TSFH - Chapter 17

"Wake up!!!"

Oh my god.

Ryan, who had adapted to the harsh prison life for 12 years, woke up at exactly 6 o'clock.

I have to eat breakfast...

I forced my eyes open and was dragged along until I stopped when I saw the bulletin board in front of the restaurant.

An onboard bulletin board where extra editions and job postings are posted in a disorganized manner.

'As expected, there it is.'

I found what I needed there.

[105th Imperial Swordsmanship Tournament]

The path to becoming an honorable knight!

'My dear Kali... see you again soon..."

I tear off the notice and take it with me, yawning and trying to leave.

"Uh?"

...this is stuck here now.

I woke up with a jolt.

[-WANTED-]

Wanted.

The intelligent demon, 'Ratan'.

A monster with large horns is depicted. Below it are damage reports, the last known location, and a bounty.

Ratan, known as the 'speaking' intelligent demon among the unintelligent monsters.

What on earth was this thing, where it came from, where it came from? Before they caught him, no one knew. And when he was finally caught, and his shocking identity was revealed...

Our family was turned upside down.

The true identity of this demon!

'Yeah, right now I'm the only one who knows.'

I was planning on finding this guy anyway.

After tearing off the wanted poster and taking it with me, I went into the restaurant.

Ryan and Revan were ordering.

“I’m an omelet!”

I quickly shouted for an omelet. Ham stew is tasteless...

“I’d like ham stew, pancakes, roast goose with bacon... and butter stollen for dessert.”

Ryan carefully looked over the menu and said, “Revan ordered.”

“Three omelets.”

"Hey!"

Ryan protested immediately.

“Are you kidding me? Whose nose would you stick a plate of omelets in?”

“You don’t have any money.”

“Why not? I already received child support!”

"Oh, man. That's literally child support. Don't you know what child support means? It's not money you give to feed goosebumps to your brother."

Ryan, who was trembling, quickly added an order.

“One more ham stew there.”

"Ah!"

A shocked Revan slapped Ryan on the shoulder and scolded him.

“This savage! You worthless savage!”

“Don’t do it! It hurts, just a little!”

I watched the two of them with a happy expression and sniffed.

'You're really close. It's nice to see you.'

We sat at a table and waited for our food to arrive. Revan kept poking Ryan, apparently upset that he'd been given an extra plate of ham stew.

“But, baby, there’s something I’ve been wondering about since yesterday.”

Revan, who had been pinching Ryan without a word, turned his eyes to me.

“...That ability transplant experiment.”

It was so early in the morning that there were hardly any people around, but Revan spoke quietly, keeping a close eye on his surroundings.

"What exactly did they do? Wouldn't it require the help of those with special abilities to implant this ability?"

“Oh, I guess so?”

“There’s no way those with special abilities would come and help me on their own.”

I smiled awkwardly and shook my head.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know about that.”

“Oh, no. What do you have to be sorry about?”

I actually know.

I know, but I'll hold back on this. It's information Ryan and Revan don't necessarily need to know.

A person with superpowers who helped with the experiment?

Surprisingly, there was.

The late Duke, Evan Wassenberg.

So, he was our grandfather.

He suddenly disappeared after handing over the dukedom...

'Actually, he went there to collude with the royal family.'

It happened before I was even born, so I don't know the details, but I could guess what my grandfather was thinking.

Perhaps he, too, felt skeptical of his family's behavior. Perhaps that's why he willingly offered his body as a test subject.

So.

With the tacit consent of the 'Imperial Family', the 'Imperial Academy's Department of Magic Engineering Professors' conducted an experiment to transplant supernatural powers using the 'former Duke of Wassenberg'.

That's the truth about that project.

“Now that I hear you, it seems like you really needed the help of someone with supernatural abilities to conduct such an experiment?”

Ryan said, looking lost in thought for a moment.

“Then it must have been my grandfather?”

“Phew!”

Wow. I was just about to gulp down some water when I gasped in surprise.

"Oh, are you okay, baby? But what do you mean by grandfather? Are you referring to the former Duke of Wassenberg?"

