Chapter 648: Chapter 648

“Oh….”  

Ghislain widened his eyes in wonder.  

Was this what the Saintess meant when she said they would meet soon? Had he traveled to the past in a dream?  

Unlike before, when he could only passively observe dreams, this time, he could move his body at will and interact with others.  

Ghislain grinned widely as if he found it amusing. Seeing this, Julien shouted in frustration.  

“He’s broken again! He’s malfunctioning!”  

A girl standing a little distance away from them looked distressed.  

“What? Seriously? Why is he acting like this now?!”  

Dust-covered, worn-out clothes and disheveled hair.  

At a glance, she looked like nothing more than an ordinary village girl. No passerby would have spared her a second glance.  

But if they knew who she was, they would undoubtedly fall to their knees in reverence.  

“Saintess?”  

At Ghislain’s question, the Saintess made a horrified expression.  

“What’s wrong with him?! He just called me the Saintess!”  

She was holding a mace. Judging by the filthy priestly robes she wore, she seemed to be a battle priest.  

Of course, she didn’t radiate an overwhelming presence like Parniel. She had only the presence of an ordinary priest.  

Julien and the Saintess were both fighting someone. The men they faced had rough appearances and mismatched outfits, making them look like bandits.  

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!  

The two of them were quite skilled. Every bandit that charged at them was swiftly struck down.  

However, unlike the overwhelming strength he had seen in his dreams, they merely fought at the level of average knights.  

Meanwhile, Ghislain simply watched the fight in fascination.  

“Die, you bastard!”  

At that moment, someone rushed toward him, swinging an axe.  

Ghislain’s body reacted immediately. He spun the staff in his hands and struck the bandit’s jaw.  

Thud!  

The attacking bandit collapsed. Julien was startled by what he saw.  

“W-What the hell! How did you do that all of a sudden?”  

Ghislain couldn’t answer. He just stared at his own hands, looking dazed.  

“This… isn’t my body?”  

Even as he moved, he felt something off. There was a subtle difference in distance perception.  

Upon closer inspection, his hands were smaller. His arms were shorter. His legs were shorter too.  

Julien and the Saintess also looked younger, but since they were almost fully grown, their appearances didn’t differ much from what he had seen in his dreams.  

But he was different. He could clearly feel that his body was much smaller than it used to be.  

“No way….”  

Among the Hero’s companions, there had been one boy who always had a gloomy, sullen expression. The smallest of them all, the 9th-circle mage.  

As soon as the thought struck him, Ghislain quickly examined his body.  

“…Oh.”

Indeed, an immense surge of mana could be felt from the heart. At the very least, it seemed to be at the 5th-circle level.  

He didn’t even look like a full-grown adult yet, and he was already at the 5th circle? Wasn’t that sheer genius?  

“So… I’ve entered someone else’s body?”  

It felt as if the scattered pieces of a puzzle were finally coming together.  

Back in his dream, the Saintess had shown him the battle between the Hero and the Adversary before asking:  

— Did you see?  

— Did it help you? I was told it would be useful.  

— I don’t know much about you. But my mage friend talked about you a lot.  

— A friend from the future, they said.  

As Ghislain recalled the Saintess’s words, a chill ran down his spine.  

At the time, he had no idea what she meant. It had sounded completely nonsensical.  

But now…  

‘So, this is what ‘that mage friend’ meant!’  

He had no idea why this was happening, but he was witnessing the past while inhabiting someone else’s body.  

Not only could he take control of the mage’s body, but he could also interact with others freely.  

That meant a certain mage had foreseen this event and informed the Saintess in advance.  

To ensure that his future self could witness something important.  

‘Could I have been the one to tell them?’  

He didn’t know the full details yet, but based on the Saintess’s words, he could at least make an educated guess.  

“Wow… So, this is actually possible?”  

Ghislain curiously inspected his body, fascinated.  

Julien and the Saintess, on the other hand, looked at him as if he were insane.  

Then, Julien suddenly gasped and shouted.  

“Ah! He’s getting away! The boss is escaping!”  

“Hmm?”  

