Chapter 1 - Abduction

Get involved in something beyond your station, and disaster is sure to follow.

Aiden’s father had been nothing more than a petty back-alley thief, but he was always sharp-eyed and shrewd. He had repeated those words to his son as though drilling them into him.

["You’re not cut out for great things, son."]

["Why not?"]

["What are you good at besides using that crafty little brain to run small-time scams?"]

["Is that any way to talk about your own flesh and blood?"]

["Live within your limits. Don’t go making trouble trying to play in the big leagues. At our level, back-alley crooks are all we’re suited to be."]

["Couldn’t you say something nice to your son for once?"]

["That’s what I’m doing."]

["... Is that how it works?"]

At some point, Aiden himself had come to agree. He really wasn’t particularly good at anything.

Average. Plus or minus zero.

An unremarkable nobody, barely worth remembering except for the occasional petty, irritating scam he pulled to survive.

Oh, no big scams, of course. Only ones that were petty and irritating even for the victims.

Even criminals had lines they ought not to cross.

An exchange he’d once had with his younger sister probably illustrated that well enough.

["You’re still a criminal. Why pretend to have any dignity?"]

["Commit a big crime, and you’ll get noticed and pay for it in a big way. You should only fleece people enough that if you ever run into a victim, the worst you’ll get is a good beating."]

["..."]

["Just enough to feed the family and look after myself, never enough to make anyone hold a grudge. That’s how you live a long life, you know?"]

That was the full extent of Aiden Kellermain’s life. An ordinary, insignificant con man.

That fact hadn’t changed much even after a bizarre episode in which he hit his head rather hard on the floor and awakened memories of a past life in a place called “Earth.”

-Status Info

< Aiden Kellermain >

▶ You do not meet the system access requirements. Your status cannot be viewed!

▶ Your influence on the main story is extremely low!

▶ Make contact with key characters to unlock special abilities!

Not even after a white rectangle bearing those words appeared before his eyes, and he realized he was a character in the world of a game.

After several full days of careful deliberation, this was his conclusion:

“Do I really need to do anything great with my life?”

The main story. Special abilities. Anyone who wanted to stand out would have loved those phrases.

But doing great things could easily expose you to great danger. Nothing happened when you played it safe, but you didn’t get into danger, either.

So Aiden had decided to stay right where he was.

The pettiest of petty criminals, so insignificant the authorities felt no reason to intervene. A nobody of a con man whose crimes left even his victims feeling more contempt than resentment.

And when you lived that sort of life, there were bound to be people you were certain you would never have anything to do with.

["Dame Noel is coming through the triumphal arch!"]

["We ask all subjects of the Empire to welcome her with thunderous cheers!"]

Take the woman on the battered old TV he was watching right now, for instance.

“Good lord.”

He let out a breath as he watched the screen.

The sight of the woman riding her horse through the triumphal arch deserved that reaction, even through a screen.

Obsidian hair that seemed to drink in the surrounding light, snow-white skin in stark contrast, and red eyes so dazzling they could almost be described as flashing.

Some even called her the manifestation of Karva, the Empire’s chief deity and goddess of strife.

She wasn’t merely “beautiful.” She had an aura about her.

'... Goddess of strife does suit her pretty well, doesn’t it?'

Noel Astria Seamus.

The woman hailed as the greatest warrior since the Empire’s founding.

The four lion’s-head medals pinned to her chest alone lent that claim more than enough weight.

The Lionhearted Medal. The highest medal of honor the imperial military could award.

Considering what it normally took to receive a medal of honor, earning four of the highest meant she was a monster in human form, capable of feats that could single-handedly turn the tide of a war.

She stood at the very pinnacle of the superhumans known as “knights,” who could shatter boulders with their fists, fly through the sky unaided, and, given a weapon, storm a fortress alone.

A talent who might appear once in a thousand years, if that, who had rewritten every record the imperial military had.

She was a different breed from birth.

