MDBC 02

Chapter 02

“15 years?”

That Valanus existed 15 years ago—I couldn’t understand what that meant. I grabbed the man by the collar.

“When Valanus existed, what happened to the children here? And what happened afterward? Tell me everything you know.”

“I-I don’t know! I just bought this place!”

The man struggled, terrified. The fact that the building had been sold left me feeling hollow.

So Valanus was sold and turned into a brothel?

I had no idea what had happened after I died. The man didn’t seem to know anything either.

There was no point in continuing the conversation, and I didn’t want to leave trash like this in our home anyway.

“…Get lost. Take whatever’s left here and disappear.”

I let him go, and he hurriedly fled the office. Even after his footsteps faded, I stood frozen in place for a long time.

A sweet, cloying scent filled the room. It made my stomach churn. The scenery I remembered was gone, replaced by an unfamiliar stench, and I was left alone in it.

I could no longer hear my disciples’ laughter.

Shaking off the emptiness, I moved my feet. There was no time to indulge in sentimentality. I needed to assess the situation and find the children.

I headed into the city. Even after 15 years, perhaps some familiar faces remained. I needed someone who could tell me what happened.

Entering the city center, I saw a restaurant still in business. The sign was worn, but the shape was familiar. So it was still here after all this time.

The place was quiet. I sat at an empty counter seat, and the owner approached me. She had aged from middle age into old age.

“Are you ordering?”

“…A bowl of soy milk soup, please.”

I ordered a dish I used to get often. The owner’s eyes shifted slightly.

“We don’t serve that anymore. Where did you hear about it?”

“I heard about it a long time ago.”

“Your father’s name wouldn’t happen to be Dane, would it? You look just like him.”

Hearing my name from her mouth made me slightly flustered. I supposed we did look alike. I simply looked younger—nothing more. Instead of correcting her, I nodded.

“Yes. I heard about this place from my father. He said the soup was good.”

“Huh, that’s strange. A man who used to devote his life to his disciples—when did he have a kid?”

With that, the owner headed into the kitchen. The place that had been bustling not long ago now felt worn down in an instant.

Fifteen years. So 15 years had passed. Why had I been revived? Why had I been brought back in my 20-year-old body? I had many questions, but there was something more important.

“Here you go—your soup. Bread’s on the house.”

“Thank you.”

I received the warm soup, but I didn’t have much appetite. I hadn’t come here to eat in the first place. I spoke to the owner.

“I have a few more questions. I’m here to find my father’s domus.”

Domus. The place where I, my comrades, and my disciples had lived together. A domus is similar to a guild, but with key differences.

A guild is a profit-driven organization that recruits verified individuals, and membership is relatively flexible.

A domus, however, is closer to a family.

It takes in children with nowhere to go and trains them in a master-apprentice system, treating geniuses and ordinary children alike without discrimination.

We were the teachers, guardians, and protectors of those children. I had to find my disciples.

“Are there any members of the Valanus domus left in this city?”

“Valanus collapsed 15 years ago.”

“How did that happen?”

The owner looked slightly uncomfortable, but after glancing at me, she spoke.

“There was an attack on the city 15 years ago. Many people died, and all the adults of Valanus were killed. With no one to care for them, the children scattered.”

None of the adults in this city took care of them?

I was shocked. Valanus had connections with several guilds and domuses, and our reputation had been quite good.

“I went to the old Valanus domus building, but it’s become a brothel. Do you know how that happened?”

“I’m not sure. Some say the brothel owner took it by force, others say he bought it… but even if he bought it, the children all scattered, so it must’ve been for a pittance.”

Just thinking about what might have happened to the children after my death made my head spin. I pressed a hand to my forehead.

“Do you know where the children went?”

“Well… ah! Cesare is in this city. He came back a few years ago and works as a mercenary here.”

Cesare.

I remembered his bright, smiling face. If 15 years had passed, he would be about 27 now. I couldn’t imagine what he had become.

“Do you know where Cesare is staying?”

“Not exactly, but…”

“Could you ask around for me? Please.”

I placed 50,000 bahts in addition to the meal cost on the counter. The owner smiled warmly as she collected it.

