Chapter 1: A Reason to Fight

Chapter 1:
A Reason to Fight

 

TEN YEARS PASSED in the blink of an eye after I regained my memories. I spent my days fuming that such a lighthearted otome game was actually a world full of wickedness, and it had become my reality.

Well, it wasn’t like I could stay angry all the time. Though it was another world, it still had its own daily rhythm.

We were indeed nobles, but we were poor countryside stock. We often toiled in the fields ourselves, and naturally, I helped out. Manual labor toned my body over the years. My face grew more masculine as well, and it once again resembled the one I’d had in my previous life.

At fifteen, with black hair and black eyes, I was no stud, but I wasn’t an ugly gremlin either. Sadly, this was an otome game world. Dreamy guys swarmed the place, and I was just one of the masses. A background character. A mob.

My older brother Nicks had moved to the continent—the main area of the kingdom—to enroll in the academy and live in the dormitory. As soon as he left the cramped storage shed we shared, the sixth youngest of the family (the fourth son), Colin, took his place.

Currently I was in my room reading a letter Nicks sent me. We were close like that (or at least, I thought we were close). Looking for a bride is tough, he noted.

In this world, a man who couldn’t get married by the time he graduated the academy was considered deeply flawed. Still single by the age of twenty? You were second-rate goods. Society came down especially hard on the sons of noble families. Commoners might be given a pass, but noblemen who didn’t marry young were treated like pariahs. As I read his letter, I prayed Nicks would find a wife quickly. For men, this world was ridiculously harsh.

If you couldn’t get married, it affected employment, like your prospects for promotion. This held true even among the nobles. Second and third sons and onward had to leave the house and strike out on their own. They were merely spares, anyway, in case the heir failed to continue the family name. And once the heir inherited the family titles and produced a male child of their own, those spares became useless.

When that happened, our jobs were already predetermined: we either entered the military or became government officials. There were some exceptions, such as men who became doctors or something else that would benefit the country and the people in it. All other forms of employment were treated with disdain.

The men who couldn’t marry were forever no better than a servant class. They had no hope of climbing a career ladder and would never be given any significant responsibility. Society didn’t trust those who couldn’t marry. Therefore, marriage was critical for men, especially those of rank.

“This world truly is despicable,” I muttered as I read Nicks’s letter.

Conflict defined our era—wars, squabbles, air pirates, monsters—and the death rate for knights and other men in the military was high. Noble houses like mine produced so many children because a lot of them inevitably died during war. And yet, while fighting was a man’s job—all while holding down a paying job, come on!—women held all the authority. Men put their lives on the line and died in combat but were still garbage in the eyes of society. It was twisted and warped.

I hoped there was a reason for it. If this world only allowed women to get away with all this crap because of some developer’s offhand decision to make the game’s society matriarchal, I’d cry.

Why did I have to reincarnate here? There wasn’t a day I didn’t wonder that.

Wait, no, there were some days. A lot, actually. I was so busy that I often forgot to begrudge my situation. After all, it had been ten years since I regained the memories of my previous life. You get used to things.

Inside our little storage shed, my younger brother Colin sprawled out on his bed, sleeping soundly. He had such an innocent face. From the game’s standpoint, he and I were nothing more than useless background characters. If we even got names, they would be Character A, Character B…

I’d never even heard of Bartfort House in the game.

“So I’m a background character.” I sighed. “I guess it does kinda fit me.”

I didn’t want to accept it, but part of me did anyway. It wasn’t like I held any grand aspirations or wanted to move up in the world or do anything worthy of note. If I was just a background character, then a background character I would be.

More importantly, I would be enrolling in the academy next year. One of the few perks of this world for men (and trust me, there were very few) was that all nobles could join the academy. I was a little apprehensive about the idea of the game’s story becoming real life for me, but I was grateful for the opportunity to study so I could advance in the paths available to me. With so few opportunities to leave your family’s territory, this was a precious chance. If you didn’t leave, you were likely to be forced into an engagement with some thirty- or forty-year-old has-been. No laughing matter.

“When you think about that, enrolling in the academy sounds pretty great.”

I watched my little brother sleep, relieved I’d be escaping soon.

 

***

 

“A…a marriage interview? What in the world?!”

