“I don’t think we can ride any further. We’ll need to get new horses.”

The leader muttered that while stroking his black horse.

As he said, the horses we had been riding were showing signs of exhaustion, unable to withstand the forced march we’d been on.

Since we couldn’t walk to our destination, we would need to get new horses.

So, normally I would have said, “We have no choice. It would be good for us to rest a bit in this city while we get new horses.”

To that, the leader would have said he’d go get the horses and told me to find lodging, and we would have gone in different directions.

Afterwards, I would have followed a red-haired kid and encountered Ernant.

After that…

“I’ll lose my life.”

Hearing my muttering, the leader turned to me with a slightly surprised look.

“What did you just say?”

“Ernant is in this city. I’ll end up dying fighting against the modified awakened ones he controls.”

“…?”

The leader, who had been staring at me blankly with a puzzled look, slowly opened his mouth.

“I was talking about the horses not being able to run any further… What are you suddenly saying? You’ll die? Did you have a dream while riding or something…?”

“It’s not a dream. This is, well…”

I was at a loss for how to explain.

Clearly, I had lost my life after being struck by the mace of a knight controlled by Ernant.

I had closed my eyes amidst the terrible sensation of broken bones piercing my organs, but for some reason I had returned to the past.

Time had been reversed to the point when the leader and I had just arrived in this city.

So if I were to summarize the current situation with difficulty, I could say it like this:

I had regressed for the second time.

Yes, it seemed I had returned to the past again.

Just like when I went back 5 years after being poisoned by Ernant.

“I don’t know how to explain it either. Anyway, I know the future. Ernant is in this city, and I’ll be killed by his knight.”

“…”

The leader looked at me with eyes full of concern.

“Did you perhaps… get heatstroke? You don’t seem to be showing symptoms of exhaustion.”

He seemed to think I was spouting nonsense due to heatstroke.

Well, if I were the leader, I would have reacted the same way.

If someone who had been perfectly fine suddenly started saying strange things about knowing the future.

But even at the risk of seeming strange to him, I wanted to avoid this city.

“Can’t you just believe what I’m saying?”

“…”

“I really don’t want to stay in this city. Really, I feel like he’s here.”

After I pleaded like that, the leader glanced briefly towards the lively city.

After examining it for a while, he eventually turned his gaze back to me.

“Anyway, you’re saying you don’t like it here?”

“Yes.”

“Come to think of it, I feel a bit uneasy too. Somehow this city feels ominous.”

He scratched his cheek and continued.

“I feel like something bad is going to happen. It’s strange. I definitely didn’t feel this way earlier. Suddenly it feels foreboding.”

“Let’s leave here quickly.”

“But the horses won’t be able to run any further.”

“I know there’s a small village a bit further from here. Let’s try to make it there somehow. It’ll be hard to find good lodging or horses in a small village, but even so—”

I glanced briefly towards the splendid yet ominous city before continuing.

“It seems better than here.”

Hearing my words, the leader thought for a moment before nodding.

“Alright. Then shall we try riding a bit further? Sorry to these guys, though.”

He stroked his struggling horse before climbing back into the saddle.

I also got back on my horse, and we rode towards the next village.

Thus, I was able to avoid death.

Late at night, a long sigh escaped Ernant’s lips as he sat idly in the tavern waiting for Yulia.

Ernant asked the soldier who had just reported to him, reiterating:

“You say those two went to another village? Are you certain?”

“Yes, it’s certain. We couldn’t find any trace of them anywhere in this city, and there are witnesses who saw them leaving for elsewhere.”

“Strange… I thought for sure they’d stay here for at least a day.”

Recently, Ernant had been secretly and meticulously tailing Martin and Yulia.

Thanks to that, he knew they had been riding horses without rest, and so he had predicted they would surely stay in this city for a day.

He had been preparing to lure Yulia by renting out the tavern, but for some reason they had gone to another village.

All his waiting had been in vain.

What happened? Did they notice I’m here?

Muttering that to himself, Ernant chewed on his fingernail.

Unless they had noticed Ernant’s presence, there was no way to explain this situation.

They must have been tired after riding for days without rest, both horses and people, so to pass by such a good resting place…

But how could they have noticed that fact?

It was impossible unless they had awakened some special ability.

“How on earth…”

“Your Majesty! There’s something wrong with David and Georg’s condition!”

The soldier’s urgent cry broke Ernant’s train of thought.

David, and Georg.

They were awakened ones who Ernant had forcibly awakened by implanting chimeras.

They were the only two who had managed to maintain their sanity after the implantation, so they could be called the precious first fruits to show Yulia.

At the words that something was wrong with their condition, Ernant immediately went into the small room attached to the tavern to check on them.

“Grrrr…”

“Ugh…”

The two knights who had been fairly normal in the morning were now staring blankly into space and making beast-like sounds.

Tsk, Ernant clicked his tongue and muttered.

“Has their limit come now?”

Through research, he had solved the problem of experimental subjects dying immediately after chimera implantation.

He had also succeeded in awakening abilities.

However, one final hurdle remained.

Those who received chimera implants would eventually lose their sense of self and fall into a berserk state, sooner or later.

David and Georg had held out longer, but it seemed their limit had come now.

“I was hoping they’d hold out until I could show them to Yulia… but it’ll become dangerous if we leave them any longer. We have no choice. Dispose of them.”

The soldiers who heard the order simultaneously raised their crossbows.

They then accurately hit Georg and David’s heads.

Looking at the two who had instantly become corpses, Ernant sighed.

It was disappointing that the fruits he should have shown to Yulia had ended up like this.

The aide who had been watching the situation by his side cautiously asked.

“What shall we do now? Will you stay here for a day and then pursue Lord Schneestein again?”

“Hmm…”

After pondering the aide’s question for a long time, Ernant slowly opened his mouth.

“No, we’ll return to the Imperial Palace for now. Since Georg and David ended up like that, I can’t show them to Yulia anyway… It would be better to return to the palace, achieve better results, and then seek her out again.”

Of course, he still wanted to pursue Yulia.

He was also very displeased with the situation of Yulia being together with Martin.

But because his head, which had been heated from chasing them for days, had cooled down a bit, he was finally able to make a rational judgment.

Even if he chased after them now, he would end up encountering Yulia empty-handed, without research results.

Then it would be difficult to persuade Yulia.

“I need to prepare something to show her first. Only then will Yulia acknowledge that my research wasn’t in vain, right?”

“An excellent choice. I’ll prepare everything so we can return to the Imperial Palace as soon as day breaks tomorrow.”

The aide said this while bowing his head.

Thanks to pushing ourselves a bit, we were able to reach the village before the sky darkened.

Only after entering the village did I finally feel at ease.

I had safely avoided the death that was approaching me once again.

After getting lodging there, having a meal, and even taking a bath, I felt completely relaxed.

So, I was able to think about questions I hadn’t been able to consider until now.

Why was my time reversed again?

Was it thanks to my mother’s heirloom this time too?

Or was there another reason?

Several questions came to mind, but I couldn’t find any clear answers.

I let out a deep sigh and sprawled out on the bed.

Having crossed the boundary between life and death, I was extremely fatigued.

I probably would have fallen asleep right there, if the leader hadn’t come into the room after washing up in the bathroom.

“…”

I erased the worries that had been filling my head and observed the leader.

He was barely covering his essential parts with a single towel provided by the inn.