Chapter 3

When Rei regained consciousness, he found a young female warrior standing before him, clad in a metal breastplate, a sleeveless piece of armor. Her golden hair, tinged with gray, was tied back, and her sunburned face, though unadorned with makeup, was striking and beautiful. Her presence before him left him shaken. However, he soon noticed the foul odor around him. It was a mix of the stench of blood, metal, and excrement, causing him to wrinkle his nose. At the same time, he realized that some liquid was on his face and, raising his hand to wipe it off, he was shocked.

(Blood? Am I injured? I don’t feel any pain. What? ...What?)

He panicked at the large amount of blood on his arm and looked around. Seeing the numerous bodies of the thieves, brutally torn apart, he felt a violent urge to vomit and began to retch, falling to all fours.

The female warrior, seeing his state, asked, "Are you okay?" but he could not respond to her voice. Although he could hear her, his panicked thoughts could not easily regain their composure. He vomited everything in his stomach, even the bile, but the urge to vomit did not subside.

(What happened? ...It’s disgusting... Help, someone help me...)

After vomiting for about five minutes, he finally seemed to calm down and lay down on his back. The female warrior, seeing this, said,

"I thank you for saving me just now. My name is Ashley Markett, and I serve as the bodyguard to Baron Atley over there."

Trying to respond to her voice, he managed to squeeze out, "I am... Rei..." but his words trailed off.

(What should I say? Is it okay to say I came from another world? I didn’t think about it... Maybe I should go with the classic amnesia...)

"I’m sorry, but my memory is hazy, and I can only remember my name, Rei..."

The middle-aged man in splendid attire, Baron Atley, who had been watching from a distance, judged that this knight who had saved their lives was not dangerous and approached with a man who seemed to be his butler.

"Are you called Lord Rei? I am Bruno Atley, a baron in the Kingdom of Lax. I am deeply grateful for saving our lives."

Rei, unsure of how to respond, could only nod. Ashley, the female warrior, then said,

"Lord Rei, perhaps you should wash the blood off. There should be a stream nearby. If you can’t stand up due to overuse of magic, I can help..."

Only then did he look at himself. His entire body was stained red with blood, and pieces of flesh were stuck to various parts. Seeing this, the urge to vomit returned, but he managed to suppress it and asked,

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Baron Atley and Ashley exchanged glances, and Ashley began to explain.

"While we were being attacked by thieves, Lord Rei rushed out and defeated the thieves one after another..."

Listening to the summarized explanation, he felt the blood drain from his face.

(Did I do all of this? Did I kill people? This blood is from those thieves...)

Regardless of the gazes of those around him, he began to tremble violently. Seeing this, Ashley thought,

(What is this man? He showed hero-like movements, but now he’s vomiting at the sight of blood and trembling like a little girl... I don’t understand at all...)

She felt the image of a hero she had initially formed crumbling and was confused about how to process her emotions.

(He doesn’t seem dangerous. Besides, it might be interesting. Most importantly, it’s the Markett family’s teaching to repay a life-saving favor...)

She became interested in him and proposed again that he wash the blood off. The baron, looking a bit apologetic, said,

"Can you clean up before my daughter wakes up? She might faint if she sees you like this."

Hearing this, Rei headed in the direction of the stream. As he walked, the baron asked Ashley, "What do you think of him?"

"I’m not sure. But in his current state, he doesn’t seem harmful," she replied, loading the dead knights onto the back of the carriage and collecting the thieves' equipment while keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings.

Rei trudged to the stream and began to wash the blood off in the small flow of water. However, the dried blood was difficult to remove, and he eventually jumped into the stream to wash his entire body. The water was unexpectedly cold, causing him to shiver, but he prioritized washing off the blood.

(Come on, fall off! This smell of blood is making me nauseous. Damn! Why won’t it come off...)

He struggled in the cold water for about five minutes, managing to wash off the blood from his face and hands, but the blood on his armor, cloak, and the clothes underneath, especially the blood in his hair, wouldn’t come off.

(In a novel, a 'Purify' spell would clean everything instantly... According to the story, magic should be possible in this situation. I’ll try it, even though it might not work...)

He recalled the setting of the novel he had written and tried the 'Purify' spell, a living magic that cleans the body and clothes. In his novel, there was a category of 'living magic,' and the 'Purify' spell was a combination of water, light, and wind attributes.

