Arrival
(Book 1 in the "I'm the bad guy!?" Series
Written by Kenneth Arant
Contents
Chapter 1: ... I'm the bad guy!?
Chapter 2: The Devil of War
Chapter 3: The Emperor
Chapter 4: The Princess
Chapter 5: Taking the Test
Chapter 6: The Summoner's Gate
Chapter 7: Let the training begin
Chapter 8: First Summons
Interlude: Kami
Chapter 9: ... Shopping
Chapter 10: The night before departure
Interlude: The curriculum
Chapter 11: All Aboard
Chapter 12: Getting settled in
Chapter 13: The 'Incident'
Chapter 14: The Pursuit
Chapter 15: The Confrontation
Interlude: Gesshin the First
Chapter 16: Epilogue
Chapter 1: ... I'm the bad guy!?
* * *
The delicious smell of freshly squeezed orange juice, piping hot scrambled eggs, spicy sausage, and perfectly buttered toast slowly shook my consciousness awake and caused me to open my eyes. Though I didn’t recognize the ceiling above my head or the feel of extremely soft linens on my bed, my mind was so preoccupied with the mouth-watering smell that I disregarded them and pushed my heavy body up into a sitting position.
“This… isn’t my room.” I mumbled as I looked around at the ‘ornate’, or as I like to call them, tacky furniture. Everything from the enormous four poster bed with the satin red duvet to the giant wooden wardrobe in the far corner looked as if they were pulled from a ‘millionaire's home’ magazine… And not in a good way.
The room itself was huge, easily large enough for a family of four to live comfortably in. The walls were painted a striking crimson color with what looked to be an inlaid pattern of gold around the top of the walls. That, coupled with the expensive looking furniture, was making me worried that I’d gotten drunk and broken into some rich person’s house and the cops were on their way to arrest me.
I swung my oddly short legs off the bed and dug my toes into the plush black carpet.
Yep, this is definitely some rich guy’s house. I should probably get out of here before he finds me sitting in his bed… Wearing his pajamas? I stared at the loose and extremely soft fabric that hung off my pudgy body in no small amount of confusion.
I pulled the shirt tight around my stomach and stared in horrid fascination as my already large stomach seemed to have grown three sizes overnight!
Is that why my legs seem shorter this morning? I wondered.
The door at the far end of the room swung open and my eyes darted in its direction.
“Oh, good, you’re awake.” A beautiful young silver-haired woman with bright blue eyes that I faintly recognized, but couldn’t quite place, said as she pushed in a silver cart laden with covered food trays.
I silently watched as she pushed the cart over to the large circular wooden table at the foot of the bed and calmly began moving trays onto the table.
“As ordered, we have scrambled blue salamander eggs, spicy mountain boar sausage, and freshly squeezed orange juice.”
The woman carefully uncovered each plate and placed the silver coverings back onto the cart, then looked at me expectantly while I just stared at her stupidly.
“Sir?”
“Is… Am I supposed to eat that?”
“Is it not to your liking?” a worried expression appeared on her face as she began to fiddle with the hem of the apron attached to her maid outfit. “Shall I have something else prepared?”
“Oh! Uh… No, I was just surprised, that’s all!”
The worried expression slightly faded but she still looked uncomfortable.
As I stood up on slightly shaky legs, I noticed her flinch at my movement and drop her eyes to the floor as if she were awaiting a punishment.
“Is… Is there anything else?” I asked while keeping my distance from her.
I wasn’t sure why she looked so nervous around me… Okay, aside from the whole ‘stranger’ thing, I had no idea why she was nervous. It’s not like I’ve done anything to her, right... Right?
“The master requested your presence in his chambers after breakfast.”
“The master?”
Now it was her turn to stare at me. Though her stare was more of a ‘are you stupid or something?’ stare, rather than my ‘clearly confused’ stare.
“Yes… your father?”
Having no idea what she was talking about, I choose to just laugh it off as a joke and waved her away.
“Very well, I shall return to collect the trays in half an hour.” She bowed her head to me and closed the door on her way out.
As I walked around the bed to the table and pulled one of the two heavy wooden chairs out so I could sit down and begin eating, the reflection in the mirror next to the wardrobe caught my eye and froze me in my tracks.
“No… There’s no way.”
I slowly walked over to the mirror and watched as the reflection perfectly copied my every action. But the man, or rather, the boy in the mirror… Wasn’t me.
My skin wasn’t that pale, my hair wasn’t black, I didn’t have dark circles under my hazel eyes, and I especially wasn’t that short!
But… seeing the boy in the mirror made me finally remember where I recognized the maid from.
She was a minor character in my favorite anime!
The anime in question: God’s favored Arcanist, an isekai story about a Japanese boy falling through a wormhole and finding himself in a magical world where he has the extremely rare ability to wield every element and, to a lesser degree, magical class.