Just after supper, I was in my dad’s office, and the mistress, Zola Fia Bartfort, revealed her intent to marry me off. My dad sat in his usual chair, grimacing.

I gaped at the personal information sheet he’d just given me. It listed the details of my potential marriage partner, complete with a portrait of her.

“Zola prepared the engagement.” My dad looked uneasy as he glanced between the mistress and me. “The woman is an acquaintance of hers, looking for a new husband.”

Zola sipped at her tea, the highest quality our house stocked. “Hmmph. Cheap tea leaves simply don’t suit my taste,” she muttered.

“No.” I would not concede on this. “This is ridiculous!”

The woman in question was horrendous. According to the information sheet, she was the daughter of a baron in name only (she had no house to inherit), she had been married seven times now (a big red flag!), and she was over fifty. All of her children were older than me.

Zola slammed her cup down and pinned me with a glare. “She has always looked after me with utmost care and diligence. Furthermore, she’s a young lady of a noble family of the court, one that has faithfully served the crown for many years. What could you possibly be dissatisfied with?”

What could I possibly be dissatisfied with?! Maybe Zola really was a moron. Anyway, what part of fifty years old meant young lady?

“I haven’t even enrolled in the academy yet,” I argued, “so why is marriage even coming up?”

Nobles generally married right after they graduated. If anyone tried to get married during school—or forewent it altogether—they were seen as juvenile and immature. The only exceptions were political marriages or weddings that, for whatever reason, had to be sped up. Still, most people didn’t move past engagement until after graduation.

“I can accept enrolling a second son in the academy, but there’s no point in doing that for a third!” Zola hissed furiously. “Even if you stay here, you’d end up costing us money.”

I sneered at her.

“I feel bad it’s come to this,” my dad began apologetically, “but she’s right that our house is low on funds. Still, you could always marry after enrollment.” He sneaked a glance at her, but I knew she wouldn’t listen to him no matter what he said.

Zola leaned back in her seat. “I’m sure he wouldn’t get any notable work even if he did happen to graduate. It’s only right for you to marry for the sake of your family. You should be grateful I’ve set you up with a partner. I even worked it out so you’ll have a job in the military. You’d best put in some effort.”

That was when I realized…

She intends for me to die in battle.

A pension was paid out to the families of men who fell in combat. For commoners, that came in the form of a lump sum, but for nobles it went a bit different. They earned honors for defending their country, and their family received a yearly compensation. On her information sheet, Zola’s friend proudly listed all seven of her previous husbands as having died an Honorable Death in the Line of Duty.

This engagement was a setup for me to die in the military so she could earn more glory and keep up a steady flow of cash.

“No way,” I said. “I refuse.”

Zola slapped her hand on the table and stood. “Enough! A lowly brat like you has no right to mouth off to me! If you’re truly a man, work for your family!”

This from a woman who spent most of her days in a manor my dad had set up for her in the royal capital, complete with a hefty allowance. She hailed from one of the noble families that worked in the palace and didn’t want to leave the capital. That’s right. Even though things were tight at home financially, my dad still sent her money, and she had the audacity to act like this. It would damage my dad’s reputation if he were to cut her off, however. He couldn’t divorce her even if he wanted to.

I racked my brain for a way to get out of this.

Come on, remember? I’ve got extra knowledge about this world! I was always beat after a day’s work and so never really tried to use my knowledge of the game to affect my life, but it was clearly time for that to change.

“So as long as I have money,” I began slowly, “you have no complaints?”

Zola snorted. “Oh? That’s an awfully arrogant attitude for a parasite who’s never earned a coin in his life.”

I wanted to shake her. A woman who leeched off Bartfort House while she lived the high life in the capital had no right to call me a parasite.

“We can’t refuse,” Zola went on, “it would offend her. If you think earning enough to cover your academy enrollment fees will cover it, you’re being naive.”

My dad looked unsure. An engagement you couldn’t refuse was out of the ordinary, even for a matriarchal society. Still, he couldn’t be too assertive with Zola. “Leon is still young. There’s no reason to rush—”

“I don’t want to hear any more! No one is going to want him once he’s older than twenty. You should be thanking me for finding him a partner while he’s still young. Instead, you want to whine and quibble over details.” Zola turned to me. “This is exactly why I hate countryside brats like you!”