As he imagined the 'Purify' spell, a process where water spirits lift the dirt, light spirits break it down, and wind spirits blow away the broken-down dirt and water, light began to gather around him. A blue light enveloped him, then changed to a white light close to gold, and finally to a white light close to silver.

Surprised, he remained still, and the blood and dirt on his body were completely removed. His cloak and undergarments were as clean as if they had been sent to a laundry, with not a single stain left, looking brand new. His body, including his hair, felt as clean as if he had taken a bath. His wet clothes and body were completely dry, and he no longer felt cold, though he felt a bit lethargic.

(Amazing! It really worked... Maybe I can use other spells too...)

He momentarily forgot the guilt of killing and was excited by the fact that he could use magic. As he thought about trying a new spell, he heard Ashley’s voice from a distance.

"Lord Rei! We’re ready to leave. Can you come back?"

He felt a bit disappointed but, considering the possibility of remaining thieves, quickly returned to them.

Rei, having washed off the blood, returned to where Ashley and the others were waiting by the carriage. As he approached, the smell of blood made him feel nauseous again, but he managed to suppress it. Seeing him completely clean, Ashley and the baron were once again astonished.

"How did you wash off so much blood? It’s as if you changed clothes..."

He struggled to find an appropriate response.

(Is the 'Purify' spell not common? It seems normal to use attack magic, but maybe living magic isn’t... I can’t say anything wrong, but what should I do...)

"I washed it off in the stream and then used magic to clean it... You don’t know about it?"

"Using magic to clean clothes and the body... I’ve heard that the elves of Sartuus use such magic..."

The baron tilted his head, trying to recall. Hearing this, Rei thought,

(She just mentioned elves and 'Sartuus.' The baron said 'Lax' Kingdom... Is this the same as the country in the novel I wrote? What’s going on?)

While the two men were deep in thought, the practical Ashley proposed starting the journey.

"Lord Rei, we should leave soon. Can you help me collect the thieves' magic crystals?"

"Magic crystals? Oh, magic crystals... What? Me?"

(Magic crystals, according to my novel, are the crystallized magic power found in the bodies of people and monsters. To extract them, you have to place your hand on the body and channel magic... I don’t want to see the bodies again...)

"Are you having trouble? If you’ve forgotten how to extract them, I can do it. In exchange, can you help me find horses?"

He accepted her offer and entered the forest where the horses were likely to be.

(The name of the country, magic crystals... I need more information to make a judgment, but it seems like I’ve ended up in the world of the novel I wrote...)

He found the horses the knights had been riding and cautiously approached them.

(I’ve never touched a horse before. Should I just hold the reins? There are more than ten, but how do I lead them...)

Not knowing the method, he decided to bring two horses at a time to the carriage, holding the reins and gently pulling. The horses, well-trained, followed obediently.

After bringing the first two horses to the carriage, he saw Ashley extracting magic crystals from the thieves' bodies. The method was the same as he had imagined: placing her hand on the chest of the corpse, a glass-like sphere about 1.5 cm in size floated up.

(So, I really did end up in the world of 'Trinitas Mundus'? How is this possible...)

He focused on gathering the horses, trying not to think too much. After about ten minutes, the horses were gathered, and Ashley had finished collecting the magic crystals, tying the horses with ropes.

She mounted her horse and asked him, "Can you ride a horse? If not, you’ll have to ride in the carriage..."

Seeing her mount, he replied, "I’ll try."

(I feel like I can ride, but why? Who is the original owner of this body?)

He placed his foot in the stirrup and, surprisingly, easily mounted the horse. His body seemed to remember, and he gently pulled the reins to stabilize himself.

(It was easier to ride than a bicycle. Why? Who is this body’s original owner?)

Ashley, relieved that he could ride, informed the baron that they were ready to leave and signaled the butler-like man to drive the carriage.

He followed the signal, guiding the horse to walk. At first, he handled the horse cautiously, but after ten minutes, he could control it as if he had been riding all along.

(Maybe it’s because the horses are well-trained, but is horse riding this easy?)

He wondered why he could ride a horse, but as they left the forest, he focused on guiding the horse. The following chapters will continue with explanations similar to this one. It might be boring, but I hope you will bear with me.