Ch.1I Became a Space Rogue (1)

My doctoral degree has disappeared.

“Excuse me, have you seen my degree?”

“Young master, you’ve finally gone mad.”

Strange. I was definitely holding it just a moment ago.

Everything else is gone too. The graduation gown I was wearing, even the award I was holding after being selected as an outstanding researcher.

“This doesn’t make sense…”

I looked around and felt my body. I even slapped my cheeks repeatedly.

What I saw was the bland interior of a spaceship, and what I felt was the body of a boy dressed in simple clothes.

“Please come to your senses.”

A beautiful girl with navy blue bob-cut hair grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

Ah, I see.

This is a dream. There’s no other explanation.

The hooding ceremony will start soon. I need to wake up and get back to the graduation hall as quickly as possible. I couldn’t waste this once-in-a-lifetime honor like this.

“I repeat. Come to your senses. How long are you going to be like this?”

The girl flicked my forehead. I let out a yelp without meaning to. It hurt more than I expected.

What’s going on? If this is a dream, why does it hurt?

While I stood there dumbfounded by the vivid sensation, the girl snapped her fingers and asked.

“Do you remember who I am?”

“……”

“I’ll ask again. Do you remember who I am?”

“…Sonia.”

I muttered the name blankly.

A girl with navy blue hair and white eyes.

‘Sonia,’ an android maid from a space opera web novel I had recently binge-read.

“That’s somewhat fortunate.”

Sonia sighed.

“Young master, you’ve been unconscious for a week. Do you remember what mistake you made before passing out?”

I shook my head.

Of course I don’t know. How could I?

All I did wrong was doze off briefly while attending my graduation ceremony.

Then I nodded off and when I opened my eyes, I was in this world.

Isn’t it normal to think this is just a dream?

“You don’t remember that?”

Reality was harsh.

“A hit might jog your memory.”

Sonia furrowed her brow and pulled back her fist. I instinctively realized that this was a move that threw robot ethics principles to the dogs.

And so I began getting beaten up without knowing why, like a dog on a hot summer day.

“Argh! Ow, it hurts! It hurts!”

“Does it hurt? I, Sonia, am hurting too.”

“Is a maid allowed to hit her master?!”

“I’m told it’s allowed.”

“Is a robot allowed to hit a human?!”

“I’m told it’s allowed.”

By whom?!

With each hit, my head rang painfully. Something seemed about to surface. I desperately tried to remember. Who was I supposed to be?

Ah, right. If it’s someone who has Sonia as a personal android, it can only be him.

Eidel von Rheinland.

A third-rate villain from [Surviving the Outer Gods].

A scoundrel of the Rheinland family who gets stripped once by his father, once by the protagonist, and once by transcendent beings called Outer Gods before thoroughly falling into ruin—trash among trash.

If the information coming to mind is correct, I’ve been reincarnated into the most twisted human in ‘Surviving the Outer Gods.’

“Aaack! Ack!”

Whatever. Each of Sonia’s punches is too painful. Despite being pounded into submission, I’m not waking up from this dream, which suggests this reincarnation is real.

Whether this makes scientific sense can be considered later. First, I need to put out the immediate fire.

“How are you feeling now? Do you remember?”

Sonia asked, raising her arm. I desperately nodded. Thankfully, I wasn’t hit anymore. Her hand that had stopped punching immediately moved to her waist.

“What did you do wrong? Tell me.”

“I… blew the family fortune.”

“To what extent?”

“About 2,000 trillion won… I mean, 2,000 trillion credits.”

“How did you do it?”

“Gambling.”

“You’re insane.”

Sonia clicked her tongue.

“That’s not all. Thanks to the scene you caused at the casino, the family’s prestige… Oh my. Do you remember what scene that was?”

“I caused a commotion complaining about unfair odds and got hit in the head by a security guard…”

I touched the back of my head where I felt a strange pressure. I could feel the rough texture of bandages.

So currently, I’m a patient with a head injury. A patient being beaten by a robot.

“This incident has dragged the Rheinland family’s reputation through the mud. The head of the family is furious too. You’ve really done it this time, young master.”

