PROLOGUE (Part 1)
Adaptation and Attachment
Build your meaning, huh...
...
In short, contribute to overall survival... and feel something while doing it, so the intensity of living doesn't fade.
An illusion that works.
An illusion that doesn't.
...
Though I'm hardly one to talk.
I've been doing things that most people wouldn't call "good" ever since I was a kid.
Right now, I kill for an organization that proudly claims to stand on the side of justice.
They kill in the name of justice.
They kill for justice.
Funny how a single word can make blood smell cleaner.
As for me...
Back then, killing and stealing weren't choices.
They were instincts.
Someone attacked me.
I survived.
That's all there was to it.
Strangely enough...
I never felt guilty after my first kill.
Sometimes I wonder...
Did I even have a choice?
In theory?
Sure.
In practice?
It was kill...
...or be killed.
If I surrendered, someone would have taken me in under the banner of "kindness," only to use me for their own convenience.
If I kept surviving on my own...
I'd eventually end up exactly where I am now.
Do I have any guilt? Nah.
And why would I?
Isn’t survival the either direct or indirect reason behind many of our actions?
Things are born.
They survive.
They optimize.
Then they die.
Whether you die immediately...
or spend your entire life struggling to postpone it...
the universe doesn't care.
Neither does the end.
So don't give me fake hope.
...
I flicked open my lighter.
A small flame danced above my thumb.
The old book in my hand caught fire almost instantly.
Without another glance, I tossed it over the edge of the building.
The burning pages scattered through the night like dying fireflies.
My job was done.
Turning around, I headed toward the elevator.
Then—
Something sharp pierced my back.
...
A sniper.
My body instantly lost strength.
My vision rapidly blurred as if darkness itself was swallowing everything.
The illuminated elevator button became the last thing I saw before consciousness faded.
Then—
A woman's voice gently reached my ears.
"Ah... seeing his face up close again is irresistible."
--------------------------------------------------
Darkness.
...
My head felt like it was spinning.
Ah...
So I got sniped.
I slowly opened my eyes.
Everything was blurry at first.
Shapes.
Light.
Shadows.
Eventually my vision cleared enough to understand one thing.
This...
wasn't looking good.
Leather belts restrained my body against an old medical chair.
I tried moving my arms.
Nothing.
A tube was connected to my arm.
Dark red blood slowly flowed through it.
Sip...
Sip...
Sip...
Each drop disappeared into a container somewhere beyond my feet.
The air smelled damp.
Rust.
Old disinfectant.
Mold.
Judging by the broken ceiling and peeling walls...
This looked like an abandoned hospital.
Damn...
I don't even have enough strength to move my muscles.
"Good morning, darling."
A girl's soothing voice echoed through the room.
...
I actually liked that voice.
Using every bit of strength I had left, I turned my head.
There was another medical bed beside mine.
A girl was lying there.
She looked to be around my age.
Just like me, a tube was drawing blood from her arm.
But...
Wait.
She wasn't restrained.
My first assumption had been that this was the organization's doing.
Apparently...
I was wrong.
Between us sat a large metal bucket.
Both of our blood streams flowed into it.
Mixing.
Slowly becoming one.
...
My thoughts immediately began running through every possibility.
Who could have done this?
What purpose did this serve?
What kind of ritual was this?
"Don't worry."
She smiled faintly.
"We will die together."
...
What does she mean by that?
I narrowed my eyes.
"Where are we?"
"And who did this?"
I kept my voice calm.
I was still suspicious of her.
She looked at the bucket between us before turning back toward me.
A small smile formed on her exhausted face.
"Can't you understand?"
"This is us mixing together."
...
Who is she?
What are her motives?
Is she someone I once killed the family of?
A victim?
Or...
An assassin sent by the organization?
But if she were an assassin...
Why would she kill herself too?
...
There's a high possibility she's a psychopath.
Though...
I've never seen one who willingly dies together with their victim.
...
