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Chapter 0. All Beginnings Are Hard
Suggestion: Do the best you can. (0/1)
* Route 1 - 〈 Chapter 1. If you lend a helping hand, God will lend a helping hand (1) 〉
* Route 2 - 〈Death〉
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'This… This really… .'
Quest?
But the shock didn't last.
Opening my eyes to this world was so unbelievable that whatever happened seemed much better than getting into somebody else's body.
Instead, the sight of this bizarre window provided us with the privilege of mastering our fears.
'There are two routes.'
Proceed to the 'next chapter' or. perish.
It turns out that I have two options.
Shun the poison, or consume it. One of these two options is associated with my demise.
One decision might spell the difference between life and death. I was so afraid that I couldn't catch my breath and my fingertips were beginning to numb.
'…no.'
Let's relax.
I loosened my clenched knuckles and gazed at the bottle he was clutching.
The venom glimmered within the bottle, tracing a blue stream behind it. It seemed like a person who consumed it would be transported to the other world.
I gazed at the dark blue fluid and gave a brief speech.
"…I consumed it yesterday."
"Well, naturally I believe you to always speak the truth. But things will go wrong whatever happens as it goes through a few steps. For instance, the person who brought tea to you didn't add drugs in it…. "
"...."
It doesn't matter if it's all true. I just want to make sure that you have a clear picture of the symptoms. If you screw up in front of your friends… you'll be very sad too. Right, Lucus?"
There is no devil like this one.
He's always been like this. In the novel, and in Lucus's memories, he always plays the good brother.
Nobody will suspect what kind of inferiority and superiority complex lies behind those smiling words.
I breathed out and lowered my head.
Regardless of the decision I made, I had to prepare myself mentally because my life depended on it.
'I told him it was undoubtedly the best decision.'
I caught my breath.
Then he took the bottle from the son of a bitch's hand and downed the poison into his mouth.
All the areas where the venom had traversed, from the tip of my tongue to my belly, were burning. The chilliness of the stone floor penetrated into my left cheek, and the venom I swallowed was coming out of my mouth. The sound I thought I had made was muted and distorted in my ears.
It was a strange sensation.
"Hmm, I did indeed drink yesterday."
My brother's voice laced with laughter poured into a corner of my mind.
It would be humorous. It would be humorous to watch a younger brother having to obey quietly even though he knows it's unfair. I get it. So.
'Laugh a lot now.'
DING~
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congratulations!
'Suggestion: Make the best choice.' Success!
'Chapter 0. All Beginnings Are Difficult' Done!
'Route 1 - 〈 Chapter 1. If you help yourself, God will help you (1) 〉' is substantiated.
________________
'…Yeah. Should be like that.'
There, the previous guy said, 'I can go to school.'
In the book, Lucus dies after schooling, so still not yet the time.
Of course, it was somewhat of a risk because there was no assurance that the content of the novel would be transferred to me as is….
'It was a success.'
My body, unlike my floating consciousness, felt like it weighed a ton. Even while my mind drifted away from my body, the corners of my mouth curved faintly upward.
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'Route 1 — 〈 Chapter 1 〉' starts.
「 Chapter 1. If you help yourself, God will help you (1) 〃
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The hurt did not matter. It did not hurt my pride.
Anyway, I will be the one who lives and laughs until the last. In this world, I cannot die so unfairly, especially to someone like my brother.
So, rather than the protagonist, I have no choice but to take care of my brother's last moments.
* * */
And as time went on, bright pure white sunlight streamed through the curtains on the window.
No pain in the esophagus and stomach wall that had been seared by the poison. The healing magic must have succeeded, for my body felt light.
'hmm.'
I raised my hand slowly.
The white hands with bulging joints moved freely at my command.
Lived.
And it is still another person's body.
'Just now… what was that?'
Is this actually a quest window?
The moment I thought that, something materialized before my eyes.
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[ Chapter 1.Proposal: Life is your own! Find what you have to do. (0/3) (71 hours 52 minutes 09 seconds)
* Route 1 - Chapter 2.
* Route 2 - Chapter 2 ]
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It was surely chapter 0 before.
