NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13
I suddenly woke up, and the first thing I saw was Angela’s face.
Her luxurious golden hair cascaded down to her chest, and her eyes sparkled like jewels.
‘…She really is a popular heroine.’
I had thought she was pretty when I saw her illustrations in the game, but seeing her move in reality made her even more breathtaking.
‘But why is she staring at my face like that?’
Angela was looking at me from various angles, as if I were some fascinating object.
“Hehe…”
I was awake, but with her right in front of me, I couldn’t move easily. I squinted, trying to time when to open my eyes.
Just then—
Soft.
Her little hand touched my cheek.
She gently stroked it, then started squishing my cheeks like dough.
‘What is this?’
What on earth is happening?
I could explain her observing my face as her remembering my appearance, but—
“Soft and squishy… So this is what a man’s body feels like….”
I don’t think she really needed to play with my cheeks like that.
What kind of reaction should I even show?
Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.
“Hehehe.”
…It seems I won’t be getting up for a while.
*
Five minutes passed after her mischievous antics before I could finally stop pretending to sleep.
“Uh, ahem!”
Angela straightened her back as if she had just realized she was touching my cheek.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Princess.”
I greeted Angela and recited the story I had prepared.
“I am Alben, formerly a member of the Oldair family.”
“Alben….”
She repeated my name several times.
“Does ‘formerly’ mean…?”
“Yes. I was expelled from the family for some reason. After that, I wandered in the mountains…”
There wasn’t really anything left to hide after that.
I had received protection from the Third Division, learned swordsmanship, and had intervened when I saw the princess in danger.
“Oldair… If you’re from that family, it’s not strange for you to know my face.”
Angela is a princess, but she isn’t the most well-known one. Outside of the central continent, most people don’t recognize her.
Currently, the one officially named as the future emperor is the First Princess, Pernia. Thus, the one appearing at various events is Pernia, not Angela.
Also, due to her special constitution, the royal family is wary of exposing her to the public.
In a royal family known for producing heirs with exceptional intelligence and physical prowess, having Angela, who was born with a constitution almost cursed, is a matter that could undermine the empire’s prestige.
If that was discovered, the Emperor might face distrust for having ‘defied fate’ in his affairs.
However, they couldn’t just erase Angela’s existence. Sometimes, she would appear at events in place of her sister.
‘Oldair is a family with the keyword of [noble family], after all.’
They would have the standing to be invited to royal events.
“…And that’s how it is.”
“I see… You took risks for me….”
Angela lowered her head and avoided my gaze. She looked strangely plagued by guilt.
“Please raise your head, Princess. The face of the empire should not be reduced to a mere wanderer.”
“W-What do you mean by face?! How could I possibly…!”
I barely managed to hold back a laugh.
‘Sorry, but you have to become the Emperor.’
To prevent the continent from turning into a battlefield.
And for Angela’s own desires, too.
“Saving the princess is the highest honor for those living under the empire’s grace.”
“……”
“So until your safety is assured, may I guard you?”
Angela’s small head nodded.
That settled things.
A sigh of relief washed over me.
‘Honestly, I was a bit nervous.’
Angela had grown up like a flower in a greenhouse.
Being brought into a shabby room by a strange man isn’t exactly a pleasant situation.
‘She understood surprisingly quickly.’
Is the popular heroine just naturally kind?
“…You…”
Just then, Angela, in a whispering voice, asked,
“Aren’t you afraid of me…?”
“Hmm?”
“Two men and women in one room…?”
Angela, who spoke those uncertain words, looked at me with a peculiar gaze.
“I… Even before being a princess, I am just a woman…”
Hmm.
That is indeed a concern.
‘But it can’t be helped.’
I’m not the kind of person blind in desire ready to pounce on a princess.
It’s better for guarding purposes to stay close.
“It might be uncomfortable, but I believe we’ll have to share the same room for a while.”
“?!”
“I thought it would be uncomfortable for you if I didn’t protect you right beside you, Princess?”
“So… You wanted me…?”
Hearing just that makes me seem like some bad guy.
In reality, the situation was totally the opposite.
“Haah…! Haah…!”
Heavy breathing and tremoring eyes.
