Jobless Reincarnation: The King with a Mental Problem

[Luo Qixi's Perspective]

The hotel room in Lunda was small, with two beds separated by a small bedside table. The snow outside had stopped, but a thick layer still clung to the eaves, and occasionally a clump would slide down and hit the awning below with a dull thud.

The fire in the fireplace was still burning, bathing the entire room in a warm orange hue.

Trevor sat by the window, arms crossed, facing out. The firelight outlined his profile softly, but his eyes were not gazing at the street or the rooftops, but at a place further away, a place I don't know how to describe.

I first noticed that look in his eyes in the village of Bouyena.

He was just five years old then, and we had only known each other for a short time. One evening, I saw him sitting alone under a big tree at the entrance of the village, gazing at the wheat fields to the west. I went over and sat down next to him.

"What are you thinking about?"

He didn't answer immediately. Several seconds passed before he finally replied.

"……after."

"The future? You're so young and you're already thinking about the future?"

"Yeah. If we don't prepare, we might end up getting caught up with death later."

His voice was calm, so calm it didn't sound like that of a five-year-old. I looked at him and suddenly realized—even though this child was sitting next to me, even though he was saying these things to me, there was a place in his heart that I couldn't enter.

It's not that we're deliberately distancing ourselves, nor is it due to a lack of trust.

Just ...

He excluded himself from everyone else.

Later, I gradually discovered that Trevor was like this with many people.

Apart from Hilfi, he regarded all the other children in his village as troublemakers.

After experiencing danger with children his age, I thought he would have feelings for Emily, but it seems he really just saw her as a character in the story, without any lingering affection.

He would bicker with Rudy, act coquettishly towards Senis, be chased all over the yard by Paul, and act like a chuunibyou, an adult, or the "Lord of Shadows" in front of himself—but he never took off that shell in front of anyone.

It's not indifference, it's independence.

Living independently outside of this world, sometimes I wonder... could he survive without relying on anyone?

I've met people like him.

They're very casual about small things—what to eat, where to stay, what to wear doesn't matter.

He never cares about others, doesn't remember their names, and is arrogant.

Even when lectured, they will shamelessly continue to do as they please.

Because he already has his own set of standards and ideas.

But he seemed to make an exception for Mrs. Senis and me.

Only when he is held in my arms can I feel that he is just a child.

Does she see me as her mother?

I'm old enough to be his mother...

Having a child before finding a boyfriend...

However, it's not bad to have a super sensible and smart child.

I remembered the beach.

That magic.

That magic that almost burned everything down.

He stood on the rocks by the sea, the sea breeze tossing his hair wildly, and there was a light in his eyes—not excitement, but something deeper that I couldn't understand.

"I have found that last trace of divine power in the abyss."

At first, I thought the child was just talking nonsense, and traveling with him was just playing along with his antics.

But I later learned that he didn't.

During that time, I couldn't sleep every night.

It wasn't just because I was afraid of the power of that magic—though it was indeed terrifying—but because I was wondering: who exactly is he?

A six-year-old child created a magic spell out of thin air that could destroy the world.

There was no verifiable theoretical basis, no observable microscopic means, and no one had taught him.

But he succeeded. Who exactly is he?

I recalled how he used to be dismissed as talking nonsense and being a delusional person. Could he really be some kind of king who came from another world?

That night, I watched him sleep in my arms.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, her breathing was light, and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, as if she were having a sweet dream.

He was completely different from the "King of Shadows" he was during the day.

I suddenly wondered: Has he always been like this?

During the day, he plays the role of a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur), arrogant, and omnipotent king.

At night, she transforms into a small, ordinary child who dreams.

Which one is the real him?

Or both?

I thought about it for a long time in the dark, but I had no answer.

What happened in Green Village later made me understand some things.

At that time, he squatted in front of the ruins and used magic to build houses one by one.

There are no cringeworthy lines, no exaggerated gestures, just hands on the ground, stone walls rising, windows, doors, chimneys, one building after another.

I saw him distribute the baked apples to the children. The youngest child's hands were shaking badly. He didn't say "Don't be afraid" or "It will be alright." He just squatted there and waited for the child to reach out his hand.

I saw him standing in the snow, looking at the houses with their lights back on, and he softly hummed in agreement.

He was just an ordinary child who smiled when he saw others smile.

I've confirmed it: whatever Trevor's secret may be, whatever he comes from or what he carries, he is a kind person. A person who feels sorrow for the suffering of others and smiles at the happiness of others.

This is enough.

When he first lost completely to that old man from Kitakami-ryu, I could see his confusion, his sadness, and his disappointment, but there was nothing I could do to help him.

Not only was he powerless, but he also couldn't find out the reason why he was sad.

Because he always keeps himself independent.

Tonight, in his hotel room in Lunda, Trevor revealed part of the secret for the first time.

Not all of it, not the key point.

But he did say it.

I don't know who his enemy is, how he plans to face him, or what will happen in five or ten years.

But I know one thing: he trusts me and is willing to share with me.

That feeling of being "independent of everyone" melted silently like snow falling into warm tea when he said those words.

It wasn't because he revealed the secret. It was because he chose to reveal it.

I looked at him. He was still looking out the window, lost in thought. The firelight from the fireplace danced in his pupils, warming his profile.

Suddenly, he remembered that evening in Buena village. He sat under a big tree, looking at the wheat field, and said, "I'm thinking about the future."

At that time, I felt that there was a place in this child's heart that I couldn't enter.

Now we know, it wasn't that he wouldn't let us in. It was that no one had ever knocked on that door.

All I did was sit at the door for a long time, and then gently knock on it.

The door opened.

It turns out he had been waiting for someone, someone he could confidently tell "I'm afraid."

A clump of snow slid down from the eaves outside the window and landed on the awning with a muffled thud.

Trevor turned his gaze away from the window.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Luo Qixi smiled slightly. "I was thinking about what you just said."

"...Which ones?"

"Those are the 'enemies in the shadows'."

Trevor's expression changed slightly. It wasn't nervousness, nor regret, but a kind of hesitation—"I said too much."

I didn't ask any further questions. I simply placed the teacup on the bedside table, stood up, walked to him, bent down, and lifted him from the windowsill, holding him in my arms like a hot water bottle.

"What are you doing?"

"It's time to go to bed."

"I haven't—"

"You're sleepy."

"I don't."

"You have."

Trevor struggled slightly, but not forcefully. I felt his body slowly soften from its initial stiffness. His head rested on my shoulder, and his breathing became very light.

I picked him up, walked to the bedside, gently put him down, and pulled the blanket over him.

Then he sat down on the edge of the bed and didn't leave.

"Luo Qixi".

"Um."

"Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"..." He did not answer.

She reached out and ruffled his stray hairs.

"You're welcome."

The fire in the fireplace crackled.

Outside the window, the snow has started falling again.