Camlann.
Beside a hill made of piled-up corpses at the very highest point, a cowlicked girl wrapped in a blue quilt lay there.
In front of her stood a girl who looked almost exactly like her—like they'd been carved from the same mold.
Reaching out to gently stroke her daughter's face, pride filled her heart.
She licked her cracked lips, pulled her child into her arms, and whispered into her ear:
"I acknowledge you, my child… You will be the finest king of all!"
After saying that, her arm dropped.
The blonde girl panicked at once, shaking her father-king's body over and over.
She begged him to come back to life, but no miracle happened…
All she could do was cry out again and again:
"Father King! Father King!"
…
[You have completed Mission No. 403. Searching for Mission No. 404 for you.]
The world turned a blank white, and the blonde girl vanished.
Seeing that child's resolute eyes, Beimu knew the mission had been completed once again.
He didn't know how many missions he had finished. Every mission was measured in years.
Some lasted ten-odd years, others several centuries.
Yet he had long since become skilled at playing every identity the system assigned him.
Changing the role's original fate—maybe that was what being a "stand-in" meant. A stand-in for life.
Beimu. Male. He was exactly eighteen when he was thrown into this space.
He'd eaten cake on his birthday, said goodbye to his little sister, gone to sleep… and with one blink and the next, he woke up here.
He was bound to the so-called "Life Restart System." He had to keep rewriting lives to return to his own world.
The first mission had been clumsy; he'd been unfamiliar with everything.
But everything starts from zero. Living life again and again, each time a fresh beginning.
By now he was into the triple digits. Of course he'd become proficient.
His mental age was at least ten thousand years.
He'd grown bored of it all.
Just like the mission he'd finished a moment ago—keeping the country called "Britannia" alive through its inheritance.
So his new life had become a girl, starting from nothing.
Well, the completion notice meant his "daughter" had succeeded.
Lowering his gaze, the black-haired boy thought quietly.
He crossed his hands, tapping the index finger of one hand against the opposite shoulder in a steady rhythm—his usual way of passing the time when bored.
But this time something felt off.
Even though he only entered this place once every ten-plus years at minimum, he was extremely sensitive to time here.
In the pale space, a sharp zzzt-zzzt sound suddenly echoed. Faint sparks drifted in the air.
Could the system be short-circuiting…?
The thought had barely surfaced when the familiar voice sounded in his ear:
[Un-guidable mission. Mission extraction failed.]
…Huh?
This was the first time something like that had happened. Ripples finally stirred in Beimu's calm, dead-still eyes.
His golden pupils widened slightly, his breathing turning uneven.
Joy exploded in his chest.
Which meant…
[Detection complete. You have successfully finished all missions.]
[Per our cooperation agreement, you have completed the contract and will be returned to your original world.]
[You have also completed the full character compendium. As a special reward, you are granted access to character-card data privileges.]
[These character cards require certain conditions to unlock automatically, but this system will no longer issue any missions.]
[Have a pleasant journey!]
I'm finally going home…
Even Beimu, who'd weathered countless storms, felt his heart surge.
He turned around and took one last look at the pale space.
His memories of it were limited to taking missions, yet now it felt strangely familiar.
Still, no matter how familiar, it was time to go home. He plunged into the golden portal.
This teleportation was different from before—no dizziness, more like being held in an embrace.
Then he landed perfectly.
Looking at the familiar furnishings around him, Beimu drew a deep breath.
He wanted to shout: I'm back.
But he didn't. He still didn't know the situation here.
When he'd disappeared, it was morning. Now it was already late morning.
Clatter—
The door opened at some point. A girl carrying a washbasin froze, then dropped it. The metal hit the floor with a loud crash.
She stared at the black-haired man in disbelief.
No way… Am I hallucinating?
Didn't my brother vanish six years ago…? How could he be here?
"Onii-chan? Yeah right. I must be too tired—seeing things again. I really need to stay up less reading. Clean up fast and take a nap."
The white-haired girl shook her head, picked up the basin, and wiped the water off the floor with a cloth.
"Illya, it's me. You forgot me already?"
Beimu walked over, held her arm, and spoke softly in her ear.
"B-brother?"
Illya's crimson eyes widened again and again.
Then she burst into tears of joy, threw her arms around his neck, and her voice trembled:
"Onii-chan—you really are Onii-chan, right?!"
Beimu stroked the white hair that reached his shoulder, indulgence filling his eyes.
Illya had said six years had passed, yet her height hadn't changed at all.
Still small and delicate… no, actually his little sister seemed physically stronger than him now.
All essence packed into a tiny body?
All these years, only his sister and mother had relied on each other. They must have lived painfully.
He'd vanished right when he'd reached the age to earn money.
Thinking that, guilt seeped into Beimu's gaze.
"Yeah. Of course I am. I even remember how you wet the bed when you were little."
Illya, who'd been crying happily, instantly flushed with embarrassment. Her fair cheeks turned rosy, looking absurdly cute.
She swung her damp, white-stocking-covered foot at his head, muttering furiously:
"You jerk! You only come back now—do you know how much I missed you?!"
With Beimu's current physical condition, he definitely couldn't take that kick.
Besides, it was his sister's loving kick—why would he dodge?
Sure enough, he only caught a whiff of Illya's sweet scent and a small gust of wind… and then nothing else.
"Seriously, Onii-chan, you didn't even dodge?!"
After confirming it wasn't a dream, Illya dove into his arms, tears spilling uncontrollably.
"Waaah… Onii-chan, Mom and I missed you so much. Do you know how thin Mom got while you were gone?!"