2023-09-12 01:23:04"Ah... so this is it?"
He had always pondered the fate of people after death, offering prayers each night as he relentlessly fought for the war to come to an end.
His fervent wishes were for his cherished loved ones to be relieved of their suffering.
‘I suppose... At least death brings tranquility.’
Setting aside the anguish of betrayal he had endured, there was a peculiar sense of solace in being slain by Ernesh. After all, there was no one left to hold on to, and living with the burden of guilt weighing on his soul... perhaps departing from that world now that he had reclaimed the throne wasn't such a terrible outcome.
‘I mean, at least I didn’t leave my role behind on purpose this time?’
As he drifted into what appeared to be an unending abyss, a bitter smile graced his lips…
…
Or that was until—
.
.
.
.
.
"WAKE UP, MADAFAKA!!!"
WHACK!
"Ack!" That brunet exclaimed as he clutched his throbbing head.
"The fuck!? Who–!?" Blinking excessively, those brown eyes widened in deep shock.
'Wait... huh?'
It took him a second to realize that the only pain he was feeling was located in his head. There was none in his whole body, and oddly, there was none in his torso where he was supposedly stabbed.
'—I'm not dead?'
Heath glanced at his palms as he slowly regained control of his body and gained a bit more of his vision.
'The hell is going on...?'
The ache in his head made him squint, yet other than that, there was only minor discomfort throughout his weak physique. There was a whiff of a familiar scent that made his gaze land on the piles of bottles that could easily be found even on the bed, next to where he lay.
"Right. Now, my dear depressed twin, I know that you're in a dipshit, but you're the one who told me to wake you up today no matter what. So don't come at me later and just fucking WAKE UP ALREADY!"
And just like that, the poor brunet shrieked as he was yanked off his bed onto the cold, hard floor.
"Ah, geez! Do you need to be that harsh??" —Is this how he gets treated by someone he didn't even know?!
Yet, instead of receiving a reply, Heath restrained himself from firing another snarky comment when he observed the blond abruptly pause, picking up a bottle of what appeared to be small capsules from the table. Although Heath's vision was still blurry, he sensed a sudden shift in the other man's demeanor, which became grave in an instant. Unable to contain himself, Heath felt compelled to call out to him.
"Hey—"
Yet, once again, he was blatantly disregarded.
"—I'll be confiscating this, so you can thank me for it later."
Still quite stressed out with everything, in addition to being ignored, the brunet clicked his tongue, "Oi! I'm here, damn it! Don't just leave like it's none of your goddamn business!"
But the blond in the apron didn't even bother to turn around and simply waved his hand nonchalantly.
"This place stinks, and you reek of alcohol. I'll be waiting in the dining room, so come and join me for breakfast after you take a shower. I expect this place to be sparkling clean, just like that baldy, Nezu's head, before we leave. No backtalk!"
"What the actual fuck...?"
The former royalty could only stare agape before pinching the bridge of his nose once he came to his senses.
'Right. There's no point in panicking. Let's sort things out rationally, shall we?' He let out a sigh.
"First things first." He scanned the room, which became an easier task now that the light had been turned on and his blurry vision had eased up.
‘Honestly, just... where am I?’
The room he found himself in was small, perhaps even smaller than a servant's quarters back at the palace. However, it wasn't exactly like an attendant's room. It resembled a simplified version of his own bedroom, complete with furniture such as a table, chair, cupboard, and even a bookshelf filled with books. While everything seemed minimalistic compared to the lavish furnishings of the nobility, it wasn't as shabby as what commoners would have.
Then again, the mess in this place made it difficult to estimate their true value. As the blond man had pointed out, the place was in complete disarray. It was almost worse than the bloodied throne room where he had lost his life...
“Right. Right.”
‘Let's not think about that.’
Despite the lingering pain from the recent events, Heath tried to focus on his current situation. He stood up, albeit unsteadily, and made his way to the only other door that connected to the room.
It took him a moment to realize that he was in what appeared to be a washroom, or at least he assumed the small tub installed on the counter was meant for that purpose. His goal was to follow the blond man's instructions and wash himself, but he couldn't help but stare at his reflection in the mirror.
Disbelieving, Heath traced the cold surface with his finger.
The reflection staring back at him was that of a disheveled brunet, appearing like a complete mess with tousled hair and a worn-out expression. However, there were no visible bruises or scars on his face, despite the hollow cheeks giving away his lack of proper nourishment.
'Well, at least I seem to be the right age for what I'm used to be. Probably in my twenties... Although with these tired, baggy eyes, I appear much older.'
With that in mind, he shifted his focus to his body. The first thing that caught his attention was his sickly appearance. His emaciated frame revealed the faint outlines of his ribs, but there were no notable scars to be found, at least none that weren't self-inflicted.
He let out a sigh of frustration.
‘And that thing the guy picked up... it's probably medicine or something.’
