[Arc 1 End] Chapter 40: The Life I Refuse to Waste

Hera immediately stopped when she heard Zeldryn's order. Her body tensed slightly before she slowly turned around, and although her nervousness was still visible, it was nothing like the overwhelming fear she had shown on the first day Reka awakened in this world.

“Y-yes, Lord?” Hera asked.

Zeldryn studied her for a moment. If he truly couldn't read the writing used in this world, then for the time being he needed someone who could help him, and Hera was currently the safest person available. She was the only person who knew that Zeldryn had supposedly lost most of his memories, which meant he could ask her questions without immediately creating suspicion.

“Hera,” Zeldryn called.

“Yes, Lord?”

His expression became more serious. “You haven't told anyone that I lost my memories, right?”

Hera shook her head immediately. “No, Lord. No one knows. I haven't told anyone.”

This time, she answered without hesitation. Zeldryn watched her for several seconds, but he couldn't see any obvious indication that she was lying.

“Good.”

He picked up the invitation he had placed on the table earlier and raised the letter slightly.

“So here's the problem, Hera. I forgot how to read.” Zeldryn showed her the sheet. “Can you read this letter for me?”

Hera suddenly fell silent. Her expression became strange almost immediately, but not because she was frightened or simply confused. It looked more like there was something she wanted to say but wasn't sure whether saying it would be wise.

Zeldryn noticed the hesitation right away.

“What is it?”

Hera lowered her head slightly. “U-um, Lord...”

“What?”

“There is something I would like to tell you,” Hera said carefully while clasping both hands in front of her body. “But I'm afraid my words might offend you.”

Zeldryn became even more curious.

'What now?'

“Just say it.”

Hera still hesitated, and Zeldryn's patience began to wear thin.

“Now you're just making me even more curious, damn it.”

The slight rise in his voice made Hera flinch. Her body stiffened immediately, and for a moment, some of the fear that had begun to fade returned.

Zeldryn noticed the reaction, but Hera had already lowered her head.

“Y-yes, Lord.”

She took a small breath before finally forcing herself to continue.

“As far as I know... Lord Zeldryn couldn't actually read even before you said you had lost your memories.”

Zeldryn froze.

'WHAT!?'

For several seconds, he could do nothing except stare at her. The statement sounded absurd at first, but the longer he thought about it, the more disturbingly reasonable it became.

The old Zeldryn really didn't seem like the type of person who would willingly sit down and learn how to read or write. Even at such a young age, his life had already become a complete disaster. He drank, caused trouble, abused servants, picked fights with guards, and even visited brothels despite still being a child. Studying probably hadn't even made it onto the list of things he cared about.

Still, the idea was difficult to accept.

'He couldn't read? He was a noble's son, damn it.'

Zeldryn wasn't a commoner or some abandoned street child. He was the Ninth Young Lord of the Giorry family and the son of a Marquis, yet apparently he couldn't even read.

Zeldryn raised one hand and rubbed his forehead as another realization followed almost immediately.

'Wait. If he couldn't read, then he couldn't write either, right?'

His eyes moved toward the stack of notes on the table. Reka's handwriting, the same writing Kera had dismissed as meaningless scribbles, suddenly made much more sense in context.

'Damn it. Now I'm embarrassed in front of Hera too.'

He had confidently claimed that memory loss was the reason he could no longer read, only to discover that the old Zeldryn had never been able to read in the first place. It might have been the most useless excuse he could possibly have chosen.

Then he remembered Kera.

If the old Zeldryn couldn't read or write, why hadn't Kera found the notes suspicious?

Zeldryn thought about it briefly before realizing the obvious answer.

'Well... he only just arrived.'

Kera knew who Zeldryn was, but that didn't mean he knew every small detail of his life. When he saw Reka's writing, he had simply assumed it was childish scribbling and moved on. There was no reason for him to suspect anything beyond that.

Zeldryn sighed.

Whatever.

There was no point making an already complicated situation even more complicated.

After remaining silent for a while, he looked back at Hera.

“Fine.”

Hera cautiously raised her face.

“Just assume I can't read or write now,” Zeldryn said before lifting the letter again. “Either way, I need you to read this for me.”

He extended the sheet toward her.

Hera immediately accepted it with both hands.

“O-of course, Lord.”

She didn't begin reading right away, however. Instead, hesitation appeared on her face once again.

Zeldryn frowned.

“What now?”

Hera lowered her head. “My apologies in advance, Lord. I'm not particularly fluent at reading either.”

Zeldryn fell silent.

“I'll try to read the parts I understand,” Hera continued carefully, “but there may be some sections that are difficult for me. If this letter is important, I would recommend asking someone more educated to help you.”

Zeldryn immediately stared at her.

“Hera.”

“Y-yes, Lord?”

“You want my memory-loss secret to get out?”

Hera froze.

When she noticed irritation beginning to appear on Zeldryn's face, she hurriedly lowered her head.

