TERNLF Vol. 1 Chapter 1 Part 4

Full title: The Exiled Reincarnated Noble Lives Freely

Note: If you found any typos/mistakes, pls write them in the comment. Thanks.

Translator: Canon

____________________________________________

After defeating Theo within the interdimensional space, the world he had been controlling began to collapse.

However, by seizing control of the space myself, I managed to prevent its collapse and brought the dying assassins back to the normal world.

Inside a cramped room, I cast 【High Heal】 on them and restrained them to ensure they couldn’t move.

It wasn’t out of mercy.

They would need to properly atone for their crimes, so I made sure not to kill them outright during the fight.

I sat in a chair, gazing at the agonized, unconscious faces of the assassins lying in the corner of the room, and began preparing for what came next.

“—Are you all right?!”

Roughly ten minutes passed.

A towering man burst into the room with a booming voice.

The moment he laid eyes on me, he introduced himself.

His name was Ganak.

He was the one in charge of this royal capital’s guild, in other words, the guildmaster.

He brought several subordinates with him. After assessing the situation, he ordered them to secure Theo and his accomplices with magical restraints.

“Take those men to the special holding cells!”

“Yes, sir!”

Once his men had taken the assassins away, Ganak turned to me and bowed.

“I never imagined things would escalate like this. Forgive me… Would you come with me to my office?”

I followed him to his office as requested.

Bookshelves lined the walls, and nestled between tomes were various expensive-looking items, exuding the authority of someone in charge of the capital guild.

As I glanced around the room, Ganak gestured for me to sit on the sofa.

Reluctantly, I sat, and he followed suit.

Wearing a solemn expression, he bowed once more and began speaking.

“All of this is my responsibility. Please allow me to apologize once again, I am truly sorry.”

I reclined into the luxurious sofa’s plush comfort and listened to his excuses.

“We had suspected them of suspicious activity and had launched an internal investigation… but up until now, we had no solid proof.”

“Evidence is easy to erase when interdimensional magic is involved.”

“Indeed. We weren’t aware Theo could use that type of spell. It completely blindsided us.”

The convenience of interdimensional space magic lies in its ability to be accessed from anywhere within a wide area like the capital, as long as it’s maintained and controlled.

Because of that, the proctoring members of the criminal ring never had to physically be in the guild, allowing them to fabricate alibis freely.

More than that—

If the caster sealed the interdimensional space entirely, everything inside it, including corpses, would vanish without a trace.

As a result, victims would disappear without leaving any evidence behind.

“But thanks to you, we finally obtained ‘proof.’”

“...So you’re saying you had nothing to do with these past guild staff assassinations?”

“Of course not. In fact, I’ve been trying to expose them all along. And thanks to your efforts, my long-standing goal is finally within reach.”

Beaming with satisfaction, Ganak placed a fist-sized pouch on the table.

Judging by the dull thump it made, the contents were—

“This is the reward... is that right?”

“Yes. Considering you’ve been exiled from your noble house, I imagine you’ll be in need of funds.”

“You’re not wrong. Now that the allowance has been cut off, there’s plenty I’ll need just to survive as an adventurer.”

I accepted the pouch and opened it to peek inside.

As expected, it held a generous amount of money.

With this, I could live comfortably in the capital for at least six months without working.

“So, what will happen to those guys now?”

“‘Those guys’ meaning Theo and the others who tried to kill you? Don’t worry. They’ll be handed over to the military police along with the evidence.”

“And what about the noble who hired them?”

“Capital punishment might be difficult, but with your testimony, they won’t get away scot-free.”

“Then my brother will be judged as well.”

“At the very least, the Kashit household will suffer a significant blow to its influence among the aristocracy.”

That was all I needed to hear. I slowly rose from the sofa.

“Where are you going? I’d like you to stay until the military police arrive, if possible.”

Ganak stood as well, but I rose fully and responded plainly.

“There’s no need to wait for the military police.”

“Huh?”

Ganak looked confused. I pointed a finger at him—

Then snapped it.

“What?!”

With a sharp crack of my fingers, the walls of the guildmaster’s office vanished.

No, they hadn’t disappeared—they had been shifted into my interdimensional space.

“What in the world?! And what are those people doing here?!”

Ganak shouted in confusion upon seeing the endless grassy plains and the nearly twenty people sprawled across them.

Among them were Theo and his associates, who had supposedly been taken to the special prison.

Strangely, their restraints had been removed, and they even had their weapons back in hand.

“You didn’t notice? When you brought your subordinates up to this floor, I’d already finished preparing your ‘cage.’”

“You... you knew?!”

“I checked their memories. I’ve known all along that you, the guildmaster, were part of it. That’s why I set a trap and waited.”

As Ganak hastily reached for his weapon, I spat my final words, dripping with disdain:

“Like a moth to a flame.”

Ignoring the fury in Ganak’s eyes, I drew my staff from my spatial storage.

But instead of pointing it at him, I raised it skyward and uttered a dispelling phrase.

“You can all wake up now.”

The tip of the staff glowed, and light radiated outward, blanketing the entire space.

Once the glow subsided, the people lying on the ground began to stir and open their eyes.

I confirmed this, then raised my voice for all to hear.

“All right, everyone—it's time for a deathmatch.”

Though initially baffled by their situation, upon hearing my declaration, the proctors, Theo, and Ganak’s underlings all wore puzzled expressions.

“This space is now under my control. Soon, I’ll erase it along with all of you.”

At those words, a wave of terror washed over their faces.

They had done the same to countless others, erased them within interdimensional spaces.

“Here’s how it’ll go: you’ll fight to the death, and the last one standing will be allowed to leave alive.”

All of them looked around in disbelief.

But one man moved swiftly, only one.

“Aaaaghhh!”

