"Is the young master still asleep? I hope he continues to stay quiet."
One of the servants spoke in a cold voice.
It was clear who the 'young master' was referring to.
The head of the Arsene Viscounty.
He was the young master these servants were talking about.
However, there was not even an ounce of respect or loyalty to be found in their tone or gaze.
Not a single person dared to criticize such remarks or talk about etiquette towards a noble.
Instead, they simply nodded their heads as if they agreed-
"I heard he's been locked up in his room for days and hasn't come out? They say he's even refusing to eat."
"The parasite who only knew how to eat is having a hard time. Not bad. If he keeps this up...."
The man laughed, revealing his slimy madness and murderous intent.
As the ominous atmosphere spread, the servant who was receiving the story hastily raised a finger to his lips.
"Shhh, be quiet! What if he hears?"
"What does it matter if that bastard hears?"
"That's true, heh."
The servants burst into laughter at the same time as if something was funny.
Soon, their business here seemed to be over, and the footsteps that had been echoing through the hallway gradually faded away.
And that story.
"‥…."
A young boy was eavesdropping with his ear pressed against the door.
* * *
"Tomorrow, I'm supposed to die."
I muttered, chewing on the conversation between the two servants.
It was about how the knights of the 'Six Families' were going to kill Adel, or rather 'me'.
They were even going to travel all the way to this remote part of the empire.
"This situation is getting ridiculous."
The last descendant of the Arsene family, Adel, had offended the six families, and they had finally sent knights.
That was something I, the original author of the novel, had written myself.
It felt like the setting I had created was now strangling me.
A strange excitement began to rise up my spine.
My breathing began to quicken, and my heart pounded faster.
One of Adel's traits, [Interest], was welcoming this absurd situation.
"Whew...."
I let out a sigh as if I was vomiting.
Three days.
That was how long it had been since I, the author, had possessed Adel's body.
During that time, I had begged for a way to return to reality.
I also missed my parents who were in reality.
However, I couldn't find a way to return to the present day, and I also realized that I would never see my parents again.
In the process, I,
Was gradually assimilating into the character of 'Arsene Adel'.
At a frighteningly fast pace-.
"He looks so gloomy."
Chuck.
I fell from the door and stared at the full-length mirror on one side of the room.
An impressive man was standing in the mirror.
Ominous crimson hair and eyebrows and lips that drew a straight line in contrast.
The most noticeable of these was the 'pattern' engraved on the nape of the neck.
"How am I supposed to hide this...."
I sighed, scratching the nape of my neck.
As long as this is revealed, I will surely die miserably even if I survive the upcoming crisis.
Fortunately, I'll be able to hide it if I use the [ Darkness ] attribute.
That's what the original Adel did.
The problem is that I can't handle Adel's attributes at the moment.
Because I was a modern person, not Adel, not long ago.
There was a reason why I was so nervous about hiding this pattern.
'Half-Demon Bloodline.'
This is what the pattern on the neck means.
The Arsene family was originally a half-breed that inherited the blood of the Demon race.
Thanks to the power inherent in that blood, they were one of the seven families that were counted as the best in the Empire, but they fell into ruin after being used as scapegoats.
After all.
The bloodline of the Arsene family....
Adel.
I was the only one left.
That was the background of the character 'Arsene Adel' and the reason why he became a villain.
Adel sought revenge and targeted the children of the Six Families, the protagonist's party.
He eventually failed and asked me, the original author, for help.
"Revenge-"
It must have sounded good to the original owner of this body.
But it was unrealistic.
[ Arsene Adel ]
: Race - [ Half Demon ]
: Tendency - [ Chaos ]
: Talent - [ Position Exchange 'Ⅰ' ]
: Trait - [ Interest ] [ Absorption ] [ Killing Intent ] [ Darkness ] [ Mana Manipulation ]
: Mana - [ 341 ]
I quietly brought up Adel's status window.
Adel's talent was nothing to scoff at.
In the first place, he must have been given enough talent by me to survive in such a cruel environment and become the strongest villain.
However, it was not enough to compare to the children of the six families.
"Who would have thought he could strangle me like this..."
I gave my novel's protagonists a more brilliant talent than anyone else.
I wanted a charming villain, so I didn't even think about letting him defeat the protagonist.
So if he were to face the protagonist's party right now, it would be obvious that the result would be a clear defeat.
"It's time to hide for now."
Originally, the fruit is sweeter the riper it is.
