The Wanderer's Archive

Late at night.

Siegfried sat at his desk, flipping through the Wanderer's Manual. Tonight, he would return to the continent of Kiran to complete the first phase of his mission, and he was conducting a final check of his preparations.

Over the past few days, he had stockpiled medicine, food, and various survival tools, stuffing them all into his inventory to ensure he could handle any situation with ease. He had initially wanted to bring some modern technology with him, but Shannon had warned him that any items incompatible with the era's technological level couldn't be retrieved from his inventory once he arrived.

After some thought, he accepted it.

This is a mission to correct history, after all. Of course, they wouldn't let me bring black tech from another era.

Still, Siegfried couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. If he could, he'd have imported a couple of AR-15s from Texas to the other world. Even if he couldn't dominate completely, at least dealing with small forces like Catalyna's would've been child's play.

Another thing he noticed was that his status panel on Earth was different from the one in the other world.

Here, his stats read:

Name: Siegfried

Gender: Male

Age: 22

Race: Wanderer

Education: High School

Description: An ordinary salary worker lost in the sea of humanity. By sheer accident, you've become a Wanderer. How will someone as average as you survive the perilous missions ahead? Or perhaps… you're not as ordinary as you seem.

Skills: Cold Reading 73% (Expert), Acting 65% (Expert), Intimidation 35% (Advanced)… (40+ more omitted)

Abilities: Deceiver's Tongue

Strength: E+

Agility: E

Magic: /

Intelligence: A

Luck: B

Leadership: B

Overall Rating: C

Many details had changed. In the other world, he was 20, but on Earth, he was 22.

But the bigger differences were his first three attributes. Strength and Agility were negligible, but Magic was outright gone. This made Siegfried realize that even if he learned magic in the other world, he wouldn't be able to use it back on Earth.

The reason for this discrepancy was likely that while his consciousness was the same across both worlds, his physical bodies were different. Attributes tied to his body—Strength, Agility, Magic—had changed, but those tied to his mind—Intelligence, Luck, Leadership—remained the same.

Siegfried closed the manual and carried it to bed.

The method of returning to the other world was simple: fall asleep holding the Wanderer's Manual. If he didn't want to cross over, he just had to keep the book away.

"Shannon, what happens to my body here while I'm in the other world?"

[Do not worry. Once you complete your mission, you will return to this exact moment in time. Even if years pass in the other world, in reality, it will be nothing more than a fleeting dream.]

[For this mission, I will not be accompanying you in real-time. If you have questions, you may direct them to my terminal.]

(Ah, so she's dumping an AI on me instead of dealing with me herself? Tch… What a problem child among chroniclers.)

Siegfried fell silent for a moment before asking one last question:

"Anything else I should know?"

[Given your inexperience and the difficulty of the mission, another Wanderer currently in Kiran will be assigned to assist you.]

[Then, may you sail with favorable winds!]

...

Shannon's voice gradually faded from his mind, and Siegfried felt himself drifting into sleep.

But something felt… off.

(Strange. Since when was my pillow this soft?)

His bedsheets were cheap finds from a bargain site—they shouldn't be this plush, this bouncy. Not to mention, his pillow carried a rich, intoxicating fragrance.

Half-asleep, Siegfried groped around, his fingers sinking into something impossibly smooth.

"Mmm…"

This pillow was so high-quality it even made sounds.

…

Made sounds?

Siegfried's eyes snapped open, and he bolted upright.

Lying in the spot where his "pillow" had been was the female knight Catalyna, clad in nothing but a thin shirt. The top button had come undone, revealing a deep valley of pale skin and—

Well. That explained last night's pillow.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Siegfried sifted through his hazy memories of the previous night and let out a sigh of relief. At least he hadn't done anything irredeemable.

Then, almost immediately, he felt a twinge of regret.

Why hadn't he done anything irredeemable?

Shaking off the thought, he summoned the Wanderer's Manual and flipped to the mission log.

