My Prologue
"Master! Wake up already!"
I had never earned a teaching certificate in my life. Yet the brown-haired girl right in front of me was calling me her master.
"Yeah… I’m getting up, I’m getting up… so stop shaking me, Airi."
I should have died when the VR machine exploded while I was playing my hobby game, Dragnity Fantasy 2.
But instead of the King of the Underworld or some angel, the person before me was Airi Les—the protagonist of Dragnity Fantasy 2 herself.
That’s right. I had reincarnated as the heroine’s teacher.
And out of every possible reincarnation, this had to be the absolute worst.
Werner Alton. In Dragnity Fantasy 1 he appeared as the protagonist’s companion. In Dragnity Fantasy 2 he was the mentor who taught Airi all sorts of things, only to die protecting her from the demons who had her in their sights. His final act was to send her off with a message to find her parents.
Reincarnating as a villain or a random extra would have been far better. Why? Because those characters could survive just fine if they simply avoided committing evil and lived ordinary lives.
But me? I was a character who had to die for the sake of the protagonist’s mental growth.
Of course I enjoyed that kind of sacrificial trope when it was happening to someone else. When it was my neck on the line, the story felt very different.
Even on the game community boards, Werner’s popularity had been massive. Between his generous screen time that rivaled most of the female cast and his genuinely compelling personality, he was universally liked by players.
But I had zero intention of offering up any noble sacrifice. Why? Because I didn’t want to die.
Werner may have been a man of magnificent character, but I wasn’t.
"Your adorable disciple made a delicious breakfast!"
Airi, her brown hair whipping about, ladled a purple liquid from the pot and set the bowl in front of me. Some parts were watery, others lumpy—an absolute revolution in the culinary world.
"Airi, what the hell is this substance?"
"It’s obviously beef stew."
She had clearly sourced the beef from some twisted hellscape. If I kept eating her cooking I might actually die. Unfortunately, the option to sneak away in the middle of the night wasn’t available to me.
"So, Master, there was no reply from your father, right?"
"When has that muscle-brained idiot ever bothered replying to anyone?"
Airi was the child of the protagonist from Dragnity Fantasy 1, after all. Traveling with her might get me killed, but abandoning her would guarantee it. And the fact that I wasn’t actually Werner could never be allowed to come to light. I wasn’t joking—I would literally be torn into thirteen pieces.
Fortunately, I already had all the knowledge needed to teach her in my head. I had been a hardcore addict of this game, and real combat played out exactly like it did in the VR version. Every spell I tested from memory had worked perfectly.
Airi savored her own stew and declared, "Mmm, delicious."
"It looks like a monster corpse that got crushed under a boulder, yet somehow it tastes good. Incredible."
"Why do you keep insulting my cooking?!"
Airi puffed her cheeks out like a balloon. For a seventeen-year-old she was acting far younger than her age. The developers had clearly designed her to be bright and energetic in the prologue, then show a completely broken side after Werner’s death. That contrast had earned massive love on the community boards.
Still, now that I had decided to survive, there was no way I was going to die. No matter what it took, I would live, send Airi back to her parents, and spend the rest of my days enjoying a peaceful life as Werner.
"Master! What are you teaching me today? The mountain-splitting sword style? The mountain-burning magic? The mountain-crushing fist technique?"
"Airi… do you have some kind of grudge against mountains? Why are you so obsessed with destroying them?"
"But there’s no better way to prove your strength than by erasing a mountain, right?"
"That’s the most mountain-like nonsense I’ve ever heard."
"Hiiing… You’re just saying that because you can’t do it, aren’t you, Master?"
The moment I pressed her a little, Airi’s face crumpled like she was about to cry. A flower garden—that was the most fitting description for the current state of her mind. The early story had been all about Airi getting deceived and falling into traps until Werner came to rescue her.
"Earth, gather and strike."
"Earth, gather and strike."
⟨ Earth Hammer ⟩
A solid hand formed from compacted earth and lightly smacked Airi on the forehead. It was a spell Werner often used on his disciple whenever she challenged his authority. Normally, after getting hit on the head like this, Airi would shout:
Those words became a curse. In the original story Werner really did die with his skull shattered, and Airi, horrified by her own words, temporarily lost her voice.
"Earth…" I smacked her forehead two more times.
It was only a low-grade spell that manipulated dirt clods and didn’t even hurt, yet Airi always squeezed out fake tears like this. If anyone asked how I could use the same magic the game characters used, I would simply answer that it was thanks to the game being VR. Anyone could do it if all it took was focusing their will and speaking the incantation into a microphone.
Magic in this world was fundamentally based on communicating with spirits. Low-grade spells required either no communication at all or only contact with lesser spirits. True high-tier magic demanded meeting and contracting with a Spirit King. Werner, however, had been monstrously strong even without any such contract.
As a character who taught the protagonist various combat methods in the prologue, Werner was reasonably skilled with swords, spears, and bows as well. Even without a Spirit King contract he had been confident in his top-tier abilities.
Opinions were divided on why the Archmage Werner had never contracted with a Spirit King.
The opposing thread was just as ridiculous.
The general consensus was that the developers simply hadn’t bothered giving him such elements because he was destined to die anyway.
"Hic… I’m going to tell the whole world that this old bachelor master is abusing his beautiful girl disciple!"
"Stop faking your tears, Airi. This master sees right through you."
"Oh, you knew?"
Of course I knew. You’re famous for your fake crying. That unpredictable personality was part of her charm, but it had also earned her plenty of antis. Personally I had been neither a huge hater nor a die-hard fan.
Airi stood up and began clearing the dishes. I unfolded the newspaper she had bought at dawn. Thanks to the perks of reincarnation, I could automatically read the language and letters. I wasn’t particularly interested in the world’s gossip; I had another reason.
I flipped past boring headlines that weren’t much different from my previous world until I finally found the article I was looking for.
'Recent Plunge in Parchment Prices Leaves Related Merchants in Tears.'
I hadn’t bought parchment coins or invested in any parchment-trading companies, but this was the exact article I had been desperately searching for. It was the same headline that had been partially visible on the newspaper Werner set down during the prologue cutscene.
"Haa… so today’s the day."
Two months after my reincarnation, the prologue was finally beginning.