Come now, the countryside didn’t do anything to you.

I tried to protest, but my dad intervened. “Try to think of this from Leon’s perspective. No one would want their first wife to be over fifty. That’s an almost forty-year age gap.” He breathed a sigh. “If he’s able to get the money, will you agree to drop this engagement?”

Zola sank back down into her seat, crossed her legs, and shot me a mocking look. “Oh? You never told me he was resourceful enough to make that kind of money. If that’s the case, I’d love for you to increase the allowance you send me.”

I won’t say I’m convinced all the women in this world are like her, but man, does she try a person’s patience.

My image of the women in this world, particularly the noblewomen, was absolutely horrible.

My dad scrubbed his face with his hand. He looked down at the ground and seemed to squeeze out the words. “Give us a little bit of time. We’ll get the money.”

I felt guilty he was overextending himself on my account. He was so miserable.

This world truly was despicable.

 

***

 

After Zola left the room, it was just my dad and me. And I exploded.

“She made us send a ship to fetch her for something as stupid as this? How long does she think it took us to make all the preparations for her to stay here?” A regular service airship ran back and forth between our island and the capital, but for her to visit, we had to arrange her meals and accommodations and pay her travel fees. “Dad, why did you marry that…thing?”

He was too timid. Although there was a reason for that.

“Don’t get mad. I had to. The other nobles wouldn’t treat us with the proper respect otherwise, and that’s not something to take lightly.”

From my dad’s point of view, it was incredible that Zola had even agreed to marry into a house on the fringes of the kingdom—on an outlying island, no less. Noble ladies born on the outer edge usually found spouses in the capital they so yearned to live in. A few women weren’t quite so picky, but men tended to quarrel over who got their hand. Thus, just as Zola thought herself gracious for being willing to marry my dad, my dad likewise felt grateful for her generosity.

That just went to show the importance of a marriage partner. If a baron couldn’t snag a high-status wife, he as good as declared his house socially impotent. Other noblemen would look down on him, and some might even start a war with his house. Everyone would treat him as if he were undeserving of his rank. He would be ostracized.

“Dad… Do we really not have the money for the academy?” I asked.

The answer seemed obvious when my dad pulled a face. “It’ll be rough. We have debts to pay, too. Trying to squeeze out any more will put us further in the hole. But why did she bring this up all of a sudden?” Dad seemed as puzzled as me.

“Yeah…why didn’t she didn’t bring it up with Nicks?”

My dad tilted his head, considering. “Well, both you and Nicks have far too much of an age gap with Zola’s friend regardless…but it is still strange. It’s almost like she doesn’t want you to go to the academy at all.”

The whole thing bothered me, so I wrote up a letter to my brother to check with him and see if he knew anything. Basically, There’s all this engagement talk here at home, are things all right there?

His answer was a surprise I could never have anticipated.

 

***

 

A week later, I was in the storage shed, taking out the weapons stashed inside. These were also a part of my family’s assets, so when my dad saw me trying (and struggling) to use them years ago, he’d gotten angry with me. No one could stop me now.

I found an old-style rifle with a magazine that held five rounds. I took the most functional-looking pieces out of the bunch and began disassembling them for maintenance. I also took down a sword that had been hung as a decorative piece to test its durability and gathered various other things necessary for my mission.

Dad watched with unease. “Here now, what are you planning?”

After Nicks’s letter arrived, I resolved myself. Originally, I’d had the rather optimistic idea to use my knowledge of the game to earn some extra coin, but now that I knew the reality of my situation, I couldn’t be so lackadaisical about it.

“Before she sells me to that perverted hag, I’m going to do whatever I can to earn some cash!” I said. “There’s no way I’m getting married. No way in hell!”

Behind Dad, Mom watched with tears in her eyes.

The house Zola wanted to sell me into apparently had a horrible reputation. It was a group of old bats called the Ladies of the Forest who held conferences and talked about how men were slaves, so you could use them however you wanted. And they really did act as if their men were slaves, treating them even more horribly than their demi-human servants. They enjoyed seeing how much they could use a man until they broke him completely.

Scumbags.

On top of that, they only gathered noblemen of high status and sent the ones they couldn’t use to die in battle, or so the rumors went. However, some people wondered if the women weren’t killing the men themselves and playing it off like they died in the line of duty.

