Well, remembering my past life marked the point where my perspective widened, and my thoughts deepened. In many ways, I had matured, and based on that, I put in diligent effort and quickly became a soldier.
However, not long after becoming a soldier, a war broke out.
It was a conflict with a hostile nation that had never gotten along with my kingdom, and this war dragged on for a short but intense three years.
Of all times, it was the war that occurred right after I became a soldier, and I had to join in, forced to participate like a deer caught in headlights.
As much as I wanted to run away, becoming a deserter would only make my life miserable, and I couldn’t live as a fugitive for the rest of my days, so I had no choice but to grit my teeth and join the fight.
For three years, a period that could be considered short, yet anyone who participated in the war would tell you it felt more like thirty years—with fierce and gruesome battles.
Fortunately, my kingdom was the victor in this horrific war, which marked a turning point for it to rise, if not to an empire, at least to the rank of a great power.
So, I had gone from being a mere soldier of the kingdom to a soldier of a great power?
I heard that my salary tripled, and as a war veteran, I received some tax reductions as well.
If anything, considering how I could have lost limbs and had my belly sliced open, those benefits seemed reasonable to an extent…
“Damn it, that can’t be right.”
If it hadn’t been for my troll-like regeneration, I would have died many times over.
For the first time, I felt gratitude towards the spellcaster who had tortured me back when I was a child, under the guise of “experiments.”
I suddenly realized that war truly is a hellish affair.
Well, anyway.
What mattered was I had survived in one piece, whether the kingdom became a great power or not didn’t concern me.
Above all.
“I’m done! I quit!”
Having somehow managed to survive as a rookie soldier through a ridiculously difficult war, I was fed up with everything, whether civil service or anything else.
So, I immediately submitted my resignation letter, planning to live off my retirement pay and perhaps run an inn.
Even if the income wouldn’t be much, a small hope flickered in me that I might live a somewhat peaceful life.
However, the world rarely bends to our plans.
“Oh, did you do that?”
“Yes?”
“You rescued the princess! Thank you so much, really!”
“…?”
While the remnants of the enemy nation suddenly ambushed the camp, I fought reflexively, and somehow ended up saving the princess of the kingdom…
If anyone heard that, they would have scorned me to take better care to weave a believable lie, and I, for one, was utterly indignant to find myself in the protagonist role of such a ridiculous tale.
I had intended to live quietly, without standing out, yet here I was, credited with saving a princess?
How on earth does this kind of nonsense happen?
But alas, reality is what it is.
“I never thought someone like you would end up wasting away as a soldier.”
Suddenly, that guy tossed me a sword along with a necklace resembling a dog tag.
“From now on, you’re a knight.”
“??”
Later, I found out that this middle-aged gentleman with an old-fashioned demeanor was actually the commander of the Knight Order. Apparently, the commander had the authority to appoint knights at his discretion, which I learned later on.
Thus, I unexpectedly found myself granted the title of knight.
…What a total surprise it was.
“Is this really happening?”
“I think it is.”
“Uhm, I’m a former magic slave, though?”
“The kingdom doesn’t care about your background as long as you have abilities.”
“W-Well, actually, I have experience with an assassination organization…”
“Oh? Quite the unique background you have! But that’s even better! We welcome experienced personnel!”
“……”
I hated that I even had to come out as an assassin, but it had zero effect on this guy.
At that moment, I realized.
This guy was just as much of a lunatic.
“…What a nightmare.”
After much delay, at the age of 27, I had finally become a knight.
Specifically, I was what you’d call a parachute knight.
It was no surprise, really—while others were children of nobles or graduates of prestigious academies, I was a commoner who had originally been a soldier. Thus, it was only appropriate that I was labeled a parachute knight, having received my knight’s business card thanks to the Knight Order Leader.
Moreover, it’s common in any organization for parachute cases to be treated with disdain.
“You lowly scum! Do you even know where you are…!”
“Draw your sword. I’ll send you where you truly belong.”
“It would be wise for you to leave on your own terms.”
…Bullying, ostracism, harassment, and various other forms of mistreatment were the usual fate for someone like me.
That was the destiny of a parachute knight without connections.
‘That bastard, the Knight Order Leader, is worse than a common wannabe!’
What good was it to be appointed a knight if I was just sitting in the commander’s office, sipping tea and doing nothing?
If you turn someone into this kind of mess, couldn’t you at least give them some support? But no, that was too much to ask.
I instantly felt my blood boiling, and I needed a way to vent my frustration.
So, I declared:
“Do you think I’m easy to mess with?!”
I lost control in an instant, my vision going dark, and the next thing I knew, it felt like I was blackout drunk.
When my memory resumed, I found myself staring at a scene—a dozen or so knights sprawled out in a bloody mess, and the Knight Order Leader looming over me, standing tall.
“Ha ha, what an interesting talent we have here. No proper teacher in sight, yet you instinctively know how to fight. Truly a beast of a man.”
“…Please don’t toy with me, just accept my resignation letter. And by the way, this isn’t a request; it’s a warning. If you refuse, I really don’t know what I might do to you.”
“Oh really? I’d love to see that. What kind of warning is this?”
“I clearly stated my intentions.”
At that point, I was done with everything—the Knight Order Leader, the whole knight commotion. Though I didn’t want to kill him, I definitely felt the strong urge to at least break his jaw.
