Episode 1
I Got Scammed Into Reincarnating
Ding!
At the notification sound, I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
Fresh Update!
The latest chapter of <I’m Rich, But I’m Running Away> has been updated. Click here to read now! ▼
“Ah, it’s already six.”
The upload time for <I’m Rich, But I’m Running Away> was 6 a.m.
Which meant…
I’d stayed up working all night again.
I rubbed my tired, aching eyes.
“Can I finish translating everything before Assistant Manager Park gets to work?”
Honestly?
There was no way.
The workload was impossible to finish, even after staying up for several nights in a row.
But…
“Are you talking back to me right now? Someone with no education like you should be grateful we even hired you. If you can’t do it, just say so. There are plenty of people who can replace you.”
I tightened my grip around my phone.
“I’d better get back.”
I’d come to the convenience store because I felt like I was about to fall asleep and needed coffee.
I grabbed the cheapest canned coffee on the shelf.
After paying and walking outside, I automatically tapped the Read Now button.
Reading romance fantasy novels was a tiny bit of happiness in my exhausting everyday life.
My only happiness.
I don’t care if I’m rich! I can’t live with a father and brothers like these! I have to escape this family as soon as possible!
Watching the heroine make up her mind, I pounded my frustrated chest.
“What?! Why would you leave?!”
You have a handsome dad who’s completely obsessed with his daughter!
And your handsome brothers!
Didn’t you just receive a diamond mine today?!
Why are you running away?!
Completely exasperated, I furiously typed a comment.
Heroine, can I become the daughter of that family instead? I wouldn’t run away. I’d happily stay there forever. T_T
Apparently, everyone agreed.
The likes shot up at an incredible speed.
Before long, it became the top comment.
Feeling oddly pleased with myself, I smiled.
Right then.
HOOOOONK—!
A blinding light cut through the dim dawn.
Bright headlights.
And…
A truck the size of a house.
“Wait… a truck?”
“In this tiny alley?”
It was charging straight at me at terrifying speed.
“Seriously? Out of nowhere?”
SCREEEECH—!
BAM!!
Yep.
Out of nowhere.
That was my last thought.
“…Well, to be exact, it was the last thought of ‘me while I was still alive.’
I folded my arms and stared at my own corpse with mixed feelings.
I’d died so suddenly that I hadn’t even felt any pain.
I was just…
Stunned.
“I really died?”
“Just like that?”
“What was all my hard work for?”
An overwhelming sense of emptiness washed over me.
Then.
[Congratulations! You have earned the opportunity to reincarnate!]
POP!
Along with the sound of fireworks, a voice suddenly rang out.
I looked up.
Against the now-bright sky floated a strange boy, setting off fireworks while grinning.
Soft white hair that looked as fluffy as clouds.
Golden eyes.
A face so perfectly beautiful that he didn’t even seem human.
“Guess I really am dead.”
“I’m hallucinating now.”
[Hellooo? I just said you’ve been given the chance to reincarnate. Could you at least look a little happier?]
Reincarnate?
I absentmindedly repeated the words in my head before suddenly gasping.
“…Wait.”
“Was the truck that hit me… the legendary Reincarnation Truck?!”
The Reincarnation Truck.
The mythical truck that sends anyone it runs over into a fantasy world.
“I thought that only existed in novels.”
[Exactly the kind of answer I’d expect from someone who’s read so many novels! Truly the chosen one!]
“Huh?”
[I am the messenger of the god, Aphtanes.]
A messenger of God?
So… an angel.
Well, someone talking to a dead person had to be either an angel or a demon.
Looking closer, tiny, bean-sized wings were fluttering on his back.
“He’s… way less majestic than I expected.”
[When Lord Aphtanes created the world, He used many different references.]
The angel proudly spread his arms as though he were revealing some amazing secret.
[And the thing He referenced the most… was romance fantasy novels!]
“…What?”
Referenced to what?
What kind of nonsense was that?
“He created the world based on romance fantasy novels?!”
“Is he insane?”
[What do you think? Isn’t it the perfect world for a romance fantasy fan like you? Don’t you want to reincarnate there?]
“No.”
“If some crazy god made it using romance fantasy novels as reference, why would anyone want to go there?”
The words came out before I could stop them.
The tiny-winged angel puffed up his cheeks and waved his arms dramatically.
For someone claiming to be a messenger of God…
He was ridiculously unserious.
[But you literally commented that you wanted to replace the heroine!]
“That was because it wasn’t a world created by some weird god…”
“…Wait.”
