Mystery

Before long, five men who were the very picture of ugliness stepped forward.

They were all dressed in shabby, flax-colored clothes, and their faces were covered in unkempt beards. It was hard to tell their actual ages.

"What are your names...?"

Aaron Sothoth sighed inwardly and asked.

"I'm Sanchez."

"Green."

"Baker."

"Adam."

"Eight-Fingers, my lord."

The five militiamen gave their names in turn. Aaron glanced at the man called Eight-Fingers. He looked to be about thirty, with a narrow face and shifty eyes. When he noticed Aaron looking at him, he flashed an ingratiating smile, though his mouthful of rotten teeth rather spoiled the effect.

Aaron glanced at both of the man's hands. Sure enough, both little fingers were missing. A thought stirred in his mind.

According to the laws Theodore had established, anyone caught stealing in the territory was punished by having a finger chopped off!

He's had two fingers chopped off, so he's been caught twice. Who knows how many times he's gotten away with it...

An abject thief and a simple, honest farmer... Father really gave me quite a pair to choose from.

Aaron's voice turned stern. "Starting today, you'll each be squad leaders. You must carry out the tasks I assign, especially on the battlefield. Understood?"

A half-hearted chorus of assent answered him. They were clearly a bunch of old campaigners.

On the battlefield, they would put their own survival first. They might be good at grabbing spoils, but expecting them to hold their own against a formidable enemy was wishful thinking!

Fortunately, Aaron hadn't had high hopes for them in the first place.

To the lord, they were merely cannon fodder.

And to Aaron, having them as meat shields was already good enough. At the very least, when he had to run, they could distract the enemy!

"Now, let's begin training!"

He cleared his throat and pointed his sword at Eight-Fingers. "You, come spar with me!"

Aaron knew a thing or two about managing people, and he intended to make an example of the man and establish his authority.

The other man was just a thief who often went hungry, perhaps with some experience in street brawls. There was no way he could beat Aaron, who had received proper knightly training!

In the forest.

After briefly teaching the squad leaders a lesson, putting them in their place, promising them a share of future spoils, and giving them a pep talk, Aaron took his bow and went hunting on his own.

Whoosh!

He had trained hard in archery. He wasn't as good as a dedicated archer, but he was competent enough.

Catching sight of traces of prey from the corner of his eye, he immediately nocked an arrow and drew his bow. He released his fingers, and the bowstring trembled.

Thwack!

A short distance away, an arrow pierced a young deer. It fell to the ground, blood pooling beneath it.

"Good luck today. We can have an extra helping."

Aaron nodded and carried his prey out of the forest.

Along the way, the common folk of Lower Green Forest bowed respectfully when they saw him.

Aaron kept a cold expression and mostly ignored them. He was used to it, and couldn't possibly respond to everyone. Only a few prominent figures from his territory received an occasional nod.

Before long, he reached the castle.

Ginny was lifting the hem of her cake-like skirt, about to head out. When she saw Aaron, she came over to greet him. "Aaron... Is that your prey?"

She had beautiful blond hair and the jewel-like purple eyes passed down through the Sothoth Family. Now they were blinking eagerly as she stared at Aaron's catch, her face full of longing.

Aaron smiled and patted Ginny on the head. "Don't worry, I'll save some for you."

Amused, he was reminded of the past.

He still remembered the first time Ginny had seen him bring home a rabbit. The little girl's eyes had filled with tears. "Bunnies are so cute. Why would you kill them?"

Then... Aaron had made a braised rabbit dish and stuffed a piece into Ginny's mouth...

In the end, Ginny discovered a New Continent—bunnies weren't just cute; they were delicious!

And not only that, bunny daddies and mommies were delicious too!

Fawns were delicious as well!

"Then it's a promise. A promise for all our lives."

Ginny playfully winked.

Aaron's hand slid down, and he pinched Ginny's smooth cheek.

Well, he had to admit, little girls really were the cutest. He couldn't help feeling wistful. In his previous life, he really should have had a daughter. As for a son, the kind that drove everyone crazy, he could put that off for now.

Though... in my previous life, I didn't even have a wife...

"I'm already ten. Stop pinching my cheeks."

Ginny puffed up indignantly and swatted Aaron's hand away. Her cheeks puffed out like a pair of buns, as if she were putting on a comical face.

"Haha!"

Aaron couldn't help laughing at the sight.

Although Sonia and Sean were insufferable, this little sister of his was quite adorable.

He just didn't know whether their pure sibling affection would last once she grew up.

Thinking of Colin and Sean, Aaron couldn't help sighing again.

Night fell.

He entered the dream world once more.

The vast sea, once entirely azure, reflected a crimson glow. Now it, too, had changed, turning completely red like the Red Sea!

Aaron looked up at the crimson sun. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but it seemed even redder than before, giving him a deeply nauseating feeling.

So dark a red it was almost black, as if it were about to drip blood...

I can actually do something like this in my dreams...

Aaron looked toward the direction he had chosen, but didn't start moving.

From what he had observed, moving also required energy.

And the reserves he had accumulated over the previous sixteen years had already been used up changing the sun.

Now he had returned to the miserable days of his childhood. Fortunately, he could finally take action.

Energy is precious now, and with the danger of war looming in reality, using it to move would be wasteful. I might as well try to figure out how to help myself... For instance, bringing the mysterious power of my dreams into the real world. I wouldn't even need enough to change the world. One ten-thousandth, or one hundred-thousandth, would already make me unmatched in reality. Perhaps... it could even make me immortal?

Longing appeared in Aaron's eyes as he tried to recall what it had felt like to change the sun.

That authority—the [Dream Creator]!

"I want to grow stronger!"

"I want to obtain the mysterious!"

"I want to become extraordinary!"

In a manner akin to making a wish, Aaron recited his desires in his heart.

Complex, terrifying sounds came from the air around him.

Just like that day, endless chaos and madness surged forth.

In a state bordering on madness, Aaron received his "feedback"!

[Insufficient mystery!]

"Mystery? Is this the energy I defined before, the thing that forms every time I enter a dream?"

Aaron discovered that in this half-mad state, his authority had risen. He had a faint experience of something like "omniscience."

I can't transform my body right now, because I don't have...

The extraordinary nature of consciousness is attainable, but I lack the energy!

Besides, becoming extraordinary in this world is easy, but manifesting it in the real world is difficult!