Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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“Ugh…”

I sniffled as I stepped out of the house.

There was only one outfit prepared to get through the winter.

This, too, was a gift from a boy from a hunter family.

Despite it being winter, the boys in the village continued their relentless gifting.

Once this winter passed, Emily would turn 14.

In this world, that meant she would be at the ripe age for marriage.

The boys were desperate to marry Emily.

As winter approached, my mother began to drop hints.

While she waited for me to choose a girl I liked, she subtly attempted to set me up with candidates she thought were nice, which was driving me crazy.

I identified more as an adult male.

Just talking to those snot-nosed village boys was a hassle, and marriage? I’d rather freeze to death.

As usual, I headed to the Watchman’s Uncle’s Cabin.

Even though winter was almost upon us, I still didn’t know his name.

I was just diligently practicing the swordsmanship he taught me.

“Back again today?”

When I arrived at the cabin, the Watchman’s Uncle, dressed in thick fur clothing, greeted me.

Now it had become a routine to punch my time card at this place.

I nodded my head and picked up the wooden sword that was propped up in a corner of the cabin.

Thanks to the snow that had fallen last night, the wooden sword was frozen solid.

Had my unwavering dedication to training impressed him?

The Watchman’s Uncle started to teach me proper swordsmanship now that winter had set in.

Of course, without any comparison, I couldn’t judge how exceptional it was.

I was simply learning whatever a retired knight was willing to show me.

There weren’t exactly any other options available, either.

Moving my body was enjoyable. With each passing day, my stamina was noticeably increasing, causing my heart to race with excitement.

When I sliced through the fallen leaves with my increasingly swift sword, I nearly let out a shout.

In a world where everything was so boring, swordsmanship was my only form of entertainment.

“Hah!”

Today, I trained until I collapsed from exhaustion.

With a rough battle cry, I swung the frozen wooden sword wildly.

By now, blisters were forming on my palms.

*

“How’s it going?”

Late in the evening, our family had gathered for dinner.

My mother pulled out a pristine white dress and asked me.

Seeing the skirt adorned with elaborate floral decorations, it looked quite expensive.

The material of the dress indicated it wasn’t something for everyday wear.

As I looked at it, an inexplicable sense of foreboding washed over me.

“What’s that…?”

“You’ll wear it when you get married.”

I had been harboring the thought of leaving this house, no, this entire village, someday.

But I never expected that today would be that day.

My mother continued talking, but most of her words barely registered in my mind.

My brain felt foggy. The fact that a dress for my marriage was ready was akin to saying my marriage partner was already decided.

Of course, I had zero interest in who that partner could be.

“So, what do you think? Pretty, right?”

I kept my mouth shut.

Seeing my silence, my mother seemed to think I was just shy and burst into laughter.

That laughter was a decisive moment.

I quietly nodded my head.

*

In the early hours of that very day.

At a time when everyone else was fast asleep, I quietly got up.

The cold morning air felt like it would freeze my lungs, but I held my breath and moved cautiously.

What I needed to grab were my thick fur clothes, my mother’s emergency funds, and the leather bag my father always carried.

Inside it was filled with dried jerky.

Gathering my things wasn’t too difficult.

I had always thought about leaving this village someday, so I had a good sense of where everything I needed was.

After packing all my belongings, I stared blankly at the roaring campfire.

Seeing the flames weaken, I thought it would extinguish by morning.

I took a glance at my mom and dad sleeping on the bed before tossing two logs into the fire.

Crackle-!

I intended to leave without saying a word, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to do so.

In the end, I tore off a corner of a storybook nearby and wrote with charcoal on it.

“I’m leaving in search of my dream.

Don’t look for me.

-Emily-”

My handwriting was surprisingly elegant.

Nodding at the completed note, which I liked quite a bit, I left the house.

The village streets were eerily quiet in the early dawn.

The chilly breeze of the morning stirred within the forest, creating strange sounds.

The wind, which had once become a myriad of cries in the forest, escaped outside again, bringing with it a pungent odor of grass.

“Sigh…”

The breath I exhaled turned into a white mist that dispersed into the air.

The place I headed to after leaving the house was, of course, the Watchman’s Uncle’s Cabin.

While that wasn’t my actual destination, it was an unavoidable pass-through to exit the village.

As I approached the cabin, a cheerful sound echoed, and moonlight fell from above.

Thud-!

As I stared at the scene dumbfounded, a familiar gaze swooped in.

It was the Watchman’s Uncle’s gaze.

“Emily?”

“Hello.”

I nodded my head as I greeted him.

He tilted his head, looking puzzled at my odd hour visit.

