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Chapter 2
First, Figure Out How to Stay Alive (1)
The mansion’s hallway lay in darkness.
Standing before an extravagantly gilded door, a middle-aged man dressed in a black tailcoat swallowed nervously while holding a silver tray.
She’s not answering… I don’t hear any movement either.
Does that mean… everything finally went according to plan?
If that were the case, bringing another glass had been unnecessary.
Harrison glanced back and forth between the crimson wine on the tray and the door before curling his lips into a satisfied smile.
Ah… I’ve waited so long for this moment.
People say even ugly orcs think their own children are beautiful. Who would’ve guessed that the ruthless Venon Blake would lose his life because of his idiot son?
“Heh… heh…”
His mind drifted back to three days ago.
The day the wastrel Ian Blake poisoned his own father.
He could still picture that pathetic pig occupying the study, grunting as he struggled to prop both feet up on the desk.
The memory made Harrison shake his head.
I barely scratched his itchy backside, and he charged around like a bull with its tail on fire.
Even remembering Ian’s nasally laughter made him chuckle.
“You bastard. A hopeless scoundrel. But to me? A precious little bastard.”
Thanks to that fool, Harrison would be walking away with an extremely generous retirement fund.
After everything I endured under that demon… I’ll make sure to collect every last coin—even compensation for the teeth I ground down from stress.
If you want someone to blame, Venon Blake… blame that useless son you cherished so much.
Suppressing another laugh, Harrison placed his hand on the golden doorknob.
Now that Venon Blake was dead, the estate had effectively become lawless territory.
No one could predict what would happen next.
There were countless people—far more than fingers and toes could count—who hated the Blake name with every fiber of their being.
Staying here any longer was practically suicide.
I’d better grab everything worth taking and disappear.
Though… it’d be a shame to lose that woman.
Beauty capable of destroying an entire noble house…
Actually… maybe enough to ruin me too.
She’d fetch an incredible price on the black market…
Smacking his lips, Harrison reached for the door.
Then—
Click.
“Guugh—!”
“…You startled me.”
The door opened halfway.
A massive head suddenly poked out.
There was no need to wonder who it belonged to.
The wobbling double chin gave it away immediately.
“Ahem!”
Startled enough to nearly drop the silver tray, Harrison hurriedly straightened himself.
“Y-Young Master Ian!”
“…I’m not deaf.”
“M-My apologies. I suppose old age has simply made me rather jumpy. Hahaha…”
“Hmm… really?”
“…”
Ian Blake simply stared at him without another word.
At that moment, Harrison felt a chill run down his spine.
It was as though he’d been stripped completely naked.
W-What’s wrong with this idiot?
Why’s he staring at me like that?
Don’t tell me… he knows?
No.
Impossible.
This fool isn’t even as smart as half an orc.
He’s probably just about to ask for a late-night snack like always.
Reassuring himself, Harrison forced a smile.
“Ahem. Is there something on my face?”
“Yeah.”
“Excuse me?”
“Greed.”
“…Pardon?”
“Nothing.”
“So? What brings you here?”
“Ah!”
Harrison quickly presented the tray.
“A shipment of excellent wine arrived today.”
“It reminded me of you, Young Master.”
“Haha…”
“Excellent wine?”
“At this hour?”
“W-Well…”
The sudden questioning sent Harrison into a panic.
Ian continued speaking with an indifferent expression.
“Hmm.”
“And only wine?”
“T-That is…”
“Either you’re completely thoughtless…”
“…or you have no sense whatsoever.”
“…Sir?”
“Oh?”
“So your hearing’s gone too.”
“Never mind.”
“Just hand it over.”
“I’ll enjoy it.”
“Ah… uh…”
Before Harrison could react, Ian had already taken the tray.
This isn’t right.
Confusion spread plainly across Harrison’s face.
Meanwhile, the door slowly began closing.
“W-Wait!”
“Young Master Ian!”
He couldn’t let this happen.
Grabbing the closing door, Harrison hurriedly spoke.
“I told you.”
“I’m not deaf.”
“M-My apologies!”
“But since it’s such a… valuable wine…”
“I hoped I could pour it for you personally.”
“Haha…”
“…”
Ian silently observed the awkwardly smiling butler.
Then he suddenly snorted.
“…Now I understand why your evaluation called you clumsy.”
It was barely above a whisper.
“Hmm…”
“What should I do?”
Ian rubbed his thick chin as though deep in thought.
Every change in Ian’s expression caused Harrison’s own face to change along with it.
It was obvious he desperately wanted to seize this opportunity.
Unfortunately…
There was always someone more cunning.
“Well…”
“I suppose it doesn’t really matter.”
“I’ve been pretty busy.”
“But maybe Harrison would be fine.”
“…What do you mean by—”
“Huh?!”
Through the half-open door, Harrison caught sight of the lavish golden bed.
A naked woman lay unconscious atop it.
Even from a distance, her injuries looked horrific.
“…Heh.”
“What are you waiting for?”
“Come inside.”
“I…”
“Uh…”
“I…”
The sound of Harrison swallowing echoed through the empty hallway.
For some reason, Venon Blake suddenly came to mind.
Ian had always imitated his father out of inferiority.
But until now…
He’d merely been a mutt pretending to be a lion.
Then what is this?
Those crazed eyes.
That crooked grin.
The familiar pig was gone.
It was as though he’d become an entirely different person overnight.
Perhaps that was why.
Everything about him suddenly felt terrifying.
Harrison didn’t even notice that his legs had begun trembling.
“If you’d rather not just watch…”
“You could always join in.”
“W-What…?”
“…You know exactly what I mean.”
“Gah!”
“N-No!”
Ian let out a dry laugh.
