24 Brian.

My name is Brian Joys. I am a sixteen years old high school student, on this little planet called earth. I am the kind of guy you would call 'mister perfect'. Good grades, good looks, great at sports, popular, from a rich family, etcetera…

I am the kind of guy that shines brighter than anyone else, and I need to do so because of my father's reputation. Every day I give 100% to study and practice sports, keep up pretenses to widen my network by being nice to everyone, especially the sons of other Executives, Politicians and CEOs.

I also have a sister, the cutest and most well-behaved girl in the entire world. My father is a sly and calculative man that owns one of the biggest companies in the continent, while my mother is… Some whore my father fucked once, not his actual wife. That incident could ruin his image, and he would need a son one day anyway, so my father killed her and made it seem as if I were his wife's son. They separated soon as well, for obvious reasons, my sister was born from his second marriage.

Aside from my sister, there isn't really anyone else in this world that I care about, or even consider a friend. All of my 'friends' are just some idiots who have important parents.

That all changed though, when I met a new guy during High School. His father was even more of a bigwig than mine, but he died already, although the inheritance remained, and his mother manages the assets quite well. So, it's only obvious I had to befriend him.

When I first met him, he was sitting in a corner of the classroom during recess, playing some game in a portable console.

"Hello!" I said with my usual smile. "You must be Kyle, right? I'm Brian, it's a pleasure to meet you."

He paused his game and looked at me, his expression was indifferent. But his next words shocked me.

"Hello." He said, before turning his attention to the game again.

Just a simple 'hello'. No one ever looked at me so apathetically before.

"I am Brian Joys, son of the President of E&U. He was acquainted with your father, they met in some board meetings." I said again, he probably didn't know who I am.

But his answer shocked me again.

"I know." He said, not even bothering to look at me.

This was how our first meeting ended. I couldn't be bothered to talk with him again after that.

During the first month of school, he just entered the classroom, played his games during recess and slept during class. Even though he never listened to any lesson, his grades were only below mine. But there's a rumor that this is only because he sometimes can't be bothered to write lengthy answers and skips written questions in tests.

My evaluation of him changed from 'oblivious inheritor' to 'arrogant genius'. But his behavior wasn't really arrogant, I could tell that, knowing many arrogant people. He really just seemed to not bother with anything.

During the second month of school, I saw him going home. Differently from what I thought, he took the bus and left. No driver, no sports car. He just paid the bus fare and left.

"What is that? Did he lose the inheritance?" That was the first point of suspicion.

The day after, I followed him by car. He took the bus and arrived at a common apartment, took out a key and entered.

"Hey, Godfried." I asked my chauffeur. "Did the Adley family decay?"

"Not that I know sir." He answered. "Actually, their assets increased, since miss Adley maintained the businesses previously under mister Adley."

If they didn't decay, why is Kyle here? Is he going to do something else?

I exited the car and went up the stairs of the apartment complex, then looked over the window of the apartment Kyle entered.

He sat on a couch with a laptop, he seemed to be lazing around like he does at school. His mother didn't seem to be home.

"He really lives here?"

This is too weird. Why does he live here? He has even more money than me!

I asked myself before eventually going back home, having made sure he really lived in that small apartment.

The next day at school, I approached him. He was playing games like always.

"Hey, Kyle." I greeted him.

Like the first time we met, he paused his game and looked up at me.

"What?"

I really didn't know what to say. What could I say? Hey, why are you living in a trash apartment?

"Want to come play basketball with the guys after class?" That was the only thing I could think of.

"No. Thanks, but I don't like sports." He answered before unpausing his game.

Is this guy that much of a loner? Or is he just a emotionless machine?

"Hey. It's good that your mother handed over management of Celti Tech to Margaret Louis, she's a great manager."

Again, he didn't unpause the game to answer.

"I asked her to do that. She only keeps managing those companies because there's no one to trust them with. That Margaret something seemed good enough though."

What did he mean by that?

"Does your mother not like managing the companies?" I asked.

"Of course not. It's hard, and there's no need to do it aside from not wanting them to fall apart or get corrupted. As long as there is someone else to do it, handing all of it is okay." He said calmly, his gaze only focused on the game.

"What's the need of so much money anyway? We could just put everything we have on the bank and let it be, we don't spend much monthly anyway." He answered, a slight change in his behavior made me notice he's really bothered.

'What's the need of so much money anyway?'

If another random rich kid said that, I would think 'Are your butlers going to pay themselves?' but not to mention butlers, he didn't even have a car.

Does he really not care about money?

"Don't you need money to enjoy the luxuries of life? The more the better isn't that righ?" I asked him.

"Yeah, money is good. But if it costs too much of your time for little return, It's not worth it. Why have an expensive beef for a thousand bucks if you can get a common burger from a restaurant? It's not really that different anyway, I actually think the burger is better. Enjoying life doesn't need much money, just enough for food, clothing, housing and entertainment." After speaking so much, he said. "Why are you talking so much to me all of a sudden? Did you lose a bet or something?" He asked, his expression unchanging.

It seems our outlooks in life are too different. But… He's actually right. Why does my father do so much for money and power? It's not like it is any fun to manage so many things and show off status, and I would rather just have a common day of leisure without having to keep up pretenses than getting a car for my birthday. My sister as well, she's always sick and nothing makes her happier than when I go visit her, even when father made her favorite actor come visit her, she only had a light smile and didn't seem to enjoy it as much as when we played together.

