How a Two-Life Scoundrel Lives - Chapter 1
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
【Episode 1】
I opened my eyes.
“Ugh…!”
My whole body ached as if it had been shattered to pieces, and a groan escaped involuntarily.
“Young master, are you conscious!”
Young master?
When I turned my head, I saw a white-haired old gentleman looking down at me with eyes full of worry.
“Who ar— Ugh!”
My head hurt so much it felt like it would split, and I couldn’t continue speaking.
It felt as if someone had split my skull open with an axe.
“Young master, you’ve regained consciousness. Thank goodness, truly thank goodness.”
The old gentleman seemed so relieved that tears even welled up in his eyes.
What’s going on?
Who is this old gentleman…
I tried to trace back my memories.
‘I was going to the convenience store… Ah?’
Suddenly, the last moment came flooding back.
Screeeech, crash!
Boom!
A massive truck that came flying over the guardrail.
It was a truck with the Mercedes-Benz logo, that three-pointed star, prominently displayed…
My memory cut off just before the truck hit me.
‘Did I get crushed?’
Actually, I couldn’t be certain whether I got crushed or not.
But the probability that I got crushed was very high, and if so, the probability that I died was also quite high.
Thinking about the size of that truck, surviving was unimaginable.
Let’s be honest, there’s no way anyone could hope to survive being hit by such a truck.
So then, I must have died.
‘But this doesn’t seem like the afterlife…’
I don’t know what basis I had for it, but that’s what I thought.
“Young master, are you alright?”
“My, my head… my head hurts so much…”
“Please don’t get up and just lie down.”
The old gentleman gently pressed down on my head and placed a cool wet towel on my forehead.
“You’ll feel better soon, young master.”
“Ugh!”
“You mustn’t get up yet, young master. Your bones haven’t fully healed yet, so if something goes wrong, you might never walk again.”
Who is he?
There’s no reason a doctor would call me young master.
I carefully examined the old gentleman’s face.
Huh, who was he again?
It’s a face I’ve seen somewhere, but I can’t quite remember.
“You, go quickly and inform His Grace the Grand Duke that the young master has awakened.”
“Yes, Lord Maranello.”
The maid who had brought the basin of cold water and wet towel hurriedly left.
Wait, Maranello?
That was a name I knew.
Maranello was the name of a character from the game [Overlord] that I used to play.
The game Overlord was set in another world where you chose one of 13 lords to develop your character, manage your territory, and compete for dominance over the kingdom.
Maranello was a close aide to one of Overlord’s main characters, [Frey van Sigmund].
‘It’s identical.’
The old gentleman called Lord Maranello matched 100% with the Maranello in my memory.
‘Does this make sense? Am I going crazy? Or is this a dream? Why is a game character in front of me?’
The current situation was so incomprehensible and illogical that I was confused for quite a while.
“His Grace the Grand Duke is here.”
Tall stature, broad shoulders.
A middle-aged man with such handsome features that calling him a distinguished gentleman wouldn’t be insufficient appeared and spoke to me casually.
“I heard you woke up.”
Just like Maranello, he too was a character from my memory.
‘Guntram van Sigmund.’
The 12th head of House Sigmund and Grand Duke of Nurburg Kingdom.
He was also the father of Frey, the main character.
“Kuk!”
A bitter laugh escaped me at the absurdity.
First Maranello, and now Guntram?
Why, all that’s left is for Frey’s sister Selena to appear… speak of the devil.
The main character Frey and his sister, Selena, the eldest daughter of House Sigmund, revealed themselves.
“You find this amusing?”
A cold and stern voice flowed from Guntram’s mouth.
“Ah, that’s not it…”
“Would it have been better if you hadn’t woken up?”
“Excuse me?”
Th-that’s quite harsh.
“It would have been better if you had never woken up at all.”
Guntram left those almost abusive words and left the room as if there was nothing more to see.
“Take care of… your health.”
“Still, it’s good that you woke up. Rest well.”
The eldest daughter Selena and the protagonist Frey also left only perfunctory words before departing.
…What kind of situation is this?
Game characters are appearing before my eyes, and on top of being in pain, I’m receiving cold treatment.
“Young Master Carlisle.”
Maranello spoke to me with a pitying tone.
“Please don’t mind them too much. They’re all just disappointed. Deep down, everyone is worried about you, young master.”
“Carlisle? I’m Carlisle?”
An unexpected name came from Maranello’s mouth.
If it’s [Carlisle]…
“Mirror, please bring me a mirror.”
“Here it is.”
“Uh. Hmm.”
The face in the mirror was completely unfamiliar.
Brilliant silver hair and purple eyes, slightly reddish lips and a straight nose.
He was such a handsome young man that it wouldn’t be strange for someone to exclaim how good-looking he was.
Carlisle van Sigmund.
The older brother of Frey, one of the main characters, and the second son of House Sigmund.
The problem was that Carlisle was a notorious scoundrel, considered a disgrace to his family.
Also, Carlisle was a character who didn’t appear in the game and only revealed his existence through a few lines of dialogue.
Because…
‘Carlisle should be dead, though?’
Carlisle was a deceased person who had died 10 years before the scenario of Frey, the main character, began.
What was the cause of death again?
I tried to recall how Carlisle had died.
‘He caused a big incident and fled in the night, then fell from his horse. He rolled down a cliff. He received treatment for a month before eventually dying.’
If my memory was correct, it meant I had awakened as Carlisle lying on a sickbed.