And what made this all worse? Zola was involved with them. She wasn’t technically a part of their group, but she profited from selling off third and fourth sons that were just taking up space at home. A sane individual would never associate with that sort of thing. Most women—good women—would be disgusted.

Zola hadn’t offered the same proposal to Nicks because a second son would draw too much attention. The Ladies of the Forest enjoyed gathering up young boys like me who didn’t know any better. Furthermore, as long as we weren’t students of the academy, it was easy to lie to us about the terms of engagement. Zola had tried to force the engagement before I went off to school and got wise to her game.

“Why do perverts like that have to come mess with a simple background character like me?!” I exclaimed. “A calm, peaceful life with no ups or downs would be so much better!”

“Honey…” My mom seemed troubled “…I have no idea what Leon is saying.”

“Yeah, me neither. Say, Leon… What are you planning on doing with all these weapons, anyway?” he asked, concerned. “Don’t tell me you plan to storm the capital? You better put that thought right out of your head.”

Oh man, I would love to march in there and wipe them all off the face of the planet, I thought as I cleaned the weapons, but there’s no way I can do that with my current abilities.

There were armed knights in the royal capital. If I really did charge in there, they would either arrest me, or the buffed-up demi-human servants all the noble ladies kept would beat me to a pulp before I could get close.

“If I’m gonna get rich quick, the best way to do that is to become an adventurer,” I said instead.

My parents exchanged looks.

“Adventurer” was actually among the acceptable occupations in this world. Or rather, an occupation that society had no choice but to recognize. After all, the nobles of this kingdom were descendants of the adventurers who had discovered this new land, accumulated its wealth, and made the region their home. And of course, adventure led to wealth. This was why, even at the academy, nobles became adventurers.

Or at least, that was the game’s rationale. Really, it was an excuse to have the love interests fawn over the female protagonist when they went into dungeons, where she would farm affection points with them. Nonetheless, it was now an angle I could use to save my own skin.

Dad shook his head. “You should give up on that. Dungeons aren’t the sort of challenge you can face by yourself. Plus, it will take some time before you’re skilled enough to earn money.”

Mom agreed. “He’s right, you know. And it’s incredibly difficult to find a new floating island these days. You won’t be able to make that much for the effort.”

The quickest way to make bank for adventuring was to claim an undiscovered island. Some were perfectly suited to human habitation and could be cultivated, and others were full of precious resources that could be harvested. If you found an island, the rights to it were automatically yours. You could even establish your own territory and become independent. Of course, all the islands near the continent had been claimed. There were none left…

Except for the one I knew of.

“Sorry,” I said. “I’ve made my decision, and I’m going.”

If I were the only one at risk, I could just run away and forget the whole mess, but my little brother, Colin, was only nine. I couldn’t stand by and watch him be sold to that gaggle of perverts.

My dad seemed to sense my resolve. “Do you need anything?”

I didn’t hesitate to rattle off a list of everything I wanted. I knew I was demanding the impossible, but this was a life-or-death mission. If doing nothing meant becoming a plaything for a bunch of handsy old murder-hags, then I’d rather take my chances adventuring, even if my chances of survival were low.

“I don’t care if it’s shaped like a rowboat, I need an airship,” I told him. “I’d also like some bullets. The special-made ones.”

Dad raised his eyebrows. “What in the world are you planning to do with all that? Are you really going to charge into a dungeon? You’d be better off taking the regular service airship.”

“The regular service one won’t take me where I want to go.”

I held up the rifle in my hands. It was a bit odd for a weapon like this to exist in a fantasy world of magic and swords, but then again, the airships fired cannons at each other. It followed that guns for people existed, too. When I pulled the trigger, a metallic clank signaled the weapon’s attempt to fire with no ammo.

There were some things even a background character couldn’t concede on. I didn’t want to live the rest of my life as someone’s toy. I was going to fight back. I’d show them how stubborn a mob could be.

“All right.” Dad gave in. “I’ll try to get something ready for you as quickly as I can. But you have to come back. If you don’t promise me that…you get nothing.”

It’s not like I don’t want to come back, but I know I’m putting my life on the line.

“I swear it. I’ll come back,” I lied. I wanted with all the hell in me to protect myself, save my brother, and outwit Zola. And I wanted my revenge on that witch for trying to sell me. I just couldn’t guarantee I’d get it.

