ALL NOVEL chapter 1
1. Reincarnation
In front of the mirror stood a version of me that was not me.
Brown-dyed hair, multiple piercings in the ears, sharp eyes, and a rugged face. I was tall and muscular.
As the morning sun streamed into the bathroom, I pinched my cheek while contemplating.
Who on earth is this guy?
With the tingling pain spreading across my cheek, memories from yesterday began to resurface.
After months of consecutive overtime and working on holidays, I remembered collapsing right at the entrance of my apartment as soon as I returned home.
And when I woke up, I found myself lying on a bed, subconsciously trying to wash my face in this bathroom, realizing that I was not myself.
I had become someone unknown. Looking around, I couldn’t even tell where I was. This was not the cluttered room of my one-person apartment; it was a large house that was clean and appeared to be shared with someone else.
Still confused, I looked at my hands.
It was obvious that those large, rough hands did not belong to me. There were old scars on my knuckles, as if I had punched something, and a flashy silver ring shaped like a skull was fitted on one of my fingers.
“What the hell is going on…?”
A completely unfamiliar voice escaped my lips. It was clearly a tone I had never heard before. Yet, it was undoubtedly my voice.
As I pondered what to do, I heard footsteps coming from the hallway. I hurriedly thought about hiding, but… there was no space in this bathroom to conceal this well-built body, and in the end, I stood there frozen.
The figure that appeared when the door opened was familiar. Though I shouldn’t have known them, somehow I understood that this person was my younger sister, though I couldn’t explain why.
“Eh? Big brother is up at this time? At 7 AM? No way?”
The person who looked like my sister showed a surprised expression upon seeing me.
For me, who usually took the first train to work, waking up at 7 AM seemed far too late, but for the unknown person I had become, it appeared to be quite early. What kind of life was I leading, this stranger I had become?
“Are you planning to go to school today? It seems like it’s getting serious with attendance and all.”
“Huh? Ah… yeah…”
“Anyway, I have to get ready in the morning too, so move aside. I can’t do my makeup like this.”
Saying that, the person who seemed to be my sister pushed me aside and stood in front of the bathroom, taking out cosmetics from her pouch and starting to apply makeup in front of the mirror.
—
Even now, I have quite a delinquent appearance, but my little sister looks like a typical gal. Although she doesn’t have piercings, like me, she has dyed her hair brown, and her makeup is skillfully done, enhancing her gal-like charm.
As I watch her from the side, the fog that had been clouding my mind slowly begins to clear.
Something starts to explain the current situation to me, as if speaking directly to my mind. It’s not in words, but rather abstract and conceptual, yet I can understand its content as it seeps into my thoughts.
According to this mysterious explanation, there’s no doubt that this is what they call “reincarnation.”
A person who has died is reborn in another world, and it’s that thing where they rise to prominence in that world.
The ongoing explanation in my head states that this world is what you would call a “romantic comedy world.”
I don’t yet know which manga, novel, game, or anime it’s based on, but in any case, I’ve been reincarnated into a pop love story world where young men and women experience bittersweet youth.
I was deeply immersed in manga, novels, games, and anime during my high school and university days, and I still proudly consider myself an enthusiastic otaku, so I’m well-versed in the concept of isekai (another world) reincarnation and know quite well what a romantic comedy world entails.
I never imagined I would experience isekai reincarnation myself, but here I am, having become someone else, and at this point, I have no choice but to believe it. If not, there’s no way to explain my current situation.
But according to my memories, I don’t recall dying.
Could it be… that I thought I was just sleeping at the entrance, but it was actually death from overwork, and I really just—
“Big brother, I’m all ready! You can use the bathroom, so go brush your teeth and wash your face. It’s been a while since school, so make sure you’re prepared!”
“Oh. O-okay…”
After my sister left, I faced the mirror to assess the situation.
If the explanation echoing in my head is correct, then it’s undeniable that I died from overwork and was reincarnated, which means I’ve been given a chance to start my life over.
During my gray youth, when I had no friends, things didn’t change even after I got into a university through relentless studying. At that company where I worked until I died from overwork after countless interviews, I didn’t even have a girlfriend.
If I’ve been reincarnated into a romantic comedy world, then I should have a cute childhood friend, be close with the student council president, and have a beautiful girl sitting next to me in class—becoming the protagonist who is adored by the heroine is the norm. Now that I recognize this as a romantic comedy world, it’s only natural to expect such a vibrant youth.
However, however—
“From any angle, I look like the ‘delinquent villain character’ that appears in a romantic comedy…”
—It seems that my second life won’t go as smoothly as I hoped.
-★★★ Afterword ★★★-
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