Jobless Reincarnation: The King with a Mental Problem

After finishing the late-night snack, the tableware was left soaking in the sink.

Lilia will handle it tomorrow morning—I gave her a raise, and it wasn't for nothing.

Soaking it in water is already a huge help.

The Shadow Lord and his servant Rudeus were not in a hurry to go back to their rooms to sleep. Instead, they sat together on the newly bought sofa in the living room and looked up at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

Rudy was too full after eating two meals and needed to rest for a while.

I think you could make this chandelier yourself out of glass; that would save a lot of money...

When the chandelier could no longer attract his attention, Wang tried again to recall his previous dream, but he couldn't remember it no matter what he tried.

This feeling is really strange, like something is pressing on my chest, and I feel like I can't breathe every time I take a breath.

Healing and detoxifying magic have been tried, but they haven't worked.

Moreover, it didn't seem like a physical problem, but rather like a vague sixth sense that something bad was about to happen.

Since we can't figure anything out through analysis, let's just go with our gut feeling.

After making up his mind, Wang stood up and walked towards the door.

"Brother? Where are you going?"

"I don't know, I feel weird, I can't sleep, I'm going out for a walk to clear my head."

"Now? In the middle of the night?"

"Well, I can't sleep anyway, so I'll just think of it as a way to put my mind at ease."

"Together?"

"Whatever you want."

Rudy jumped off the sofa and followed behind him, wagging his tail.

Walking through the corridor and pushing open the back door, the night wind rushed towards me—the late autumn wind already carried a chill, blowing on my face like icy silk.

The moon was very round, hanging on the roof of the eastern house, illuminating the entire courtyard.

In the stable, Mambo was dozing on the ground.

Hearing footsteps, its ears twitched, and only when the king's slap landed on its body did it reluctantly open its eyes.

Mambo snorted, slowly stood up, his eyes saying, "Are you alright in the middle of the night?"

But it still obediently followed them out of the stable.

I mounted the horse and helped Rudy up too. Mambo could easily carry both of us.

Mambo strode forward, his horse's hooves rustling as they stepped on the fallen leaves.

Stepping out of the courtyard, the entire village was laid out before me in the moonlight.

The road was a dirt road, hardened by people's footsteps during the day and dampened by dew at night, giving it a dull, gloomy sheen.

On both sides of the road were fences taller than a person, and behind the fences were vegetable gardens. The leaves of cabbages and radishes looked grayish in the moonlight, as if they were covered with a layer of frost.

The wind blew in from the fields, carrying the earthy smell of soil and the scorched scent of withered grass. The old locust tree at the village entrance rustled in the wind, its canopy resembling a large black cloud. Occasionally, a bird would be startled awake, fluttering its wings and flying to another tree.

Rudy sat in front, his hands braced against the horse's neck, his body swaying with Mambo's steps.

"Brother, do you think there might be ghosts in the middle of the night?"

Tch, trying to scare me, huh?

Let's see who's scaring whom.

"ghost?"

"Yeah. It's that kind of thing... that doesn't want to leave after it dies."

Got it!

"Of course."

"Huh? Why?"

"That conclusion makes sense, doesn't it? This is a world with magic; it would be strange if there weren't any ghosts. Besides, in the northwest of the Lingus Sea and the northeast of the Central Continent, there's a place called Ghost Island. The witch says that ghosts live on Ghost Island."

"Really? But is the ghost you're talking about the same ghost I'm talking about?"

"I'm not sure, I've never seen a demon before."

"But you can't be sure it's one of those things I described, things left behind after death, right?"

"I can't be sure, but that's precisely why I came out."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I had a bad feeling, that's why I couldn't sleep."

"That was just your nightmare, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but are you sure it's really just a nightmare? Not some kind of sixth sense, ghost, or phantom, or anything like that."

"...It should just be a nightmare."

"See, all you can say is 'should'."

The horse walked past the threshing ground at the village entrance, the stone roller casting a long shadow in the moonlight. Nearby, haystacks piled up like small mountains, and several wild cats perched atop them, their eyes glowing green in the darkness.

