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Chapter 6.4 – Not Forgetting the Original Intention

Will happiness really come again? Xue Zi Xuan smiled and exchanged a few large bills for this purple bellflower swaying in the wind. Carefully, he pressed the stalk into the youth’s hands.
Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
Zhou Yun Sheng was befuddled. But fortunately the young man did not buy roses for him in front of everyone’s eyes. It was easier to accept a Chinese bellflower. He pinched the flower and sniffed the white stamen gently.

The girl hurriedly refused. “It’s only five yuan for a bellflower. Sir, you have given too much!”

“Not too much, it’s worth it, thank you.” Xue Zi Xuan smiled. The meaning of the bellflower in flower language seemed to herald his destiny. Some day after his rebirth, he could get the blessing of “happiness again.” Nothing was more precious than this sentence, this flower.

He rarely smiled, so when he smiled sincerely, his handsome face seemed to be glowing, and his appearance was also unimaginably gentle. Zhou Yun Sheng gave him a quick glance, then a few seconds later he gave him another glance. He had to admit that he was almost enchanted.

Zhou Yun Sheng couldn’t stand the tenderness and thoughtfulness of the young man. The way he took such good care of him, it made him involuntarily think of the original intention of the young man for bringing him back to the city.

What kind of person could covet his heart (for transplant) and also show him such warm and soft actions? Fine. The young man had schizophrenia, so he could easily switch between being a gentle brother and a cold-blooded killer. In the face of a mentally ill person, Zhou Yun Sheng felt powerless. He pinched the bellflower and continued to wander the streets in the arms of the young man. The expression on his face showed that he was struggling and at a loss.

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How he hoped that the warmth that the young man gave him was from the heart, and not some cruel trick prompted by sudden impulse. After reincarnating for several lifetimes, he longed for stability and freedom. Even more, he longed for a dependent shoulder to lean on when he’s exhausted.

Did this shoulder belong to him? Occasionally he would have these unreasonable wishes, but he would quickly resume his tranquil state of mind. Until he could get rid of the villain system, he was not eligible to own anything.

Feeling that the person in his arms had changed from enthusiastic to absent-minded, Xue Zi Xuan turned to look at him and asked softly, “Are you hungry? Let’s find a place to eat?”

“En, let’s go home early after dinner. I’m worried about Jing Yi.” Zhou Yun Sheng answered dispiritedly.

Xue Zi Xuan’s eyes were slightly dark, but he didn’t say anything. He changed from embracing to holding hands and led the teenager into a very high-end French restaurant. Due to the festive atmosphere, the restaurant was full of guests. Without reservations, there was no seating for a while.

Fortunately, Xue Zi Xuan was a frequent visitor. The VIP card was handed over, and the attendant immediately arranged a double seat for them.

Zhou Yun Sheng was holding the flowers, and he was hugged by the handsome and immaculate man. His height just reached the young man’s shoulder, giving off a vague feeling of a little bird relying on people*. Along the way to their table, people kept looking over. They could recognize him as the piano emperor. With expressions of surprise, they turned to whisper to one another.

[*T/N: idiom for “cute and helpless-looking”]

Xue Zi Xuan’s aloofness was renowned among their social circle. But the him of today was full of tender smiles. He was meticulously considerate, guarding the teenager tightly, compared to his past self it was like two completely different people.

It couldn’t be, was the piano emperor in love? And the partner was a young boy? Who could have thought that he was gay! Within a day, rumors and the like will spread in the upper circles.

Zhou Yun Sheng became more and more confused about what the young man was planning to do. He thought that the other party changed superficially on the outside (while remaining the same on the inside) in order to trick him and find another place to put him under house arrest. But right now, he was taking him out openly to high-end venues. His attitude did not seem evasive; instead, he was even more considerate. This high-profile move was completely contrary to his original intention.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Isn’t he afraid that some curious person might look into Huang Yi and break through the conspiracy of the Xue family? Zhou Yun Sheng repeatedly pondered, but he never considered that the young man’s feelings for him were real and not some ulterior motive meant to take advantage of him.

While he was thinking wildly of all the possibilities, the two were seated and the server bent over to present two menus to them.

