Leo and his team were sitting in the cafeteria just after they finished their training. No one else was here other than them but that was to be expected as next day was only a few minutes away.

They had to prepare their own food since it was long past normal cafeteria working hours but that was something that they were used to at this point. It was what happened every day for the past month.

“I hate it, I want for the colonel to return. Even his bullying was easier to endure.” complained Jennifer like she did every day.

Black had his usual face that said ‘whatever’ while munching his food but at the same time Leo felt that he was not disagreeing with the statement. Over last month, more or less he started understanding how the black-haired man was conveying his feelings.

“At least we are getting stronger.” said JJ, he was reading a book from a holoscreen while eating. It was about different materials used in military constructions and what functions they have.

“And some people grow stronger so fast that our training gets even harder.” Jennifer said looking judgingly at Leo.

“Ah, well…” said Leo stroking the back of his head. It was true he was getting stronger fast. The training pushed both his mana capacity and output further and at the same time, he felt that training physically when under the effect of his spell had some additional effects on his growth since he was feeling stronger even when not using it. So it could be said that he trained both physically and magically at the same time.

His training consisted mostly of running with weights and sparring with Mr Etan. He didn’t know what others were doing when they were not running with him. He guessed though that it had something to do with their spells as they were certainly getting better every time they spared in the group again their instructor once a week.

Jennifer spells were rising both in their speed and output. JJ golem armor, how he called it, was getting both heavier, more durable and stronger while remaining fast. And Black more actively protected his team and at the same time Leo felt that he got better at hiding since he could never find him even when he tried to pay attention. Despite that, Mr Etan didn’t seem to have much problem with it.

Once when he was too exhausted after his training to move and no healer were available he healed him with water magic. When he later asked him what magic he used he learned that he could use both light and water mana. It was Jennifer who told him that though.

“Don’t blame him for something like that…” said JJ. “But it’s true that you are getting stronger fast… We also haven’t asked you who you were in the past with how busy things were.”

“Is that something you normally tell?” asked Leo.

“Well maybe in current times not really but it’s a good bonding experience for teams. Most people here are doing it.” explained JJ.

“Then who were you if you don’t mind?” asked Leo little interested.

“I don’t mind going first. It’s my first reincarnation actually. Before this, I was a monk at a temple of Humbro the protector of stone. It was over twenty hundred years ago. My days mostly consisted of training both my body and mind and learning the magic paths of Humbro. You can guess how confused I was when I was first reborn in this place. Nothing really was the same and everything changed, my praised golem armor being called pathetic.” He closed his eyes for a second.

“But it’s not really that bad. The knowledge of earth and stone is much more expanded now than back then. I can still follow the path of Humbro so I’m alright with it.”

Leo took it in for a second. “And how did you end up here?”

“Ah, actually I was born here. Twenty years ago my parents who are also both reincarnated meet here and a year later I was born.”

“Wait! You are only nineteen?!” asked shocked Leo.

“Eh? Is it because of the bald head?” he said smiling. “Not like I really feel like nineteen though. Since when I died I was nearly seventy years old.”

“Sorry.” Said Leo.

“No offence taken.”

“Where are your parents now though?”

“On some mission, details are secret, I still don’t know how to feel about them though. My first parents died when I was four and then I was taken by the temple and when I’m thankful to them I don’t really know how to call someone mother or father when I never really had any.”

“Isn’t it like that for most people?” said Jennifer. “Either they are nice and good parents and you learn to care about them or they give you away and you die a painful death…”

Leo and JJ looked at her with not really knowing what to say.

“Sorry. I guess I still have a problem with dying twice as a baby in that room…”

Leo shuddered at that. “Yea…” he said.

“Did that happen to you too?” she asked. Leo hesitated with an answer. When he accepted at this point that Arthur was once him he still hated that memories quite a lot. Especially because of how they ended. “Sorry. I guess it’s not something that anyone wants to talk about.”

“Should I tell my story then?” she said and continued without waiting for an answer. “If you count how many lives I lived it would be two not counting the two times I died as a baby and now. First time I was just a normal noblemen daughter, raised, fed, educated and learned the path of magic. Then I was married off to some older guy because of politics, had kids and died of old age. The second time was more interesting!” she said excitedly.

“I was born as a boy then, sixth child of a poor noble family with a small territory. So I decided to use my magic and become an adventurer. I had quite a bit of adventure, maybe you heard of the Gandirf the White who traveled the land saving people from the insanity of demons?”

Both Leo and JJ shook their heads but they were listening.

“Well. I guess he is not popular nowadays. I was his assistant!”

Leo nearly fell off his chair.

“What?”

“No, I just expected that that person would have been you…”

“You think that I’m so great?” she said smiling “But no if I was so great with magic I wouldn’t be training here. Anyway, we traveled a lot. Anywhere where there were rumors of demonic influence. It was fun, we even once meet a demon general and fought him to a standstill and then I died because three others generals appeared. I never learned what became of the master. But I learned a lot during that time also, how to affect a mind with light mana, how it feels for a man to have sex and a lot of other things.”

“And how did you end here?” asked Leo.

