Chapter 6

A long day had truly come to an end, and it was finally time to go to bed. As expected, there was no bath, only a wet cloth—something soft like a towel, but actually a rough linen cloth—to wipe my body, and I slipped into bed naked. In the morning, I hadn’t had the time to notice, but the bed was just a mat laid over straw or something similar. The blanket was a heavy one, stuffed with wool or something, and it had a musky smell.

Exhausted, I almost didn’t care and quickly fell asleep.

Suddenly, I found myself enveloped in a white light. I was aware that this was a dream, given the surreal scene.

(If I were back in Japan, this would be funny. Still, it’s blinding.)

I squinted at the bright white light. However, the light gradually intensified, and even with my eyes closed, I could still feel its brightness. I pressed my hands to my eyes, waiting for the light to subside, but it showed no signs of doing so, and I was starting to get frustrated.

(The light is hurting my eyes. Can you please stop it already?)

As if my wish was heard, the light gradually dimmed. When I thought it was safe, I slowly opened my eyes and saw a dozen or so giant humanoid figures towering over me. They were so large that I had to look up, and they were about ten to twenty meters tall. In the hazy outlines, I could see heads, arms, torsos, and legs, and they appeared to be human. They looked like balloons used in attractions, lacking substance, but for some reason, their presence was overwhelming, and something was happening.

Their overwhelming presence was unpleasant.

(I don’t know what kind of dream this is, but I hope I wake up soon.)

(Can you hear me?)

Suddenly, a thought, not a voice, from one of the humanoids assaulted me. The thought was like a physical weight, a wave crashing into me, and I found myself sitting on the ground without realizing it.

“It hurts! What are you doing all of a sudden!”

I shouted in anger at the humanoid I assumed had sent the thought.

(I apologize. Is this better?)

The thought was no longer like a crashing wave but a clinging, resistant flow, like a lazy river.

“It’s better, but what is this? Where am I!?”

(Didn’t you want to talk to us?)

I didn’t understand their intention and said, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about,” in an irritated voice.

(We are the ones who brought you to this world. Didn’t you ask for an explanation?)

I finally began to understand.

(Do you mean that a god or something answered my wish?)

(That’s correct. We are the administrators of this world. We have a request for you. We need your help to prevent the world from disappearing.)

(World administrators? Are you gods? Why me?)

(We don’t deny being called gods. We brought you here because you wished for it. We have given you a second life, and in return, we ask for your assistance.)

(You gave me a second life? You mean the life of Zach, no, Zacharias Rockhart?)

(Yes. You had a strong desire to redo your life. That desire reached us.)

(My desire... If this is a dream, it makes sense that my desires would appear. But if you’re gods...)

I decided to listen to them, whether they were gods or not.

“I don’t understand everything, but I get the gist. So, what do you want me to do?”

(Our world may face destruction within a few hundred to a few thousand years from when you were reincarnated. To prevent this, we need to send someone...)

“Someone?”

(We will send someone from your world. Our enemies will try to eliminate this person, and we need you to protect them and guide them.)

I didn’t understand why a god would need the help of a mere human.

(Wouldn’t it be faster for you to do it directly?)

(We are forbidden from directly interfering with the world. Sending an influential person is the best we can do. Our enemies are centuries ahead of us, and we need to reverse that.)

I couldn’t hear an important word,

“I didn’t hear that. Can you repeat it?”

(You won’t understand even if you ask again. We need to prevent our interference from becoming too strong.)

(Why can’t I hear the important parts? Well, let’s move on...)

I decided to confirm the specifics to move the conversation forward.

“So, what exactly do you want me to do?”

(In two years, we will send someone. This person will face interference from our enemies. We need you to protect them and, if possible, guide them to their path.)

(Guide them? Like John the Baptist to Jesus? I guess it could be a good fit for me.)

I often taught new employees at my company. I was also a bit interested in the role of paving the way for a hero who would save the world.

I wanted to gather information about the person in question,

“Who is this person? I can’t help if I don’t know.”

(We can’t reveal that now. But when the time comes, the wheel of fate will intersect with this person, and you will understand.)

I intended to enjoy my second life. However, I was confused by the fact that I would meet this person by fate and get involved.

(Can I refuse? Will there be a penalty if I refuse?)

(You can refuse. There is no penalty as you understand it.)

I finally realized that the gods could read my mind.

