a shattered diamond… I didn’t want to aggravate her any further so I just nodded.

And thus began my new life in a new and unfamiliar body.

This body felt strangely light. I looked down at myself and couldn’t see how I was any different to any other human. I just looked slightly leaner than before. I may have just whiled away in my previous life, but I did build a muscular body, so I wasn’t too comfortable in this leaner body.

Right now, I was wearing a simple piece of leather armour. However, underneath the armour was an evidently superbly made shirt. My cape was torn, shredded and covered in mud, while my shoes were so worn out they were ready to hit the trash can. These were equestrian boots, which means this person came to this place by via horseback. The scabbard dangling on my waist was empty. Where’s my sword?!

All of a sudden, images started popping up in my mind like a movie. There were cheers from the townspeople… Bustling crowds… Soldiers gathered around together… Myself waving with a smile as I rode atop my horse… The darkness in the forest… A large shadow trampling on troops… Cries of agony… While I was fleeing, a huge beast sent me flying and then stomped on me…

“AAARRGH!”

That flashback feels so realistic that it’s scary. I hastily touched my stomach and discovered it was evidently dented. The sudden surprise caused me to break out into a cold sweat. It’s a miracle that this body didn’t get reduced to mince-meat. If it did, it would’ve been pointless for me to be reincarnated. Looks like I was brought here to slay something but ended up getting killed instead…

I think that massive beast is called an Earth Dragon or something… They look similar to three horned dragons. It looked immune to magic and resistant to physical attacks from weapons. Facing a creature like that, I’m not surprised they failed. The dragon scales are too hard, and according to the memories of the original owner of this body, my men didn’t seem to have any heavy weaponry equipped.

Could it be possible that elves don’t possess any heavy firearms?

Seeing as how I don’t have any recollections of that, I gather that the memories I’ve inherited are very limited. I only have the memories of the day of my death. The only complete memory I have is of my mother.

Two troops walked up to us and dismounted. I took the reins and awkwardly hopped on. Mom clumsily mounted her house. I saw her glorious boobs jiggle as she mounted her horse. She wasn’t dressed in battle attire. She was dressed in a casual everyday dress. Mom evidently traversed their forest for a long time trying to look for me as her dress was tattered.

Mom trudged a few steps on her house, but then suddenly turned back, faced the troops and said: “Let’s head back to the palace now. Oh, right. All of you get changed.”

The captain froze for a second, but then quickly caught on to what mom meant. He commanded the troops below: “Throw some mud on your clothes, tear them, and splat some blood on them! Remember, we won! Our campaign was a success! We are the victors! Victory!”

“Victory!”

Mom nodded and then said: “Have you prepared what I asked for?”

The captain took a bag out and said: “It is ready, your highness.”

Mom took the bag and opened it. I could hear the rattling of gold pieces. I leaned over to steal a peek and saw something shiny akin to gold, but seemingly resembling once live scales.

“These are Earth Dragon scales. Remember son, you were victorious this time. You’re returning as a victor. When we get back, scatter these in the crowds. It’ll be alright. Don’t worry about Earth Dragons and whatnot. Just stay by my side and everything will be fine. Please, don’t ever get yourself in trouble again. Mommy won’t let you go to such dangerous places like that again.”

Mom looked at me with adoration as she handed me the bag. The bag felt as heavy as a bag filled with gold. They were just some creatures’ scales so why were they so heavy?

I lifted my head and suddenly understood what happened earlier.

The waste-ground with snapped tree branches where I woke up upon arriving in this world was a pool of blood.

This bag of scales contained the weight of their lives…

And then, the rain stopped and the sun shined through the clouds. The sunrays reflected off my leather army as I caught a glimpse of faces filled with despair…