Episode 1

The Pomwell Family.

A baronial family located in the southern region of the vast continent. The Pomwell Family wasn’t originally of aristocratic lineage. Originally, they were a family of merchants who attained nobility by selling the grains they had stored to the country during a severe famine a hundred years ago. At that time, there were quite a few merchant families that became noble families in such a way.

Still, since it has been about a hundred years since they became a noble family, the Pomwell Family was eager to join the ranks of the established nobility. But as that place was so full of cliquishness, they hadn’t even been able to cross the threshold yet. Therefore, they were treated like an awkward stone stuck in an in-between position, neither belonging to the traditional noble families nor to the newly risen noble families.

Ji-hoo woke up as the youngest son of that Pomwell Family, Allen Dewise Pomwell.

‘…Fuck, is this for real.’

Ji-hoo easily assimilated all of Allen’s memories as though they had been intertwined from the beginning. Fortunately, there weren’t any adverse effects, but even then it was just difficult for Ji-hoo to embrace this sudden situation.

Still, thanks to having fully absorbed Allen’s memories, Ji-hoo quickly blended into this life. Fortunately, the family didn’t notice any changes happening inside Allen… No, it would probably be more accurate to say they didn’t care in the first place.

‘A father who only thinks about making money, a mother whose joy is gathering with other women to gossip over tea, a brother obsessed with making it to the central scene, and a sister who wants to flaunt her beauty by attending parties.’

…Still, it was probably a huge relief that, rather than having to live a bleak, blood-stained existence at the bottom, he became a noble and was free of financial worries–could this have been a stroke of luck?

And before he could fully understand what was happening, he realized in just one day what kind of world this was.

‘The world within the game Guild Master.’

All the memories in his head were screaming that this was the truth. Of course, he couldn’t easily believe it.

‘Hah, a world inside a game. Does that even make sense? Then, I guess the status window will open too….’

…And then, he witnessed it.

Clear evidence that this was indeed the world he knew.

The translucent status window appeared before his eyes.

· · ·

“Young master.”

Sitting on an armchair with a view of the garden, Allen, who was momentarily lost in thought, was jolted back to reality by the sound of someone calling him. It was the old butler.

“Ah, yes.”

“The master is calling for you.”

“…Got it. I’ll be there soon.”

After the butler left, he let out a light sigh.

‘So, it has finally come.’

Apparently, a grown man locked in his room like a child for two days looked like a thorn in his father’s eyes.

If this had been the first time, maybe it would have been different. But Allen’s body, which had already experienced quite a few rejections from women, had been rejected again and was holed up inside the room. And this time, it was with a woman who already had a man… Honestly, even though it was Ji-hoo’s body now, from Ji-hoo’s perspective, Allen was a real eyesore.

‘Damn it, what’s so great about a woman who has a husband.’

Cursing the idiotic past of his new body internally, Ji-hoo rose from the armchair and headed to his father’s study.

His father was indifferent towards his family. In fact, the reason the baron called his son was not because Allen was pathetically cooped up in his room, but because he wasn’t properly handling the business tasks assigned to him. Originally, he should have been roaming the city to collect payments long ago.

‘Sigh…’

Allen let out a small sigh and lightly knocked on the study door. Then, from inside, came the baron’s voice telling him to enter.

As soon as he opened the door and entered, he saw Baron Pomwell sitting at his desk, ceaselessly checking a thick stack of papers. He appeared to be a perfect workaholic, flawlessly mechanical in his tasks.

A middle-aged man with spare white hair. His gaze, sharply scanning the documents as if not tolerating a single mistake, seemed colder than that of a ruthless murderer.

The baron continued to examine the documents for a while even after his son entered the study, then slowly lifted his head.

“Allen.”

“Yes, Father.”

“I don’t care what you do, but you should diligently complete the tasks given to you, shouldn’t you?”

His voice fell heavily. Feeling a chill that penetrated to the bone, the son shivered.

“…Understood, Father. I will go right away.”

“Good. You may leave.”

That was the end of it. The son quietly retreated from the study after hearing his father’s cold criticism.

As soon as Allen closed the door, he let out a sigh of relief, and immediately started preparing to go out.

In fact, from Ji-hoo’s perspective, this was his first monumental outing in this world. Perhaps that’s why, even though he was going out to collect payments, something Allen usually found bothersome, an undeniable excitement blossomed in his heart.

He left the mansion on horseback, accompanied by two bodyguards.

The mid-sized city, Berge, located in the southern region of the continent, was a relatively peaceful and pleasant place to live. Count Eibreheim, the lord of the city, was old but still wise and kind, and maintained quite good relations with the surrounding cities.

As Allen rode through the streets, observing his surroundings, the people didn’t seem very welcoming to him… No, to be precise, it wasn’t the youngest, Allen, they were afraid of, but rather Baron Pomwell. He was infamous among the city’s residents as a cold-blooded man who wouldn’t spare them a glance, let alone care about their circumstances.

