Chapter Text
Leon slumped against the crumbling wall behind him, his stomach was torn and he was bleeding out. His spear was shattered in front of him amongst the bloody corpses of enemy soldiers. He grinned with a petty smile, Zola thought he would die out young but it's been a long ten years he's fought. Though the tears welled up as he thought of his darling Ann and Riri, the two women who found him at his lowest and loved him. Before he left for this war they had been pregnant, his children should be about two now.
He wished he could have held them once but that bastard Saint and her harem forced themselves into the Alzer Kingdom conflict. They sat back feeling morally pleased while he and his men were sent to their slaughter with little support.
As his mind began to blur and he closed his eyes a life flashed before his mind, it was unfamiliar to him. A life as a salaryman, with only a single little sister who forced him to play some kind of 'Otome Game' which he realised was describing his own world. It was filled with abundant knowledge of secrets and history that if only had found him sooner, he could have been happier. Maybe his father and youngest brother would still be alive, maybe this pointless war could have been avoided. But it was too little too late as it all came to an end.
Leon Bartfort, Captain of 3rd Infantry Company- Deceased
He gasped as the cool summer air filled his lungs as he bolted upright clutching his once wounded side. Looking around he found himself sitting on a hill, the wind rushing against his skin did not ache the same way it once did with his scars. Touching a hand to his face, it felt soft as if the scar was no longer there.
"Leon!" Shouted a voice at the bottom of the hill. A tall man with short black hair and a broad build was in his sight making his way up the hill.
His eyes widened as he felt his breath cut short, tears welling up at the familiar face of his father. Bolting upright he began running to him, it barely clicked. He was so much smaller until he lunged at his father and barely reached his stomach as he hugged him tight. The man let out a small groan and then a chuckle ruffling his hair.
"Whats wrong Leon?" Balcus Bartfort asked his dear son with a small hint of worry. "I know you don't like having to go to the shed but you're five years old and I don't want to give Zola an excuse to hurt you."
Leon froze in his hug, 'five years old'? Had he gone back in time? Looking up he shook his head and tightened the hug. "It's okay, I just had a bad dream dad." That's what it must be, the life as the Stranger and Soldier are all bad dreams.
"Oh, if that's all it is. You can keep hugging till you feel better." His father said picking him up in a single arm. "Now you do have to greet Zola but I promise once she's back at the capital I'll take you to the Collins bakery to buy some pastries."
"The chocolate ones?" Leon asked the child part of him eagerly, wanting the indulgent pastries saved for the rare treat.
"Yes, the chocolate ones. Now wipe that drool away." His father teased as he hastily wiped the drool from his mouth.
"Sorry, dad" He apologised sheepishly, the Soldier was as eager as the Child after all he had been made to eat paltry rations for years. Mostly because he sacrificed his own meal budget to ensure all his men stayed well fed even at the worst points of the war.
"It's alright, now let's go see the others." His father said with a grin carrying the boy. Whether his lives were just dreams or this was some afterlife, he would cherish every moment he was given.
~Nine Years Later~
The years had passed by rather slowly for Leon, dedicated to not wasting a single moment he was as efficient as he could be without sacrificing family time. Despite the hours of studying and combat training he would dedicate on his lonesome, he ensured every day an hour at the minimum was dedicated to spending time with either his parents or brothers. He tried to bond with his sisters but they were selfish, avoidant and would call him pathetic for being too affectionate. It took a lot to not lash out at them but he knew better than to fight back.
Regardless his parents noticed his changes and it ached for the Soul to lie to them so with agreement from the others he told them of his 'dreams'. His parents were quite taken aback by it all, almost mortified by the futures he saw as a Soldier and were curious to the stories he held as the Stranger. There was something comforting sharing those aches and feelings of missing out, he also told Nicks who he knew he could share it with. The older boy swore only to become more resolute to being a great baron not just for his family name but for the people that served under them. Naturally he omitted the identity of his wives and a few other things he felt could implicate them in dangerous ways, thankfully to their own acceptance.
They had taken advantage of a few reliable pieces of knowledge such as formulas for medicines and remedies that were refined over the years. Both wars propelled the demand for more effective healing aids and general medical supplies made from even the simplest herbs.
Applying scientific knowledge the Stranger had to design distilleries to maximise these gains the Bartfort Barony may not be rolling in wealth but it now was exporting a steady amount of potions and herbs.
Unfortunately it only made Zola more brazen in her greed and attempts to haggle for a greater budget but his father was firm in putting nearly as much profit as he could back into the territory.
It unfortunately meant their personal wealth had hardly grown but the people loved them even more than before. Gifts of food and tools often went a lot further than coin after all Zola had no interest in presents from peasants. But now at 14 years of age Leon knew he had to secure the most important asset for his future. The fabled Luxion, he knew of its general location from the Stranger.
"Dad, I need to ask a favour of you." Leon spoke at the dinner table to his father. Jenna and Finely both practically sneered at him as if to mock him for asking for anything. Nicks and his mother tensed up while Colin simply tilted his head in the cute little way he always did when curious.
His father's eyes were stern as he nodded. "Lets finish dinner, I want to discuss this with you alongside your mother. Is that alright?"
