Chapter 1: I Became the Royal Family's Sandbag (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1: I Became the Royal Family's Sandbag (1)
I used to read web novels quite often as a hobby.
I started with game fantasy, then moved on to modern fantasy, traditional fantasy, and eventually even Murim.
After more than ten years of that, I ran out of things to read.
I spent my time "dipping my toes" into new releases, trying to find something that fit my taste, until I eventually turned my gaze toward Romance Fantasy—commonly known as RoFan.
‘Wait, this is actually pretty good?’
Contrary to my initial thought of “Why would a guy read RoFan?” it was much more entertaining than I expected.
No, it went beyond just being "entertaining"—it was genuinely fun.
I thought the "Romance" tag meant it would be nothing but lovey-dovey flirting, but I was surprised to find many titles that weren't like that at all.
Of course, not every work was a hit. There were plenty that didn't suit my taste, but wasn't that the case for fantasy and Murim as well?
And so, having exhausted the fantasy and Murim genres, I fell deep into the new world of RoFan.
The problem was...
“Adam.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“How can I get her to notice me?”
“……”
Living it for myself, I realized that the RoFan genre isn't exactly a cozy place to live.
One day, I opened my eyes to find myself in a fantasy world.
It was absurd.
There were so many guys around me back home who would scream and beg to be sent to an isekai.
So why did they send me, someone who was living a perfectly normal life in reality?!
…Or so I thought, but I ended up adapting to this world surprisingly easily.
Of course, that was largely thanks to my birth.
Just yesterday, I was a struggling job seeker getting kicked around, but here, I was the son of a Count?
At the very least, I didn't have to worry about finding a job.
Furthermore, the family was wealthy enough to support me even if I chose to live as a total slacker for the rest of my life, so I could live with a peaceful mind.
“Adam, you have a talent for the sword.”
However, wouldn't it be a waste to be born a man and do nothing but eat and play?
Besides, unlike my previous life, this family provided me with abundant support. I figured it wouldn't be bad to enjoy the isekai life everyone dreams of.
Thus, while receiving the family’s elite education, I discovered my aptitude as a swordsman.
The instructors—former knights—praised me, saying I had quite the talent. I also found a sense of fulfillment in swinging a sword, so I believed being a knight was my true calling.
Yes, from what I heard, the eldest son inherits the estate, while the younger siblings support their brother through internal affairs or military might. As Adam, the third son of House Smith, I would help my first and second brothers as a knight!
In novels, brothers always cause all sorts of chaos to seize the family headship, but look at how beautiful this brotherly love is!
“This child is a once-in-a-century genius!”
But the touching scenario of my eldest brother shedding tears of joy and my second brother hugging me was shattered one day by an uninvited guest.
As it turned out, one of my instructors was a former member of the Royal Guard. He had been teaching as a hobby while hiding his identity, but upon realizing my talent, he reported me to his former workplace.
“M-Me?”
“That is correct.”
And so, a knight currently serving in the Royal Knights, sent by the palace, looked at me as if I were a precious treasure and promptly kidnapped me to the King’s residence.
A Count, a high-ranking noble? If you defy the Royal Family, you’re finished.
That was why my parents and even my brothers waved goodbye as they saw me off. The fact that they didn't look even slightly sad was a bit much, but what could I do?
“This child?”
“Yes. If I were to describe him…”
At the palace where I had been dragged, the knight who brought me and a knight who looked even higher-ranking began to talk.
Then, without warning, they shoved a sword into my hand and told me to spar.
And then.
“Even if you searched the entire continent, you wouldn't find someone with such appropriate talent.”
I felt like I had just spent the whole time getting beaten up, but the knight evaluating me called me a genius.
And not just any genius—a one-of-a-kind genius on the continent.
Was this the "reincarnator buff" I’d heard so much about? Was I going to live like a fantasy protagonist from now on?
As if confirming my thoughts, the words that followed were very promising.
“We happened to need someone to attend lessons with the 5th Prince.”
Taking classes together. What did that mean? It meant receiving royal education, which was several levels higher than what I had been learning.
There were no better conditions for increasing my personal strength.
But more importantly, I would be taught alongside a Prince.
Learning together from childhood, naturally entering the Academy together... If I graduated safely, I could live my life as the Prince’s confidant.
Of course, if I made a mistake in the process, not only my head but my entire family could be wiped out—but hey, wasn't it the family that abandoned me first?
I was born a man and came all the way to another world! It wouldn't hurt to aim for success as a Prince’s right-hand man!
Thus, I actively appealed myself and managed to become a knight belonging to the Royal Family.
A training officer of the Royal Knight Training Command.
Those who learn alongside the royalty at the closest distance, sometimes teaching them, and protecting them in times of crisis.
That was intended to be my first and last position.
And the first step of that great achievement was...
“This is the Defeat Sword you must master from now on.”
“……?”
Learning how to lose.
"Just one more game."
That was something people often said when playing games in my previous life.
Personally, I think that phrase was only possible because strategy simulations like Space War and the AOS genre Legend of Legends held hegemony over South Korea.
Just one more game.
Both games were perfect for realizing that phrase.
But at the same time, both games were terrible for actually making "just one more game" a reality.
“This bastard is using a cheese rush?!”
You declare "just one more game," but then the game ends because six space monsters come rushing in before you’ve even produced a single worker, or infantrymen come charging in behind space robots—the so-called "cheese rush." In those cases, the game doesn't count.
It was the same when those petty alien races built photon lasers, meant for defense, right inside my base.
And that wasn't all.
“Ugh, just FF. We can't win this.”
