How to survive as a beggar count

Chapter 2

“Ian Impera?”

Just seeing the name “Ian Impera” sent a chill down my spine.

It made sense, though, because if it’s Ian Impera, he’s one of the biggest idiots in “World Conquest with Rank Power!”. He’s the so-called ‘Beggar Count’, a total fool.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror once more.

Dull eyes.

Messy blonde hair.

Dark circles under my eyes, almost reaching my chin. My nose, red and flushed from a hangover.

It was exactly as described in the novel.

If I had to point out something different, maybe I looked a little younger than expected in the novel?

Other than that, I looked just like a drunken, reckless fool.

The problem was that this fool was me.

“What’s with this bullshit…”

“Excuse me… Young master?”

Now that I think about it, I had forgotten. There was someone else here besides me.

“…Irene.”

Having caught a glimpse of Ian’s memories, I could recall the woman’s name.

Irene, the last remaining servant of the Impera family.

She was a woman who never forgot the kindness the Impera family had shown her when she was young, and even when the mansion was sacrificed as an offering for black magic, she stood her ground until the end.

As a result, she was depicted as a ghost, wandering the mansion until she was eventually defeated by the protagonist and their group.

“Yes! Young master! What can I do for you?”

Irene didn’t seem to mind her master’s confused state and continued to smile brightly.

It seemed like she thought my confusion was just from a hangover.

Knowing the tragic future, her smile made me feel uncomfortable.

“Just wait outside for a moment.”

“Oh… yes! Of course! Please call for me whenever you need anything!”

Irene tilted her head slightly, as if my tone seemed a little off, but she didn’t say anything and quickly stepped out.

As I watched her leave, I almost blurted out, “She still has legs, huh.”

After sending Irene out, I tried to make sense of the situation.

I moved my hands, trying to feel my body, exploring every inch. Every time my hand touched something, the sensations were vivid.

This time, I pinched the area near my chest hard.

I’d pinch my cheek too, but this area hurt the most. If this were a dream, it wouldn’t hurt.

“…Ugh!”

I pinched it really hard on purpose, but quickly regretted it.

“Ugh…”

The pain around my chest lingered for a while, as if my lungs were shrinking.

“Shit…”

It didn’t feel like a dream or an illusion.

Which means… I had become Ian Impera.

“Ha.”

I couldn’t even laugh at the absurdity of it.

I, Lee Jinsoo from South Korea, was clearly starving to death. No, based on the situation, I probably had already died from starvation.

So what the hell was this nonsense? I snap back to reality and find myself in some weird guy’s body?

And not just any body—it’s the body of a character from the novel that had been steadily rising in the Valhalla system?

“What kind of garbage is this…”

I lay down on the bed, closed my eyes, and prayed that I would wake up if this was just a dream.

But after an hour, then two, and by the time half a day had passed, I realized.

This wasn’t a dream, or anything else—it was a miserable reality.

“Fucking hell!”

I cursed at the air, but only my throat burned.

“…Huh.”

The situation was crap, but whatever. Let’s think positively. If this were just a dream, it would be even worse.

If I woke up from a dream, I’d have to starve to death again on the destroyed Earth.

Compared to that, this place was at least a little better. Even though, in the novel, the guy was called the “Beggar Count.”

It was still better than the life I had been living, starving for months.

“…Thinking like that, I feel a bit better.”

I took the mirror off the wall and examined my face from every angle.

My skin was damaged from alcohol, but I looked oddly younger than described in the novel.

“That’s a bit strange.”

Beggar Count Ian Impera.

He was introduced as a villain-like character around the middle of the novel.

Pushed out of noble society due to internal strife, all he had left was a crumbling castle, and he was called the Beggar Count.

Eventually, he locked himself away and made a pact with a demon, only to be killed by the protagonist later on.

I remember him dying in his mid-twenties, but now, Ian’s face looked closer to a teenager.

“Ugh…”

I began to dig deeper into Ian’s memories. He lost his mother at a young age and began to spiral.

His father, the current head of the family, Aemon Impera, indulged every whim of his son.

