I, Who Only Had Effort as a Virtue, Reincarnated as a Talented Yet Lazy Villain

I lacked talent in the way of the sword. To top it all off, My family runs a kendo dojo.

So, I had no choice but to work hard relentlessly.

Thus, the path of kendo was determined for me since birth.

I started learning kendo in elementary school. In middle school, I entered a renowned school for kendo through recommendations.

It was there that I encountered someone. Someone who could be called a genius.

That person was stronger than me even though they didn’t put in as much effort as I did.

I swung the sword for thirteen hours every day.

I swung the sword just as I was told, tirelessly doing it again and again.

But I couldn’t catch up.

In fact, my talent never bloomed.

I was defeated in the first round of the prefectural tournament. While that person was a regular at the national tournaments, getting praised so much by putting not even half of the effort I put in.

No one saw me. Nobody recognized who I was or acknowledged my effort.

I frequently contemplated if I wasted my youth in vain. The majority of my university life was doing kendo.

It was so bad that I couldn’t even find a job. I became a NEET, wasting away, immersing myself in games and light novels.

They were my only salvation, my emotional support.

One day, my heart doesn’t feel so good, so I go to sleep.

And then, feeling like only a minute has passed. I open my eyes, realizing I had been reincarnated as the antagonist in a game—.

********

When I woke up, an unfamiliar ceiling came into view.

It was a lavishly decorated ceiling that seemed like something from the Renaissance period.

Upon sitting up, I felt an odd sensation in my body.

Instinctively, getting up and standing in front of a full-length mirror, there stood a boy of about eight with a puzzled expression.

When I raised my right hand, he raised his left.

I forced a smile, and he followed suit.

…Could it be, I’ve been reincarnated!?

That’s ridiculous.

Sure, I’ve always dreamed of being reincarnated, as it was an escape from the mundane, but…

Experiencing it is quite bewildering.

Wait, this might be a dream.

Thinking that, I pinched my cheek hard.

“Ow!”

It hurt for sure.

But dreams can have pain too.

I don’t fully understand, but if it’s a dream, I’ll wake up eventually.

But if I wake up, I’ll return to that reality.

…Sigh, I really don’t want that.

Recalling my current situation, I felt a wave of sadness.

As I pondered this, someone knocked on the door.

“Lord Benno, are you there?”

It was a man’s voice.

Benno… Benno, huh?

The name of the antagonist in the game I was obsessed with, “Blood Axle.”

I’ve been evading reality too much, to the point of dreaming about becoming a game antagonist.

Why am I, not the hero, I wonder, but well, dreams, like reality, probably don’t always go as planned.

“Yeah, I’m here.”

But if it’s a dream, I should enjoy it.

With that thought, I started role-playing.

“Excuse me.”

The person who entered was a butler dressed in a tailcoat.

He stood up straight and proper.

“Lord Benno, it’s time for your special training.”

Special training, huh?

Just hearing those words made my spine tingle. Because I lacked talent, after all.

I’d worked hard to the point of risking my life, but I never improved.

So, an expression of distaste must have unconsciously shown on my face.

The butler seemed to give up and said, “Of course… You won’t be doing special training today, right, Lord Benno? You have such remarkable talent.”

His words made my eyebrows twitch.

This guy has talent…?

In that case, I want to test it a bit.

After all, it’s possibly a lucid dream.

If it’s a dream, it’s not strange for him to have talent and for me to make use of that talent in a fantasy.

Moreover, even in the game, Benno had talent, but his laziness caused it to go to waste.

Jealousy consumed him, he took the easier path, and as a result, he was exploited by the true boss. That was the setup for this character.

I involuntarily grinned.

Since it’s a rare dream, I should enjoy it.

The talent he let rot and the effort I put to waste—what would happen if they were combined?

I could feel my blood rush at the mere thought.

I hope this dream doesn’t end until I confirm it.

I called out to the butler’s back as he was about to leave the room.

“Hey, let’s go to do special training.”

“…Huh? Now?”

He turned around, his eyebrows up in surprise.

I forced a grin and said,

“We’re going to do special training. Make it as tough as possible, as strict as possible.”