He nodded. "Of course. It's regarding the novel I was working on." His father nodded knowing the code for the knowledge his dreams held. After all he had managed to prove it over the years with the eruption of dungeons, anticipating pirate raids and the like. Although not perfect it was close enough to be considered prophecy.
Once the meal was concluded the three headed to the main meeting room of the manor, while Jenna and Finely went off elsewhere. Nicks however decided to take Colin outside for some swordsmanship training so they could talk in peace. Settling on the sofas Leon saw his father hold his mother's hand in his own as she was practically radiating her tension as he took a deep breath.
"As you know, Zola will plan on marrying me off next year rather than allow me to attend the Academy. I plan on remedying this by becoming an adventurer for at least the next couple years. I'll be able to acquire funds and if I'm correct even some Lost Items that would give me an edge in what's to come." He looked them over his heart aching at the worry he brought his parents. "Ill need some starting funds and an airship, something small enough most ports will not turn it away and be safe enough to live on. First I'll use the knowledge of dungeons and slowly clear out easier ones until I'm confident enough to pursue the ones of real value. I'll do my best to write at least once a month but I will need to dedicate a lot of time to make any real progress. Do I have your support?" As he finished his words his mother grabbed him into a hug pulling him into her chest as his father hugged him as well.
"Of course you do, we will always support you. But stay safe Leon, you might be strong but even the mighty can fall with the smallest lapse of focus. Stay healthy, stay strong and come home in one piece. I'll get you what you need ready in two weeks, until then spend as much time with us and your siblings, even your sisters."
Leon nodded, he would cherish every second he had. With a smile he looked at them both. "Ill make you all proud."
~Eight Weeks Later~
It had been six weeks since he said goodbye, six weeks he had already begun to feel homesick. Every part of him just wanted to go home and hug his family and never leave. But he needed to do this, to protect his family. The memory of receiving the letter from Nicks that father and Colin had died when the Fanoss Military attacked their father's airship as it was delivering medical supplies to villages wrought by a plague that was spreading still made him furious.
He would wipe the traitors in the kingdom out and subjugate the others so that monsters would never be unleashed. Tears pricked his eyes remembering his brothers of battle being wiped out by the beasts controlled by Fanoss.
Steeling himself onwards he had come to rest at a nearby floating island, he was in the Lafan territory if he recalled. Hardly remembering anything about them in either lifetime he settled down to collect some water to purify and hunt some wild game. It was a dense forested area with a large central mountain, a faint trail of smoke told him someone may live in this area but he supposed it was some isolated huntsman. From what he heard in a few passing villages the Lafan rarely cared for anything past the view of their manor and their funding across their territory practically spoke of this.
Trailing through he was carrying a custom built rifle, the Stranger was oddly a firearm's fanatic despite his own home country having such stringent laws. It was a Lee Enfield with a bayonet attachment. Acting as his long range and close range option it was reinforced to act as well as a rudimentary spear too. The stock was thinner than the normal design and its clip was larger, it retained its bolt action firing because as the Stranger claimed "too iconic".
Travelling through the denser woods he found his prey, a deer was sipping across the stream. Lining up the shot...
*BANG*
It fired, piercing the creature's skull. Causing it to drop dead where it was thankfully launched just far enough back its brain matter and gore did not dirty the stream. Moving carefully with his bayonet in hand he approached the corpse careful of any opportunistic predators but as he stepped near the stream he could see streaks of red trailing from upstream.
It could be a dead animal, it probably was a dead animal but the Soldier seemed alert. Something in the Stranger chimed in as well urging him to push further upstream and investigate. So Leon beholden to his two minds did so, he was grateful he listened to them.
Slumped in the stream was what looked to be a large collection of torn and bloody bear pelts. But getting closer he realised something was alive underneath so cutting them off the figure he found a bloody and beaten girl that looked to be around eleven or twelve by how thin and small she was with long blonde hair. Across her chest was a large slash wound that seemed to be shallow despite how bloody it was, her breathing was shaky and slipping. It churned a memory of a burning village in the Soldier, a little girl with lilac hair missing an arm and bleeding out, whilst sobbing. He ran and he ran till his body screamed in desperate hope he could get her help. But she fell still in his arms and that day he sobbed amongst smoke and ash swearing to slaughter every pirate his platoon was sent to hunt. He was late once to save a little girl, he would not be again. Bolstering his body with magic that threatened to rip the fibers from the bone he blitzed through the forest like a hurricane, a barrier sheathed over the girl he had not even bothered with himself dedicating his mana to fueling his arrival onto the airship.
Taking the girl inside he began to work quickly, blood rejuvenation potions were fed to her as they would alleviate the blood loss symptoms as he cut away her ragged clothes and began to clean the wound. Years in the service and constant battle made him a better field medic than it should. He dedicated his time outside of battle to studying the methods of the field doctors to better treat wounds. Three hours of bloody and tiring work, cleaning, disinfecting, stitching and bandaging was done until the girl seemed to gain some colour on her face.
The Stranger felt a pang of nostalgia as they cared for the girl, whilst the Soldier did his best to remain focused on caring for the girl by checking for fevers and bleeding through the bandages, he kept the heating on at room temperature rather than give her clothing to avoid the clothes covering up any bleeding. Sour memories of men with too much bravado waiting till it was too late to reveal wounds left him cautious.