Zhou Yun Sheng returned to his senses, hurriedly glanced at the menu and then set it aside. With his face flushed, he whispered, “Brother, I don’t understand it.” In fact, his spirit and the system were connected. The system had all the information about the world, including all the history and languages of various countries. Not just French, even if it were some aboriginal language in Africa, all he needed to do was use the database of the system and he could grasp the knowledge instantly. But Huang Yi was from a remote and isolated village. That he could speak Mandarin well was already good enough, never mind foreign languages.

Xue Zi Xuan reached out and squeezed his crimson cheeks. He smiled. “Brother will help you order.” He did not expect that Xiao Yi, who was fluent in ten foreign languages in the last life, also had such times of distress. But he knew how smart he was, and if he was given enough time, he could grow to be better than anyone.

“What is the main dish today?” He used perfectly standardized French to communicate with the waiter.

“Vegetable stew in white sauce, the dessert is a Parisian wheel cake.”

Xue Zi Xuan nodded. He looked over the menu for a few seconds and then pointed at a small line of words. He instructed, “Give us the set meal for couples*.”

[*T/N: 情侣 qing lv – sweethearts / lovers]

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Chapter 19 – Team Training Line

Luckily, Sasuke’s lateness was not a repeat occurrence. The same could not be said for Kakashi however.

With nothing to do but to wait for their jonin sensei to show up, Sasuke proposed that they spend that time sparring.

“We didn’t get to go up against each other much at the Academy,” Sasuke said to Sakura. “I want to see how much you’ve improved. Don’t hold back.”

The pink haired girl shook her head with trepidation, but it wasn’t for the reason that one might guess. “If I go all out, I might seriously hurt you. Um, that is not to say that I think that you’re weak!” She squeaked. “I mean Sasuke-kun placed the highest in taijutsu class, and I-”

“Sakura.”

“Yes?” She squeaked and then blushed.

“I’m training in medical ninjutsu, and at the risk of sounding cocky, I am confident that I can heal any injury caused by a friendly spar. At the very least I can stabilize an injury until professional help comes.”

“But!”

“If it worries you so much, why don’t you fight against Naruto’s clones first? That way you won’t hurt one of us and we can assess your skills.”

Sakura nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.”

“Though personally, I think it would be more exciting to fight against you without knowing your full skill set.” Sasuke’s lips quirked up in what might be a smirk. “Right now, you are quite the wild card on the team.”

Sakura blushed and played with the skirt of her qipao. “It’s not like I know everything about you two either.”

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other. A silent exchange passed between them. “And we will remedy that soon enough,” Sasuke said. “But if you don’t mind, I’m eager to see what you can do.”

“Yeah, Sakura-chan, show us your stuff!” Naruto cheered.

“All right.” Sakura nodded with faint amusement and determination. She would not hold anything back. She was going to wow her teammates and let them know that she could stand on equal ground with them.

Some time later, Sakura was panting heavily on the field, and her two teammates were picking their jaws up from the ground.

“Sakura,” Sasuke said as he approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

His hand lit up with green chakra and Sakura felt a dose of soothing healing chakra enter her system. She sighed.

“You’re right, I could’ve gotten badly injured if you were serious.”

He recalled the shadow clones that Sakura cleaved in half with her battle-axes. She wielded two of those massive weapons. Her balance was better with two axes, making her much deadlier than if she were to only wield one. The disadvantage was that it wasn’t a good weapon for close quarters and as her control still needed improvement it was best avoided when fighting alongside comrades, least she injured a teammate by accident. However, there was a definite element of surprise to see a petit girl like Sakura pull out giant battle axes, and if Sakura were to fight one-on-one or one-on-many, as she had done with the shadow clones, in an open field, then she and her axes made for a deadly combination. She wouldn’t be much of a match against a jonin like Kakashi, but for a genin she was advanced.

“Perhaps it’s better to stick to taijutsu for now,” Sasuke concluded.

Naruto twitched and muttered, “I don’t think that’s much better. She reminds me of Fuzzy Eyebrows, except with less speed and strength but more viciousness and creativity.”

“Why don’t you take a break now and observe how Naruto and I fight?”

Sakura nodded and took a seat on the grass as Naruto and Sasuke got into position. They made the hand sign for a friendly spar and slid into their stances. A sudden gust was their starting gong, and then the two leapt into a whirlwind dance.