“I’ll ask around the customers. Come back tomorrow.”

At least Cesare was still here. That was a relief. Having gathered some information about my disciple, another question surfaced in my mind.

The mysterious attackers who had struck the city. Who were they?

“You said the city was attacked. Do you know who the attackers were, and why they did it?”

“I don’t really know. I heard they all died, so no one really investigated further.”

They never uncovered the reason for that horrific tragedy?

An uneasy feeling lingered in my chest. At that moment, I remembered the attacker’s final words.

“But still… we cut the trunk of the tree. Someday, its roots and new shoots as well…”

He had said that. With a deliberate tone. As if nothing was truly over yet.

Anger and doubt slowly simmered inside me. Who were they? I needed to uncover their purpose—but finding my disciples came first.

In the end, I left the restaurant without touching the soup. Still, I was glad to have learned Cesare’s whereabouts.

What had become of the other children? What kind of lives had they lived over these 15 years? I clutched my pendant tightly and walked on.

“Cesare is staying at the Whale Inn right now.”

The next day at noon, the owner brought good news. I had expected it to take much longer to find him, but this was fortunate.

I had spent the night at the Valanus domus, but I barely slept. Thanks to the men sent by the brothel owner.

After nearly killing them, I let them go. I could only hope things would stay quiet for a while.

The Whale Inn. So it was still here. I felt a strange sense of nostalgia as I walked.

Cesare, now a mercenary. It was hard to picture him. In my memory, he was just a child who had only just begun learning swordsmanship.

Cesare at 12, laughing with both hands full of wild strawberries, juice dripping down his fingers. His strawberry-red hair and olive-green eyes were vivid in my mind.

Would I even recognize him?

As I neared the inn, the door suddenly burst open, and someone was thrown out, rolling across the ground. A man slammed into luggage and crashed with a loud thud.

“Crazy bastard! Do you know how much you owe? And you’re drinking in broad daylight like this? You alcoholic scum!”

The man shouting was unfamiliar. But the red hair and green eyes were strangely familiar.

He looked to be in his mid-twenties now. He had grown quite a lot over the years. A fairly sturdy build… or rather, he was somewhat bulky now, with a protruding belly, early signs of balding with his hairline receding, and so on…

It was different from what I expected, but seeing my grown disciple was still moving.

My eyes grew damp.

He must have sensed my gaze, because he turned to look at me.

“Who are you?”

“You’ve grown a lot. I barely recognize you.”

I walked up and took his hand. Cesare looked confused.

“Excuse me? What are you talking about? You look younger than me…”

“Yes. It’s understandable you’d be surprised.”

I patted his hand, smiling. Relief and emotion overflowed.

“I was so worried. I wondered if something had happened in these 15 years. The shop too… you’ve done well, Cesare.”

“Cesare?”

His eyes widened, then he frowned.

“I’m not Cesare!”

“…Huh?”

But the hair color and eyes were the same. Even the age and gender matched. As I looked at him in confusion, he forcefully shook my hand off.

“The Cesare you’re looking for is that bastard over there! Let go!”

I turned, completely bewildered.

There, buried under a pile of luggage, was a man.

The man who had just been thrown out of the inn.

A large man, even sitting down, clearly tall. He wore a hood, so his face wasn’t visible.

As I approached with growing suspicion, I pulled back his hood.

A strong smell of alcohol hit me immediately. It wasn’t even noon yet.

Unkempt red hair, dirty beard.

Dull green eyes that swayed like a drunk’s.

Every breath carried a foul stench—alcohol and something worse, as if he hadn’t bathed in a long time.

“…Ah, damn. What the hell?”

The man spat out a curse. His eyes, fierce like a beast’s, glared at me.

My voice trembled.

“Cesare… Cesare, is that you?”

Impossible. The Cesare in my memory was small, gentle, a child.

A child who would panic and run away if a drunk teacher came near him.

The bearded man glared at me, then spat on the ground.

“I’m Cesare. Who the hell are you?”

I stared at his face in shock.

This man… was Cesare?

My young, gentle disciple… Cesare?