The Foolish Boy
A foolish boy.
“Young Master!!!”
The girl shouted as she sprinted toward me. When she got close enough, she spread her arms wide and crashed into me with a fierce hug.
“Ugh…!”
Unfortunately, my average stats hadn’t even reached D-rank. I couldn’t withstand even this slender girl’s charge. With a loud crash, my body toppled backward. Yet even as we fell, she refused to let go, clinging to me with all her strength.
“Uh… huh…?”
It had happened so suddenly that my mind went blank. While I was still letting out a dazed noise, I felt my chest growing damp.
“Sniff…”
“……?”
When I looked down, the girl had buried her face against my chest and was crying. In a trembling voice, she asked,
“Young Master… it really is you, right? This isn’t a dream… is it?”
Young Master. She must mean Raiden. And right now, I am Raiden…
“Uh, yeah… I think so?”
My uncertain reply only made the maid’s sobbing grow louder.
“Hic… I was so worried, Young Master…”
“Ah, um… yes.”
I had no idea how to respond, so I simply reached out and gently patted the crying girl’s back. She flinched, then looked up at me with wet eyes.
“Sniff… It really is you?”
“Mm. Yes…”
I kept repeating the same hesitant words, but I couldn’t help it. This girl was someone I didn’t know at all. I couldn’t even remember if she had appeared in the original story. And even if she had, I barely recalled the names of the supporting cast, let alone a single maid from the Lisite family.
What… what do I do now?
While I was still panicking, a mechanical sound I was beginning to grow familiar with rang in my ears once more. At the same time, a blue window appeared before my eyes.
Synchronization, the possession perk, is now beginning!
[Synchronization]
User and Raiden Lisite’s memories will now merge.
You will inherit every memory Raiden Lisite experienced.
[※WARNING※]
Due to the vast quantity of memories and the resulting emotional flood, dizziness may occur.
Side effects such as fainting, vomiting, or mental abnormalities are possible.
Only memories are transmitted through the possession perk.
The user’s own emotions will not be affected in any way.
Please remember what the System said during your first encounter.
It may not make sense yet, but one day you will understand.
“What…?”
Suddenly? What the hell was all that? Fainting? Vomiting? Mental abnormalities? And what did it mean I would understand one day? If you’re going to explain something, at least do it properly, you son of a—
Beginning synchronization.
“Ugh…!?”
The moment the alert sounded, a brutal headache exploded inside my skull. At the same time, countless fragments of memories began pouring into my mind.
—Raiden, you’re awake.
—Oppa! Let’s go together!
—Young Master! You forgot your books!!
—Even if it’s a marriage arranged by the family, I think it’s fine…
—Correct again! Excellent, student Raiden!
Voices and scenes flashed past like a film on fast-forward. They were sights I had never seen and voices I had never heard. These were Raiden Lisite’s memories…
“Ugh…!!”
“Y-Young Master…?”
The more memories flowed in, the worse the pain became. It felt as if someone had pried open the lid of my skull and was stirring my brain. My whole body shook violently.
—…How disappointing, Raiden.
—Oppa… why did you change so much?
—Y-Young Master…
—Forget the engagement. I won’t love you anymore.
—Harassing commoner students again. This is a warning, student Raiden.
The once-warm voices gradually froze over. At the same time, my heart pounded wildly and my chest began to ache. Sharp, painful emotions flooded in—guilt, helplessness, despair. They mixed together into a familiar agony.
These feelings… were they Raiden’s? No, wait. The status window had said something earlier… but I couldn’t remember. Only the dizzying headache ruled my mind. It felt like my head would split open.
“Ughhh! Aaaargh!!”
“Young Master!”
A scream finally tore from my throat. Even after the memory transfer ended, the ringing in my head refused to stop. The memories, amplified by Raiden’s emotions, infected me and dragged the past into view.
Due to the recoil from memory transfer, you have been afflicted with Mental Abnormality (Trauma)!
The mocking comments I had seen in the finals video became voices that stabbed into my ears. Words that denied, ridiculed, and belittled my entire life pierced my heart. As my breath grew ragged from the suffocating pain, the nightmare of that day replayed once more.