By the time Kakashi arrived in the training area, his team was sweaty and out of breath.

Kakashi was surprised and impressed by his team’s self-motivation. He had expected to find the children sitting around, bored out of their minds. It looked like he would have to revise their training schedule.

“All right, then. Since it looks like you guys have worked out a morning schedule, I will get you started on chakra training exercises when I arrive. After that we will have lunch and take a short break. In the afternoon, we will do some team exercises and then pick up a mission afterwards. Any objections?”

He wasn’t expecting any and he didn’t get any.

Sakura and Naruto got to their feet and stood at attention as they waited for instructions. Sasuke was still lying on the grass with an arm thrown across his eyes. He was a little more tired than his teammates, having used medical ninjutsu to heal some of the nastier bruises they got.

“Come on, Sasuke. Up you go.” Kakashi offered a hand, which Sasuke took with a recalcitrant look. Kakashi pulled the brunette up and waited for Sasuke to steady himself before letting go. Sasuke sniffed at Kakashi’s scent. His features relaxed and he took a step back to fall into formation with his teammates.

Kakashi walked over to a tree, and then with his hands in his pockets he walked straight up the tree. “This is the tree walking exercise. It is said that if you can master this then you can master any ninjutsu.” He continued walking until he was hanging upside down from a branch. “The point is to regulate your chakra flow to your feet. Too little chakra and you won’t be able to stick to the tree. Too much chakra will blow you away from the tree.” He threw down three kunai to his team. “Use those to mark your progress. A running start might be helpful.”

And so their chakra training began.

After lunch and another team exercise, Team Seven ambled towards the Hokage Tower for their second, technically, third, mission.

Along the way, Naruto was chatting up a storm as usual. Sakura listened without much interest, but paid just enough attention to not be rude. Despite her growing fondness for the loudmouthed blond, Sakura still did not have much patience for his endless chatter. Only the thought that it made Sasuke happy to see them get along kept Sakura from knocking the blond upside the head to get him to quiet down. A voice in the back of her mind was growing increasingly agitated with Naruto’s story about ramen and the Hokage’s grandson.

Sakura snuck a glance at Sasuke from the corner of her eye. She cocked her head to the side in thought. “Isn’t Sasuke-kun walking exceptionally close to Kakashi-sensei?” She noted out loud.

“Huh?”

This caught both Naruto and Sasuke’s attention. Kakashi was already aware of the brunette in their group slowly inching closer to him as they walked, but it seemed that Sasuke himself was not aware of his actions.

“You smell like wet dog,” Sasuke muttered with his head bowed to hide a growing blush.

Kakashi’s brow rose under his headband.

“Huh? Isn’t that kind of gross?” Naruto asked.

Kakashi twitched. “Now, now, Naruto, if my cute little genin wants to walk next to me then I certainly won’t complain.” To further annoy the blond, Kakashi slung an arm around Sasuke’s shoulders to pull him in close as they walked. He did not miss the flinch or the sudden tensing of Sasuke’s shoulders. Kakashi did not comment on this nor did he remove his arm. After a moment Sasuke took a deep breath of Kakashi’s scent and relaxed into his hold.

“You hentai-sensei!” Naruto accused with a finger in Kakashi’s face. The jonin batted the offending hand away. Naruto continued on his tirade, while Sakura look uncertain of how to respond. By the light flush on her cheeks, she probably found the scene cute.

Their mission that day was to walk the Inuzuka’s dogs and bathe them afterwards. Sasuke’s face lit up when he saw the furry animals. Kakashi smiled under his mask. It’s good to know that the Last Loyal Uchiha was not as iced over as popular opinion believed. There was no doubt that there were underlying issues and trauma that Kakashi would have to work out with Sasuke someday, but looking at Sasuke’s pleased face as a rather giant breed of dog lapped at his cheek, it didn’t feel like such a hopeless task as what he thought it would be when he was first assigned the Uchiha to his team.

Team Seven’s days continued on in this matter, with training in the morning and D-rank missions in the afternoon. The team would always eat lunch together, mostly it was pre-packaged lunch, and on the occasion when Team Seven managed to complete three D-rank missions in one evening, Kakashi would treat the team to dinner.