Damn, this is unfair. What kind of situation is this?

Suddenly I turned my head and saw a mirror. What was reflected in it was…

“…What?”

It was me.

Not Eidel von Rheinland, but literally me.

Except for my irises changing to the gold color symbolizing the Rheinland family, I looked exactly like my original self. There had been no description of Eidel’s appearance, so whoever reincarnated me must have simply copied my face.

“Hmm.”

This only doubled my confusion.

I think I need time to organize my thoughts.

***

Lee Jinsoo, 22 years old.

Future aspiration: university professor.

Like the physics-obsessed pervert I am, I only consumed SF web novels, and now I’ve been reincarnated into a hopeless space opera universe.

There was no doubt about it.

Or rather, even if I doubted it, there was nothing I could do.

“Hah.”

I feel like a brain in a vat.

Honestly, what did I do wrong?

I just read, that’s all.

I didn’t even leave comments, just binge-read, yet trapping someone in a place like this seems a bit excessive, doesn’t it?

If I’d known this would happen, I would have read one more research paper instead of the novel.

“Young master.”

While I was lost in these thoughts, Sonia entered.

“The head of the family will arrive soon. Please prepare yourself.”

Here it comes, I thought.

Soon I’ll be summoned by the father of this body’s original owner.

And I’ll be scolded to death. The reason being that I embezzled the family fortune and spectacularly lost it all gambling.

Eidel’s father is an extremely busy man. According to the setting, he would be a doctor dominating the southern galaxy. He rarely comes home because he’s busy simultaneously running numerous hospitals (though most are automated).

And now this father is stopping everything he’s doing to come home.

“Oh boy.”

In short, I’m screwed.

Clank!

The sound of two hulls docking together echoed.

“It seems the head of the family has returned. Prepare yourself, young master.”

“Phew.”

I took a deep breath. Once, twice, three times.

I hastily put on whatever clothes I could grab and followed Sonia to the dock. There stood a man in a white coat holding a carrier.

Arnold von Rheinland.

Eidel’s father and the head of the Rheinland family.

He adjusted his glasses and glared at me.

“Eidel.”

A heavy voice, like being pressed down by a large stone.

“You’ve finally crossed the line.”

His voice contained anger condensed like morning dew.

From my graduate school experience, I could tell this was a state that could explode if mishandled even slightly. I needed to approach carefully.

“Eidel, answer me. How did you embezzle 2,000 trillion without my permission?”

2,000 trillion.

In US dollars, the GDP of all countries on Earth approaches 100 trillion. The Rheinland family owns countless planets worth that much. Add in the tangible assets like metal or rare earth asteroids, and 2,000 trillion isn’t that large an amount in the space age. Relatively speaking, that is.

What I did was clearly insane. Touching the family fortune.

Let me recall.

How did Eidel behave at that time in the novel? I need to tell the truth so there’s no aftermath.

“I used the asteroid cloud in the southwest sector as collateral. If I lost the money, an equivalent amount of the asteroid would be seized.”

Even I think this is truly garbage behavior.

As expected, Arnold’s face turned red and blue.

“Do you want to die?”

“I’ve committed a mortal sin.”

I bowed my head as if I was going to plant it on the floor.

“You’ve eaten away at the family fortune accumulated over generations and tarnished the honor of the Rheinland name. Do you understand what this means?”

“I feel it to my bones.”

I bowed my head deeper, deeper, and deeper. It wasn’t my fault, but I had to bow anyway.

Be patient. If I can just get through this, I have a plan for what comes next.

After that, Arnold’s voice grew louder and louder. Crazy bastard, unfilial son, not even worth killing, and so on. I had to listen to unrestrained words delivered in a restrained tone.

“I’m sorry.”

Each time, I repeated the same words like a parrot.

“You think saying sorry fixes everything?”

“I’m sorry.”

I couldn’t go as far as saying I’d take responsibility. It wasn’t even my doing, so saying that would be unfair.

Above all, taking responsibility means paying back all the money lost gambling.

I can’t earn such a huge sum in the short term with my abilities. No, even Arnold as the head of the family couldn’t do it. That’s why he’s reprimanding me so severely.