Of course, Allen didn’t really care what they thought. After all, he just had to do his job and leave.

‘Let’s see…’

He quickly scanned the list of payments he held in his hand, a meticulous invoice without a single penny missing—the baron’s handiwork, no doubt.

Stopping near the first store, he dismounted his horse and went inside. The old shopkeeper, with a forced smile, exclaimed, “Oh my!” making a fuss.

“I’ve come to collect the payment. I was supposed to come two days ago, but I was delayed due to some circumstances.”

“Oh, no, not at all.”

Allen reflexively opened the status window. It was a habit of Ji-hoo, who had played Guild Master for well over twenty thousand hours.

In fact, he didn’t need to know the stats of ordinary people who weren’t warriors. What he quickly glanced at were just the characteristics of the other person.

Dozens of sentences lay stretched out, listing the shopkeeper’s problems. True to his [Weakling] trait, there wasn’t a spot on his body that didn’t ache. …Of course, what expectations could one have for the traits of a passing elderly?

Allen quickly received his payment and stepped outside before the old man could start spouting unnecessary chatter. The old man’s granddaughter, who wanted to change her circumstances, came out belatedly and gazed at Allen seductively, but he pretended not to see her and turned away.

After wandering around several places and barely finishing one district, the sun was already high in the sky. Before moving on to the next district, he entered a tavern with his two bodyguards, intending to have a refreshing beer.

The people inside the tavern naturally recognized Allen. After all, how could they not recognize the youngest son of the most famous merchant family in the city?

He pointed with his chin towards a noisy group drinking boisterously in a corner and asked his bodyguard,

“Seems like they’re from out of town? Who are they?”

“Looks like mercenaries who came running at the smell of money. Hasn’t there been a problem at the copper mines recently?”

“…Really? There was a problem, you say?”

“Monsters were rampaging around the demon lands by the mines, causing trouble for the miners.”

‘…was there such an incident?’

Ji-hoo clicked his tongue internally at Allen’s indifference. No matter how uninterested he may be, how could he not know about this? Moreover, he knows that his father, Baron Pomwell, owns a significant share of the copper mines.

However, he didn’t waste anymore time talking, and after finishing the last of his beer, he left the tavern to resume collecting payments. Then, after completing about half of the payment list, he returned to the mansion.

But what was this? A carriage bearing the mark of the lord was prominently parked inside the mansion.

‘Had someone from the Count’s family arrive…?’

But that alone couldn’t tell him who had come. Since it was common for someone from the Count’s family to visit the Baron’s family, he didn’t think much of it and passed it off.

Allen was on his way to report today’s collected payments to his father when he ran straight into someone walking from the opposite corridor.

‘Ah!’

She was a blonde beauty, exuding a sharp aura like a well-honed sword. He recognized her immediately upon seeing her. …Because she was a woman he could never forget.

‘Count Eibreim’s cherished granddaughter, Charlotte Louifon Eibreheim.’

The moment he saw her, he felt as if his chest was clogged, as if he were choking. Like a mouse in front of a cat.

At the same time, memories of the past started playing in Allen’s head. The nightmarish memories of always feeling intimidated and unable to stand up for himself in front of her, who ‘almost’ became his fiancée…. It was then Ji-hoo realized just how cowardly and pathetic Allen had been.

No matter how much of a loser Ji-hoo was in his life on Earth, he was never this timid. He had girlfriends, albeit briefly, and even had a decent job. …Of course, it always went downhill in the end.

This pathetic fool…. I should have known from the time he was so shocked from being rejected by a married woman that he holed up in his room for two days—.

The two soon stood facing each other. Allen’s body, cowardly to the bone, instinctively shrank in front of Charlotte, but Ji-hoo tried hard not to do so, even if forcibly. Fortunately, his body did not betray his mind.

“It’s been a while… Lady.”

“Yes, it has been a while.”

Naturally, what reached him was a look of contempt. She also really disliked such a weak and feeble man. Furthermore, despite being a coward, there were filthy rumors that he hung his penis out and recklessly swung it about as if he were proud of it… She felt contempt for herself for once being charmed by his handsome looks.

“What brings you here…?”

Charlotte wanted to snap back with ‘What does it matter to you?’ but she couldn’t afford acting so petty. As a noble, she had to maintain a certain dignity.

“I came briefly for some business about the mines.”

“Ah, I see.”

Allen smiled. However, Charlotte did not.

“Well then.”

She did not want to stay here any longer. This was merely a courtesy greeting. She did not wish for any further social interaction with this man.

He briefly watched her coldly turn away and leave.

…Damn bitch, so fucking cold. …Is it because of her period?

He too quickly turned around and headed back to the study.

Had it been before, he might have shrunk under such a gaze, but not now.

He was unusually full of confidence. Several times more than during his days on Earth.

…Maybe it’s because this place was the world inside the game Guild Master.