When growing up, a person will be forced to live within the scope of society. As if it has become the law of nature, the community has standard values so that someone can be said to contribute. In order to pursue that, one must study and try harder than anyone else.
This man—he had at least done everything he could. Soon he will be able to live as a civil servant, a job highly coveted by society. But an illness makes his hope vanish.
He felt a soft and supple sensation clinging to his face without understanding what was happening. At the same time, he smelled a very soothing fragrance.
“Uuh?”
"You've finally awake, my dear son."
His consciousness began to recover, and he first realized himself being hugged in a woman’s melons. It took a few minutes for his brain to respond to the strange sequence of events.
The woman cried hysterically and tightened her arms even more, so the man had difficulty breathing.
Even though those minutes had passed, the woman didn't let him go. Nay, she hugged and kissed him like a mother to their newborn, which made his shirt moist with tears.
“Oh, God?! Young Master is awake.”
Just as this man had regained his senses, there was another scream.
An older woman was seen staring at them in surprise from outside the room, and then she ran the other way, hurriedly calling the whole household.
“Seriously? Young Master is awake?—ugh,” a man groaned. He fell after slipping while running down the hall.
Another footstep followed, and three people were seen standing beside the doorway.
This man—who had no idea what was going on could only look back with a strange look. 'What are they doing?'
“Young Master has just awake; you guys better not bother him now,” said someone in a gentle tone.
The four people lowered their heads as the figure passed by them. "Forgive us, Miss. Layla, We'll be leaving soon."
Like a servant's attitude towards their master—that was what it looked like.
A girl who looked to be in her 20s came into the room. "Thank goodness, you finally came to your senses," she greeted.
Her waist seemed to sway as she walked. The blue dress wrapped around her shapely figure was adorned with flowery accessories, and a similar decoration was attached to her white curls.
This man was transfixed by the beautiful sight, without realizing he was flanked by two women sitting on both sides of his bed.
The young woman, who was on his left, pulled his face and hugged him in her torso.
The same sensation as before, warm, fragrant, smooth, and supple. If there was anything else, it was something rising within him—which wasn't in the first embrace.
“Ooh, dear. Even though Mommy is still here,” pampered the adult woman; her hand stroked his head gently. "But you instead make out in front of me."
“Mother, it is better to call the healer,” said the young girl.
“Ah, yes. You’re right." The mature woman replied before walking out.
Although his awkwardness and confusion remain unanswered, this man surrenders himself to the unfolding sensation.
"Do you remember anything?"
"No," he replied spontaneously. His voice sounded buzzing as he willingly buried his face.
“You seem to love this, huh?” asked the girl, poking his cheek.
He didn't know what response she expected and chose to try to hide deeper into the temporary pleasures. Before finally, the girl forced his face away from the most comfortable place in the world.
“Aw, aw~,” he moaned.
“You are quite brave to do that in front of your mother,” she teased, pinching his cheeks.
“Mmm…she, was my mother?” The words just came out of his mouth.
"Huft...you were in a coma, maybe your memory hasn't really recovered yet," replied the girl, stroking the man’s face. “Don't you remember me too? Darling?"
Even though it was the same endearment that the mature woman would say, this time, it came from a girl the same age as him. Not to mention, the girl's sweet face seemed tempting just to play with his feelings.
"You are my wife?"
He shouldn't have said his innermost desires so loudly and confidently.
“Mmm… too bad, not quite right.”
For the first time, this man knows what it feels like to get rejected. But that feeling had vanished when he looked at the girl's expression.
"Hihi...we're just not married yet," teased the girl with a wide smile. "I will introduce myself again. My name is Layla Rose Whitehall, daughter of the Whitehall family. I am your fiancée.”
It was a sentence he had a hard time digesting. This young man—who was supposed to be lying in the hospital suddenly woke up somewhere. Then in the blink of an eye, a charming girl claims to be his fiancée.
While making a skeptical face, he mumbles, “My fiancée? Am I dreaming?”
Answering that question, the girl pinched his cheeks repeatedly, and he changed his expression in pain.
"If you dream, surely you won't feel the pain, right?"
"It's okay, rest first while waiting for the healer to come," Layla continued.
"If I may ask, what exactly happened to me?"
It was a reasonable question to answer his curiosity. He remembered being in pain last night, holding back the heat that filled his whole body. He wanted to scream in the infirmary, but somehow he couldn't.
"Archie, you've been unconscious for over a month. You have a disease that we don't know about. Even the medicaster can't diagnose your disease, let alone give you the antidote.
At first, you just have a fever, then get dizzy, and soon you feel nauseous and don't want to eat. You said you couldn't taste the food, no matter how good it was.
You also said you couldn't smell anything anymore until you finally fainted and didn't wake up until now," said Layla trying to explain softly.
That reply did not immediately answer the question but added to his curiosity instead. It was a symptom of the same illness he had in his old world when the plague spread worldwide, and he became one of the patients.
