Nigel opened his eyes once more—to the same morning of April, Kingdom Year 283.
This time, he didn’t deny what had happened or wander in confusion. He was fully aware: Inas had killed him, and time had turned back. But… even now, he couldn’t take it all in calmly.
From the moment he woke, Nigel noticed something deeply strange. Although calling it a discovery felt wrong—because this “abnormality” was everywhere.
Six hours later, Nigel was waving his hand in front of his butler, who stood anxiously before him. To anyone else, he must’ve looked like a lunatic. The faithful butler’s face only grew more troubled. Ignoring him, Nigel waved his hand in front of the physician next. The physician’s eyes reflected his internal debate—wondering which medicine might bring Nigel back to his senses.
“I’m not insane, so just get out.”
Of course, a madman never admits he’s mad. So naturally, neither the butler nor the physician believed him. But after enough insistence, they finally obeyed—though with very sour expressions. Outside, Nigel heard the butler warning the guards stationed on the estate.
Clicking his tongue, Nigel scanned the now-empty room. The floating <Window> still hung in midair.
“Maybe I really am crazy…”
Seeing contextless hallucinations in broad daylight—Nigel glared at the window with a deep scowl.
Character Info Window
Name: Georg Ruden
Class: Butler
Level: 8
HP: 21/21
MP: 7/7
< View Stats >
< View Skills >
What else could explain something this ridiculous if not madness?
Above the incomprehensible HP and MP labels, Nigel had opened additional explanatory text.
HP
Health Points. Represents a character’s stamina. Decreases when attacked or afflicted with certain conditions. Can be restored with healing magic, item use, certain character skills, or by staying at an inn. The higher the HP, the longer a character can last in battle. If HP reaches zero, the character becomes incapacitated.
MP
Mana Points. Represents a character’s magical energy. Required to use combat skills or magic. Can be recovered through items, meditation, or by staying at an inn. The more MP, the wider variety of skills a character can use.
In terms of language, it was fairly easy to grasp. But when it came to the context, none of it made sense. If Georg’s HP hit zero, would he… collapse?
Nigel frowned and tapped <View Skills>. A new window appeared before him.
Skill List
Combat Skills
Basic Swordsmanship Lv. 2
Magnus Ducal Family’s Secret Sword Art Beginner
General Skills
Estate Management Lv. 82
Alcohol Appraisal Lv. 51
Observer’s Eye Lv. 60
Nigel stared at the strange skill list, half-understanding, half-not.
From what he’d observed while exploring the estate, it seemed the higher the “Level,” the stronger the person was. Most of the Magnus Duchy’s staff were at or below the butler’s level. Guards typically ranged between levels 30 and 40, and knights ranged between 50 and 60.
“Skills,” from what he could infer, seemed to be the quantified forms of a person’s knowledge or techniques. “Basic Swordsmanship” was probably exactly that—the basics. The “Secret Sword Art” marked as Beginner made sense, too; Georg had likely observed the ducal knights training and picked up the basics.
As a butler, he managed the estate and wine cellar, so his high levels in Estate Management and Alcohol Appraisal fit.
HP and MP also matched the descriptions in the window.
Curious, Nigel tapped the <Observer’s Eye> skill. Like HP and MP, a pop-up description appeared.
Observer’s Eye
The ability to observe and discern the essence of a target. Applies to both living and non-living objects.
A butler needed to oversee countless aspects of the household. It made sense that a veteran would have a high Observer’s Eye skill. He could… almost understand it.
“Almost, huh…”
Rebuking his own thoughts, Nigel clutched his head. As if dealing with Inas wasn’t exhausting enough—now he was seeing bizarre hallucinations too?
With a heavy sigh, he recalled what he’d seen the first time he accessed his own status window. If the descriptions were to be believed, then he possessed utterly trash stats…
“No. This is madness. I don’t need to waste brainpower on some ridiculous fantasy.”
Yet despite saying that, he couldn’t stop noticing it. That’s just human nature. So, Nigel gave in and continued to test the strange system.
These windows didn’t just appear for people. When he waved his hand in front of objects, an <Item Window> appeared. It showed the item’s price and description.
Nigel’s room was full of antiques. Some descriptions listed details he already knew, while others revealed entirely new information. One such case made his brow furrow: a jar from the Southern Continent he had always cherished.
Replica Jar (Lemad Kingdom Style)
A fake crafted in imitation of pottery from the southern Kingdom of Lemad. Although exquisitely made, its status as a forgery significantly reduces its value.
Price: 5 rubels
Nigel’s expression twisted.
Five rubels. That was about a commoner’s day’s wage. He had paid two thousand rubels for that thing. It wasn’t a heavy loss for the Magnus Duchy’s finances, but realizing he’d tossed money at a fake made his stomach turn. He nearly smashed the jar then and there but barely managed to stop himself.
“I should probably take some medicine…”
Smashing a jar because of a hallucination? Ridiculous. He grabbed the fatigue recovery pills the physician had left earlier and swallowed the entire dose in one gulp. Maybe if he got some sleep, the hallucinations would stop—he held onto that vague hope as he climbed into bed.
As drowsiness overtook him, he remembered the day he bought the jar. Inas—who usually never interfered with his indulgences—had, for once, expressed concern about the expense and advised against it. Just thinking about that soft, kind voice brought up a fresh wave of emotion.
“Inas…”
Tears blurred his vision. Nigel clutched at his chest—pierced through twice now—and sobbed freely.
Right now, Inas was away in a small southern territory, acting as Nigel’s proxy. It had happened in the original timeline, too. He wouldn’t be back for at least another ten days. If Nigel didn’t want to die again, he had to do something before then.
He fell asleep, lost in tangled thoughts.
***
In the end, Nigel failed to make any meaningful preparations before Inas’s return. There were simply too many things demanding his attention.
The strange floating <windows> didn’t stop. But once he realized he could control them with his will—without flailing his arms like a lunatic—he began to scan his surroundings more freely.
And what he found in the estate was… nothing short of horrifying.
Nigel had long known that other noble families planted spies. He had planted a few of his own, after all. He had even identified a few infiltrators. But what he discovered now… was beyond imagination. The number of spies already inside the estate was far greater than he’d thought. Seeing it with his own eyes was deeply unsettling.
Of course, the only reason he could identify spies he’d never suspected before was because of the character info windows. If it said <Class: Spy>, there was no room for doubt. He weeded out each one based on what he saw, then interrogated them using the information. In every case, he confirmed that the windows only ever told the truth.
The information windows were accurate.
Which meant—when Inas returned, his character window would reveal everything. If he was a spy, it would say so. If he wasn’t, it would list him as a knight, nothing more.
Then and only then could Nigel decide—either drive him out or keep him close without fear.
With a mix of dread, hope, and anxiety, Nigel waited for Inas to return from the south.
***
A week later, Inas arrived at the ducal estate in the royal capital. After riding hard, he washed up and changed before immediately seeking out Nigel.
“Nigel, I’ve returned.”
“Welcome back.”
Though they were knight and lord, they’d known each other since childhood. When alone, they rarely stood on formality. It was thanks to that familiarity that Nigel had often taken liberties over the years. Half-joy, half-anticipation, Nigel reached for Inas. There had been a time he clung to Inas like an older brother, and Inas had always indulged it.
He threw himself into Inas’s embrace. Instead of simply basking in the long-missed warmth, Nigel focused his mind. At last—he summoned the status window he had longed to see.
Character Info Window
Name: Inas Idenbach
Class: Knight
Level: 41,435
HP: 91,419,291 / 91,420,291
MP: 79,103,653 / 79,103,653
< View Stats >
< View Skills >
