By Zephyria 
“You are twenty years old. And this is your sister, Esili Den Valencia… and that is your brother, Leshnold Den Valencia.”
“Do you remember what Mom and Dad’s names are?”
The sister, Esili, asked. When I shook my head to mean I didn’t know, the brother, Leshnold, answered instead.
“My father is Maximilian den Depnel Valentasia. My mother is Luciel den Depnel Valentasia. Both are the Monarchs of this Defnel Duchy and the heads of the Valentasia family.”
“Hmm. Defnel Duchy, is it.”
It was a country he was hearing about for the first time.
“Do you know that this place is the Valhalla Empire? The Defnel Duchy is a vassal state representing the north of the Valhalla Empire.”
“What? An empire has been established?”
Esili and Leshnold, who were explaining as they exchanged words, nodded. I rested my chin on my hand for a moment and fell into thought.
‘It’s not the timeline I knew. It’s out of sync.’
In my memory, until 1102, there was no human ambitious enough to form an empire, nor was there anyone with the power to do so.
All humans were equally weak, and the so-called rulers were afraid of Fiends and tried not to leave their territories… It was a terribly closed-off era.
“What year is it exactly now?”
“Genesis Era 1622. Valhalla Calendar 183.”
Ah. As expected.
If it’s ‘Genesis Era 1622,’ then this world is a full ‘520 years’ after the time I… that is, ‘Mephisto’ died.
‘Human lifespans are only about 100 years at best. Gilbert, that tiresome hero guy, must be long dead.’
The corners of my lips curled up.
The chance to take revenge on that guy was gone, but this was enough. Now, nothing will hinder me. Subjugating the foolish humans under my feet… I vowed to achieve the goal I couldn’t accomplish in my previous life in this one.
As I was reveling in joy and unable to hide my sinister laughter, my flesh and blood in this body were watching me carefully.
I turned to them and smiled kindly.
“I feel very good today.”
Come to think of it, the flesh and blood of this body were lucky.
As I took over this body and came back to life, they had unwillingly given me the body of their child. It was as if they had received a favor from me. And I never ignored favors received, even if the other party was human.
Esili, unaware of my thoughts, patted the back of my hand and said.
“That’s a relief. I’m glad you’re feeling better, really.”
“Yeah. Really, now… we don’t have to worry about death coming at any moment. Your Mana Circuit is working well too.”
Leshnold muttered as if dreaming, still unable to believe it. My mother, Luciel, was overcome with various emotions, sniffling before finally pulling me into her arms.
The crying soon spread like an epidemic, and I had to remain quietly in my mother’s arms for a while, feeling awkward.
‘It seems like it was a very close-knit family.’
However, there was nothing I could do for them in that regard. I felt strangely uncomfortable. I awkwardly patted her back and soon carefully pulled away from her embrace, saying.
“I would like to look around this area.”
It was as if I was about to begin a full-scale exploration of the surroundings.
My flesh and blood willingly agreed. If I looked around the mansion where I had lived my whole life, my memories might return. They were eagerly awaiting the memories of this body that might not even remain.
“The mansion is large, Ray. Take a servant with you.”
“No. I am sufficient on my own.”
I refused Luciel’s suggestion and strode out into the hallway. As expected of a Duke’s mansion, luxury was felt from the hallway itself.
‘Should I start by looking around the first floor slowly?’
At the end of the open hallway, a semi-circular railing like a terrace appeared, and the first-floor lobby was clearly visible below. On both sides, there were curved staircases, and various paintings were hung on each wall, making it enjoyable to look around.
I glanced at the high ceiling and then moved towards the stairs leading down.
It was then.
The entrance door of the mansion opened.
The person who entered was a young man who seemed to have just reached adulthood, and he entered without hesitation. That is, he must have entered and exited often. Furthermore, judging from his neat and refined appearance, it could be seen that he had a high social status.
‘Who is it?’
Could he be a member of this body’s flesh and blood? However, I had not heard that this body had any other siblings.
And the curly brown hair and clear violet eyes were somewhat foreign to be considered ‘someone from this family.’ Leshnold, who looked just like his mother, had Carnation Pink hair and blue eyes, and Esili, who looked just like her father, had navy blue hair and green eyes….
I didn’t know what this body looked like yet, as I hadn’t looked in a mirror.
As I was watching with questions, I made eye contact with him as he happened to raise his head. The man, who was startled and froze upon discovering me, soon strode up the stairs.
“Ray… are you okay now? Is it okay for you to move around?”
Hmm. Judging from the fact that he was asking about my condition, it seemed that he was someone who had some level of acquaintance with this body. I took a few more steps towards the stairs and looked down at him as he was coming up, asking.
“Who are you? State your name and origin accurately.”
