Published: July 26, 2025
Engulfed by the heat, I had the familiar feeling as if I were being slowly consumed from the edges. Just like before, I tried to focus my consciousness as much as possible and struggled to repel the heat.
I haven’t even made the book yet!
Remembering how I escaped last time, I tried to gather the heat toward the center, but unlike before, the amount of heat was overwhelming.
No matter how much I pushed, I was pushed back and nearly swept away.
You’re such a nuisance! Step back! I’m not planning to die like this!
As I defiantly shook off the heat around me, suddenly, the heat started being sucked away forcefully in one direction. It was like a vacuum commercial where a huge pile of dust is sucked up with a whoosh; the devouring fever heat around me disappeared.
Just vanish already!
Like stuffing the heat into the vacuum that was rapidly absorbing it, I also pushed the heat outward.
It was oddly satisfying to see the heat decrease steadily, so I kept sending it out. Suddenly, somewhere, there was a pop! like something bursting.
At the same time, the suction movement abruptly stopped. Even when I tried to push more heat in, it bounced back.
Huh? Did the vacuum break?
I felt like I might have broken the vacuum by recklessly sending in too much heat.
…Did I do something bad? What should I do?
As the heat I had pushed out floated lightly around, I was at a loss for a while. Of course, no one was here to explain the situation, and there was no one else besides me.
Looks like I’m saved. I’ll think about everything later.
Since the heat had decreased considerably, I decided to get rid of it quickly. Unlike before, I felt the devouring fever heat had reduced to about half, so I pushed it inward toward the center.
Suppressing the reduced heat and sealing it was not difficult. Like packing unwanted items into a cardboard box and shoving it into a closet, I tightly gathered it and pressed it down at the core.
Wrapped in the satisfaction of finally finishing, I felt my consciousness slowly rise.
When I opened my eyes, I was once again in a world I didn’t recognize.
No, really.
My whole body was exhausted from the battle with the devouring fever, but my mind was clear and sharp, so I don’t think it was a dream.
Where am I?
First, it’s dim. At first, I thought it was almost nightfall, but the darkness was only in my head; from my feet, a faint light was coming in.
Because of that, I had some visibility, and I realized a deep green, heavy fabric canopy spread across my entire field of vision, surrounding the bed I was lying in. Only half of the area near my feet had the curtain opened.
It wasn’t a frilly, princess-like lace but a thick cloth meant to completely avoid being seen. This canopy bed could only belong to someone wealthy.
Could it be that this time I truly reincarnated as a template noble?
The bed’s materials were completely different from mine. Instead of straw like I usually slept on, it was a soft material covered with warm wool sheets and a thick warm quilt. The texture was pleasant and extremely comfortable.
In my Reno days, I slept on a spring bed with down comforters and soft luxurious blankets, but after a year, my memories seemed to have changed a lot. Even when I rolled over or moved my head about, the pillow and quilt didn’t make rustling noises, and no straw poked out from under the sheets—it felt almost strange.
Straw futons can be warm too. If you get used to it, you can sleep even if fleas and mites bite you. Once you’re used to it.
Ugh, it’s been so long since I’ve felt this comfortable in a bed. I want to sleep longer just like this.
My bed that I share with Tulli is so narrow I have to be careful turning over, but this bed is spacious enough to roll around freely.
When I rolled toward the edge of the bed, I saw a chair and a small table beside the bed, with an extinguished candle holder. Everything was unfamiliar to me.
But as I rolled around, something I completely recognized came into view—my own hands and hair.