"elder brother."

"Um."

"What exactly is this bad feeling you're talking about?"

"I can't explain it. It's like... a strong sense of unease, like leaving the house without blowing out the candles on the table, then forgetting about it, and then the house catches fire, and you feel restless the whole time you're away."

(The author burned down the family's washing machine because of this when he was a child...)

"This feeling is too mystical, isn't it?"

"Didn't the witch tell you?"

"What did you say?"

They took the bait, and now it's time for me to make up some nonsense.

"The magic that the witch taught us shouldn't really be called magic, but rather sorcery. There's a crucial difference between magic and sorcery."

"I know, Professor Loki said that magic is a skill that can be learned. But magic is a law or universal truth that contains the mysteries of the world."

"That's right. Most of what people call learning magic is actually learning how to use magic as a technique. It's just that the two terms are often confused, and people often confuse the two."

"What if we get them mixed up?"

"If you just learn magic tricks and think you're learning magic, it won't matter. It's just that you're a fool who's learned the wrong thing from the start."

"What if we were to begin actually researching magic?"

"That is what we are doing now, studying the laws and truths of this world."

"and then?"

"Didn't I say that already? When you're gazing into the abyss..."

"...The abyss is also gazing at you."

Rudy proactively answered the second half of the sentence.

Yes, let's just follow your line of thinking.

"That's right, this kind of vision is naturally not a physical eye that relies on light."

"Could it be?"

"At night, during sleep, the soul's connection with the physical world is greatly reduced, and its perception turns inward to the brain; this is what is known as the inner eye."

"Are you kidding me?"

It's a question, meaning it already considers this possibility to exist.

"I don't know. I just know this theory, and then I had a nightmare that I can't remember after I woke up."

"What does this prove?"

"Do you remember what you said before about observing a sphere in a three-dimensional world from a two-dimensional perspective?"

"Of course I remember. When observing a sphere in the three-dimensional world from a two-dimensional perspective, you can only see a circle that keeps getting bigger and smaller, because... the two-dimensional world cannot imagine height and... depth..."

Why did you stop talking, little brother? Hehe!

Then I'll continue for you, older brother.

"That's right, just like how we living in the real world can't understand information from higher dimensions, just like how I can't remember that nightmare at all."

"So you..."

"Yes, you asked me before if there are any beings in this world that have detached from the physical body and become spirits or souls, which you call ghosts. My answer is yes. It's just that it might be different from what you imagine."

"..."

"When reason fails to find the answer, one can only follow one's intuition, which is called the sixth sense, just like now."

Mambo dragged us out of the village and onto the edge of the field. The stubble field under the moonlight looked like a golden desert, the harvested stubble appearing a pale white in the moonlight, and the grove of trees in the distance was dark, like a black wall.

The wind came from the woods, carrying the smell of decaying leaves and damp earth.

It was quiet all around, so quiet that you could hear your own heartbeat. In the distance, a stream flowed gently, its waters murmuring as if someone were whispering.

Further away, the occasional hooting of owls could be heard from the graveyard outside the village, cooing like some kind of ancient incantation.

"Brother, brother, brother..."

"Um?"

"Can we go home?"

Rudy's voice was a little softer than before.

"Scared?"

"No. It's just... a little cold."

Hahaha! He's scared! He's scared!

"Oh, I see. It's just the cold. Please wait a little longer until this feeling goes away."

As he spoke, he activated the previous version of the Wind King's Barrier, which was heated, and wrapped up his little brother. Then the two of them and the horse stayed there together.

What I just said was half true and half false, but my intuition did guide me here.

Let's see what happens here.

One hour later

However, nothing happened.

But then I suddenly felt a sense of relief, though I couldn't quite put my finger on why. It was that feeling of pressure on my chest that disappeared.

Wang let out a deep breath.

"Brother, how are you feeling?"

"...Yeah, I can't feel anything."

"Then go back to sleep."

"Um."

On the way back, we passed the threshing ground again. The stray cat was still on the haystack, its green eyes fixed on us, motionless.

