Yariaku Chapter 1: Return from Death...?

 Chapter 1: Return from Death...?

(Where is this? Did I die...?)

Flood found himself floating in a space where nothing but darkness spread.

He had no feeling of his body, and everything was hazy and surreal, a bizarre place.

(Ah... How unfair... What did I do to deserve this...)

Even as he recalled the circumstances that led to his execution, Flood still couldn't accept it.

(I just wanted to live happily, that's all...)

"......-sama! Flood-sama!"

(What? Who is calling me...? Huh?)

As he heard a voice from somewhere, Flood felt a sensation of being sucked in with his consciousness――

"Flood-sama!!"

"Ah!?"

When he opened his eyes, Flood was sitting on his office chair.

"Wha, why am I here...? Ah, my clothes are back..."

He was supposed to have been killed earlier... and as he wondered, he touched his neck and found that it was intact, and he was wearing his noble attire from his lordship days, and there was no blood, injury, or dirt on his body.

"What... a dream... Eek?!"

Flood, who sank into his chair with relief, was so shocked to see the two people standing in front of him that his spirit almost left his body.

Really, you finally woke up, huh?"

"Lord Geralt, that's rude of you to say."

The ones who were there were Flood's subordinates, the army commander Geralt and the steward Krantz.

They were loyal servants who had served since the previous generation, but they were also traitors who turned against Flood and sided with the rebel army.

"Wha wha wha wha wha...! Wa, wa wa was it all a dream?! Huh?! Which one is a dream?!"

Was the future where he was executed a dream, or was the killing itself a dream within a dream, or was the fact that he was rescued a dream, Flood's mind was in chaos.

"......Did you eat something strange, young master?"

"No...... There shouldn't be anything like that, but......"

The two old servants stared at Flood's more than usual strange behavior with a doubtful eye.

"Hah!!"

Flood was basically a fool and an idiot, but his brain itself was not bad, and when he was in a pinch or in a crisis situation, he had a side that could think very fast, and his brain that was confused just now began to work quickly.

(Wait a second... wait wait... calm down, me... I don't see any malice from Geralt or Krantz... and... something is off... I should play along with the conversation and find out what's going on...)

Flood coughed and sat up on his chair and looked at the two.

"Sorry, both of you, I was a little rattled. It's probably because of the fly agaric I ate before sleeping yesterday... what were we talking about?"

"Why did you eat something that you knew was toxic...?"

"Well, well, commander, there's no need to go into that. Rather, shouldn't we talk about the magical beasts first?"

Krantz, an old gentleman in a butler's outfit with a sparkling monocle, stopped Geralt, a warrior with a slick hair and noticeable sword marks.

"Hmm, yes. Sorry, please go on."

"Then I will explain again. Right now, in the Focus territory, there are many damages to the magic stone dealers caused by the vicious Magical Beast, and it is a big problem."

Magical Beast are the general name for animals that have magic stones, and their basic behavior is almost the same as the original animals.

"I see..."

What mattered for Flood was not the magical beasts or anything like that, but the fact that the two were treating him as a lord.

In other words, this was either the time before the two betrayed him, or a different world (that's why I'm alive?). That's what Flood deduced.

"......So you mean, 'Magical Beasts' are individuals, not groups?"

While following the conversation, Flood was observing the two's expressions.

"Yes. According to the eyewitness reports, it's probably a Death Wheel."

Death Wheels are mutated creatures of weasels, but their danger level is not that high.

"Even if they are Death Wheels, they are still weasels, right? Can't the army handle them?"

"That's the problem, this one, according to the overall information, it would require at least a thousand soldiers to kill it, or else they would only be massacred in return."

"That much!?"

Even if they were embellishing a little, it was not normal to need nearly a thousand soldiers to get rid of one beast.

"Yes. A monster with a body close to five meters, claws and fangs that can easily rip steel, and tough fur and skin that do not allow swords, spears, or arrows through. That's what they say."

"Did you reach out to the Adventurer's Guild?"

"They said they have no one free."

Flood gradually remembered. He had the same conversation with Krantz before, and he left it to him then.

"......I see. If we mobilize thousands of soldiers, it's almost like a war situation. We have to notify and consider the neighboring territories. For now, wait until I give you an answer on what to do."

For that reason, Flood decided to delay his decision, so as not to repeat his previous life's blunder.

At Flood's reply, the two showed a stunned expression.

"What's wrong? Is something odd?"

"N-no... Usually, young master would entrust it to us..."

"True... The commander is right."

"What, I'm just growing up. For now, leave me alone, I have something to do before that (I can't trust these bastards who betrayed me, and leaving it to them is out of the question...)" 

"H-huh?"

"Then pardon me..."

Flood, who watched the two leave with a puzzled look, quickly got up――

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