Ch 5: Memories After Reincarnation

---This Chapter is Written by Void-King---

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Although I said that I would reincarnate, I didn't think that I would be able to keep my head straight if I kept these memories of mine. So, to fix this, I sealed off my memories right at the moment I reincarnated.

"I just hope I will have a nice rest."

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***

"Anastasia, I'm done with you, right here, right now!"

A man's voice echoed through the extravagant dance hall in the capital of the Centraren Kingdom, Lurden, during the Royal Academy's end-of-year bash.

The voice belonged to Prince Karlheinz Bartille von Centraren, the dude with fiery red hair and piercing blue eyes that screamed royalty. He had a lean, muscular build that suited his prince-like handsomeness.

By his side stood a cute, short girl with pink hair and green eyes. She had this vibe that made you wanna protect her without even realizing it. That was Amy von Brayes, the daughter of some baron, looking all uneasy as she hid behind the prince.

And like a bunch of bodyguards, four other guys huddled around her.

First off, there was Markus von Beinz, a smart-looking dude with dark hair, brown eyes, and glasses. He was the count's heir and the oldest son of the court magician.

Then we had Leonardo von Jukes, a buff and good-looking guy with brown hair and intense blue eyes. He had this strength radiating from him that you couldn't ignore. He was the viscount's heir and the Chief of the Imperial Knights' eldest son.

Next up, Oscar von Wimlet, a pretty boy with long, wavy golden hair and emerald green eyes. His face was so damn beautiful, it could pass for a girl's. He was the marquis' heir and the son of the richest guy in the whole kingdom.

Lastly, there was Claude Justine de Westerdale, a wild and handsome dude with black hair, black eyes, and a tan complexion. He was some prince from the neighboring country, Westerdale.

On the other side of the broken engagement, we had Anastasia Clynel von Ramslett, the ex-fiancée. Her long hair was like the moon's soft glow, and her ice-blue eyes showed she meant business. This girl had dignity and strength, and she was the daughter of one of the top three fancy dukes in the country.

"Your Highness, I have no clue what you're babbling about," Anastasia shot back, her eyebrows twitching for a sec. But she kept her cool and continued to argue.

"Do you seriously think this girl, who knows squat about etiquette, noble stuff, and feudal law, is more fitting? Is she queen material?" Anastasia shot a cold glare at Amy, not even flinching.

Amy, caught in her gaze, jumped back and sought refuge in the prince's arms.

"Quit talking nonsense! It's Amy's kindness that our country needs. There's no room for your stupid theories here. And we damn well know you've been harassing Amy countless times! You're not fit to be a queen!" The prince's eyes blazed with rage as he condemned Anastasia, joined by the other four guys, mocking her.

***

And so, the story I remembered went something like this.

My name is Rimuru. I am an ordinary 8-year-old boy living in the Centraren Kingdom's Capital, Lurden. My only family member is my mother. We're pretty poor, but somehow we still get by.

But what was unusual was that from the moment I sneezed a moment ago, memories from my previous life flooded back. Memories of me being a Normal Salaryman.

It's alright. My memories have returned, but I'm still Rimuru. I'm sure about that. I've acted largely the same as I would have in my previous life, so even though my previous life's memories have returned, I'm feeling really confused, but nothing else feels different.

Alright, it was kind of sudden, but I know this situation is bad. Like, really bad.

First, let me explain. This world is most likely the same one as the hit smartphone dating sim [Magical Fantasy Love's Heart-Racing School Life].

...For now, let's not talk about the game's... unfortunate naming sense.

Now, what's bad about this situation is that if things stay this way, my mother, everyone in this town, and I will die in 8 years.

I realized this because of the name of the country I live in, and the news of a certain 8-year-old Prince Karlheinz' engagement with the Duke's daughter Anastasia reminded me of something.

So anyway...

Oops, I may have gotten carried away.

First, let's finish talking about the game.

After this, Anastasia, who couldn't bear the one-sided mockery, took off her glove and threw it at Amy, challenging her to a duel.

Anastasia was a girl many would consider abnormally calm and rational, but all she really was, was a strong-willed girl who knew how to keep her emotions in check. But because of this course of action, her anger overwhelmed her self-restraint, and so she acted the way she did.

And so, as Amy's fiancé, the prince stepped up to fight as Amy's representative.

As expected, no one wanted to fight against the prince, so Anastasia was made to fight for herself and lost.

Defeated, Anastasia couldn't bear to show herself again at the academy, so she was sent off to a Provincial Convent. On the way there, her carriage was then attacked by bandits, and from then on, she disappeared.

Up until here, it was pretty much the story of a pretty shitty ga— *cough* I mean, it was truly a lamentable development, but the story didn't end there.

First, what was really disgusting was that those bandits were all hired by the prince and his group.

This wasn't explicitly said in the game, but it was definitely implied.

It was this event that led to an imbalance in political power, which eventually spiraled down into a civil war that sent the kingdom into chaos. Taking advantage of the chaos, the neighboring Est Empire to the east declared war. With their lightning-fast march, the kingdom, consumed by internal strife, had no time to react, and before we knew it, the capital Lurden was already razed to the ground.

This is the really bad situation I was talking about. I just want to tell them straight to their faces.

"Don't drag us into your bullshit!" Or something like that.