They progressed to the point where they could complete a team exercise in less than ten minutes, but that’s only when Kakashi decided not to include himself as one of the obstacles. They advanced to water walking. To no one’s surprise, Sakura was again the first to master water walking, with Sasuke and Naruto close behind.

Despite the bone weary training sessions and mind numbing string of D-rank missions, it was all rather idyllic until Naruto couldn’t stand it anymore and blew up at the Hokage one day.

“No! No more D-rank missions! I’m sick and tired of weeding gardens and cleaning out the river. I want a C-rank mission. Give us a C-rank, jiji!”

Iruka tried to talk Naruto out of it, but Kakashi decided to back his team up on this one. His genin were dedicated and self-motivated ninjas. They were more than ready for a C-rank mission.

The Hokage relented and introduced them to their client.

A side door opened to reveal an elderly man wobbling unsteadily on his feet with a sake bottle dangling from his fingers.

“What’s this? They’re all just a bunch of kids,” was the client’s first comment upon seeing Team Seven.

The client took a long drink from his bottle. Sasuke scowled at the alcoholic drink in the old man’s hand, but the client was too out of it to notice the hostile glare.

“Hey, is the shrimp with an idiotic face really a ninja?” The client slurred.

Sasuke gritted his teeth in annoyance. It was Sakura that stepped forward to defend Naruto, “I can assure you client-san that we are all capable ninjas.” She spoke sternly, a voice that brokered no arguments.

The old man grumbled. “I am the bridge building expert, Tazuna. Once I have returned to my country, I will have all of you protect my life with yours while I complete the bridge.”

“That would be a given.” Sasuke said. “Is there any need to reiterate such an obvious thing?”

“Hmph.” Tazuna turned is nose up and took another swing from his bottle.

Sasuke’s hands curled into fists.

Kakashi laughed nervously. “Team.” His genin turned their attention to him. “Gather a mission bag. Pack lightly for an extended mission and don’t forget provisions and sleeping equipment. We meet at the front gate in two hours.”

Sasuke was the first one out the door. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the drunken bridge builder and then followed Sasuke out with Sakura close behind.

Two hours later, Team Seven and Tazuna met at the village’s front gates. Tazuna still had a drink in hand, and Sasuke’s glower had not lessened one bit.

“Sasuke,” Kakashi said in a gentle and low voice as he laid a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. Sasuke held himself rigid to contain the instinctual flinch, but he soon relaxed into Kakashi’s side at the familiar scent. “Will this,” he wave vaguely at the space between Sasuke and Tazuna, “be a problem for the mission?”

Sasuke glared at Tazuna as the man took another long drink from his bottle. Team Seven had never witnessed Sasuke so openly hostile before. Sasuke bit his lip and turned away from the sight of their inebriated client. “I am well aware of my duties as a Konoha genin.”

Kakashi hummed noncommittally at the answer. He heard the answer underneath the underneath and knew that Sasuke was not committing to a yes or no answer, but he decided to trust in Sasuke’s restraint. After all, Sasauke was a member of his team, and he wanted to believe in his teammates.

“Sasuke-kun,” Sakura hedged carefully, “Why do you seem to dislike Tazuna-san so much? I mean, I know he doubted our abilities and insulted Naruto, but…”

“Only people with something to hide or people with something to run away from cower behind the veneer of spirits and inebriation,” he said this loud enough for Tazuna to hear. The old man twitched at his words. “I do not trust such people. They are the first to abuse your kindness and betray your trust.”

Kakashi thought back to Sasuke’s self-introduction. “I dislike alcoholics, and I hate people who betray my trust and people who abuse my kindness.” What happened in Sasuke’s past to invoke that statement? Was it something that happened in the Uchiha clan or was it something that happened when he was kidnapped by missing-nin? Or was it something else?

“Look here, kid,” Tazuna jabbed a finger at Sasuke’s face.

Sasuke scrunched up his nose and grabbed the old man around the wrist. Then he forced the hand back down, careful to keep his hold gentle yet firm so as to not hurt the client. Tazuna grunted as he tried to resist Sasuke’s strength, but it was useless.

“Do you have anymore complaints about our qualifications as ninja?”

Tazuna was red in the face, but it was hard to tell if it was the flush of alcohol or embarrassment. He grumbled and turned around to head out the gates. Sasuke stopped him with the grip around his wrist.

