Ten years ago.
The moment Johan regressed to the days when he was still dreaming of running wild in a fantasy world, a Status Window message greeted him.
[You may use the Trial Version service for the next 7 days. Afterward, your life will proceed automatically.]
[Purchasing the Full Version guarantees a period of 10 years, and the duration can be extended through the Achievement Shop.]
[Purchase the Full Version?]
Persistent door-to-door salesman bastard.
No matter how much you beg, I am not handing over my soul, so get lost.
Johan dismissed the message and looked around his room.
It was the same room he had used right up until his death, so nothing about it felt particularly new.
The only thing that stood out was that a wooden sword for swordsmanship lessons now occupied the spot where his lute had once been.
'Rather than acting blindly, I should first figure out exactly when I've returned to.'
Having devoured web novels throughout his first life, Johan knew very well what the greatest advantage of regression was.
Using knowledge of the future to enjoy success he would never otherwise have been destined for.
'What happened when I was around ten?'
Unfortunately, Johan did not have a particularly good memory.
He could barely remember what he had eaten yesterday, so there was little hope of recalling every detail from ten years ago.
Still, after wracking his brain, he managed to remember several major events.
'Monsters occupied the waterways during the most important part of the season, and that ruined the harvest this year.'
They had hurriedly hired mercenaries and exterminated the monsters, but the crops had already withered from lack of water.
Because of that, everyone had been forced to tighten their belts until the abundant harvest the following year.
'I need to figure out exactly when ten years ago this is. If that incident is coming soon, I'll warn Father and stop it. The aftermath? Who cares? I'll only be in control for 7 days before handing everything over to auto-progression anyway.'
Just as he tried to think of another event—
Knock, knock—
Someone knocked on his door.
"Johan!"
He recognized the voice immediately. He had heard it his entire life.
Karinas, Johan's personal maid.
Her daughter, Karane, opened the door without waiting for an answer.
"You were skipping class again because you didn't want to study, weren't you?"
Karane approached with a sigh.
A middle-aged maid appeared behind her amid a clatter.
"Karane! How dare you speak to the young master like that!"
"Karinas."
A woman who would be dead ten years from now.
Karane's mother and a maid who had served House Raks for two generations.
'It is nice to see her again like this.'
One advantage of regression was being able to see people who had already died.
The Status Window had said he could keep purchasing the Trial Version, so he would probably get to see her fairly often from now on.
"Umm……. But Johan and I are close, so isn't it fine……. Right?"
Karane glanced at Johan as if asking for his agreement.
The sight of her clasping both hands and twisting shyly was cute.
At the same time, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
'Feels like something like this happened before.'
After carefully searching his memory, he remembered.
He had called her cute because she felt like a little sister, and Karane had sulked.
That was because Karane had feelings for Johan at this age.
Back then, Johan had been too busy imagining all the things he might learn in a fantasy world to notice her feelings.
He had regressed now, so he could not repeat the same mistake.
He chose the best possible answer.
"It's fine. Karane is my friend."
"Young Master……."
"Johan! I really like you!"
Karane hugged Johan.
Karinas watched the two children warmly.
'Young Master Johan will grow into a fine noble.'
The sons of other noble families treated servants like possessions.
House Raks was relatively lenient, but its members still had blue blood.
Even Baron Raks had thrown tantrums at his own wet nurse when he was that age.
Compared to that, what a fine character Johan had.
If the eldest son inherited the barony while the second son supported his brother, the territory would surely grow into a lively domain.
"This is no time for that. Your teacher is waiting for you. If you are any later, you will be scolded."
"Which teacher?"
Johan had had so many teachers that he could not remember clearly.
Karinas stared at him in disbelief as he tilted his head.
"What do you mean, which teacher? Who else could it be but Teacher Hans?"
"Ah. Teacher Hans……."
Hans was one of the few among Johan's many teachers whom he remembered clearly.
Despite being young, the man had been more rigid than most professors, and several years later he entered the Imperial Court and made a name for himself.
Johan remembered a letter Hans had sent him in his previous life.
[-Young Master Johan. I have taught many students, but none showed as much interest in history or studied it as diligently as you did.
I recently received an offer for a professorship at Relic, the finest academy on the continent, and I was also given several letters of recommendation for admission.
If you are willing, Young Master, I will send you one.]
At the time he received that letter, Johan still held out hope that he might become overwhelmingly powerful, so he had replied that he was fine where he was.
'I won't make that mistake this time.'
Working at the Imperial Court would be far better than lazing around at home while singing his original composition, [Status Window].
