I ran.
My pursuer was a single wild animal, but all I could do was run. Terror
flooded my heart. I took to the stairs running, zipped through the garden, and
used magic to scale the roof, stumbling all the way.
"Where did he go?!"
The creature's terrifying voice rang out as it chased me relentlessly.
I thought I had some stamina. After all, I had been running long
distances and practicing swordplay for the past few years. Now that my
confidence had been shattered, the creature seemed to be laughing at me, its
crimson hair fluttering as it pursued me so closely that I couldn't stop for air.
Don't give up, I told myself. No matter how much distance I put
between us, it would catch up the moment I started to lose focus.
Huff, huff. I was out of breath. I couldn't run any further. I couldn't
escape it. The only option left was to hide. I groaned and ducked into the
shadow of the stairs, behind a decorative plant.
The creature's booming voice echoed throughout the manor. "I will
never forgive you!"
Those words made my legs tremble.
My name is Rudeus Greyrat. I am seven years old. Currently a
handsome boy with bright brown hair and rosy cheeks, in my previous life I
was an unemployed thirty-four-year-old virgin. A shut-in.
In that life, I skipped my parents' funeral, which got me kicked out of
the house. Left in a state of despair, I was run over by a truck and died. But
by some trick of fate, I was reincarnated as a baby with my memories still
intact.
I was little better than garbage before I died, but having seen the error
of my ways, I've worked hard to live a proper life for the past seven years. I've learned the language here, studied magic, and practiced swordplay.
I have a good relationship with my new parents, and even made a cute,
childhood friend by the name of Sylphie. But in order for Sylphie and me to
attend the same school, I said I would work to earn the money for our tuition,
so my father shipped me here to the Citadel of Roa.
I'm supposed to spend five years here, attending to the studies of my
employer, the Young Mistress, in return for her financial support.
And that's the story so far.
"Come out here! I'm going to pulverize you!"
The creature's words struck fear into me as I hid in the shadows. I was
terrified of this personification of rage, manifested in the form of a tiny
female body.
What happened, you ask?
Let's go back an hour ago to find the answer…