I resumed my preparations, letting my anger smolder inside of me.

 

***

 

“I can’t believe I’m really going to have to do this…”

It wasn’t like I’d never considered using my knowledge of the game to mow down enemies before. I was just usually too busy…living. Modest meals with my family, training with my dad, then farm work. Before I knew it, the sun would be setting and I’d have to get back home for my studies.

As a border barony, we were poor. At least, compared to those on the mainland or in the capital. In my estimation, we were further impoverished due to Zola. Without our rank, and without her, we would’ve had more.

If only, if only.

As I walked to the edge of Bartfort House’s floating island, I ran into a creepy flying-fish creature. I raised my bolt-action rifle, pulling the trigger. These were the kinds of monsters in this game’s frivolous story. They were pure, absolute evil, so I didn’t hesitate to dispatch them. I didn’t even need to feel remorse for ending a living creature’s existence—the moment you beat them, their bodies just dissolved. And of course they were hostile and attacked people on sight, so it was better to finish them off.

Plus, defeating them meant you earned invisible experience points.

“Crap! I missed.”

I loaded the next shot, readied my weapon, and aimed. My target was about one meter wide. And each bullet was expensive.

In the game, the best course of action was to draw the monster closer before shooting. Unfortunately, if you got locked in close combat, the worst-case scenario was death, which was one thing with a virtual body and another thing entirely with a real one.

The monster pressed close, cracking its jaws open to take a chunk out of me. I could see lines of sharp, jagged teeth inside, and a ripple of fear ran through me.

But if I ran away from this, my life was basically forfeit.

Up until this point, I’d told myself I would eventually go out and farm experience points. I would eventually become an adventurer, search for an island, go exploring… I would eventually earn money. Yeah, eventually. The idle thoughts of an idle kid.

Now, I didn’t have any more time to procrastinate.

I pulled the trigger, and the bullet ripped through the monster’s mouth, blasting out through the back of its skull. The beast lost momentum just short of where I stood and collapsed.

I watched its body fall over the edge of the island then disappear in a puff of black smoke before it hit the ocean’s surface.

“That should have given me experience, right?” I glanced at my left hand, but I didn’t feel like anything had changed. Maybe reality wasn’t the same as the game. Still, that didn’t mean I could quit. For now, I needed to improve my marksmanship.

Besides working with my rifle, I also had to learn how to maneuver the airship I was going to travel in. I wouldn’t be able to reach my destination otherwise.

My plan was to retrieve what was, in game terms, a cheat item. It would be nice if the in-game items I’d paid real money for were there as well, but regardless, I would be locating the stockpile of treasures intended for the protagonist’s use. I felt bad depriving the main character like this, but my life was on the line. She was going to have to share.

I shifted my rifle in both hands. “It’ll work out. According to my calculations, she and I will be in the same year at the academy. I’ll find some way to pay her back, and then we’ll be even.”

I still felt guilty, but my desire to be free was stronger than my guilt. My chastity was in danger here.

“Is this how young girls who get married off to perverted old dudes feel? Damn! This world is insane.” I scowled, surveying the area for monsters. I had a very limited time frame to work with. “I should have put in some effort sooner.”

 

***

 

One month later, I was off.

Though tiny, the ship was surprisingly solid. A propeller engine was attached to it, which made it easy to steer. I stood on the deck, the sun’s rays so strong I pulled the hood of my robe over my head.

“Dad really pushed himself getting all of this together.”

It wasn’t just the ship—he found me a rifle, sword, and other miscellaneous things as well. I had water, food, and weapons, enough to last a single person a while. No amount of gratitude would repay what my parents had done for me; they had really pushed themselves financially. The ship we already owned, but Dad added the propeller engine—a substantial expense for an impoverished noble house like ours.

The ship also had electricity and gas, which made me wonder again what the hell kind of fantasy world this was.

I sat with my rifle drawn up against me and took in my surroundings through binoculars. I set them down, took my map in hand, and fished out my compass. “Now this is fantasy.”

Two hands split the compass’s face, one for my current direction and another set to a specific destination. It was rather convenient, a compass equipped with a dial you could set to point wherever you wanted to go.

