The young Alfio was troubled by this, but his salvation came in the form of his female tutor. She recognized his personality and praised him, affirming him, which gave him self-confidence…and as a result, Alfio developed a distorted view of himself as a “special person”.
And the greatest change occurred when he was six years old.
The precociously gifted Alfio realized he had fallen in love with the woman who had given him self-confidence – the female tutor who had become his private teacher after graduating from the magic academy. She was twenty-two, sixteen years older than Alfio. Normally, she would have been at the age to get married. But the self-assured Alfio believed he was the only one who could make her happy, and he had no doubt that she would accept his feelings.
However…she was already married. The tutor, who had watched Alfio since his childhood, seemed to have developed a maternal desire for a child, and she left her position as a private tutor before Alfio could confess his feelings.
Alfio was shocked. The impact of this “first love” was tremendous for the young child, and after falling into a high fever and bedridden for several days, Alfio suddenly recalled his “past life”.
When a living being dies, its soul dissipates and returns to the “world”, being reborn as a new life.
But sometimes, the soul that should have been returned to the world does not, and is reborn while retaining the characteristics of the previous life.
There are conditions for a deceased soul to be reborn.
One is to accumulate many “experiences” in their previous life. In that case, only the experiences are returned to the world, and the soul is reborn as a stronger one.
The other is if the soul has an “attachment” so strong that it impedes the soul’s dissipation. In most cases, this attachment is impure, and the attachment itself fuses with the spiritual body, becoming a bound spirit. But if the attachment is pure, the soul may be reborn.
In Alfio’s case, it was “regret”. But his attachment was not so impure as to become a bound spirit, being deeply rooted in the very essence of living beings, and he was fortunately able to be reborn.
“…There must be a reason I was born into this world.”
Alfio is not the same as his past human incarnation. However, a soul that was reincarnated with strong feelings is influenced by the memories—the “spirit form” of their past life appearance.
The more vivid the memories, the more alike the spirit form becomes to their past appearance, even influencing their current physical body. Alfio’s early maturity, ability to visualize magic, and black hair and eye color were all influenced by the spirit form of his past life.
Then Alfio began to put in effort. In his past life, he had lived lazily before dying unceremoniously, but this time he resolved to live earnestly.
Fueled by the lingering regrets of his past life, he trained in his weak swordsmanship, created new magic, and grew stronger. There were times he felt like giving up. Times of hardship. But Alfio persevered.
The lingering attachment of his past life…to find a loved one and become happy this time around.
Struggling through blood, sweat and tears, Alfio saved an elf village besieged by elephants, and gained an elf woman as a comrade in battle.
His estranged childhood friend, a knight’s daughter, also requested to join him after seeing how strong he had become.
If Alfio’s intuition was correct, both women harbored feelings for him.
The trio began working as mercenaries, and by chance got involved with demon slaying during a missing person case, earning Alfio the title of “hero”, though an unofficial one not recognized by any state.
Hearing of their reputation, the High Priest of the Costol Church in the capital Sigres became their patron, providing funds for their activities.
Influenced by his past life, Alfio had longed for a beautiful elf woman.
And his cute childhood friend who cared about him.
Additionally, two young noble daughters the High Priest introduced, while a bit haughty but blossoming into future beauties, joined as new comrades, making Alfio feel new stirrings in his heart.
“It’s alright if the loved one isn’t just one woman.”
In a sense, this was a “curse”, a “distortion”.
The lingering regret of failing to meet his loved one in his past life. The unfulfilled longing of a childhood crush in this life… Looking at the women who had gathered around him as if to fill that void, Alfio came to believe it was his destiny to make many women happy.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Then at a party hosted by the Sigres royal family, which Alfio attended as a guard for his Church patron, he encountered a young girl.
Too young to even call a girl, with golden hair and eyes, she pierced Alfio’s heart with a terrifying, perfect beauty.
An overwhelming presence as if a god had created the pinnacle of craftsmanship and imbued it with an immense soul – her divine radiance could make the faint of spirit prostrate themselves before her.
Apparently the youngest sister of the noble sisters who had recently joined his group, they seemed quite wary of her, warning Alfio to be cautious as well. However, Alfio’s resilient soul influenced by his past life, coupled with his experience in two dimensions, left him unable to feel any caution towards the golden girl’s beauty.
Had her inner self been as coldly artificial as her appearance, Alfio may have felt dissonance. But in actuality talking to her, her demeanor was that of an age-appropriate girl beaming with joy at reuniting with her disliked sisters.
With her differing hair and eye color, there must be serious family issues, so he couldn’t blame the sisters’ wariness.
But Alfio understood – he had encountered this golden girl to resolve the sisters’ conflict, so that he could make these three sisters his happy family.
Alfio swore in his heart:
He would absolutely make this golden girl happy as a woman.
While also feeling an odd sense of affinity as she laughed at the elf’s mispronunciation of his name “Shiodaifuku”, just as he had initially.
***
“What’s wrong all of a sudden, Ataline?”
“…It’s nothing.”
At the royal Sigres wedding party of this foreign land where she had reunited with her “sister”, Ataline abruptly left the venue, deflecting the question from the party’s warrior Cheria who had followed her.
While Ataline tended to look down on others, she had an ulterior motive to exploit the heroes’ power and fame at this party, so she had been relatively amicable with those of actual ability like the heroes’ group.
The party’s other women, though initially reluctant about a new addition, did not show any animosity towards the sisters still in their early teens, with Ataline and Aureline occupying a role akin to the party’s little sisters.
(…Who does she think she is!)
Eurushia, her half-sister whom she had only met once three years prior.
The wretched girl who had robbed Ataline of everything meant to be hers – family, affection, status, admiration.
That girl was the embodiment of a princess, a saint. When reunited, Eurushia had called Ataline and Aureline sisters, seeming genuinely delighted with an endearing smile.
That slight sense of dissonance Ataline had felt even at their first meeting…
Something she could perceive precisely because she had been antagonistic from the start.
Looking into Eurushia’s eyes through that ephemeral beauty, Ataline felt a dreadful sensation – as if trapped in a cage, gazed upon by an immense beast of prey through her demure smile.
“Ataline, are you okay? Al and the others caught up.”
“…Yes.”
Trembling from that terror, misinterpreted by Cheria as simply family troubles, Ataline saw Alfio’s group approaching.
Aureline, left behind due to their physical differences, was being carried by Alfio.
Apologizing for her abrupt departure, Alfio, Anticova and Cheria all seemed to misunderstand, consoling Ataline.
“Well, she was rather rude.”
“I’m sure she was just nervous to meet great heroes like us.”
“For Ataline and Aureline’s sister, she was frighteningly beautiful.”
While Anticova was still peeved by the rudeness, Alfio defended it as mere nerves, and Cheria didn’t seem to have perceived anything amiss.
“Big sister…”
Only the younger sister Aureline looked anxious, lightly grasping Ataline’s dress.
However, Aureline’s trepidation stemmed from Eurushia’s status and power as a saint, being an inherently timid girl confined to her mother and sister’s shadows. Aureline had not grasped Eurushia’s true dreadfulness.
(What in the world…)
Not a single one of them was wary of Eurushia.
Ataline had expected Alfio the hero to understand Eurushia’s abnormality, but he too only saw her as a beautiful young princess.
(No…not yet.)
Alfio and his comrades had yet to fully awaken as heroes. By cooperating with Ataline to help Alfio grow, eventually he would perceive the truth. Until then, Ataline herself had to grow strong enough to confront Eurushia.
To protect the people she cares about…
(I will absolutely protect “people I cares” from Eurushia!)
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