I didn’t care what happened next.
It was all the same whether I died this way or that way.
However…
*Thud thud thud!*
“Wait a minute!”
“Ha ha, when will you show me this warning?”
“Uh, no, I made a mistake…!”
This guy was incredibly strong.
It wasn’t that I had outwitted the Knight Order Leader; no, he really was the strongest knight among them, and I had realized that the hard way.
Others were on an entirely different level.
I got beaten mercilessly, like getting thrashed around like a child in the rain. I was truly battered and bruised.
Just when I thought I might get killed at this rate, the Knight Leader finally decided to stop throwing punches.
“Whew, you have quite a sturdy body. Look at me, I’m all sweaty from this.”
“M-Madman…”
“You even managed to speak! You really are talented!”
“I-I’ll definitely resign…”
“Not a chance, I won’t accept that. If you truly want to quit, then beat me. Only then will I consider your resignation.”
“…You bastard.”
I realized I had gotten tangled up with an absurdly strong man, and for the first time, tears welled up in my eyes.
But instead of crying, I resolved to sharpen my inner blade.
‘I will definitely make you pay for this!’
A gentleman’s revenge doesn’t take long to brew—ten years might as well be nothing.
‘…Can I actually win, though?’
To be honest, my confidence was wobbling.
* * *
From that day on, those who used to bully me disappeared.
Actually, to be precise, most of them turned pale and fled at the mere sight of me.
After all, some I had knocked around were still getting treated at the temple, and among those who recovered, there were even some who mentally couldn’t bounce back and retired.
‘Did I go a bit overboard?’
But it couldn’t be helped.
Who told them to provoke me anyway?
They were the ones who first decided to mess with someone who was just trying to live quietly.
Well, as things turned out, I was forced to remain isolated within the knight order, silently doing my duties.
My ultimate goal was, after all, to take down that Knight Order Leader.
So, I had to ramp up my efforts to defeat him, which meant I made a commitment to training—a term I hadn’t really engaged in since my days in the assassin’s guild, and I dedicated myself to it all day, every day.
Sure, the training I knew was hardly much to brag about.
“Isn’t that the Kingdom’s Basic Sword Technique?”
“Y-Yeah, it seems like it?”
“…Do you think that could actually defeat the Knight Leader, the ‘Aura User’?”
“Impossible.”
The only training I had picked up was the stealth and martial arts techniques I learned as an assassin.
However, that was definitely not enough to beat the Knight Leader. Even if I somehow managed to win, I wouldn’t be satisfied.
So, I decided to focus on direct confrontations and began training in swordsmanship, specifically the basic sword techniques that everyone in the kingdom surely knew.
Given my lack of knowledge about high-level sword techniques taught in famous knight families, I didn’t have many options.
I had no acquaintances to teach me.
…While I thought the Knight Leader might be willing to teach me, I absolutely refused that notion.
I didn’t want to feel like I was begging, nor did I want to end up as a wannabe student of that guy.
That being said…
“Hey, you. Let’s spar.”
“W-What did I do wrong to deserve this?”
“Doesn’t matter, I’m going.”
“Y-You’ve got to be kidding me!!”
Fortunately, the place I found myself in was the knight order.
There were plenty of elite folks who had mastered high-level sword techniques, and I engaged in multiple sparring sessions with them every day, absorbing their swordsmanship with my eyes and addressing my shortcomings.
Most of the time, I won because of my physical capabilities, but there were indeed some genuine knights in the order. I occasionally ended up losing to them.
It was a tactical blunder to charge at them with just swordsmanship alone, but rather than feeling humiliated, it was just a joy to have so many chances for improvement against them.
And thus began my continuous days of sparring.
Every time I noticed tangible results, I kept pushing myself.
KWAAM!
“You’re still not at my level.”
“Grrr!!!”
I charged at the Knight Leader.
Well, “charged” might be a stretch; it felt more like he was willingly observing my antics. Instead of feeling humiliated, I just fueled my determination to defeat him.
Yet again, I fought, fought, and fought some more, achieving a remarkable record of a hundred consecutive defeats.
That’s right, I fought a hundred times and lost a hundred times.
“…What a non-human of a man.”
“Did you think ‘Aura User’ was just some dog’s name? Ha ha, if you’re jealous, you too can become an Aura User.”
“…This is infuriating.”
Aura Users.
Those who had become superhumans in human bodies.
Aura is a mysterious power wielded by humans who have undergone systematic and insane training since childhood, and the few who were considered geniuses among them were the ones who could barely reach such heights.
Moreover, it’s common knowledge across the continent that only an Aura User could fight another Aura User.
Thus, Aura Users were regarded as monsters disguised in human form.
And the man I needed to defeat was among the “genuine” Aura Users—one of the three in the kingdom.
At this point, it was reasonable to start feeling a sense of despair.
I simply couldn’t see a way to win.
Swoosh.
“Oh, are you coming at me again?”
“They say a tree that doesn’t fall after ten strikes is resilient.”
“Well, I don’t think that will apply to me.”
“…Then let’s try a thousand, or even ten thousand strikes.”
“Now that sounds like fun.”
*BANG!*
And then three years passed.
I was still.
“Haah, I seriously want to quit.”
I remained in the knight order.
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