If he had known he would be transported to another world, Lind would definitely not have helped his younger sister play any otome games. Instead, he would have chosen leisurely farming games like Rune Factory or Stardew Valley. Even if they were bad, some sci-fi themed games would have worked too, at least he could guarantee enjoying futuristic technology, rather than being in this situation, fleeing with a bunch of refugees.
Lind was transported into the last game he had played before his death.
This was a single-player otome game set in a fantasy medieval background, known for its deep combat system that gained popularity.
Of course, Lind wouldn’t have touched an otome game no matter how popular it was. However, it was exactly because the combat system was so deep that he became interested. His younger sister couldn’t progress in the otome game, so she asked him to get achievements during the break at home.
Then, unexpectedly, an accident happened. After Lind cleared the otome game, he went outside to bask in the sun and, due to an act of bravery, sacrificed himself and was transported into the world of the last game he played.
The good news was that Lind inherited all the attributes of the character he cleared the game with, enabling him to use all the skills of the female protagonist.
The bad news was that the female protagonist’s skills were all support-type, meaning they were completely useless without teammates. The only somewhat useful skill was making holy water, but this required a lot of materials and, unlike other skills, had a cooldown measured in days—once a month. For Lind, this was quite impractical.
Moreover, the female protagonist’s level cap was 49, which meant it was a four-tier profession.
This level was very awkward; moving up to a five or six-tier high-level profession was for those who had some ability. Two or three-tier professions below were basically ordinary people with no real strength.
But being stuck in this four-tier limbo was frustrating.
Another piece of good news was that Lind hadn’t directly become the female protagonist but had transformed into a little lord with the same name, preserving his younger brother.
The other bad news was that this body’s territory had just been conquered by the Demon Clan at the border, making him a disgraced viscount, currently fleeing with his subjects under the cover of the border troops.
“Life is unpredictable,” Lind sighed sitting on a stump around the campsite, reflecting on life. Having lost his territory and with no familiar people in this world, he could only lead his subjects south in a rush.
“Want a piece?”
A scruffy-looking middle-aged soldier with a rogue aura approached Lind, offering him a long piece of bread.
The soldier was Lauri, an officer escorting Lind. Though he was an officer, he was quite the lazybones, merely looking for opportunities to eat and wait for death. Protecting Lind and his subjects’ retreat was no more than tagging along with the little lord for food and drink.
“Thank you.”
Lind took the bread, taking a bite and nearly breaking his teeth.
Seeing this, Lauri burst into laughter and demonstrated the correct way to eat it.
Lauri slammed the long bread against a nearby rock so hard that it broke into two pieces, and he proceeded to pick up the broken bits to eat.
“This can really be used as a weapon, right?”
Lind looked astonished at the bread in his hand. Lauri wasn’t just any soldier; a soldier who made it to the officer level surely had some skill. That previous hit would probably have caused immediate death to an ordinary enemy without a helmet.
In his past life, Lind had only heard that the bread in the West was hard, but he never imagined it could be this hard. Or perhaps in this fantasy world, even the bread was enhanced?
However, Lind just scoffed a little; after all, he was well aware of the current situation. Everything that could be sold had been sold for food. If they didn’t find a safe territory soon, it was likely that they wouldn’t hold out much longer.
In this kingdom, they had already surpassed the expansion period. All territories had been divided up, even barren lands were nominally owned by the local dukes. Just like in the northern border where Lind was located, without the northern duke’s permission, any expansion would be illegal. This meant Lind not only didn’t have a noble start like others, but he also couldn’t even think about expanding.
“I’ve seen someone use bread as a weapon in the royal capital; His Majesty the King even knighted that guy as the Breadstick Knight.”
After saying this, Lauri waved the half-bread stick in his hand as if mimicking the guy he saw using it as a weapon.
“You’ve been to the royal capital?”
Lind looked at Lauri with some disbelief. After all, this guy, while capable, always spoke without basis.
“Of course! Didn’t I tell you? Up until I was shot in the knee, I was a well-known mercenary in the kingdom. I even rode a dragon!”
Though Lauri said this, no one took it seriously. After all, how could a famous mercenary be a low-tier wannabe?
This time, however, Lind didn’t tease Lauri as usual but asked seriously, “Did you hear any gossip during your time in the royal capital? Like the church announcing the appointment of a new saintess, or some prince changing fiancées?”
These questions were crucial for Lind right now, as he had been unable to confirm the current timeline in this world since his transportation.
After all, in this heavily modified era, the speed of information flow was fundamentally nonexistent, just like in the original game. The plot unfolded primarily in the royal capital, and there was no mention of border matters, so Lind had no idea how far the female protagonist had progressed.
If the female protagonist hadn’t started attending school in the royal capital yet, Lind could still reach out and perhaps get close to this destined daughter.
“I went to the royal capital a couple of years ago.”
After finishing, Lauri pretended to think deeply.
“Two years ago, the fourth prince Klan Augustus, known as the Love King, had a huge argument with his fiancée, who happens to be the granddaughter of our northern duke, Lena Lars. It caused quite a stir, even I—just a newly arrived mercenary—knew about it. Though I still have no idea why everyone cared so much about their quarrel.”
Because it’s an otome game.
Lind thought to himself.
It was just like that early ancient otome game where the male lead’s breakfast happened to get everyone buzzing in town.
Lauri was likely referring to the incident where the female protagonist attended a ball held by Klan Augustus at the start of her schooling, infuriating the male lead’s original fiancée, Lena Lars.
So the current timeline should be right after the female protagonist graduated and became a saintess, while that villainess, Lena Lars, was exiled to the border for attacking royalty during the graduation ceremony. Ultimately, due to strong opposition from the Lars family, her exile was turned into a marriage proposal, although it was never mentioned who the unlucky noble was.
“Ah.”
Lind sighed heavily. The female protagonist had already become a saintess. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to get close to her anymore.
