Creak—
Dim morning light streamed through the window as Yuhran rubbed his sore shoulders and pushed open a door, slowly stepping out from inside.
Bang!
As the door slammed shut behind him, his whole body seemed to instantly deflate like a punctured balloon. With a thump, he collapsed onto the floor.
Letting his head fall back, he took a deep breath. A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he reflected on just how punishing life in a pseudo-ancient world really was.
"Seven days. A full seven days."
Dust motes drifted lazily through the air inside the room.
As he stripped off the coarse beast-hide clothes and casually tossed his backpack aside, he let out a long sigh, sounding as though he'd exhausted every ounce of strength in his body.
"I'm finally back."
After setting the clothes down, he suddenly narrowed his eyes and noticed the phone lying on the coffee table.
He grabbed it in one swift motion, his thumb rapidly swiping across the screen as he prepared to check how many people had tried to contact him during these past few days.
The result…
"Very nice."
The white glow of the screen lit up his slightly twitching lips.
Seeing nothing but food delivery promotions, news alerts, and software update notifications, he felt relieved.
With an impatient flick of his finger, he cleared them all in one go.
With a soft whoosh, he set the phone down, propped himself up on his knees, and slowly stood, preparing to take a hot shower.
As he rose, it struck him that the main reason he'd gotten hurt this time was the lack of aerial reconnaissance.
If he'd spotted that tiger in advance, the entire chain of events afterward would never have happened.
"…I need a drone. One that can be used even without satellites."
"That thing nearly killed me. If not for that elf, I'd be dead already."
"I need to upgrade my weapons too—though getting guns or artillery is probably unrealistic."
Yuhran muttered to himself, lowering his head to touch his chest. Bandages were still wrapped tightly around it, dark red bloodstains long since dried.
Yet every time he thought about it, a faint, lingering pain would surface.
With a gloomy mood, he walked into the bathroom.
Whoosh—
Water droplets cascaded down like strings of broken pearls, dripping from his eyelashes and blurring his vision.
By the time he finished washing himself thoroughly, the sky outside had already grown bright.
He sprawled on the sofa in a starfish position and rested for a while. Only then did Yuhran rub his eyes, sit up, and carefully tally the gains he'd made over these seven days.
—More than forty gold coins, a small chunk of gold ore, and a warrior's training method.
...
...
"Good stuff. According to Miliarde, these gold coins are enough for one person to live over there for more than ten years."
"Even though I haven't encountered a city yet, they'll come in handy sooner or later."
Yuhran gently rubbed his fingers over the patterns engraved on the gold coins, then set them aside.
His gaze naturally drifted to the gold ore on the coffee table, before finally settling on the warrior's training method.
It was a brown scroll, seemingly made of animal hide, rough to the touch at first glance.
They'd bought it on the seventh day, after setting out together and reaching a nearby village.
It had cost two Unified Empire gold coins.
Though he had no idea what the upper limit of this training method was, it should at least be enough for self-defense.
Yuhran picked up the scroll and flipped through it quickly.
Rustle, rustle.
His brow suddenly furrowed tightly. A flash of confusion appeared in his eyes, followed immediately by deep regret.
"Damn it—I forgot to have Miliarde translate this. Who the hell can read this alien chicken-scratch writing?"
He slammed the scroll onto the table, grabbed his phone, and started searching rapidly.
"The name 'Unified Empire' keeps sounding more and more familiar. Combined with the language being close to Japanese, but the writing system completely different…"
"Found it."
His finger suddenly stopped on the screen.
The first webpage was about German unification.
But scrolling further down, he saw references to Warhammer, Empire, Frieren, and related information.
Warhammer and Empire clearly had nothing to do with Japan. The only relevant one was—
(Continue searching)
(Link jump)
(Eyes light up)
Yuhran tried spelling Miliarde, and finally got a definitive result. The moment he saw the illustration, everything became clear.
"Damn."
Yet there wasn't the slightest bit of joy in his heart.
Because based on the information he'd gotten from Miliarde, the time period he was currently in was neither during the main story nor during any side stories—but far earlier.
Miliarde hadn't yet spent a lifetime seeking Emperor's Wine. It was even possible that the protagonist, Frieren, hadn't been born yet.
How was he supposed to rely on foreknowledge with the information he had now?
After all, with a human lifespan, it was impossible to live hundreds of years into the future.
At that thought, a deep sense of melancholy welled up inside Yuhran.
It was as if his bones had been pulled out—he sank limply into the sofa.
"Am I really going to spend my whole life as a rich layabout?"
"Sure, having money isn't bad. And now I even have a training method—once it's translated, I can get a stronger body. But this isn't what I want."
"I want to learn magic. I want to get close with an elf…"
Honestly, if you were transmigrated into a world of swords and magic, most people would probably choose an elf as their partner.
But that elf thought of him as a baby. What was he supposed to do about that?
Frustration—that was Yuhran's first thought. He grabbed at his hair.
But then, the second thought that surged forth was—
"I want immortality."
Yes. Only immortality could extend his lifespan and experience, enough for Miliarde to stop seeing him as a child.
And that was something warrior techniques alone could never achieve.
Only magic—perhaps—could make that wish come true.
Taking a deep breath, Yuhran felt his fighting spirit reignite.
He clenched his fist, ready to go ask Miliarde directly and get some answers.
Springing up from the sofa, he crossed the room in just a few strides and reached the door.
But the moment he pushed it open and saw the forest beyond, he snapped back to reality—realizing he wasn't yet prepared for the long-term commitment required to study magic.
—Extended disappearance, the dangers of a primeval forest, food reserves, equipment wear and replacement…
If any of these weren't handled properly, each one could cost him his life.
They all had to be resolved before he could enter again.
Thinking this through, Yuhran's shoulders slumped. Left with no choice, he closed the two-world gate.
—No, first he needed to inform Miliarde that he would go with her to the Unified Empire.
It would just take some time—not long. At most, a month or two.
Considering that if he encountered danger again and couldn't deal with it… he might even have to move.
After all, he could try luring monsters from that world over to this one and letting the authorities handle them.
—Japan.
Once that thought appeared, it lingered in his mind, refusing to fade.
What was the point of bringing disaster upon his own country?
Thinking it through, he acted immediately.
Yuhran set his plan into motion.