[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.]
He could live freely for 7 days under the Trial Version.
The problem was figuring out how to make the automatically progressing version of himself accept Hans's future offer.
'If nothing else works, I can leave myself a letter.'
"I'll go."
"Yes! I will show you the way!"
Escorted by the mother-and-daughter maids, Johan entered the room where Hans was waiting.
Hans, dressed in clothes pressed as stiff as brand-new banknotes, reprimanded him.
"You are late."
"I apologize."
An apology was more effective than an excuse.
Hans did not scold him any further.
"Since you are late, we will begin the lesson at once."
***
Johan studied a total of three subjects under Hans: the history of the kingdom, literature, and general knowledge.
History was fun because it felt like reading a fantasy novel.
General knowledge involved distinguishing the differences between the modern world and medieval fantasy.
Literature, meanwhile, was something he simply had to tackle head-on.
Thanks to that, he received high marks in the other two subjects but not in literature.
After two hours of lessons, Hans finished with a satisfied smile.
"Your concentration was better than usual today. Your comprehension was excellent as well. You worked hard."
"It is thanks to your excellent teaching, Teacher."
Johan dusted off the etiquette he had abandoned during the years he spent strumming his lute, and Hans's eyes lit up.
"It seems you have also been working hard at your etiquette lessons. The Baroness is teaching you personally, is she not?"
"Yes. I am doing my best."
"Hmm……."
Hans stroked his chin, then suddenly came back to himself.
"If you continue like this, I may eventually be able to bring you good news. I will see you again tomorrow."
"Take care on your way back."
The moment Hans left, Johan clenched both fists.
"Yes!"
If Hans was already saying something like that, the chances of him sending the same offer in the future had risen.
All Johan had to do was work hard in class for the next week.
'This life, I'll live as an administrator.'
Once he had a goal, motivation followed.
Johan enjoyed the daily life of a ten-year-old child.
He ate delicious meals and even sprawled out in the garden with Karane for afternoon naps.
'This isn't much different from when I was an adult, is it?'
That made it easy to adapt.
[This is the final day available under the Trial Version.]
'The Status Window doesn't show the remaining time. Shouldn't you at least tell me how many hours I have left?'
[That is a paid service. Purchase the Full Version, and we will include it as a special bonus.]
'Not buying it. It is only 7 days anyway. I'll just remember it myself.'
Then, on the final day, Karane made a suggestion.
"Let's go play in the village! The skewer man should be there around this time!"
"You want grilled skewers?"
"Yeah!"
"Then we should go eat some."
It was not easy to refuse a child's request when her eyes were shining with anticipation.
As the two were about to leave, a middle-aged knight approached them.
"Do you not require an escort?"
"Hmm……."
Johan narrowed his eyes.
This knight's name was Palmeon.
He had gotten Johan killed once by putting him on the killer horse.
Then, by climbing onto the killer horse himself, he had gotten Johan killed a second time.
Could Johan trust this man?
What if Johan died again after entrusting his protection to him?
'If I die, I'll just regress again.'
Other people feared death, but to Johan, who could use the Trial Version endlessly, death was merely a fresh start.
[Purchasing the Full Version allows you to accumulate Achievements while repeatedly regressing.]
Yeah, not buying it.
If you really want to tempt me, make it so I can pay with money instead of my soul.
Naturally, there was no response.
'It disappears whenever the conversation turns inconvenient.'
The message that had abruptly appeared vanished just as silently.
"Young Master?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. It's fine. What could possibly happen inside our own territory?"
"True. You have a point."
Palmeon thought for a moment.
Members of a lord's family were practically gods within their own territory.
Even if one of them wandered around alone, tripped, and scraped a knee, the residents might end up being severely punished for it.
But considering the personalities of Baron Raks and Johan, things would probably be fine.
"Then please enjoy your outing."
"Okay."
'I'm glad Palmeon is still young.'
An inflexible old knight would have insisted on following no matter what, but the younger Palmeon was surprisingly flexible.
It would have been nice if he had shown some of that flexibility in front of the killer horse too.
"Johan! Hurry up!"
Johan followed the excited Karane through the streets.
Every commoner they passed was startled and bent at the waist.
"Young Master Johan. What brings you here……?"
"I brought him! Your skewers are so good that I wanted Johan to try them too!"
"Is that so?"
The street vendor, who adored Karane, carefully controlled his expression as he looked at Johan.
"Then I will give you two."
"How much are they?"
"I could not possibly take money from you, Young Master."