He saves a princess, fights demons, slays dragons, and by the end of his story is made the emperor with a harem of beauties at his beck and call.
There’s just one problem… the guy in the mirror isn’t the hero… He’s the first ‘antagonist’ of the series: The previous fiancé to the same princess that ends up being saved by the hero and becoming the first member of his harem.
The tragic guy with the worst possible ending; the love of his life stolen, his kingdom destroyed, his family butchered, before finally having his magic sealed and being worked to death as a slave.
The boy staring back at me from the other side of the mirror was none other than Aren ‘The Devil’s Duke’ Ulvani
In other words…
“... I’m the bad guy!?”
* * *
Chapter 2: The Devil of War
* * *
Standing in front of the mirror I poked, prodded, pinched, and pulled various parts of my pudgy, dough-like body in stupefied curiosity.
“This has to be a dream, right?” I mumbled. “I mean, this kind of stuff just doesn't happen for real... It's all just a figment of my drunken imagination and when I wake up this will wind up being just a funny story to tell my coworkers.” I tried to rationalize.
I stared into the mirror until long after my food had cooled, but no matter how I looked at it, it just seemed so real. The feel of the pajamas hanging off my body, the soft carpet between my toes, and the smell of the food sure seemed real enough.
“I guess there's only one way to be sure.”
I drew back my right fist and slammed it into my stomach hard enough to knock the breath out of my lungs. I collapsed to my knees and coughed repeatedly.
...
Actually, now that I think about, I didn't need to punch myself since I'd been pinching myself for a while now and I clearly felt pain, so this was completely unnecessary...
I sighed at my own stupidity and looked at my downtrodden self in the mirror.
“I'm not dreaming, am I?”
; I made my way over to the table and collapsed into one of the chairs with a despondent sigh.
Well, if I'm going to be stuck here. I might as well try to remember as much as possible about the anime... Starting with what I know about the anime, as a whole.
God's Favored Arcanist was about the summoned human Masato Yamajita's rise to power as the forty-third emperor of the Ziral Empire. He was summoned by Jia Ling, captain of the imperial guard, and Tristen Millinis, arch-mage of the imperial academy. They did this under the direct supervision of Emperor Gesshin the first and the first princess of the empire, Kami.
Blessed by the god of magic, Masato was given the rare ability to form contracts with multiple elemental spirits. Thus, making him one of the most powerful Arcanists in the history of the Ziral Empire. If that wasn't enough, he was even further blessed with an extremely high MP level of fifteen-hundred. Pushing him straight into the territory of the elite mages from the get-go.
...
Conversely, the body I now inhabit was said to have had an MP level of one hundred and ten at the start of the series. High enough to get into the imperial academy so he could be close to the princess, but otherwise unremarkable.
Speaking of which, in the anime, Aren was seen as this ugly bully amidst the students of the academy. Using his father's position to intimidate other students, cheating on tests, harassing girls... Basically, he was an all-around jerk in the first season of the anime. However, ...It was in the second season that his circumstances really struck a chord with me and made me appreciate him as a character.
Abandoned by his family and exiled from the empire for supposedly forcing a kiss onto the princess off-screen between the first and second seasons. The anime started out season two by giving a brief recap from his point of view.
It showed the other side to his story: His struggle to follow in his father's footsteps as an Arcanist when he had zero talent for it, while in fact, his gifts lay in a very different school of magic. His growing resentment as his first love and childhood friend repeatedly ignored him in favor of the handsome, talented, and much more popular Masato. The near constant insults and whispers about his appearance and the degradation of his character we never got to see in the main anime.
...
It was enough to make anyone feel bad for the guy.
Putting everything else aside. The stress of trying to use magic you had zero talent for, an act the show repeated told us was impossible due to the way magic worked in the anime, must have been incredible... But I don't have to follow that path.
I remember which magic Aren's talent truly shined in and I'll be damned if I suffer the same fate he did.
Walking in my father's footsteps, making the princess fall in love with me, getting revenge on Masato... none of that matters to me.
If I'm going to be stuck here, then I must forge my own path in this world.
The door to my room swung open and revealed the maid with the silver cart. She briefly eyed my untouched breakfast, then redirected her gaze to my face and cleared her throat.
“Were you not hungry, my lord?”
“No, I... suddenly lost my appetite.”
She looked between my face and the food several times before she moved to take the trays away. As she reached to pick up the first of the three trays, the sound of a growling stomach caught both of our attention.
“Hungry?” I asked.
“Yes, my lord. I've yet to eat breakfast.” She admitted as she lifted the first tray and placed it on the cart.
“Would you like to sit down and eat?”
“Oh, I couldn't possibly— “
“Nonsense. If you're hungry, then sit down and eat. If my father or anyone else asks where you were, just tell them you were doing something for me.”
I stood up from my chair and walked over to the wardrobe as she stared at me in what I assumed to be confusion.