My knowledge of the game had faded over the last ten years, but fortunately, right after I regained the memories of my past life, I recorded the coordinates for the treasure hoard on a piece of paper. Past me really was looking out for present me! And/or past me had fantasies about using cheat items to wreak havoc and got too distracted by his rigorous country lifestyle to pursue any of them, tomato, to-mah-to.

“I really should have put more effort into finding these things sooner.”

It was human nature to recognize what you should be doing and still not do it. You could call me a perfect example of that. I’d mumbled the same refrain numerous times and lamented endlessly, but still never taken any action. I’d just dragged myself through each day until this crisis finally lit a fire under my butt.

But I could justify my inaction with the fact that my life in this world was far harsher than it had been in Japan. Work on the farm was really rough, and I’d spent all my extra hours studying for the academy. I spent every day exhausted. I didn’t even have the extra strength to train on my own, nor did I possess any unique intelligence or skills. Where were my special reincarnation perks, huh? What about super smarts I could use to cheat and manipulate domestic affairs? Nope, nada, and often as not I found world knowledge from my previous life just didn’t apply in the game world.

I watched boulders float in the sky around me as I sailed on.

“The sky is blue, the ocean is blue… Everything is the same boring color. Except the occasional cloud.”

I wondered how close I was to losing my mind. I could just use my gun to end it all here. Maybe a better life waited for me after this one—my previous one hadn’t been nearly this bad.

I entertained that thought for a moment but shook my head vigorously. I had to endure.

“My death isn’t going to solve anything. Those hags will just take Colin as their victim instead.”

I talked to myself a lot more in this life, that was for sure.

I lifted my head. The sun was blindingly bright.

I miss Japan.

I’d thought numerous times about abandoning everything and running away, but this world was more dangerous than my old home. There were monsters and pirates. The risk of death was everywhere. Even if I did escape, how would I find work in the kingdom? “This world is tough for background characters.”

If I ran into an air pirate now, it would be all over. I surveyed my surroundings warily.

Suddenly, the wind picked up, and my map flapped about wildly. I set my compass on it to keep it from flying away, which was when I noticed the needle—the one that was supposed to be pointing to my destination—spinning uncontrollably.

“What’s going on?”

I stood, and the gusts grew stronger. I had to brace myself to keep from falling. I gripped the railing and looked overboard, but the ocean was completely calm. The clouds were floating at their usual languid pace. It didn’t look like a storm was picking up.

A shadow began to block the sun.

“So it’s above me?”

When I glanced up, all I saw was a white cloud. A large cloud. My left hand, which shielded my face, curled into a fist.

Below, then?

When I looked down at the ocean again, part of it was glowing green. I slumped over, pressing my forehead to the railing, and stifled the laughter bubbling up from my throat.

“So that’s it. Of all things I could get, I’m getting this! Is it because I paid real money in my past life? Or did it exist in this world to begin with? Well, not that it matters either way. This is the jackpot. The ultimate jackpot!” I howled, looking up at the sky and throwing my arms open wide.

I had hoped it would be here, but I hadn’t been able to invest too much faith in the idea for fear of disappointment. I just came out this way to check—and sure enough, bingo!

“Hold on, I haven’t gotten my hands on it yet,” I cautioned myself.

I regained my composure and moved the ship closer to the water, heading straight for the glowing marker. Tremors ran through the vessel, creaking under the strain.

“Come on, don’t fail me now.”

I got the ship over the marker, and then I was no longer steering it—that was all the marker. The ship jolted upward, the momentum so fierce I couldn’t even stay on my feet. All I could do was sink to my knees and grit my teeth. My boat hurtled through the air, up into the clouds, until everything around me was a stark white. My body was cold, and my clothes were damp.

I wrapped my robe around my rifle to safeguard it, then tried to navigate my boat through the dense cloud. A stiff breeze tried to deter me from pressing farther, so I steered myself into the headwind. As I plunged higher, still completely blind, violent gusts buffeted my ship.

I pushed the electricity in the engine until it was at capacity, emitting gruesome sounds. Even that was drowned out by the roar of the wind, so loud I couldn’t hear the engine despite standing right beside it.

The compass was completely useless. Both needles spun frantically. I had no idea where I was. All I could do was continue into the headwind. Freezing, my clothes growing heavier as more water seeped in, I fought hopelessly against the headwind, alone.

