Trying to calm my nerves, I roamed my eyes again.
'This... is definitely not the modern world.'
The sound of horses accompanied by the sight of a wagon bow. I deduced that I was riding in a Conestoga wagon, a vehicle used for transporting goods back in the 18th Century.
'I want to say that I regressed but isn't this too far for a retrogression?'
As a writer, I've done my research.
< Secretly an S-class returnee. >
< Most powerful regressor. >
< Waking up as my younger self after getting killed by the crown prince LN. >
Based on what I read in these regression-themed novels, the main characters that dies in the beginning of the novel regressed at a certain point in their life. Like a few days before death, or back to their childhood days, or even back to the time when they were born.
'But regression by centuries? This is too extreme!'
For one, I was born in a different century so this can't be a regression to my past and honestly, that's not even the weirdest part.
I blinked once, then another time to make sure I wasn't dreaming.
I looked closely at the children and noticed that they look unusual using the standards of Earth. There were some children with tails, some that had scales of fish in their skin, others had pointed ears, and the rest had similarly strange features.
They don't look like normal humans but no one is saying anything about it. This could only mean that their existence is considered normal.
'If that's so then clearly this isn't Earth. Where the hell am I?'
RATTLE! RATTLE!
"Ugh..."
I gripped the side of my head. The rattling of the vehicle was getting louder, indicating that the road ahead was getting rougher too.
I'd want nothing more than to think more about my current situation but I can't concentrate on anything because it's so loud.
'So itchy!'
My clothes feel strange.
"Hmm?"
I looked down and saw that I was wearing something that resembles a sack made of fiber. It was like wearing a garbage bag with holes in it.
"Oh, you're finally awake."
A clear voice made me look away from the horrid piece of clothing. It came from beside me where a calm-looking child was sitting. He had white hair, lavender eyes, and pale skin that reminds me of vampires.
My eyes met with his.
The child who was looking at me right now had a peculiar gaze of a dead fish. It was as if he was someone that had given up on his life.
Looking at those deep eyes made me feel slightly uneasy.
Nevertheless, I tried to communicate with him.
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Ever since we left the Capital."
"Capital?"
I tried to think of anything but only a rough, blurry image of bricks gave me a sense of geography. My memory is hazy but I don't remember those scenes in my past life.
'Those memories aren't mine.'
"I guess the memory potion is working on you."
There was no change in his emotionless expression as he roamed his lavender eyes to check the children around us.
He must have read the confusion in my face since continued to explain without me asking.
"Everyone here is from the Capital, though only a few remember it now. We're all people who got kidnapped one way or another by men in black cloaks. They made us drink a memory potion that makes us forget about the past."
Well, that's one way to summarize everything.
"...I see. So that's why I can't remember anything."
"One way or another, this shady group of human traffickers must've bought you. That's how we all ended up here."
"What? Wait a minute. Did you just say human traffic?!"
The words he said slowly registered in my mind.
'Shit. I have a bad feeling about this.'
I looked down and saw that my arms were smaller than what I remember them to be. They look foreign and resembled that of a fourteen-year-old child. Furthermore, my hands and feet were bound by chains. It was the same for the other children around me.
"Ahh.. ahh..."
I cleared my throat and reached for my hair again in vain. Not only does my voice sound different, I don't remember cutting my long hair short enough to be out of my sight.
'This is a different body.'
I don't know who it originally belonged to but right now my soul or particularly, the conscience of 'Han Yuta', was currently residing in it.
'It is not a regression but body possession.'
I kept in mind all these details and looked back at the lavender-eyed guy. He was now staring at the ceiling, looking bored out of his mind. Gazing at him calmed me too for some reason.
'I pretty much have an idea of my situation.'
Still, I needed to confirm so I decided to strike another conversation.
"What's your name?"
"I don't have one."
"Why?"
Finally, his cloudy eyes dropped back to me. A small shadow was cast over it as if wondering why I was asking an obvious thing.
I flinched unconsciously.
'Is he not going to answer?'
However, seconds of tension-packed silence passed and thankfully, he spoke again which made me feel relieved.
"People are not given any 'official' names until they're fourteen. It's a basic rule that even beggars know."
That was all I need to confirm my suspicion.
'Ah, damn everything!'
I closed my eyes and tamed the frustration that rose inside me. The idea of people not having any 'official name' until the age of fourteen was one of the systematic details I applied in my book.
'There's no doubt about it. Right now, I am inside my book...'
I opened my eyes and then searched the lavender orbs beside me. He just sat there, looking at me with the expressionless gaze I was getting used to seeing.
"Did we cross the ocean?"
"We did."
"Have we crossed a forest?"
"Mmm-hmm."
Shit. Shit. Shit.
That means we're so near to 'that' place! Crap, I really need to escape this wagon as soon as possible.
'But alone? That's impossible. I need some help from at least one other person.'
The choice for who that person would be was clearer than my chances of surviving for the next hour.
'It's okay. I don't feel uneasy anymore.'
Looking at the guy beside me, I already have an idea of which 'race' he belonged to. And this might be strange but I have a weird feeling that we'll get along if we have a good old talk with coffee and bread.
'This is reckless but for now, we need to focus on escaping.'
If we arrive at 'that' place like this, there would be nothing but eternal hell awaiting us.
I gathered my thoughts for a while before speaking again.
"Lavender-eyes, do you want to be my companion?"
His head snapped towards me so fast that I thought the air around his head was cut clean. His lavender eyes widened by a fraction, giving the slightest hint of emotion I have seen from his face so far.
"...Uhm."
"Hmm? Why are you blushing?"
My confused gaze startled him even more. Then he took a deep breath and said something completely bizarre.
"I don't swing that way."
Ah, so that's why.
'No worries. I don't either.'
I chuckled a bit at the misunderstanding.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just that you got me wrong."
I quickly answered before grinning wide like a Cheshire cat.
"Huh?"
"I mean to say that I want to destroy this damn vehicle so help me."