—I don’t understand. Father’s voice. Cold, without a trace of warmth.
My breath caught. It felt as if my lungs refused to work, as if my throat was being strangled.
“Cough, hack…!”
Just as my vision began to blur, a clear mechanical sound cut through everything and reached me.
Skill 'Iron Mind' resists the status ailment (Trauma)!
The status ailment (Trauma) has been nullified!
“Cough…! Haah… haah…”
The ringing in my head vanished, and my frozen lungs finally drew breath again. My vision cleared slightly, but my body was still twitching with convulsions. The horrifying sensation made my mind snap back into focus. As I desperately tried to calm my thundering heart, the maid who had been clinging to me lifted her face.
“Young Master…! What’s wrong all of a sudden…!!”
She must have seen me gasping for air, because she was in a complete panic, tears streaming down her face. Somehow, her helpless crying looked incredibly cute. I quietly reached out and wiped her cheek.
“Young… Master?”
To calm her, I spoke her name in a steady voice.
“Calm down, Rachel.”
Rachel. The maid who had stayed by Raiden’s side since childhood. Even after he became a complete bastard, she remained a loyal vassal. And… my precious friend.
“Young Master…?”
“Yes, Rachel. I’m here. I’ve come back……”
At those words, the girl burst into tears once more. With complicated feelings, I gazed at the watery trails running down her face. But that tearful gaze didn’t last long. A blue screen suddenly appeared, cutting between us.
Due to extreme mental exhaustion, you have fallen into the status ailment (Fainting).
“Wait, what…?”
You’ve got to be fucking—
Thud. Before I could resist, my consciousness cut off.
. . .
Raiden Lisite had once been a boy loved by everyone.
He was polite to his elders, merciful to those beneath him, and knew how to cherish the people around him. Even though his natural talent was mediocre and his features sharp, people liked him. He was a son his parents could be proud of, a brother his younger sister respected, and an adorable young master to the servants.
Because Raiden knew how to give love and how to receive it, joy and happiness always surrounded him.
But even in the boy’s peaceful world, a storm eventually arrived.
—Mother… no, Mother…
When Raiden was sixteen, his mother passed away. The cause was assassination. It happened on a quiet winter night.
Raiden had finished his daily routine and was lying in bed. Occasionally he heard creaking from outside the window, but the exhausted boy dismissed it as his imagination.
He shouldn’t have.
—Crash!
With a sharp noise, the glass window shattered. Startled, Raiden sat up, only to see unidentified assailants bursting into his room. Shadowy figures approached with murderous intent, drawing blades from their waists. The boy froze in terror.
—If you come quietly, we won’t kill you.
Just as black hands reached for Raiden, a woman with red hair suddenly appeared and blocked their path.
—Run, Raiden!!
Blue magical light flickered at her fingertips. The spell that shot forth pushed Raiden’s body violently toward the window. In less than a second, the boy witnessed it.
His mother, forcing a clumsy smile with trembling lips as she looked at him. And the several swords that had pierced straight through her stomach.
—I’m… sorry… my… son…
—M… Mother…?
The memories after that were hazy. The boy simply stood frozen. Even when his father arrived late and slaughtered the laughing assailants, even when the shocked butler shook the boy’s shoulders asking if he was alright, Raiden only stared at his mother’s rapidly cooling body.
It was the first time death had visited the boy’s life. It was the first farewell he had faced without any mental preparation.
The death of the person he had relied on most since childhood struck him with overwhelming shock. And that shock twisted his mind beyond recognition.
—Mother… Mom died… because of me…
The boy agonized over the fact that his mother had died protecting him. The horrific thought that someone who loved him had sacrificed herself because she loved him slowly destroyed the boy.
To forget the vivid memory of that day burned into his mind, he lived every day drunk. Because he spent all his time intoxicated, his judgment grew increasingly clouded.
—It’s all… all because of me…
—If Mother hadn’t loved me, this wouldn’t have happened…
—…I should have been the one who died.
The foolish boy. He was still too young to know how to properly overcome his wounds, and his mind was so overwhelmed that normal thinking was impossible. His mother’s sincere devotion and sacrifice felt far too heavy for him.
