St. Vernon, Valdonia.
On one of the main streets of the city, a certain vehicle was garnering the attention of everyone walking along the sidewalks. Although the automobile — aka the car, was a relatively recent invention, it had become so widespread among the populace that it was no surprise to see one every ten seconds.
And yet, why were the people's eyes so drawn to this particular car?
Because it was a model no one had ever seen before: it looked expensive, it looked top-quality.
It screamed of wealth and power.
Who could be inside that car?
Through the tinted windows, which obscured the outside world's view inside while allowing those within to see out, a young man sat dressed in sleek, dark attire: a high-collared black dress shirt, a fitted navy wool waistcoat, and a black coat that matched his trousers and shoes.
A golden pocket watch dangled from his waistband, its chain catching the light.
His gloved fingers were sheathed in thin, flexible black leather that clung tightly. Those same fingers were fidgeting about as he observed the streets as the car continued to move about.
The young man was handsome, albeit slightly frail. He had red eyes that burned like dying embers, and his jet-black hair fell in razor-straight lines.
His face was impossibly symmetrical — too perfect like a marble statue that was brought to life. The only flaw in it was these heavy bags that sagged beneath his eyes.
Even his teeth were perfectly aligned and whiter than snow.
Despite being the envy of all these people admiring his vehicle, he was thinking to himself that if only they knew how uncomfortable the ride was in comparison to the ones from the modern world that he came from.
The other person in the car, the driver, turned his head for a brief moment to inform him that, "Young Master, we'll be arriving at the library in about three more minutes."
The Young Master, Bell Agnus, responded with a simple nod.
A week ago, he had been swallowed by the ground and found himself in the body of a character who appeared only at the very first volume of the novel he had been reading for over a decade — the same novel he had been reading at the café when all those paranormal activities started to occur before him.
Going from Earth to Nara, a planet with technology similar to late 1800s and early 1900s Earth, it was strange having to adjust to the difference between the two.
And what was even harder to adjust to was not only the fact that this was the same world that he had been reading about for so long, but also that this world was a fantastical one.
Meaning that there were magic, prominent uses of blades and swords, and even deities.
Son of a Duke whose wealth was vaster than most countries due to his company being the ones to invent the automobile, it should've been a breeze of a second life being in the body of Bell Agnus, except for one "minor" thing.
The body he was in, this Bell Agnus — he was a side villain who sexually assaulted one of the female protagonists prior to the beginning of the story.
If it wasn't for his powerful father putting in effort and blowing through stacks of cash to suppress the news and keep the incident under wraps, just taking a single step outside should've subjected him to receiving an egg to the face from everyone.
"We're here, Young Master," said Jerman, the driver who also served as his bodyguard.
Stepping out of the car, Bell was illuminated by the two suns up above, highlighting his features that were chiseled to draw attention.
But it wasn't just his looks that were drawing attention; he was also receiving a lot of envious looks from those around, as well as raised eyebrows. Why was someone of his stature at a public library?
For the past week, since he had found himself in this new body, Bell had been visiting the library and reading as much as he could about the history of this world, the rules of how magic worked, the gods, etc.
Even though he knew quite a bit from reading the novel, he didn't have a perfect memory, so he forgot a lot of information that was mentioned in the earlier volumes. Not only was he missing pieces of information from the novel, but he also wasn't granted the memories of the original Bell, leaving him clueless about everything that the novel didn't bother to mention.
With no other choice, he had to gather the information himself.
The Agnus mansion did have its own library, but comparing a personal library to the vast shelves of a public library was like comparing the size of a berry to a watermelon.
"Enjoy your reading, Young Master," Jerman said as he stood outside the library like a statue.
"Thank you."
Seven hours later.
Closing the tenth book that he had read the entirety of in a single sitting, Bell got up to put it away.
Ever since entering this new world, not only had his reading speed increased drastically, but the ability to retain information had also skyrocketed.
'If only I had this sort of reading ability back on Earth. I could've consumed a lot more stories.'