When we passed the old locust tree, the wind stopped, and the leaves fell silent. When we passed the Roltz's house, the lights were still off inside.

When I passed through my own yard, the living room light was still on.

Oh dear, I really forgot to blow out the candles...

Mambo walked back to the stable on his own, without needing any instructions.

It was more eager than anyone else to go back to sleep.

"Is it really just an illusion?"

As he spoke, Wang blew out the candle, and instantly, darkness surged in like a tide.

[Rudy's Perspective]

I, Ludius Grerath, was thirty-four years old in my previous life, and now I have been reincarnated as five years old, making me almost forty years old in total.

I'm standing in the living room now, reflecting on how I got to where I am in this new chapter of my life.

It feels so good to start over. This feeling of being transformed and starting anew is truly amazing.

Therefore, in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes in this life, I work very hard every day.

Even so, I was still discouraged.

I have an older brother who is an absolute genius. I later found out that he was actually adopted, but everyone dotes on him just as much as they do on me.

He always teased me and bullied my little brother when I was as old as I can remember. If he couldn't use it anymore, it was always his fault!

I never expected that an adopted child would dare to bully me, the true eldest son. I am furious!

What's even more infuriating is that he's more competitive for her affections than I am. He's always pestering Senis, giving her shoulder massages, helping her with housework, and even taking care of me. Paul is just the nominal head of the household; the real master is Senis.

And now, he has Senis fans completely mesmerized.

So what if I'm a little lecherous?

Was the expression on his face really that bad?

In short, he's not someone I can handle...

Fortunately, this stinky old man I picked up cared about me quite a bit, and he was very smart. Thanks to him, I learned the language and writing of this world very early on, and he even taught me magic.

I even suspected that he might be a time traveler from the past, but I tried to probe him several times with modern knowledge and couldn't find anything out. He always said that he was a king who came from another world or something. Maybe the exaggerated origin story he made up for himself was because of his inferiority complex.

I don't know, but his behavior was exactly like that of a delusional kid, and an overly clever one at that. He actually learned a lot of my modern knowledge from me.

Of course I was unwilling to accept this. To be inferior to a little kid after two lifetimes? I couldn't accept that...

Then this resolve was completely shattered by another child who was the same age as me...

The child's name is Hilfiet. At first glance, I thought she was a cute little boy, but it turns out she's actually an adorable little sister type.

Then this younger sister caught up with me in less than two years, not only in magic, but also in reading and arithmetic, and she even taught others.

hehe......

I should probably come to terms with reality. Geniuses in this world probably appear in large numbers, and my experience of living two lives probably doesn't really amount to much.

Besides, I didn't even finish school in my previous life...

I only read light novels, and then I stay home playing games online...

No, no!

I can't think about it anymore.

I have a brand new life now!

In this life, I've worked incredibly hard, studying both magic and swordsmanship with utmost seriousness, but the gap between me and my stinky older brother is only widening...

In terms of magic, I can clearly sense that since he and Loki returned, his progress has been enormous, and he has been hiding something all along.

I asked him what he was hiding, and he said something about something that might destroy the world, so he was sealed away by the witch...

I asked the witch again, and her answer was the same...

I don't know if they're treating me like a child or if they're discriminating against me.

Fortunately, he still managed to help me develop many new magic tricks, especially in the area of ​​earth magic, where I made great progress.

Let's forgive him for now.

...As for swordsmanship, it's embarrassing to even mention it.

What he can do so easily, I don't know how long I would need to practice to even begin to learn, and then how long it would take to use it as fluently as he does in actual combat.

As for swordsmanship, I probably really have no talent, and I even considered giving up at one point.

But that old man dispelled my idea. He talked about his experience fighting powerful swordsmen and his insights into the matter.

"The enemy won't compete with you in magic just because you're a magician; instead, they'll exploit your weaknesses and attack relentlessly. I don't want you to realize this only when you're in a life-or-death battle with the enemy."

I was convinced by his words, so I became even more dedicated to my swordsmanship training.

He was indeed a very responsible older brother, not only in terms of education, but also in terms of considering my feelings at times.

