Claud didn't exactly remember at what point he had lost "consciousness" or how he had ended up in this situation.
It could have happened between the third dubious cosplay video and the moment when his external hard drive started heating up like a nuclear power plant.
Yet... that's not the most urgent thing at that moment.
After he clicked, scrolled, clicked again in a vicious and addictive cycle...
Claud laughed... Yes, just a laugh.
However, this laughter turned into a tragedy.
Why?
Total blackout.
Claud probably experienced some sort of crisis similar to a stroke or something like that, and unfortunately he didn't survive.
He suspects it's related to his poor diet and lack of proper physical activity.
In the end, he didn't have a heroic or peaceful death surrounded by family, but just a sudden death in front of the blue light of his screen.
There was no ritual summoning or divine encounter, just him bleeding out on his keyboard.
When Claud reopened his eyes, he was lying on a bed in a Japanese-style room, with a ridiculously well-folded blanket over himself.
The ceiling was unfamiliar and the walls of the room are decorated with strangely familiar family photos.
He tried to remember where he had seen these photos before, but it escapes him like water between his hands.
He could feel them, but couldn't completely retain anything.
"What the fuck is happening to me?"
Claud's current brain was thinking fast... No, the word "fast" would be underestimated.
He felt like he had been using a 90s computer all his life, and suddenly switched to a gaming PC.
It's thanks to this that he was able to summarize the situation so quickly and efficiently.
— Hmm...
When he was about to get up from the bed, a strange moan was emitted next to him.
"Fuck..."
A curse came out naturally as he observed the sight of the woman in her forties next to him, but also terrified by the unknown and complex situation in front of him.
The mystery was thickening more and more.
"I... I have to Grrr" During his reflections, he let out a groan of pain due to the influx of unknown information in his mind.
Finally, Claud... no, Gorou Hyoudou understood the overall situation.
He didn't just die in front of his computer as Claud assumed thanks to his otaku knowledge, but he ended up reincarnating in DxD.
The woman sleeping beside him is Miki Hyoudou, the mother of his only perverted son, Issei Hyoudou.
The information suddenly forced into his mind or awakened didn't erase Claud's personality.
On the contrary, he assimilated that of the tired old salaryman.
'Damn, I'm screwed!!!'
Unlike the former carefree Gorou Hyoudou, Claud quickly understood his delicate situation.
He had transmigrated into the body of a salaryman in his late forties, in the DxD universe.
A place where supernatural entities decide the fate of humanity, which has very often been kept in the dark.
The worst part is that he is an ordinary human without a Sacred Gear.
His situation looks extremely bleak, but he hasn't completely lost hope because of a small detail in his vision.
A small icon, similar to an unread notification.
Without hesitation, he presses it.
[Ding!]
[System installation in progress...]
[Installation successful!]
[Congratulations, you have received a Template system]
[Launching search for a compatible model...]
[You have obtained the Stanford Pines model]
[Your synchronization level with the Stanford Pines model is 1%.]
"Stanford Pines?"
Finally, Claud got the explanation behind his quick and calm analysis of the situation.
It's not just anyone, few can handle discovering their own death and being reincarnated as a family man.
'Stanford Pines... a human scientist, who was too curious and ended up indirectly causing the destruction of an infinity of timelines in his story except one...'
If it's this man, Claud can understand where the rapid processing of information in his head comes from.
However, he couldn't help but massage his temples to relax a bit due to the stress and various complex emotions in his heart.
'Calm down, you have to try to see the positive side.'
His life as Claud wasn't brilliant, he had an ordinary job and weekends with friends or alone in front of his computer.
He wasn't an only child, so he didn't worry too much about his parents.
'Adrien was always better than me anyway, and he had a relationship more in tune with my parents.'
In truth, his only real friend was Damien, who happened to be the best friend of his little brother Adrien.
The two men had similar tastes.
'Yeah, I'll continue as Gorou Hyoudou for now.'
Unlike on Earth, he had a good job and a family.
He knows, thanks to Stanford Pines' intellect, that his emotions are affected by Gorou's remains in him.
However, Claud wants to take responsibility for this.
After all, he literally took the life of this family's head.
'My only real concern is the madmen of The Khaos Brigade.'
Finally, he mentally concluded that his priority was his survival, and secondarily, to prosper in this new life.
As for the human world... it was never completely destroyed anyway, so why get white hair thinking about uncontrollable things?
"Gorou..." After finishing his mental introspection and small planning, Gorou felt arms embrace him from behind.
Miki's tired voice resonated behind him.
"Uh... yes." Unconsciously, Gorou's nervous attitude in front of his wife took over him.
'Idiot, a MILF is hugging you and you get chills?'
"You're not sleeping?"
Turning around, he saw Miki observing him, clearly worried.
(Image)
'Shit, I made a small slip-up.'
According to his memory, Gorou is a deep sleeper, and it's extremely rare to see him up at late hours.
Usually, it's when he's worried about something that's nagging at his mind.
"Sorry Miki... I was just thinking about myself and... us," he said, as he turns around and takes his wife in his arms.
'Sorry Gorou, but I'm not a coward...'
Finally, he fell asleep with the wife of the former owner of the body without scruple...
No, he didn't try to make a little brother for Issei Hyoudou.
The universe is already complicated enough with one, so two?
....
"I really needed that."
Gorou remembers embracing his wife Miki and a comfortable sensation, but after that nothing more.
He slept an extremely deep sleep.
After sporting a happy smile because of this little event from the previous night, he explored the room and his new house.
All to get an idea of the personal space.
"I can't rely entirely on my memories, because Gorou doesn't remember his son's ex-girlfriend."
It is a type of magic widely used by the inhabitants of the Underworld or simply by supernatural entities, but some creatures abuse it.
Gorou Hyoudou and Issei's circle are perfect examples of this.
Hypnosis is not totally a problem, because he probably has a certain mental resistance.
Bill Cipher himself couldn't enter Stanford Pines' mind without his permission, because he had made many modifications to it.
Thus, he assumed he possessed a certain level of resistance, since he has 1% synchronization with his model.
"Still, I'll have to move to increase the security of this place."