Ian arrived in Lampas only three days after leaving the village where the Dark Mage had appeared.
Had they traveled normally along the roads, the long journey would have taken at least two grueling weeks. However, they had stopped at a city with a Magic Tower along the way and used its Warp Gate, drastically shortening the time required.
“It is finished. You may step outside the Magic Circle now.”
At the mage’s words, Ian strode off the circular platform engraved with intricate letters and patterns.
He had not noticed it while standing still, but he felt dizzy and nauseated. Knowing it was only temporary, he forced himself to endure it.
“Welcome back, Young Master.”
A neatly dressed elderly man who had been waiting to one side approached and greeted him. Ian’s face brightened at the sight of him.
“Alford!”
Apparently, he was the only one who had come to receive him.
Then again, the only people Ian had truly been close to were his brothers, his nanny, the cook who would secretly slip him snacks from time to time, and one or two knights who had overseen his training.
Everyone else might as well have been a stranger. Alford, however, had been responsible for supervising the household’s many butlers, so there was no way Ian could have failed to know him.
Ian also remembered the man looking after him quite well, so he greeted him warmly. Alford bowed his head with a kindly expression.
“How long has it been? Have you been well?”
“Of course. And how have you fared, Young Master?”
“As you can see, I have been healthy. The villa was in such a peaceful place, and perhaps because there was even a Mana Vein nearby, I found it quite pleasant.”
“I occasionally found myself troubled with concern for you. I am truly relieved that it proved to be nothing more than the needless worry of an old man. The family head will also be pleased.”
“…I hope so.”
Alford gave a faint, bitter smile and gestured ahead.
“Now, you must be exhausted after such a long journey. Let us be on our way. Warm water and a meal have been prepared for you.”
Ian turned toward Mael and Marie.
“Thank you. You made the journey much easier. Let us meet again sometime.”
Perhaps because Alford was present, they did not answer. Instead, they bowed politely in farewell.
Ian then walked alongside Alford.
“This may be needless meddling, but I hope you were not disappointed that I was the only one who came to receive you.”
“I understand. Father is probably away on another subjugation campaign, as always. My eldest brother must be assisting him as the next head of the family, while my other brother is away on a mission… Is that not the case?”
“That is correct. However, Young Master Diol should return before the day is over.”
Ian did not reply, and Alford said nothing more.
When they emerged from the building through the corridor, sunlight poured down upon them as if by magic.
Perhaps because he had just left a dim interior, the light was bright enough to make him furrow his brow.
When he opened his narrowed eyes, a landscape overflowing with fresh greenery spread before him, utterly belying the fact that this was a fortress.
Lampas had once stood on the front line. However, as the defensive line expanded, it naturally grew distant from the battlefield. In that sense, it was only natural for the place to have become so peaceful.
“Hah.”
How long had it been since he last returned?
Including his life before the regression, it had been nearly twenty years since he had last come home. It had truly been a long time.
Immersed in old emotions, Ian passed through places filled with childhood memories and entered the castle.
However, the atmosphere felt heavy.
This was a place where many happy memories remained, yet it was also filled with nothing but unpleasant memories from after his Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
Just then, his eyes met those of several servants who appeared to have been cleaning near the railing on the second floor.
They immediately turned their heads away, but in that brief moment, Ian noticed the curiosity in their eyes.
‘They must have heard about me.’
Ian Berger.
The youngest son of House Berger, who had become a ruined shell of a man after his Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
A drunken wastrel who had abandoned his duties as a nobleman, retreated to a villa, and drowned himself in alcohol.
He had no defense even if they called him pathetic. Every word of it was true.
They would continue looking at him that way and whispering behind his back for some time. He would simply have to grow accustomed to it.
Ordering them to stop would amount to little more than suppressing them with his authority. Instead, he needed to change their perception of him gradually.
Now that he had returned to the past, there was no reason to leave his disgraceful history unchanged.
He straightened his shoulders and walked forward with confidence.
Alford personally guided him to the room he had used in the past.
After telling Ian that the meal was ready and that he could come downstairs whenever he had finished bathing, Alford excused himself.
Left alone, Ian washed himself in the bathroom attached to his room, changed into the fresh clothes prepared for him, and went to the dining room, where he began eating alone.
He was silently filling his stomach beneath the watchful eyes of several servants when someone suddenly flung open the firmly shut door.
It was a young man dressed in a red suit—Diol Berger.
With a radiant expression, he shouted in a booming voice.
“So you are finally here, you idiot!”
“……”
Ian stared blankly at Diol, swallowed the food he had been chewing, and sighed.
“Brother.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“When other people are around, could you call me by my name? What do you think everyone will think?”
Diol grinned and looked around.
The only other people in the dining room were a few servants. It was difficult to call them outsiders when every one of them had served the family for at least several years.
“Who knows? Perhaps they will think we are exceptionally close brothers. That is what I would think.”
“As if.”
“Why? Are you worried they might look down on you? Do not waste your time worrying about such things. It cannot happen, and it must not happen. Should anyone forget their place and dare to do so, tell me. I will teach them a proper lesson.”
“Forget it. If something like that happens, I will deal with it myself.”
His pride would never allow him to seek his brother’s help over something so humiliating.
Diol smiled in satisfaction, reached out, picked up a piece of bread, and ate it.
“Good. That is how it should be. More importantly, when did you return?”
“Not long ago. I washed and changed as soon as I arrived, and now I am eating.”
“Is that so? Then… since it has been so long since you were last here, you should visit Mother first.”
“……”
Ian nodded.
“I was already planning to go after I finished eating.”