When he caught me stealing underwear, I was genuinely terrified. I felt like my life was over.

And then there's the incident where Luo Qixi discovered he was making figurines...

I'm still alive, but I feel like I'm socially dead.

Why can't I control myself?

It was the same in my previous life.

Then......

I thought my new chapter in life had come to an end, but I don't know what that jerk did.

The matter was simply dropped.

Although my status as a knight was reduced to that of a slave, I am still extremely grateful.

Putting aside his past pranks on me, he's actually a pretty good person.

fine?

???

Why would I think that way?

He was the one who bullied me the most...

Just because he was a little bit nicer to me...

Is this what's known as Stockholm syndrome?

......

Why am I standing here without moving?

I remembered.

It's because I noticed my older brother wasn't behaving well when I was having a late-night snack tonight, so I wanted to scare him a little to change his mood.

Then I was the one who got scared.

The idea of ​​gazing into the abyss and then being cursed by its knowledge—I know all too well about that.

So, combining the brother's general idea, the more you make connections, the more terrifying it becomes.

The difference between magic and sorcery.

I thought of the settings that Type-Moon's Gaggle gave to Wood in my previous life.

Magicians are not born to attract the "weird," but rather they actively step into dangerous areas filled with the "weird" in order to touch the "roots."

When you come into contact with real magic and rules, all sorts of supernatural events will come your way.

My brother and I are definitely exploring forbidden territory now, aren't we? We've long since entered the realm of magic, not just magic.

And the older brother sensed something from this.

Similar to the principle of "From the Invisible" in the Cthulhu Mythos, humans, through the modification of their mind and brain, can transcend physical vision and perceive terrifying higher-dimensional creatures superimposed on the real world. Conversely, those monsters can also see humans.

Perhaps the guy's brain was affected because he explored magic too deeply, which is why he developed that strange sixth sense.

Maybe he wasn't lying to me when he said he could destroy the world or something?

After all, I'm just a time traveler; he's the real genius.

Then, because I am a transmigrator, my mental strength and soul are different from ordinary people, and I know more strange and unusual knowledge than him, so now I am the one being targeted by higher-dimensional beings?

His strange feeling disappeared, but I was terrified of everything lurking in the darkness.

After we got home together, he acted like nothing had happened and went to his room to sleep, then blew out the candles.

When darkness suddenly descended, the unknown fear emanating from that darkness also crept into my body.

"Brother? Aren't you scared?"

"There's nothing to be afraid of. Be a little silly, don't overthink it. If you don't think about it, fear and pain won't exist. Good night."

After saying that, the stinky guy walked back to his room.

Yes, if I don't pay attention to them, they naturally won't pay attention to me either, but how can I just say I don't care?

I thought my older brother was just arrogant and clueless, which is why he couldn't remember other people's names.

But now I realize that this was a case of great wisdom appearing as foolishness!

When they're thinking seriously, they're smarter than anyone else; when they say they don't care, they can truly stop thinking altogether.

"The most forbidden of taboos, the wisdom of the abyss."

Is it really only people like this who can explore this?

wrong!

The question now is, what should I do?

It's pitch black all around, how am I supposed to get back to sleep?

Calm down! Calm down!

It's just something that old man uses to scare people; demons, monsters, and evil spirits don't exist.

Calm down! Rudy! You're an adult!

Don't be scared by this kind of stuff that's meant to fool children!

That's what I said, but I didn't dare make a sound when I took a step.

It was as if something truly existed in the darkness and shadows.

Why did I watch so many horror movies in my past life?

Why does every shadow seem to harbor a man-eating demon?

That bastard must be lying to me, so why am I still so scared?

"Splash!"

What is it? What is it? What is it? What is it?

Calm down! Calm down!

It was coming from the living room.

That sound must be from the crystal chandelier swaying...

Why does the chandelier sway even when there's no wind in the room?

Don't think about it!

You idiot, don't even think about such things!

"Splash, splash."

Aaaaaahh ...

calm down!

It was just the sound of leaves being blown by the wind outside the window.

Listen carefully; that crashing sound might not have come from the living room, but from outside.