“…This is quite the novel.”
A bitter laugh escaped me without realizing it.
Getting hit by a truck and dying, only to become a character in a game?
Moreover, not even Frey, one of the protagonists, but a character who was already dead.
“Young master, are you alright?”
“No, I’m not alright.”
I answered Maranello’s question truthfully, then closed my eyes with a ‘whatever happens, happens’ attitude.
Ding!
[Carlisle van Sigmund]
[Carlisle van Sigmund]
Race: Human
Age: 23
Status: Noble
Occupation: Unemployed (Scoundrel)
Traits: (Reset)
Title: Northern Scoundrel
[Carlisle van Sigmund]
Race: Human
Age: 23
Status: Noble
Occupation: Unemployed (Scoundrel)
Traits: (Reset)
Title: Northern Scoundrel
[Carlisle van Sigmund]
Race: Human
Age: 23
Status: Noble
Occupation: Unemployed (Scoundrel)
Traits: (Reset)
Title: Northern Scoundrel
[Carlisle van Sigmund]
Race: Human
Age: 23
Status: Noble
Occupation: Unemployed (Scoundrel)
Traits: (Reset)
Title: Northern Scoundrel
[Carlisle van Sigmund]
Race: Human
Age: 23
Status: Noble
Occupation: Unemployed (Scoundrel)
Traits: (Reset)
Title: Northern Scoundrel
Well now, even a status window?
Appearance +999 / Charm 222
Infamy 311 / Fame –99 / Trust –99
Affinity 1
(…omitted)
Appearance +999 / Charm 222
Infamy 311 / Fame –99 / Trust –99
Affinity 1
(…omitted)
Appearance +999 / Charm 222
Infamy 311 / Fame –99 / Trust –99
Affinity 1
(…omitted)
Appearance +999 / Charm 222
Infamy 311 / Fame –99 / Trust –99
Affinity 1
(…omitted)
Appearance +999 / Charm 222
Infamy 311 / Fame –99 / Trust –99
Affinity 1
(…omitted)
‘…Get lost.’
Swoosh, the status window disappeared.
Status window or whatever, I didn’t want to see it right now.
I needed time alone.
Time to accept this ridiculous situation.
* * *
A month had passed.
By now, Carlisle had recovered enough to walk around.
Chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp!
Carlisle was walking through the garden where birds were chirping for a stroll, lost in thought.
“It’s young master Carlisle. Look out.”
“L-let’s turn around and go.”
The maids who happened to encounter Carlisle quietly slipped away as if they had met the plague.
Carlisle paid no attention to the maids’ reaction.
Being treated like a scoundrel wasn’t something that started yesterday.
Even his own family didn’t treat him like a human being.
‘Well, what can you do. Since it’s come to this, I’ll just live.’
Before he knew it, Carlisle had acknowledged and accepted that he had become a character in a game.
Deep down, he thought it might be for the better.
‘My life was ruined anyway. Maybe this is better.’
Carlisle had no particular attachment to his previous life.
Why?
Because it was a life where he had failed at everything – family, money, love, and friendship.
The reason I had started playing Game Overlord was because I was utterly exhausted with life, and I encountered it while living as a recluse after giving up on everything.
So this kind of life didn’t feel too bad at all.
‘Rich family, handsome face. Isn’t this the kind of life worth living?’
Besides, I quite liked being a scoundrel.
Perhaps because I was socially disadvantaged in my previous life, living as a scoundrel from a noble family felt incredibly comfortable.
The fact that no one particularly criticized me even when I acted however I wanted.
The fact that I didn’t need to worry about anyone’s opinion—I liked that one thing.
What was even better was that no one expected anything from me.
So Carlisle didn’t need to struggle to meet the expectations of those around him or society.
When even his father Guntram had long given up on Carlisle, who would have expectations?
‘Everyone probably thinks it’s fortunate as long as I don’t cause trouble. That’s fine by me.’
Carlisle thought that alone made for a life with sufficient merit.
So the conclusion he reached was…
‘Whatever.’
Not “might as well live since I was born.”
But “might as well live since I possessed this body.”
Since things turned out this way, I decided to live as a scoundrel in the game.
As Carlisle van Sigmund, the second son of House Sigmund.
* * *
Carlisle spent his days idly, letting time pass by.
It was a monotonous daily life, but it wasn’t boring in the slightest.
Getting a full 12 hours of sleep each day, enjoying gourmet meals three times a day, taking walks while breathing fresh air, and occasionally reading books to pass time—it was nothing but peaceful and comfortable.
Moreover, with servants and maids attending to his every move, living itself was incredibly easy.
‘Right, this is how life should be. Is there really a need to live life intensely?’
He was satisfied with his current life and was personally practicing the lifestyle of a leisurely gentleman.
While Carlisle was enjoying refreshments on the terrace, butler Maranello approached and cautiously spoke up.
“Um, young master.”
“Hm?”
“His Grace the Grand Duke… plans to hold a trial regarding you, young master.”
“What trial?”
Carlisle frowned as if asking what nonsense that was.
“What would I need to be tried for? I haven’t particularly done anything wrong.”
“Young master.”
Maranello spoke in a somewhat stern voice.
“Have you forgotten?”
“Forgotten what?”
“You killed a territorial citizen while drunk, young master.”
Carlisle doubted his own ears.
“I… killed someone? Me?”
“Yes, young master.”
“Ha.”
A bitter laugh escaped from Carlisle’s lips.
“This is really something else.”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————