I pulled open the wardrobe and after briefly staring at the gaudy shirts inside, pulled out the least flamboyant clothing I could find: A pair of black slacks, a neatly pressed white long-sleeved shirt, a dark green vest, and a pair of silk socks.
I turned back to see the maid still staring at me... As if it were all a trick I was attempting to play on her.
“I'm not going to tell on you if that's what you're thinking.”
“It's not.” She said. But the slight frown preceding her words lead me to believe differently.
I shrugged my shoulders and opened the door directly beside the wardrobe, revealing a large dressing room with wall to wall mirrors and a comfy looking leather chair in the center of the room.
“I'm not going to force you to eat if you don't want to.” I said from inside the dressing room, as I pulled off my pajamas and slipped into my chosen clothes. Though I had to struggle a little bit in order to button my pants, as my hips had apparently grown since the last time Aren wore them.
I briefly attempted to fix the mess resembling an inky black crow's nest on top of my head, but eventually gave up and slipped on the pair of black leather loafers I found inside the room.
I stepped out of the dressing room after a few more minutes of grooming and smiled at the still frozen maid.
...
An act that made her flinch for some reason.
“Would you mind escorting me to my father?”
“As you wish.” She said professionally, as she hurriedly transferred the rest of the trays from the table to the cart and began pushing it out of the room.
Ah well, I'm not going to force her.
I followed her through the maze-like corridors of the Ulvani ancestral home and tried to take in as much of the fantastical sights as I could.
The Ulvani coat of arms, which consisted of a bright red demon's claw grasping the edges of a black kite shield, was emblazoned proudly on the breastplate of the guards I saw patrolling the estate. Their uniforms consisted solely of an all-black suit of presumably durable fabric that resembled army fatigues and said metal breastplate. And they, much like the servants, seemed to avoid looking directly at me for whatever reason.
The floors were immaculately maintained marble that almost had a mirror shine. While the walls were various shades of gray and gold, adorned with golden candelabras that lit the way for us.
What a dreary place.
We eventually came to a stop at a seemingly random set of double doors that the maid pushed open for me.
“After you, my lord.” the maid said as she held the door open for me.
“Thank you.”
The maid flinched at my words and stared at me in shock.
“What? Is there something on my face?” I joked.
“N-No, my Lord.”
I shrugged at the response and walked past the maid into what seemed to be a throne room. Since I'd come from what was apparently a back door. I was actually behind the throne when I'd come in, and thus out of sight of the two people I could hear whispering.
“Dear, it's too early.”
“Nonsense, the boy needs to get out of the house every now and then. All this sitting around in the dark isn't good for his health.”
“But what if something happens while you're gone?”
“We'll fight that battle when it comes. Besides, it's not like we can't have another son.”
Ah... I guess that voice belongs to my dad. I internally sighed.
I stepped around the throne to see two people, a tall sallow-skinned man with a hooked nose, dark eyes, and jet black slicked back hair and a stunningly beautiful fair-skinned woman with bright hazel eyes and long wavy brunette hair, sitting at a table in the middle of the throne room.
The throne room, in stark contrast to the rest of the ancestral home, was painted in incredibly bright and friendly colors with large crimson banisters hanging from the various pillars holding up the ceiling. The two wooden thrones with plush red cushions at the head of the room looked incredibly uncomfortable to me, but to each their own, I suppose.
“Hello.”
I waved at my mother, who immediately smiled upon noticing me.
“No greeting for me, boy?” My father frowned.
“Hello, father.” I replied while frowning back at him.
From what I could remember from their brief appearance on the show, my father's name was Ulfric and my mother's name was Ariel.
While I couldn't remember everything my father was known for, I do remember that he wasn't born a noble and was actually granted his title of 'duke' after saving the emperor's life during the last war... Which is also where he earned the title 'The Devil of War' for his love of the fire element and his power as a Master Arcanist.
He continued to frown at me, but he nodded his head and said— “The two of us are going into the city today to see the emperor. I'd advise you to be on your best behavior... understood?”
I swallowed the excess saliva in my mouth and quickly agreed.
“Good. We leave in fifteen minutes.”
* * *
Chapter 3: The Emperor
* * *
I watched in an odd mix of fascination and trepidation as the scenery outside the carriage window changed from the sprawling fields and plains of our homelands, to medieval villages filled with people of every race, to a dark forest with trees so tall they blocked out the light of the sun. Finally, after riding until well after lunch without stopping, the scenery changed to a medieval metropolis with multi-story buildings made of white stone. Though 'medieval' didn't exactly do the city justice...
The city, if I'm remembering the name correctly, was called Zilren and it was the seat of the empire. The city was laid out like a massive wheel with each district connecting to another and the palace was situated directly in the center on a raised plateau so it could overlook the city. All in all, it was an incredible sight to see under the light of the sun... I'm excited to see what it looks like at night.
"How long will it take us to get to the palace, father?"
I'm the Bad Guy Page 1
