Chapter 1 Part 2: I, Who Was a Top in Reality

Yeah.

I knew it wouldn’t work.

When I opened my eyes again, the same desolate landscape filled my vision.

I must have hit my shoulder instead of my head when I fell to the floor, because a heavy ache was stabbing through my left shoulder.

Soon, a glorious collaboration of cursing and nausea followed.

“Rudan, you bastard…….”

Why the hell did this guy hide himself in a place like this without any plan?

Sure, it was natural for him to struggle since he was fleeing from obsessive lunatics, but did he really have to willingly walk into such a shitty environment?

Just moving a little made my entire body ache as if I was about to die, and if I stayed still like this, I’d probably starve to death.

I dragged my disobedient body along as I walked.

It seemed the place I’d been in was the castle’s attic.

The walls and floor were all stone, and even the stairs leading down were stone.

It was obvious I’d get seriously hurt if I slipped and tumbled down.

What’s more, there was no railing to hold onto, so I slowly made my way down, pressing my hand against the wall.

As I went, I roughly scanned each floor—all of them were empty, with only a few unidentifiable objects scattered sparsely about.

Ornaments, maybe.

By the time I reached the first floor, the only things I’d confirmed for certain were that this castle had seven stories, and that on the third floor there was a fireplace and an old sofa.

Even without firewood to light a fire, I’d at least found a place more suitable for lying down than the stone floor.

“Not this crap.”

More than relief, irritation surged up in me.

There were only two things I could do right now.

One was to go down to the basement, and the other was to go outside and find a village.

If I went to a village, there was a little money in the inner pocket of my robe, so I could buy something to eat with that.

First…… let’s try the less taxing option.

I looked down the dark stairway, wondering if I could even make out what was inside, but the moment I set foot on the first step down, a lamp on the wall flickered to life.

With each step I descended, another lamp lit up, illuminating my path.

For a brief moment, I felt a tiny—really, just a tiny—glimmer of hope.

Of course.

No matter how clueless this guy was, he wasn’t some kid with no sense at all to have come into a place like this.

There had to be something down here.

And there was.

In the basement, built just as crudely from stone as the floors above, sat several large bundles about chest-high.

If it helps to visualize, think of them as the size of a tightly packed 100-liter trash bag.

The difference was that the material was thick and opaque, so there was no telling what was inside.

‘This feeling is seriously ominous.’

It wasn’t anything specific—just that the size was big enough that you could stuff a person inside.

Before untying the bundles, I gave them a few light nudges with my foot.

Contrary to my worries, they felt light, and there was no sense of anything alive inside.

“……”

After a brief moment of hesitation, I began untying the knots one by one.

What was inside?

“Huh.”

Bread.

Bread, bread, jerky, jerky…… no matter which bundle I opened, it was packed full of one of those two things.

The jerky was rock-hard, and the bread was so devoid of moisture it was dry and crumbly, but nothing looked spoiled.

No mold, either.

Before I could even think, my hand had already grabbed a piece of jerky and brought it to my mouth.

Mm, the taste was perfectly fine too?

The rich, salty flavor hit my tongue, and saliva pooled in my mouth.

My parched throat stung as if it were burning, but at least one worry was off my mind.

After forcing some food into my stomach, my blurry vision cleared up.

At least I’d avoided immediate starvation.

I examined the sacks more closely, and for something that had been left abandoned, there was no sign of bugs or rodents.

How long had these been sitting here to remain so well-preserved?

This place didn’t seem like anywhere a person could live.

Something I’d missed earlier because hunger had narrowed my vision suddenly caught my eye.

One wall was packed tight with bottles of wine.

I wanted to quench my burning throat with even that, but…… setting the baby aside, I couldn’t drink any until I found a corkscrew.

The air wasn’t stuffy, but the basement was naturally much cooler than the ground floor.

I couldn’t stay here forever, so I took off my robe and stuffed as much food inside it as I could.

Hygiene and all that be damned—this wasn’t the time to worry about it.

I’ll just take this up to the third floor first.

There’s a rotting sofa there, and a head-sized empty cup too.

I’ll put it all there and eat comfortably.

It felt like I was filming a survival piece, not a BL.

This is exactly why they say going out brings nothing but trouble.

***

I hadn’t done much, but I was so drained that I collapsed onto the sofa, and by the time I looked outside, the sunset was already spreading across the sky.

Watching the reddish light pour in from outside, I muttered.

“……Strawberries.”