And this was the result: a terribly ill-mannered brat.

He regularly hit his servants, was an alcoholic who drank more than he ate, and, though unable to fight, he used his title as Count to pick fights with anyone.

He had lived like this for years. Even after causing a scene at his coming-of-age ceremony last year, Aemon had been growing less fond of him.

“Right. If I went through my coming-of-age ceremony last year…”

In this world, the coming-of-age ceremony takes place at the age of 16. That means I’m just a 17-year-old young man.

And the current head of the family is Aemon. Ian doesn’t turn to dark magic until after he becomes the head of the family.

“At least that’s a relief. If I had touched dark magic here, it would have been the end.”

The guy is definitely an idiot, considering that despite the family being on the brink of collapse, all he did was drink himself into oblivion. But still, at least he’s alive and in one piece.

“He’s still a bit far from the protagonist, though.”

It’s a metaphor, but not really.

The protagonist’s name is “Dia.” According to Ian’s memory, it’s now the 15th year of the Alliance Era… so Dia is still only 12 years old.

He’s probably struggling hard at the Zenith Knight Academy right now. It’s quite far from the Impera family territory.

He’s an orphan who lost his parents in the war, but even among the prestigious noble children, he excels and never loses the top spot at the knight academy. He’s the classic overpowered character in the novel.

That’s the protagonist of this story. And in about ten years, he’ll be the one to kill me.

“Hmm…”

It’s bad enough that I’ve turned into the villain in the novel, but dying at the hands of the protagonist?

That can never happen. I absolutely have to stop it.

If I keep living like a reckless fool, I’ll end up walking the same path as Ian.

Ian’s father, Aemon, will die slowly, and once Ian inherits the title, he’ll turn to dark magic.

The servant, Ilene, will become a ghost, a sacrifice for dark magic, wandering the mansion.

And then, they’ll all die at the hands of the protagonist.

My life as Lee Jinsoo in South Korea was miserable.

Since the first great upheaval at twenty, it’s been ten years.

I lived like a dog to survive, only to die in the end. That alone was a tragic life.

But now, I’m being told to die again?

And this time as the “Beggar Count” from the novel, pitifully at the hands of the protagonist?

…Damn it!

“This is nonsense.”

I don’t know why this damned world called me here, but I can’t stand dying like that again in such a stupid way.

First things first, I need to assess Ian’s current situation.

The title of the novel is “Conquering the World with Rank!” As the title suggests, this is a world where rank is everything—the beginning and the end. It’s a world governed by rank, like a typical “rank-based” game.

No matter how reckless a fool you are, if your rank is high, people will revere you. No matter how good-hearted someone is, if their rank is low, they’re treated like insects.

Of course, no one with a high rank would act like Ian does, but still, you never know.

When he fought the protagonist, he was quite a formidable opponent, so his stats might actually be useful.

Maybe he’s a talent who just doesn’t try hard? Who knows?

Swallowing hard…

“Please, let it be high…”

With trembling hands, I stretched out my left hand again.

Bang.

A familiar system window appeared, feeling somewhat alien but still slightly familiar.

The first thing that appeared was my name. It was quite similar to the Valhalla system. The higher your strength, the higher your rank, and the weaker you are, the lower your rank.

The difference here, however, was that if it’s swordsmanship, you get a “swordsmanship rank”; if it’s magic, you get a “magic rank.” Each talent is measured separately.

Additionally, in this world, the rank maxes out at 9. Even in the novel, monsters with rank 9 are incredibly rare and powerful.

“Phew…”

I slowly lifted my eyelids, which had been tightly shut. A translucent window appeared above my left hand, gently glowing.

[Name: Ian Impera]
Rank: 1 (Magic)

“Ugh…”

I couldn’t help but let out a sigh. This body was far beyond my expectations.

If the rank is below 1, it means it can’t even be measured. That meant everything else was “0.”

Ian Impera was at the absolute bottom of the barrel. His rank was close to garbage.

“…If that’s the case, I’m totally screwed.”

