Johan, the second son of House Raks, was a notorious layabout. The people of the Barony of Raks had long since grown accustomed to seeing Johan strumming his lute in the square, on the neighborhood hill, or wherever else he felt like sitting down.
The local children had become addicted to Johan's song and hummed along with him.
"Status Window~ Status Window~ No matter how much I call, the Status Window never answers~"
"But what's a Status Window?"
"I don't know. Isn't it something the guards carry around?"
One particularly brave child asked Johan what a Status Window was. Johan did not give a clear answer and merely trailed off.
The child, who watched every time Johan played his lute, had always wondered what a Status Window was.
Until now, the child had been too afraid of Johan to ask.
No matter how unlike a noble his usual conduct might be, Johan had still been born with blue blood.
His platinum-blond hair was completely unlike the coarse brown hair of commoners. His pale skin contrasted sharply with the child's sun-darkened complexion.
Even the expression he wore when his mouth was shut made him look cold and aloof.
'But…… it should be okay now!'
Whenever Johan played his lute and sang, he looked as gentle as a mother singing a lullaby.
So even if the child asked, he would not say something nasty like, 'A commoner…… asking me a question?'
"Young Master Johan! What's a Status Window?"
"Why, you—! I am terribly sorry!"
The child's mother, who had been listening to the song beside the child, hurried over and bowed deeply.
Commoners were not supposed to offend nobles. This was a society where even a trivial question could become an excuse for punishment if a noble chose to take issue with it.
If this had been the neighboring territory, whose lord was infamous for tyranny, not only the child but the mother as well might have been thrown into prison.
The child's mother was so anxious that even Johan could feel it.
Johan gave a wry smile.
'This is Medieval Land for you.'
A rigid class system that was difficult for someone with modern sensibilities to understand. For now, he should calm the mother down.
"It's fine."
"But……."
"I said it's fine."
"Eek!"
He had tried to reassure her and ended up frightening her instead. If the adult would not work, he would have to win over the child.
"You were curious about what a Status Window is?"
"Yes!"
"There is such a thing……. Don't mess with it……."
"Huh?"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Johan had been about to explain further, but the child's mother covered the child's mouth. It looked as if the poor kid might suffocate if she kept holding on any longer, so Johan had no choice but to send them away.
There went his mood.
As Johan packed away his lute, he overheard some of the other residents talking.
"Another noble would've punished the kid. Our second young master may be lazy, but he truly has a kind heart."
"Who cares if he's incompetent? Being kind is enough. You hear that? You should grow up to be kind like Young Master Johan too."
'…….'
Was he supposed to take that as praise or an insult?
'They could at least insult me outright. Then I could throw them in prison outright too.'
It felt even worse because their assessment was not wrong.
Johan had not lived like an idle wastrel from the very beginning. When he was reincarnated into a fantasy world, he had thought he would become like the protagonists of the web novels he used to read.
He learned to read and write quickly and was even called a child prodigy for a while.
But that was as far as it went.
He had no talent with the sword, to the point that even the mercenary hired to teach him eventually gave up, and he was even worse with other weapons.
The retired knight whom Baron Raks had invited at considerable expense had left him with the assessment, "Still, the boy is intelligent, so perhaps you should consider putting him into administration……."
After hearing that, Johan put down the sword for good.
He also tried to learn magic, but it cost far too much.
Mages in this world were monsters that devoured money.
Not only commoners, but even most nobles could not dream of raising a mage.
Only those born with exceptional natural talent could become mages without spending a fortune.
Johan's talent, however, was slightly below average.
In the end, he had no choice but to broaden his education by reading all kinds of books.
His experience studying for exams in his previous life helped a great deal. History was especially interesting.
This world had supernatural forces such as magic and aura, so reading its histories felt more like reading fantasy novels than actual history books.
Johan was so good at history that he even received a letter recommending him for admission to the finest academy on the Arcana Continent.
He had received that recommendation back when he was still testing all his various talents. A modern man dreaming of becoming unrivaled in another world had hardly been willing to settle for a future as an administrator.
'I should've gone to the academy back then.'
Thinking about it now, the academy would have offered far more opportunities than the Barony of Raks, a remote backwater even within the kingdom.
Only after accepting that he possessed neither martial talent, magical talent, nor spirit affinity did he finally start searching for a practical way to make a living.
'Still, I'm lucky I was born into a baron's family.'
If he had been born a beggar or a slave, he would have starved to death or been worked to death before he ever had the luxury of worrying about any of this.
As the second son of a baron, at least he never had to worry about starving.
He had also been given opportunities to pursue administration or the arts.
In Medieval Land, even art required money. Only an exceptionally talented commoner had any hope of finding a patron.
Someone with middling talent like Johan could only be grateful that his family was willing to support him at all.
'If I'd just had a Status Window, I could've become unstoppable.'
Why was there no god or Status Window like the ones that appeared so often in novels and comics?
'I even composed songs for it and offered them up. The least it could do is show itself.'
That was one of the reasons he had entered the arts.