I wanted to eat strawberries.

“What the hell?”

I was taken aback by the sudden, out-of-nowhere craving.

I wasn’t the type to particularly enjoy fruit in my daily life.

To begin with, I didn’t really like sweet things.

So this was……

“Hah, this is just one thing after another.”

The situation was so blatantly cliché that I felt dizzy.

I tried to endure it by chewing on jerky, but once the craving reared its head, it didn’t subside easily.

The sensation of sweet-and-sour juice sliding down my throat grew more vivid by the second, and I felt like I’d go crazy if I didn’t have it right this instant.

Are you kidding me?

When I came to my senses, I was already pacing by the window.

Right.

It wasn’t that dark yet, so going to the village wouldn’t be that hard.

But judging by the weather—not particularly hot or cold—it probably wasn’t summer or winter.

If it was autumn, I’d be out of luck.

They wouldn’t be doing greenhouse farming, would they?

Still, sitting around anxiously wasn’t in my nature.

I should just go out and see.

I needed to get drinking water anyway.

I immediately threw on my robe and left the castle.

Partly because the sun was setting, but the castle looked far more desolate from the outside than it had felt from the inside.

Moss and thorny vines climbing the stone walls caught my eye.

The one thing it had in common with an abandoned house was that it didn’t look like somewhere you should casually enter.

I walked along the secluded path.

Unfamiliar plants and trees grew on either side, giving off a fragrant scent.

There were no passersby in sight at the moment, but the fact that the path was noticeably worn meant it wasn’t a place completely cut off from human footsteps.

Even if no one stopped by, there must have been people passing through.

That meant if I just followed this damn forest path, I’d eventually reach a village where people lived…… and sure enough.

Without paying attention to the narrowing path, I walked until I reached the edge of the forest.

I gazed at the suddenly wide-open scenery for a moment, then stuck my hands in my pockets and jogged down the slope.

Seeing a cluster of modestly sized houses, it was indeed a village.

I approached the first middle-aged man I spotted and spoke to him.

“Where can I find the market around here?”

The man frowned and looked me up and down.

I suppose I did look pretty ragged, not having washed properly.

But he wasn’t exactly spotless himself, so it wasn’t like he had room to criticize.

He looked drenched in sweat, probably on his way back from work.

“Over there.

Straight ahead.”

Pointing into the distance, the man answered curtly and strode away with a deliberately stiff gait.

His attitude was irritating, but I’d gotten the help I needed, so I didn’t bother calling after him.

This kind of thing happens all the time in life.

It was a trivial matter that would have normally slipped from my mind in less than ten minutes.

Still……

“What’s that?”

“How can he be so brazen……”

“Shouldn’t we chase him out?”

When there are people whispering like this everywhere you go, it changes things.

Not-so-pleasant memories stirred, and my stomach, which had been settling down, churned again.

If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have come this far.

I did something pointless.

I consciously cut off the chain of negative thoughts that kept linking one to another.

Even if I had known, I would have come.

Unless I was planning to die of dehydration.

“Give me a basket of strawberries.

And two of those oranges too.”

“……Ah, yes.”

“Where can I buy water around here?”

When I asked the woman who was wrapping the fruit with her rough hands, she stared at me as if she’d seen a lunatic.

“Buy…… water?”

Ah.

Right.

The concept of buying water to drink wouldn’t exist here.

They’d just fetch it and drink it.

Whatever.

Such a godforsaken fantasy world.

I’d already attracted enough attention, but I didn’t want to raise any unnecessary suspicion, so I just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“My throat’s parched, but it’s too much trouble to go fetch it myself.”

“Well then…… I’ll give you a cup.”

Soon, the woman scooped some water into a wooden bowl and handed it to me.

I didn’t refuse and downed it in one breath, finally feeling the blood circulating properly in my body.

Nothing beats the water of life.

As I handed back the empty bowl, she hesitated before speaking.

“Shouldn’t you cover that up?

The world’s been dangerous lately, and people are scared, you know.”

“Huh?”

“That.”

Her gaze landed on Rudan’s neck.

Probably where the tattoo was.

“Oh……”

So that’s why the attention was so intense.

The intricate tattoo on Rudan’s neck wasn’t just for decoration.

It was a type of magical sigil—simply put, a mark that identifies an Absorption-type wizard who already has a partner to supply mana to.

Come to think of it, I remember there being discrimination against wizards among humans.

“Thank you for letting me know.”

Looks like I won’t be coming back to this village.

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