"Uh. I don't remember his face very well because he was so young, but I think I was six? I know he left my grandfather's house. After that, what happened? Did the old man sink to the ground or rise to the sky?"

"What? He's not dead, he's just disappeared. So maybe the previous Duke assisted with that experiment?"

“Maybe so?”

I swallowed hard as I listened to Ryan and Revan's exchange.

Even without being told, the two were gradually reaching the truth.

“If that experiment was successful... does that mean there could be ordinary people who have been implanted with the abilities of the previous Duke?”

Revan, who had been analyzing sharply, clapped his hands and asked Ryan.

“What was that gentleman’s supernatural ability?”

“What was it?” Ryan muttered, then exclaimed, “Ah,” and twirled his index finger.

Going around in a circle.

Pretend to rewind something.

“A poem of retrograde movement.”

“Huh?”

Ryan added to the puzzled Revan.

“It is the blessing of return.”

***

The room we returned to after finishing our meal.

“Ssup, haa.”

Ryan, lying face down between the beds, was doing one-handed push-ups. Exercising after meals was a habit he'd maintained throughout his 12 years in prison.

I was holding a towel and staring blankly at Ryan's back as he went up and down.

“Brother, tell me a little more about what this regression is.”

"Literally, phew. It's the ability to rewind time. What more can I say?"

“Be a little more specific!”

Revan's eyes lit up.

"If, just maybe, that experiment was successful that day, there might be a normal person with that ability! Finding them would be a huge help. Don't you think?"

"Are you stupid? How could you find that? There's no way such an experiment would have succeeded, but even if it had, by some chance, it would have. Phew."

Ryan added, catching his breath.

"If it were known, our family would naturally hunt you down and kill you. Unless you're a total idiot, why would you go around bragging about how successful you are?"

“...I guess so? But I’m still curious, so tell me more.”

"Oh, I'm working out. Hey, ask him instead of me. He should know everything since he taught me at home when I was little."

At Ryan's words, Revan looked at me sitting on the bed.

"Ah."

I promised to tell you everything I know, so I can't pretend to know...

"The Poem of Retrograde is a supernatural ability that allows you to travel back in time. It can be any number of seconds, hours, or even years back to the point when you first awakened this ability."

"No, what kind of fraudulent power is that? Then you can go back in time and live again as many times as you want?"

"Maybe? Other people wouldn't know since they have no way of knowing if time went back or not, but those who regress retain all their memories."

“Aha. So only the person who returns remembers?”

“...”

I was about to hold back my words, but then I looked at Ryan. He still seemed intent on exercising, but I guess his ears were open.

Even if you hide information, it will all be found out...

“...You can also return together. If you come into contact with others while returning, you can return with their memories.”

"Really?!"

"Revan was excited," I added with a pitiful expression.

“It’s limited to those with special abilities. It doesn’t work with ordinary people.”

“Hey, that’s it.”

“That’s good,” Revan grumbled.

I became depressed while talking to him.

Companion regression...

I did it.

But now, I am the only one in this world who remembers the '10 years' that have disappeared.

It was my lover, Nike, who turned back time, but since he was a 'created' superpower user, he couldn't use his powers to their fullest.

The limit of what he can remember while rewinding time is 30 minutes.

But since I've rewinded 10 years, he's probably forgotten everything.

Our first meeting, our shy confession, our memories of love...

And... even the country itself.

***

Before his return, the Duke of Wassenberg raised his daughter Vania with meticulous care.

It would have been a problem if Vania, the holder of the special blessing, had any ill will towards the family.

At a time when concepts like goodness and morality were being established, the family's actions were kept secret. They said that since there were plenty of brothers, there was no need for her to suffer as well.

So, until she was 16 and an adult, Vania did nothing and lived like a happy Princess.

Wearing beautiful dresses every day, adorning herself with gorgeous jewelry, traveling, eating rare foods...

It was a daily routine of unwrapping all sorts of expensive gifts given to her by her father and siblings.

“Your Excellency, you have arrived!”

It was in the summer of her 16th year that Vania first took on the family business.

It was the day when she went to take care of the family soldiers who were injured during the subjugation on behalf of the third daughter, Diana, who was absent.

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