"A merchant should not sell goods without taking payment. I still have some allowance left, so just tell me the price."
Johan paid for the skewers.
It was only a few copper coins, but the street vendor was deeply moved.
'I heard the second young master doesn't look down on commoners. It really is true.'
Even five-year-old noble children usually spoke down to commoners and addressed them rudely, yet Johan had remained polite the entire time.
On top of that, he was even paying for the food.
Any other noble would have taken it as a matter of course without even asking the price.
'I hope he grows up just like this.'
Moved, the street vendor put his full effort into grilling the meat.
Johan accepted a skewer, took a bite, and raised his thumb.
"As expected, it is delicious."
The man truly had the skills of someone who would eventually start with a street stall and open his own shop.
It was slightly inferior to what Johan remembered from the future, but the original version was bound to be a little rougher.
'Next time I regress to this period, I'll come buy some again.'
After happily finishing their snack, Johan and Karane returned to the manor.
At the front gate, they saw a woman arguing with the guards.
"I heard you were hiring a teacher to teach swordsmanship to the second young master! I told you I want to apply!"
"You are too young. I do not know whether you have the skill to teach anyone……."
"Then test me!"
"That is not something I have the authority to decide……."
The guard was flustered by a woman who barely reached his chest.
Johan stepped in to rescue him.
"What's going on?"
"Young Master……."
Johan had spoken up to save him, yet the guard's expression somehow became even worse.
The woman, on the other hand, brightened immediately.
"Young Master? Are you the second young master who wants swordsmanship lessons?"
"That's right. And who are you?"
"Ah, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Priscilla. I'm the person who's going to become your swordsmanship teacher."
It was an introduction of absolutely no practical value, since she had revealed neither her family background nor her level of swordsmanship.
'Hmm?'
But Johan focused on the name Priscilla.
"Priscilla? You're a commoner?"
"Yes……."
Ten years later, there would be a famous female knight of common birth.
Her epithet was Red-Eyed Priscilla.
Her level was none other than Sword Master.
It was a supreme realm that even knights hailed as geniuses might have only a one-in-a-thousand chance of reaching.
The epithet came from the same red eyes as the woman standing before him now.
'I heard she wandered from battlefield to battlefield until she found a patron.'
And now someone like that had come looking to teach him swordsmanship.
'I can't let an opportunity like this slip away.'
Johan might not have talent with the sword, but surely learning from a future Sword Master would make some difference.
As the silence dragged on, Priscilla lost confidence and shrank back.
Even she seemed to realize there was little reason for a noble family to hire a teacher of common birth.
"But, Young Master. If you see my skills……."
"I'll hire you."
"What?"
"What?!"
The guard and Karane, who had been watching, were shocked.
Even Priscilla herself stared in surprise.
"R-Really? You're going to hire me?"
"I do not go back on my word."
"Johan! What are you going to do? The Baron will refuse!"
"I'll persuade him. Priscilla, follow me."
With Priscilla and Karane in tow, Johan immediately went to find his father.
His father was reluctant, but when Johan strongly insisted that he wanted to hire her, he eventually gave permission.
It would have been awkward to house a teacher outside the estate, so they assigned Priscilla a room in the manor.
While Johan was showing her around, she asked him a question.
"Um, I am grateful that you hired me, but……. What did you see in me that made you trust me this much?"
He trusted the reputation she would earn in the future.
[Revealing the fact that you have regressed will terminate service. However, if you purchase the Full Version, the Achievement Shop allows you to disclose it to a limited number of people…….]
I said I am not buying it.
"The moment I saw you, Priscilla, I had a feeling. I trust my instincts. And I trust you just as much. So I look forward to learning from you."
"Yes! Even if it costs me my life, I will train you into a fine knight, Young Master!"
The moment Johan heard Priscilla's vow, his vision began to blur.
'Don't tell me the Trial Version time is already up?'
[All activity time available under the Trial Version has been consumed.]
[Moving to the future immediately before death.]
So much for thinking, 'Surely not.'
From now on, his life would proceed automatically until just before his death.
Hopefully, Priscilla would train him well and turn him into a fine knight.
He had died at twenty in his previous life, so this time he wanted to live longer.
***
The moment he arrived in the future, memories of everything that had happened in between flooded into him.
But before he could even organize those memories, Priscilla, who was lying in the same bed as him, greeted him.
"You're awake?"
"Priscilla?"
Karane, who had been hugging Johan from behind, rubbed her eyes as well.
"You're both awake."
"…Karane?"
What the hell happened?