Chapter 2 - Awakening (2)

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"Haah..."

I left the conference room and walked to a bench by the lake on the campus. I sat down, trying to take a moment to gather my thoughts.

I had a rough idea of the situation, but there were still many things to sort out. As the current me, Edwin Reed, I needed to organize my surroundings and establish at least a rough plan for my future actions, even if I had to work out the details later.

But how did I end up getting caught in something so absurd like this…

✦•••✦•••✦

In my past life, I was hit by a car on my way back from a walk and died on the spot, ending my life there; just like the old cliché I've seen so many times.

Well, it was not exactly a fond memory, but I don't have any regrets either. In a previous life, I was a young man in his twenties who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness at a young age, and my quality of life had deteriorated to the point where I could barely go for a walk at the end.

Perhaps that's why I couldn't avoid the car.

Anyway, the past is already gone, and what's important is what I need to do in this place from now on.

My future seemed like a ship adrift in the pitch-black night sea, with no visible direction or destination; amidst this bleak existence, a small ray of comfort came from various forms of media content. And as my illness worsened in my previous life, I had to minimize outdoor activities, and instead, I found reading web novels to be a hobby that was easy and enjoyable.

And judging by my past life memories and the names of the people I just met, it's definitely the world of that web novel I last read. The title was... surely 〘I Became a Munchkin Knight of the Academy〙.

It had some entertainment value for me, so I read it a few times. The content was still somewhat stored in my memory.

However, it wasn't a very popular novel. It was one of those generic fantasy academy stories with a weird mix of modern and medieval worlds, an oddly supernatural academy, and elements like monsters, magic, and different races.

If I had to pick out a unique feature, it would probably be that the story progresses in a traditional way, without any reincarnation or transmigration.

The protagonist, Eugene, was a handsome young man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was born into a commoner family and enrolled in the academy, where he meets several heroines and gets involved in various affairs.

And through these events, he gradually awakens his abilities, and later is selected as a Hero and gradually defeats the evil forces, which was the rough outline of this novel.

However, despite the seemingly ordinary plot, there were many who disliked the novel. Even though it had high view counts, its recommendation ratio was relatively low compared to the views, so much so that when I sorted by recommendations, I always had to go a few pages back to find it.

Critics often pointed out reasons such as related to the protagonist's dualistic personality of good and evil, the blatant harem management attribute, and the fact that the plot became progressively less smooth.

Despite its ups and downs, I, who had already caught up to the most recent episodes, continued to avidly consume every chapter. I even participated as a beta tester when the game adaptation of the novel was announced, playing for a long period.

It was an open-world game that allowed free exploration of the entire continent, with well-implemented interactions between the protagonist, supporting characters, and their stories. Furthermore, there were hidden items in the game that were not present in the original novel, and many in-game elements received favorable feedback from players.

However, because the game was developed while the original novel was still in progress, there were numerous inconsistencies in the setting, and bugs kept popping up, resulting in constant dissonance. Eventually, my interest waned, and when the beta testing period ended, I deleted the game and returned to being a loner, continuing to explore the storylines of various novels.

And that was when I was hit by a car.

✦•••✦•••✦

As I finished organizing the memories of my past life to some extent, I became more capable of perceiving the current situation with a cooler mindset.

I stood up from the bench and approached the shore of the lake, checking out my reflection in the water.

I, Edwin, had jet-black hair, dark-gray eyes, and somewhat dark skin. My appearance could be described as that of a typical Southerner. And while I couldn't be sure, my height seemed quite tall compared to other people.

However, the problem wasn't my face; it was elsewhere.

'How much do I.... weigh…'

Before my memories had resurfaced, what kind of life was I living in this body?

There wasn't a single part of my body that wasn't covered in layers of fat. With my tall stature and ample flesh, if I just draped a tattered piece of cloth over me, I could probably pass for a troll, if only for the sake of exaggeration.

In my previous life, I was either underweight or of just the right weight. But I had never been overweight, let alone obese.