It was regretful, but the thought was just a fleeting one.
It was close to dusk when he finally stepped out of the library. Jerman, who had been standing in the same spot the entire time, carefully walked behind him, matching his pace and rhythm.
In the corner of his eye, Bell could see this little girl approaching him. She was dressed as best as she could, but it wasn't hard to tell that she was a beggar or… at the very least, wasn't very well off. The little girl was blonde and clad in brown clothing.
No older than eight years old, something was clearly off about the way she was walking. She wasn't heading in his direction for no reason. There was a purpose in her steps and Jerman noticed it.
Before he could intervene and tackle her down to the ground, regardless of the fact that it was a child, Bell had gestured with his hand behind his back not to intervene. Unable to go against his Young Master's order, Jerman could only watch with all his muscles tensed and prepared to dash in if anything drastic occurred.
The little girl happened to "trip" while walking past him, causing the two of them to accidentally bump into each other.
She stumbled onto the floor and there was a thud as her body made contact.
Without worrying about herself, she got up as fast as she could and dropped into a deep bow, her little fists clenched at her sides.
Still in a deep bow, she stammered in her high and trembling voice, "I-I'm so sorry, sir! I didn't mean to bump into you. I-I-I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm sorry! P-Please don't hurt me."
Looking down at her, Bell's expression was unreadable. For a moment, the street seemed to hush around them as the bystanders looked at the scene, formulating their own opinions or being entertained by the drama unfolding before them.
The silence was thick enough to hear the faint rustling of her clothes as she fidgeted nervously.
"Lift your head," he finally said.
She did as he said and her eyes were wide with terror, looking as if he had seen a ghost. Her jaws were clenched, bracing for some kind of reprimand like being hit — or worse.
'She was nervous before, but now… she's rather good at acting.'
Gently flicking some imaginary dust from his clothes, he told her flatly, "It's fine. Accidents happen all the time."
At his words, the girl finally caught her breath. She blinked up at him, her expression clearly betraying her as she seemed surprised that he didn't shout or strike her for tainting his clothes that was worth more than the yearly salary of the common people apiece.
"Have a nice day, young lady," Bell turned and began walking away.
The girl stared at his back for a few seconds, hesitated for a moment, before also turning to begin scurrying away into the distance.
About twenty steps apart, she heard him speak again from behind her.
"Don't spend it all at once."
She froze.
She wanted to gulp nervously, but even that felt like an impossible task.
"Keep it safe," he continued, still turned away from her. "Not everyone is as dull as they pretend to be. Many hands are far quicker and some people… they won't be so lenient. Be careful if you're going to continue doing these sorts of things."
The girl's breath hitched again.
'H-How did he know?'
About to reach into her shirt pocket to give back the wallet that she had stolen, her fingers trembled — she was stopped by Bell.
"It's alright. Keep it. It's just pocket change for me. Just make sure no one else but you sees what's inside, or else they will cause you harm. Have a nice day, young lady."
Her lips parted, but no words came out. Then she clutched the pocket that the wallet was in tighter and spun around, giving another deep bow, even deeper than the last, before fleeing and disappearing into the nearest alleyway.
Jerman, confused at his Young Master's reaction to being pickpocketed, asked, "Shall I retrieve the wallet, Young Master?"
"No," Bell said as he continued walking to the car.
Jerman didn't question it any further and after opening the door for Bell, he entered the driver's seat.
'Her technique isn't bad,' Bell thought as he relaxed into his seat while reading another book, one that he had checked out from the library. 'If it wasn't me, she might've gotten away with it.'
Turning to the alleyway where the little girl disappeared, giving it one last glance, he just hoped that she listened to his advice and was smart with how she used and displayed the money that was in the wallet.
His reflection shimmered faintly in the window and he met his own tired eyes for a second. He watched as the red flicker under the twin suns. Then he turned his attention back to his book and muttered, "Let's go home."
"Understood, Young Master."