Chapter 2

I slowly woke up.

There, an unfamiliar young man and woman were smiling and looking at my face.

The two of them were speaking words I had never heard before, and they seemed delighted.

"Ogyaa?! (Who are you?!)"

I let out an incoherent scream. When I looked at my hands, they were very small.

It seems I had reincarnated.

The reincarnation that the priests preached about was apparently real.

But why do I still have my past memories?

At first, I was concerned about this, but I was a baby.

I was raised by my parents, who did as they pleased.

My life as a villager named Rudis began.

The name Rudis, by coincidence, was also my previous name.

When I later asked about the origin of the name, it turned out to be quite common, not a rare name at all.

The house of the man and woman I was born to seemed to be a rural farmer's home.

However, this village of Elc was so rural that it didn't even have an inn or a store.

Wherever I looked, I could see mountains.

The only visitors were the occasional traveling merchants.

I tried to learn the language and writing of this world.

While I could communicate using [Magic Language], it was troublesome to consume magic power every time.

I was able to learn the language, but not the writing.

My parents couldn't read or write, and neither could anyone else in the village.

So, no one could teach me writing.

Moreover, there were very few written materials to use as teaching aids.

It was difficult to learn about the world's situation and history.

I couldn't even determine if this world was the same as the one I had come from or a different one.

However, this land was so isolated.

There were no attacks, and everyone lived peacefully, tending their fields.

This kind of life might not be so bad.

But I wanted to know more about this world.

When I turned ten, I asked the village chief if I could leave the village.

According to the chief, the farmers in this world had restricted freedom of movement.

Therefore, they couldn't leave their place of birth.

However, there were two ways to leave the village.

One was to become a soldier or an adventurer after turning fifteen and reaching adulthood.

I was excited when I heard the word "adventurer."

While adventurers were mainly mercenaries who fought monsters, the idea of exploring the world was appealing.

A free profession with no strings attached.

This time, I wanted to live quietly, not in a prominent job like being an emperor...

"I'm going to become an adventurer!"

At first, my parents opposed it, but they finally agreed after I persisted.

I helped with farm work during the day.

At night, I secretly practiced magic to prepare for the day I would come of age.

In my past life, I had controlled many demons with the Imperial Seal, so I could use vast amounts of magic power.

But now, I was just an average person.

Still, I could use all the magic I had learned as long as I was careful with my magic power.

I could continue to increase my magic power.

So, there was no need to be pessimistic.

The villagers were surprised when they saw my magic.

Since they couldn't read, they couldn't learn magic, which was natural.

Simple magic was met with "Wow, that's amazing!"

However, if I used powerful magic, it might seem strange.

So, I focused on practicing low-level magic.

The day after my coming-of-age ceremony arrived. Today, I would leave the village.

I was wearing a simple white shirt and brown pants, with a short sword at my waist.

I had a few days' worth of food and a letter of intent for becoming an adventurer, signed by the village chief, in my bag.

"Father, Mother, I'm leaving."

I promised my parents that I would return with a lot of money and left Elc village.

Of course, I wasn't just saying that; I would send them some of my earnings.

I owed them for giving me life and raising me, so it was only natural.

Alright! Finally, I'm free!

I raised my hands in a victory sign and headed for the provincial city of Elpen, where the Adventurer's Guild was located.

If I passed the exam there, I would become an adventurer.

However, I couldn't read, and I didn't know much about this world.

I also had to consider living expenses and equipment, so it would be best to use Elpen as my base at first.

Two days later, I finally arrived in Elpen.

Elpen was a large city surrounded by walls, with cute wooden houses.

Unlike the village where I was born, it was full of shops, crowds, and vitality.

However, compared to the empire I had lived in, there seemed to be some cultural differences.

If that was the case, the magic used here might also be different.

While observing the people, I looked at a map on a bulletin board to find the Adventurer's Guild.

However, since I couldn't read, I couldn't tell where the guild was.

So, I asked a nearby, gentle-looking guard.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where the Adventurer's Guild is?"

"Oh, you want to be an adventurer? We've been short on people lately, so that's great. ...Ah, the guild is the building with the blue roof down this main street."

"Thank you, sir."

I bowed and continued down the street.

The building with the blue roof was easy to find. It was a large stone building, so it had to be the guild.

I opened the door and stepped inside.

The space just inside was a large, open area with a high ceiling.

Several long wooden tables were lined up, and I could see a reception counter.

On the stone walls, bulletin boards were set up with requests for adventurers.

Inside, adventurers were drinking even though it was still daytime.

Not just warriors, but also mages in robes could be seen.

It seemed that the weapons were the same as in the empire I had lived in.

I confirmed that the magic was also similar by looking at the staffs.

I made my way through the noise to the reception desk.

"Hello. Are you here to register as an adventurer?"

A red ponytailed receptionist greeted me.

