Chapter 3
Chapter 3
You Want Me to Become the Count’s Daughter’s Guard Knight? I’m Not Really Interested
Sometimes, a question would come to mind.
The slaves who built the pyramids,
or the factory workers of the industrial age—
what on earth were they thinking while they worked?
What kind of thoughts filled their minds as they labored under harsh conditions without even being treated like human beings?
Now, I finally know the answer.
What thoughts?
When you just keep doing what you’re told, it’s so exhausting that the day flies by before you even realize it.
That’s exactly how it was for me right now.
“Huff… huff… huff…”
Without even having time to dwell on the fact that I’d been transported into a game, I carried heavy stones as that bastard Peter ordered.
It felt unfair that the stones I had to carry were more than three times larger than those of the others, but I wasn’t even given the right to complain.
I was a slave.
More precisely, Solomon was a slave.
That was his setting.
Even this unusually strong body of his only meant being forced into even harder labor than others.
“Fuck… seriously, what kind of suffering is this? Just a few hours ago, I was at home playing games.”
I complained, but honestly, it wasn’t that hard.
It felt unfair, but my body could handle it.
It was strange.
A rock that must weigh several hundred kilograms could be lifted easily, and even after working all day, I didn’t feel tired at all.
You could say I had inherited Solomon’s physical traits.
No… more than that, this was exactly how the game’s story went.
Because the protagonist in the game is also someone who possessed this body.
“Wow, my strength got insanely strong? This is awesome.”
The protagonist admiring his own strength.
That was a scene you could see right after starting the game.
In that sense, I was just like him, equally amazed.
The difference was that the protagonist had a very positive personality.
I didn’t.
“Fuck… why me. Why me. Why me. Why me!! Is it because of that email? Just because I sent that, this is the kind of retaliation I get? What kind of technology even lets them make me possess someone? I don’t know… but how do I get back? I don’t even know that.”
I had played the game for over 100 hours, but there was no scene where the protagonist returned to Earth.
There was an episode where he received a letter from his parents on Earth and broke down crying, though.
That was the only moment I remember that that tsundere lunatic showed any concern for the protagonist.
But aside from that, there was no storyline connecting Earth and this world.
Which meant no matter how much I thought about it, I wouldn’t find a way back.
There was no point thinking about something unknowable.
Instead, I started thinking about how to survive in this world.
The conclusion was simple.
I knew the main story and settings, so I could use that knowledge to survive.
For example, Peter would soon gather the slaves and say something like this.
“Listen carefully. I will select one of you to become the guard knight of a Count’s daughter. Anyone confident in their fighting ability, step forward.”
This was it.
This is where the main story begins.
Why would a Count’s daughter choose a mere slave as her guard knight?
The reason is simple.
It’s because Roze is that unpopular.
Roze Volanschefort.
A woman called the only disgrace of a prestigious family even connected by blood to the royal family.
Despite being a noble, she can’t use magic at all, and above all, her personality is so terrible that she doesn’t have a single friend.
Except for Elise, who took care of her since childhood, no one has stayed by her side for more than three months.
That’s how broken her personality is.
That’s why, despite being a Count’s daughter, she can’t even find a proper guard knight and has to rely on lowly slaves.
For a proud Count family to seek help from a slave trader like Peter means they are that desperate.
Because it’s almost time for academy enrollment.
At the academy, it’s common sense for nobles to bring along a guard knight.
Unless they are low-ranking nobles like barons or viscounts, or financially ruined, high-ranking nobles like counts are expected to have one.
If she entered the academy without a guard knight, there was no telling what kind of ridicule she would face.
So, in their urgency, they were trying to grab at straws and pick someone useful from among the slaves.
“By the way, whoever is chosen as the guard knight will also have to accompany her to the academy. So anyone too old should give up now.”
At that moment, someone raised a hand and asked a question.
I turned my gaze toward them.
Among the filthy slaves, a strikingly beautiful silver-haired girl spoke in an elegant voice.
“What are the selection criteria?”
“As I said earlier, fighting ability. The most important thing for a guard knight is combat strength.”
“And how will you compare that?”
“Of course, through a duel to determine who is stronger.”
“I see.”
She smiled faintly and, for some reason, looked in my direction.
I knew her.
Sylvia Alesta.
A genius of the Alesta Viscount family, famous for swordsmanship.
Originally, she could have entered the academy as a student without issue, but due to her family’s downfall, she had fallen as low as becoming a slave.
For someone like her, who constantly sought a way back into noble society, there could be no better opportunity than this.