This became the first reason Raiden feared being loved by others. Before long, it settled into his heart as an obsession.
After that, the boy rejected the love of others. He stopped trying to give love like before, and stopped trying to receive it. Instead, he committed every kind of misdeed to earn hatred and contempt.
—Is this all you can do?!
—You have no taste!!
He hurled abuse at the mansion’s servants.
—Hic… I told you to stop drinking… Damn it, what does Father have to do with it?!
He drowned himself in alcohol every day, destroying his own conduct.
—Hey you, you’re pretty. How about tonight…
He relentlessly hit on female students at the academy.
—What a boring class.
—Who does this academy instructor think he is, lecturing me?! Want to die?
He caused trouble at least once during every lesson.
As obsession and trauma eroded his mind, Raiden’s delinquent behavior only grew worse. Of course, because his heart had always been soft, he never crossed the line into true violence or murder. But it was more than enough to earn the world’s hatred.
Rumors about Raiden began at the academy and gradually swelled. As they grew larger, all sorts of exaggerations and lies mixed in. He had never even held a girl’s hand, yet rumors spread that he lived a lewd and decadent life. He had never once struck anyone, yet stories circulated that he habitually beat servants.
The fact that the Duke’s eldest son was a bastard was simply too stimulating a topic. The rumors about the boy spread like wildfire.
Raiden felt satisfaction in it. Far from stopping the scandals, he focused on making them grow. He spent money and used people to deliberately create negative public opinion about himself. When the reactions died down, he would put on even more extravagant performances.
—I must not be loved. I don’t deserve it…
—…Because I am a monster who survived by drinking my mother’s blood.
—I don’t want to make anyone who loves me… unhappy again…
Every night, the boy muttered to himself like a madman. His thoughts and reason had already been devoured by self-loathing, and obsession deeply stained every action.
—…I miss you, Mother.
He was a foolish seventeen-year-old boy.
And so Raiden continued his misdeeds day after day. A little more time passed. When he turned eighteen, the delinquent met a certain student at the academy.
Alan Reinhardt.
The most talented first-year, and the protagonist of the novel Heroes Who Erase Sadness.
As usual, while Raiden was harassing female students, Alan threw a glove at him and said,
—I challenge you to a duel, senior. Stop bothering my friends and fight me instead.
Raiden smiled brightly inside and accepted the challenge. It was an opportunity to be hated and mocked even more; there was no reason to refuse. He even felt gratitude toward Alan as he stepped into the duel.
And on that day, in front of countless spectators, Raiden was beaten hideously. The male students watching the duel laughed with satisfaction. The female students sent passionate gazes toward Alan.
Alan frowned and spoke to Raiden.
—I originally planned to demand your expulsion as the price of the duel… but I’ll let it go this time.
—Instead, promise me this.
—Never appear before me or my friends again.
After the duel ended, Raiden returned to the dormitory. Familiar emptiness and darkness greeted him. The boy trudged along and quietly sat down inside the empty room. The wounds hurt terribly. But it was fine. No one worried about him. But it was fine. Everyone glared at him with eyes full of contempt. But it was fine.
—……No. Is it… really fine?
He felt despairing sorrow. He felt a pain that stabbed his chest. He felt a loneliness so hollow it drove him mad. Yet he quietly comforted himself.
—It’s okay. I’m doing well…
—It’s okay… It’ll be okay……
Muttering those words, he forced a smile and tried to sleep. His broken thoughts were like a truck with a broken steering wheel—knowing it was on the wrong road but unable to change direction. A mad sprint.
That boy’s fall eventually reached destruction.
A few days after the duel, Raiden’s younger sister, who had enrolled as a first-year, came to see him. She must have heard about the duel with Alan, because she was furious from head to toe.
The girl shouted at the boy.
—Why! Why are you doing this?! I asked you to just live quietly!!
The once cute and gentle younger sister had become sharp and cold. Raiden felt a faint bitterness, but he didn’t show it and responded with his usual frivolous attitude.
The girl was tired of that attitude. She could no longer wait for the kind, warm older brother from the past. Perhaps that was why words she would never normally say slipped out.
—It would have been better… if you had died instead of Mom that day…
Raiden froze like ice at those words.