Pitiful Young Master in a Reversed World

Chapter 1

A man was walking down a deserted, secluded alleyway, his face hidden beneath a robe.

"Hm?"

A woman, who had been sleeping deep within the alley, focused all her attention on the man.

Even though his body was covered by a baggy robe, anyone could tell from his physique that he was a man,

so the woman moved her body without realizing it.

The woman grabbed the man's wrist.

"Who......"

The woman immediately pushed the man against the wall.

The man's back hit the wall, and his eyes turned toward the woman.

'Oh, she's pretty decent, huh?'

Among the thugs, homeless, and drug addicts lurking in back alleys, there were few women who looked this good.

I hid my smile and opened my mouth.

With a thin, trembling voice that sounded like I might burst into tears at any moment.

"Eek...! S-someone he-...!"

"Ahem."

The woman who had grabbed me as I was wandering the alley covered my mouth and pressed a dagger against my neck.

"Hrk......"

I acted like I was panicking.

Then the woman seemed to get even more excited, snorting heavily.

Her breath touched my face.

She probably thought she had the upper hand over me.

I almost burst out laughing but barely held it in.

This wasn't my previous life's world without magic power.

Honestly, her behavior, as if forgetting that even men born physically weaker than women could be stronger with magic power, didn't seem very smart.

Ah, in my past life, men were originally stronger than women, right.

After living twenty years in this crazy, gender-reversed world, I guess my mind got messed up too.

In this world, as long as one had magic power, men could easily become stronger than women.

But this woman didn't seem to consider that possibility at all.

Holding the dagger in a reverse grip, she pushed back the hood that covered my face and gasped.

Why, am I too handsome?

Well, I am quite handsome.

I could confidently say it would be hard to find anyone in this empire as good-looking as me.

"Stay still.....! Hehehe... I don't know how such a handsome man ended up here, but......"

The woman gave a lecherous smile.

Her lustful eyes scanned me from head to toe.

I still wasn't used to that kind of gaze from a woman.

If a woman with her looks had acted like this back in my previous life, I probably would have been thrilled,

but since I wasn't feeling good about it, I guess I'd really adapted to this world.

"Today, young master, you're going to learn a lesson. Hehe, the lesson that you shouldn't come to shady places like this......"

The woman grinned unpleasantly as she leisurely admired my face.

So what are you going to do?

You don't have any free hands right now.

Your left hand is covering my mouth, your right hand is holding the dagger, so how exactly are you planning to teach me a lesson?

Watching her actions, I almost burst out laughing.

She roughly stuffed the dagger she had pressed against my neck back into her waistband and placed her hand on my stomach.

Now she had no means to threaten me.

She must be really excited.

"Heh, do you work out? Your abs are pretty firm."

The left hand that had been covering my mouth was now fiddling with my lips, while her right hand was busy caressing my stomach.

As I quietly stole her dagger, spinning it around in my hand,

I thought about which organization I should sell this woman to.

Seeing as she didn't even realize I'd stolen her dagger, fighting was out of the question.

So the underground fighting ring was off the table.

I scrutinized her face as she was obsessed with feeling up my abs.

She was pretty enough that she'd probably fetch a decent price as a slave,

but unfortunately, since she was a woman and not a man, her value wouldn't be that high.

Maybe some rich old men might buy her?

No, they'd probably prefer prettier women if they were going to buy anyway.

So there weren't many options.

I looked at her with pity.

Why are you so useless, my friend.

Meanwhile, her hand kept moving lower and lower.

Ah, come to think of it, I remembered hearing that black magicians these days were short on experimental subjects.

Supply always rises to meet demand, after all.

I quietly congratulated the woman whose destination was now decided.

"Hehehe......"

"Excuse me."

"Yeah yeah, young master. What is it?"

The moment I opened my mouth, her finger slipped inside.

Couldn't you have washed your hands before shoving them in my mouth?

Then maybe I could have enjoyed this a little.

Suppressing my disgust, I spoke.

"Do you want to be a sacrifice? Or an experimental subject?"

Whether she'd become a sacrifice for a black magic ritual or a test subject for black magic experiments.

