Prologue

"Pfff … haaaa haaaaa haha HA HA HA HA…."

A young man was sitting on a broken ship that was sinking between the waves while laughing.

"Indeed, a great ending to such a masterpiece. It's just a shame that I won't be able to read the sequel since the author fucking died "

"Lucky me …. It looks like soon enough; I will have the honor to see him in person … Great …."

The book that he was holding had been drenched by seawater, and the words written on the pages had long been washed away.

Finally, a colossal wave crushed against the hull of the sailboat. The ship completely broke into a million pieces and sank under the waves bringing down the crazy man that was laughing hysterically just a moment ago.

.....

A dreadful and putrid smell assaulted my sense of smell. As I woke groggily, I noticed that I could hardly breathe.

I lifted my face from the sludge on the ground and spit blood mixed with foul substances.

My head immediately started to hurt as I tried to recollect what had happened and where I was.

I remembered my last moments.

I loved reading light novels, especially while going out with my sailboat when an unannounced storm showed up. A strong current of wind hit my sail while I was unprepared and almost snapped my mast. I fought for hours, trying to escape my predicament, but I couldn't. While battling the storm, my boat got more and more damaged until I realized that I couldn't even steer the ship anymore. Ultimately, I left everything to fate and started reading my favorite novel.

As I tried to get up, I realized that I didn't end up on a beach or at the bottom of the ocean. I was lying in a sewage drain at the side of what could be barely considered a road.

I managed to stand up from where I was sleeping just a moment ago and looked around.

The whole place was dilapidated; two rows of tiny crumbling houses surrounded the muddy road. A couple of people were walking around and what surprised me was that they weren't wearing modern clothes but old and brownish garments that resembled what you would see on a pirate in a movie.

I immediately looked down at myself and realized that my original clothes were replaced by a filthy black Victorian coat that reached my ankles.

While looking down, confused at my attire, another set of memories invaded my mind. I was finally able to understand my current situation.

My name now was Adrien Holmes, the son of one of the most influential aristocrats of the Woflen Empire. I would consider myself very lucky if I could live the life of an important noble, but from my current condition, most people would have realized that my situation was terrible, to say at least.

I was abandoned by my family a couple of days ago, and I ended up being robbed and left beaten in a ditch. But if it were just that, I wouldn't be despairing as I was now because, from my original set of memories, I recognized that the body I was currently occupying was one of the main villains of the novel that I was reading before dying in the storm.

While I was putting myself together, the sound of boots stepping on mud reached my ears.

"Hey, BRAT! Are you still alive?"

I looked towards the man that was approaching me, and I remembered his name, Otto Olbrich.

"Dammit, Otto, I can barely stand … damn."

"HA HA, as long as you can talk back, it's fine."

Otto reached me, and I saw a well-dressed man in his 60s eying me with a smug smile.

He picked me up like a sack of potatoes and started walking.

"Hey, HEY! put me down! What are you doing!?"

I started making a fuss as my memories were still jumbled up

"He he, I am bringing you to the house to patch you up and make sure that you don't kick the bucket in a few hours since you still owe me money."

As he was walking, I started losing consciousness again, and I mumbled some incomprehensible curses under my breath.

...….

The sound of boiling water reached my ears as I started to open my eyes

I lifted myself from the bed and sat up

I looked around and realized what happened yesterday wasn't a dream.

My body had been bandaged, and my clothes, including my black coat, had been cleaned and put on a chair next to me.

I started thinking of what I was going to do. I recollected that I had reincarnated in a novel as a villain. My current identity was an important one.

As one of the novel's main characters, I swore revenge on the family that had abandoned me and the one that had caused my banishment, one of the main heroines Lydia Richardson. She was the eldest princess of the Woflen Empire and a genius with the ability to wield powerful magic.

To be honest with myself, the previous owner of my body was a scumbag that tried multiple times to get together with Lydia despite her numerous rejections.

Ultimately, he tried to drug the princess, but he was discovered.

So, anyone would say I was lucky as I had gotten away with my life despite harassing the second most important person in the empire set to become an Archmage.

Well, maybe not since my predecessor got replaced by me after being left in the ditch.

So, if I followed the plot of the novel that I was currently in, I would meet the main protagonist at Silverleaf College on Osegard Island. Where I would antagonize him for no good reason other than envy for his abilities and my arrogance.