An ordinary nobody like Aiden could only wonder whether he would ever get to speak to her even once in his life.

And Aiden, at least, could add one more footnote to that assessment.

'So that’s a leading character.'

That woman was one of the key characters in the world he now inhabited—a “fantasy game.”

One of those destined to overcome adversity and, alongside the game’s “protagonist,” lead the continent to salvation in the face of an unprecedented crisis.

And even among them, Noel had a rather conspicuous distinguishing feature.

["Rumor has it that Dame Noel’s marriage prospects have high society abuzz—"]

["Even the list of candidates is extraordinary—"]

Right. Marriage.

One of the most important turning points, determining both Noel’s own fate and the entire course of the main scenario.

["Well, whoever she marries, may the blessings of the pantheon be upon Dame Noel’s future!"]

Aiden gave a wry chuckle at the host’s commentary on the triumphal procession.

'I doubt it’ll be quite that blessed.'

From what he knew of the game, Dame Noel’s life would become a tangled mess the moment she married. That was also about when the main story would descend into chaos.

At this point, Noel herself probably wouldn’t want to get close to any of those candidates.

Wasn’t this the point in her backstory where she would do anything to avoid the marriage?

And really, none of that information mattered to Aiden.

Marriage talk about people he would never have anything to do with in his entire life was for gossips to chatter about.

Saving the world, getting married—those were things for the “leading characters,” not him.

Yes, that was certainly what he had thought.

Until a few days ago.

“Are you awake?”

“...?”

Now, though—

“You’re awake.”

Dame Noel was saying those words right in front of him, a faint smile on her lips.

Close enough for them to count the blemishes on each other’s faces.

“...??”

Aiden looked around blankly.

This was clearly an unfamiliar place.

At the very least, he had no memory of falling asleep in a dark basement with his arms tied to a chair.

As he blinked stupidly, she continued, slipping a rustling sheaf of papers under a clip.

A sidelong glance revealed that the papers, watermarked with the imperial military’s insignia, contained his personal information and a complete list of his “clients.”

Presumably, that meant she had already dug up every last detail about him.

“Aiden Kellermain. I hear you’ve been a con man for quite some time. A pleasure to meet you.”

“... Dame Noel?”

“Yes. Noel Astria Seamus. I came because there’s a particular job I’d like to hire you for.”

Her emotionless words fell in a quiet, steady rhythm while he was still struggling to get his bearings.

Why was this woman here, why him, what was she doing this for?

Before he could even finish forming those questions, his mouth was reflexively mumbling an answer.

An occupational hazard, one might call it. He always had to be quick to respond to whatever the other person said.

“... Did you say a job?”

“Yes. A con man’s job is to deceive people, isn’t it? And you’re an experienced con man. I need to deceive someone, too.”

He wasn’t sure he was good enough to warrant being called “experienced.” As Aiden was making that assessment of himself, she continued.

“I don’t care for beating around the bush, so shall I get straight to the point?”

Dame Noel paused briefly after saying that.

“Let’s get married.”

Out of nowhere.

“Would you ‘pretend’ to be my husband for just one year?”

“...”

“I’d like you to deceive the entire Empire.”

She had dropped a verbal bomb.

One with horrifying repercussions.

- System Message

▶ Making contact with the “Lionhearted,” Noel Astria Seamus.

▶ This character is of the utmost importance to the story. The fate of the world will be determined by how you influence her!

▶ Your influence on the main story increases.

▶ A new special ability is unlocked!

▶ A new event in the main story is unlocked!

Get involved in something beyond your station, and disaster is sure to follow.

It was something Aiden’s father always muttered like a mantra.

-System Message

▶ Skill “Weaver of Fate” is unlocked.

▶ You may copy 1 skill from the target, “Noel Astria Seamus.”

▶ Interact with key characters in the main story to unlock additional abilities!

And now, he stood on the brink of the greatest upheaval of his life—one that would wrench him off the course his father’s oft-drilled creed had set for him.