“Then I volunteer. The guard knight of a Count’s daughter—there is no one more suited for that role than me.”
“Sylvia…?”
“Then it’s already decided.”
“Who could beat Sylvia?”
“No one would even dare challenge her in the first place.”
“Yeah… Sylvia and a Count’s daughter do seem like a good match.”
As Sylvia, who had already established a special status among the slaves, stepped forward, everyone else lost their nerve and gave up.
This too followed the game’s story.
Sylvia was one of the main characters in the game, skilled enough to even fight academy instructors.
Ordinary slaves worn down by labor were no match for her.
However, according to the story, Sylvia does not become Roze’s guard knight.
“Then is there anyone else? Are you all fine with just choosing Sylvia like this? This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to change your lives.”
Peter subtly glanced in my direction, hinting.
Ah, right.
The reason Sylvia doesn’t become Roze’s guard knight—
is because of me.
More precisely, because of Solomon.
Among these weak and incompetent slaves, Solomon had gained a reputation as an exceptional figure.
The reason was obvious—the overwhelming physical ability I had just experienced.
He hadn’t formally trained in swordsmanship like Sylvia,
but there were already whispers among the slaves that “Isn’t Solomon actually stronger than Sylvia?”
And Peter knew that.
From Peter’s perspective, sending better talent to the Count family would improve his own reputation, so he was subtly urging me to step forward.
In the actual main story, Solomon steps forward confidently and volunteers.
Then he fights Sylvia in a fierce duel and narrowly wins.
“With this, it’s my victory, Sylvia.”
“Damn it… this can’t be happening! Me, who was called the genius of the Alesta family—losing to someone like you! Cough! There’s no way!”
“But I did win. I’m going to the Count’s family.”
“Why!! Why are you so obsessed with going there!”
Sylvia cries out, tears streaming down her face.
“I have a duty to restore my family! But you don’t need to! You could succeed another way! Why… why are you taking my chance away! Why!! Whyyyyy!!”
“You can succeed in other ways too, Sylvia. Don’t think this is your only chance.”
Just as Solomon said, Sylvia is later chosen as another noble’s guard knight and eventually enters the academy.
However, she becomes the protagonist’s sworn enemy and clashes with him at every turn.
Breaking down that hostility is the key to conquering Sylvia’s route.
“Ahem. Any other volunteers?”
Peter cleared his throat, glancing at me again, then—
“Solomon.”
He called my name outright.
“You’re quite strong yourself, aren’t you? Why not step forward?”
“Yeah, Solomon. Let’s fight. Let’s see who’s stronger—you or me.”
Sylvia, unaware of the miserable future awaiting her, provoked me.
She was strong, but just slightly weaker than Solomon—that was the setting.
And yet she was challenging me without knowing that… well, whatever.
“I will not volunteer.”
I had already lost interest in Roze.
“…Are you serious? This is a huge opportunity. A huge one. If you become a guard knight for a Count’s family, you can escape this slave pit and change your life. Don’t you understand that, Solomon?”
“It’s fine, Peter… no, Master. How could someone like me defeat Sylvia? It is only right that she goes to the Volanschefort family. I will step back.”
“…Hoo… really? Even you must be afraid of fighting Sylvia.”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“Well… if you don’t want to, it can’t be helped. Sylvia, prepare to leave. Congratulations on becoming the guard knight of the Volanschefort Count family.”
Peter congratulated Sylvia half-heartedly, but Sylvia herself didn’t look happy at all—instead, she glared at me.
I tried to avoid her gaze, but that night, she called me out.
Her pride simply couldn’t accept a victory without a fight.
“Why did you give up the fight, Solomon?”
“I told you. I don’t have confidence in winning.”
“No… your eyes didn’t say that. Your eyes looked like they were saying… ‘I’m just not interested.’ Tell me, Solomon. Are you saying someone like me isn’t even worth fighting?”
“It’s not that I’m not interested in you, it’s just…”
It’s Roze I’m not interested in.
I’ve had enough of that mentally unstable tsundere.
So why are you making a fuss now?
“…you’re saying you’re not interested in my swordsmanship?”
“I never said that.”
“I’ve never liked you. The way you always seem to be hiding your strength… the rumors that you’re actually stronger than me… I hate all of it. To celebrate becoming a guard knight of the Count family, I want to clearly determine who is superior between us.”
“And if I say I’m not interested?”
“So you really have no interest in me! Fine! I’ll make you interested!”
Sylvia drew her sword and rushed at me.
In the end, I had no choice but to fight her.