Suddenly, we were in an open field. It felt good to see so many colors again after being stuffed into that white room for the last half hour.

In the distance, the kingdom was clearly visible. Even more amazing was that the castle could be easily picked out from such a distance.

There was a good hour walk to the castle, not to mention that it would be over countless hills. I looked at those I knew would be magician’s with pity. Though the walk alone wouldn’t be much of a problem, they would probably be worn out by the stream of monsters we’ll encounter.

Without wasting any time, Jason began to lead us toward the kingdom.

Just a few minutes later…

“KKKYYYAAAAA”

I stared, totally unimpressed, at the tiny green thing in front of us. A goblin. One of the weakest monsters. Not at all a threat to our group. That’s why I expected this to go smoothly. But just WHY does everyone have to scream.

I mean, sure, they’re pretty gross, but if you scream when seeing this, there’s no way they’ll be able to stomach seeing some of the undead monsters.

I sighed and used a simple wind blade to take them all out. I was too impatient to wait for Jason to build up the courage to attack. He was one of the few who didn’t scream, and the only one who didn’t recoil. Except for me, of course.

As I saw the goblin heads fly into the air, and blood spray around, I was satisfied for only a moment. More screams erupted around me, along with a healthy amount of crying. Even Jason fell down in shock.

I sighed, this was going to be a long day.

……

After many more hours of walking, and an innumerable number of screams, we finally reached the kingdom. Well, to be more precise, it’s the capital.

It’s towering gates were incredible, and elicited gasps of wonder from my classmates. I had already seen them before, though, so their amazement was just a little lost on me.

As we arrived, the gates opened wide. On the other side was a royal procession. Even the king had personally come to escort us to his castle. I was nearly giddy with excitement when he did. I even ignored the conversation happening between Jason and the king. After all, it was nearly night time, which meant I would meet her soon.

Apparently my absent mindedness got on the nerve of someone, because just two minutes into the walk, Jason elbowed me harshly.

“Mason, now that everyone else has introduced themselves, why don’t you do the same.”

Oh, so that’s it. This situation is solved easily enough.

“Hi, I’m Mason.”

It’s kind of embarrassing, but I seem to have forgotten my last name. What? I went by Mason for five years, and then never said my name for two years after that.

With that over, I proceeded to imagine my first meeting with her. Last time, I acted like an idiot, this time I’ll have to be cool.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘Hi, I’m Mason’?!!?!? Were you not listening to the other introductions?! They said their stats, and their skills!! You didn’t even say your last name!”

Some little girl just started yelling at me for no reason. All you said was introduce myself, which I did perfectly. Who is this girl anyway, blonde hair in twin tails, a fancy red dress. Right! She must be the princess. It’s weird seeing her this young and enthusiastic.

She is probably 12 right around now. The princess I know was an 17-19 year old beauty, who was depressed, and constantly had bags under her eyes. It was probably because her father died, causing her to rule a kingdom at just 17 years old.

Well, I suppose it’s better that she’s yelling at me rather than contemplating suicide.

“Right, I’m Mason. My strength is 4,300. Constitution is 8,600. Dexterity is 7,100. And intelligence is… um… 20,000.”

I want them to know that I’m powerful, but saying my actual intelligence will just cause them to lose all trust in me. Even 20,000 may be stretching it a bit.

“Also, I have the skills and ”

Should I have left one of them out? Oh well, it’s too late now.

Sure enough, even the king had stopped, and was gaping at me.

The princess soon had stars sparkling in her eyes.

“WWAAHHH, Mason, are you actually someone really capable?”

The way she said that kinda pisses me off.

“Yeah, I had to defeat all the monsters we encountered on the way here.”

I have to establish myself as an extremely powerful individual right now. That way, they won’t stop me if I go solo in the future.

Although it was embarrassing that my classmates paled just at the mention of the monsters. Maybe I should have forced them to defeat a few of them. Y’know, like shock therapy.

Oh well, what’s done is done.

“Mason, I figured since you were able to use magic already, you would be strong and have high intelligence, but this is just too much.”

Jason said while laughing. I smiled at that, I could already feel the envious stares from the other classmates.

“Wow, it’s great that we had someone like you in our class. I’m glad you were here the entire time.”

That was a lie. One of the other students, Kevin or something like that, was trying to compliment me. Of course, I can see right through his lie, and know that he wishes I weren’t here.

How childish, this is why he died in my old future. He was a fool. I can read him like a book right now. He wants to be special, to stand out in this new world. My skill was the only thing that stopped me from staring at him in contempt.

“Yeah, Kenny’s right.”

“Yeah.”

A chorus of agreements followed. Lies. I didn’t realize how stupid these classmates of mine were. It’s almost impressive how narrow-minded they are.

I smiled.

“By the way, an effect of the skill is that I can tell when someone is lying to me.”