I frowned.
Was he really an angel?
No matter how I looked at him, there was no way a real angel or god would act like this.
“Why are you giving me the chance to reincarnate?”
[Because you left comments on every single novel Lord Aphtanes has read.]
“…What?”
[Your comments became the top comment more than anyone else’s.]
[And you gave the protagonists the most unsolicited advice.]
[You’re a professional top-commenter in romance fantasy novels! So naturally, you belong in a world inspired by romance fantasy! What do you think?]
The angel flashed a dazzling smile and winked.
[After you’ve lived there, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment!]
“…”
“Is that god seriously just fishing for reviews?”
I hadn’t even gone there yet, and I was already giving it zero stars.
[Well? Now that all your questions are answered, you’ll reincarnate, right?]
Like that answered anything!
If anything, I have even more questions now.
The whole thing felt suspicious.
But…
I was dead.
Normally, someone with nothing left to lose would just nod and accept.
“Normally.”
I was a romance fantasy reader.
Not just any reader.
I read dozens of novels every month.
“There’s no way I’d just go, ‘Oh, okay,’ because you said I’d adapt well!”
Romance fantasy stories come in all kinds.
“What if I get reincarnated into a tragedy?”
Even if it wasn’t a tragedy…
What if I became the villainess who gets executed?
Or some side character who gets used and thrown away?
Why are you hesitating? Didn’t you always want to live in a fantasy world instead of this one?]
“I just don’t want to live in a fantasy world.”
[Then what do you want?]
“Exactly what I wrote in my comment.”
“I want to be reborn into a rich family with a handsome dad and handsome older brothers!”
[Wow. You’re awfully picky.]
See?
I knew he was planning to dump me somewhere awful.
“That’s the basic setup of romance fantasy.”
[Fine, fine. I’ll let you be born into a wealthy family with a handsome father and handsome brothers.]
“And they all have to absolutely adore me.”
[Hmm… Stories like that are pretty rare. Usually, they hate the heroine at first before eventually loving her…]
“What do you mean they’re rare?! What about Lady Be!”
[Well… if you want to start with your entire family dead like in that novel…]
“…Never mind.”
“…Sorry.”
“…That was my mistake.”
Changing my attitude quickly was the shortcut to an easy life.
[So? We’re done now, right? You’ll reincarnate?]
Handsome father.
Handsome brothers.
Rich family.
It really was everything I’d wanted.
“…Hmm.”
“But romance fantasy heroines usually have some special ability.”
“Or at least they’re really smart.”
[…You’re seriously asking for a lot.]
The angel turned his head and muttered something under his breath.
“Hm?”
[Don’t worry. Since we’re giving you this special reincarnation, you’ll get a special ability too.]
He smiled sweetly again, acting as though he hadn’t been complaining.
“I swear he just insulted me…”
Handsome dad.
Handsome brothers.
Special powers.
“At this point, it’s basically compensation for everything I’ve suffered.”
Sure, maybe I hadn’t lived the most virtuous life.
But I’d definitely suffered enough.
“Finally… my luck is turning around.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll reincarnate.”
The moment those words left my mouth…
A cold chill pierced my chest.
Startled, I looked up.
The angel…
Was smiling.
Not the cheerful smile from before.
His lips curled upward into something dark.
Something sinister.
He looked less like an angel…
And more like.
[Then the contract is complete, human.]
His voice had completely changed.
At the same time, a massive crack split open in the air.
Beyond it was complete darkness.
Not even the faintest ray of light could enter.
It looked like an endless abyss.
Nothing like heaven.
Or God.
“Did he just say… contract?”
A horrible feeling washed over me.
“Gods give blessings…”
“Contracts are what…”
“…Demons make.”
The color drained from my face.
“W-Wait!”
The crack grew larger and larger.
I desperately waved my hands.
“I take it back!”
“I cancel the contract!”
[The contract has already been completed, human.]
The giant crack opened its enormous black mouth and began sucking my soul inside.
No matter how hard I struggled…
I couldn’t escape.
If I were going to be reincarnated anyway…
At least I needed to know one thing.
“M-My power…!”
“What kind of power am I getting?!”
Demons were famous for tricking people.
What if he gave me some useless ability?!
[Do not worry, human.]
“I’m definitely worried, you stupid demon!”
[It is the power best suited for you.]
“What does that even mean?!”
I had a horrible feeling I was being scammed in real time.
“If my special power is getting scammed, I’m seriously going to kill you!”