Damn.
Everything's shutting down.
My thoughts are slowing.
I can't...
think...
anymore.
The room faded.
My consciousness sank deeper into darkness.
The very last thing I heard was her quiet voice.
"We will be together for eternity... I... promise."
Something sharp suddenly fell toward us.
And then—
Everything...
was cut off.
--------------------------------------------------
...
What is this...
warm feeling?
A gentle female voice reached my ears.
"His nose and lips look like you, darling."
Another voice answered.
Lower.
Calmer.
"His face shape is like yours."
...
Where am I?
...
This body...
...
I'm...
a baby?
I tried speaking.
Nothing came out.
I couldn't understand what they were saying very well.
But...
Somehow...
I felt warm.
Safe.
...
Is...
she my mother?
...
I'm getting sleepy…
--------------------------------------------------
"He has finally been born."
"This time..."
"You won't go anywhere."
A woman's voice echoed throughout a lonely castle.
She sat upon an enormous throne, dressed in regal attire befitting a queen.
Beyond the castle walls stretched only emptiness.
No town.
No villages.
No homes.
Nothing stood beside or above the solitary fortress.
Below the throne, a woman knelt respectfully in a deep genuflection.
"Your Majesty..."
"What is it that you wish to tell us?"
The queen slowly closed her eyes.
A gentle smile appeared on her face.
As though she were gazing at someone precious far beyond the castle itself.
"The boy."
She spoke softly.
"Make sure this boy doesn't go out of my hands."
"As you command."
Behind the kneeling woman, an entire row of commanders lowered their heads simultaneously.
Their voices echoed through the empty throne room as one.
"As you ordered."
The queen's affectionate smile never disappeared.
--------------------------------------------------
A mountain split cleanly in half.
The deafening roar echoed across the entire mountain range as countless birds scattered into the sky.
...
"...Looks like I went a little overboard with my practice."
I let out a quiet sigh while returning my katana to its saya.
Click.
The familiar sound echoed softly.
The mountains surrounding me gradually became silent once again.
This place was far from the kingdom where I lived.
Perfect for training without accidentally destroying someone's house.
...
If I put everything together...
Then yes.
I had apparently been isekai'd.
Reborn into the family of ordinary commoners.
When I first arrived in this world, the sudden change left me completely confused.
Back then I couldn't even speak.
I could only cry like every other baby.
Yet as the years passed...
It began to feel less like I had been reborn...
and more like my previous life had simply been a dream.
...
This world resembles the historical periods of my previous life.
Stone architecture.
Wooden houses.
Horse-drawn carriages.
Traditional clothing.
Markets.
Kingdoms.
Almost everything feels familiar.
The biggest difference...
is that magic exists.
Scientific methods for studying natural mechanisms coexist alongside magical research.
It's an oddly balanced civilization.
One thing surprised me, though.
Religion doesn't seem nearly as influential as I expected.
Considering magic actually exists, I assumed gods and mythical beings would naturally hold political or cultural authority.
Instead...
it's surprisingly similar to my previous world.
People are free to believe.
Or not believe.
Either way, religion holds very little influence over politics or law.
...
I've read countless books about magic.
Mana.
Skills.
Enchantments.
Spell structures.
Their mechanisms.
Most of them explain how magic functions...
up to a certain point.
But almost none answer the question that actually interests me.
Why?
Once explanations reach a certain depth...
the books simply stop.
As though everyone collectively decided not to ask any further questions.
...
By the way...
I'm not sure why, but my internal mana reserves are significantly larger than anyone I've met.
Not only that...
Manipulating external mana feels almost instinctive.
As though I already know how it should move.
...
I wonder if this is one of those cliché isekai cheats.
Even so...
I still spend more time training my body than my magic.
The two complement each other.
If one fails...
the other becomes my backup.
Simple.
Reliable.
...
Thinking back...
Maybe my worldview needs to become more flexible.
In my previous life...