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“No! Of course not, Lord!”

“Then?”

“My apologies, Lord.” Hera gripped the letter slightly tighter. “I'll read it right away.”

Zeldryn released a small sigh.

“Good.”

Hera began examining the letter, but before reaching the contents, her gaze stopped on the envelope lying open on the table. A red emblem was stamped across its front, and Hera recognized it immediately as the Giorry family crest.

She swallowed.

Hera might not have known what was written inside, but a letter bearing the Giorry family's seal was unlikely to be something ordinary. The realization only increased the pressure she already felt.

She didn't dare ask where Zeldryn had received it or who had delivered it, especially after he had just reminded her about the secret surrounding his memory loss. All she could do was try her best.

Hera opened the letter and allowed her eyes to move slowly across the symbols written on the page.

“T-to... Lord Zeldryn Giorry...” she began.

She paused before continuing.

“Ninth... son of... Marquis Zorin Giorry...”

Zeldryn listened quietly.

As Hera moved farther into the letter, however, the reading became increasingly messy. She stopped repeatedly, stumbled over certain words, and occasionally seemed to be guessing at how a section was supposed to be read. The harder she tried to avoid making mistakes, the more nervous she became.

“During... the celebration... which will...”

Hera stopped again and stared at the same section.

“U-um...”

Zeldryn began to frown.

“Hera.”

Her body stiffened immediately.

“Y-yes, Lord?”

“Explain it better.” Zeldryn pointed toward the letter. “I'm not understanding what you're trying to say.”

“My apologies, Lord!”

Hera hurriedly returned her attention to the page and tried again, but several sections still made her stumble. Sometimes she read something incorrectly and corrected herself immediately, while at other times she stopped entirely and apologized before trying another interpretation.

At first, Zeldryn felt slightly irritated. After listening for a while, however, he gradually began piecing together the main meaning of the letter.

He didn't need every single word.

The important part was the information.

By the time Hera had struggled through the relevant sections, Zeldryn finally understood what the invitation was saying.

Marquis Zorin Giorry was inviting him to attend his forty-sixth birthday celebration, and the event would be held on 5 Starfall Month, 245 LHK.

Zeldryn immediately fell silent.

He tried remembering the date Hera had explained to him previously.

Today was 10 Dusk Month, 245 LHK.

That meant there were around twenty-five days remaining until the celebration.

Almost a month.

Zeldryn placed one hand against his chin as his expression gradually changed.

'Twenty-five days from now...'

He would be attending Marquis Zorin's birthday celebration.

The birthday of the father whose body he had inherited.

And most likely, it would also be the place where he finally had to face the Giorry family directly.

Zeldryn narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Hmm... interesting.”

Hera remained standing near the table after finishing the letter, and only then did Zeldryn notice how much she was sweating. Several strands of hair near her forehead had stuck slightly to her skin, which immediately struck him as strange because the bedroom window was open and cool air continued flowing in from outside.

'Why is she sweating that much?'

The room shouldn't have been hot enough to cause it, especially on the second floor with the breeze coming through. Zeldryn observed her for a moment and began wondering whether she had simply been concentrating that hard on reading or whether she had been nervous enough to work up a sweat.

Maybe it was both.

After all, Hera had read the letter as though she were taking some kind of life-or-death examination.

Now that Zeldryn understood the important part of the invitation, he saw no reason to keep her there any longer.

“All right, that's enough. You can go.”

Hera immediately raised her head, and even though the change lasted only a moment, Zeldryn clearly saw the relief on her face. She looked as though someone had finally given her permission to breathe normally again.

“Y-yes, Lord. I'll take my leave.”

Zeldryn didn't answer beyond giving a small nod.

Hera turned and headed toward the door. Her steps were slightly faster than when she had entered, though she still seemed to be making an effort to maintain a normal pace rather than look as though she were fleeing from him.

Zeldryn watched without saying anything until she reached the door, carefully opened it, stepped outside, and closed it again.

Click.

The sound was completely different from when Kera had left earlier. There was no slamming, no loud impact, and no vibration strong enough to make Zeldryn want to curse.

Just the quiet sound of a door gently closing.

At last, Zeldryn was alone again.

He stared at the door for several moments before slowly returning his attention to the invitation on the table.

“Hmm...” Zeldryn rested his chin against one hand. “A birthday, huh...?”

Marquis Zorin Giorry's forty-sixth birthday would take place on 5 Starfall Month, 245 LHK, around twenty-five days from now. The date itself was simple enough to understand, but the more Zeldryn thought about the invitation, the stranger the situation became.

Zorin was the biological father of this body.

That raised an obvious question.

Why would a father need to send a formal invitation just to ask his own son to attend his birthday celebration?

Zeldryn frowned.

'Isn't that strange?'

If someone in a family celebrated a birthday, the other family members would normally be expected to attend without needing any special invitation. There should have been even less reason for formalities between a father and his son.

Yet that was exactly what Zeldryn had received.

