ay opened his eyes, feeling the wind brushing against his body… and a warm hand gently running through his hair.
Looking up, he realized he was lying beneath a tree.
He looked again—
It was Saint Clarice.
She looked older now, around fifteen or sixteen.
Jay, in the appearance of his past life, felt his face heat up.
He was lying on her lap.
Clarice let out a soft, playful laugh.
"You're blushing a lot, Jay."
"A-ah… no, it's just…"He couldn't finish his sentence. The words got stuck in his throat.
Her laughter grew louder.
Even so, Jay smiled.
Seeing someone he cared about laughing because of him… it made him happy.
Still resting on her lap, he glanced to the side and saw something that looked like an academy. In the distance, Kyrai was training with her friends, and Noa was there as well.
'Could this all just be a dream?' Jay wondered.
Clarice stopped laughing.
Then she leaned closer, her face nearing his.
Her white hair fell forward, hiding them from view.
Their lips met.
"That's why I love you," she whispered, her cheeks slightly red. "You're funny, easy to talk to… and kind."
She looked at him, her eyes filled with expectation.
"And you? What do you love about me?"
Jay froze.
There was no way out.
But when he looked into her eyes… the embarrassment faded.
After all—
He was a twenty-seven-year-old man trapped in a child's body when they first met.
And she loved him.
That thought hurt.
Because he couldn't say he didn't love her.
That would be lying to himself.
Lowering his gaze, he noticed—
His body was no longer that of a child, but of someone her age.
Suddenly—
His mouth moved on its own.
Words slipped out without his control.
"I love everything about yo—"
A sharp удар hit his stomach.
"Agh—!"
Air left his lungs as he was kicked.
Water spilled from his mouth.
The warmth vanished.
The dream shattered.
'Wait… why am I even thinking about that?'
His master, Benjamin, was staring at him with a sharp gaze—
As if Jay had committed a crime.
"You…" Benjamin examined his face carefully. "Don't tell me you—"
"Yes. I had a dream about a girl," Jay interrupted.
Benjamin froze.
"I thought… you liked men…"
Tears began to fall from his eyes.
Jay felt something pierce his chest.
Not physically—
His pride.
'M-my master thought I was gay?! What did I do to make him think that?!'
Benjamin suddenly opened his arms and pulled Jay into a warm embrace.
It was gentle.
Comforting.
Something he had never done before.
"I'm so happy I was wrong!" he said, crying.
"But… why did you think that?" Jay asked, confused.
"Your behavior… your eyes… everything looked suspicious…"
Benjamin stepped back, stared straight at him, and said:
"You just look like it."
Those words hit Jay like a blade.
Straight to the heart.
Tears streamed down his face.
His mind went blank.
His body went limp.
"Hey—HEY!" Benjamin caught him in panic. "Stay with me! Hey!"
…
After a while, Jay woke up.
He was sitting on a bench made from a tree trunk.
Around him was a forest, the ground covered in dry leaves.
To his side, Benjamin was eating from a wooden bowl.
"Oh, you're finally awake, fallen soldier," he said cheerfully.
Jay slowly sat up, holding his head.
"How long was I… out, master?"
"Ah, just an hour," Benjamin replied casually.
Jay let out a sigh of relief.
At least it wasn't long.
'Unlike someone who made a whole drama over nothing…'
"Well…" Jay said, expectantly.
Benjamin tilted his head while chewing.
Jay pointed at the bowl.
Benjamin raised an eyebrow, as if understanding—
Then handed it to him.
Jay looked inside.
Empty.
He slowly lifted his head, expression blank.
"I meant… food, master."
"Oh… you didn't explain that," Benjamin replied, mouth full.
'How is this guy even a master? He has zero manners…' Jay thought, annoyed.
He grabbed a spoon and started serving himself.
The food didn't look good.
It resembled a green mash—like some kind of herb paste mixed with rice.
And somehow… rice was the main ingredient.
Every time before eating it, Jay made the same face.
Because the taste matched the appearance.
'This is terrible… here we go again…'
He took a bite.
A shiver ran down his spine.
'It's awful!'
He wanted to spit it out—
But he couldn't.
'Or I'll get beaten…'
So he forced himself to swallow.
It felt like eating charcoal.
After finishing, Jay lay back on the trunk, watching his master devour the same food without any problem.
'Seriously… how can he eat that?'
Then—
Benjamin suddenly stopped.
He turned to Jay.
His expression changed.
Cold.
"Jay."
"Yes, master?"
The wind picked up, carrying dry leaves across the ground. The trees swayed, and their clothes rustled.
Benjamin's hair moved with the wind as he spoke:
"I know your secret."
Jay froze.
"And I know… this isn't your first life."
"…What?"
Jay couldn't believe what he just heard.
How?
Was it his behavior?
Did he slip somewhere?
Questions flooded his mind.
"I know what you're thinking," Benjamin said, smiling slightly. "And the answer is simple…"
"…Your aura. And your bloodlust."
His eyes sharpened.
"They told me you didn't just kill two people like you said… but far more."
Silence.
"So there's only one conclusion."
He looked directly into Jay's eyes.
"You, Hyou Jay… were reincarnated."
Jay trembled.
"H-how…"
"Who were you?" Benjamin's voice grew heavier. "An assassin? A criminal?"
He stepped closer.
"Tell me."
"Who were you in your past life… Hyou Jay?"
Jay lowered his head.
He couldn't look at him.
Because it was true.
Everything.
"…I…"
His voice trembled.
"…I was…"
A pause.
"…a monster."