Have I been living my life wrong?

As I though that, I sat by the side of Kyle. Looking over his shoulder.

"What game are you playing?"

…

We became best friends during the first year of high school. Our friendship grew even more by the end of the second year.

Kyle isn't an arrogant or cold guy as I thought before. His face just hardly changes. He does laugh and cry every now and then, but those reactions are rare.

Kyle isn't a particularly good guy to befriend. He spends most of his time playing and doesn't talk much. I force him to play basketball with me every now and then, but he would fall on the ground and not be able to get up a few minutes after we start playing.

He's also a particularly lecherous guy, out of ten conversations we have, six are about some cool new hentai he saw or a 18+ game he played. When Invited him to a brothel though, he refused without needing to think twice. He is also always too awkward when I try to hook him up with some girl.

For some reason, I can't help but like him.

Although he's not naïve, his sincerity towards me is real. He went to visit my sister with me more than once as well, and she also liked him and called him 'funny big bro', because he's stupidly clumsy and always calls my sister 'the cutest loli' and does so in a really enthusiastic way… I can't help but agree, my sister is the cutest.

For those two years, I had much fun with Kyle. I didn't have to put up and act with him, because I knew he wouldn't use anything I did against me.

He was the only friend I've had in this life.

But during the third year of high school, something changed my life forever.

'Today, a police operation revealed that the President of E&U was involved in several crimes, such as corruption, money laundering, kidnapping, murder, human and organ trafficking…'

The illegal operations of my father were revealed.

He was arrested, his property was seized, and I was left with nothing.

I had to change my name and move so people wouldn't recognize me, my father still had enemies that around hunting for me.

Without money, I had nothing to pay my sister's hospital bills with.

I quit school and started working. But I had nowhere near the money for the hospital fees, I had to eat almost nothing everyday and still be in debt.

That was when I decided to resurrect my father's criminal organization, which he operated under the covers.

It was already falling apart, there wasn't much I could do. But somehow, I was able to manage and grow it for an entire year, and it seemed like it wouldn't collapse like I initially though.

However, my hands were stained by the blood of innocents. Be it weapons dealing, human trafficking, drug dealing, every kind of crime was under my name now.

Even still, I needed the money. It's a matter of survival now, either I and the organization grew, or it would be mine, and my sister's, end.

I couldn't handle it in the end. The organization was growing, but there was an ambush. I died with hundreds of bullets piercing through my body.

Soon after, my sister died from her disease as well.

As for Kyle… I have no idea; this guy wouldn't tell me.

"So, this is the deal. You'll go to another world, and you have to help someone, although I won't tell you who. You'll know it when you meet him."

The one that said that was a young man. His skin was slightly dark and he wore a black t-shirt and shorts. His face was covered in stubble and everything about him could be described with the word 'sloppy'.

He introduced himself as 'GM, I'm something like God.' And offered me a wish if I helped someone in another world.

"I accept." I said with a rough voice.

If I could use that wish to go back in time and be born in a common family, with my sister healthy and close to Kyle again, nothing could have made me happier.

GM nodded and waved his hand after I agreed to the deal.

I was really born in another world. One where magic is real, and society still works with monarchy mainly, although the system is very different from our feudal age, it's more like a mix of the Late-middle ages and modern times.

I am the son… The daughter of an upstart noble. My mother is a simple baronet, and my kingdom isn't big either. But she is very talented and has royal blood, so she was still considered more than a common Baronet.

While growing up, I learned to wield a sword and fight. A sword is different than a gun, but my fighting instinct as a previous mob boss hasn't dulled. The common language of this world seems to be English, which is good, since it means I was born being able to read and write.

However, soon after I turned eleven, my kingdom fell.

I was able to survive, but my mother had her mind wasted and I was turned into a slave.

Some guys from a guild called Bosta tried to train me, but my will would never break by some torture. I already died once, after all. This feeling of falling from the top is also familiar.

In the end I was transported to the East Argent Kingdom, along with my mother.

Here I met my buyer, when he entered my cell I saw the young master of Black Gold. Although what he did to me is normal in this world, and I would definitely have done the same in his place (I've already done worse actually), I couldn't help but curse at him…

But the man, my buyer, made me shut up…

His face, was a face I thought I would never see again, at least it looked like him. His face was more handsome, and his body was healthy, but the similarities are still there. Especially his indifferent face.

But that man, I know he would never buy a slave. He's too much of a pussy for that.

This man bought me and took me out to a forest.

There he said his name, Kyle Adley…

I couldn't help but be shocked. There isn't such a big coincidence in this world.

He cured my mother and turned me into an undead. Then we went to Artmer's Office and then back to the hotel.

At night, I went out of my room without my mother noticing.

By the side of my room, was Kyle's. It was already night, and without games in this world, he should be sleeping already.

Knock Knock Knock

"Kyle…?" I asked, my voice was trembling out of anxiety.

"It's me, Brian."

The answer came soon.

"Goddamnit Brian! I'm not going to wake up early to run! I'm not into this healthy bullshit!" The familiar phrase entered my ears… The sleepy and angry voice was the same. The only thing lacking was his mother yelling at him to not yell.

But it is still the same Kyle after all…