Regressor, Possessor, Reincarnator

As the second son of the city’s ruling family, Julius left the manor to inspect the festival along with Laina.

The festival was no different from those he’d remembered from modern times.

He heard children laughing. People shared drinks while basking in the joy of the harvest. The sounds of merchants bargaining around the area filled the streets as items unavailable in modern times could be seen in every direction.

Although it didn’t have the splendor he had seen in modern times, the liveliness and fuss present here was by no means inferior to that of the modern age he’d lived in.

He walked through the streets of the city, the festival in full swing.

“Young Master, why don’t we make our way home now? The wind is quite chilly.”

“It’s gotten so late already.”

The festival had gone without a hitch.

Maybe it was because there were more soldiers patrolling than normal. Even if there were some sort of drunken disturbance, it would rarely escalate.

“Alright, shall we?”

Julius nodded, agreeing with Laina, as he looked at the streets filled with products from various civilizations.

As he was headed back to the manor, a tiny kid ran towards him.

Thud.

Julius lowered his head to see a child lying before him, maybe around ten years old.

He instinctively used his Iridescent Eye.

‘Indigo.’

Which meant that he was useless.

Julius stretched out his hand, acting kind on the outside regardless of what his mind was thinking.

“Are you alright? Be careful. If you go running around in the festival, then—”

“Y-Y-You bad guy!”

Julius winced. For a moment, he almost broke his smiling facade.

‘What did he say?’

The child's voice was somewhat loud, so he could feel the attention of the passersby surrounding him.

“My dad! Because of you—! He died because of you!” the child screamed.

“Is that the Second Young Lord? I thought he’d changed, though…”

“Ah… He changed so quickly? He must’ve been holding that in. Poor kid.”

“Isn’t he faking it? He’s gotta be bluffin’, yeah?”

“What did he say? That prick.”

Julius was irritated by the murmuring surrounding him.

‘What’s going on this time?’

He sighed to himself. He was used to this situation. It'd already happened a few times. No matter how much they said that he’d changed, there were always those who didn’t believe it. So Julius didn't panic. Instead, he answered with the kind smile that he’d practiced.

“What did I do to be such a bad guy?”

He would solve it this time, too, just like normal.

“Can you tell me what happened? If what you say is true, I’ll apologize to you directly. And I won’t punish you if you’re mistaken.”

Looking down at the child with a slightly solemn expression, he could feel the gazes of those around him changing.

“Look, look. See that? Any other noble woulda killed that kid.”

“Wasn’t he supposed to be a total scoundrel? He’s not like the rumors at all…”

When Julius knelt on one knee to make eye contact with the child, the atmosphere around them took a turn.

The child looked embarrassed, as if he hadn’t expected his opponent to act like that. So, he clenched his teeth and shouted even louder.

As if it was the only thing he could’ve done.

“My dad! He died! Because of you!”

“Alright, I’ll check that out myself. We can get some soldiers to make sure…”

If the original owner of his body did something bad, it should be compensated for. And even if it were a lie, he could still show off some generosity by forgiving the child.

‘If you think about it, it’s not that bad.’

As he continued that thought, several more people—dressed in shabbier clothing—gathered around them.

“My daughter also died because of you, sir… Hic, so why… Why…?”

“You son of a bitch! My son’s arm is a wreck because of you!”

“My mother died because of you! If it weren’t for you, oh…!”

Julius became confused with the sudden turn of events.

“No, I don’t…”

‘Where did all these people come from?’

Looking back at Laina’s face, she shook her head to indicate that she didn’t know. He opened his mouth, suppressing his growing irritation.

“If it truly is my fault, then I sincerely apologize—”

“Sir!”

However, before Julius could finish his thought, soldiers had arrived.

‘Do you have no common sense?’

He was upset, having been cut off several times at this point, but he couldn’t let it show. There were more people than usual because of the festival.

At that point, the stigma of being a scoundrel had only barely started to fade.

In his mind, he thought of pressing charges. However, more people were there to watch than normal. Things weren't right yet to act on his own accord.