“What do you mean, ‘no’?”
“O-On second thought…”
“I still have work to do!”
“Really?”
“So you’re even more incompetent than I thought.”
“I-I’m sorry!”
“If you’re sorry…”
“Why do it in the first place?”
“I… well…”
Harrison could barely form complete sentences anymore.
He probably didn’t even realize what he was saying.
His mind was in complete disarray.
“Tch.”
“Fine.”
“If you’re busy, then leave.”
“T-Thank you!”
The moment Ian gave permission, Harrison bent into a perfect ninety-degree bow.
He bowed so deeply it looked painful before practically running away, afraid he’d be stopped.
“…”
Ian watched his retreating figure in silence before gently closing the door.
The hallway returned to complete silence.
“…Lucky bastard.”
After confirming Harrison had gone, I returned the silver candlestick I’d been hiding behind my back to its original place.
If he’d actually accepted my invitation and walked inside…
I’d been fully prepared to send him straight to the afterlife.
Looks like today simply wasn’t his day to die.
Still… if he keeps acting like this, that day can’t be far away.
Maybe after today’s scare he’ll quietly disappear.
“…Probably not.”
I sighed as I noticed my hand trembling while setting the candlestick down.
I wasn’t kind enough to spare someone trying to kill me.
Even so…
Hurting someone.
Killing someone.
Those weren’t things anyone could get used to overnight.
That’s why I was praying he wouldn’t come in.
With another sigh, I placed Harrison’s silver tray beside the bed.
Then…
What an absolute moron.
An identical tray was already sitting there.
The only difference was that one wineglass had already been emptied.
That idiot happily drank poisoned wine and died.
A three-year-old would’ve had more common sense.
This body’s previous owner was truly hopeless.
Apparently, after that fool drank the poison and died…
I inherited his body.
As if things weren’t already complicated enough…
There was something even worse.
Those traits… they must’ve belonged to Harrison.
Two traits had stood out among all the others.
[Poison Plot]
[Escape Plan]
Those two alone explained almost everything.
My current circumstances.
My background.
And just how hopeless my future looked.
What a wonderful place you’ve sent me to, old man.
If you were going to reincarnate me, couldn’t you have given me Sword Saint abilities instead of an appraisal skill?
I’d rather just cut everyone down and run off into the wilderness.
If only it were that simple.
When your body was weak…
Your brain had to do all the work.
That perfectly described my current situation.
“…My head.”
Dizziness suddenly washed over me.
I collapsed into a nearby chair.
Creeeak.
The chair cried out in protest.
Damn this body.
Losing this much weight would probably take months.
But who’s going to give me months?
At this rate…
Congratulations.
I’d be butchered like a pig with near certainty.
Yet no miracle card capable of overturning that fate appeared anywhere.
“Hmm…”
“I doubt that old man sent me here without any backup plan.”
Unless he was completely heartless…
Surely he’d left me at least one escape route.
So…
Maybe I’d overlooked something.
Maybe there was another ability I hadn’t discovered yet.
I tried everything I could think of.
Then—
There it is!
The change once again originated from my appraisal ability.
Beside the familiar magnifying-glass icon…
A bright exclamation mark appeared.
As I focused on it, the icon transformed into lines of text floating before me.
[Basic Quest No. 1 Completed]
[Use the Appraisal Skill (5/5)]
Reward: 1 Status Point
Status Point?
As soon as the question formed in my mind, more text appeared.
[Spend Status Points (SP) to increase your level or basic attributes.]
(Low SP Cost)
[Detailed stats such as height and weight can also be altered.]
(High SP Cost)
W-Wait…
[Traits may also be removed or acquired using Status Points.]
(Very High SP Cost)
“Y… YES!”
My clenched fist trembled in excitement.
If this was true…
Then as long as I earned enough SP…
I could improve everything without endless effort.
Goodbye impotence!
Goodbye baldness!
[Removing the “Impotent” trait requires 500 SP.]
[Removing the “Balding” trait requires 1,500 SP.]
“…Fuck.”
Talk about ruining the mood.
I didn’t need to know the exact prices right now.
I’d already assumed I couldn’t remove them immediately.
Still… those costs are insane.
I currently had…
Exactly 1 SP.
Compared to that…
1,500.
And why the hell is baldness more expensive than impotence?
Hmm…
Grinding appraisal skill alone isn’t going to get me enough.
Isn’t there another method?
[Searching Available Quest List…]
[Sub Quest: Free the Slaves] (Repeatable)
[Sub Quest: Make Donations] (Repeatable)
…
“Hah…”
If I were even slightly more emotional…
I’d probably be crying right now.
Old hippie…
You really did leave me an escape route.
Thank you…
With this…
Maybe I actually could enjoy my new life before eventually dying.
The Blake family were slave traders.
That meant there were probably countless slaves to free.
And just as surely…
Their fortune had been built through dirty money.
If I used that wealth to help people…
Who would have the right to condemn me?
I’d simply be using the money earned through evil for good.
Two birds with one stone.
For the first time since arriving here…
A faint light appeared at the end of the tunnel.
Then…
Sigh…
I suppose I should deal with her first.
Unfortunately, it was still too early to relax.
Turning back toward the bed, I saw the High Elf, Aria Scarlet, struggling to sit up.
“Y-You…”
“You bastard…”
Her emerald eyes still blazed with murderous hatred.
A chill ran down my spine.
First…
I had to redirect the vengeance aimed at me.
There’s really only one way.
I lowered my gaze slightly.
A crimson glow flickered across the back of my right hand.
“…”
My heart pounded from tension.
But now wasn’t the time to hesitate.
Suppressing every trace of fear, I steeled myself once more.