The numbers increased. I don't know how it happened, but it was odd.
'If something like this appears, does that mean there's a status window?'
It's not even a game, no way.
But why are you providing a quest named 'Proposal' when it's not even a game?
Pure white letters materialized in the air at that moment.
_______________________________
Lucus Rein Astian
Title: Empire's Biggest Idiot
Stamina: -5
Mental Strength: -10
Horsepower:?
Skills: 0
Impression: -10
Luck: -10
Trait: Dawn777
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".oh."
It got out. But.
'What? All XX are minus?'
no.
The technology is 0. But that was no consolation whatsoever.
'What's that title?'
I looked out the window, laughing.
Lucus's Rein Astian.
Yeah, originally Lucus's.
Lucus is just a nickname my brother uses to call me, not my name.
In the book, all the people except for the protagonist and his brother referred to him as Lucus's.
Impression most likely says my image. Traits are….
'It's a trait.'
Can you press this?
I traced the names of hangover remedies with my finger for an experiment.
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dawn777
―777 days, 1 hour, 6 minutes, 37 seconds until the last ending 'Chapter X. Death'
- Probability of change: 0.2%.
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"...."
I blew out the window and turned my head.
I have no idea what I saw, but it certainly wasn't something I wanted to face.
But… no matter how much I don't want to look, I can't look away.
".shit."
I clenched my teeth and read the status window once more. When I searched for and clicked on Dawn777, the same window came up.
'777 days until death.'
It's been a little over two years and a month.
'And, the chance of change is 0.2%.'
If it's 0, it's 0, but the fact that it's sort of 0.2% is likely because I managed to make a 'proposal' in Chapter 0.
If we keep making successful proposals, we can make that probability larger.
'Not bad.'
Even without this hint, it was to be expected that my survival would be left up to my decisions. It was lucky that I could at least perceive it.
Let's keep on making the best decisions and getting the best outcomes.
dripping-
"Little Master."
Before I could make up my mind to take a look around the room, a servant gingerly opened the door and entered.
"You're up now. It's nearly a day since you fainted. The hurt section was cured by the master using magic yesterday."
Anyway, I could appreciate the good manners of 'hyung'. As I suppressed my laughter, the servant once again opened his mouth.
Your eyes were severely hurt from suddenly exposing them to so much light. Be careful not to stare directly at the light until today, and your stomach is still not fully recovered, so do not eat too much. I have sent all your bags to the dormitory, so you can rest well until tomorrow morning and then proceed.
The servant spoke rapidly and then retreated carefully with a strained expression on his face.
"Alright, if you rest for a minute, I'll get you some food."
"hey."
The eyes of the servant opened wide upon my speech.
He was left speechless and only after a while could he put up a small question.
"…yes?"
Of course, it wasn't only the servants who were surprised.
'Hey'? Thanks to that, I could certainly tell that this was not the world I grew up in.
Naturally, the guy was not surprised that I addressed him crudely. He was merely surprised that I talked to him.
'That makes sense.'
Due to his brother, Lucus turned very introverted. He hardly spoke to the servants he came across daily.
The servant turned his head to look around, and then repeated the question with a look of still incredulity on his face.
"…Are you referring to me?"
"If not you, then who else is present here?"
I clenched my lips tightly as the obnoxious remarks kept flowing in.
Is this the vibe here?
Retroactively, I recall that because he was part of the Lucusdo family, he did not necessarily address his servants in a respectful way.
Naturally, my own speech was quite shy and insecure. But my speech in the present was closer to my brother's. Because it was me, rather than Lucus, speaking, it seemed to portray my own personality.
'In any case, it worked out.'
It would be hard for my current poor personality to bring my brother down to my level and for me to be higher than where my brother is.
Of course, if I went on speaking in this manner, everyone would pick up on the change. There was nothing to be done with what I had already uttered, but I needed to begin being more like the original Lucus.
Without the servant realizing it, I slowly loosened my neck.
Meanwhile, the servant suddenly regained his senses and adjusted his posture.
"I'm sorry. Please talk."
"…Ahem, where is my brother now?"