Still, there was one fortunate thing.

Eidel was an even bigger piece of trash than I had imagined.

He was the type who routinely cursed at his parents. He would never apologize no matter what.

“This guy… at least he knows he did wrong.”

For someone like that to be bowing his head and apologizing profusely must be surprising from Arnold’s perspective.

“Fine. Talking further will only tire my mouth.”

Having vented everything he needed to, the father lowered his voice. His eyes were as empty as those of an ant investor riding a bear market.

“I can’t stand the sight of you. Go back to your room.”

‘Go back to your room,’ not ‘Get out of this house.’

Fortunately, it seems I’ve avoided the worst-case scenario of being expelled from the family.

I need to avoid expulsion for the future as well. Otherwise, Eidel will be tormented by the Outer Gods and turn into a cold corpse. I must remember that this novel’s genre is cosmic horror.

Anyway, just as I was about to turn around after paying my respects, thinking I could breathe a sigh of relief:

“Wait.”

Arnold stopped me.

“I’ll give you a choice.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll specially give you a chance to make up for this mistake. Listen carefully and choose one of three options.”

What? Did I hear wrong?

According to the novel’s description, Arnold shouldn’t be in a position to give Eidel any breaks.

Still, I couldn’t refuse an opportunity being offered. I nodded expectantly.

Arnold held up three fingers and said:

“First, bring back the money you lost gambling. However, you must not use dishonest means.”

That’s definitely impossible.

“Second. Enlist in the military.”

I’d rather die.

When Arnold says enlist, he means as a private, not an officer.

And this is a world without dreams or hope, waging war against monsters created by Outer Gods. The second option was essentially telling me to go die for honor.

I swallowed dryly.

“Finally, third, enroll in Stellarium within this year.”

The moment I heard that option.

“Oh.”

I unconsciously pursed my lips.

“If you can’t do any of these three things, pack your bags and leave this house. And never associate with the Rheinland name again. Understood?”

“Understood.”

I bowed and turned around.

Enrolling in Stellarium.

This was what I had already planned, but now father had brought up the subject himself. It was like hitting the jackpot.

Back in my room, I couldn’t help but smile.

“…Perfect.”

“What is?”

Sonia asked with a sullen expression.

“I need to go to Stellarium.”

“Stellarium Academy? The school famous for admitting only the most talented students from across the galaxy.”

“I know. So what?”

“I wonder why the head of the family would forgive you on the condition of entering that school?”

That’s obvious.

First, because Stellarium is the galaxy’s top institution where admission alone guarantees a successful life.

And the second reason…

“…It’s because he thinks you will absolutely never be admitted to that school.”

Sonia berated me in a calm tone. No, more accurately, she was berating Eidel.

I’m not angry.

Eidel was someone who had nothing to do with studying.

He was so bad that even the frontier academy he entered after being expelled in the novel was through a donation admission.

Without family backing, he probably just wanted to have a college degree. Of course, he caused trouble there too and was beaten up by the protagonist before being expelled.

I nodded and said:

“I know he deliberately set an impossible condition.”

“Are you still going to do it?”

“Yes, I have to. Somehow.”

“Do you think you can?”

Sonia asks with a twisted smile. Her sardonic smile contains both smugness and contempt that says, ‘Someone like you?’

In typical scoundrel stories, personal butlers or maids blindly believe in their masters.

Not Sonia. That made her seem more realistic.

Anyway, my answer was simple:

“Of course.”

This world will soon face destruction.

Because of higher-dimensional beings called Outer Gods.

I didn’t want to die here. So during the days since my reincarnation, I’ve been organizing my thoughts and making plans.

The ultimate goal of that plan is to develop the ‘graviton bomb,’ the final weapon against the Outer Gods.

The Outer Gods manifest in this universe using black holes as gates, and according to the novel, using graviton bombs to drive them away can prevent destruction.

I’m not certain, but as someone who isn’t the protagonist, that’s all I can do.

Either way, I need to continue my research in this world too.

For that, first…

“…Graduate school.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m planning to go to graduate school.”

Sonia’s face turned blank upon hearing my answer.