LIGHTNOVELWORLD Episode 1: A Cruel Reality
Chapter 1: A Cruel Reality
Have you heard of the genre called “Isekai Tensei” (Reincarnation in Another World)? It’s about dying in your previous life due to various obscure reasons and being reborn in another world while retaining memories of your past life.
On internet novels and such, many stories feature protagonists who possess cheat-like abilities bestowed by gods or have trained fantasy powers like magical abilities since infancy, enabling them to be unrivalled. Additionally, they dominate in various fields like — strategy, tactics, and governance using their knowledge from their previous life!
Such dream-like content was prevalent. However, what about reality?
“…I’m hungry.”
Reality can be harsh.
I, Rios, a reincarnated individual who has spent eleven years of my life as a resident of another world, live in a slum.
As for why I died in my previous life, I don’t quite remember.
I recall riding my bicycle at full speed on the way back from my high school club activities, probably to play a game. But beyond that, my memories are fuzzy, so I suppose I died there.
When I woke up, everything was blurry, and I couldn’t see clearly. However, there was a gigantic face right in front of me.
Unable to speak, I cried out instead, and I was surprised to realize that I had experienced what is commonly known as reincarnation in internet novels. That shocked me once again, as I never believed that something like reincarnation could be real.
While accepting reality, I managed to overcome the hellish baby phase, and by the time I reached the age of two, I began to understand my circumstances.
However, at that point, I didn’t know much.
My family consisted only of my mother and me. My father was absent from the moment I was born, making it a single-parent household.
The town where I currently live is called Bazfeld, a city that had developed to a level similar to medieval Europe.
The economic situation was poor, but even in the slums, it’s a relatively safe place to live.
Since I never went out at night, I could reasonably assume that my mother’s profession was not that of a prostitute… That was about the only thing I knew.
By the way, the cheat-like abilities which, I secretly hoped for as a baby didn’t exist. My second life had been confirmed as being on Hard Mode. Well, I decided to accept that reality and live with it.
I realized that I had been reincarnated into a different world, not a past version of Europe, when my mother took me to the marketplace.
There, I caught glimpses of people with hair and eye colors that were impossible in my previous life, and there were even a few beastmen, colloquially known as animal people, who had ears and tails.
I got so excited that I wasn’t paying attention to my footing and ended up falling down. Now, it’s a fond memory of mine.
In the midst of all that, I grew up, protected by my mother. However, she passed away a year ago.
I had never experienced the loss of a parent in my previous life, and it felt like everything went dark in front of me. I don’t remember much after that. I think I spent a whole day locked up at home, crying.
I requested the burial of my mother at the church located within the slum’s, which was built with the purpose of helping the impoverished. I’m not sure if this church managed to remain free from political corruption or if it was a charity effort to improve their reputation, but the burial didn’t cost much.
Since then, I’ve been desperately trying to survive for a year, and now I wander through the back alleys of the bustling town, plagued by hunger.
“The church provides meals every three days, so I’ll be able to eat tomorrow… I won’t starve to death, but I still want to eat something today.”
In order to escape the slums when I become an adult, I’m trying my best not to use my mother’s inheritance, which is supposed to serve as my starting capital. Additionally, I’ve started stockpiling preserved food in preparation for winter, so my wallet is completely empty.
That’s why my stomach is growling so loudly that it feels like it’s sticking to my back. But I’ve experienced this many times before, and this time too, I will endure it.
“Now then, let’s do our best to find something to eat!”
I’m currently in a place near the border between the bustling town, where there are many restaurants and adult-oriented shops, and the middle section of the slums.
As the night grows deeper, drunkards occasionally stumble into this area, completely unconscious of their surroundings.
I take advantage of those drunkards to take… uh, receive some money from them and turn it into food expenses.
Whether in my previous life or in this life, it’s an act that would definitely be considered theft. However, when it comes to choosing between hunger and survival, there’s no other option. Any feelings of guilt or remorse disappeared a long time ago.
In my previous life, it would have been different, but in this lawless present life, it’s not so bad to take advantage of those who drink until they’re completely unconscious.
“Oh, look, I’ve found one already. Hello there, can you hear me?”
“Hic… Yeahhhh…”
“Ah, this person is completely passed out. Perfect, perfect.”
