Chapter 20: The Truth

Rylan quickly walked through the halls of the mansion, reaching the study in the center. He entered. His father was staring at the garden through the room’s sole window. Rylan inched closer, appreciating the sight of the orange and red flowers drifting in the wind. Neither of them said anything for some time.

Gerard turned to him with an inscrutable expression.

“Who are you?”

Rylan bowed his head. His father continued.

“You’re not the same person as before. I don’t understand. It is one thing for your personality and speech to change; you could be faking it. However, it makes no sense for you to be proficient in swordsmanship and capable of killing a monster without hesitation, especially so out of nowhere. That is not the life you’ve led.”

“I’m sorry, Father. It’s—”

Gerard pointed at him.

“That right there! You have never apologized a single time in your whole life. Suddenly, after your eighteenth birthday, everything changed,” Gerard continued with a heavy expression, “So I will ask again. Who are you?”

Rylan sighed and looked at the ceiling. Internally, he considered his options. His change had been too abrupt, and he hadn’t tried to pretend to still be the person he used to be. It was something he wouldn’t have been able to bear, to keep pretending to be trash. It was only natural for the people close to him to notice the difference immediately. In the end, he decided to simply be honest. He looked at his father in the eyes.

“Father, do you believe in reincarnation?”

Gerard furrowed his brow.

“What kind of bullshit are you talking about?”

Rylan didn’t hesitate, putting his hand on his chest.

“I remembered a past life.”

His father frowned. The temperature in the study rose rapidly. Gerard slowly stood up, but Rylan maintained his gaze. He continued to speak.

“When I turned eighteen, a new Title appeared in my Status Window. It’s called Reincarnator.”

Gerard’s eyebrow twitched.

“The System explained that I once had a past life. I changed because I received that life’s memories alongside the Title.”

Silence. After nearly a minute, Gerard spoke.

“…And what kind of person were you in this past life?”

“A powerful warrior whose life and search for greater strength were ultimately meaningless. I died as the most powerful swordsman in the world, but there was no one to mourn me after. I was alone in life and in death. I didn’t want to repeat the same mistake in this life.”

His father sighed and looked at the window once more. Time passed by. Rylan didn’t try to pressure his father into answering. Silently, he simply waited. After what felt like an eternity, Gerard sat down in his chair and looked at Rylan with a conflicted, complex expression.

“That doesn’t explain all of your changes.”

Rylan nodded.

“I didn’t simply remember my past life. Something in me was fundamentally changed by it. I’m not the person I was before. I am now a blend of who I am in this life, and who I used to be.”

Gerard stared at him. The seconds passed by. In the older man’s eyes and expression, Rylan could see a multitude of emotions flash by. Disbelief, suspicion, anger, and even sadness. He knew that he was asking for much when telling his father to believe him about this. As such, he tried his best not to press the man. He waited. Finally, after a long while, Gerard opened his mouth.

“…It’s strange. I spent so many nights hoping for you to change, but now that it’s happened, I feel as though I’ve lost something. As if my son… was lost, too.”

Rylan gritted his teeth. That explained the conflict in the man’s expression. Gerard spoke.

“Tell me, then. About this past life of yours.”

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“…Do you believe me, Father?”

Gerard grimaced.

“What else can I do? You’ve shown combat skills far beyond your reach, and your personality has completely changed. Despite all my doubts and suspicions, I think I can tell that the change was real. I have no way to explain it, so I’ll accept your justification. Of course,” the temperature in the room rose suddenly as Gerard narrowed his eyes, “If it turns out you’re lying to me once again, as I said before, you will no longer be my son.”

Rylan let out a small smile. His voice was completely firm.

“There’s no need to worry about that. I won’t betray your expectations. As for my past life, my name was Roland Steelsong. I was the Sword Saint.”

Gerard raised an eyebrow.

“Sounds important. You said that life was meaningless.”

“It was. I was killed by the only family I had left after seeking power for my whole life. I only realized the error of my ways as I was already dying.”

“Is that why you begged for my forgiveness instead of doing whatever a Sword Saint does on your own?”

“Yes.”

Gerard nodded, in thought. His expression was still heavy, but he seemed to be coming to terms with the news.

“I see. What is a Sword Saint, anyhow? Is it a religious position?”

