Mushoku Tensei: Life and Strife.

The room was simple. A bed, a small table, and a fireplace with embers slowly crackling. It wasn’t as good as I imagined, but good enough. I laid flat on the bed. The bed… wasn’t as soft as I would want it. Actually no, this is the top standard normal medieval bed… I miss modern society.

I looked at my blade. Surprisingly, despite all the abuse, the rapier remained undamaged. I should thank Eris, and perhaps Philp and Sauros on that matter… A bitter feeling rose, but it was suppressed when a knock came at my door.

The woman entered carrying hot medieval stew and stone-hard medieval bread as well as ale. Premium medieval standard. "Quote-on-quote" medieval. I gazed at her questioningly. And she answered with a wink.

“Part of room service~”

… A hot young woman coming to your room, bringing good food and drinks—no wonder it costs 5 silvers. Tch. I felt like I wasted money on pointless luxury.

“Now, ah~”

The lady fed me the stew-filled spoon. She sat beside me, close enough for us to touch.

“I can feed myself, thank you very much.”

“Are you blushing?”

“…”

Who wouldn’t? Sneakily, I glanced at the girl. A loose white cloth covered her body as her pair of watermelons shook along with her soft laughter. There was a subtle suggestion that there was nothing underneath the cloth. Her collar threatened to slip down, revealing everything from underneath.

I pretended to be eating, but her presence was making me feel awkward. Every time she lightly tussled with her light-brown hair, my eyes inevitably kept returning towards her chest. While I had the knowledge of such matters, I never came this close to engaging in such activity before. And while Paul ogled at Zenith and Lilia all the time, I didn’t have a thick enough face to do the same.

“You have a handsome face.”

My heart stopped when she touched my face. I could feel the heat on my face. It was probably crimson. It was definitely crimson.

“I-I see… Thank you.”

I awkwardly stumbled on my words. I have never been complimented before. Especially not the looks aspect. I used to be average. But being complimented like this… Kind of felt good. But why is she staring at my face so much? Should I stare back?

“Wanna do it?”

I blanked out at her words. Staring at her, I could see her letting her collar fall, revealing her flawless white skin. That was a clear invitation. By this point, if I still hesitate, then I’m not even considered a man.

…

Realistically, I should have figured it out. There were signs. A lot of them. But I was young. Moreover, I was naïve, especially when it comes to relationships. I was fooled by the idea that she liked me for my face, convinced by the idea that she thought I was a rich young master that could afford a young helpless woman, and blinded by my desires.

I should have thought of the worst-case scenario, like I always have. Actually, when was the last time I thought of the worst-case scenario? Not once have I thought of it since I entered this world.

Perhaps somewhere along the lines, I still believe that I’m in some sort of bizarre dream. I threw a tantrum whenever I wanted, enforced my ideas without worrying about consequences, and fooled around expecting that everything would end up okay.

But I wasn’t Rudeus. I wasn’t someone lucky enough to have someone willing to help me through a crisis. In my world I was always alone. Worth is the only value. Be worthless and get discarded. That was my world. And because I had forgotten my origins, I ended up at a thieves’ den.

I stared down at the woman begging for her life. The same woman I had a one-night stand with. Dozens of corpses from countless men drip blood there as a red carpet is formed before me. If Timmy hadn’t bitten me and woken me up, if I were weak, if I were just an ordinary mage, I would have been sold into slavery.

“Please. Spare me.”

The woman begged pathetically. But I knew better. I wasn't naïve enough to be fooled twice. No, perhaps it was because I am naïve enough to do so that I have to be more ruthless than anyone else. That was how I lived as Laurel.

“Show me the ledgers and all the money. Miss a single coin and I’ll cut your head off like the rest of them.”

“Yes! Yes, sir!"

The woman did her best to survive, but from the start I never intended to let her walk out alive. As I obtained what I needed, I immediately took her head off without hesitation. As I stared into the shocked and betrayed expression of the woman, a thought crossed my mind. When the light of dawn illuminated my vision to the horrors I had done all night, I remembered to say the words I forgot to say that day.

“Happy birthday, you murderer."

It was my fault. I killed them. And not just those bandits. Hundreds of thousands of deaths due to the mass teleportation incident—all of them rested on my shoulders. Because I was weak. Mentally and Physically. Because I was a coward… It’s time to wake up.

…

Months passed, and the impact of the metastasis event finally shook the world in more ways than one. Rumors had flown between adventures about the latest news.

“Hey, I think the Reaper is in town.”

“Holy shit! He’s here?!”

“Huh? Guys, what are you on about?”

“The recently appointed S-ranked adventurer called the Purple-Eyed Reaper. They say that madman appeared out of nowhere in the North and killed hundreds of monsters in a few hours before running rampant here.”

“Bah. I can do that much.”

“No, you don’t get it. He had killed Luster Grizzly, Snow Drakes, Snow Buffalo, and many more kinds of magical beasts all in a day.”

“Wait, holy… How’s that even possible?”

"Look, man, I don’t know either, but rumors said that that entire area had been filled with a lake of blood.”

“Someone said they even saw him fighting. That guy was floating around laughing maniacally; with every silver flash, heads started to fly around. If that’s not the Grim Reaper, then I have no idea what it is!”

“Jeez, fellas, that's old news already. Have you heard? The Reaper is officially announced as head of the Vast Expanse Clan.”

“What? But how? I heard Vast Expanse had only existed for two months or so."

“Considering that all four parties of Vast Expanse are A- and B-ranked or so, it’s understandable… Still, in two months? Is that even possible?”

“I know, right? I heard his subordinates even called him the Masked Tyrant. Hell, I heard there was even a rumor saying the Reaper is only 10 years old.”

“Nonsense, I've seen the Reaper before. He was as tall as you, man. There’s no way he’s that young.”

“Yeah, he probably got some privileges from the guild. Tch, this is why I hate nepotism.”

People's reactions varied about the new grim reaper coming to town. Some were curious, others were concerned. In Fittoa’s refugee camp, a man with bright tea-colored hair and narrowed eyes was smiling wider than usual. In Arusu's capital, an elvish boy serving the princess let out a soft smile as the cat on his arms let out a cry.

“See! I told you the master would be fine. Nya~”

In the capital of Milishion, a young girl stared at her father. He had aged, filled with depression and worry as he drowned his sorrows in alcohol. However, the father she was staring at was different today.

After a sudden burst of tears from the letter he received yesterday while talking to a caterpillar, her father had cleaned his unkempt look as his eyes were filled with hope and pride. He was proudly smiling, a smile that had long disappeared from his face for the longest time. And the one who sent the letter was someone she had yearned to meet one day.

Far away, in an unrelated place, stood a man in a biker helmet, with white locks of hair flowing out and wearing a white coat adorned with fur. Staring up at the sky where the crack appeared, his golden sanpaku eyes glinted with delight as he smiled underneath the helmet.

:D

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