While he wasn't particularly knowledgeable about capsules as he rarely consumed them, he knew for a fact that they were not to be consumed with anything other than plain water. And definitely not to be taken with alcohol—
“Well, great."Running a hand through his disheveled brown locks, he couldn't help but reflect on the situation. 'So my parallel self died from an overdose, and now, for some inexplicable reason, I'm here to take his place? This is beyond ridiculous...'
Heath had always known that he was somewhat of a coward, but the idea of taking his own life—well, somehow he had never been able to follow through with it.
This made him wonder just how terribly his counterpart's life must have been for him to have resorted to such a path, considering how peaceful his current environment was. No screaming, no loud noises, and definitely no war.
"Well, whatever." There was little he could do about it now, regardless of the reason behind this turn of events. Whether this was a second chance or a punishment, he would figure it out in due time.
"For now, a wash… um—" he muttered to himself, before fumbling to figure out how he could obtain water or anything to cleanse himself with.
But hey, at least it would provide him with a sufficient distraction for the time being!
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"Oh, you're actually cleaning the room?" The surprised voice of the still unnamed man caught Heath's attention. He responded with a quiet hum and a quick nod, continuing his task of collecting the empty bottles. "um, do you need help?" the man offered. After thinking it over for a bit, Heath agreed, "I'm going for a deep clean," which meant he would be throwing away a lot of garbage. Although he inherited the memories stored in this body, it would still take some time to recall all of them one by one. ‘Besides, he offered first.’ The quicker they finished the task, the sooner they could have a meal. However, Heath was not expecting the surprised look on the blond man's face. "What?" "Uh, oh, nothing. I just wasn't expecting that answer," he answered sheepishly before entering the room properly. Raising a brow, Heath finally took a proper look at the man. "He looked somewhat familiar." In his previous life, he did not have any blood relatives, at least none that he knew of after
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“Henhen?”“Hmm?”“What are you doing, man?”“Resting.”Heath sighed as he turned to his right, where the blonde man lay down. “You do realize this bed has no space for two grown-up men, right? Why are you here?”Henko just grinned as he looked to his left. “If we sleep on our sides, it’s possible!”“Haa… geez.” The brunet facepalmed before chuckling. “A sleepover at this age, my dude?”“Sleepovers aren’t limited by age.”Heath sweatdropped at the curt reply. “Can I at least get why you insisted? Aren’t I usually the one being all clingy?”“Yeah, yeah, you are. So it’s my turn now.”“But I’m still sick. Weren’t you the one who told me to sleep early today?” Heath arched a brow, questioning. Yet Henko remained quiet.“?”Not only did the blonde ignore that question, but he was also actively avoiding the topic without avoiding Heath entirely.“Henko?” Heath prompted, concern creeping into his voice.Henko sighed deeply, staring at the ceiling as if it held the answers he was searching fo
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In the end, towards Agent K’s offer, Heath said that this decision was not his alone, since he lived with his cousin who knew nothing of the I-9 class's true nature. Which is why he couldn’t just put his signature on it yet, thankfully, the smiley man agreed to let him go.“You can just send me an email of it when you have the time. Please consider my sincere offer wisely, Sagara-san. After all, you’ve worked hard when it should have been our responsibility.”His words seemed well-intended, and a bright smile was present, but for a moment there, Agent K's smile looked absurdly evil. Heath couldn’t hide his flinch as he tried to mask the blaring alarm in his head at the sight with his own smile. The juxtaposition of the agent's demeanor with the sinister undertones was unsettling.He had wondered why Agent K switched up so fast all of a sudden. But now he realized why the smiley man, who never seemed to actually smile with his eyes, hadn’t been grilling him further despite the chances.