“Sir, are you alright?”

The soldiers appeared to have rushed to the scene after being notified of the disturbance.

“You punks! We won’t forgive you for lying in the presence of the young lord!”

Glancing at Julius, the soldier raised his voice, threatening to drag the people away in an attempt to catch his eye and get a promotion.

Before Julius could even speak his mind, they intervened.

“Stop for a moment!”

Inconsistent uniforms and messy equipment.

Mercenaries boasting a threatening appearance.

“No…!”

They shouted loudly, so as to not allow Julius to speak.

“Trying to persecute the weak!”

As if everyone wanted to hear.

“You’re doin’ great, Sir Scoundrel!”

As they shouted, the citizens—who’d been threatened by the soldiers—hid behind the mercenaries.

“We cannot just stay as spectators! From now on, we shall protect the people as the Lebeck Company!”

The soldiers were slow to react to the mercenaries’ sudden intrusion, and the two groups collided, without even moving.

“No, wait a minute. Who are you all...?”

Right as Julius was about to shout—entirely displeased with the unruly situation—he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Sir.”

“Laina.”

“...Take a look around.”

As she spoke, he could feel more people gathering around.

“Fuck—”

It was too late to settle the matter quietly with the kid.

“First of all, why don’t we try to settle down this disturbance first?”

“...Sounds good.”

Julius looked around using his Iridescent Eye before turning around.

Navy, navy, purple, navy, blue.

‘Trash. Not even a side character in sight.’

He took another step and stopped.

“You piece of—!”

“You rascal—!”

“Get him—!”

Voices of resentment towards him as well as the mercenaries’ triumphant shouting arose from behind.

‘This doesn’t seem like a coincidence…’

His eyes turned cold as he headed back towards the manor.

* * *

* * * 

“Haha, come in, Sir Allen. Thank you very much for what you’ve done.”

“No, thank you. I was only able to learn all this information thanks to you.”

The merchant group leader that Allen had saved bowed his head as far as he could. The mercenaries by his side were only watching without a sound.

As they normally would. Considering their position—talking to the heir of the family that ruled this land—the significance of their interaction wasn’t to be taken lightly.

“Well, sir, is there anything else you need? If you just tell me, I—”

“No, I’m fine.”

Allen shook his head. Yet the merchant leader persistently continued, as if he couldn’t bear to let such an opportunity pass.

“Don’t be like that, sir—”

“I don’t need anything else.”

“By chance, would you be interested in any jewels from Mount Linnev—”

The merchant hurriedly bit his lips and grabbed Allen’s shoulders as he walked ahead.

“Stop.”

Only when Allen swatted away his hand with a cold glare did the merchant realize that he’d crossed the line.

Despite their high ranking, merchant leaders didn’t have the money to save themselves, so the merchant group had almost fallen victim to a swarm of thieves. However, after having been saved, he became blinded by the thought that if he did well in their conversation, he could form a business relationship with a noble.

He immediately bowed his head.

“M-My apologies, sir. I was excessively out of line. Please forgive me just this once.”

Allen took a moment to respond. The merchant’s expression turned dark.

“......”

Once the merchant’s expression grew even worse, Allen finally replied, “Mr. Karik.”

“Yes, please go ahead, sir.”

“It’s only natural that a merchant tries his best to seize an opportunity. However, don’t you think that you’re being too greedy?”

Allen had saved them from the bandits, and in return, they’d given him clothing and information. Their deal had already ended.

“Y-Yes.”

Regardless of what the merchant was thinking, his expression changed, as if he were burning from the inside out.

Seeing his again-changed expression, Allen waved a ‘carrot’ in front of him.

“But still, since you’ve helped me so…”

A red-covered book came to mind.

‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea to make a deal with a merchant group at this point.’

There was a man among the merchants he was looking for.

The group that saved the devil’s book before his regression.

He wasn’t sure if they’d still have the book. However…

‘I’ll have to make sure.’