Then, the man who had been climbing the stairs stopped and blinked repeatedly. He seemed greatly flustered. Soon, he wore an absurd expression.
“What are you trying to do now?”
“I have lost my memory.”
“What?”
“I have a temporary memory loss disorder, they say.”
Since I actually had no memory, I said it very confidently. It was an excuse that would be useful in the future. However, this man’s reaction was different from my flesh and blood.
“Don’t be ridiculous. What are you dissatisfied with this time?”
He was rather angry, as if he couldn’t believe it.
As he approached as if he was about to headbutt me, I stepped back, and that bastard, who wouldn’t be enough even if I separated his neck and body, pushed me against the wall, trapping me in his arms. Some intense emotion was swirling in the man’s eyes.
Unable to understand, I arched one eyebrow.
“How dare you.”
“Stop…! I have no intention of playing along with your tricks.”
The guy, as if unable to contain his anger, slammed his fist next to my head. At that moment, I sharpened my loosely gazing eyes with a blue edge.
How dare he even scold me. A tasteless lesson needed to be taught to a lowly creature who didn’t know his place. So, at the moment I spread my palm to use Magic.
The man, who let out a small hollow laugh upon seeing the Magic Circle being created with Instant Cast, snatched my wrist. At the same time, the Magic Circle shattered.
“……!”
It was the first time since Gilbert that my Magic had been nullified by a human.
“Why are you doing this when you can’t even use Magic properly? Please… Ray. Make me stop worrying about you.”
The man, with a gloomy face and furrowed brow, muttered.
Even though I was trying to use low-level Magic that was only for playing with children, considering the state of this body… they were humans who didn’t even know the ‘M’ of Magic.
‘The vast amount of Mana that my father has, and… does this mean that humans have developed to this extent in just 500 years?’
I was bewildered and, on the other hand, amazed. It seemed that I still had a lot to learn about the changed world.
“…If your condition has improved, then that’s enough.”
While I was lost in thought for a moment, he let go of me and turned around. The face he briefly showed before turning away was greatly disappointed and hurt.
I quietly watched his back as he walked away. In the end, that rude fellow didn’t properly tell me his name or origin.
“Ah. And.”
The man, who had been striding away, suddenly stopped.
He glanced back at me and said as if warning.
“Be sure to enroll in the academy.”
‘…Academy?’
The nameless man who had gone down the stairs like that left the mansion. Leaving me with a question.
After finishing the exploration of the mansion and returning, I asked my flesh and blood, who had gathered in the living room after dinner, questions related to what I had experienced today. My flesh and blood hesitated to speak for a moment, but soon continued to explain one by one.
“That child’s name is Herman den Müller… He’s your childhood friend. And the academy seems to refer to Merzel Academy. It’s the most historic and largest Magic specialist training school in the empire.”
It turned out that in this Valhalla Empire, there was a Magic specialist training school called Merzel Academy, and for 181 years, it had been producing a large number of ‘Individuals with magical talents regardless of status.’
Talents who graduated from Merzel Academy were treated as highly skilled personnel and received good treatment, and as a result, the admission requirements became higher, and early Magic education for children became a matter of course.
Recently, in order to discover talents who were talented in other areas even if they lacked Magic talent, they had newly established a Swordsmanship Department.
Systematic and professional education.
A society where upward leveling had been achieved.
The reason why humans had become stronger was here.
‘The situation is different from 500 years ago.’
The humans of this era were strong.
“Am I going there?”
“…Actually, your application has already been submitted. You wanted it yourself. You must have wanted to find a way to overcome it somehow. It’s admirable. But, we were against your admission because we were worried about whether you, who haven’t even properly opened your Mana Circuit, would adapt well.”
“And then you had a fever.”
“And, your Mana is a bit special. We were also worried that if it was exposed to the outside, someone would try to use you or cause you trouble.”
So that’s what it was.
I nodded in understanding. But I gave an answer that was different from what they wanted.
“I will go to the academy.”
“…My son.”
“I have no intention of changing my mind.”
To achieve more than 7 stars, I would need quite a bit of effort.
In order to cope with the huge amount of Mana, I had to restore the condition of this body to a better state than it was now, and I had to find a way for the human body to withstand the high achievement of Black Mana.
In order to achieve the grand goal of world domination, ‘time’ was needed.
So, in the meantime, I was going to enter the academy and watch with my own eyes how much the humans of this era had developed.
And while mingling with them, I would also obtain internal information and learn what was worth learning…. Perhaps I could create a gap in the name of trust.
It was killing two birds with one stone.
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you will not be defeated in a hundred battles, right?
I smiled, raising the corners of my lips.
“So, Mother, Father. Please allow my admission?”