[Do not worry… because you are mine.]
“…What?”
I couldn’t hear the last word.
I tried to ask again.
But by then…
My soul had already been completely swallowed by the crack.
And then…
Everything went dark.
“You scammer of a demon!”
I angrily scrubbed the marble floor all by myself.
“Where’s my handsome dad?!”
It was the middle of winter.
My fingers were red and cracked from the cold.
“Where are my handsome brothers?!”
My fingertips were so numb they felt like they were about to fall off.
“Where’s my golden spoon?!”
I plopped down onto the floor.
Only then did I really notice the enormous hall around me.
It was magnificent.
Grand enough to belong in one of those castles people pay admission to visit.
Normally, I’d have been amazed.
But not now.
Because…
I was the only one cleaning this gigantic hall.
“This isn’t even a dirt spoon…”
“It’s a dust spoon…”
Sob…
Tears welled up in my eyes.
Maybe I never should’ve agreed to reincarnate.
I hugged my tiny legs with my tiny arms.
Even an adult would’ve struggled to clean this place alone.
But I was just a little kid.
As I sniffled…
A furious shout thundered behind me.
“Slacking off again, are you?!”
Without even turning around, I instinctively threw myself flat on the ground.
“I-I’m sorry…!”
My lips trembled.
My whole body stiffened.
I didn’t want to react like this.
But the fear ingrained in me had already taken over.
“Looks like you inherited your laziness from your mother.”
He clicked his tongue.
Walking over, he casually kicked my bucket.
The bucket tipped over.
Soapy water spilled everywhere.
My clothes quickly became soaked.
“You look like a filthy little rat.”
Cold.
“You have absolutely no dignity.”
It’s so cold.
“You can’t even do one simple task properly.”
Lonely.
My swollen little hands were so numb I could barely even make a fist.
“…I’m sorry.”
Slowly…
I looked up at him.
“…Uncle.”
The man yelling at me while insulting my mother…
It was my maternal uncle.
The very person who had ordered a little child to clean this enormous hall alone.
Even strangers wouldn’t treat someone this cruelly.
It wasn’t like I was the only servant available.
The hall…
The enormous mansion surrounding it…
Everything belonged to him.
“How dare you call yourself my niece?!”
He exploded in anger.
Apparently, calling him “Uncle” had offended him.
“…Lord Marquis.”
I hurriedly corrected myself.
He snorted.
“Know your place.”
His polished shoe pressed down on my shoulder.
My small body couldn’t bear the weight.
I collapsed onto the floor.
“That’s why your father abandoned you.”
I couldn’t even cry out.
I just listened.
“Though who knows if you’re really the Duke’s daughter in the first place.”
Every word stabbed into my tiny heart like a thorn.
“My sister must’ve been incredibly shameless.”
I’d never even met my mother.
But whenever he insulted her…
My stomach twisted.
My nose stung.
“Wouldn’t be surprising if she got pregnant by another man.”
No!
“Who knows how many other children she left behind?”
“My mother wasn’t like that!”
“How dare you glare at me!”
He pressed down even harder with his foot.
“Hngh…”
My face slammed against the freezing marble floor.
Gray soap bubbles mixed with dust soaked my cheek.
I bit my lip as hard as I could to stop myself from crying.
If I cried…
He’d only punish me more.
When I was first reborn…
Seeing this gorgeous, luxurious mansion, I thought.
“I was born into a wonderful family.”
“I don’t know what my family will be like…”
“But at least I won’t spend winter terrified of freezing to death anymore.”
“I’ll finally get to live a life where survival isn’t my biggest concern.”
“Maybe then…”
“I’ll get to experience all sorts of things.”
“Maybe I’ll even discover a dream.”
“Maybe I’ll be loved.”
“Maybe I’ll grow up happy, healthy, and warm, like a child raised in a loving family who has never known unhappiness.”
“Maybe…”
“Just maybe…”
“Like the heroines in all those novels…”
“I’ll finally get my own happy ending.”
I was so excited.
Hope for life.
Hope for the future.
It had been so long since I’d allowed myself to feel those things that my heart had raced.
But.
“Daddy?”
Everything had been a misunderstanding.
That place had never been mine.
I wasn’t the heroine of this world.
A little girl peeked through the open doorway.
She had gorgeous golden hair that sparkled brilliantly.
A child so lovely, she looked like an angel.
“If this world were a novel…”
“She would definitely be the heroine.”
My cousin,
Clatie smiled with an angelic face and asked,
“What are you doing over there?”