I dismissed reincarnation as nothing more than mythology.
Yet here I am.
Living proof that I was wrong about at least one thing.
...
Who knows...
Maybe even God exists...
...
My previous world was already absurd enough.
Then reality decided,
"You know what? Let's throw in an isekai too."
Human existence apparently wasn't ridiculous enough already.
...
A shadow passed overhead.
I looked up.
A gigantic bird with scales resembling a dragon glided through the sky before disappearing beyond the clouds.
...
So where was I?
Right.
Reincarnation.
Some sort of system clearly exists.
I still have absolutely no idea why.
Just like countless other things.
But life goes on regardless.
So...
I decided to adapt to this new environment.
...
Unlike my previous life...
For the first time...
I learned what the warmth of a family actually feels like.
We aren't wealthy.
The common class sits only one rank above the lowest social class.
Even so...
I'm happy with the family I was born into.
...
Still...
I wonder...
Who was the person that killed me?
Was she...
...
No.
It's too early to reach conclusions.
--------------------------------------------------
By the time I returned home, the sun had already begun setting.
I opened the front door.
"Katsuhito, welcome home. What were you doing outside this late?"
Mother called out while preparing dinner.
"I was practicing my sword, Mom."
"I know you wanted to prepare for tomorrow's entrance examination, but today you should rest. Otherwise, you won't be able to perform your best."
She smiled warmly before grabbing my arm.
"Come on. Dinner's ready. Eat first, then sleep early."
Before I could protest, she pulled me toward the dining table.
...
Speaking of which...
In this world, attending an academy is considered one of the greatest opportunities available to commoners.
Graduating from one greatly improves a person's social standing and future prospects.
Naturally...
Tomorrow was my entrance examination.
I looked around.
"Where's Dad?"
"He's at work."
...
That tone again.
Mother always speaks like that whenever she's hiding something.
The problem...
I already knew Father wasn't at his workshop.
I'd passed by it on my way home.
It had been completely empty.
"Then..."
"Are you going to eat together when he comes back?"
"Ah..."
"Yes."
She answered with a concerned smile.
A smile so obviously forced that anyone paying attention could notice.
...
I quietly continued eating.
Across from me...
Mother sat alone.
Waiting.
Pretending not to worry.
...
After finishing dinner, I stood up.
"I'm heading to my room."
"Good night."
I closed the door behind me.
The smile disappeared from my face.
"Kon Saku."
A faint ripple of mana spread through the room.
One of my rare skills.
A tracing ability.
Once someone has been marked, I can locate them and hear their voice from afar.
Almost immediately...
Father's surroundings appeared within my senses.
...
A noble's mansion.
"...Please."
"Let my son take the examination."
Father bowed deeply.
His voice was filled with desperation.
The noble looked at him with clear annoyance.
"All the seats are already booked."
"I can't do anything."
"It's difficult to pass even if you get in."
"Give up."
Silence followed.
Then...
"...How much?"
Father spoke so quietly that it was almost a whisper.
The noble's lips slowly curved upward.
"You understand the game, don't you?"
The two began negotiating.
Money.
Bribes.
The price of opportunity.
...
So that's how it is.
Commoners have to buy permission.
...
An old story.
A familiar form of corruption.
I'd seen plenty of it in my previous life.
Even so...
Watching Father lower himself like that...
Something inside me tightened.
Anger.
Cold.
Quiet.
Persistent.
Logically...
I could ignore it.
Life would continue.
I'd probably still enter the academy somehow.
Nothing forced me to act.
...
But...
The image of Father bowing before that man refused to leave my mind.
Along with it came another feeling.
Revenge.
I sat in silence for a long time.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Considering every possible consequence.
Finally...
Before going to bed...
I reached a decision.
I'm not letting them get away with this.
Whether it's for my own ego...
or to prevent something similar in the future...
they're going to pay.
...
I extinguished the candle.
Darkness swallowed the room.
They will pay for it.