The day began with a two-fold culture shock, fading into a numbing indecisiveness.
Konrad had an impossible choice to make, and only wrong answers to pick from.
Should he go along with Kaede's plan and arm the Demon Lord with mana? The final enemy who would destroy Kasserlane and the entire world? Many worlds, even.
Or refuse, and abandon his friends, and everything he had built.
Not that he built it for himself.
He was reborn in that world with the sole wish to gain control over his life.
And he'd been both scammed, beaten, blackmailed, and forced to save the world.
He never became a noble because he wanted to, either.
Others pressed him to exploit his wealth and power, then discard him anyway.
Like Vargas, who pushed him until he almost broke, before he laughed in his face, saying he didn't need him anymore. Or the king, who demanded that he prove himself over and over.
Then what? Save the world?
Oh, but he saw a vision, and now that was inconvenient.
And while he had a harem of gorgeous and powerful women, he couldn't exactly reap the benefits. They were annoying at best, dangerous at worst—which was always the case.
How often did Gabrielle trick him, or try to lock him away?
How many times did Lily mess with him to 'make things more interesting'?
And he went along as he had no other choice. Now? He had too many. Despite the angels telling him that he'd live and die in Kasserlane, he got this chance. He could start over yet again.
He was still young in this body, strong, healthy, and he had decades of work experience that—
Well, yeah. Another asshole of a boss could have taken advantage of, again.
This wasn't the control he sought, either. But there was no good answer to his questions. Not one he could find in a few hours after coming here.
He needed information and time, but he sat in a busy class instead.
Because that made sense somehow.
Well, school was at least easy—despite the distractions. And the language barrier. That was real. He could only get half of what the teachers said and about a quarter of his classmates' chirping.
Subjects like English, math, and PE were a walk in the park.
They helped him take his mind off the real trouble for a few minutes.
And while he felt less like a prodigy here, he knew his numbers and could copy simple movements with ease. He only had to brush up on his Japanese—or start reining in his focus.
Because, of course, he couldn't live in the present either, no matter how hard he tried.
Like, the kids seemed excited to see him, swarming his desk during recess. But Konrad caught himself shutting his brain off and staring past them more than once.
The exact thing he used to do when his haremettes went too crazy inside his head.
And whether out of tact or as punishment for his earlier words, Kaede even kept her distance.
But no. This wasn't the world he knew.
What felt too intense in Kasserlane seemed like the most mundane moment here. Too much happened way too fast, with never a moment to catch his breath.
And for one, he was also busy thinking about the Demon Lord sitting a few rows behind him.
Or the devastating duel they fought yesterday. Even if Midori-kun had no mana and was no more than a harmless classmate now, he couldn't feel at ease with him this close.
What if Kaede was wrong?
Well, Konrad was sure she was, but what if he also tricked her on top of that?
If he waited for Konrad to show up and kill him, and only pretended he was out of mana?
Not that magic was the only thing that worked on him. Even if getting a gun was difficult in this country, they had katanas. Poison. He must have had some tricks up his sleeve, or that staff—
And take that man back to the world he was to save from him?
No. But, well, he couldn't exactly leave him on Earth, either.
Not that he felt anything for this place. He hated it for most of his previous life, but being here again? After all that time in a magical world of intrigue and scheming?
Here, things have changed, and they could have been for the better.
Compared to his school memories from sixty years ago, it felt like he was on an alien planet.
Whether it was because of the time that had passed or the cultural differences, he couldn't tell.
But he must have had a lot more options now. This life didn't have to be like the last one.
His classmates kept buzzing around him, and he wasn't exactly popular before. Sure, it was about his exchange-student status more than his personality, but still.
What if he stayed, made lots of friends, and kept an eye on the Demon Lord instead?
Wouldn't that be the best for everyone, himself included?
No, well, Kasserlane might still have faced a nomadic invasion with an indecisive king. And all those people he had saved so far—wouldn't they be defenseless without him?
Then again, why was that his problem?
In a moment, he made himself feel guilty about not doing enough, then wanted to see everything burn in the next. And he didn't have to worry about his loved ones, either.
Lily could travel between worlds and could have appeared at any moment.
Or, no, she was actually here with him right now.
It was a pouting past self, but still the same person.
And not like he missed Gabby—with angels causing most of his troubles—but she wasn't tied to that world, either. It was a different question with Stella and Eyna.
The latter was the only one he would have felt sad if he could never see her again.
The former executioner?
What a surprise it was when she showed up out of the blue and saved his skin. She was troublesome and unstable, but deep down, she seemed like a nice girl, too.
Did she know he was alive?
Or did she go on another rampage, turning the nomadic hordes into an undead one?
Yeah, going back there—if that were even possible—would have only caused him and the world more trouble. Kaede might have been mad at him for saying this, but given time—
The bell rang, signalling the end of his last class for the day.
He had no idea what it was about, lost in his own thoughts and tuning out the foreign words.
But the next ones he recognised, having heard them more than once in his past life.
"Halstadt-kun," a girl with blunt bangs and a skirt shorter than the rest bounced on her toes. "I want to organise a mixer to welcome you. Are you free this afternoon?"
Her looks and cheerfulness could rival Kaede's—or even Lily's when they first met.
And that was quite something.
Was it her oriental features? The pointy nose or the subtle makeup? They all blurred together for a moment as the details of that fated meeting came back to him.
It surprised him to see a ginger beauty asking for directions right as he got out of school—
And, well, the answer he blurted out in the present surprised him almost as much.
"Sure. I am. Let's go."
It could have been a new life awaiting, after all.