Kill me again, Miss Witch

Chapter 1: Cultist?

"It's been ten years..."

Observing the furnishings in the secret room, Char opened his arms with a profound sense of emotion, as if he wanted to embrace everything in the room.

After that incident, a full decade has passed.

As a time traveler, over these years, Char, the young man, hasn't slacked off at all. Every day, he diligently prepares: striving to become stronger, making money like crazy, and collecting raw materials...

All of this, only for this present moment.

His luck has been remarkable. Even though acquiring some rare materials required significant effort, he still managed to find them. Otherwise, time would have been prolonged even further.

Char's full name is Char Adelaide. He hails from the southern province of Sako in the Hiren Empire, growing up in a tiny village with a population of no more than two hundred. His father, holding the title of a viscount, was the local lord of the region.

Although it might sound appealing, in reality, it wasn't the extravagant and luxurious noble life one might imagine.

Apart from hunting, the village's sole source of income was the agricultural produce. Unfortunately, the climate in that area was damp and cold, with insufficient sunlight. With only one harvest a year, the crops were sold in the nearby town, yet the money earned had to be diminished by layers of taxes paid to the empire. Consequently, very little was left for the villagers.

As a result, the entire village lived in extreme poverty.

In Char's recollection, the staple food that appeared on the dinner table from his childhood to adulthood was always dry and tough black bread, accompanied by meager vegetable soup. Moreover, shortly after he learned to walk, his father forcibly took him to participate in labor.

Although Char's father held a noble title, it was merely an inherited peerage from his ancestors. Besides affording him a certain level of status, it didn't provide him with corresponding dignity or wealth.

For instance, although there was an estate in the family, it was no more than a few acres in size. It had gone unrepaired and neglected for a long time, making it appear quite rundown.

Char grew up in this small estate, with only his father, mother, and a younger sister (his biological sister) who had exceptional magical talents and had left to study in the capital city. Apart from them, there was just one young maid remaining.

Poverty, stability, warmth, and contentment... This was an accurate portrayal of their life.

Originally, Char thought of it as some kind of slice-of-life, rural setting. With his content and simple outlook, life was actually quite peaceful. At times, he even felt that continuing like this, inheriting the title and the estate someday, marrying the maid from the house, and having a couple of chubby children wouldn't be a bad future at all.

After all, for a minor noble family like theirs on the border, with no significant influence, there was no need to worry much about social status and pedigree.

So, Char didn't have much dissatisfaction with everything, and he wasn't all that eager for the delayed awakening of a "golden finger."

But life is always filled with drama.

Especially in this unreasonable world, there exists a profoundly gruesome term that constantly oppresses ordinary civilians, involving them in conflicts and making their already challenging lives even more miserable.

That term is called "war."

It's just that overnight, the once peaceful and tranquil rural life shattered into pieces. The illusion of a peaceful, rural existence was torn apart in an instant by spears and warhorses, transforming into an entirely different scenario.