A formal invitation bearing the Giorry family seal.

The way it had been handled made him feel less like a member of the family and more like a guest who needed official permission before being allowed to appear.

Zeldryn slowly tapped one finger against the table as another possibility entered his mind.

'Or... does he actually not want me to come?'

The thought began to make uncomfortable sense.

Perhaps Marquis Zorin couldn't simply forbid his biological son from attending his own birthday celebration because of noble customs, family reputation, or some other rule Zeldryn didn't understand. If that were true, maybe sending a formal invitation was simply the proper way to acknowledge him while still keeping him at a distance.

Zeldryn looked down at the letter again.

“...Strange.”

The more he learned about the Giorry family, the more questions seemed to appear. He still didn't understand why Zeldryn had been placed in this mansion since infancy, why Anna visited so rarely, or why she had apparently been forced to return to the main residence during her last visit.

Now there was another question to add to the list.

Why would a father invite his own biological son to his birthday through a formal letter?

Zeldryn didn't have a real answer to any of them.

Eventually, he stood from the chair.

“Whatever.”

For now, thinking about it endlessly would only make his head even more crowded.

Zeldryn walked toward the window that had remained open throughout the conversation and stopped in front of it. Cool outside air immediately brushed across his face as he looked over the scenery stretching away from the second floor of the mansion.

Green trees covered much of the surrounding land, and the forest beyond them still looked incredibly dense. Village houses were scattered in the distance, with several people appearing almost tiny from where Zeldryn stood. Above all of it, a clear blue sky stretched endlessly across the horizon.

Zeldryn remained there quietly for quite some time.

So many things had happened since he woke up in this world. He had found himself inside someone else's body, in a world he had previously known only through a novel, surrounded by a family filled with mysteries and burdened with the reputation of a delinquent child.

Then there was mana, the bizarre loop he had experienced, and now a Level 3 Manholer who had somehow been sent from the main residence to live in this mansion.

Zeldryn raised one hand and looked at his palm.

It was the hand of a twelve-year-old boy.

But now, it belonged to him.

“Well...” Zeldryn smiled faintly. “Even if I transmigrated into the body of a terrible Young Lord, at least I really do have a Mana Hole.”

Even if he was still only a candidate for Level 1 Manholer, simply possessing a Mana Hole already opened countless possibilities for him.

There was something else just as important.

“I get to start again at twelve.”

Twelve years old was incredibly young.

There was still so much time ahead of him, which was completely different from Reka's previous life. Back then, he had only truly started regretting his choices after far too much time had already slipped away. His career had gone nowhere, he kept getting older, his abilities never improved enough, and he had thrown away too many opportunities without realizing what they were worth until later.

Now he had been given something impossible.

A chance to start again.

'This time, I can still fix things.'

Zeldryn looked back toward the sky.

He had no idea who might stand in his way someday. It could be the protagonist of this world, Zorin Giorry, Kera, the rest of the Giorry family, or people he hadn't even met yet.

Right now, Zeldryn was weak.

Extremely weak.

Kera had just rendered him completely helpless for nearly twenty minutes, but Zeldryn still possessed knowledge from the novel. Even if his memory wasn't perfect, there was plenty of information he could eventually take advantage of.

And after seeing Kera's behavior today, another thing had become obvious.

The man was annoying, rough, and completely merciless when teaching him, but Kera clearly hadn't come here to kill him. If anything, in his own twisted way, the man seemed determined to push Zeldryn into becoming stronger.

'If that's the case, then at least I have a chance.'

Zeldryn slowly tightened his fist.

He didn't need enough strength to rule the world, become the strongest, or defeat everyone who stood in front of him. If the Giorry family truly faced destruction one day, just as he remembered from the novel, then Zeldryn only wanted enough power to survive.

He wanted to become a Manholer, learn how to protect himself, and eventually gain enough ability to stand on his own. If the day ever came when he had to abandon the Giorry family completely, then at the very least he wanted enough strength and skill to work, earn money, and live freely without depending on the Giorry name.

Most of all, he refused to repeat Reka's old life by drifting without purpose until everything was already too late.

Zeldryn lifted his head and allowed the brilliant blue sky to fill his vision.

For a moment, he imagined the original owner of this body.

Zeldryn Giorry.

A delinquent child who had spent his life drinking, causing trouble, abusing others, and wasting almost everything he had been given.

Zeldryn raised one hand and slowly extended his middle finger toward the sky, as though the old Zeldryn Giorry were somewhere above him and could somehow see it.

“And you, Zeldryn...” The corner of his lips rose. “You fucking bastard.”

The wind flowed through his black hair from the open window.

“Just stay there and relax. I'll make better use of what you left behind.”

He kept his gaze on the sky for several moments.

Reka had already spent one life realizing too late how much time he had wasted. Whatever awaited him in this world, he had no intention of making the same mistake again.

Zeldryn smiled faintly.

“This is the life I refuse to waste.”