Ghislain turned his head. Sure enough, someone was fleeing at high speed.  

The way the man moved suggested he was no ordinary thug. Despite being a mere bandit leader, he was displaying knight-level agility.  

“Let’s chase him! We can’t let him escape!”  

Julien shouted and took off running. The Saintess followed right after him. Ghislain quickly ran after the two.  

Years of mercenary life had ingrained certain instincts into him. When in urgent situations, thinking came second, action came first.  

As he ran, he looked at Julien and the Saintess and chuckled.  

‘Are they still young at this point?’  

It was clear at a glance, the Hero and his companions had yet to reach their full potential. That was why they were struggling to catch up.  

‘They’re strong for their age, but…’  

Compared to the overwhelming power he had seen in his dreams, they still seemed somewhat adorable.  

“The gap is getting too big! Astion! Use any magic! Slow him down somehow!”  

Julien turned to look at Ghislain as he shouted. Ghislain, too, turned his head.

Ghislain’s expression seemed to ask, ‘Who the hell is Astion?’  

The Saintess, who was running alongside him, gave him an exasperated look.  

“Astion is you, you idiot.”  

“Oh, really? That’s me?”  

The Saintess dumbly nodded her head.  

“Hmm….”  

As he ran, Ghislain fell deep into thought. How am I supposed to use magic?  

He didn’t know any spells. What use was having mana if he didn’t know the incantations?  

He could manipulate mana like he usually did, but that would be inefficient. Instead…  

After a brief moment of contemplation, Ghislain pulled his staff back.  

There was a certain “magic” he had learned in his previous life from Jerome.  

“Guess I’ll give it a try. Magic.”  

Ghislain had some knowledge of handling magical energy. Dark’s power was also close to mana, and his Mana Refinement Technique had been inspired by a grimoire.  

Now, his mana forcefully surged forth and began to move like his Mana Refinement Technique.  

Drdrdrdr…  

The staff in his hand trembled. However, instead of channeling mana into the staff, his energy flowed into his arms and hands.  

Then, Ghislain hurled his staff with all his might.  

Fwoooosh!  

The staff flew through the air at an incredible speed—  

—And struck the back of the bandit leader’s head.  

KWAANG!  

“Gaaah!”  

The bandit chief collapsed, blood trickling from the back of his skull. He was quite a tough one, his head didn’t crack open and he hadn’t died.  

The Saintess stared at the scene in utter disbelief.  

“W-What the hell? That was magic?”  

Ghislain ran a hand through his hair and responded,  

“Ah… You wouldn’t know, would you? This is called ‘Magic Missile.’”  

That was exactly how Jerome had explained it back in his past life.  

The bandit chief, staggering, tried to get up and run again—  

—but in that brief moment, Julien caught up.  

Slash!  

Julien’s sword cut across the bandit leader’s back.  

“Guh….”  

The bandit leader tried to turn and fight back but Julien’s sword was quicker.  

Slice!  

The blade slashed across his throat.  

In the end, the bandit leader collapsed, blood gushing from his neck.  

“Hahh….”  

Julien wiped his sweat and let out a sigh of relief.  

As Ghislain arrived at the scene, Julien turned to him, his gaze suddenly cold.  

“That thing you did just now… Was that really magic?”  

“Ah… Well, if something defies common sense, isn’t it basically magic?”  

“…You do realize how weird you sound right now, right?”  

“Of course. I’m very aware.”  

“…”  

“But you’re weird too.”  

“…Me? How?”  

“There’s just something about you.”  

Julien furrowed his brows and tilted his head in confusion.  

Seeing his reaction, Ghislain couldn’t help but grin.  

The Julien he knew never reacted this amusingly.  

‘So, he only looks the same, but his personality is completely different.’  

The Hero had always been full of passion. He was the complete opposite of the cold, distant Julien Ghislain had known in reality.  

The Saintess, having confirmed that the bandit chief was dead, spoke up beside them.  

“Hurry up! We need to go rescue Kyle and the others!”

Julien nodded.  

“Yeah, he should be inside.”  