He still can't believe it; this should be impossible. He has woken up in another world, in Archie Shellford’s body, the son of Edward L. Shellford and Emeline Shellford.Not to mention that both of his parents were nobles who ruled over a small area around here."Hey, Layla," Archie greeted.Layla was reading a book on the table near his bed. Archie had tried to approach her secretly to see what book she was reading, but for some reason, he always got caught, and Layla hid the book."Mmm?" Layla grumbled in response without looking back at Archie.For the past two days, he had been trying to find all the information about his new world. Archie mostly uses psychology in communication but realizes he can't do the same thing forever.“Do you know about the Seven Days Void?”“Um? Yeah, of course. It's an irregular dungeon with full raid difficulty,” Layla explained without taking her eyes off the book, “it's the dungeon Sir Edward entered to find your cure.”Up to this point, Archie had k
The breeze should be cold, but their conversation was warm. Archie and Layla smiled at each other, spreading laughter. Slowly, the bond between them began to intertwine."While we're alone, I want to know what you think about our engagement," Archie asked bluntly.Even though Layla looked a little reluctant, she still answered smoothly. “It is customary for nobles to marry off their sons and daughters. However, our parents' goal was to unite the territories into one…I heard something like that,” she explained.Archie is a young man in his prime. Suddenly having a fiancée like Layla is a dream that is almost impossible to achieve. It's not that he doesn't want to; it's just that Archie won't force it if his partner has a sense of compulsion.He had done that before too.Even so, showing deep interest can repeat the same incident as the bad memory. Conversely, being too ignorant will also bring bad effects. The point is he should not overdo everything.Archie has the ability to speak in
Archie took a trip out for the first time since his awakening. The distance between the Whitehall residence and Shellfrod is not too far, only about an hour away by horse-drawn carriage.One carriage is used to pack their gifts and supplies. In the center of the formation was the carriage he and Layla rode in. In front of it was the carriage used by the bodyguards."I didn't know you were coming, Archie.""Is it? I wanted to thank your families in person. Besides, it wouldn't be strange for your fiancé to visit.”A reason like gratitude was more than enough. For the rest, Archie was teasing Layla a bit."Isn't your horse tired, Uncle? You've just arrived and left immediately,” Archie asked the coachman.“Haha, it's okay, Young Master. We've equipped the horses with magic items. Moreover, a trip like this wouldn't be enough to tire you out, would it, Molly?"The horse neighed and raised its front legs excitedly, hearing its name being called. “Woah, woah, Relax, Molly. I know you enjoy
Everyone's gazes looked strange as if they were smiling at themselves. Layla standing beside him, could only lower her head in shame at what Archie had just said.The laughter from Zachary stopped, but his face seemed satisfied with the words he had just heard."So that's it. It's natural that you two dared to go alone before us," Zachary replied. “You must be tired after the travel. Please rest first. Heather!”A maid stepped forward and nodded in acceptance of her master's order.“Follow me, Young Master,” requested the maid, Heather.When Heather leads the way, Archie feels familiar with everything in the house. It seemed like his body still remembered everything well."Please, Young Master." Heather opened a door and let Archie in.“EH?!” Layla was surprised and accidentally made quite a loud voice. "He’s in my room?""Needless to say, Mr. Zachary ordered me to do so,” Heather replied, hiding a chuckle after seeing Layla's reaction.Archie thought he would receive a private room a
It was a tiring day for Archie. After unknowingly spending time until nightfall reading books in Layla's room, dinner that should be quiet has turned into a party celebrating his engagement to Layla. Nonetheless, he discovered a lot of important knowledge about the injection. It was a drop item from a high-difficulty dungeon, but the person who could answer the question was not around. On their way home, Archie only borrowed a few books from Layla. Even when night fell, Archie was forced to sleep in Layla's room, even though he spent the night reading the books that interested him so much. Erick was riding a horse outside the carriage, observing the situation. "How was the party last night, Young Master?" Archie pulled his book away from his face, “It’s tiring me out. Guests keep asking us endlessly," said Archie. "Layla used up all her energy, and she fell asleep as soon as the party over." "Hahaha, I can even imagine our princess's face clearly," Erick laughed at Archie's words.
Archie tried to stand on his feet, which were still shaking. At least he had to do something. Otherwise, something bad would happen to his mother. She was the one who straight away gave him warmth and affection—something he had never received before."Sotna mamakku," Archie shouted, using his world language spontaneously.The masked figure was surprised and turned its attention to Archie."You?!" Behind his mask, his eyes stared with shock. The language Archie had just spoken was not the language of this world."You are not affected by my magic, huh?" asked the masked figure. "I don't care, my business is not with you, brat."He continued to strangle Emeline's neck while his other hand held Emeline's face tightly.Slowly but surely, Emeline's body became limp and stiff. From between the fingers, the mother's eyes glanced at her son with affection.Archie's spirit flared up, his mixed feelings worsened, and a wave of magic rose within him.The wind ruffled his hair and clothes. Archie'
"Or do you want me to give you an example first?"The masked figure opened his grimoire, nodding as if he understood something. After continuing to read, he let out a dissatisfied sigh.“Ah, forget it. My business here is done.""Done? Did you think I would just leave you alone after all this?”The two stared at each other, and their eyes circled the area, where they only saw a dark area and four humans lying flat on the ground.“I don't know what the first mission is written on your grimoire, but I also have my own interests,” said the masked figure. He was turning his body towards the black spiral.“You are lucky to have met me, the Gatekeeper. I'm just doing my mission and nothing more. If you meet other people, I can be assured they will instantly liquidate you and all the people in this small village," he added.Although it is a reasonable choice for Archie, he knows nothing about this world, and even though the power has just awakened, he has neither the ability nor the knowledg
The village of Alian is located in the southern part of the Literra Empire. Most residents have livelihoods as farmers, fishermen, or hunters in areas with a prosperous greeny.Their region was relatively small compared to the other nobility's territory, so it was common for their village to be quite backward regarding infrastructure and development. Even so, the citizens never complained about it. They were pretty happy with their lives and current situation.Three days ago, the chief's son woke up from a coma. He has an unknown disease. As soon as he came to his senses, it wasn't long before he made a trip to the Town of Krakal to deepen the ties between the two regions.A strange natural disaster occurred in Krakal Town one year ago, where dungeon monsters suddenly spawned. There are also unique monsters, mini-bosses, and mysterious figures. They called that disaster the Inverse Dungeon, where they became the prey.A similar disaster almost happened in the Village of Alian. When it