Beginning (1)

I realized this goddamn world was inside a game just two days ago.

A world so insane that you could slice a small hill into flat ground with a single sword aura or create a massive crater with magic.

Yet the era still maintained an artificial landscape reminiscent of a medieval RPG adventure.

Monsters and dungeons that would never exist in reality were commonplace, and to counter them, the Empire nurtured students in an educational institution called the Academy.

In a world where even ten-year-old children swing wooden sticks to enter the Academy, why did it take me until two days ago to realize this was a game world?

Because the moment I regained my past-life memories was only two days ago.

“Ugh…”

What made it even more horrifying was the fact that the character I reincarnated as was Lillith-one of the most pitifully treated characters in the game.

Lillith Rosewood. Nicknamed, “Foolish Maid Lillith.”

A character who suffered every imaginable humiliation in the story, to the point where you’d suspect the developers held some personal grudge against her.

I couldn’t even count how many tags were plastered on this character-all the kinds of lewd labels you’d only see on adult manga sites.

She was also the type of character whose treatment grew increasingly worse the later she was “saved” by the protagonist.

The most wretched slut character in the story, who would spiral into utter ruin if her “salvation” came too late.

Honestly, I would’ve been less miserable if I’d never realized it at all.

The moment I saw that disgusting bastard’s face, my blocked memories surged back like a dam breaking, and whether it was due to the aftermath or not, I had to spend the last two days bedridden, being nursed by a fellow maid.

“Ugh, feels like my skull’s gonna split…”

Clutching my head from either the side effects of regaining my past-life memories or the sheer frustration of realizing the shitty situation I was in, I forced myself up from the bed where I’d been lying.

It wasn’t that I wanted to get back to maid duties. I just couldn’t bear the thought of inconveniencing Isabel any further by lazing around all day.

Even though my pre-reincarnation memories had flooded back all at once, they hadn’t completely overwritten the decade-plus of memories I’d lived as Lillith in this world.

Especially my friendship with Isabel, who had joined as a trainee maid around the same time I did a year ago-it was special enough to remain intact even after recalling my past life as a man.

After dumping my workload on her for two days straight and making her nurse me on top of that, any decent person would at least get out of bed.

“…Why the hell is this so heavy?”

The moment I sat up, an awkward weight pressed against my chest.

With over a decade of male memories now in my head, the two lumps of fat on my upper body felt incredibly foreign.

Judging by size alone, they were probably around an E or F cup. How the hell did I live with these things all this time?

And now I’d have to keep living with them. The more I thought about it, the more everything about this situation pissed me off.

Regardless, the immediate priority was getting out of bed and returning to work. No time to gawk at my new female body.

To protect this body-no matter how much I hated it-I couldn’t afford to hesitate for even a second.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

『Luminor Academy: Era of Swords and Magic』

An SRPG game I’d spent a considerable amount of time playing in my past life. To be precise, it was an adult game blending SRPG elements with dating sim mechanics.

Nobles born with magical talent and commoners who had to rely on swordsmanship and physical strength-these two types of students gathered at the Academy to grow and experience various events in this romance game.

Of course, the process of character growth couldn’t be skipped, making it a brutally grind-heavy game.

It was also maliciously designed to prevent players from branching save files mid-progression, yet it still sold fairly well online.

There were many reasons for its popularity, but the most important was undoubtedly how attractive the companion characters (=heroines) were.

Adult games that stimulate male instincts tend to sell well as long as they feature one or two properly appealing female characters.

Among them, “Luminor Academy” was, in my personal opinion, a fairly well-crafted game despite some divisive elements.

Which is why, despite the grind, I’d poured nearly 2,000 hours of my past life into it.

Having to restart the game from scratch for every new route was horrifying, but the variety in growth paths kept it from feeling too monotonous.

The story also carefully developed each heroine’s salvation arc, making it decently engaging by my standards.

Above all, the female character designs were uniformly stunning, making it a visual treat.

Especially the heroine-specific personal events, which were packed with elements designed to tug at male hearts.

Those events were so well-done that the harem route ended up being an unpopular one-something you’d only try once at the beginning.

…Including this Lillith Rosewood character I’d reincarnated as.

“Damn, she really is ridiculously pretty…”

Glossy, shoulder-length black hair. A round, cute face. Large breasts, a slim waist, and firm hips.

