to handle the heavy labor. They’re less efficient at physical work, plain and simple—which explains why we’re getting crushed so badly.’
But.
Those were problems for the high-and-mighty deciding grand strategy.
What I needed to focus on was something else.
“Here.”
I stared holes into the red mark on the map,
asking the scholar yet again, hoping for a different answer this time.
Even though I’d asked a dozen times already.
“Is it impossible to head to this valley via any normal route?”
“Young master, I’ve answered that plenty of times already. That area was once a thriving human hub, but now, surrounded by demon territory, it’s deep in enemy lines.”
“…Fuck. Yeah, figured as much.”
The valley where I died.
The place I’d set my mind on going to.
Once I had the map somewhat complete, the truth hit hard.
It was completely boxed in by enemy forces—not even setting foot there was feasible.
Seeing that drained my resolve in an instant.
Even my past self would’ve thought twice about charging in.
Without my ghost powers, and with this weaker body now, going alone would be suicide—straight-up begging to end up as a corpse in a swamp, like anyone would warn.
So.
Then…
The conclusion settled naturally in one corner of my mind.
This called for something clean and simple…
……
‘Clean and simple: find some reliable bastards who’ll stick with me to the bitter end, even if it means dying.’
Well.
Once I’d made up my mind to go,
There was no turning back, right?
If anyone asked why I needed to meet that ghost again, the answer was obvious.
Because.
The current me needed more power—to make Seradion, the bastard who stabbed me in the chest and ruined the world, suffer hundreds of times the pain and humiliation I felt.
And that wasn’t all.
This twisted, crumbling shitheap of a world
had all been warped by Seradion.
Who knew? If I hunted down that wish-making fucker—who was still inexplicably alive—and killed him,
maybe the gender ratio would normalize,
and humanity could muster the strength to push back the demons.
If so, then no matter what,
bolting out now to meet her beat clinging to this creepy, insane, goosebump-inducing family and grinding away at training a million times over.
But.
There was one massive problem with that.
“Come to think of it, I don’t have a single friend who’d risk their life for me. Hell, do I even have any friends?”
Unfortunately.
I had no friends.
This life or the last.
I was always the type to write everyone off as hopeless.
Truth be told, maybe I was the hopeless one.
The more I thought about it, the more stuck I felt, so I headed to the tearoom to clear my head.
It had heaps of high-end sweets coffee—something I’d enjoyed in my old life—and I could brew something to my taste.
Of course.
I hadn’t even considered it then.
That the help I needed was closer than I thought.
“Oh, it’s Ia.”
“Ah… Brother…!”
In the tearoom, I ran into Ia by chance.
She looked like she’d just woken up, humming a tune as she dumped a mountain of sugar into her coffee.
When I called out casually, she jumped like a startled herbivore, then turned to me.
But the moment she realized it was me,
a smile bloomed across her snow-white face, eyes sparkling like flowers.
No trace of hostility in that gaze.
I don’t trust people much, but I really like these harmless types,
so over the past three months since reincarnating,
I’d approached her first and gotten a ton of help.
Younger than me, but she knew all sorts of things I didn’t,
and she was sharp and knowledgeable—easy to talk to.
So, I naturally slipped into a relaxed chat.
“I felt a little rustle in the tearoom, and sure enough, it was you. Busy even this early.”
“Oh, this.”
She lifted her coffee cup, showing it off to me.
“It’s my daily routine. If I don’t do this in the morning, I get antsy.”
“Haha… I see? That’s a lot of sugar. Personal taste?”
Suddenly, she bristled like an angry hedgehog, defending her preference.
“Wh-what’s wrong with liking it sweet?”
She sometimes seemed scared of me,
but not on this—she wouldn’t budge.
Probably that age where girls don’t want to seem childish.
Not my business to pry, though.
I just shook my head gently.
“Nothing wrong with it. Just thought I’d have a servant handle it. But you seem to enjoy brewing it yourself, so I kept quiet.”
“Brother…?”
“Drink up and enjoy. You don’t need to worry about a thing.”
She glanced at her coffee, then at my eyes, alternating,
then huffed a little, perking up.
“If you’re here for coffee too, Brother… can I make you some?”
“For me? Sure. Sounds good.”
“……It’ll definitely be tasty. I’m not great at much, but I make good coffee.”
With practiced hands, she whipped up a perfect cup and handed it over.
Slurp—
One sip, and yeah, she wasn’t exaggerating.
A flavor like the philosophy born from countless trials in her short life—sweet with lots of sugar, but not cloying, and the rich coffee aroma was spot-on.
I smiled faintly,
putting a bit of sincerity into my words.
“Excellent taste.”
“…………!!!”
Ia’s face lit up in a way I’d never seen,
and she scurried over to me.
“Really… tasty?”
“Yeah.”
It was the kind of expression you only get when a secret hobby, never shared with anyone, finally gets accepted.
“…Brother’s the best.”
She murmured shyly, leaning in to whisper.
“Hey, Brother.”
“Yeah, Ia?”
“As thanks for drinking it so nicely… I’ll tell you something good. Can you spend the day with me?”
Whatever it was, I had nothing pressing,
so why not tag along today.
…Especially since it’s Ia.
Not like with the rest of the family—nothing weird about it.