(You can read my mind? Then I don’t need to speak out loud... If I can refuse, why did you speak to me?)

(We thought you would cooperate even if you didn’t understand our purpose. There’s no need to feel pressured. Live as you wish, and you will naturally fulfill our purpose.)

I decided to get a verbal commitment from the gods.

(I don’t understand everything, but if that’s okay, I’ll accept. However, I will live as I want. If this person interferes with my life, I won’t exclude them, but I won’t help them either. I won’t dedicate my life to them. Is that acceptable?)

(That’s fine.)

I had a few more questions, especially about my abilities, which felt like a character creation process in a TRPG.

(Is the character creation your hobby?)

The gods seemed a bit confused,

(I don’t understand what you mean, but we gave you the abilities you wished for.)

(Then, is Zacharias the way I wanted him to be?)

(That’s correct. We didn’t interfere with how you decided on them.)

It seems that the TRPG-style character creation was my wish.

(Then, could I have had more powerful abilities?)

(Yes, but you didn’t wish for them. You received many of our blessings, but you didn’t ask for the abilities of a demigod.)

I finally realized what I had wished for. I didn’t want to be a hero. I just wanted to redo my gray life. I wanted the ability to live as a human with companions, not the absolute power of a lonely hero.

The gods seemed to think my silence was a signal to end the meeting or that time was up.

(Then, enjoy your second life. You won’t meet us again... Farewell.)

(Wait. Can you tell me your names?)

My consciousness abruptly cut off.

When I woke up, it was still midnight, and my parents were sleeping soundly beside me. I was recalling the conversation with the god-like beings in my dream.

(In two years. I’ll be five years younger. If I’m going to guide them, wouldn’t it be better to wait a bit longer? Or is there a reason for the age difference? Where and how will I meet this person? Well, the gods said I can live as I want. I’ll enjoy my second life...)

I quickly fell asleep.

The next day, I decided to focus on acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to live in this world. First, I needed to learn the language. From what I knew, the language here was similar to English. The alphabet was almost the same as the English one. The pronunciation of proper nouns like place names was unique, so it might be similar to the dialects of England, Scotland, or Wales.

For everyday conversation, I quickly became proficient. The alphabet was the same, so learning to read and write was easy. The numbers were a variation of Arabic numerals, and I could use them without much difficulty.

The challenge was learning new words. There was no dictionary in this house. Dictionaries might be extremely rare, found only in the royal palace or the capital’s library, but not having one was frustrating. I had to ask someone every time I didn’t understand a word. It might seem simple to just ask, but as a small child, I had no reason to look up difficult words. I had to explain myself every time, which was very troublesome.

After about three months, I learned to read and write to a certain extent and asked for books. At first, I was given thin books with simple stories, but I got bored with them in less than a month. My father’s and grandfather’s offices had books, but I wasn’t allowed to enter as a child. However, I managed to convince my father to lend me books on history and geography.

Finally, I learned about this world. Of course, I also learned common knowledge from my mother and the maid, Mollie. There were twelve months in a year, thirty days in a month, and twenty-four hours in a day. The year began at the winter solstice, and I had woken up in early June.

From my studies of geography, I learned that I was in Rasmor Village, a small village with a population of about five hundred, which was the entire territory of the Rockhart family. Rasmor Village was in the northeastern border region of the Caelum Empire.

The latitude was around 40 degrees north. The difference in daylight hours between summer and winter wasn’t as extreme as in Northern Europe, more like Hokkaido. Despite this, the summers were hot, and the winters were cold. The village was in a basin, and the continental climate made it this way even at this latitude.

This area was a remote territory sandwiched between the Free Cities, a federation of independent cities, the mercenary nation of Fortis, and the Kingdom of Caelum. It was left as part of the Caelum Empire because it was too remote to be incorporated into the Free Cities or Fortis when they were established.

It was left out because it was a land infested with monsters, and the protection of the people didn’t justify the tax revenue. The Caelum Empire didn’t actively protect the border villages. This area was almost a free border zone, but it was often given as a nominal territory to nobles and knights as a reward. One of these was my grandfather, Gowan Rockhart.

My grandfather was knighted for his military achievements eighteen years ago but moved to Rasmor Village fifteen years ago due to some trouble. My parents and the long-serving Walt didn’t talk much about this, and even when I asked Walt, he was vague. As a three-year-old, I understood that it wasn’t something I should ask about.