The group was a small one, but it would be good enough to naturally make some connections with.

Allen answered calmly, “I’ll give you a letter of recommendation. With this, you’ll pass through the county inspection a little easier.”

“Pardon?”

The merchant group leader raised his head in surprise, but Allen didn’t care what he’d say in response. As if he were showing his goodwill or forgiving his mistake.

“I won’t write my name down, but a letter of recommendation with the family seal will make it much easier to sell goods in this land in the future.”

Typically, elves and dwarves would accept people carrying letters of recommendation without any restrictions. Humans, on the other hand, couldn’t accept them unless they were directly endorsed by the ruling family of the territory.

In an instant, the merchant leader pulled his frown up from the abyss to smile brightly, and he bowed down so far as to touch his chest to the ground.

“Thank you, sir!”

“However…”

When Allen continued, Karik bowed his head, as if to continue listening.

“I want you to get acquainted with a certain merchant group.”

“Are they from the place that you were talking about, sir…?”

“Is that a complaint?”

As a merchant does, Karik instantly calculated the gains and losses. If they had a letter of recommendation, it’d be much more convenient to do business in the county in the future. And if the price of it was only to grant the young master a small favor…

‘It’ll be worth it for them. No, he’ll have to take it.’

Karik came to the same conclusion, but slipped away, just in case.

“Ah, no. How long do you think this may take…?”

Allen smiled and replied, as if nothing had happened.

“If you can find them within a month, you will find that you’ll have little trouble in the county in the future.”

Simply put, he would offer them his support. It was only a verbal promise, yet Karik believed him. And even if he hadn’t, he could gain Allen’s fondness, which would be good for them.

“I’ll make sure of it that we meet again within a month.”

“Alright.”

Allen turned around. He recalled the rumors that had been relayed to him from the merchant group on the way back to Elle Round. 

‘Julius had a brawl with some mercenaries.’

“Thank you!”

Allen replied with a small wave as he began to make his way towards the manor.

At such a distance where nobody else could hear her, Vestla's voice rang in his head.

⟬Why did you do that just now? His hand at the end, you could’ve avoided it, right?⟭

Allen gave a small smile at her question in reply.

“I can give as many letters of recommendation as I want. But if I did it right away, then how would he have reacted?”

⟬Hmm… Well, it seemed he was acting out of good will, right?⟭

She was right. He seemed pretty desperate to be good to him.

“Yeah, I paid what was owed for giving me clothes and information. But how was that just now?”

⟬You’re soooo proud of yourself, huh,⟭ Vestla answered in a jaded tone, shaking her handle around as if she’d understood.

⟬You’re pretty mean, aren’t you?⟭

It wasn’t difficult to do a little favor for someone else as a noble. However, it could have various effects depending on what the other person would do with it.

What if he’d just given them a letter of recommendation? They’d have had a moment of pure joy, and then the emotion would gradually fade over time. However, by waiting for the other party to make a mistake, he could then gain the upper hand.

The memory of his gift remained stronger and for much longer. In addition, he was able to get a few things done with just a single verbal promise, so it was an act that he could afford.

“No, it’s just the basics for gaining the upper hand in a relationship. Tolerance. When you’re responsible for governing another person, you have to be able to deal with their every action and reaction.”

Nobles were forced to live that way. The more relaxed the nobility was, the higher the price they must pay for it.

⟬Your life is hard.⟭

“Was that a compliment?”

⟬Was it?⟭

They continued their conversation while on the way back to the manor.

Until Allen stopped. He tapped Vestla’s handle twice, and she stopped talking. It was a signal they’d come up with together so that they could have conversations while talking to someone else.

“Sir!”

“Sir Allen!”

When he looked up, he saw Inellia and Linbelle running towards him. It seems that the news of his arrival had been delivered ahead of time.

Their posture didn’t waver as they ran; perhaps a sign that they’d completed their training during his absence.

He wasn’t sure how he felt inside.

He stepped forward.

“I’m glad you both are doing well.”

It was time to get busy again.