“Guuaaah!”

“Wh-What are you doing?!”

It was Theo.

He unleashed attack magic on those around him without warning.

As someone who also wielded interdimensional magic, he understood—

That the only escape from this place was to survive through combat, just as I had said.

“Just like the countless lives you erased in this space before, you’ll now fight for your own.”

Having said my piece, I exited the interdimensional space alone.

What happened to them afterward was none of my concern.

“...Still, this means I probably won’t be taking the guild entrance exam.”

If things continued this way, not just the proctors but even the guildmaster would vanish.

The entire guild would descend into chaos.

I’d have to prepare for that eventuality... but first, there was something else to take care of.

“He may only be my half-brother, but blood is blood. I won’t take his life, but I will make myself perfectly clear.”

Alone in the now-empty classroom, I exhaled deeply.

I never imagined my own brother would try to kill me.

So this is the dark underbelly of noble society, a world that seems glamorous and carefree on the surface.

I’ve long since abandoned any attachment to that world.

I want nothing more to do with it.

So just once, I’ll pay my brother a visit—

To warn him not to interfere with me again.

Sparing his life is the last bit of mercy I’ll show as family.

“But... if he still tries to come after me, then—”

There will be no mercy.

With that silent resolve, I left the deserted Classroom Ten behind.

◆　◇　◆　◇　◆

The day after the attempted assassination of Toa.

An early-shift guild staff member discovered numerous adventurers collapsed within the guild premises, including instructors and the Guildmaster himself.

All of them bore expressions as if they had endured a horrendous nightmare—and with the exception of one, every single person had perished.

The sole survivor of the tragedy, which claimed many lives, was an elf by the name of Theo.

Among the deceased were not only the Guildmaster but also instructors reputed to be some of the guild’s foremost experts.

Based on the condition of the corpses and the scene, investigators concluded that for some unknown reason, the victims had turned on each other and fought to the death.

Though there were few signs of a struggle or bloodstains, a tipoff revealed that Theo was capable of using Interdimensional Space Magic, and once confirmed, that detail became the linchpin of the case.

It was surmised that everyone had entered Theo’s interdimensional space, where—due to some trigger—a conflict had erupted and spiraled into a deadly melee.

Moreover, as the injuries sustained by the victims included not only magical wounds but also contusions from blades and blunt-force trauma, it was deemed implausible that Theo, who lacked formal swordsmanship or martial training, was the sole perpetrator.

And yet, what truly occurred within the guild that night?

No one could say for sure.

Only Theo was believed to possess the truth.

Everyone pinned their hopes on his recovery; that once his mind cleared, the full picture would come to light.

However, by that very evening, Theo was transferred to a medical facility operated by the Kingdom’s military, and with his whereabouts obscured, the truth vanished into the void alongside him.

At the same time, the Royal Capital’s Guild Home abruptly announced an indefinite closure.

The official reason cited was the discovery of severe structural flaws in the building, requiring reconstruction—a flimsy excuse at best.

Naturally, the sudden announcement shocked and outraged both the adventurers who relied on the Guild Home and the staff who worked there.

But with a strict gag order imposed from higher authorities, demolition for reconstruction began just a few days later.

Even so, halting all guild operations was not an option.

Thus, by the next day, a temporary guild headquarters was established in a vacant facility under the Kingdom’s supervision—though most believed the chaos would persist for some time to come.

◆　◇　◆　◇　◆

“I kept my word and released the one who survived to the end. I’ve decided to live by my ‘promises.’”

As I murmured those words under my breath, I watched from in front of the Guild Home as adventurers and staff shouted their protests and scuffled with the soldiers.

Though I hadn’t killed them directly, many people had died because of me. Yet I felt neither remorse nor regret.

Kill or be killed.

Having grown up in the remote frontier fortress, my values had long since diverged from the moral compass of my previous life.

There were times when I felt a twinge of sadness about that, but now I’ve come to terms with the reality; there are emotions one must cast aside to survive in this world.

“If I wanted to live here, I would’ve had to come to terms with it eventually, even without being exiled from the fortress.”

My older brother, the one who sent assassins after me.

That, too, was likely a necessary act in his position as the heir, done to protect the Kashit family.

――After that, I returned to the Kashit household and confronted Glaas.

I laid bare everything that had transpired and demanded to know why.

“As the head of a noble family, anyone who poses a liability must be eliminated, even if they’re your own blood. That’s what father taught me, and it’s the duty of a noble!”

His voice trembled with fear, but he still declared his actions justified.

Crumbled on the ground, tears welling in his eyes from sheer terror—a pitiful sight.

But within those words, I heard his resolve as the heir to a noble house in this kingdom.

“If I had been chosen as the heir… it would’ve been you whose life was targeted. Could you still claim you did the right thing?”

Glaas nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

He had been thoroughly trained in the ways of nobility, while I had been sent off to a distant fortress before I ever learned any of it.

Looking at him, I could almost understand the desperation of my stepmother, who cast me out to protect her own son.

Almost, but understanding doesn’t mean forgiveness.

“…If you’re that desperate to protect this family, then let me teach you how to do it.”

“What are you saying?”

I turned my back on Glaas in his wretched state and continued speaking.

“Don’t ever lay a hand on me again. Do that, and I’ll never interfere with this household again. That’s my ‘promise.’ But if you ever try to take my life again, I won’t hold back.”

A long silence followed.

Behind me, I heard him take a deep, shuddering breath.

“…Very well… I promise…”

His reply came in a hushed voice.

There was a faint trace of frustration in his tone, evidence of his inner turmoil.

Still, the ‘promise’ had been made.

Hearing his words, I left the room without another word.

I would never return to this house—or to the Noble Quarter—again.

At least, that’s what I believed at the time.

Next→