To summarize, Rasmor Village was in the northeastern free border region of the Caelum Empire. To the south was the Kingdom of Caelum, where dwarves lived. To the north was the city-state of Periclitus, a nation of adventurers, and to the west was the mercenary nation of Fortis.

Rasmor Village was about five kilometers off the main road, the Ars Road. This “five kilometers” was significant because it kept the village off the trade route. Travelers on the road didn’t stop in Rasmor Village as they traveled north and south.

Geography provided other useful information.

Another thing I learned was the existence of guilds. The main guilds were for commerce, mercenaries, adventurers, mages, and blacksmiths. I didn’t know much, but guilds were mutual aid organizations with branches in larger cities. To become a merchant or craftsman, one needed to join a guild, and the application process was quite rigorous, but as a knight, it didn’t concern me much.

I was most interested in adventurers. I didn’t understand the difference between adventurers and mercenaries, but adventurers mainly hunted monsters for rewards, while mercenaries earned money by providing protection. Of course, there were skilled mercenaries who specialized in large-scale monster hunts and those who had long-term contracts with nations, essentially soldiers.

The Mage Guild was closed, and there was little information. The headquarters was in the academic city of Doctus, and joining the guild required admission to the magic academy there. I wanted to know more about the Mage Guild to use my magical talents, but Rasmor Village had almost no mages, with only three healers who could use healing magic.

I didn’t understand much about magic, but I learned a lot about the gods from various stories. In this world, there was the creator god, Creator, and the three main gods: Caelum, the god of the sky; Mons, the god of the earth; and Veta, the god of humanity. There were also eight attribute gods: Ignis, the god of fire; Lucidus, the god of light; Ventus, the god of wind; Arbor, the god of trees; Fons, the god of water; Noctis, the god of darkness; Limus, the god of earth; and Ferrum, the god of metal. These attribute gods were more widely worshipped than the main gods and were closely related to magic. I think there were twelve of them in my dream, but I didn’t know who I talked to.

Rasmor Village had no specific temple but a single temple dedicated to the twelve gods. The priest, who was a follower of Limus, the god of earth, usually lived in Bogwood, a border town of the Kingdom of Caelum, and only came to the village for festivals.

The units of measurement were similar to those in my original world, using a decimal system based on the MKS system. The notation and units were almost the same, so I didn’t have much trouble.

I also learned about the vassals of the Rockhart family. I found out that there were five vassals.

First, Walt Vassell, the head vassal, had been my grandfather’s subordinate since before he became a knight. He was a skilled spearman but extremely quiet, and I had only heard his voice during greetings and training.

Einos, Walt’s son, also served as a vassal but was weak in martial arts and was often scolded by my grandfather or Walt during training. Einos was my father’s childhood friend, and they sometimes drank together.

Hector Marlon, Mel’s father, was an archer. He was a cheerful person and was well-liked by the village’s self-defense group. Hector’s wife, Mel’s mother, Polly, was a lucky man who had married a much younger and cute wife.

Nicholas Garland, the most knowledgeable person in the Rockhart family, was a traditional swordsman who used a one-handed sword and a shield. He participated in training but used a fierce sword style that didn’t match his quiet demeanor. His daughter, Jean, who worked as a maid, was engaged to Walt’s son, Einos.

Guy Jakes, Sharon’s father, was a vassal who had been an adventurer before joining the military. He had met my grandfather during a monster hunt and was impressed by him, becoming a vassal. He was knowledgeable about monsters and could use both swords and bows, so he often patrolled the area around the village with the hunters and was rarely at the manor.

The Vassell, Marlon, Garland, and Jakes families served as vassals to the Rockhart family.

In a year, I learned and remembered all of this. To move to the next stage, I decided to reveal my secret to my family. I had a lot of doubts about this.

I had built a good relationship with my parents and vassals. I didn’t know much about my grandfather, but I thought my parents would accept me. However, revealing something like a curse could be a different issue. I had heard stories of family bonds being destroyed by new religions.

Still, I decided to reveal it. To use my knowledge and talents, I had to face this challenge. Even if I was treated as a demon-possessed person, I was prepared. Since the gods had sent me here, I thought the risk was low, but it wasn’t zero.

On my birthday, May 25th, I decided to tell my grandfather, father, and mother.