"The day after you came here, you directly went to the palace."
"The palace?"
"yes."
It's the palace.
Of course, where your brother is located physically will decide the difficulty of success.
My brother is a magician from the royal family, and in the book, he gets sent abroad often for diplomatic missions.
In view of the fact that it was two years before I died, my seven-year-younger brother, who is Lucus's brother, should be in his mid-twenties, and thus would be at this age to go abroad.
"Do you know when you will return to the territory?"
"Probably… It will take at least another year to complete the work you have been given this time. I do not know if you will remain in the territory after you return to the empire."
Went abroad.
That was at least some good news.
The next year could be a little more expansive.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty. Do you have anything else to say?"
"No, I guess I can go now…."
for a moment.
I glanced at the servant with a hopeful expression in my eyes and opened the status window.
______________________
Anton Clausen
Favorability -5
Title: —
Stamina: +2
Mental Strength: +2
Horsepower: +0.5
Skills: 0
Impression: +3
Luck: +1
characteristic: -
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"…Cough…!"
"Oh, my lord?"
I glanced at the items under the name and coughed in relief.
If it's favorability. it's probably a score on my image.
Is it really necessary to view my bare image in such harsh numbers?
'… This fellow is my servant, so it's not -10 but -5….'
I accepted the handkerchief offered by the servant and coughed.
Well, whatever the mark, now is the moment to concentrate on being able to observe other people's data.
'It may come in handy.'
As I was silently gazing at the status window, the servant carefully observed my complexion and asked me.
"master?"
"Alright. I'll leave now."
Yes, wait a minute and I will get you some food."
The servant departed from the room and soon returned with the meal.
As a patient, my food was aperitifs that were essentially just water and puddings that were made of ground grains.
I ate my meal in a hurry and glanced around the room.
'I told you to do something.'
Even if you don't tell me anything, I intend to do it.
I opened the suggestion window once more.
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〈 Chapter 1. Proposal: Your life is yours! Discover what you must do. (0/3) (70 hours 53 minutes 01 seconds)
* Route 1 - 〈 Chapter 2. If you help yourself, God will help you (2) 〉
* Route 2 - 〈 Chapter 2. Even a blindfolded chicken can sometimes find grain 〉
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Route 2 is so mysteriously intriguing.
Even if this doesn't work out, it means things will go on… but no need to take the bad route.
Let's do them separately.
I took the notebook lying on the table.
Time to plan how I would move forward from now and what the novel was about.
Though I do have a good memory, I couldn't trust my head by itself. I grabbed the pen and started writing.
'First, the general plot.'
Summarized in one sentence, it is about a scoundrel who was born as a collateral descendant of the present emperor and has numerous incidents happening in his life for 10 years before becoming the emperor.
In the process of rising to the throne, the protagonist kills Lucus's elder brother, who was basically the second-in-command of the former emperor.
In doing so, Lucus's death is uncovered, and his brother's real identity comes out before everyone.
Lucus's case is only one among a series of cases the protagonist handled.
I found another meal and wrote down the information that came to mind like crazy, then took a breath.
I've also roughly organized the character relationships.
'Now it's time for me to decide how I should move.'
It wasn't a difficult problem.
Until I've honed my abilities and received a lot of backing behind the scenes, I just have to refrain from doing anything that would make my brother want to kill me, such as using magic in the open.
So, there is a more pressing matter than this.
Even if I am not able to move freely, I need at least one friend who can serve as my hands and feet.
'I recall the protagonist attending the same school as Lucus.'
This will be a good networking event.
He can be a troublesome student today, but he'll be the emperor in 10 years' time.
In that case… do I befriend the novel's protagonist?
'no.'
Perhaps later, but now we have to be picky and single-minded.
I lost sight of the protagonist's name.
And, I marked the other name beside it.
DING~!
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Round of applause for your wisdom!
'Proposal: Life is your own! Find what you have to do' 1/3 done!
In later phases, your survival chances rise by 3% when you accomplish that.
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'hmm.'
It seems you made the right decision.
I will not be the emperor, but I will get the kingmaker who crowned the protagonist as the emperor on my side