I gave a dismissive glance towards Kev-Kenny. I won’t just take these things lying down anymore.

Now that I think about it, it might be good for some of these students to die. They hold so much power, but by being so shallow, who knows what they’ll do with it.

Oh well, I can let Jason handle them. After all, he was the strongest of us all in the past life. His skill, along with his morals and character, will be able to stop anyone else from using their powers to oppress the people of this world.

As for me, I want to be long gone by the time it comes to that. Maybe live in a village somewhere on the outskirts of the kingdom. Or travel the world with her.

“Here we are, this is my castle, and also where you all will be staying. You can also undergo a variety of training here. You’ll each get your own room, and a maid along with it.”

I smiled at the mention of the maid, I could hardly contain my feelings.

……

I happily hummed while sitting on the edge of my bed, soon she will be here. The reason why I got the skill.

I perked up at the sound of knocking.

“May I enter?”

A beautiful, monotone voice came from the other side of the door. My heart sped up just from hearing it.

“Sir?”

“Oh-um, yes.”

Shit! I messed it up already, I was supposed to be calm, cool, and collected. But here I am, shaking just at the thought of seeing her once again.

Clearly not aware of my feelings, the door opened without any hesitation. In stepped a stone-faced, silver-haired, gorgeous, beautiful, magnificent woman. I couldn’t help but stare, a soft smile rising to my face.

“Hi there, I’m Mason, and you are?”

“My name is Elliza, your maid.”

“I see.”

I patted the bed next to me.

“Well, we might as well get to know each other.”

She stared at the bed I had patted.

“... The maids here don’t offer that kind of service.”

I laughed. I know that she understands what I meant, this is just her personality. She’s adorable like that. However, my laughter died down very quickly. After all, she had just lied.

Wait, does that mean that if I ordered it, she really would? I thanked the gods that she was my maid. If anyone ordered her to do such a thing, they would be slaughtered without mercy.

“No, no. I just want to talk.”

“I see.”

She sat down next to me, closer than I thought she would. It really got my blood pumping. In fact, I’m sure that I’m blushing. Luckily it’s dark right now, so she shouldn’t be able to see it.

“So, how do you like being a maid at the castle?”

“It’s alright.”

I tried to start up a casual conversation, but I’m not very good at it. I wonder if she feels awkward or uncomfortable right now? For me, I’m content just sitting here next to her.

“You seem happy, sir.”

“Oh? You can tell.”

“Yes”

“This is actually the happiest I’ve been in years.”

“Odd, haven’t you just been torn from your old world?”

“Haha, yep. But I was always restrained in that world. Here, I can do what I want.”

“What do you want?”

“... I want to settle down with the girl I love, or maybe travel the world.”

“That doesn’t sound bad.”

“Which one would you pick? Would you want to settle down in a little village, or see the world?”

“I think… it wouldn’t be bad to travel the world. I’ve been stuck in here my whole life, after all. The girl you love might think differently, of course.”

“No, I think I’ve got my answer.”

We sat in silence for a while after that, it was surprisingly comfortable.

“So, who is it? If it’s someone you love, then it must be one of the other’s who were transferred.”

“Haha, nope. I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes upon her.”

“Hmmmm… The princess is only 12 y’know.”

I laughed wholeheartedly for a while hearing that. Even Eliza had a smile on her face.

“I’ll give you a hint, it’s the only person I’ve had a real conversation with since coming to this world.”

“I see, so it’s that Jason friend of yours.”

We both laughed this time. This was good, she opened up rather quickly this time.

“Well, I enjoyed having this conversation with you, Eliza. I really should get some sleep though. Of course, you’re welcome to join me if you want.”

I wiggled my eyebrows at her. She simply chuckled and closed the door behind her. I was definitely not disappointed that she just walked away like that.

“I also enjoyed having this real conversation with you… Mason.”

She said it from right outside my door. She really is perceptive, that girl.

Then, without rolling around from both excitement and embarrassment at the fact that she knows, I fell asleep.

……

I stretched my body as I woke up this morning. It was good to be back in this world, and for it to be so peaceful and happy. I smiled while looking out my bedside window.

“If you keep smiling to yourself like that, people will think you’re weird.”

I jumped at the sound of Eliza’s voice so near. It seems that she was in this room even as I woke up.

“...Well, do you think I’m weird?”

“No.”

I smiled even wider.

“Then I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”

“...You don’t really hide your emotions much, do you?”

“Nope, that sounds like a hassle. Why would I forcefully restrain myself in this brand new world?”

“Hmmm, that’s a very rare mindset, many people will think you’re a fool.”

“Do you think I’m a fool?”

“No.”

“Then I don’t care what they think.”

She smiled, and we spent the next hour making idle talk. In my last life, I woke up late on the first day. This time, I’m already accustomed to waking up at 5:00, no matter when I fell asleep.