To survive or seek revenge, it was dangerous to be out in the open.
Now I had to curl up like a fetus and absorb nutrients.
And the nutrients I need right now are the methods of utilizing traits and mana.
But right now, I'm in a body that can't handle mana...…
'It's not that I can't feel mana, but that's all.'
I can definitely feel a heterogeneous aura inside my body.
I'm not stupid enough not to know that it's mana.
An aura that is as heavy as a boulder but does not interfere with my body.
Rather, it feels like my body will become more comfortable the more I have it.
"Then what do I do?"
I can't handle it.
It was like a pie in the sky.
That's exactly what it was like.
A situation where I can feel mana but can't handle it.
I have to awaken my traits and mana by tomorrow.
If I don't, I'm sure I'll die at the hands of the Six Families.
I have a headache. A headache.
"Damn it."
As I cursed, I grabbed my crimson hair and tore at it.
Talent is the only thing that can be counted on in my novel.
That's why in the original, he escaped after slaughtering all the knights of the Six Families with his young body.
Ha....
Did I end up like this because I tried to make him look unnecessarily strong?
I would rather have escaped by using some kind of strategy to avoid the gaze of the Six Families.
If I had written it that way, there would have been a way.
That's when I was just rolling my feet around.
Crash.
The paper on the desk emitted a faint light.
I wondered what that was, and then I realized what it was.
The paper that Adel had brought with him before putting me in the novel.
I looked at it to see if it would be of any help after I came here, but I remember throwing it on the desk as it had nothing written on it except the words, 'This is a gift. Ask for it when you need it.'
But.
At this moment?
"I shouldn't expect much."
I said that, but I moved my feet just in case.
Then I saw the paper that had clearly changed.
It had changed quite a bit, but....
This time, nothing was written on it.
Blank paper.
It simply meant plain white paper.
"What is this again."
I grabbed the paper and shook it.
Is this really the end?
After a long time, letters suddenly began to be carved on the paper.
『 Did you receive the gift well? 』
A gift?
This is a gift.
I laughed in vain at the absurdity.
After not showing any reaction for three days, he is now calling himself a gift.
"What is the gift."
The moment I narrowed my brows.
The paper began to write in a regretful tone.
『 Creator, do you not know how to use it?
Please answer with Y/N. 』
Creator?
It was a familiar word.
The only person who would say such a thing is the one who dropped me here.
"You, it's Adel."
When I spoke in a deliberately angry tone, words that I guessed were Adel's were written as if to ignore me.
『 Please write one letter out of Y/N on the paper. 』
Even after I spent a long time cursing and ranting, no more words were written.
Only then did I calm down my anger and write the letter 'Y' on the paper as he had asked.
Let's just see what happens.
『 Since you have accepted, I will tell you how to use 'Information Purchase'. 』
『 If you write your question on this paper, I will answer anything. 』
『 Some questions do not require payment, but others do. 』
『 The payment increases depending on the importance of the question. 』
"Information Purchase...."
That means I can buy the information I want if I pay a certain fee.
So I thought about it and wrote something down with a fountain pen.
- How to return to reality.
I wrote that and smiled with satisfaction. It said that it would answer 'anything', so it wouldn't be able to pass.
However, the letters that were written right away snapped the string of my reason.
『 None. 』
"It's not available."
A phrase that refused to answer.
The will to never answer was conveyed.
Then, I narrowed my eyebrows slightly and wrote down another question.
I didn't expect it anyway.
- The 'detailed' method of operating mana and the method of using it to handle Adel's traits.
This should be enough.
I put down my fountain pen and looked at the fading letters.
Soon after, the letters began to be written again.
『This is a question that does not require a price.』
.
.
『It's difficult to provide information with a simple sentence.』
『I will engrave the 'method of using mana' and the 'method of handling Adel's traits' into your body.』
『Do you accept? Y / N』
Engraving-.
It was certainly a question that was difficult to understand with an explanation.
No matter how much I, a modern person, learned magic spells or swordsmanship in writing, there would be a limit.
Maybe I wouldn't even try.
Swoosh-.
I finished my thoughts and wrote Y.
Then the letters gradually faded away, and something began to fill my head.
I couldn't help but tremble slightly as I knew it was engraving.
.
.
.
A long time passed like that-.
"...This was it."
A smile came to my lips.
Adel's traits and the way to handle mana.
It was the moment when the problem that I had been struggling with for three days was solved at once.