After Retirement, Living a Stud Life in Another World - 3
Chapter 3: The Insightful Brother
The man who is probably my father, Albrecht, also leaves in a hurry, leaving only the butler, Ahim, and the boy called Sieg—my brother, as I’m told. Sieg seems to sense something from my demeanor. He instructs Ahim on providing me with meals and drinks, then gracefully exits the room, taking a seat beside my bed, fixing his brown gaze straight at me.
“Lutz. Well, you might be Lutz, or rather, you might not be. It might be difficult to say, but if you’re willing, could you share your circumstances with me? Don’t worry, no matter who you are inside, I won’t treat you poorly as long as you appear as Lutz.”
Oh no, he figured it out. If I had known that he understood I’m just a consciousness inhabiting this body, I could have tried to conceal it better. My initial reaction when I first met this boy was way too suspicious. Sieg, the brother, appears to have a sharp intellect, and it’s inevitable that he notices I’m not his brother.
After some hesitation, I realize there are only two choices: either persistently play dumb or be completely honest and rely on him. Considering the pitiful Lutz’s memories won’t be coming to me anytime soon, and being alone without any allies while pretending to be clueless for the rest of my life is too harsh, I decide to trust Sieg.
“Yes, I’m not the Lutz you’re talking about. Before inhabiting this body, my name was Kyohei Maeda. Oh, by the way, the given name is Kyohei.”
“Does the family name come first… In the Far East, I heard they do that, but…”
Far East? Even Europeans should know about places like China and Japan, right? Especially someone as intelligent-looking as this boy; he doesn’t seem like someone who neglects his studies.
“I’m Japanese. You know about Japan, of course?”
“Ni-hon? I’ve never heard of such a territory. At least, it’s not on any map I know of.”
Sieg says this, pointing to the wall where a world map is hanging. I glance at it and despair instantly. The map, with its old-fashioned design, lacks the existence of the American continent. Not to mention Australia and Antarctica. The world depicted on the map consists only of a large island vaguely resembling Eurasia and a slightly similar island connected to Africa. Even desperately searching for the eastern edge of the continent, there’s no sign of an island resembling Japan.
Strange. Wasn’t this supposed to be Europe? Could it be that my spirit, having died in Japan, unfortunately got attached to the body of a boy who died here in Europe?
The worst-case scenario pops into my head. Could this be what they call in light novels an “isekai,” another world?
“Um, can I ask something? What’s the name of the country we’re in?”
On hearing this, Sieg’s face shows an expression like he expected it. However, he doesn’t elaborate on unnecessary details and simply answers my question.
“This country is Belzenbruck. To the west is the Principality of Liege, to the east is the Kingdom of Poznan, and to the north… there’s the hostile Lubliana Empire.”
Ah, just as I thought… The countries he mentioned don’t exist on the world map in my head. This is indeed a world unknown to me.
“Uh, Kyohei? Are you okay?”
When I realize it, Sieg is looking at me with a worried gaze. It’s not good; a person who lived for sixty years is making a young boy worry about him. Suppressing the unsettling feelings, I respond slowly to avoid any trembling in my voice.
“Thank you. I’m just a bit confused by things I never imagined. It seems like I wasn’t a person from this world, after all.”
I proceed to slowly explain the circumstances to Sieg, trying to convey everything that happened until now. Living in a different world called Japan for sixty years, having a family. After drinking heavily and sleeping on a bench outside, I woke up here.
“It’s an unbelievable story from a common-sense perspective, but we have no choice but to believe it, right? Apart from the memory loss, the personality after waking up clearly wasn’t Lutz’s. If I accept Kyohei’s story, Lutz’s spirit has probably already been lost. It’s sad for Mother, but there’s no helping it.”
While gracefully lowering his long, handsome lashes, Sieg continues to express rational thoughts. Despite being quite a mature thinker, I wonder how old he is. I mentioned I’m thirteen, so maybe he’s around fifteen.
“Considering the current situation, Kyohei should think about living in this world. And I should accept Kyohei as Lutz… as my younger brother.”
“Probably… that’s how it’s going to be, I guess.”
“In that case, from now on, I’ll call you Lutz. And I want to avoid letting others realize that you’re from a different world as much as possible.”
“That would be better. While I can say the memories haven’t returned, adapting to the customs and culture of this world seems quite challenging. It looks like I’m going to reveal a lot of flaws.”
“I’ll help you with that. For the sake of my adorable younger brother.”
Sieg smiles mischievously. Despite losing a beloved brother, he seems internally calm. Truly, he is a rational and kind-hearted young man.
“Thank you… I appreciate it, big brother.”
Both of us, seemingly on the same wavelength, share a laugh.