And so, my goal right now is to keep my mom safe.

To do that, I need to create a situation where we won't be invaded by the empire.

I also can't just abandon Lurden altogether and flee south. It's not just because I'm kind of attached to the town

I was born and raised in, but the concept of "moving to another town" doesn't exist in the first place. In this strict hierarchical feudal system, the number of people in the fief directly increases the influence of the local lord. So unless there was a valid reason like marriage, it was really hard to just move to another town.

Now, I could think of a couple of ways to solve this problem, but what I want to go with is overturning the punishment of the Villainess Anastasia.

I have three reasons for this. The first reason is that if this world is really going to follow the game's event progression, then I already have an idea of how to do it. The second reason is simply wanting to save her. And the third reason is that I felt like she was someone that I knew long ago, and even when I saw her in the game, I felt like I had a connection to her at some point.

I know it's weird, and furthermore, Anastasia was the only character I really liked in the game. I don't want her to die.

The "Villain Anastasia" is what she was called, but thinking about it, she's decent in every way.

"We have a place in society, so mind your actions."

"Keep your manners, whether it's during ceremonies or eating."

"You have a fiancé, so you can't do anything that might lead to misunderstandings, you mustn't!"

"You live off the taxes of the people. Think about what this political marriage will do and do your best for the country and the people!"

"The prince has his. The nobles have theirs. You yourself must fulfill your own duties as well!"

There might have been a few differences in words and nuances, but this was what Anastasia believed.

Those who were told this bullied her, telling her she was condescending and annoying. Petty and uptight. Because love and peace were the best, right?

But look at how things turned out. The destruction of the royal capital, huh?

Not only that, Anastasia was just 8 when the marriage was decided. Ever since then, she's worked herself to the ground to be suited to become Queen.

Not only did she show manners appropriate to her position as the Duke's daughter and future Queen, but she was also an incredibly hard worker who never let her abilities get to her head. She developed her talents in her studies, magic, arts, and even her sword skills.

Don't you think it's unfair that, after all that, this is how it would end?

What's more, after having her carriage attacked by the bandits, Anastasia didn't die. Instead, she was turned into the bandits' plaything and sold to the Est Empire after being exhausted both physically and mentally.

After that, she was given a cursed sword and became the empire's Black Knight, spearheading the war against the Centraren Kingdom.

In the end, Amy awakens to the power of a Saint due to her compassionate heart that only desired peace. Along with the prince and the aforementioned youths, there were 6 in all. Together, they joined their powers to defeat the Empire and Anastasia, who had fallen into darkness, reclaim the lost kingdom, and finally tie the knot. That was the ending plot of the story.

By the way, Anastasia's parents, who had maintained a neutral position during the civil war for political reasons, were framed by their own family and accused of being the ringleaders of the event. Naturally, they were executed. This was another reason why Anastasia fell into darkness.

Just... wow.

I can't help but think the development team had some sort of agenda.

So, the reason why I know this is because of my

Shitty sister. One time when she got dumped by her boyfriend, she kept coming to my room drunk and bothering me every night. She then brought this game and forced me to complete it and unlock every single event picture. 'If it makes me feel better, I'll leave,' she said.

She made the excuse 'You're good with games, right? So just do something and beat it.'

I couldn't just throw her out of the room. And if I didn't, she would just keep bothering me, so I reluctantly did it. Well, I was pretty good at the game anyway. And at the end of the day, even if she's a shitty sister, she's still my sister.

But what was especially painful was for a guy like me to try so hard to increase some bastard's affection level. It just kept going on and on and on until I just felt empty and stopped thinking about it.

Ah. Just thinking about it gets me mad.

But even though it's a dating sim, it had some absurdly difficult RTS-style battle parts. The reverse harem route felt almost impossible to complete without paying for microtransactions. Because of that, I had to say goodbye to quite a few of my precious 10,000 yen friends.

Ah... Ugh... Let's stop thinking about it. This was something from my previous life. Let's bury it deep within my memory. No, if we could remove it altogether, that would be even better.

But there's something that's bothering me. Both in the game and even in the lore of the game, there's no mention of someone named Rimuru, and no commoners have silver-blueish hair and golden eyes. Now I'm really confused about who I am inside this game.

Maybe I'm a secret boss or hidden target since there's one more route that I haven't played before I died. And if I remember correctly, it's called the "Villainess Route."

Haha, Just kidding, there's no way that i'm a Hidden Target or anything else.

Well, there's no use in thinking about my standing here. Yeah, so to sum it up, I'm going with the plan that lets me save Anastasia.

This is my own personal choice. Of course, it's not that I'm not thinking I have a chance with her. I mean, she is really pretty. And I think she has a really cool personality...

It's just that, realistically speaking, what are the odds of a Duke's daughter getting together with a completely random townsman who doesn't even know what his role in this society is?

In the first place, I'm not even sure if I'm part of the game. Nowhere in the game does a character like me appear. And so, without even appearing in the game, I concluded that I'm less than even a mob character.

If I had to say, the closest anything related to me appears in the game is when the screen shows the message 'After that, the townspeople of Lurden were never seen again' during the 'Surrender of Lurden' event.

So, 8 years until destruction. I'll do the best I can.

I'll definitely break through this fate, save my mother, the townspeople, and Anastasia!

---End---