Like any villain that opposes "the illegitimate son of the goddess of luck," after a couple of conflicts with him and his harem, I would end up dead in the belly of a sea monster …

What a great future! So fantastic that if I had a knife, I would have already slit my own throat, but oh well…

After a couple of depressing thoughts, I realized that maybe I could change my ending and, thanks to my knowledge of the future, end up rich and with a happy family.

Suddenly the door opened with a BANG.

"Well, well, it seems that you haven't kicked the bucket, young master."

Otto was looking down at me from the entrance of the room. His shuttered dark blue eyes were peering through his long dirty blond hair at my bandaged wounds.

"I haven't died yet. It seems that Ulnark the moon goddess took pity on me last night."

"Ku Ku, so it seems."

His gaze was making me uncomfortable, so I said

"You got anything to feed this poor starving orphan or not."

"Wash your hand and come to the dining room."

As he said that, he went away, leaving the door open.

I got up, wore my clothes, and walked to a corner of the room where I could find a bucket of clear water.

Before cleaning my hands, I looked at my reflection in the water. Ruby red eyes were gazing back at me and long black hair styled in a bun defined my face.

I indeed look good, maybe a bit too much. My pale skin and malnourished face gave me an appearance that could be better described as beautiful.

...…

"Does it taste good, my dear starving orphan"

"Mm mm, it does. It's delicious; what is this called?"

"The locals call it hot pot."

I was voraciously stuffing my mouth with hot meat and vegetables that I threw in the giant boiling pot at the center of the table a few seconds ago.

"So, what is your glorious plan for the future young master?"

Otto was looking at me with a mocking gaze.

"You know what we are .. slurp! .. going to do. We are going to steal a boat …since you have barely any money and I got robbed."

Otto was my dead mother's butler. When I was banished, he decided to follow me because I promised him that I would pay him a lot of money, but as anyone would imagine, he also had other motives. He had followed me because he owed my mother his life, but since she was dead, he decided to fulfill his promise by being my attendant.

" HA HA HA… You ..ah.. You want to steal a fucking boat! With how many men 2 !?!"

While he was having the best laugh of his life, I was looking at a levitating blue book that I had ignored since I woke up.

It opened and showed rows of words.

[User: Adrien Holmes]

[Race: Human]

[Occupation Captain LVL 1]

[Skills: none]

[Current mission: Steal a medium-sized ship]

[Reward: ???]

[Objective: defy fate and live a happy life]

Well, it seems that the book I was holding in my hand before dying transmigrated with me and changed quite a bit.

The most curious point was the objective. The current one coincided with what I had desired to do with my new life when I woke up.

As I was thinking, Otto finished laughing.

"Hey, young master, I see that you are still hell-bent on reaching Osegard. "

"Yes, I am, but not for the same reason I thought before."

"You shitty brat, you are as stubborn as your mother."

"Old man, be careful how you refer to me. I pay your salary."

"Ptui! As if you don't already owe me money."

I ignored his statement and said

"Otto Olbrich, I am not going to Osegard to seek revenge but for something bigger. I deeply thought about my past these days, and I have decided that living to get back to a few punks that took advantage of me while I was at my lowest and that princess isn't worth it."

"Uh? Really?"

Otto shot me a doubtful look and stood up from the table. The hot pot had become cold, and our bellies were full.

"Go back to your room and get your coat. We still need to go to the market where we will spend MY! last few coins to buy food supplies and then to the red-light district and thank Monique since she patched you up."

"Okay "

As I was walking to my room, I thought I had already heard or encountered her name somewhere, but I couldn't remember where.

"Hey, Otto, do you know Monique's surname?"

"AH? Have you fallen in love with the woman that saved your life? She is beautiful, but you haven't even met her."

I immediately gave up asking more about her and quickly got my coat since I couldn't stand the dirty gaze Otto was giving me.

I followed my supposed servant outside; what greeted me outside wasn't the shining sun but a gloomy sky. The road looked as muddy as yesterday, and the houses around us barely stood.

"I hope that those inside look as nice as ours."

"You think so, young Master. Well, I didn't get the chance to say this yesterday but welcome to Lower Shremel or, as the locals call it, the slums!

"Great…"