Chapter 2
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: No Effort, No Handsomeness (1)
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Lucas Leyden.
The man who would become Rodrisno, Roin Leydensfather.
Ive heard about the Leyden family before.
But he didnt know the details.
He just vaguely knew it wasnt a wealthy house.
If they were going to reincarnate me anyway, couldnt they have picked a better family? Why this one...?
Rodri was extremely dissatisfied. No, it was more anxiety than dissatisfaction.
Hes too ugly.
Not quite on Rodris level, but Lucas Leydens looks were bad enough to make one think Goddess Ashutar had tricked him.
However, there was one big difference between Lucas Leyden and Rodri.
Roin. Arent you hungry?
A woman holding a baby bottle to his mouth.
It was Lucas Leydens wife, Elien.
Roin had never properly held a womans hand in his previous life.
In contrast, Lucas had even married a woman named Elien.
Marriage was surprising enough.
But what was even more astonishing was Elien herself.
She had such a delicate beauty that calling her an elf wouldnt be out of place. She was his mother.
What could a woman like this possibly lack that she married a baron?
Newborn Roin lay there, endlessly repeating these thoughts over and over.
And the conclusion he finally reached was this.
I have no idea.
He couldnt find any answer at all.
Lucas didnt come from a good family.
Nor did he possess tremendous power and wealth like Rodri.
That made it even more baffling.
Roin stopped thinking about it further.
Yeah, no point in me worrying about it. They say sons take after their mothers. If I want to look even a little more like her...
To do that, he needed to supplement his nutrients diligently from a young age.
Roin sucked on the baby bottle like a madman.
Watching him, Elien smiled warmly.
Eat lots and grow up big and strong.
Whether he grew big or not wasnt the point.
The only thing Roin wanted was to be handsome.
It had been seven years since his birth into the Leyden family.
On this day, turning seven, Roin headed alone to the small training ground behind the mansion.
No ones around, right?
Roin slowly focused his mind.
Being cooped up in the house all the time made him itch for action.
Whenever that happened, hed sneak out of the mansion like this to loosen up.
There werent many servants, so he didnt have to worry much about being spotted.
The butler who doubled as swordsmanship instructor and etiquette teacher, Gillion.
And the maid, Emilia, who handled the housework alongside his mother Elien.
Just those two.
That made it easy to slip through their watch and reach here.
The mansions a total wreck, too.
It was the epitome of a fallen noble house.
If they were reincarnating me anyway, couldnt they have picked a decent family?
But blaming the goddess for this was tricky.
His wish had been to be made handsome, not to be born into a good family.
So, had that wish to be made handsome come true?
So far, yes.
He thought so, at least until the birthday party that evening.
After his hundred-day celebration, when he started toddling around, Roin had despaired at seeing his fathers face reflected in his own in the mirror.
Just as the midwife had said, the anxiety that he might take after his father hit him hard.
Fortunately, as he grew, those traces vanished completely, and he was growing into a beautiful boy who took after his mother.
But seeing his siblings today made him unable to let his guard down.
I might turn into that damn fathers ugly mug at any moment.
The Leyden family had five siblings in total.
Starting with the eldest daughter Seira, then Helton and Weiji, Viola, and finally Roin.
Seira and Viola were Roins sisters.
Helton and Weiji were his brothers.
Seira and Viola both strongly inherited their mother Eliens genes, possessing stunning beauty.
I heard Moms a distant relative of elves.
Innate beauty.
That was the power of genetics.
But the problem started here.
Helton and Weijithe sonshad all inherited their fathers looks.
In other words.
Since Im a son too, theres a high chance Ill end up an ugly mug like Dad!
Overwhelmed by sudden stress, Roin unconsciously drew on his power.
Oh no!
He barely regained his senses and pulled back his fist.
They couldnt even afford a wooden training dummy, so he had to handle it with utmost care.
Above all, Roin couldnt afford to use his full strength.
To think I inherited all the power from my Rodri days completely.
Hed realized this at age three.
