Chapter 2

"Nnn..."

Like a sleepless summer night, I let out a moan-like voice as I open my eyelids. I blink and feel the discomfort in my eyes. My vision blurs. Still, after repeating a few crackling blinks, my eyes come into focus. 　

It's like having a long dream, like waking up from a deep sleep. 　

Feeling strangely calm, I woke up surprisingly well. 　

 "Anyway, I wonder how long had I been sleeping? I can't remember last night. "

"Looks like you've slept a lot, Gil. That's oversleeping."

 "Wha..!"

Wait, why is there someone in my bedroom!? What's going on!? A thief? 

I try to get up vigorously, but my body can't move as I want, and I can't wake myself up. 

"..!"

"Hey, hey, isn't it cruel of you to forget my voice?"

As the person said so, the owner of the voice held my body in support and made me sit up. 　Long black hair, and sharp eyes. 　

With slender limbs, the figure is so glamorous that even dancers in the capital would look back. 　

There's no doubt about it, this person is...

"Kuro, it was you..?"

"How disrespectful. Who do you think you owe your life to?"

After saying so, Kuro looked down on me with an expression that says "good grief". Wait, was Kuro this big? No, more importantly, was my voice this high..? 　

I had a bad feeling and hurriedly looked around. When I looked well, it wasn't even my room in the first place. 　

It was a ruin somewhere, or a dimly lit stone-made private room. 　

The bed I'm lying on is more of a block of stone than a bed. 

"What's going on..."

I put my hand to my forehead and calmly tried to remember what happened before I fell asleep. 　

However, when I saw my own hand in my field of vision, I hurriedly looked at both hands. Hey, hey, hey, what is this..? 

Why have they shrinked so much!? Looking at my stupid face, Kuro spoke. 

"Looks like you've used your life force to heal your wounds. That sight of a cute brat makes me laugh, though. Well, that's all it is, so it's okay."

"Hey, hey, Kuro. Wait a minute, explain it properly. Why is my body back to when I was a brat? 　

And why are you here? Also, what do you mean "healing wounds"!?"

"That's a lot of questions right after waking up. Gotta say good morning first, right?"

"That doesn't matter right now. Don't be lazy, tell me."

Kuro exhaled lightly and crossed her arms. 

"Well, it's understandable to have doubts. You were barely conscious at the time."

"..."

"Okay, I'll be brief. Gil, you were dying in that final battle. Then I brought you here, and used the magic of reanimation with the help of Gifrid. It's a forbidden art that Gifrid has devised over the years to heal wounds."

The final battle, dying... 　

At that moment, an electric shock runs through my brain like something popping. 

I remembered, everything...

"...yes, I was helped by Elena... the other guys..."

"Dead, all of them. Well, it's enough that you survived, right?"

My nose twitched. 　

A frustrating emotion welled up from the depths of my body. 

But there's no point in getting angry with Kuro. It's not like a vampire would be interested in a human in the first place. 　

No offense whatsoever towards this one. 　

I take a deep breath, and calm my mind. 

"They... for me..."

"Well, to put it in your human style, I guess you have to cherish the rest of your life so that their sacrifices are not in vain...that's quite the stinky line, huh."

"No... you're right. Regretting it now doesn't change the facts. It's the life that Elena and everyone else, you, and Gifrid have connected to me. Well, I'm honestly surprised that I ended up as such a brat, but I can't be selfish."

"That's right. The fight is over, it's a peaceful world, you know. From now on, you can live as you like."

Yes, it's over. 　

Let's rejoice about that now. 

"Still, have I been asleep for long? 　

It's dusty all over the place... it's been so long that my body regressed, hasn't it?"

"Well, in terms of the human senses, it's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

"I guess so. I wouldn't be surprised if it's five... or even ten years."

"Thousand years"

...Hm? 　

I guess my ears have degenerated as well. 　

I can't understand the words well. 　

I slowly turned my face towards Kuro. 

"I'm sorry, it looks like I didn't get it right. How long has it been since I fell asleep?"

Kuro smiled and opened her mouth firmly this time to speak. 

"Like I said, a thousand years. I could say that it was repeated ten times in a hundred years, and if I were to say that it was still difficult to understand, it would be about 365,000 times when the sun rose. You understand now?"

I opened my eyes in shock. 　

Something I don't understand sticks to the back of my throat and my breath stops. My body, it completely froze.

 "Heh-heh-heh. Gil, it's rare for you to be surprised. A sorcerer who is said to be perfect, being surprised at the simple fact that he has been sleeping for a thousand years... that's quite funny."

I finally breathe.

 "Y-You idiot! I'm nothing like you guys! It's a thousand years, you know! Far from being all that has changed, it would be more difficult to find something that hasn't changed!"

"What are you saying? At least I haven't changed, have I? See, I'm still a vivacious big sister."

"That's not what I'm saying! --Ah, damn it!"

Fuck, this is the worst... 　

I won't even have a king to report to, and Elena and Zeke's relatives must have died a long time ago! 　

Well, the descendants must have survived, but... I'm sure they don't know anything about me. 　

I mean, there's no one in this world who knows me anymore. 

"No, you were there."

"?"

Unwittingly, even now, when she says that a thousand years have passed, I still feel a strange sense of security in Claudia, a vampire named Kuro, who is still here. Shit, how humiliating. 　

I let out a big sigh. This isn't at the level of living on for those who saved me any more, man. This is a complete restart in the future as a brat, isn't it? 　

If no one knows me, this is pretty much a new life. It's a reincarnation.

 "Well, from our point of view, a thousand years is a blink of an eye, y'know. The world has changed a lot, and I think you'll enjoy seeing this new world."

"That's easy for you to say. I'm still confused after all the shocking truths that stabbed me right after waking up."

"Haha, are you such a naïve little man? Tomorrow you'll be enjoying a new life."

"I'd like to tell you to stop saying arbitrary things like that, but..."

It's painful that I can't deny. This vampire, she hasn't lived this long for nothing. 　

Well, I can't help but doubt that this is already a thousand years later. Kuro isn't the type to tell such a lame lie. I have to accept my fate and go on with my second life. I have nothing but sorcery, and well, even if she says it's been a thousand years, it should still work. 

"My house is still there, right?"

"Of course. Oh, but of course your birthplace has already decayed a long time ago. It's already miserable to look at. Impermanence, y'know. As an alternative, there's a treehouse in the woods near here that I painstakingly and happily built. Let's just relax there for the time being. Wouldn't it be difficult for you to be alone?"

"I liked that house a lot... the passage of time is cruel, huh. Oh well, let's take it easy and think about what to do with that tree house for the time being."

For now, let's be grateful for this life. 　

Things are so crazy that it will take a while to accept, but I'm alive. 　

Kuro smirked, put her arms under my legs and neck, and held me like a princess.

"Hey, idiot! Put me down!"

"What are you saying, you still can't stand properly, can you? I'll help you out and take you home like this."

"No, that's right, but... ah, shit, it's humiliating..! I wanna go back to being an adult!"

"He-he-he, you're pretty cute so I like it, actually."

"Who cares what you like!?"

Thus began what should be called my second life. 

The world after a thousand years. 　

Will I be able to get by well? 

"Ah... I'm worried about the future."

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