“Please, I’ve only got this one chance!”

I wasn’t sure if minutes or hours had passed when the abused engine suddenly erupted in flames.

“No! Hold on! Just hold on for me!”

In the next moment, the engine exploded. Flames danced around the edges of the propeller as it spun several more times, then flew off into the clouds.

Naturally, the fire began to spread along the wooden ship. Violent tremors shook my vessel as it hurled itself out of the cloud—and toward a floating island, enveloped in misty white.

I stared wide-eyed at the sight hurtling toward me. I’d seen this place numerous times in the game, but it looked enormous in person. The island was covered with giant trees, their roots jutting up from the ground. Plant life draped from its edges.

“Amazing…”

Then, realizing my grave danger, I panicked and moved to the propeller to steer—but it had been blown off during the explosion, and there was nothing I could do.

“You gotta be kidding me!”

The ground getting closer with every second, I scrambled for my baggage and tried to calculate the best timing—then jumped overboard. I dropped everything in my hands and tumbled to the ground, slamming to a stop when my back hit one of the giant tree roots. My ship rammed into the ground some ways from me, shattering into pieces upon impact and sending the remaining supplies on board scattering.

I forced myself up, aching everywhere, and wiped the sweat of sheer panic from my brow. “Crap, that was close. Guess it was dangerous to head here on a boat after all.”

The trip would have been easier on a larger airship, but that would have required money. And my parents didn’t exactly have the means.

“Ah well, still managed to get here.”

Black spots yet haunted my vision. I put a hand on my aching head and quickly moved to retrieve my most important supplies. Some had caught fire and were a lost cause, but I could make do with what was left. I gathered all of my things in one area, including some charred wood scraps from my boat.

I’d managed to make it to my destination, but I’d lost my ship in the process. Now there really was no escape. As long as I collected the thing sleeping here on the island, I would be fine. If it wasn’t here, then, well, I would never be able to escape this place.

When I finally plopped myself down to rest, quite a bit of time had passed. It was starting to get dark.

Rummaging through my supplies, I selected some food and water. The only rations I could find were dried bread, which I washed down quickly with the water. The bread was made more with sustenance in mind than flavor.

Tomorrow’s gonna be a busy day.

“If I came all this way and there’s nothing here, I’m going to feel like an idiot.” I used the shattered pieces of my boat to start a campfire and warm my chilled body. After that, I checked my rifle and the other supplies for damage.

“Looks like everything is in working order. I’m just glad this was okay.”

In the light of the campfire, I started counting out my ammo and filling the magazine of my rifle. These were some of the special bullets I’d had my dad prepare, each one etched with a small lightning bolt.

It had cost about three to five thousand in-game currency per bullet for the game’s standard ammo. These, on the other hand, were magic bullets, standard stuff you’d see in a fantasy game; a direct hit could light things on fire or freeze them. Subsequently, they easily ran over ten thousand for a single bullet. I felt nothing but gratitude toward my parents, since they’d acquired so many for me.

“If I make it back alive, I’m really going to have to be a more dutiful son. Huh… Come to think of it, I was never very dutiful in my previous life.”

Especially considering I died before my parents. That was about the most unfilial act imaginable.

“Wonder what happened to my little sister? Wish I could have smacked her once.”

I still remembered the day when I woke up in this world—or rather, the day I recalled my previous life. The memory of how my sister made me play her otome game was faint, almost bittersweet now.

It’s thanks to her I have any knowledge of the game to take advantage of. Maybe I should be grateful, I thought. Then again, if she never forced that game on me in the first place, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have died and ended up here.

Or maybe I would have?

After I finished checking the bullets, I set the rifle aside. Then I leaned my back against the tree root, giving my weary body some rest. It felt like forever since I last walked on solid ground. It was calming to lie down.

“Ugh, why did I reincarnate into an otome game…? I wish I could have reincarnated into a normal fantasy world.” I paused. “Well, no, my original world would have been ideal. Yeah, Japan would have been the best, if I had my choice.”

No monsters, no air pirates… Japan seemed like paradise.

I closed my eyes. “Tomorrow…I’m gonna have to…work hard…”

My life was riding on this gamble—and the results were in sight, waiting for me.