“Oh? Excellent. Then we can go together.”
“I can go alone.”
“Why bother? She would be happier if we went together. Besides, I brought her a present from my latest mission.”
“…What a devoted son you are.”
“And you are an undutiful one.”
Ignoring Diol’s chuckling, Ian finished his meal.
The moment he set down his utensils, Diol urged him to hurry. With no other choice, Ian rose from his seat and returned to the station where the Warp Gate had been installed.
***
“Ugh…”
Ian covered his mouth and groaned. No matter how many times he experienced Teleportation, he could not seem to grow accustomed to it.
He staggered off the installed Warp Gate and tried to calm his churning stomach.
Watching from behind, Diol clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, how feeble.”
“…I think I am going to vomit.”
“Do not start dry-heaving for no reason. It will be troublesome if you actually bring something up. Look over there.”
Ian turned his head and saw the gate’s administrator watching him with a flustered expression. The man was fidgeting anxiously, seemingly wondering whether he should bring Ian a bag.
Ian forced himself to swallow.
“I will not.”
He slowly inhaled and exhaled several times, and the nausea eased somewhat. Diol jerked his head toward the exit.
“Let us go.”
When they left the station, a carriage bearing the family crest was waiting for them.
‘He intended to bring me along from the beginning.’
The proof was that the carriage departed the moment they climbed aboard, even though neither of them had stated their destination.
Ian absently turned his gaze toward the window. The streets outside were crowded with people.
“This place is still as crowded as ever.”
“It is a city.”
That was true. It was a city, so naturally it was crowded.
This was Lus, a great city located a short distance from Lampas Fortress.
The settlement had originally been nothing more than a supply base established to transport provisions to Lampas. However, as the surrounding Monsters were driven back and the polluted land was purified, people gathered there, and it eventually developed into the city it was today.
Their destination was a district attached to the outskirts of Lus.
Before long, the streets grew deserted, and the carriage came to a stop.
“We have arrived.”
At the coachman’s words, Ian and Diol stepped out of the carriage. The first thing they saw was a tall fence of sharpened metal.
It was high enough that most people would never even consider attempting to climb over it. Large hedges also ran along the fence, preventing anyone from peering inside.
Ian casually shifted his gaze and headed toward the entrance. Two fully armed Red Spear Knights stood guard there, blocking the way.
It seemed as though they might swing the swords in their hands at anyone who approached carelessly. Nevertheless, Ian and Diol walked straight toward them.
“……”
Even when the brothers drew near, the two knights remained as motionless as statues. Instead, another knight emerged from the building beside the entrance and placed a hand over the left side of his chest in salute.
“Welcome to the Garden of Rest. I am Altiji, vice-captain of the Seventh Squad of the Red Spear Knights. What business brings you here?”
Altiji knew that Ian and Diol were sons of House Berger. He also knew that Diol visited this place from time to time. In fact, they had encountered one another several times before.
Despite that, he verified their identities every time as though they were meeting for the first time.
It was simply procedure.
The very purpose of the Seventh Squad of the Red Spear Knights was to fulfill this duty, which was why they were known as the gravekeepers.
Diol understood that, so he stated his affiliation and purpose without complaint.
“Your identities have been confirmed.”
At those words, the two Red Spear Knights guarding the entrance stepped aside in perfect unison, opening the path.
Entry to this place was normally strictly prohibited outside the designated hours. However, those who carried the blood of House Berger were granted the exceptional privilege of visiting whenever they wished.
Ian followed Diol toward the entrance.
The first thing visible upon entering the Garden of Rest was a massive stone monument. Beyond it, identical shields had been planted at regular intervals across an expansive field.
The monument bore the name of the place and the principles upon which it had been founded, while the shield-shaped memorials served as gravestones.
In other words, the Garden of Rest was a cemetery created to honor the soldiers and knights who had died while reclaiming the territories of the Zyle Empire seized by the Outer Gods.
Ian and Diol walked side by side along the silent path, stopping only when they reached the center of the cemetery.
Before them stood a shield larger and more ornate than all the others. With a complicated expression, Ian turned his gaze toward the words engraved upon it.
Berdier Berger
Lord’s Calendar 2232.03.02. ~ 2268.03.22.
-You came? Thank you.-
Bearer of an honored star.
One who protected countless lives
from the threats of the Outer Sea.
The wife of a proud husband and the mother of three beloved sons.
May she find peace in this place.
Ian had believed that, after everything he had endured, his emotions had not dried up entirely but had at least grown numb.
Apparently, he had been mistaken.
The moment he read the words on the gravestone, memories from his childhood resurfaced, filling him with melancholy.
Grief welled up inside him, and his failure to visit for so long felt like a terrible sin.
He closed his eyes and lowered his head. Then a faint rustling sound made him look forward again. Diol had taken something from inside his coat and was fiddling with it.
“A cigarette?”
“Yes. Have you forgotten that Mother was a chain-smoker?”
“No, I remember, but… you truly brought that as a present?”
“Why not? I heard this is the most popular kind in the capital these days. I went out of my way to buy it.”
Diol gave a faint laugh, placed the cigarette in the incense burner atop the stone altar, and lit it.
Ian silently watched the cigarette burn. Amid the silence, Diol spoke.
“Ian.”
“?”
“What is your dream?”
“……”
“What do you want to do?”
Had he wanted them to come here together just so he could ask that?
Had Ian been asked this question at this point in his previous life, he certainly would not have been able to answer.
But now, things were different.
Ian met Diol’s unwavering gaze and answered without looking away.
“A hero.”