“What, another surrender?”
Unlike 1:1 strategy simulations, the situation was even worse in the 5:5 game Legend of Legends.
In a 1:1, no matter what, it was me who got wrecked. But in a 5:5, there were four other people to blame, so all sorts of excuses were possible.
That’s right.
"Just one more game."
That refers to a match where neither side has a clear advantage, the balance is tight, and in the middle of it all, I lead the team to victory with a carry, reaching peak dopamine levels.
If it ends before reaching that point, it’s not recognized as a "game."
If it reaches that point but ends in defeat, it’s also not recognized as a "game."
By the time that "true final game" ended after an infinite loop of "last ones," the scheduled gaming time had usually long since passed. Yet, people were more than willing to sacrifice their time for that one true match.
Because I possessed memories of my past life, I could answer the Training Commander before me with confidence.
“So, I spar with the 5th Prince, engage in a back-and-forth with an appropriate sense of crisis, and when we both try to settle it with a final blow, I just have to lose by a hair—so narrowly that His Highness doesn't notice.”
“Excellent!”
Truly a once-in-a-century genius.
The Royal Knight Training Commander clapped, marveling at my talent, while I despaired at what they called "talent."
I was excited because they said I had talent! But didn't that just mean I had decent skills, decent potential, and incredibly sharp intuition?
“The Princes are all of royal blood. There is a specific royal education suited for that.”
I remembered hearing something like that in my past life and it becoming a legendary "power trip" scandal on the news, but unfortunately, it wasn't a controversy here.
He really was of royal blood, and they really were educating a Prince.
Even if it was a power trip, he really was the one in power!
“It is often said that one learns from defeat, and that is true. However, our defeat and the defeat of the royal bloodline are entirely different things.”
That was true.
Since no one in the country would be foolish enough to try and beat a royal, a royal’s defeat would mean losing to another country.
On a small scale, it would mean losing while studying abroad at a foreign academy; on a large scale, it would mean losing to a foreign enemy in a war.
the former would be a national embarrassment, and the latter would be a sign of the country’s ruin on top of that embarrassment.
That was why royalty rarely studied abroad, and even if they did, the other country usually adjusted things appropriately out of diplomatic consideration.
“That is why we exist.”
One who walks the path of a King must not know defeat.
However, overprotection leads to one not knowing their own limits or the ways of the world.
A pacemaker had to exist—someone who could push the royalty to keep challenging their limits, yet ultimately always had to lose.
“That is us!”
A sandbag in the guise of education.
And not just any sandbag, but the optimal sandbag that creates the most satisfying situation for the person doing the hitting.
It sounded quite grand when put that way.
“Commander.”
“Do you have a question?”
I felt bad saying this to the Commander, who was moved by meeting a once-in-a-century genius, but honestly, I wasn't confident.
“To achieve that, wouldn't my skills need to be at least on par with the 5th Prince?”
Exactly. To pull all of this off, I had to be at least as skilled as my opponent.
No, honestly, being equal wasn't enough. Humans aren't machines. On a day when someone is in peak condition, they might beat someone a level above them. On their worst day, they might lose to someone far below them.
Considering his position as a Prince, there might be ways to keep him in top condition, but no matter how much magic and divine power existed in this fantasy world, one couldn't stay in peak condition forever.
So, to ensure a close match even in an emergency, I had to be stronger than my opponent.
And not just a little stronger—a lot! Strong enough to overwhelm them!
“Haha. Do not worry too much.”
At my concern, the Training Commander laughed and reassured me.
“We are the ones who build the foundation of the kingdom. Do you think there would be no support for such people?”
He explained that the Defeat Sword was a technique created by legendary swordsmen and refined by generations of the kingdom’s top swordsmen.
And that wasn't all. To ensure I could perfectly master the Defeat Sword, training officers like me would receive massive support every year.
Meals prepared by royal chefs using all sorts of healthy ingredients presented to the palace, elixirs to boost mana, professional staff for body management, and the ability to receive expert instruction from former training officers whenever I wanted.
All just to become the royal sandbag!
To create a soul's match—someone who could be narrowly defeated only after the Prince pushed himself to his absolute limits!
“That is your duty.”
It was truly absurd.
However, if I could pull it off, I would receive wealth, fame, and even a title.
Plus, didn't they say I had talent officially recognized by the Royal Knights?
“I’ll do it!”
There was no reason to refuse. Dealing with royalty might be a bit burdensome, but I had the "Life 2.0" buff—there was no reason I couldn't handle some kids.
“Good. From today, you are a proud Royal Knight.”
I had even gained the title of the youngest Royal Knight in the kingdom’s history, so I’d made a name for myself.
For the early stages of my second life, this was pretty excellent.
“In accordance with a knight’s honor, I will strive to be perfectly defeated!”
“Excellent!”
The content of the conversation was a bit strange, but this, too, was a knight’s duty.
It is a knight’s way to fulfill their assigned responsibilities for their lord.
And so, until I met the 5th Prince who would become my lord, I practiced the perfect Defeat Sword as a Royal Knight.
Two years later, I met the 5th Prince under the guise of a coincidence.
“Hello.”
“My name is Adam Smith.”
But at the time, I didn't know.
I didn't know that the 5th Prince I was assigned to was one of the sub-male leads in a RoFan novel.
Nor did I know that he wasn't just any royal, but the man who would one day be known as the continent’s greatest swordsman.
Without knowing that I had to become the soul's match for the strongest swordsman in the story's setting, I lightheartedly became the sandbag for the future greatest swordsman of the continent.