Of course, that's what I was there for. I answered her enthusiastically, like a new recruit.

"Yes! Here's my application to become an adventurer."

"I'll take it. Please write your name on this paper."

She handed me a pen, and I was about to write "Rudis."

...No, wait a moment.

"Excuse me, I can't write."

"Understood. Could you tell me your name, then?"

It wasn't unusual for farmers who couldn't read to be unable to write.

"I'm Rudis from Elc village."

That's right, I couldn't read the writing of this world.

I almost wrote my overly long formal name in an incomprehensible script.

The receptionist, who seemed experienced, quickly prepared the documents.

"You're a farmer, so I'll inform the lord that you're taking the exam. Rudis, you'll need to take an exam to register."

The exam involved showing the receptionist a part of a monster's body, an accessory, or a weapon.

It was a rather lax exam.

Anyone could become an adventurer by buying these items at the market.

In other words, the job of an adventurer had a low barrier to entry.

Considering that farmers with restricted movement could become adventurers, it made sense.

However, I didn't have any money.

So, I needed to obtain these items on my own.

Hunting a large monster wouldn't be a good idea.

If a new adventurer who had been a farmer managed to kill a large monster, it would cause trouble.

I didn't want to get involved in a world of connections again.

I decided to search for monsters in the forest near Elpen.

I didn't want to hunt non-hostile creatures. However, most monsters were hostile to humans.

Monsters were generally hostile to humans and looked down on them.

I had buried countless monsters, having controlled many as my demons.

However, some of them had become my allies.

While thinking about this, I activated [Detection] and [Magic Barrier].

Detection sensed magic and its movements, while Magic Barrier defended against both magical and physical attacks.

These were the basic spells I had used on the battlefield.

If I found an enemy, I would use attack magic, but...

It seemed that my current body had too little magic power.

If I used attack magic, I would be limited to low-level spells.

Moreover, with my current magic power, I couldn't detect everything in the forest as I could before.

My magic power was much lower than when I didn't have my demons from my previous life.

I needed to increase my magic power somehow.

Still, my magic power was average for a human in this world.

I had compared it to the magic power of the people in the city using [Measurement], so I was sure of it.

...However, I couldn't find anything.

After walking for about thirty minutes, I still hadn't found any monsters.

All I saw were wild birds and rabbits.

I might have come to the wrong place.

Just then, I sensed a magic reaction with [Detection].

In that direction, I noticed a small cluster of magic.

One of them seemed to have a significant amount of magic.

The density suggested it wasn't a group of humans.

It was likely a small monster.

This should be manageable on my own.

If it was a creature I could negotiate with, I would trade one of my tools and this short sword.

I drew my short sword and headed toward the source of the magic reaction.

The source was a small cave in a cliff.

It was just wide enough for a person to enter, and it would be easy to miss.

I used [Lantern] at the entrance to create a floating light sphere.

Alright, let's explore this cave for the first time.

I cautiously entered the cave. It wasn't very deep, and I soon reached the source of the reaction.

The light sphere illuminated the area.

There, I saw trembling Blue Slimes.

I had Blue Slimes among my demons, so they existed in this world as well.

"Human!? What do you want?!"

The largest of the slimes bravely spoke.

It seemed to be able to speak human language, which was perfect.

"I'm an adventurer. I want to trade..."

No, wait. Something was off.

"There should have been a barrier to hide the entrance..."

"Barrier? Ah, it's useless against my [Detection]."

They had set up a barrier to hide the entrance. I hadn't noticed it.

But there was something more concerning.

"By the way, Slime, why do you speak the Imperial language?"

Neither the slimes nor I were using [Magic Language].

The language the slimes were using was the language of the empire.

"Do you think it's wrong for monsters to speak human languages?! I am a demon of Emperor Rudis Vin Arkus Tot Rick West Sacoch Clutch!"

"So, don't be on guard. What? That ridiculously long..."

I couldn't believe my ears.

There couldn't be another human with such a long name.

"...What did you say?"

"Monsters speaking human languages..."

"After that."

"Uh, Rudis Vin Arkus Tot..."

"Rune?!"

"?! How do you know that name?!"

Both Rune and I were surprised.

I thought I had come to a different world, but I had met one of my former demons.

"It is I! Rudis Vin Arkus Tot Rick..."

"West Sacoch Clutch... The part you stumbled over is the same as the emperor's... No, it's a lie! The emperor is gone!"

"Rune, I know it's hard to believe, but I have reincarnated! Please wait a moment..."

Actions speak louder than words.

I dispelled all my magic except [Lantern] and cast [Telepathy] on Rune.

I told Rune about my death and being born in Elc village.

This [Telepathy] was a spell only I could use in the empire.

It allowed me to vividly transmit my thoughts to the other person.

Rune's voice and body trembled.

"Lord Rudis...! Waaah! Lord Rudis!!"

Rune, sobbing, flew into my chest.