Chapter 58: Recount
By the time the sun rose the next day, the students were called to get ready to go home as their trip duration was over. Heath, despite still not being fully recovered, had no choice but to pack up as well.‘Thankfully, the fever has dropped a lot,’ he thought. While he was still warm, overall he felt fine, and his core was mostly fixed up, enough that he could check the number of people in disguises around their group.‘At least the government seems to have finally pulled themselves together,’ he mused. It was for the best, really, after their major failure last time.That being said, ‘Lil’ bro isn't here?’ He looked around. ‘No, he's not the only one missing,’ his brief search was, however, interrupted by a call.“Looking for someone, Heath-sensei?”The brunet blinked before smiling with his eyes, to show his emotions despite his mask. “Oh, Jitsuo-kun! Glad to see you up and about~”The boy grinned back at him in response. “The medic told me to take it easy for a while and get lots
Chapter 57: Investigation (pt. 3)
“To be honest, I didn’t think that they were kidnapped,” Heath said, his voice steady despite the strain he felt. When the device was activated, Heath initially didn’t think the situation was that grave. “I thought my students were entangled in a gang fight or something.”“Pardon?” Agent K's eyebrow arched in surprise.Heath scratched his cheek a bit, appearing embarrassed. “My students, they're good kids. But some of them can be… sassy at times. Yeah, let's put it that way. And they're capable of defending themselves. So, um, yeah. I was worried that my students got into trouble, which is why I was rushing. But the scale of trouble they were in was something out of left field. Had I known that they were kidnapped and not just losing a street fight, I would have called Miller-san instead of Perry-sensei.”Heath's voice was calm and measured, every word carefully chosen. Above all, he was not lying. His enhanced Insight had declined the idea of a simple street fight and alarmed him tha
Chapter 56: investigation (pt. 2)
Asher had been the last to go among his guardians. That aloof guy had been the strongest, the ace of his cards back in the day. He didn't know how the man was killed, but Ernesh had been considerate enough to spare him the brutal details. Back then, Heath didn’t have the mental capacity to take in the entire truth either. Asher's death was odd. Being the strongest among his guardians, it was hard to believe he was killed because of a mole. But at the time, Heath had no reason to doubt his sworn brother. Detecting no lies in the man's words, he could only bitterly accept the fact that all the true Veridiania had been wiped out, leaving only him.Out of all the Quadradirmias, only Heath Veridiania and Ernesh Mazzanti, along with his guardians, were left while Umbranox had fallen and Eventidea couldn’t continue either, being close to ruin. Asher's death made him question whether he could carry on at all. Ernesh was the only reason he could see the end of the coup. That’s why his betraya
Chapter 55: investigation (pt. 1)
Heath sat on the edge of the bed in his dimly lit hotel room, the shadows from the sparse lamps casting an eerie glow on the walls. His feverish state was evident; his face was pale and slick with sweat, a damp cloth draped over his neck in a futile attempt to cool his burning skin. Despite the discomfort, he forced himself to maintain a semblance of composure.Seeing his state, Lillian wanted to push back the questioning session. After all, there’s just no way that the searing heat on his skin is a mere facade. Despite her own suspicions, Heath has been nothing but cooperative. Lillian knows herself well enough to know she doesn’t get emotional easily, yet when it comes to this brunet, she always feels this bubbling anxiety whenever the man is not okay. It’s suspicious.This wasn’t the first or second time she felt this way. This is the third time she has witnessed this civilian being hurt. ‘Is it because I’m getting used to his bubbly self that seeing him like this shakes me so much?
Chapter 54: Recuperate
‘I'm so beat…’ and that was such an understatement, he knew.Perry had been incredibly helpful in guiding him to his bedroom per his request because, at the moment, even breathing was a chore. Lillian and her buddies, whom he was so sure would have questioned him then and there, were apparently lenient enough to let him go when he was caught dazedly staring at the wall or the ceiling multiple times. Thankfully, no one really quizzed him about his condition since no injuries were found, assuming he was simply exhausted from running miles.“Heh heh…~” His condition was bad, but not as bad as he thought it’d be. It was actually surprising that he wasn’t bleeding out somehow, but perhaps it was because he’d been training on his own time, and even more after the ambush by the Leilian brothers. Regardless, he found his situation to be rather amusing.‘The recoil.’ He could feel his core cracking inside due to the strain. Just because he knew how to use magic didn’t mean he should have pushe
Chapter 53: Rescued
“Phew, what a troublesome bunch.”After making sure that everyone was unconscious, Heath combed his hair before dusting off his outfit. At first, he thought it would be hard to deal with them, but in fact, he had been overestimating his enemies by a couple of notches. He had expected them to at least tear his outfit, land a strong hit once, or worse, shoot him. But none of that ever happened, and luckily, his clothes weren’t tainted with blood. Feeling a bit proud that he could control his power merely by judging from his appearance, he then counted his victims.‘24 down.’The last three people were not pursuing him.Throb.Scowling as his feet began to move again, it seemed like there was no time for him to rest. His enhanced insight was acting up again, and since he wasn’t in any immediate threat, his second hunch was about his missing students.Throb.‘Don’t just agree with me, gosh,’ he thought, gritting his teeth. He scanned the area once more before mumbling curses under his br
Chapter 52: First contact
"You bastard!!!"No guns yet; it seems like they chose close combat instead. 'Well, lucky me, that would make things easier.'A fist was launched, but Heath easily ducked it and immediately followed with a roundhouse kick. The blow connected, sending the guy sprawling."T-That can't be...!"That last guy had been on the heavier side indeed. He was probably one of their best fighters, which is why this last man standing was left quivering, in disbelief that his comrades were defeated so easily.Well, it turns out, despite his scare, he seems to know how to assess the situation. And now Heath was facing the fearful weapon he had dreaded.The guy aimed and desperately shot in Heath's direction as if it were his lifeline. Which, quite frankly, was not far-fetched.BANG! BANG! BANG!'It has a line projectile, so once he fires, if he misses, he misses.'Unlike some magic that can chase after its target, bullets don't work that way, which is relieving because that means Heath could just move
