ARC 1

The Fallen Millionbell

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Chapter 2

~peculiar changes~

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"Black hair. Silver-grey eyes. Neat rich noble clothes. Fictional character turned real..."

No matter how many times Kazuki pinched his cheeks or slapped himself, the hazy reflection on the floor still looked like a live version of Arion Millionbell, taken straight out of the illustrations in his light novel series. It took him almost the whole day to admit that he wasn't dreaming up the whole thing, but now his mind was clearer than ever.

He dragged his body towards the bed and dove headfirst onto it. Comfortable sheets swallowed his tiny form, trying to lull him to sleep, but all he could think of was the fact that he was no longer on Earth. By some strange occurrence, he has managed to land himself inside his own novel's world, Tellus.

The main issue, though, was that a fictional character had called him by the name of another fictional character. Just like in those reincarnation or soul transfer plots, there was a high chance that he has become Arion. Between being dead and taking over the body of a boy that will be dead in a couple of years, he wasn't sure which one was worse.

Actually, that wasn't entirely true. At least he still has a fighting chance with the latter. The most obvious way out of that particular predicament was to make sure that Julius likes Arion enough to not kill him. If Arion doesn't die, Kazuki doesn't die. Simple.

"Excuse me, Young Master."

Logically, if Julius was his soon-to-be murderer, it made sense that Kazuki become his friend before the youth would think about killing him. Using sympathy to survive was a bit cowardly, but he'll take any chance he can get when fighting against his own convenient plot devices.

"Young Master?"

It would also be a good idea to get on as many people's side as possible. Part of the reason why the original Arion descended into madness was because he had no one to cling to, surrounded everyday by people who only wanted to experiment on his magic.

"Young Master Arion."

"Huh? Oh, you're from before..." Kazuki said when he noticed the other person in the room. He set aside his mental planning for later on, shifting his attention to the red-haired man nearby.

An odd expression crossed the man's - or rather, butler's face when he heard Kazuki's words, but it was gone as soon as he placed a bowl at the bedside table, next to the untouched tea tray from before. Without saying another word, he left the room, this time without closing the door.

Alone again in the room, curiosity got the better of him, and he shifted to the side to peer into the bowl's contents. The broth inside was light brown, with a slightly musty and fishy smell.

Back when he was writing his novels, he based the food and drink items in the story from cuisines from various countries on Earth. The predominantly western setting allowed him to use recipes not only from Japan, but also from all over Europe and the Americas, changing their names slightly to suit the fantasy theme.

It shouldn't be that bad, Kazuki told himself. With a vaguely similar hue and scent, he expected it to taste like the dashi broth used in oden: a bit salty and sweet, but warm and comforting to the stomach, especially in cold temperatures.

One sip later, he couldn't be further from the truth. It was the bitterest thing he had ever tasted in his entire life - even the pencil ends he had chewed on absentmindedly hadn't been that bitter! To call it a broth would be a compliment; it was, at best, a medicinal concoction.

Had it been Arion that drank the 'soup', he would've left it at its original place to rot, or thrown its contents onto the floor out of annoyance. Kazuki, though, reminded himself that some healthy goods were supposed to taste bad and downed the concoction in one go, ignoring the scream in his mind that told him to spit it out.

"Ugh, it's so bad..." he muttered under his breath. As soon as he finished the last drop and returned the bowl to the bedside table, he poured out some tea for himself, ridding his mouth of any foul-tasting remnants.

In the midst of enjoying his drink, Kazuki completely missed the shocked look on the butler's face, who had been watching him from behind the half-open door.

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"I - I'm sorry, Young Master Arion!"

"He's here! Quick, run away before he sees us!"

"S-s-so scary..."

Nine profuse bows, fifteen escapes, twenty-seven screams of terror, and more whispered slanders than he can keep track of. Kazuki knew that his notes on Arion called him an antisocial brat who hated the world. Unfortunately, it seemed that the world had decided to hate him back as much.

Did he also mention that he got lost while looking for the dining hall? In his defence, he had been staying inside the same bedroom for the past few days with his meals being brought to him at regular intervals. Contrary to his belief, the Millionbell manor was enormous, with more space than a family of five could ever need. Granted, the servants outnumbered them by at least five times, but the number of rooms were just ridiculous. He'd rather not think about the whole estate...

Note to self: even when writing about a minor location, always specify its size and contents.

Somehow, Kazuki's search led him back to the first hallway he departed from. Turning around a corner, he nearly collided into a auburn-haired young girl hovering in front of his bedroom door, carrying a large pitcher of water that looked too heavy for her. He was barely a hand's reach away from her, but she hadn't discovered his presence yet, something that he was thankful for. After having dozens of high-pitched shrieks assault his eardrums, he didn't think he could take any more.

"Don't panic...i-it's only Y-Young Master Arion..."

If Kazuki hadn't heard her words, he would have thought that she was at the verge of a minor breakdown. With her ragged breathing and trembling hands, it was a miracle that she could hold up the pitcher in her hands properly.

Was Arion really that scary? Although the original character might have committed numerous crimes, the current one was just a sickly child. Kazuki could confirm that he looked just as described in the books after he saw his reflection in a mirror yesterday. Short and fluffy black hair, silver-grey eyes, and a rather fierce glare for a 6-year old.

