Chapter 1

I've started a new fantasy work!

Please look forward to it.

How utterly infuriating!

Despite being protected by us, the residents of this borderland only show their frightened faces, and I'm sick of it!

"Captain! We've received a request for assistance from the Ross team in the eastern forest! They say three bears have turned into monsters!"

"Tch! Can't even handle that much. Let's go."

I turn on my heel with a sigh. There's no time to put on armor during a battle, but my light patrol gear should be fine for me.

When I return to the lodging provided by the border lord, the horses are already prepared. I mount up with my four direct subordinates and head for the eastern forest. Even though it's still autumn, the cold wind steals my body heat as we gallop north.

Upon arrival, three out of the five members of the team are already lying in pools of blood. And there, in the shadows of the trees, a man from the town is trembling, watching the battle unfold, giving me a bad feeling.

"Ross! What's the situation!?"

"Captain Justan! We've taken down one, but three are critically injured. There's a child hiding in the shadows of those trees!"

"Ross's team, fall back! Spread out!"

If there's a child, we need to finish this before they panic and run out. Fortunately, my seasoned subordinates can communicate with just a short signal. We dismount and surround the two monster bears. Two of them draw their attention, and the moment an opening appears, we strike.

Even the toughened fur of the monsterized bears is no match for my sword, which is imbued with magic. It seems the other bear has also been taken down by my subordinates.

"Papa!!"

"Tom!"

Seeing the bears no longer moving, the child runs out from the back. At the same time, one of the bears that had been lying still rises and lunges at the child.

Usually, I would have cut down the bear first.

Usually, I would have prioritized the hunt over the child's life.

Usually, I wouldn't shield anyone with my own body.

But the child's figure overlapped with someone else's.

Before I knew it, my body moved on its own.

The bear that had risen to attack collided with me as I hugged the child.

The impact was like being hit by a car.

A car? What's a car...?

With that thought, my consciousness faded.

---

"Where am I...?"

"Captain Justan! You've awakened!"

A foreigner dressed like a knight is saying something to me. Captain Justan... me?

I look like a Japanese person, so there's no way I could be mistaken.

I remember shielding my younger brother when he ran into the road... right?

"Aah... my head...!!"

"Captain! Hey, get a healer in here!!"

A sudden, intense headache hits me, and the room becomes chaotic. As I focus on the pain, the fog in my head clears, and my memories return.

I was the eldest of eight siblings. My father died in an accident when the youngest twins were young, and I supported my mother while studying at university. I shielded my third-youngest brother when he ran into the road... and I probably died.

Then, I remembered my memories from this world.

I want to think it's just a coincidence, but it's exactly like the novel I was obsessed with in high school!

If this is really the world of the novel, it seems I've been reborn as the extremely evil knight captain who is supposed to be killed by the protagonist.

"J-Justan, Captain, have you... have you awakened...? S-should I examine you...?"

The healer, who is always stationed at this lodging, is trembling and speaking to me. I've been harsh to them, so they're very afraid.

"Yes, I'll need your care. Before that, are the child and my subordinates safe?"

"......!?"

Everyone in the room, including my subordinates, froze in shock. I've been trying to keep my words and manner the same, but I've never been the type to check on a child's safety or offer comfort.

"Yes, thanks to Captain Justan, they only have minor scratches. So... I'll start the examination. You were hit on the head, how do you feel?"

"Yes, my memories seem a bit muddled. I might say some strange things."

"Um... do you remember yourself clearly?"

"...... My name is Justan de Vandiere, twenty-two years old, captain of the Royal Third Knight Regiment."

In my previous life, I was Tadahiro Maeno, also twenty-two, a fourth-year university student who had just been offered a job and was free from the job hunt.

"I am the third son of the Vandiere Marquis family, and I'm currently here on the king's orders to assist the Talaran border lord, who has been dealing with an increase in monsters... for about a month?"

While taking care of my seven younger brothers and reducing my mother's burden, I helped with most of the household chores and lived with them.

"It seems there are no major issues. However, even though I used healing magic, you should stay in bed today and rest for three days afterward. Normally, this would have been an injury that would have kept you out of action for a month."

The healer and my subordinates let out a sigh of relief. Even if I had a terrible personality, I'm probably the strongest in the country.

If I, a main combatant, couldn't go on hunts, it would be a crisis for this territory.

Still, I've been quite tyrannical, using the card of being a monster-hunting force to bully my subordinates, the residents, and even the border lords.

My subordinates, because of my attitude, have been causing trouble all around, thinking it's normal.

Even without the memories of my previous life, I must have been a real pain.

Thinking about this, tears keep falling onto the sheets.

"Captain!?"

The sudden tears from me freeze the room.