“In my past life, there was barely anything related to ‘magic.’ We used a different type of energy to acquire greater power, and the world favored warriors. As the Sword Saint, I was hailed as one of the few at the peak of such a world. It isn’t a religious position as much as it is a title.”

Gerard’s eyes shone with doubt, as if he were still questioning everything he was hearing.

“Is that why you’re training with the soldiers instead of the Mages?”

“It is.”

Rylan continued to answer every question his father had. A few of them were investigative in nature, as if Gerard was trying to find out if his story was a lie. Others were fueled by simple curiosity and a desire to understand the unknown.

Time passed by. Slowly, the sun sunk beneath the horizon, bathing the world in shades of orange. Rylan watched the beautiful sunset through the window behind his father. Gerard finally nodded.

“I will accept your explanation. It’s the only way for me to explain and understand the ways you’ve changed.”

“Thank you, Father.”

To be truthful, Rylan knew that his father didn’t completely trust him yet. The wounds he had inflicted on his family were far too numerous and too deep to be shrugged off with a simple explanation. However, he could also tell that Gerard had given him the benefit of the doubt, taking into account Sarah’s explanations and Rylan’s own. He spoke firmly.

“I won’t let you down again.”

Gerard nodded.

“You can go. I will talk about this with your mother.”

At the mention of his mother, Rylan’s chest tightened. It had been too long since he last saw her.

“How is she?”

His father shook his head with a bitter expression.

“You know how it is with her family. She’s stuck in the capital for a while.”

Rylan frowned. His mother had sacrificed much to be with Gerard, but her family still wouldn’t let her go, even after all this time. His thoughts turned to his siblings. Both his older brother and sister were in the capital’s Royal Magic Academy. He spoke.

“I’ll take care of Aelfric. I won’t lead him astray anymore.”

At the mention of his younger brother, Rylan saw Gerard veritably deflate. A hopeless look crossed his face, as well as profound regret.

“Good. I… I wasn’t able to help him.”

By the time Gerard noticed that Rylan’s past self had wrapped his tendrils around Aelfric, it was already too late. Aelfric looked up to Rylan more than anyone else and Rylan had thoroughly exploited that. It meant that it was his current self’s responsibility and duty to fix that.

“I’ve already told him to quit the Dust and only manage the withdrawals. I’ll need you to help me with him. It’ll take quite a bit of effort and time to drag him out of the mire we put ourselves in.”

Gerard looked at him with a questioning, strange expression.

“And you? How are you managing the withdrawals?”

“The mana empowerment helps me handle them.”

“I see… I’ve never heard of anyone using mana like that.”

“I’m just trying to mimic Aura.”

Gerard nodded. Rylan continued to speak.

“First, I’ll recover the heirloom in Evenon’s hands.”

His father smiled.

“Do that. Afterwards, I want to discuss your future. Now, leave me with my thoughts. You’ve given me too much to consider.”

Rylan bowed.

“Thank you, Father.”

“You’re still my son, even if you’ve changed. I will support you.”

His chest felt warm.

“Yes!”

He turned around and left the study, letting out a deep breath. His gaze sharpened.

Evenon.

Getting the staff back was the first step of his journey. To achieve it, he needed to grow more powerful, to the point where he wouldn’t lose against Evenon and his Mages. Evenon was currently waiting for him to ‘gather money’ to buy the staff back, but there was no guarantee that this status quo would be maintained, especially since he had begun openly leaving with the soldiers on expeditions.

He might think there’s something wrong.

Still, Rylan didn’t worry too much. Evenon had seen so much of his past self that the man was more likely to come up with answers to his own questions by himself. Any far-fetched justification for Rylan’s behavior would sound more realistic than the realization that he’d changed. While he could try and ask Gerard for the needed coin, he didn’t want to do it. He shouldn’t give any more gold to a man like Evenon.

I should have a few more weeks until he starts questioning me.

The window to improve himself was tight, but it could be just enough, so long as he stuck to a strict training routine. It was already sunset. He should spend the remainder of his day wisely. Every second counted.

I’ve already confirmed that my body can respond adequately when empowered by mana. My biggest priority right now is to strengthen it.

Strengthening his body and increasing the amount of mana he possessed and could circulate were the two main pillars of his plan. They were connected, as the stronger his body, the better it would perform when empowered. To help and protect his family, he needed to reach Roland’s power level as soon as possible.

It was the only way to atone for the mistakes of his past life.