As expected, the phase objectives had updated:

Phase Mission:

Join Prince Roderick's faction OR Princess Krinhilde's faction: 0/1

Gain the faction leader's trust: 0/1

Historical Correction Time Limit: 1094 days/1095 days

Complete phase objectives to end this excursion and claim rewards, temporarily returning.

[Wanderer, the Shannon System is at your service.]

A mechanical version of Shannon's voice echoed in his mind—clearly, this was the so-called "terminal."

(Well, now it really is a "system.")

[It is advised that you first 'store' the female knight on the floor. Someone will knock on your door in ten seconds.]

Siegfried glanced at the disheveled Catalyna sprawled across the floor.

True, if anyone saw her like this, his hard-earned reputation would be ruined. He needed to get her onto the bed—

Wait, why did that sound so predatory?

Just then, urgent knocking interrupted his thoughts.

Siegfried hastily moved Catalyna onto the bed before opening the door.

Outside stood the burly young man who had been guarding the halfling scout earlier. He was drenched in sweat and panting heavily, clearly having run all the way here.

Siegfried's expression darkened. This urgency could only mean trouble.

"Calm down. What happened?"

"Big Bro Siegfried! That halfling—he escaped!"

"How? Didn't you have him under watch?"

"We knocked him out cold! He was unconscious the whole time, so we just tossed him in the woodshed. But when we checked this morning, he was gone…"

The young man's voice grew quieter with each word. This was mostly his fault—he'd been on guard duty, but last night's village feast had tempted him into sneaking a few drinks. After that, he'd blacked out.

Siegfried frowned. That halfling was a spy, entirely different from Catalyna's group. While Catalyna had genuinely just come for supplies, that halfling would gladly see the entire village wiped out.

(If I were him, what would I do now?)

"Ash, tell everyone to lock their doors and stay inside until I return."

"Got it. Be careful, Bro."

Siegfried turned back into the house, where Catalyna was still sleeping peacefully. Without hesitation, he smacked her forehead.

"Your Highness!"

Catalyna jolted awake with a yelp. She'd been dreaming of bathing with Princess Krinhilde, who—as usual—had been groping her all over. Just as she was about to resist, the princess had headbutted her… and then she woke up.

Siegfried sighed at the dazed knight.

No wonder Princess Krinhilde got exiled to this backwater—if all her subordinates are like this…

"Wake up. The scout escaped."

Catalyna, still groggy, immediately stiffened at the words.

"That traitor! Sir Melain, allow me to report this to Her Highness at once!"

Instead of answering, Siegfried pulled out the Wanderer's Manual. He needed to plan his next move based on solid intel.

The manual's search function quickly provided the information he needed. A smirk curled his lips as he began issuing orders.

"No, not yet. Gather your soldiers and follow my instructions…"

......

When Catalyna appeared at the hut where the soldiers were being held, their jaws dropped. And when she waved goodbye to Siegfried with an excited, flushed face, their horror only deepened.

What the hell happened last night?!

That was the question burning in every soldier's mind—though none dared voice it.

According to the villagers, Lady Catalyna had spent the night in Siegfried's house. And now, not only were they being released, but their commander was acting… affectionate toward him?!

A single thought bloomed in every soldier's heart:

(Bastard! So enviable—no, wait—so despicable! To think Sir Melain would take advantage of her like this! He's not just a beast—he's worse than a beast!)

Their glares burned into Siegfried's back, each man fantasizing about tearing him apart. But they knew better—even if they all attacked at once, they wouldn't stand a chance.

Oblivious to their despair, Catalyna marched off with renewed vigor, ready to carry out Siegfried's plan.

Siegfried noticed their hostility but couldn't fathom why. I'm letting them go, aren't I? No good deed goes unpunished…

His plan was simple. Since the halfling was a spy, he must have a way to relay information or a contact. Siegfried used the manual to pinpoint the rendezvous point and sent Catalyna to plant false intelligence.

As for himself…

Siegfried pulled a black robe from his inventory—one he'd brought from Earth. The wide, hooded garment swallowed his figure whole as he draped it over himself.

"Well then… time to pay Princess Krinhilde a visit."