He had thought that if he composed songs, painted pictures, and wrote pieces praising the Status Window, it might eventually appear.
What a load of crap.
Not a single thing had happened even by the time he became an adult.
His mood thoroughly ruined, Johan returned home earlier than usual.
The barony he had been reincarnated into was a rural territory with no notable specialty products, so it did not even have anything that could properly be called a lord's castle.
There was merely a three-story manor standing inside grounds enclosed by a somewhat high stone wall. The handful of maids and attendants in the manor came out to greet him.
"You're back early."
"Yeah. Karane, what are you doing out here? Did you somehow know I was coming……?"
"I didn't know you were coming, but I did come out to fetch you."
Karane, who had been born the same year as Johan and had grown up alongside him, was one of the very few commoners who treated him casually.
"Why? Did something happen?"
"The Baron is looking for you."
"Is he going to lecture me again? Fine."
As always, Johan did not think much of it as he entered the lord's office.
Inside, his father, his mother, and the few officials serving the territory were waiting for him.
"You're here."
"Why did you call me?"
"The neighboring territory has declared a territorial war."
"What?"
A territorial war, out of nowhere? The Barony of Raks was an ordinary rural domain.
It was not poor, but it was not prosperous either.
Considering the cost of waging a territorial war, occupying the place would only leave the victor worse off. That meant the enemy must be after war reparations.
As far as Johan knew, the two territories had roughly equal military strength and financial resources.
In rural territorial wars, victory usually came down to which side was willing to go deeper into debt hiring mercenaries.
Their families had similar wealth and similar connections, which meant the odds were fifty-fifty. There was no reason to take that kind of risk for mere reparations.
"Why?"
His bewilderment came through clearly in his voice. Baron Raks pressed a hand to his forehead.
"A commoner he intended to take as a concubine fled into our territory."
"He's declaring a territorial war over just that?"
"You clearly haven't studied properly. I should stop leaving you alone and hire a new tutor……."
"I know!"
Johan hurriedly cut him off. He had no desire to spend hours being tormented by some elderly tutor again.
"Territory residents are property! His justification is that our territory stole property belonging to another territory!"
Baron Raks shot him a look that said, If you know that much, why did you ask such a stupid question?
"So who's going to the territorial war? You, Father? My brother at the academy? Our knight?"
"You."
"What? Me?"
Johan let out a hollow laugh.
"How am I supposed to fight a territorial war?"
"A direct blood relative of the family must participate. Your brother is attending the Imperial Academy, so he needs to focus on his studies, and I need to protect the territory. Under noble law, you will not be killed, so stop complaining and go."
Baron Raks was so firm that Johan could not even bring himself to refuse.
He had also accepted plenty of support from the family while searching for his aptitude over the years.
He decided to agree, if only as a way of repaying them.
"Yes……."
"We'll handle all the preparations. You only need to go."
Everything moved at a tremendous pace after that. Mercenaries were hired, units were organized, and the family's elderly knight was appointed commander, leaving Johan no room whatsoever to interfere.
Simply watching was boring.
Motivation began bubbling up from somewhere deep inside Johan.
'Since it's come to this, I might as well give it my best.'
Who knew? Perhaps he had been hiding a genius-level talent for tactics all along.
The time had come to display the strategic knowledge he had gained from reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms in his previous life.
His ambitious first step was blocked before he could even take it.
Johan pointed at a glossy black horse.
"You want me to ride this?"
SNORT.
The black horse glared at Johan.
One look was enough to tell that the bastard had a nasty temper.
Even the elderly knight of House Raks looked uncomfortable.
"Why did you get a horse like this?"
"The Baron said it was the young master's first campaign, so he wanted to give you a fine horse."
"This thing? A fine horse?"
"It is the finest horse we could afford with our budget, but……."
"Will it even let me ride it?"
"Probably?"
"Can't I just walk?"
"You have a noble's dignity to uphold. You must ride."
The knight was so adamant it was as if he had swallowed dozens of pumpkins made of pure stubbornness.
Resigned, Johan tried to climb onto the horse.
"Easy. Good boy……."
The instant he settled into the saddle, the black horse violently tossed its head.
NEIGH—!
Johan was thrown clean off by the force.
As he floated through the air, the world seemed to slow down, and memories from both his previous and current lives flashed through his mind.
'Is this my life flashing before my eyes?'
None of the retainers had expected a horse purchased at great expense to throw its rider, and before any of them could react—
CRUNCH—!
Johan plunged headfirst into the ground.
***
With a CRACK—, his neck snapped.
To think his second life would end this pointlessly.
His first death had been a hit-and-run involving a cargo truck whose driver was presumably drunk.
'Am I going to reincarnate in another world again?'
Perhaps because this was already his second death, he was not as flustered as he had been the first time.
He waited quietly, but something felt strange.
Unlike the first time, when he had closed his eyes and opened them again as a baby, nothing happened.
Instead, a message window like the ones he had seen countless times in games floated before him.
[Assessing Customer Johan's eligibility…….]
[Eligibility requirements met. Regression Service available for purchase.]
