I Thought It Would Be Fine
There is a genre called "Misfortune Porn."
More accurately, it's not so much a genre as a term mocking works that stuff characters and narratives with misfortune, forcibly evoking sympathy and pity.
In short, it's a work that pokes and prods the reader with developments and settings like "Even like this, aren't you feeling sorry?" "Even like this, aren't you crying?" "Even like this, aren't you sad?" to make them shed tears.
My reincarnated world in "Misfortune in Life" was one of that genre.
Name: Benjamin Jenkinson.
Role? Of course, the villain.
In the original, depending on the branch, he would deceive or trap the protagonist, kill the protagonist's precious people, or at the very end pretend to be reborn and betray, driving not just himself but all characters to ruin.
He's a human scum that can't be explained by any word other than garbage, and even a hardworking scum.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible to deceive or trap the protagonist, so the question "How did he even do that?" would naturally come up when playing.
Anyway, I had no intention of following the original Benjamin's actions, so I pondered.
A seemingly noble but fallen family.
Parents who died leaving behind enormous debts.
A younger sister I had to take responsibility for.
The dream of becoming a successful author in this life.
The wish to live peacefully, unrelated to the original story.
After thinking about all of that, on the day I graduated from the middle school division of Animus Royal Academy—the noble duty and basic condition to become the next head—I went to the office and said,
"I quit."
That was already 2 years ago. Time flies.
After quitting and formally inheriting the Jenkinson family, I threw myself into writing activities, utilizing the talent estimated to be from reincarnation to the fullest.
There was a mountain of things to do. I had to write and pay off debts. My body would have been insufficient even if I had two.
After doing various other things, recently I had reached a point where I could enjoy considerable leisure and luxury.
But suddenly, the principal called me and spouted such nonsense: "Sorry, but I don't know how to prove the Count's graduation."
My peaceful days ended because of the principal of Animus Royal Academy, Xavier Cromwell.
Xavier Cromwell, today, held back the impulse to rip off the shirt that was strangling his neck and continued his story.
"I don't know if you know, but there was an expansion of the middle school building recently. In the process, while organizing old records, data on graduates came out, and it was discovered that there was an error in the Count's graduation process."
Xavier lifted the cup on the desk, hoping his actions would seem natural, and took a sip to moisten his throat.
"........."
The young Count just silently stared at him without saying a word.
His name is Benjamin Jenkinson. The greatest genius in the history of the Royal Academy, and a giraffe who received fervent love calls from the Anima Private School, which only the real elites of the kingdom attend, for several years.
From childhood, his talent that couldn't be hidden showed in all fields, and he is a man who raised the family in place of his parents who were destroyed by greed for their child's talent.
At 19 years old, the existence of a young man who, if he sets his mind to it, would change the power balance of the kingdom, was too much of a burden for the old principal who had lived a failed life.
He shouldn't have had to do this in the first place...
The Count thought the same. Benjamin, looking at Xavier with an understanding gaze, took a small pouch from his pocket, placed it on the desk, and said,
"Is this enough?"
With a cold, cynical tone, the pouch he placed looked incredibly heavy at first glance.
Xavier didn't feel insulted by the Count's action. He would have thought the same.
So the old principal could respond calmly.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding. We are not trying to blackmail the Count for financial gain. We are just discussing procedures and laws."
Although saying that, the Count wouldn't have missed the true intention.
According to Animus Kingdom law, nobles must complete a minimum education process to inherit the family.
The Count had deliberately filled his attendance days by skipping his time to graduate from middle school for that purpose, which Xavier knew well.
But now, 2 years later, suddenly it was discovered that there was an error in his graduation process.
The "error" was just that his attendance days were insufficient and some essential courses were missing, which was a problem that could be overlooked in reality.
Unless the target was not Benjamin Jenkinson.
There are too many enemies, Count. Too many.
Originally, it didn't make sense that the Count couldn't just fill his attendance days. In other words, someone had deliberately omitted and destroyed the data.
The reason was obvious. To disturb the Count who was doing many things. In short, they wanted the Count to be shackled by school again.
The Count, who had read that much, put the pouch back in his pocket and asked again,
"If middle school graduation is invalidated, does my title get stripped as well?"
