Chapter 1

「This might be it for me…」 I muttered to myself in the same old dark room.

I was born a noble, but due to inheritance disputes, I’ve been locked away since I was only five years old. I’ve never stepped out of this room since then. They only kept me alive for political reasons.

And there seemed to be no need for that any longer. The room I was confined in hasn’t been opened for the last three days. It was still locked, of course. This only meant that they’ve completely cut off my supply of food and water. My throat has long dried out and I’ve already lost all sensation to my body.

…I don’t mind dying.

Normally in these circumstances, one would probably have gone mad or perhaps even killed themselves. I was surprised I even survived this long.

The only thing that helped keep my sanity intact was the dream I always had. Inside this dream, I lived in a developed country called “Japan” in a world called “Earth”. In that country, I lived life freely, not bound by anyone.

It was nothing more than a dream, however. Still, before I knew it, I’ve begun to think that the place in my dreams was where I truly belonged. What I found particularly enjoyable was this VRMMO called『Broken Balance Online』(aka BBO) which I played using a device called a “computer”. In my dream, I wouldn’t feel sleepy or hungry; I just played it non-stop to my heart’s content until I achieved the strongest character class in the game.

I could use magic in BBO and even go on adventures. It was a whole lot of fun. This world had magic too, but not as convenient as the ones in BBO. But, once again, it was nothing more than a dream.

「I don’t particularly have any regrets, but I do feel disappointed that I couldn’t go to that world」I thought as I closed my eyes. If possible, in my next life, I’d like to be born as anyone but a noble.

◇

The next time I opened my eyes, I was in a different world. At the same time, all the memories—from the time I was born until now—of the “me” in this world came flashing before my eyes.

…Damn it. Still born as a noble I see.

Not only that, I was the fourth son of a low class noble family with a small domain and I’m supposed to undergo this『Coming of Age Ceremony』tomorrow in which they basically kick me of the house. On paper, it was called『Independence』, but driving someone out of the domain with measly amount of money was pretty much the same as telling that person to die.

If I don’t do something, I’ll be dead in a ditch. I knew nothing good can come out of being born a noble. Deep inside, I cursed, and tried to trace my memories in this world until now.

Then I noticed something. There was magic in this world, though it was quite different from the ones in my previous life. In fact, it was more like the kind of magic in my dreams—the magic in BBO.

There was one more thing: this world resembled Broken Balance Online (BBO) a little bit too much.