Anyone could tell just by looking in the mirror, but of course, the Lillith Rosewood I’d reincarnated as was also a romanceable character in Luminor Academy.

Not just any character-she was one of the main heroines, the poster child for “salvation arcs.” She consistently ranked in the top three in all three official popularity polls, with a fiercely dedicated fanbase.

Regardless of public opinion, she was one of my least favorite characters.

It wasn’t that Lillith’s appearance or personality was lacking. As a born-again unicorn, I just couldn’t warm up to a heroine who embodied everything I despised.

By the time the main story began at the Academy’s entrance ceremony, this character was already a non-virgin with prior male experience.

Lillith wasn’t the only non-virgin heroine in Luminor Academy, but she was the only one who couldn’t be romanced on a virgin route under any circumstances.

Other non-virgin heroines had workarounds-like revisiting their hometowns during the childhood arc to promise a reunion, preventing events where the protagonist’s actions would lead to them losing their virginity to another man, or unlocking special choices in subsequent playthroughs after completing their routes once.

…Except for the one I’d reincarnated as.

No matter what you did, Lillith Rosewood couldn’t be encountered before the Academy’s entrance ceremony. Every single time, without fail, she appeared as a non-virgin-a heroine so horrifying you’d think she was designed by someone who hated unicorns.

And in my past life, I’d realized that fact far too late.

“When I think about the time I wasted trying to romance Lillith… Ugh…”

Of my 2,000 hours of playtime, roughly 500 were spent fruitlessly searching for a virgin route for this character. In the end, I never found one.

As a unicorn, I’d ironically spent the most playtime in Luminor Academy pursuing a non-virgin heroine, cementing Lillith as the worst character in my memory.

…Well, maybe not the absolute worst.

My hatred for Lillith stemmed entirely from the bastard who took her first time.

Ethan Richard Blackwood.

Just thinking about that damn face-the early-game antagonist and Lillith’s original “owner”-made my head spin.

“The thought of working under that bastard again makes me want to puke.”

Ethan Richard Blackwood. Nickname: Pig Prince Ethan.

If this asshole hadn’t been the one to take Lillith’s first time in every single playthrough, I wouldn’t have wasted 500 hours trying to romance this non-virgin character.

The fact that my past-life memories-forgotten over a decade in this life-flooded back the moment I saw that disgusting face proved just how much resentment I’d harbored against him.

It made sense. Ethan was consistently one of the top three most hated characters in Luminor Academy-someone impossible to forget.

First, his utterly unlikable appearance.

A spoiled, unkempt fatass with a height barely worth mentioning, always smearing food around his mouth and clothes-a truly revolting design.

In a game where even minor characters had above-average looks, he was the sole exception with his disgusting appearance. That alone said everything.

Even if you generously assumed he’d look passable if he lost weight, the real problem was his trash personality.

From age nineteen until entering the Academy five years later, he’d essentially turned his personal maid, Lillith, into his personal slave.

The extent of his abuse was honestly hard to put into words.

There was practically no depraved act he hadn’t subjected Lillith to in the game.

…And now I was that personal maid. Goddammit.

If I had to reincarnate, why not as the protagonist? Or if as a female character, at least as my favorite, Natalie.

Reincarnating as Lillith-the most abused character in the story-felt like crossing a line.

All I’d done was post “Lillith the slutty bitch” on Luminor Academy forums for three years straight…

“……”

…Okay, maybe I wasn’t entirely innocent. Though that hardly justified forcing me to reincarnate as Lillith.

Who wouldn’t be pissed? Spending 500 hours trying to romance a character only to realize she’s permanently non-virgin no matter what you do.

Regardless, now wasn’t the time for complaints. I needed to find a way to survive.

Most importantly, I had to avoid becoming that bastard’s personal maid.

If it meant enduring what happened in the original story, I’d rather hang myself. And I wasn’t joking.

“…Wait, no way.”

A sudden chill ran down my spine. I reached into my underwear to check, and thankfully, Lillith’s proof of virginity was still intact.

Well, Ethan had only awoken from his curse two days ago-there was no way he’d done anything to me yet.

I’d keep it that way. Especially around that bastard. No way I’d let myself be dragged around like in the original.

With 2,000 hours of Luminor Academy playtime under my belt, the “Foolish Maid Lillith” no longer existed in this world now that I’d reincarnated as her.

I’d make damn sure of it.