The middle-aged man leaning against the wall remained motionless, even as I called out to him. His eyes were closed, and he only responded vaguely without showing any signs of waking up.
His clothes were not too disheveled, so I must have been the first one here. I couldn’t sense anyone else around, so I quickly searched his pockets.
“Alright, found it. Let’s see… Even though he drank until he passed out, he still has quite a bit left. Today is my lucky day.”
I took out a few coins from the man’s wallet and transferred them to mine. For an average commoner, this amount could cover food expenses for an entire day, but sadly, for a resident of the slums, it would be enough for three days.
I scattered the remaining money conspicuously on the ground and then ran away from the scene. Lately, there have been rumors that some dangerous organizations from other places have infiltrated this area, causing the public safety to deteriorate. So, lingering around was unnecessary.
“Hey, wait a minute.”
“What is it?”
As I ran a bit further, a man who had come out from around the corner called out to me. I tried to escape quickly, so it seemed like my efforts were in vain. I discreetly observed the man through the gap in my bangs that fell onto my face.
The man’s appearance seemed to match that of a slum dweller, with a tall but skinny figure. I sighed with relief, making sure that he wasn’t some hulking muscular guy. If he had been, he wouldn’t have been just an ordinary slum resident. In my previous life, he would have been associated with something shady, and in this world, it would most likely lead to human trafficking or slavery.
Especially now, with the kind of people who seem to be involved in such activities present in this town, it would be even more dangerous.
If that were to happen, the difficulty level wouldn’t just be on hard mode, it would skyrocket to nightmare mode.
“You’ve got money, right? Hand it over.”
“I do have money, but not as much as you think. Look, the majority of it is over there… If a brat like me had a lot of money, I would just end up dead. There seem to be others coming as well, so it’s a race against time.”
“Are those silver coins? Get out of my way!!”
The man noticed the silver coin lying on the roadside, pushed me aside, and ran off.
Well, that’s understandable. In this town, the currency used are — bronze coins, large bronze coins, copper coins, large copper coins, silver coins, large silver coins, gold coins, and large gold coins. The silver coin is the fourth highest denomination.
For ordinary people, a silver coin is just one step away from a large sum of money. If a slum resident were to find one, they would undoubtedly jump at the chance.
So, why am I leaving behind a silver coin? It’s because if I were to be found with something like that here, I would be in grave danger.
When a weak child like me possesses something that everyone desires in a lawless place, it’s only natural for things to turn out that way.
Scattering the majority of the money on the roadside was for almost for the same reason. If the sound of coins falling is heard from one direction, the slum residents would rush towards it.
They usually don’t pay any attention to a filthy kid who clearly doesn’t have any money. They make for great decoys.
(From the sound of their footsteps, there are quite a few of them. This might turn into a brawl.)
“Well, it’s none of my concern.”
Being conscious of distancing myself from the sound of footsteps and choosing narrow streets with no pedestrian traffic, I proceeded through the slums.
This is because sometimes there are people who attack in desperation because they can’t make it in time anyway. I encountered that situation once, six months ago. I managed to escape by the skin of my teeth, but I never want to experience that again.
“Once I reach this point, I should be safe.”
I slowed my pace and came to a stop.
I took out my wallet from my pocket and felt its weight. A sense of accomplishment welled up within me, causing a slight smile to form on my face.
Feeling so buoyant that I could almost walk while humming a tune, the moment I turned the corner, my excitement plummeted.
“Huh? Just a slum brat?”
“Oh…”
Ahead of the corner stood a clearly unsavory duo. The man who noticed me first and directed his gaze towards me had a sword at his waist and a fierce look in his eyes, as if he had killed multiple people.
The other person was a bald man covered in scars all over his body. While his height was not much different from the previous slum dweller, he wore a suit of muscular armor that exuded an overwhelming presence.
Hanging from his waist was a machete-like weapon, completing the cliché look of a typical bandit.
If these were opponents I could easily defeat, there would be nothing to worry about. But it’s not going to be that simple.
Furthermore, the burlap sack the bald man was carrying on his shoulder was bulging, large enough to fit a child inside. From this, I could deduce the following conclusion:
(There’s no doubt they’re members of an underground organization, and it looks like they’re currently in the middle of an abduction! Why does it always end up like this!!)
I commend myself for not voicing the scream within my heart.
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