The Extra who regained his past life memories

We finally arrived at the location the Empress had mentioned. As I looked ahead, I saw a massive door standing in the middle of the area.

The plan was simple.

Tomorrow would be the day we entered the Secret Realm.

After the long journey, I greeted everyone and said good night before heading to my room.

The Empress had mentioned that the dwarves had prepared rooms for everyone, so Luna and I went to find our rooms.

Before we separated, I looked at Luna.

"Good night, Luna."

She replied with her usual smile.

"Good night, Gray."

Then she entered her room.

I took a shower, put on some comfortable clothes, and fell onto the bed like a log.

A few moments later, I was sound asleep.

The next morning, I woke up as usual and got ready.

Today was finally the day.

The day I would enter the long-awaited Secret Realm.

I stepped out of my room and looked around.

Luna wasn’t outside yet, so I decided to wait in front of her room.

About ten minutes later, her door finally opened.

Luna stepped out with a radiant smile.

I waved at her.

"Good morning, Luna."

She saw me, and her smile widened.

"Good morning, Gray. Did you wait long?"

I waved my hand dismissively.

"Oh, no. I just arrived about ten minutes ago. It’s not a big deal at all."

I smiled.

She nodded, and together we went to have breakfast.

We met up with everyone else, ate, and talked about today’s entry into the Secret Realm.

And finally...

We arrived at the massive door.

Luna and I went over to Amy and Elena’s side. Amy was already smiling as she waited for the Secret Realm to open.

At any moment now, it would open.

I looked at Luna.

"What do you think is inside this Secret Realm? Do you think we can become treasure hunters in there?"

A huge, evil smirk appeared on my face.

Luna saw my expression and immediately put a hand against her forehead.

It was as if she could read my mind.

"Don’t even think about it. You can’t rob other people in there."

My smirk fell like a deflated balloon.

I looked at her suspiciously.

"How do you know what I’m thinking? Don’t tell me you’re not only the Evil Princess... you’re also a witch with mind-reading abilities."

Luna didn’t hold back.

She grabbed my arm and pinched it hard.

"What did you say? Who is the Evil Princess? And who is the witch, hmm...?"

She intensified her pinch.

I grimaced.

"Ah! Ah! Ouch! It hurts! I’m talking about someone else! Not you! Not you! Ouch, ouch!"

She looked at me smugly.

"I thought so."

Then she released my arm.

I rubbed the spot she had pinched, but I didn’t dare provoke her again.

That would be dangerous.

I didn’t have anywhere to run.

Amy watched the whole thing with a small smile on her face the entire time.

Then, finally, the massive door began to open.

Beyond it, we could see a barrier.

And then, the moment came.

We could enter.

I looked at my mother and walked over to give her a hug.

This time, we would be apart for months.

Mom seemed a little surprised by my sudden hug, but a warm smile soon appeared on her face as she returned it.

I pulled away and looked at Astrid.

"Then, I’m going to the Secret Realm."

Astrid smiled and nodded.

"Okay. Then be safe and stay with your sister."

I nodded happily before leaving.

Luna, Elena, and Amy had already said their goodbyes before coming here, so they simply waved at them.

And finally...

We entered the Secret Realm.

I could see the barrier covering the entrance, but it didn’t obstruct us at all.

It simply allowed us to pass through.

The moment I crossed the barrier, my vision changed.

Using my perception, I could immediately feel that our surroundings had completely changed.

We had entered a massive forest.

I looked around and saw the other humans who had been chosen.

Then I looked at the trees.

They weren’t ordinary massive trees.

They were gigantic.

The air here was completely different too.

It was so refreshing.

The density of mana was also much higher.

I could almost feel my mana core refreshing as it absorbed the new mana surrounding me.

Amy and Elena gathered themselves and walked to the front.

Elena took the lead and looked at everyone.

"Listen up, everyone. My name is Elena von Valtherion."

Then Amy stepped forward.

"And my name is Amy Starlight. We will take the lead of this team. If any of you don’t like it, you can leave. We don’t need to force anyone to stay. You can go alone or make your own group and try your luck, but don’t expect us to help you."

Her voice was cold and authoritative.

I completely ignored Amy and Elena.

Instead, Luna and I continued looking around at this new place.

Then I noticed something flying through the air.

"Hey, is that a giant butterfly? What kind of place did we arrive in? Is this some kind of giant world?"

Luna looked in the same direction, and her eyes widened.

"Wow... it’s really a giant butterfly. And it’s so beautiful."

I nodded thoughtfully.

"I wonder if it’s still beautiful if I burn it."

Luna immediately turned toward me with a threatening look.

"Don’t you dare do anything to that butterfly."

I raised both hands in surrender.

"Hey, calm down. I don’t even have the Fire element. I just think it would be nice to freeze it to death and keep it as a collection."

She glared at me fiercely.

I looked back at the butterfly.

My heart couldn’t take it.

It was so cute.

And the more I looked at it...

The more I laughed.

Meanwhile, Amy continued going on and on about how she and Elena would lead the group.

It was so boring.

I looked at Luna.

"Hey, I thought your mother’s speeches were boring, but this is a whole different level of boredom."

Luna giggled.

"Keep your voice down. It’s not good if the others hear you."

I nodded.

Then the two of us started analyzing their speech and laughing together.

After giving their speech, Amy and Elena managed to convince more than half of the group to follow them.

But when they looked toward us, they saw the two of us still giggling together without a care in the world.

Elena and Amy looked at each other.

Then they looked back at us.

Both of them sighed at the same time.

"These two are hopeless."

They then smiled at each other.

Then, an unexpected situation occurred.

Eithen stepped out from the group and stood beside Amy and Elena before speaking.

"Hey, guys. Don’t you think this is too much? Why should we listen to royalty and some powerful family here? We came here to seek opportunities, not to become their soldiers."

"We earned this position by ourselves. Why should we follow them and fight for them?"

"And do you really think that if they find a treasure, they’ll give it to us? They’ll keep it for themselves and throw some scraps our way. What’s the point of coming here and earning this position if that’s what happens?"

"Don’t waste your opportunity by becoming their porters and foot soldiers. Be your own person. Fight for yourself, and don’t let royalty and powerful families dominate you."

I watched him with amusement at first.

But that amusement disappeared almost immediately when I noticed where that bastard was looking while giving his speech.

His eyes were practically glued to Luna.

Seriously?

Amy looked annoyed when she saw the people she had convinced to follow her turning away and moving toward Eithen.

She was about to step in.

But I stopped her.

Eithen continued mumbling his nonsense, trying to recruit more people to his side.

I looked at Amy.

"Sister, do you think we are weak?"

She looked at me and shook her head.

"But this is a Secret Realm. We don’t know what might appear inside."

I nodded and pointed toward the people who had turned to Eithen.

"Okay, then. Do you think those people are strong?"

Amy blinked.

Then, almost reflexively, she answered.

"No."

I smiled.

"So what’s the problem? If they stay with us, it’s only bad for us. They’ll just hold us back. If that baggage is gone, we can move around more freely, focus only on ourselves, escape dangerous situations more easily, and do many other things."

I shrugged.

"So why should we care about them?"

Amy fell silent for a moment.

She seemed to think about my words before finally nodding.

She had been taught to think about leadership, responsibility, rules, and command.

But I had a completely different way of looking at things.

I didn’t need people who would only slow us down.

Luna’s eyes lit up.

"I think Gray is right."

Elena also nodded.

"She is right, Amy."