Return
by Afuhfuihgs
What I saw after exiting the passage was countless bloodstains. There were also several pieces of flesh scattered like shrapnel.
I roughly scanned the surroundings. It was the place where I fought the insane Jamie. There were no differences from the last scene in my memory.
The blood on the floor hadn’t dried. This meant that time hadn’t passed here while I was traveling in another world. I was a little worried that maybe months had passed, but I was glad that I didn’t cause Luna any unnecessary worry.
As I turned my head, my neck tickled, so I unconsciously raised my hand and was startled by the hair that touched my fingertips. When I touched the back of my head, my hair had grown long enough to go past my shoulders. It felt awkward to scratch the back of my head.
It was clear that time hadn’t passed in this world. Considering that the floor I was standing on was soaked in blood and the smell of blood was tormenting my nose, there was no room for doubt.
I didn’t know why my hair had suddenly grown longer. But if I had to guess, I thought that the time I spent in another world might have had an effect.
As I was thinking that, a green light suddenly burst out from my wrist. I frowned and looked at my wrist, and I could see the runic script that was wrapped around my wrist gradually disappearing.
As the green light faded and the runic script on my wrist disappeared, my dimensional storage opened on its own in front of me. It was a phenomenon that gave me a sense of déjà vu.
Sure enough, just like when I was trapped in the dimensional rift, Patouga’s Grimoire popped out of the dimensional storage on its own.
Patouga’s Grimoire flew to me and opened to the page that had a newly added method of creating a passage to another world written on the back page.
As I looked at it, the letters written on the page suddenly grew as if the ink was smudging, and finally the entire page turned black, making the contents unreadable.
At the same time, I realized that all the knowledge of how to create a passage to another world had disappeared from my head. It felt as if it had fulfilled its role and disappeared.
I was momentarily stunned, then I picked up Patouga’s Grimoire that had fallen on the floor and stared blankly at the blackened page before finally coming to my senses. Just because time hasn’t passed doesn’t mean I can waste time.
Let’s move quickly. That’s what I decided, but Jamie changed the portal coordinates on his own and kidnapped me to an unknown place, so I don’t know where I am.
With a sigh, I put Patouga’s Grimoire I was holding into the dimensional storage and changed into new clothes. And I used the leather strap I had put in the dimensional storage to tie up my long hair into one.
The preparation is complete. Then now… I had no choice but to find a nearby village and walk aimlessly.
***
Fortunately, there was a village where I walked along the road. From there, I was able to take a carriage to a nearby portal station.
The place where Jamie kidnapped me wasn’t far from where I originally started, so I was able to return to the Perkus family’s mansion before nightfall.
When I knocked on the door, the servant who came out to greet me looked a little embarrassed when he saw my face.
Just as I was about to open my mouth to explain the situation, a commotion arose behind the servant.
“Ross…?”
As the servant opened the door further, I met Navia’s eyes, who was peeking out from behind the servant. She looked more surprised than usual that I had returned, and her eyes were wider than usual.
It’s a natural reaction. From my perspective, it was almost a month since we last met, but Navia had only seen me again after half a day. She would be embarrassed as she had even given me a gift and seen me off.
“Did you leave something….”
Navia, who was wearing a playful smile, trailed off as she looked at me.
I tilted my head at the strange reaction, and Navia’s head tilted in the same direction as if she was following me.
“Um, you’re Ross, right…?”
At Navia’s cautious voice, I slowly nodded. It was a perfectly natural reaction, as I had returned after only half a day and my appearance had completely changed.
Even more so if my hair had grown long enough to go past my shoulders instead of being shorter. If it was Navia, who had good observation skills, she would naturally be concerned about my changes.
“Something about your vibe has changed, so I was wondering…. Why did your hair suddenly become like that?”
“…It just happened, but are you going to keep me standing outside?”
As I changed the subject with a poor excuse, Navia nodded to the servant and opened the door. As I entered the mansion, Navia approached me with a face full of curiosity.
“Ross, why did you come back…?
The reason I came back to the Perkus family’s mansion was to keep my promise in another world to make Raelan my companion.
But there was anticipation in the large brown eyes looking at me. It seemed that she was looking for the reason I returned to the mansion in herself.
“I have something left to discuss with the head of the family. Let’s talk after that.”
Navia made an openly disappointed expression at my answer. Seeing her pouting her lips slightly and showing her disappointment, I added a word.
