Zeldryn stared at Kera for several moments.
The man still wore that strange smile.
As if what had just come out of his mouth wasn't something worth making a problem over.
Zeldryn narrowed his eyes slightly.
“You dare insult the son of a Marquis?”
Zeldryn didn't sound openly angry.
Instead, he deliberately phrased it like a question.
He wanted to see how Kera would react.
Would the man apologize?
Deny it?
Or claim that he had only been joking?
But the answer he received was nowhere close to any of those possibilities.
Kera raised one eyebrow.
“So what?”
Zeldryn fell silent.
Kera's smile became more obvious.
“You are a bastard, aren't you?” Kera asked casually.
“Trash?”
Zeldryn began to frown.
Kera tilted his head slightly.
“Oh.”
As if a new idea had suddenly occurred to him, Kera's smile widened even further.
“Or perhaps I should start calling you Young Lord Idiot from now on?”
...
The muscles in Zeldryn's face immediately tightened.
His hand slowly clenched into a fist.
What the hell is wrong with this guy?
Zeldryn might not have been the original owner of this body.
He was Reka.
A man from another world who had suddenly awakened inside the body of Zeldryn Giorry.
But from the moment he accepted that reality, Reka had also made a decision.
He was Zeldryn now.
This body belonged to him.
This name belonged to him.
And this life would be his as well.
So when someone he had never even met before stood directly in front of him and called him a bastard, trash, and an idiot...
Of course he was going to get angry.
Who wouldn't?
Zeldryn glared sharply at Kera.
“What the hell do you want, bastard?”
His voice rose.
His fist tightened even further.
“You want me to hit you?”
Several veins around Zeldryn's face and neck became slightly visible as he held back his anger.
He still hadn't even realized that he had been standing there shirtless the entire time.
Kera, on the other hand, looked even more pleased.
Instead of backing away, the man slightly opened both arms.
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His staff remained in one hand.
“You want to hit me?” Kera asked provocatively.
He curled several fingers toward Zeldryn.
Beckoning him forward.
“Come on.”
His smile widened.
“Young Lord Idiot.”
!?
Zeldryn's eyes widened.
His fist tightened even harder.
His body nearly moved forward.
But...
He stopped.
Zeldryn didn't attack.
The anger that had risen so quickly began to slowly fade.
Not because Kera's words no longer irritated him.
Quite the opposite.
The man was being too obvious.
Zeldryn examined Kera more carefully.
That smile.
His tone.
The way he kept adding more insults every time Zeldryn became angrier.
And now Kera was openly asking him to attack.
Zeldryn slowly opened his fist.
Wait...
Zeldryn thought.
Something was wrong.
If Kera simply disliked him, the man could have insulted him once and left it at that.
But from the beginning...
He had kept provoking him.
Little by little.
Idiot.
Bastard.
Trash.
Young Lord Idiot.
And then he directly told Zeldryn to attack him.
As if Kera were waiting for something.
Zeldryn looked at the man in front of him again.
A Level 3 Manholer.
A healer from the main residence.
Someone who had arrived with an excuse that made no sense.
Someone who had entered the private room of a Marquis's son.
And...
Zeldryn suddenly noticed something he had overlooked earlier.
The door.
His eyes briefly shifted toward the bedroom door.
Kera had simply opened it.
No knocking.
No permission.
No servant had come beforehand to announce that someone wanted to see him.
The man had simply walked inside.
Into the private room of a Marquis's son.
Zeldryn looked back at Kera.
This guy is completely insane.
Zeldryn thought.
Even Hera, his own personal maid, was terrified of entering his room without permission.
But Kera?
He had simply walked in.
Then immediately insulted the owner of the room.
And now he was asking to be punched.
It was too strange.
He's doing this on purpose.
The conclusion appeared inside Zeldryn's mind.
Kera was deliberately making him angry.
The man wanted him to lose control.
For what reason?
Zeldryn didn't know yet.
But if that was what Kera wanted...
Zeldryn took a long breath.
Slowly.
Then exhaled.
His fist completely relaxed.
The anger on his face began to disappear.
Zeldryn turned away.
Kera, who had been smiling the entire time, raised one eyebrow slightly.
“Hm?”
For the first time, the man's expression changed.
Only a little.
But there was clearly confusion there.
Zeldryn ignored him.
After all, the person inside this body wasn't a child who had only lived for twelve years.
Inside was Reka.
A man who had already lived for more than thirty years.
And that wasn't even counting the bizarre looping experience he had just gone through.
If he still immediately threw a punch just because someone baited him with a few insults...
Wouldn't that be unbelievably stupid?
Zeldryn walked toward the clothes he had removed earlier.
Just as he was about to pick them up, his eyes accidentally met his own reflection in the mirror.
Zeldryn stopped.
His bare upper body was clearly visible.
...
Only then did he realize it.
For fuck's sake.
Zeldryn cursed internally.
He had been arguing with Kera this entire time while shirtless.
Zeldryn picked up his clothes.
Then calmly began putting them back on.
Kera remained standing near the door.
The man said nothing.
His eyes followed Zeldryn's every movement.
After getting dressed, Zeldryn adjusted the front of his clothes and straightened the sleeves.
Then he walked toward the window.
The same window.
The one he had opened on his first day after waking up in this world.
Zeldryn placed one hand against it.
Then pushed it farther open.
Whoosh.
The morning wind immediately rushed into the room.
Zeldryn's black hair moved with the breeze.
Cool air brushed across his face.
The heat inside the room quickly faded.
Zeldryn took a deep breath.
Fresh air filled his lungs.
His gaze moved outside.
The village could still be seen in the distance.
Simple houses stood among stretches of land and trees.
Several people could be seen moving around, tiny from where he stood.
The morning sky stretched endlessly above them.
Blue.
Clear.
No tall buildings.
No vehicle exhaust.
No sound of engines.
Only scenery that still felt foreign to him, yet somehow always managed to capture Zeldryn's attention whenever he looked at it.
Even with all the strange things that had happened since he arrived in this world...
The view was still beautiful.
Zeldryn closed his eyes for a moment.
He let the morning wind brush across his face.
The anger that had risen earlier finally disappeared completely.
Behind him, Kera remained silent.
The smile that had never disappeared from his face now looked slightly different.
There was confusion in it.
His gaze remained fixed on Zeldryn.
Kera had expected a reaction.
But not this.
Not even close.
Zeldryn should have gotten angry.
The boy should have attacked immediately after being insulted.
At least, based on everything Kera knew about Zeldryn Giorry...
That was what should have happened.
Instead, Zeldryn had stopped.
Controlled himself.
Turned away.
Put his clothes back on.
Then walked toward the window as if nothing had happened.
Kera narrowed his eyes slightly.
This wasn't part of the plan.
Kera thought silently.
Meanwhile, Zeldryn opened his eyes again.
He stared at the village for several more moments.
Then he turned slightly.
His lower back rested casually against the edge of the window.
Both of his hands settled comfortably at his sides.
The morning wind continued moving through his hair.
Zeldryn now faced Kera again.
There was no longer any anger on his face.
But his eyes remained cautious.
The corner of Zeldryn's mouth rose slightly.
“All right.”
Zeldryn spoke in a much calmer tone.
“Then let's talk properly...”
His gaze locked directly onto Kera.
“Mr. Messenger.”
Kera didn't answer immediately.
The two simply stared at each other from opposite sides of the room.
Kera's strange smile returned.
But this time...
Zeldryn didn't take the bait at all.