"Although extreme, it's not impossible. You can appeal to the Kingdom Court to keep your title, but it will be quite troublesome. It will take a lot of time."
More than anything, the Count's enemies would tear him apart the moment they saw a small opening. Since the Count has no particular weakness, the impact when a small gap appears would be immeasurable compared to ordinary people.
Even so, this situation is no different from forcing it on the Count, and it's surprising that he shows no emotional fluctuation.
If Xavier were in the Count's position, he would have had difficulty maintaining his composure with injustice and anger.
The fact that a graduation certificate had been issued once means there was no problem at the time, so it's likely that the record was lost later.
Using this point, the Count could also pursue the school for responsibility, but he was still maintaining the calm attitude he had when he first entered the principal's office.
From Xavier's perspective, the Count seemed to hate meaningless efforts.
Since the situation is already set up like this, is it pointless to protest?
That thought turned into certainty with the Count's following words.
"What should I do? Since you called me like this, it seems a compromise has been made."
"Um, yes. The Count is 19 this year. Since it's the age of 3rd year high school, just endure it for 1 year and attend school. That way, the middle school graduation issue will be resolved."
This was the solution prepared by Xavier, who wanted to avoid problems at the school from the Count's enemies clashing with the Count, basically hoping the whale fight wouldn't splash the shrimp.
With this, the Count's enemies can bother the Count as they wish for a while, and the Count will be settled after enduring for about a year.
Taking out the pre-made documents and handing them over, Xavier looked at the Count, hiding his anxiety.
If he refused and said he would fight, it would be fortunate for Xavier who had prepared to quit his principal position.
Fortunately, the Count confirmed the documents without any hesitation and signed them.
"1 year. Please take care of it."
It was a warning. If he made another sound later, he wouldn't let it go, so Xavier hurriedly nodded.
"Well, please take care."
"Then, I'll be going."
Finally, after the Count left, Xavier let out a long sigh and buried his body in the chair.
He casually raised his arm and looked at his palm.
The old principal, staring blankly at his sweaty hand for a moment, soon praised himself.
He said he had endured well.
--
Was it the original story's forced resistance?
This year was the year the main story of Misfortune in Life began. Even so, I thought it was unrelated to me and ignored it, but I guess I had to turn my attention back.
The reason to turn on the attention? Of course, to avoid all triggers related to the original events.
Anyone who reincarnates as a villain should aim to live a normal and peaceful life.
Even if they get caught up in the original story's suppression, resisting fate to the very end is the duty and mission of those reincarnated as villains.
"Indeed, the timing is quite coincidental."
After leaving the principal's office, I walked to the high school teacher, organizing my thoughts.
It was possible that it was a coincidence, but looking at it fundamentally, the world of the game "Misfortune in Life" was like that from the beginning.
"Enough squeezing and enough unreasonableness was the catchphrase."
Because it's a reincarnated world, oddly, I couldn't remember anything else, but I remembered "Misfortune in Life" clearly.
The only thing I remember properly from my previous life is that I was a third-rate author, except for "Misfortune in Life".
I vaguely remember dying around my early 30s, but I don't remember the cause.
"Well, that's fine at this point."
I discarded unnecessary thoughts in a mutter, and recalled "Misfortune in Life" again.
I remember it was a game that mixed visual novels and RPGs. There were many branches depending on choices, and there was a favorability system and multiple endings, so there should have been romance simulation elements.
"The basic narrative follows the relationships between the protagonist and the surrounding characters, so that's not particularly noteworthy..."
Usually, these games aim for the ultimate goal of the heroine, the protagonist, connecting with the targets and healing each other's wounds.
But in "Misfortune in Life", it was different.
"This game, excluding the hidden ending that gets the true ending, seemed to have no happy ending itself."
It could be said that it faithfully followed the genre of misery porn, or even got eaten by the genre.
Someone's wound becomes the trigger for an event, and in the process of solving it, the hidden wound is revealed and hurts, but there is no treatment there.
It just makes everything hurt. And it's fortunate if you don't even sprinkle salt on it.
So, is it just to aim for the true ending? But unfortunately, that's practically impossible.
Because the condition to see the hidden ending is to perfectly攻略 all the targets without missing any, and thinking about the protagonist's personality...
"Um."
As expected, it's impossible.