Julien took the lead and sprinted toward the largest building.  

Ghislain followed closely behind and asked the Saintess,  

“Who’s Kyle?”  

“Kyle is Kyle. What do you mean, who’s Kyle? Seriously, what’s wrong with you?”  

“Uh…”  

Ghislain was at a loss. How was he supposed to explain this? If he said it out loud, they’d probably think he was crazy.  

This wasn’t the first time he had experienced something like this. In these situations, the best approach was to play along until the right opportunity presented itself.  

‘Not only did I regress to my childhood, but now I’ve gone even further back in time? And in someone else’s body, no less.’  

It was a bizarre experience to be in another person’s body. Maybe this would be the event that finally made the original owner explain things to those around him.  

As he chased after Julien, Ghislain thought to himself,  

‘The Saintess initially said she didn’t know me.’  

Only the mage had recognized his existence. When the Saintess claimed she had learned about him from the mage, it seemed to confirm the idea.  

‘But then she started acting like she knew me well.’  

Was this somehow related to the current situation? Did meeting him now cause the future Saintess to recognize him?  

‘Ugh, my head hurts.’  

Ghislain stopped thinking about it. This was the kind of problem for mages to figure out.  

He had only one task.  

‘I just need to figure out what happened in the past.’  

That would make it easier to return to reality and locate the Adversary. He might even find additional clues.  

And perhaps uncover whatever it was that Ereneth was hiding.  

‘Oh, wait. When am I supposed to wake up from this?’  

If he was stuck like this indefinitely, that would be a problem. So, he immediately searched for Dark.  

‘Dark.’  

— Mas…ter.  

‘Oh, you came along too?’  

Since Dark was connected to his consciousness, he could still communicate with him even here.  

— Kraaah! I thought I was gonna die from dizziness! What the hell is this place?!  

Dark, having regained his senses, threw a fit. Ghislain ignored the outburst and asked,  

‘How’s my body? What about the others?’  

— Dunno! I suddenly vanished and got dragged here! Hold on, I’ll check.  

Dark went silent.  

— Mas…ter…  

Then, after a moment, a sluggish voice returned.  

‘What? What’s wrong?’  

— Pffft! I can’t move!  

‘What do you mean you can’t move?’  

— I tried to check, but my body suddenly got insanely heavy! I can’t get out! Everything’s super slow!  

‘Slow…?’  

— Yeah! Time’s different! It’s totally different from here!  

‘Ah.’  

Ghislain quickly understood. He had traveled to the past, but not in a physical sense.  

It was just like a dream only his consciousness had entered someone from the past. That meant the flow of time was different too.  

This actually worked out well.  

‘Then I don’t have to worry for now.’  

Time in reality was moving very slowly. Even if he spent a long time here, it wouldn’t be a problem.  

‘I’m sure they’re taking good care of things.’  

Ghislain wasn’t particularly worried about his body lying unconscious. The continent’s strongest monsters were surrounding him. They would keep him safe.  

‘Well then, time to go on a little journey for the truth.’  

He grinned. Contrary to whatever concerns people in reality might have, he was rather relaxed.  

That was just his nature. Instead of worrying and fretting, he preferred to embrace the situation and push forward.  

As he followed Julien, Ghislain asked the Saintess,  

“By the way… what’s your name?”  

Everyone seemed to be friendly with each other, so he spoke casually. The Saintess clicked her tongue and answered,  

“Why do you keep acting so weird? Do you really not remember, or are you just pretending?”  

“Ah… It’s complicated. I’ll explain later.”  

The original owner of this body would handle the explanations eventually.  

The Saintess opened her mouth as if to scold him, then shook her head in exasperation. Seeing that, Ghislain chuckled.  

If she let things slide that easily, then this mage must have been a bit odd to begin with.  

The Saintess let out a deep sigh and said,  

“Deneb. It’s Deneb.”  

Ghislain’s jaw dropped the moment he heard that name.  

That was… a very familiar name.  

A dumbfounded voice escaped his lips.  

“My… cosmetics?”  

The name of the continent’s best-selling beauty product… was the Saintess’s name.