“Ah, well. My parents were both researchers, my father was also a doctor on top of that so when I was born he scanned me and filled the form stating that there is nothing wrong with me despite there being a clear negative result. I’m thankful to them for that. Later on though, well…” she stopped for a second. “I… used a spell of mine, to erase someone's memories… and was discovered…”

“Eh? Why?” asked Leo, that sounded like a stupid way to nearly kill themselves.

“I… there was this guy I liked and I confessed to him but he rejected me so I thought that maybe if I erase his memories I will get a second chance later…” she said and hid her face.

JJ burst out laughing and Leo looked at her awkwardly.

“Enough about me. Now, Leo, it’s your time to speak.” said Jennifer.

“Well, I don’t really remember much… I only remembered lately one of my lives. Well, two you can say but the other one I didn’t really remember or more it feels like something I just heard of rather than lived through.” He said.

“Does that mean you were an incomplete reincarnated?” asked Jennifer, she didn’t smile when she asked that.

“Yeah… I guess I must have been in that place so many times that I forgot.” Said Leo, smiling awkwardly. “It’s not that bad. I don’t really remember that place other than a one time from my last life. I was hospitalized for most of my life that time. I was incomplete back then too and ended up being discovered by writing a book on a life that I sometimes dreamed of… if only I knew.” said Leo.

JJ looked at him seriously. “I really hate those who claim us devils.”

“Oh… and that other life?” asked Jennifer trying to change the topic.

“I, well, don’t really remember it that well. It was quite similar to your second life, I was born as the second son of a noble and decided to become an adventurer. He was named Daniel.” Explained Leo.

“Daniel, when was it?” asked Jennifer touching her chin.

“I think more than a fifteen hundred years ago. I’m not really sure though but it was before the labyrinthian city collapse. Since he was there. Why?”

“Well, there were once talks in court about Daniel an adventurer that saved a princess only to later seduce her like every woman he met but that couldn’t be you, right?” she said cheerfully.

“Was the one who he saved the princess from a lich?” asked Leo little surprised.

Jennifer turned silent on that.

“Is that right?” asked JJ.

She nodded. “Yeah…” she looked surprised at Leo. “That Daniel? Who once slain the green ancient dragon?” she asked. JJ turned his head on that.

“Well… I wrote about it in the book… that part didn’t last though. I had that book in my hand for a while and it was not complete. It was what caused me to remember.” he didn’t mention who gave it to him.

“Cool.” She looked at him with amazement in her eyes. “I wanted to meet you back then. I wanted you to take me like the princess. You don’t really feel like the harem king Daniel though maybe you will grow into that.”

Leo turned red at that “I don’t really feel like him though, those memories are not really clear if they are mine even.”

She smiled at his red face “Still, I guess that explains why you could get some strong so quickly. We will need to train harder if we want to keep up.” She said smiling at JJ.

“I didn’t plan on being left behind anyway.” he said.

“Well with that we still have one more…” Jennifer stopped in the middle of her sentence looking at something.

JJ and Leo turned in that direction and they noticed instantly what she was looking at or rather a lack of what she was looking at. Black was not here, probably expecting to be asked he escaped when no one was looking.

“I guess we should have started with him.” Said JJ shaking his head.

“I guess he wouldn’t have told us anyway.” answered Jennifer little disappointed.

“I guess we could have expected this.” ended Leo smiling a little.

-*-

Mary walked down the corridor. She was heading for the last person she could turn to for help and it was the one she didn’t want to ask at all. Last week she has asked or rather interrogated her teachers and even the principals about Leo but she couldn’t learn anything.

She knew that at least Mr Etan was hiding something from her but she couldn’t learn anything from him no matter what she did.

She even went to Leo’s parent's house and he wasn’t there. His parents weren’t there either, from his neighbors she heard that they left on vacations. She didn’t believe that one bit though.

She opened a wooden door without knocking, she didn’t understand what was the point of using so much wood for anything. It’s not like they were elves.

“Father” she said.

“Mary!” he said cheerfully. “You don’t visit me often but I guessed you would come soon. Let me guess. It is about Leo?”

He probably didn’t even need to guess. He knew all she was doing anyway. She nodded to him.

“I will have to disappoint you though. I lost the track when the D.I.I. got to their house. They weren't the ones who found him though.” He said.

“Who did then?” she asked.

“I don’t know. But there is a person which I’m going to meet after this who may know. Want to meet them?” he asked, his smile didn’t falter a bit.

“Yes.”

“Okay then. Let’s go” said Edward before standing up and using some kind of black device on his desk to open a secret door in the wall.

Mary looked little surprised at that, she didn’t know about its existence.

The ride down took a long time and after they stopped and entered a room that looked like an average conference room in their house. It had a big wooden table with a lot of chair in it.

“You took your time.” Said some voice. She couldn’t see anyone though but it sounded familiar for some reason.

“Sorry, I was talking to my daughter. Her name is Mary.”

“Hmm, oh, I see. Nice to meet you, Mary, you may recognize me.” Said the voice. After that, a figure appeared from shadows of the room in one of the chair.

And it was just that. A figure, enveloped by darkness but she could feel that it was smiling.