Neither option promised a bright future, but from the moment she laid hands on me, her fate was sealed.

To be sold to a black magician.

"What?"

I fiddled with the dagger I'd taken from her.

Planning to knock her out by hitting the back of her neck with the blunt pommel.

Then I'd have my underlings sell her to the black magicians, and that would be that.

It was something I'd done many times, so I was quite skilled at it.

But soon, I had to stop.

"Do you happen to know someone named Svela......"

"Stop right there!"

At that perfect moment, a woman shouted as she entered the alley.

"Ha, and who are you?"

What? A new homeless person?

I hadn't sensed her presence at all.

But as soon as I saw her face, I revised my careless assumption.

She was far too beautiful to be a homeless person.

Short, neatly cut red hair and eyes as dark as obsidian that seemed to draw you in.

Somehow, she felt like someone I was destined to meet.

I'd never felt this way before in my life.

Compared to her, the woman in front of me wasn't even worth mentioning, as she approached us and continued speaking.

"Let him go while I'm still asking nicely."

"And if I refuse? Ah, why don't you have some fun too?"

The pretty lady silently conjured a crimson orb above her hand.

"A-a mage?! Fuck!...... Don't come any closer! You don't want to see this bastard die, do you?"

She quickly pulled me in front of her as a shield and frantically groped at her waist.

Probably trying to retrieve the dagger she had hastily stuffed back into her belt earlier.

"What the... th-the dagger..."

Her panic was palpable.

Unfortunately for her, no matter how much she searched, the woman would never find the dagger.

Because I had already swallowed it whole.

Perhaps realizing she could no longer use me as a hostage, the pretty lady moved the crimson orb.

In an instant, the crimson orb flew and exploded behind the woman holding me, striking the back of her neck.

"Kraaagh!"

I quickly slipped away from the woman who collapsed unconscious to the ground.

Seeing the crimson liquid from the orb pooling on the floor,

it almost looked as if that woman had been murdered,

but fortunately, she was merely unconscious.

I carefully examined the crimson liquid that made up the orb.

That red liquid... is it blood?

There wasn't really a metallic stench, but then again, blood usually only smells when it covers a large area of skin, so I couldn't be sure.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Thank you so much for saving me!"

I bowed my head to the pretty lady.

"Helping a man in need is simply a woman's natural duty, so there's no need to thank me."

It sounded odd, but in this world, it was perfectly normal.

"You look like a noble's son, so be careful from now on. Never come to a place like this alone, understood?"

"Yes......"

After leaving the alley with me, the pretty lady told me once more to be careful, then walked away.

"Um...! Could you at least tell me your name?!"

At my shout, the pretty lady turned her head.

"Beya."

Beya.

She gazed deeply into my trembling eyes for a moment, then turned away and walked off again.

I stood there frozen, dazed for a while.

It was only when she began to disappear from sight that I snapped out of it.

Is she gone?

After confirming that the pretty lady who called herself Beya had completely vanished from view, I pulled my hood back on.

Then I brought my lips close to the ring on my right hand.

"Aa, Nadia. Can you hear me?"

-Yes, Master Louis. What is it?

A calm woman's voice flowed out from the ring.

"You answered really fast?"

-I was just waiting for your call, no, I mean... It was just a total coincidence, really.

"I just saved someone, so take her and sell her to the Black Robe. I heard necromancers are desperate for bodies these days, right?"

-Understood. Is it the same alley as usual today?

"Yeah, please. Oh, and also look into someone named Beya. She must be pretty famous."

-Beya? Do you mean an adventurer?

"Probably? I'm curious now, so check that too. And whatever happens, make sure no one finds out I'm involved."

As far as I knew, she was an adventurer, but just in case.

-.......

"Nadia?"

-.....Understood.

I laughed as I listened to the reluctant woman's reply.

*

"A birthday gift from the boss for you, Young Master."

Hmm.......

This wasn't exactly what I had in mind.

I asked you to look into her, not to help me meet her in person.

Suppressing a sigh that threatened to escape, I looked at Beya, who was staring at me from inside the cell with inscrutable, deep eyes.