The sound of my greasy voice echoing from my thick vocal cords and the feel of the folds of flesh between my armpits and groin were too much for me, and gave me an intense and unpleasant shock.

I vowed that no matter what I did, losing weight would always be my top priority.

Imagining spending the rest of my life buried under this mound of flesh was horrifying, but based on the look of my facial features, I might not look too bad if I managed to shed some pounds.

Even if it wasn't the body I preferred, if I had the determination, I could lose weight at any time. Right now, what I needed to address wasn't my weight, but something else.

'Edwin Reed.'

That was the name of my current self.

And this guy—me—I was an extra villain who appeared in the early part of 〘I Became a Munchkin Knight of the Academy〙

In the original work, I served as a device to provide the protagonist, Eugene, with an opportunity to get closer to the heroines.

Eugene was accepted into the academy on a recommendation, which meant he didn't have the time to prepare for the entrance exam separately. He did his best, but due to various circumstances, he ended up in the lowest class, Class-F.

Usually, being recommended for admission indicated that one had a certain level of skill and education guaranteed by a sponsor.

However, being assigned to the lowest class, Eugene received ridicule and scorn from his peers. He was even bullied by various aristocratic students.

While Eugene didn't mind being bullied himself, one day he witnessed that his friend, with whom he had become close with in class, was tied up and bullied.

And he was being bullied by... needless to say, 'me'.

Edwin Reed grew up without receiving proper upbringing due to losing his mother at a young age. As the precious eldest son who would eventually inherit the family, he spent his childhood years being treated with excessive pampering.

However, due to not receiving proper guidance during his formative years, Edwin ended up with a myriad of flaws in his personality.

Upon enrolling in the academy, the socially inept Edwin joined forces with two other aristocratic students who have a similar mindset to his own. These like-minded students, along with Edwin, engaged in bullying commoner students who bothered them. It was during one such incident that the current situation occurred.

Anyway, Eugene, unable to contain his anger any longer, confronts them and the fight escalates into a full-blown brawl. Unfortunately, just as the fight escalated, the academy's security arrived at the scene, and both sides were apprehended.

During the preliminary hearing before the Disciplinary Committee, Eugene is confronted by Patricia Austin, a sophomore and student council leader. Patricia took note of Eugene's character and skills during this encounter and actively advocated for Eugene's legitimate self-defense.

Her efforts paid off and Eugene received only the lowest level of discipline: 72 hours of community service.

Patricia's subsequent interactions with Eugene over the course of several incidents eventually lead to her becoming the heroine who gives her heart to Eugene as the story progressed in the original work.

'But now, I've become that device.'

It was not a good feeling to realize that I'm destined to be used as a device for someone else's love, but wasn't a major concern either.

After all, it was someone else's business now and more importantly, there was one pressing issue I needed to address right now.

✦•••✦•••✦

While I was lost in thought, gazing at the lake, someone came up behind me and said, "Oh, there you are, Edwin."

Who could be talking to me now, in this situation? Moreover, a girl. To call me by name would mean we were close enough....., but as I searched my memory, I could think of only one other person who could do that.

Suddenly, an ominous feeling washed over me. I turned slowly to face the person who had spoken and as I confirmed her identity, I couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

'Haah.'

Before me stood a female student; her long chestnut hair, reaching down to her waist, shimmered in the sunlight, and her well-proportioned facial features on her oval-shaped face elicited involuntary admiration from anyone who looked at her.

And this beautiful girl was staring at me with a cold expression.

"I came looking for you because I had something to talk to you about," she said. I couldn't have imagined you'd be idling away your time in a place like this."

And I knew exactly who this girl was.

"Since there's still plenty of time until curfew. I'm sure you can spare a few minutes to talk to me. I have something to say to you...."

".....Iris."

The girl's name was Iris Robinette — my fiancée, and the very thing I needed to address first and foremost right now. Not to mention, she was a key heroine in the original work.

If you want to read the first 25 chapters for free and read up to the final chapter for a cheap price patreon.com/Makima02