While rolling around, he bumped into the dining table and unwittingly unleashed mana, shattering it to pieces.
Thats when he understood his current body had inherited all of Rodris power, abilities, and divine authorities intact.
Hed barely passed it off as the old table breaking.
That was close.
A seven-year-old kid with no proper training smashing a sturdy training dummy?
The house would erupt in chaos.
Just then, he heard maid Emilia calling for him from afar.
Young Master! Young Masteeer!
Time to head back.
He didnt want to get grilled about what he was doing alone in the training ground.
Im here.
Now it was time to go back to being a normal seven-year-old kid.
I need a way to maintain my looks.
Before heading out.
Roin scanned the frames holding the portraits of past family heads.
His impression was singular.
Theyre all ridiculously ugly.
Rodris ugliness was more overwhelming, but the Leyden heads were no joke either.
The more he looked, the more despair washed over him.
Still, the fact that Eliens blood flowed in his veins gave Roin hope.
A moment later.
Young Master Roin. Were ready.
Got it.
He headed to the library reserved for nobles, accompanied by Emilia.
The Leyden territory, Drin, was an extremely small region.
It didnt produce much compared to other territories, nor did it have notable specialties.
Geographically on the outskirts of Delont Kingdom, it wasnt culturally vibrant either.
Once, the territory had been sizable, wielding considerable influence here, but those days were gone.
Now it was barely a tenth of its former sizea tiny fief.
Even the library they were visiting had once belonged to the Leyden barony.
The Leyden founder had built it, after all.
I hope they have something satisfactory.
Among nearby libraries, it held the largest collection.
And since its founding, anyone proving noble status could enter.
Emilia stepped up to the librarian at the entrance and announced Roins identity.
This is Roin Leyden, the fifth child of Lucas Leyden, head of the Leyden family.
Identity confirmed, Roin immediately stepped inside.
The library interior was more organized than expected.
Books were sorted by category: Swordsmanship, Magic, Cooking, Music, Art, and so on.
Even a rural library has the basics.
But compared to the royal library, it was a drop in the bucket.
He wanted to go there and grab what he needed.
They wouldnt let a fallen noble into the palace willy-nilly.
And what excuse would they have for admitting an eight-year-old kid?
He decided to find a method fitting his current situation without pushing it.
Here it is!
Roins steps finally stopped.
Two letters clear in his eyes.
Beauty
This was the method Roin sought.
He didnt need anything else.
This life, he had to become a handsome man no matter what!
For Rodrino, Rointhis thought was practically an obsession.
Hed had great interest in beauty, so he knew a lot about it.
After Rodri vanished, the beauty industry had advanced with new products and care methods.
Roin gathered a bunch of beauty-related books and set them on the table.
Perhaps due to their weight, a loud thud filled the library.
The sudden noise drew everyones eyes to Roin momentarily.
Whos that kid?
Lucas Leydens youngest son.
That fallen noble?
Oh, how admirable. Trying to read so many books at that age.
And hes cute, too.
Hehe, isnt he?
He overheard words about his promising future, but Roin couldnt take them at face value.
Because Lucas Leydens blood ran through his veins.
To outsiders, it might look like he was studying to revive the family.
But Roin couldnt care less about that.
He had to maintain his current looks somehow.
His mission was to cheer on and encourage the genes from his elf-blooded mother.
Roin turned the pages of books bigger than his torso with his small hands.
The whispering onlookers resumed their chatter.
But can he even read them? Some look like ancient tomes.
Ancient books were indecipherable without knowledge of old languages.
He might look like a young boy, but Roin had lived 43 years already.
Back when he was Rodri, hed mastered several ancient languages.
Even linguists acknowledged Rodris skill.
There was a reason Rodri obsessed over ancient languages.
The secret to becoming handsome! Where is it!
Maybe the ancients knew a way to fix the curse-like ugliness plaguing him.
That hope led him to master them.
Roin scoured the beauty section relentlessly.
Just like when hed rifled through books as Rodripure tenacity.
