A Soldier Adrift: An Isekai Story

When he finally left the hospital, he hadn't felt such relief in days. His finally parents allowed him to leave the hospital for good. Dr. Poe didn’t say much, just gave a nod with his always stoic face that almost resembled his father's.

He looked at the sky, which was as bright as the morning sun. It felt weird, he wasn't used to such brightness of the day. 

“Young Master Jason, if you’d please,” the butler, Alfred, spoke, gesturing toward the car.

Alfred was a young man slightly older than him, with short, lavish brown hair. He wore a standard butler uniform that Jason was most familiar with.

Jason gave no comment other than a nod of appreciation.

The journey was smooth. He was apparently going to his parent's house to meet them once again. He felt nervous meeting them; although it wasn’t his first time, his parents were not his real parents, and he was not their son. His first impression of them wasn’t so bad, but his mother was a bit too clingy. He wondered how the boy could manage such a thing.

He watched from the window as the car passed by several buildings. Now that he was outside, he got a good look at the city he was in.

The place was utterly shocking to the point that he couldn’t believe his eyes. Everything looked far more advanced than what he had known on Earth. There were flying gadgets that resembled small cars almost everywhere, and androids, similar to the ones in the hospital, assisting people in the streets. Holograms displayed advertisements for various products, unlike the big flat-screen TVs he was used to. The buildings were much sleeker, appearing as if made entirely of glass rather than concrete.

He was far too distracted to notice that the butler was trying to get his attention.

“Young Master Jason.”

The call fell on deaf ears, but when a hand was suddenly placed on his shoulder to gather his attention, he instinctively grabbed it. Turning, he pressed his right arm against the person's throat while his other hand held the arm firmly.

His eyes were cold, but that only lasted for a second before he realized what he had done.

‘Oh shit.’

He immediately pulled his hand back, and the cold look on his face a moment ago was replaced by a sheepish smile.

“Sorry, Alfred, I was startled,” he explained.

Alfred, the butler, still looked shocked by the turn of events, but he managed to maintain a calm and professional demeanor. “It’s okay, Young Master Jason. It’s partially my fault as well.”

Jason gave him another apologetic smile before making himself comfortable in his seat.

Somehow the ride back home became more awkward.

+++===+++

It took less than thirty minutes to arrive at his parents' house. It was massive, with more glass windows than actual walls. They had a small garden with two fountains on each side of the entrance.

He felt like he was visiting a celebrity's house. In this life, his status was clearly wealthy. Rich or not, it didn’t matter much to him.

“This way, young master.”

Since he had lost some of the boy’s memories, he strictly followed the butler, afraid he might get lost in the massive house.

The inside looked even bigger than it appeared outside. One hallway was adorned with numerous paintings and another with statues and sculptures. He almost envied how much money his parents had to spend on these things. If he had that kind of money, he would live a lavish life rather than become a tool for war. Sadly, he didn’t have much choice back then.

They stopped in front of a large door. The butler approached a gadget, which surprisingly responded by scanning the butler's eye. Jason was fascinated by the sight, almost forgetting he was in a world with far superior technology.

[Access Granted]

A monotone robotic voice sounded across the room, and the door slowly opened, revealing a rather beautiful area within. The room resembled a library, with bookshelves filled with numerous books. What caught his eye was a logo on the wall in the center, depicting a wolf with a sword piercing down through it. He swore it shone bright purple for a second.

He blinked, rubbing his eyes to clear his vision. As his sight finally adjusted, he saw his mom running toward him.

“My baby!”

“Argh-!” he grunted, falling down as his mother hugged him tightly.

“I missed you so much! Did you miss me? Did you?!”

“Y-Yes,” he answered, hoping she would let go, struggling to breathe.

“Honey, I think you should let go of Jason before he can’t breathe,” his father gently suggested.

He could see his mother’s reluctance, but thankfully, she let go.

Gasping, he tried to breathe in as much air as possible. His father stood in front of him, extending a hand. He stared at it for a moment before grabbing it firmly, surprised when his father pulled him into a hug.

“I missed you, my son.”

He froze. Should he hug back? He wasn’t prepared! This was all new to him.

It took him a moment to consider his options.

Awkwardly, he tried to pat his father's back, but before he could do it successfully, his father let go of the hug. He swore he saw some tears in his father's eyes, though they weren't too visible.

“Come, sit. We should talk.” His father gestured towards the small table in the center, which had three small cups and pieces of bread on each plate.

He took a seat and grabbed the closest piece of bread, slowly nibbling on it.

His parents took their seats after him. His mother sat beside him, while his father sat on the opposite side.

Why do I feel like I’m going to get interrogated, he thought, gulping.

“Jason, I know it’s been hard for you and also for us, but we want to assure you that you're not alone,” his father said.

“That’s right, sweetie, we’re here for you,” his mother added, her eyes filled with concern.

He blinked, looking at both of them with slight confusion. His mother placed her hand on top of his.

“We’ve heard about your amnesia from your doctor, and we’ve discussed it for quite some time. We didn’t have the chance to talk about it in the hospital, so we brought you here.”

He slowly nodded. He remembered that as clear as day.

“We wanted to talk about it with you, Jason,” his father added.

I see, so this is all about that, he guessed correctly.

“I’m sorry for worrying you two about it,” he said, casting a glance at them before lowering his head. It was awkward to look at them; he wasn’t their son, and it pained him to see the look on their faces as if he was.

His mother smiled beside him, caressing his back. “It’s okay, sweetie. As long as you’re the same as you were back then, even if a bit different with your loss of memories, we will still love you. It was hard for us when we heard that you were in a coma and had a slim chance of waking up.”

His mother began to sob.

“Both your father and I didn’t know what to do. Despite our best efforts to bring the best doctors, they weren’t able to treat you. But when we heard that you woke up, we couldn’t believe it until we saw you with our own eyes.”

The moment he lifted his eyes to meet their gaze, he saw his mother's tears fall. He doubted it was sadness—more like happiness. She was happy that their son was back.

His father was the same. Tears, though only a small amount, were present on his face. Despite his stoic appearance, Jason sensed a great sadness within.

Somehow, he felt a slight blow in his heart and didn’t know why. Was it guilt? Possibly. Despite their relief, they didn't know the whole truth. Their son was no more.

He bit his lip and tried to ignore the sudden slight pain in his heart. Then he felt tears rolling from his eyes.

What?

He was confused. It wasn't him. No, it couldn’t be him. While he was partly sad, he wasn’t so sad that tears would fall from his eyes.

Out of nowhere, the boy’s memories suddenly flashed through his eyes. His life as a child, the time his mother brought him a birthday present, the time his father told him his first-ever bedtime story. Then those memories disappeared as quickly as they had come.

Could it be?

He stiffened as a thought occurred to him.

He may be called crazy, but if he was right, it wasn't him entirely, but the boy’s last remaining remnants in this body that reacted. He guessed it was the boy’s last show of affection for his parents.

He felt bad. Looking at the two of them, he was suddenly reminded of his old parents. He had failed to acknowledge them even in their deaths. That tore him right into his heart.

‘Damn it,’ he thought, curling his hand into a fist.

Maybe...

Maybe he could try.

He could try to treat the boy’s parents as his own. It sounded wrong, but it wasn’t for him, not entirely, but for them and the kid.

Maybe in this way, he would redeem himself one way or another.

Even if it meant acting as their dead son.