My name is Masayuki Honjou, and I'm an Isekai protagonist twice over. In my past life, I was a street orphan named Rudra, who built a crime empire and ruled over Japan's underworld.

I think... I died from a nuclear bomb after starting the Massive Underworld Civil War?

What I found out was that, in my early years, I had all my screws loose. I didn't feel any empathy or sympathy for anyone around me. I just did whatever I felt like doing. The more years passed, the more my loose screws started to tighten—aka I started to feel normal emotions again. But it was too late; Civil War had already started.

I remember a sexy blue-haired girl standing next to me, though. She must have been my secretary or right-hand woman.

In this life, as Masayuki, my emotions got fixed. Now I can be a normal teenage boy, not someone who starts Underworld Civil War just for some giggles. I don't even want to go back to that life one bit. I'm really happy here. But I have one regret about that life, though—Now, as a fully functional and emotional teenager, I really, really want to tap that blue-haired girl's ass.

After some time later, one day.

Lo and behold, what do I see in front of me? A matured, Nordic-looking blue-haired woman wearing tight jeans and a yellow T-shirt. On the T-shirt, 'I love Rudra' is written. Ain't that a stab in my previous life's unfeeling heart.

But the most important question is: What is she doing here? How is she here? And why does she look a lot sexier and older?

I remember. Her name should be Gryun, right?

"Gryun," I called out, and our eyes met. In that instant, I saw a flash of light, and everything clicked inside me. As a former criminal and now an isekai protagonist, I've spent years practicing meditation and martial arts—that makes me really aware of any changes to myself.

That's why I felt the changes inside me. A refreshing sensation washed over me, and the next moment, the surroundings dissolved into a kaleidoscope of colors. When the world settled, I found myself standing in the middle of a medieval town with a cliché fountain at its center. As an otaku who has consumed content from two worlds, I recognized this trope instantly.

I looked around to see if there were any threats to myself. Seeing people walking around and minding their own business, I took a deep breath and sat down by the side of the fountain.

I got to thinking. When I called her name, the woman was definitely surprised, as if I shouldn't have recognized her. That means this isn't my first time reincarnating, but my first time remembering my past life.

What could it be? Am I a protagonist who reincarnates infinitely, and that woman is following me for some reason? From the hazy memories of Crime Lord Rudra... she was very clingy... Do I have a world-hopping yandere goddess after my ass?

Suddenly, my stream of thought was cut short by the scream of a girl nearby. She came running toward me and hid behind me as if I was going to protect her.

Hm...

She started to say some gibberish I didn't understand. I looked at the burly man approaching, narrowed my eyes at him, and then glanced back at the girl.

The girl looked confused at first, but seeing me narrowing my eyes at the burly man and then looking at her, the confusion vanished. She smiled and nodded.

What are you doing, gal? I just arrived here, and you're getting me into trouble for no reason?

Before I could move out of the way, a voice in my mind interrupted my thoughts.

«A courageous act of heroism has been conducted… Unique Skill 'Chosen One' acquired. Would you like to activate it? YES/NO»

My eyes widened slightly. A skill? This world has a system? A massive, evil smile threatened to spread across my face, but I forced it down.

'Yes, activate it,' I said in my mind to the system.

«Confirmed. Under the effects of 'Chosen One,' language mastery…successful. Subsequently, 'Hero's Haki' and 'Heroic Coercion' have been activated.»

Fascinating. Hero's Haki? Heroic Coercion? And more importantly, language mastery. Finally, I could understand what they were babbling about.

"Oi, oi, what'cha doin', buddy? Yer ain't tryin' to get in my way, are ya?" Wow, he talks like a wannabe thug.

"That's right! This person here promised he'd save me!" She nodded again before running to the side as if she were going to watch a spectacle.

I just stared at her, dumbfounded. What a bitch, she just sold me out.

"—Ho ho?" I looked back at the burly man with indifferent eyes. The veins on his head were bulging as if they were going to pop any minute.

"Interesting!" the man yelled. "Let's see you try taking me down and protecting that girl." I just sighed. What kind of cliché, forced plot is this? A hero gets summoned and fights an enemy moments later. If I didn't have my previous life's memories, I would've been shaken in my boots, maybe even killed.

Seeing the commotion, people around started to gather and began giving obligatory information for a newly summoned protagonist to understand.

From what they were saying, this guy is Jinrai, the 'Crazed Wolf' or whatever. He failed some kind of B-rank exam because of his temper. The exam, I guess, could be an Adventurer's exam?

Hmm... they started talking nonsense about me losing the fight and even dying... Most importantly, they contacted the Guild, which surprised me a bit. They do have at least one brain cell...

Well, then they started pitying me.

At least this guy could give me an idea of what kind of strength I can expect from a B-ranker. Without saying anything, I took out my Swiss knife from my pocket, the one I always keep with me. I held the knife in a reverse grip, with the blade pointing downward and the handle gripped tightly in my palm.

Then, I just looked at him with narrowed eyes. The air shifted and became heavy. Everyone around me grew uncomfortable and started to squirm. Clearly, Hero's Haki was at work.

Before I could do anything, the guy just fell back, his eyes rolled into his sockets, unconscious.

"D... Did he just defeat Jinrai, the 'Crazed Wolf,' a B-ranker, without even moving?"

"So he is the blonde chosen hero…"

"Oh! Oh ho, I've heard of him—"

"Was that the chosen hero who was rather active in the past? I heard he went missing—"

"Could it be that he has been resurrected?"

The clamoring in the crowd gradually grew louder.

"The chosen hero?"

"He's the chosen hero?"

"There's no way—"

"But look at those skills. He's definitely the real deal!"

At least my dyed hair came in handy for something.

AN: I'm really sleep deprived right now, and just wrote this out because I felt like it.