The difference? Rodri sought to escape ugliness via sorcery; now, it was to preserve beauty.
So he focused on things meaningless back then.
Skin care, hair management, and so on.
He jotted down anything useful in his notebook diligently.
Hed already nearly filled the one he brought.
Hed arrived in the morning.
Now the sun was setting.
Young Master.
Emilia called from afar.
Roin smacked his lips and closed the books.
Regretful, but that was it for today.
It had been a week of frequent library visits.
In that time, Roin realized one thing.
Yeah, management is key after all.
Since his mothers looks were manifesting anyway, starting care now might keep him different from his brothers and father.
Of course, thoughts of the terrifying Leyden bloodline from the portraits made him shudder, but the sliver of hope changed everything.
Im different from the past heads!
He was a child now; proper care from this age would do it.
He was steadily building knowledge of beauty secrets he hadnt known before.
Today, Roin would start full-scale appearance management.
After closing the books, he left the library with Emilia.
Smiling, she asked.
Young Master, youve really gotten into reading lately. What books have you been reading?
At first, Roin felt awkward at a woman smiling so kindly at him.
It was an entirely new experience.
Roin kept a straight face as he replied.
Just... history stuff.
History... Important, isnt it.
Walking along, Emilias gaze drifted to the statue atop the fountain.
In Remembrance of Hero Rodris Sacrifice.
A statue commemorating the hero who always hid his face behind a black helmet.
It had been eight years since he shattered Muorats Deathbringer and summoned the goddess for reincarnation.
People had searched desperately for the suddenly vanished hero Rodri.
But now, they seemed to have given up.
Eight years already since then.
It felt like yesterday, yet eight years had passedunbelievable.
The hero Rodri, who single-handedly saved the world multiple times.
But people wouldnt know.
I just went to wish to become handsome.
He never imagined his selfish desire would be so glorified.
Emilia gazed at the statue modeled after Rodri in his youth.
She plucked a petal from a nearby blooming blue flower and placed it on the fountain water.
A way for those mourning Hero Rodris sacrifice to pay respects.
Blue petals and colorful others floated on the fountain.
And you, Young Master?
Reluctantly, Roin did the same.
Me mourning myself. Lifes full of surprises.
Roin chose a red petalthe color hed loved in life.
Among the floating petals, his was the only red one.
People know nothing about me.
It stung.
Haah.
Seeing Roin sigh deeply, Emilia tilted her head.
Oh? Whats wrong, Young Master?
A sudden sigh from Roin would naturally seem odd.
She couldnt know his inner thoughts.
No, nothing.
Suddenly, Roin wanted to ask Emilia.
Emilia. What do you think of... uh, this Rodri guy?
Emilia stared at the statue for a long while.
Lost in thought, she finally spoke.
It was around your age, Young Master.
She unexpectedly shared her own story.
In a soft voice reminiscing, Emilia told Roin of her painful past.
The place I lived was a tiny rural village. Quiet and peaceful, not busy like here. Cozy. Until monsters wrecked it.
A monster raid.
It turned Emilia into an orphan overnight.
The one who took her in was Lucas Leyden.
Thats why she was now one of the few retainers of the Leyden family, alongside butler Gillion.
Most villagers died. But I survived. Know why?
No idea.
Its because of him.
She pointed to the statue.
Rodri.
He was Emilias lifesaver.
Roin recalled his past deeds.
Come to think of it, I did save a small rural village from a monster horde once.
Hed stumbled upon it by chance.
It was late, but some survivors still breathed.
He hadnt known one was Emilia.
Gazing at her savior Rodris statue, Emilia murmured.
Ive always wondered.
What?
Why he always wore that helmet... Why do you think? Was there a reason he couldnt show his face?
To that question, Roin unconsciously replied.
Dunno. Probably cause he was ugly as sin.
Oh, come on. No matter how ugly, would he wear a helmet all the time?
......
Roin was speechless.
Emilia wouldnt know.
That her no way was reality.