Under his feet, split firewood was strewn messily.

Seeing a sword in his right hand, it seemed he was again chopping wood with his sword.

The first time I met the Watchman’s Uncle, he was chopping wood too.

I walked toward the village’s outskirts, leaving the Watchman’s Uncle behind.

“Hold on.”

“Why?”

“Where are you going at this hour?”

“Out of the village.”

The Watchman’s Uncle made a face full of concern at my answer.

“Are you out of your mind?”

I didn’t respond to that question.

I even thought myself that I was out of my mind.

Is it truly sane to carry the identity of an adult male in the body of a little girl?

“Come here and sit for a moment.”

The Watchman’s Uncle called me in a friendly tone.

I figured he wouldn’t forcibly detain me due to his nature.

I approached him, tilting my head.

What he used as a seat for me was an uncut log.

From its dry, moisture-free appearance, it looked like it would make good firewood.

“What’s making you want to leave the village?”

“My mom says I have to get married.”

“Married…?”

“Yes, I’ll turn 14 after winter.”

“So, what’s wrong with that?”

“I don’t want to.”

The Watchman’s Uncle fell silent for a while after my response.

Then he suddenly pulled something from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

Upon closer inspection, it was a thick cigarette.

He seemed to be contemplating whether to light it or not, but ultimately, he didn’t.

“So, you learned swordsmanship for that?”

I blinked at his question.

I hadn’t learned swordsmanship just to avoid marriage.

It was simply the only thing I could immerse myself in with the mind of an adult male.

“To some extent, yes.”

“Will you become an adventurer?”

“Can’t I be a knight?”

After I asked, the Watchman’s Uncle went silent.

How long had passed? He seemed to have made up his mind and stood up, asking me a question.

“Do you have any money?”

“I brought my mom’s emergency funds.”

In my small leather pouch, there was one gold coin and five silver coins.

When I showed him the pouch, he sighed deeply and ushered me inside the cabin.

“Here.”

What he handed me was a heavy iron sword and, likewise, a similarly hefty leather pouch.

Upon inspecting its contents, I found five gold coins inside.

“What is this…?”

The Uncle didn’t utter another word afterward.

He lit the cigarette he’d been holding with the campfire and took a deep puff.

“Suuuh-”

I stared at him intently.

Shouldn’t he be stopping me instead?

He was a Watchman, after all. If I disappeared, he would surely face reprimands from the village chief.

“Aren’t you supposed to stop me from leaving?”

“Would you really stay put if I did?”

“You seem to know me well.”

“I do know you well. A sword often speaks volumes.”

I fell silent at his answer.

The very obstacle I thought would hinder my departure from the village was actually pushing me along.

“Go.”

With that, the Uncle sank into his rocking chair.

He closed his eyes, extending his legs toward the campfire, seemingly about to sleep.

He probably wouldn’t wake up even if his shift time came.

Before turning to leave the cabin, I threw the last question at him.

“Uncle?”

“…What?”

“What’s your name?”

“…”

He remained silent in the end.

As I hadn’t expected an answer, I stepped out of the cabin without hesitation.

The village’s main gate.

I stood at the edge of the world, catching my breath.

Emily’s memories comprised this village entirely.

This place was the end of the world, and the mind of the little girl was a thickly-layered shell.

Yet the mind of the adult male, not Emily, recognized that beyond the expanse of the sky lay another world.

I knew that there was an endlessly expanding world and countless dazzling stars beyond.

However, knowing something and perceiving it through one’s body are two different things.

The girl’s body seemed hesitant to move forward, as if scared of reaching the end of the world.

Suddenly, a laugh escaped me.

The fear I was feeling right now belonged entirely to me.

I was only hiding that fear behind the consciousness of a little girl.

How could I not be scared, taking the first step into an unknown world?

Embracing that feeling I had been avoiding, I became able to move my body.

Crack-

I took a big step forward.

The frozen ice beneath me shattered with a loud noise.

That sound was like the thick shell breaking apart.

Crack-!

I continued to move forward.

The ice covering the path cracked and splintered with abandon, sending shards all around.

The faster I went, the more my heart raced as if it would burst.

Despite my body feeling heavier, my spirit felt as if it were soaring into the sky.

As I was running thoughtlessly down the road, the once dark, narrow forest path began to vanish, and suddenly my vision opened up.

Gasping for breath, I stared blankly ahead.

A vast expanse of meadow.

Snow, pure white, lying upon it.

Between the horizon where earth and sky met, the sun began to rise.

As brilliant light swept across the white snowfield, a new world unfolded.