When it was 6:00 (I can tell with my internal clock by the way), one of the knights came to my door. There was a polite knock, before he let himself in.

He seemed surprised at the sight before him. More likely, at the fact that I was awake. I was currently laughing along with Eliza after she took another jab at me.

“Oh! Sorry that I just barged in, I assumed you were asleep, everyone else was.”

He laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. This was the vice-commander of the Knight’s Order. He was a charismatic pretty boy, but he knew his way around a fight. He had blonde hair, short enough to never get in the way.

“We’re starting your training today, to see if there’s any way we can help. Your maid should know the way to the training grounds.”

I saw him off, and allowed Eliza to guide me there, though I could vaguely remember the path.

When I got there, a few of my classmates were already getting training from the knights.

I know what you’re thinking. For those with or , isn’t training unnecessary. The thing is, while they can attack an immobile target immaculately, they have no battle sense whatsoever.

Experience can trump both stats and skills depending on the difference. Although Jason’s stats are 5-6 times that of the knight practicing with him, he just isn’t used to a real fight. Boxing isn’t the same as putting your life on the line with every move you take.

Of course, this means nothing to me, who has experienced battles with demons 20 times stronger than these knights. Demons whose base stats far exceeded mine. I used my superior experience in those fights.

These knights have been in real battles, sure, but they don’t know war. And they definitely don’t know war like the one I was alone in. Isolated in enemy territory, constantly surrounded by those who could kill me so long as they can get one hit in.

Well, I mean, it is how I died. Now, however, I can rest easy. Forget these knights, I could easily storm the demon’s castle right now.

I don’t have to though, there’s still at least half a year until they start to make movements. I’ll take it easy until then.

“HEY YOU, GET DOWN HERE!”

I looked to see who was being yelled at by the commander of the Knight’s Order.

Well, I should have expected it, but he’s yelling at me. We even made eye contact. I sighed and made my way to the training ground.

The commander was the strongest swordsman around, the one with 700 strength and constitution. He was an annoying battle junkie. We never got along. Not that I hated him or anything, it’s just that our goals in life are complete opposites. I want an easy life, and he wants to live life on the edge.

“So you’re the sage boy, huh? Don’t think that just because you have good stats and skills that you have the luxury to take it easy.”

He had a dark look on his face as I casually stood in front of him. Of course, I knew what he was going to do, the way his right leg muscles were taut, and the clenching of his hand over his sword handle.

Noticing these minute details was the basis of surviving for the me in my past life. This guy was like an ameteur compared to the average demon I was fighting just a year ago.

“HHHAAAHHH”

I’m sure that to the others, he suddenly moved, without any prior indication. However, I calmly stepped to the side, and incapacitated him with a swift chop to the neck.

It was a simple move to use against someone slower than you. If you miscalculate the power, you might kill them, but I was confident in myself.

I looked down at the unmoving body… He’s not dead, right? I nudged him with my foot a few times. I breathed a sigh of relief when he finally groaned.

Well, that was something. I’m still surprised that he even felt the need to attack me. Could he have felt that threatened by my stats?

While I was thinking, the unmoving body finally began to move once more.

“HAHAHA, YOU!”

What? Is he angry?

“I HEREBY DECLARE THAT I WILL DEFEAT YOU!”

...er, that’s frankly impossible for you, sir.

I told him as much.

“There’s no way you can do that, y’know.”

“HAHA, IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I HAVE MET A WORTHY RIVAL!”

So he’s just gonna ignore me. Oh well, so long as he doesn’t bother me from now on, he can keep dreaming.

“Every day, I will challenge you! The day WILL come when I defeat you!”

Is he specifically trying to annoy me now? That has to be it, right? Right?

I swear he wasn’t like this in my past life. All he did was diligently train us to the best of his abilities. Maybe it’s because at the time there really wasn’t anyone worthy of being his rival. After all, even if he’s an annoying battle junkie, he’s still one of humanity’s greatest.

Actually, I do vaguely remember that Jason, the friendliest person I’ve ever met, started avoiding the captain after a while in the castle. Could this have been the reason?

No use worrying about it now. But my days will be more tiring with this guy around. I just want to spend my time with Eliza. I couldn’t care less about the happenings in the rest of the castle.

“My name is Pierre Aumont, please allow me the honor of knowing my rival’s name.”

His name is Pierre? Now that’s just ridiculous, it’s like naming a murderous tiger Mr. Cuddlywumples. This 7 foot, buff guy with a scruffy beard and scars is named Pierre. I must’ve never learned his name in my past life. There’s no way in hell I would forget such a contrast in name and appearance.

“I’m Mason.”

I realize this as I’m introducing myself, but wouldn’t it have been better to just ignore him. It’s too late now, I guess.

I sigh and leave the training grounds before anyone can stop me.

I wanna see Eliza...