Like a cat wiggling its butt before pouncing on its prey.
“Pl-Please understand if I’m clumsy since it’s my first time…!”
What even is this first time?
‘No, no.’
If I stay like this, I feel like I’m heading straight for a bad ending somehow.
“Ar- Aren’t you hungry?! I can bring you something!”
“I am… Really hungry… My lower stomach keeps…”
“You can’t go out recklessly! Don’t just let anyone open the door!”
I threw out a random excuse and quickly dashed out of the room.
“Phew…!”
I felt calm only after stepping out of the building.
‘Why has her personality changed like that?!’
In the game, she had a clumsy and honest side but was a kind and beautiful lady character.
What just happened was clearly something ruled by lust.
“…What is going on?”
It seems games are games and reality is reality.
Both Ornika and Angela are similar that way.
Their looks and settings are the same as in the game, but their personalities have some peculiar differences.
“Whew… Now that I’m out, let’s get some food and head back.”
Filling my stomach might help me calm down.
Nothing changes one’s personality like being hungry.
‘I really must have slept a long time.’
It was already early evening outside.
The twilight sky was dotted with stars, and people on the street were staggering around, already tipsy.
‘Wonder if any restaurants are open at this hour.’
If needed, I’d have to grab some bar snacks to go.
‘Hmm.’
But it feels… odd.
No, it’s certain.
‘Why is the gender balance in this city like this?’
After wandering for about ten minutes looking for somewhere that sells food, I couldn’t shake off the feeling of unease.
“Damn, I want to meet a guy too.”
“Get real. These days, rough guys like you are unpopular. Pretty boys are in vogue among men now.”
“Ugh, what kind of girl even is that? A woman should have the strength to protect her man!”
Here too.
“I’ll confess to Bolid.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I think Bolid likes me too.”
“Why do you think that?”
“He always greets me first and smiles whenever our eyes meet. I’m sure of it.”
“…That clueless girl has common delusions.”
“What did you say?!”
There too.
“A real woman only becomes one after getting with over five men, you know?”
“Of course, sis! You must have had countless men, way beyond what a guy like me could even imagine, right?”
“Ahem… Of course I did.”
It feels odd hearing all of this.
The vulgarity of it could be excused as just a medieval frontier town, but—
“All these women are talking like ‘men’…?”
Everyone in the bar was female.
The people sprawled around the street and sleeping were all women.
All of them are women.
“What… is going on…?”
When I couldn’t accept that surreal scene and took a step back, something bumped against my back.
“…Oh? What’s this?”
It was a person.
Of course, it was a woman.
“Ah, I’m so sorry….”
“Oh, it’s okay. Just a little bump; no big deal.”
The woman laughed heartily.
“Well, I’ll be on my way….”
“Um, wait a minute, young master.”
A woman grabbed my wrist just as I was about to leave and licked her lips.
“You’re really cute, by the way. Just my type.”
“Ahaha… Thank you for the compliment…”
“So, how much for the night?”
“…Huh?”
“What’s the price?”
No way.
Please let it not be what I think it is.
“What do you mean…?”
“Stop being coy. How much do I have to pay?”
To eat.
The dictionary definition means the act of consuming food, but—
When you step into the underground, it implies something else.
“I’ll throw in some tips, so… how about it? Right here in front—”
“I-I’m so sorry!!”
I quickly brushed off the woman’s hand and fled as fast as I could.
‘What is happening right now?’
Things were turning out completely opposite to what I knew.
Yeah, the roles of men and women seem to have been ‘reversed.’
‘Reversed…?’
Now that I think about it, there are genres in novels like that.
Where men and women completely swap roles.
It’s called ‘gender reversal.’
‘Why is there gender reversal in the Valdeon Saga?’
The thought didn’t linger long.
Just before I was sucked into this world, I had set up a private mode.
[Valdeon Saga –Reverse World-](★★★★☆)
*A world where everything is flipped. Explore the newly reversed Valdeon continent and weave your own story.
*Producer: Loki
Was this the flipping of everything they meant?
“Damn you, producer!!!”
I half-screamed as I hurled curses at the creator.
…In the process, I must have refused invitations from women to go drinking at least five times.