I Want to Live a Normal Life

Episode 2: Alteria Chronicle

“So, this is definitely an isekai, huh?”

– Isekai. As the name suggests, it’s that thing commonly found in light novels where you’re reborn in another world and live a new life there. Never thought it would happen to me. Surely, there are others.

By the way, I quickly gave up on escaping from the detached house. I looked around inside, but all the windows seemed to be boarded up from the outside, so there was no chance. Originally, it must have been a building intended for someone’s imprisonment. Truly befitting of nobility, scary stuff.

After some time had passed since then and I managed to calm down a bit, I’m currently confirming the situation.

The first thing I noticed was that there are memories other than my own. The owner of these memories is Mine Arlight, seven years old, the current host of this body. Whether I’ve taken over this body or if the memories and personality of the previous life have just resurfaced is unclear, but in any case, the current me possesses memories of both my past self and Mine-kun.

And, there seems to be a slight presence of Mine-kun’s consciousness as well. The emotions when his mother was spoken ill of were different from mine. That was probably Mine-kun’s emotions.

Furthermore, reflecting on Mine-kun’s memories, I’ve learned a few things.

First, the Stubble. His name is Blade Arlight, the current head of the Arlight Marquis family and Mine-kun’s biological father. He’s a scumbag who forcibly took advantage of Mine-kun’s mother, who worked as a maid. He seems to have little interest in Mine-kun, his bastard son, seeing him more as a spare for emergencies. Well, typical noble behavior.

Also, Mine-kun doesn’t seem to like the fact that his hair color is a reddish brown. Apparently, most boys in the Arlight family have a deep red color. Although the facial resemblance assures him of being the true son, isn’t that just luck? It’s not Mine-kun’s fault, right? Blame those weak genes of yours. Boo hoo, cry me a river.

By the way, Mine-kun’s mother passed away shortly after Mine-kun was born. Because she was of commoner origin, Mine-kun is looked down upon by both the knights and the servants. Well, those of noble birth probably don’t like those with commoner blood. Although, it was one of those marquis who touched the commoner woman, wasn’t it?

Next, that cheeky kid from earlier. Cain Arlight, four years old, the legitimate son of the Arlight Marquis family’s main wife. A rough-natured kid who frequently messes with Mine-kun. …But somehow, when I heard that bastard Cain’s name, I realized something.

“Whoa… This is the world of ‘Alteria Chronicle.'”

Alteria Chronicle. A grand role-playing game set in the Kingdom of Alteria and its surrounding countries. It’s divided into two parts: the school arc and the war arc. The protagonist, a commoner who enrolled in the Alteria Royal Academy, gets involved in inter-country conspiracies and wars with allies, achieving success and rising in the world, following the typical storyline.

This game, produced with substantial funds and time, featuring famous scenario writers, a luxurious voice cast, theme songs by popular artists, and beautiful graphics, caused a stir at its release, but struggled in sales and eventually faded into obscurity as a somewhat mediocre work.

The reason being, there were many elements designed for replays, with numerous route branches, but each loop was excessively long, and random events influenced the route branches, making it quite an unfriendly game design. “Life doesn’t always go as planned,” said the developers. Is this even a game? Well, there were some hardcore fans, though.

I myself got addicted until the second playthrough, but gradually lost interest around the third playthrough and moved on to other games, never to return. Actually, even three years after its release, there were quite a few SNS posts from dedicated players, speedrunners, and challenge runners. They should have reincarnated them instead of me.

“…Wait, am I actually reincarnated?”

For a moment, that thought crossed my mind, but somehow it doesn’t feel right. Well, even if I was, there’s nothing I can do as a captive, so I’ll put off thinking about it for now. I’ll deal with it when the time comes.

Going off on a tangent, in Alteria Chronicle’s school arc, Cain Arlight joins the protagonist’s party towards the end and plays a major role in the war arc as well. In the beginning, Cain appears as a noble supremacist who oppresses commoners. He frequently clashes with the commoner protagonist but gradually acknowledges the protagonist’s strength. Well, it’s a pretty typical development.

In the meantime, Cain, who lost his family in a surprise attack from a neighboring country, is consumed by revenge. After the showdown with his family’s enemy, the scene where the battered Cain first calls the protagonist his friend is one of the school arc’s most memorable scenes.

Although in just a few hours, my opinion of Cain has dropped to “cheeky bastard.” Well, in the original story, he was pretty bratty in the beginning too.

By the way, the one with the Stubble holds the title of “Sword Saint,” a cornerstone of the Alteria Kingdom’s military strength, but he dies in the latter part of the school arc along with his vassals without any particularly significant moment. Well, he’s like a mob character. Serves him right.

However, there’s one problem.

“The one who did that was Mine-kun, huh?”

– Mine Arlight.

In the game, his name is first mentioned when the Sword Saint dies. Despite being born into the prestigious Arlight family of martial arts, he’s considered useless compared to his three years younger brother Cain. He’s expelled from home at adulthood and goes missing. However, several years later, he suddenly appears as the vanguard of the neighboring country of Hartelia and kills the “Sword Saint.”

Appearing before the revenge-driven Cain in a monstrous form, Mine overwhelms him with powerful magic. Just when things seem dire, the protagonist and others come to the rescue, barely managing to repel Mine. He is later slain in the latter part of the school arc after several battles. During those battles,the events that happened to him are revealed.

After being expelled from home, Mine is immediately captured by Hartelia’s spies and used as a subject for human experimentation. The Hartelia Kingdom has built a huge research facility underground in the royal capital and is advancing research on artificial magical beasts with the support of the Miltia Theocracy. Mine, who became one of the test subjects, is deployed in the war against the Alteria Kingdom as one of the few successful specimens. That’s the rough outline of Mine-kun’s setting.

“I guess that’s the guy who was completely helpless against Cain.”

Confined in this detached house until adulthood and then being abducted and modified is the fate of the original Mine-kun.

“No way, no way, no way, no way, I have to escape.”