At least, Kazuki had assumed that Arion was currently at that age. Since taking over the boy's body, he hadn't heard any signs of Arion's previous personality appearing or fighting to take over; nor was he able to see any of this body's memories prior to his soul's arrival. It was both a blessing and a curse.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"...He's not a demon, he's not going to suck your blood and blast you with magic, or m-make me q-quit my job..."

The girl's words brought him out of his thoughts, but he also had to do a double take at that. Also, why would firing someone be worse than, say, all the other murderous things that his rumoured self could have done?

Steeling his resolve, he carefully approached the girl from her side, taking care not to stand too close. "Excuse me, I -"

"AAH!"

Before he could finish his sentence, the girl threw the pitcher's contents at him, drenching his face and clothes with water. Considering that she hadn't looked at him properly, it must have been a nervous reaction.

"Y-you're the - the - I'M SORRY!"

And suddenly, there was a prostrating servant near his feet. To be honest, it was a bit too much for his newly-occupied brain to handle, but he finally managed to squeeze out a few words. "...It's fine. It was an accident."

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME - huh? W-what?" When she lifted her head to look at him, there was only utter confusion in her bright blue eyes. "Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming. No chance that he'd forgive me after that..."

"No, you're not dreaming."

"I'm not?" She paused, staring blankly at Kazuki for what felt like forever before doing something that sent Kazuki running after help immediately. After all, what could he do to help the girl if he was the one who caused her to faint?

Another note to self: whether it's a background, minor, or major character, always fully write out their background stories and don't leave anything up to chance.

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"Did you hear those rumours?"

Recently, many of the Millionbell manor's inhabitants had begun to notice something very strange going on with the littlest master.

"What rumours - oh, the one about Young Master Arion? Has he finally gone insane from all that magic in his brain, I wonder?"

Julius Millionbell, the first person to see that so-called strangeness, had dismissed it as being an aftereffect of his little brother's accidental fall. Or perhaps, he was just in denial because Arion had accepted his help and thanked him. Of all the crazy things that could happen!

"Sheesh, you're so sceptical about magic...anyway, a couple of minutes ago, I've heard from the cook that the Young Master actually asked for seconds at yesterday's dinner!"

Basilio Ilvarn was the second person. He was the red-haired butler, the first person that Kazuki saw as Arion in Tellus.

"That's nothing special! Have you heard about what happened when Mister Leo brought his medicine broth? The one that we stopped giving to him?"

"Don't tell me...he actually drank something like that? It's probably only a sip or two, but usually he'd throw the bowl at us."

"That wasn't what happened, apparently..."

"Huh? So he did throw it away!"

"No, he - he drank the whole thing!"

"...WHAT!? W-well, you definitely haven't heard about the kid from the West Wing!"

The third person was a girl who didn't exist in the original story, a mob character without a past or future.

"The one that threw the water pitcher on the Young Master?"

"Ye - how did you know!?"

"Everyone knows. She fainted, woke up in her room afterwards, and somehow managed to not anger the Young Master and not get fired. They even said that the Young Master himself was the one who got help for her!"

Soon after, there came the fourth, and the fifth and sixth witnesses to Arion's descent into someone that wasn't completely Arion anymore. Many of them saw it as being one of the strange child's latest quirks.

Days later, with no signs of the young master returning to his normal behaviour - if acting harsh to everyone was considered the norm - the servants could only watch and wait.

Eventually, it had become somewhat of a game to see how different Arion had become. One particularly cheeky gardener populated the young master's room with all sorts of flowers, half-expecting him to throw them all away. Instead, Arion kept the flowers intact and said nothing about it to anyone, despite the fact that he preferred to keep his room empty. They were subtle gestures that the young master would have normally despised, but Kazuki didn't mind any of them at the least.

The servants' talks spread as far as Arion's two older brothers and their mother. No one really knew how to handle this new version of him. Kazuki himself also felt the same as he desperately tried to adjust to a new life in a foreign world and a new body.

His bedroom may be fit for a king, and the meals - minus that one bitter abomination - were as delicious as any top-ranked restaurant's food in Tokyo, but the disadvantages outweighed the bonuses of becoming the youngest son of a rich family. Tellus' lack of modern toiletries and amenities was one of his problems, but nothing could beat the cold reception he received from the inhabitants of the manor.

By the week's end, Kazuki's head had already been spinning back and forth as he tried to recall every detail he wrote about the young noble boy. There was supposed to be an explanation as to why Arion ended up as an antagonist, and why Julius became a travelling mercenary, but he couldn't pinpoint the reasons down. One particular piece of the puzzle continued to elude him, floating somewhere in his mind: If Arion and Julius were the only two Millionbells with any kind of significance in the story, then what happened to their other brother and parents, and all the servants that worked for them?

When Arion's father arrived home from the capital at the beginning of a new week, eyes stormy and face as pale as a sheet, Kazuki immediately knew what the answers were.

It was, after all, the first step in Arion Millionbell's path to self-destruction.

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- Author's Notes -

I've missed my own deadline! Oh, the shame! The horror! For the love of mango sago and pumpkin pies!

Other than that, I have nothing else to say besides a big sorry. Mostly to myself, probably...

It's more or less filler, but it does have some information here and there that may or may not be relevant in the future. But I don't like fillers that much, so I don't like this chapter. Bummer.

Expect the next one in - actually, don't expect anything yet. Before the next post, I've got to change the summary to something easier to read...