[Select the Trial Version to use limited services. Purchase the Full Version to receive new-customer benefits.]
[Purchase the Full Version?]
Johan could not contain the joy surging inside him and shouted.
"That's more like it! If I reincarnated, then of course I should regress too! And I should have a Status Window!"
How hard had it been to adapt to a fantasy world without a Status Window?
If he purchased the Regression Service, surely he could finally enjoy the overpowered life he had only dreamed about.
'But they have a Trial Version and a Full Version here too.'
In his previous life, so many companies offered similar services that they provided trial versions to lure in customers.
Apparently, this world worked the same way.
An ordinary resident of a fantasy world might have bought the Full Version, but Johan was a modern man.
He was the kind of modern man who used trial antivirus software until it expired and relied on trial versions of whatever programs he needed for school assignments.
If there had been no Trial Version, that would be one thing.
But if there was one, then of course he would choose it.
'Still, I'm curious about the Full Version. Let's at least see the price.'
How much would it cost to regress?
It would probably take more than an entire year's budget of the kingdom.
The moment he thought that, the purchase price for the Full Version appeared.
[☆Limited-Time Special★]
[Use the Full Version simply by leasing your soul for 100 years after death!]
[Closing this pop-up restores the standard price.]
[Standard Price – Permanent transfer of soul.]
No chance in hell he was buying that.
Lease his soul for a hundred years? They called it a lease, but who could guarantee they would actually give it back?
There was no need to dig up all the countless examples of people lending money and never getting it back.
Even in elementary or middle school, people often borrowed gym clothes and never returned them.
If the thing being borrowed was a soul, something infinitely more valuable than gym clothes, there was no need to say more.
'Select Trial Version.'
[Confirm selection of Trial Version?]
[Trial Version does not allow selection of regression point.]
[Trial Version does not reduce pain upon death.]
They were practically throwing a tantrum trying to make him hand over his soul.
No matter what, he was never buying the Full Version.
[With Trial Version regression, you may enjoy 7 days of life. Afterward, your life proceeds automatically, and you regain control of your body shortly before death.
After death, the subject's actions are evaluated and Achievements are awarded.
Achievements provide various convenience functions and talents.
Achievement functions are available only with the Full Version and cannot be used in the Trial Version.]
Why had busy modern people loved auto-hunting?
Because doing everything themselves was a pain.
This thing would regress him and even live his life for him afterward?
What could be better?
Achievements?
He did not need some feature he did not even understand yet.
'There's no limit on how many times I can regress, right?'
[……You may continue purchasing the Trial Version until you purchase the Full Version. However, no functions from previous runs carry over upon repurchase.]
Was he supposed to live his life like an idle game?
When Johan made it very clear that he intended to purchase the Trial Version, even the Status Window seemed to give up on him.
[Regression Service Trial Version purchased. Regression point will be determined randomly.]
[Returning to 10 seconds before death.]
Only then did Johan realize that the world around him had been completely dark.
Was this one of those consciousness realms he had only ever heard about?
While he stood there blankly, the elderly knight urged him on.
"Young Master."
"Huh?"
"You need to mount the horse."
The sight of the black horse snapped Johan fully awake.
He had died trying to ride that thing.
Even a monkey did not repeat the same mistake twice.
Johan was a modern man several times more advanced than a monkey.
That horse had killed a man.
There was no way he was going to make the stupid mistake of climbing onto that killer horse again.
"I'm walking."
"Young Master!"
"Look at its eyes to begin with. See how they're rolling? One glance and you can tell that horse is insane. If I get on it and fall, who's going to take responsibility? Huh?"
"Young Master……."
The elderly knight looked at Johan with pity.
'The young master has barely ever ridden, so the horse must have frightened him.'
If the young master was afraid of horses, then the knight would have to demonstrate personally.
"Then ride with me. I will mount first."
"Be careful."
"What is there to be careful about? Like this…… whoa!"
SNORT—!
The moment the elderly knight mounted, the black horse tossed its head violently again.
The knight clamped his thighs tight and grabbed the mane, barely avoiding being thrown off.
"What kind of temper is this……?"
Perhaps its pride had been wounded when it failed to throw the knight, because the black horse actually raised its front legs and began walking on two legs.
The elderly knight broke out in a cold sweat, and the nearby mercenaries watching in horror were just about to rush in and calm the horse when—
THUD—!
The black horse sprang up like a coiled spring and kicked Johan square in the chest.
"Fucking hell……."
Johan died again.
The familiar message greeted him.
[The Full Version grants access to the Achievement Shop.]
[Achievements purchased from the Shop can improve your talents.]
[Bonuses for riding and animal training are also available.]
[Purchase the Full Version?]
Cut the bullshit. Trial Version it was.
'This time, I'm killing that bastard horse and turning it into jerky.'
After being killed twice by the same horse, Johan ground his teeth.
No matter how expensive that thing was, he would kill it.
As he burned with thoughts of revenge, the Status Window spoke as though mocking him.
[Regression point will be determined randomly.]
[Returning to 10 years ago.]