That's right! That's exactly it, it's hilarious, there are no ghosts or monsters at all.

"Goo-hoo..." (Mambo's sleep talking.)

It's a ghost!

My instinct was to shout it out, but thankfully I covered my mouth tightly with both hands!

Who can we rely on now?

"Big...Big Brother!!!"

Without thinking twice, I took off running and rushed towards the stairs.

Although I almost fell several times because I couldn't see the road clearly, I managed to stay upright each time, even though it was such a short distance.

Then it's the eldest brother's room, there it is!

"Big brother! Big brother! Are you asleep? Big brother, open the door!"

I pounded on the door desperately, but there was no response from inside.

I tried turning the doorknob—it was locked.

It's locked.

It was locked as expected.

suddenly!

Footsteps sounded behind me!

Boom, boom, boom.

I gripped the door panel with both hands, panting heavily.

Even if I'm going to die, I can't just die like this!

I immediately turned around, my eyes fixed on the stairwell—it was pitch black there, I couldn't see anything, but precisely because I couldn't see anything, anything was possible.

Then came the sound of footsteps.

What are my last words?

Still haven't found a girlfriend in this lifetime? Still haven't graduated as a virgin?

I hate it! I hate it so much!

To die for such a bizarre reason?!

No! ! !

But instead of a ghost, Paul opened his door.

Paul was wearing pajamas, his hair was a mess, one eye was open and the other was closed.

"What are you yelling about?"

Paul! My Superman!

Yeah! Paul's a moron. He's practically immune to paranormal activity. As long as you're around him, you're safe!

"Dad! It's me! Rudy!"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"I...I'm scared."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid... afraid of the dark."

How embarrassing...

Paul was so disgusted he couldn't bear to look at me and covered his face...

Go sleep with your brother. Don't bother me and your mother.

"My older brother locked me out..."

Paul hesitated for a while, then seemed to finally give up on something.

Have you given up on me?

I'm sorry... I'm so useless...

"...Come in, you can sleep on the floor."

"Waaaaah..."

Paul! You're so kind!

Paul pulled a blanket from the closet and threw it on the floor, then turned around, went back to bed, buried his head in the pillow, and started snoring within five seconds.

Senis and Paul were fast asleep.

Senis slept peacefully, while Paul slept like a flattened frog.

After entering the house, I locked the door myself this time.

After thinking for a moment, she dragged the blanket to the edge of the bed, lay down next to Paul, and sat down.

Pull the blanket over your head and wrap yourself completely, leaving only a small gap for breathing.

Then he rolled over, facing the bottom of the bed.

Under the bed was complete darkness. There was nothing there. But precisely because there was nothing there, anything was possible.

Then, from somewhere came a sound like a female ghost crying! (Laughter coming from Trevor's room.)

A ghost!

No!

Sleeping on the floor is absolutely not allowed!

I secretly climbed onto the bed, facing Paul's toes.

Paul's feet smelled awful.

But at this moment, I actually felt a little more at ease.

"..."

[Trevor's Perspective]

"Scared? There's nothing to be afraid of. Be a little silly... Goodnight."

Rudy stood still, motionless.

I have no interest in playing the "Red Light, Green Light" game with him.

He strode straight to his bedroom, locked the door, and then began listening to the sounds outside.

It didn't take long before I heard the sound I wanted.

It's so painful! It's unbearably painful!!!

It's so painful to hold back my laughter!!!

I could only bury myself under the covers before I burst out laughing!

After covering my head completely, I finally didn't have to endure it anymore.

"Hahahahaha!!!"

The laughter sounded like crying.

Wang laughed so hard his abs cramped and he couldn't breathe.

Wang Tai is overjoyed!!!

[Currently Available Information: Existence in Higher Dimensions]

Trevor is talking complete nonsense; such a thing doesn't exist in this world.

Trevor had a feeling that it would only happen occasionally, but had nothing to do with this world.

To this world, it was just... a nightmare that can't be remembered.

[Hidden Information - Origin]

Trevor's subconscious will influence the course of the world.

This is related to his origins.

Trevor had no idea about this.