Is that why he turned to dark magic? Maybe because he was too weak to follow the normal path? Or even worse, they let a guy like this use dark magic and raise his rank to 5? This feels like a devil getting scammed!

I had the urge to just give up entirely.

Grrr…

“Ugh…”

Even in this situation, I was still hungry. I had starved to death in the other world, so what more could I expect?

Knock knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door. It was Ilene.

There were no other servants; only Ilene remained. Half of them left, sick of Ian’s reckless behavior, and the other half was kicked out because I couldn’t afford to pay them.

“Umm… Master?”

“…What is it?”

“Um… I was wondering if you wanted your meal. Should I bring it up to your room like usual?”

“Meal?”

Food? The word “meal” instantly brought me back to my senses.

Food.

I had been so hungry I nearly starved to death for months.

To hear the word food, my heart raced just thinking about it.

“Right. A ghost who ate is more glamorous than one who starves to death. The situation may suck, but I need to survive.”

I’ll think about the rest after I eat. It’s not because of my greed for food or anything.

“I’ll go down.”

If she’s bringing it to my room, it’s probably going to be a bit sparse compared to the usual. I might as well eat as much as I can.

Wipe…

I secretly wiped away the drool, hoping Ilene wouldn’t notice.

“Yes! I’ll get it ready for you right away!”

“Heh.”

By the way…

What would the noble young master eat?

***

“This is not it.”

I stared blankly at the porridge in front of me. It was a sad excuse for a meal, a pale mess with no vegetables or anything. It was just grains ground into powder and mixed with water.

“Didn’t… I say I was a noble?”

Considering the grand mansion and the maids, it didn’t seem like a lie.

“I’m just glad you’re feeling better, Master! Hehe.”

“….”

Ilene greeted me with a smile as soon as our eyes met.

In her hands was a basket that looked like it contained some black bread.

It seemed like the bread and porridge were all there was for the meal.

I wanted to get mad, but what could I blame this young girl for?

It was my family’s fault for being broke. Specifically, it was my fault for squandering the family’s fortune on gambling and alcohol.

“…Alright.”

Let’s think positively.

From what I remember of Ian’s memories, he came back home last night completely drunk, so maybe this porridge is just a hangover cure.

But then why is his father eating this trash too!?

“Sigh…”

“Are you complaining about the meal?”

As I let out a deep sigh at the pitiful reality, a man across from me spoke with a sharp tone.

He glared at me with an annoyed expression.

Aemon Impera.

In the novel, he only appeared as the deceased former head of the family.

Despite being just over forty, his hair had already turned completely white. He must have had a lot of worries because of his son.

“This harvest has been poor, and you’ve drained the national tax, so for now, we’ll have to make do like this.”

“…I see.”

“You wouldn’t know, since you’re always out drinking.”

Aemon took a cowardly jab at me with the truth.

Honestly, looking through Ian’s memories, I knew very little about the family’s finances.

As long as I could steal some from the family’s reports, I could cover the cost of alcohol, and if that wasn’t enough, I could just put it on credit.

Who would refuse when the only son of the count asks for credit?

And on top of that, he had even stolen the money set aside for the national tax and came back empty-handed after three days.

This grain porridge was likely the result of that.

Thanks to this, Ian’s life had always been one of ignorance, drinking, and playing around.

“What the hell are you thinking? Just recently, you beat up a retainer from the Benner Count’s family. Yesterday, you were lying drunk in the street!”

Aemon’s nagging continued.

Sorry, but I didn’t do any of that, so what’s the point of scolding me? Huh?

“…Ugh!”

His son wasn’t even paying attention, so after a while, Aemon threw down his spoon in frustration and stood up.

“Ah!”

Ilene, caught in the middle of the father-son quarrel, was restless, not knowing what to do. I exhaled through my nose and stared at Aemon’s back as he turned away.

“Hm…”

I wasn’t glaring at him just because of his nagging. What I was carefully watching was his left hand.

Fortunately, it was still attached.

That meant the Impera Count family’s future hadn’t boarded the express train to hell just yet.

‘Though it’s getting there soon enough.’