“Because it would be a shame to talk about it briefly.”
It was a word to soothe her disappointment, but Navia nodded vigorously as if she was satisfied with that.
After promising to talk to Navia, I followed the servant to the Perkus family head’s office.
Raelan, who was drinking coffee and reading a book, checked me entering the office and said with a smile and a teasing voice.
“Did you miss Navia so much that you came back in less than a day?”
I sat down in the opposite chair without saying a word to the joke that seemed to be trying to gauge my reaction.
“No, I came to keep my promise with you.”
“A promise with me…? Aside from Navia, did we make any promises?”
At Raelan’s gaze, which was telling me to explain properly what he was talking about, I looked straight at him and opened my mouth with a relaxed smile.
“Of course you wouldn’t know. It’s a promise I made with Raelan from another world who promised me loyalty.”
At those words, Raelan looked at me with an interesting look and brought the coffee cup to his lips.
“What is that promise?”
“It was a promise to recruit yourself in this world as a colleague as well. Because I need a strategist.”
Raelan’s lips stretched out long, and Raelan, who made a snake-like smile, said in a low voice.
“If the qualifications of the lord are insufficient, he will be eaten by the strategist in reverse. Especially if you keep a skilled strategist like me by your side, it’s even more dangerous.”
At the gaze that seemed to be measuring me, I answered in a firm and low voice.
“Only I will be qualified to make you a strategist.”
Each other’s gazes were entangled in the air. I didn’t avoid his gaze either, and glared at Raelan with sharp eyes as if I was having a staring contest.
“You’ve changed. In just half a day.”
Saying that, Raelan, who made a snake-like smile, leaned his upper body towards the desk and said.
“Well, seeing you confidently say such absurd things as promising with me in another world… it must mean that you are confident enough to persuade me.”
Raelan, who deliberately revealed his presence to put pressure on me with a murderous smile, added.
“Let’s hear it.”
I had already decided what to say. It was the advice that Raelan from another world gave me.
“The you from another world said this. It wasn’t poison that killed your father… it was a letter.”
Only one side of Raelan’s lips went up slightly. That’s how it looked to me.
“If you hadn’t brought up the words ‘another world’ first, you would have lost your life the moment you uttered those words.”
Whether it was an empty word or not, Raelan put the cane he was holding in his hand back into his arms.
For some reason, Raelan from another world gave me advice and then gave me an ominous smile, telling me to hear the reason directly from Raelan here… He must have expected that he would react like this and deliberately didn’t tell me the reason to trick me.
“I know a secret that only I knew, but… that’s not enough to qualify me to be called lord.”
I wasn’t flustered by Raelan’s words. Because now I have a sure way to persuade him. I grinned.
“So, I have something to show you.”
I decided to use the Memorize magic I learned as a last gift from Ross of Aspiration on this occasion.
I stretched out my hand over the desk and concentrated my magic power on my palm. After creating a snow globe with nothing inside on my palm, I used lines and surfaces to implement multiple images.
It was inefficient to put all the memories into the snow globe. I briefly implemented only the important parts to be conveyed as images.
The fact that I possessed this body and everything I’ve done so far. And everything I experienced while traveling through the multiverse and all the clues were put into the snow globe.
Raelan, who had been watching the creation of the snow globe with interesting eyes, immediately asked me a question when the magic was completed.
“It’s similar to Nelson’s magic. Navia said that you are favored by Nelson… Are you perhaps a hidden disciple or something?”
I shook my head. I didn’t want to make Nelson’s pure favor a source of misunderstanding.
“No. This is magic that I in another world independently upgraded Headmaster Nelson’s image world magic.”
“Hooh, you met yourself in another world?”
I nodded and gestured to the snow globe on my palm.
“The reason why you have no choice but to become my strategist is in here.”
“You, who have changed like a different person in just half a day, wouldn’t be doing anything useless. Shall I trust you?”
Raelan smiled and placed his hand on the snow globe. Then, the snow globe emitted light, and Raelan’s fingertips entered the inside of the snow globe.
Raelan, who put his hand into the snow globe and closed his eyes, opened his eyes after a while. Raelan, who was silent for a while as if organizing his thoughts, finally opened his mouth.
“…After all, it was the right answer to believe in the lord’s stupidity. I really can’t believe you kept your promise.”
At Raelan’s smile, I realized that the insane strategist had become my colleague.
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