“Not so hasty now. We wouldn’t want our client to walk unguarded would we?” Sasuke sneered.

Tazuna gulped and Sasuke took point, both to stay upwind from Tazuna and to keep the man out of his sight. The rest of Team Seven fell into formation and they headed away from Konoha. Sasuke barely hesitated when he stepped pass the gate’s threshold. His shoulders slumped as if releasing a pent up breath and then he held his head high and continued forward.

Throughout it all, Naruto was quiet as he observed the on goings of his team. Even his elation at leaving the village for the first time was tempered by the gloomy atmosphere. This trip was nothing like what he had imagined. If he knew that taking this mission was going to put such a pained look on Sasuke’s face then he would’ve held off on demanding a C-rank mission.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder and caught Naruto’s eye. Naruto was guarding the right flank with Sakura on the left and their sensei taking up the rear. The brunette smiled imperceptibly at Naruto and turned back to the front. It made Naruto’s heart clench to know that his teammate was still thinking of him in spite of whatever internal turmoil he must have been battling with.

In reply, Naruto threw his fists up into the air and shouted, “All right! Let’s get this show on the road!”

Sasuke turned to the left and gave a small nod to Sakura. The pink haired girl couldn’t help being worried, but she nodded and slapped on a more focused expression.

“Don’t get too carried away, Naruto. This is still a mission,” she said.

“I know, I know.”

Kakashi shook his head at his team’s antics, but couldn’t help smiling under his mask.

This was his team’s first C-rank mission. How would they fair?

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Hello Everyone,

Just a quick update for fans of this story. I recently contacted my co-translator, Moonlightfrost10, and she told me that she’s lost the motivation to continue translating this story, but she will still finish translating chapter 5.3 and after that I will take over as sole translator for this story. While she’s working on chapter 5.3 I’m stockpiling chapters, so that hopefully when I take over I can give you more frequent updates than before. I promise you, this story will not be dropped. Even if real life makes updates slow at times, I still plan to see this project through to the end. So keep an eye out for new updates on this site. See you soon.

~Vanilla Muse \(^ㅅ^)/

Edit: Unfortunately I don’t know when chapter 5.3 will be up as I am not privy to Moonlightfrost10’s personal schedule. I’m just waiting patiently like everyone else. Thank you for understanding.

 

I found this image online and now I want to know more about the source material. ฅ(*°ω°*ฅ)

 

Happy Chinese New Year Readers! 🎊

In celebration of the lunar new year I will be posting updates on vmnovels for the first main three days of the new year 🎉
2/5 Quickly Wear the Face of the Devil: Xue Zi Xuan’s Side Story 2.1
2/6 Quickly Wear the Face of the Devil: Xue Zi Xuan’s Side Story 2.2
2/7 Let Me Shoulder this Blame! 6

On the tenth day of Chinese New Year, which is also Valentine’s Day 💖
2/14 Let Me Shoulder this Blame! 7

Finally, capping off the lunar new year 🎆
2/19 Quickly Wear the Face of the Devil: Xue Zi Xuan’s Side Story 2.3

For those of you who are unaware, I have also added new reward tiers and upgraded the existing reward tiers on patreon.

May the year of the pig bring luck and joy to everyone! 🐷 💕

– Vanilla Muse

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Become a Patron!

 

Hello Dear Readers,

Due to the increased traffic recently to my website (vmnovels.com) I am migrating to a new web hosting service with more space. Customer support says it takes up to 48 hours for the website to propagate and will therefore be unavailable in the meanwhile. I’m not too sure about all the technical jargon and I’m still trying to figure out how this new web hosting service works, so please be patient while I work things out. Hopefully once everything is set up this will mean faster access and lesser downtimes on the site.

Patreon rewards will be updated as usual. As for the weekly update, I will post it as soon as the site is back up and running.

– Muse

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As copied from my blog and my patreon.

I no longer post translations on my blog, but if something goes wrong with my website, you can check my blog or my patreon for updates or contact me through the comments there.

WordPress Blog: https://vanillamusenovels.wordpress.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vmnovels

Title: Pleasing Start-Over
Author: 橘子 (Tangerine Boat)
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance, Yaoi
Total Chapters: 103 (completed)
Translation Status: Ongoing (by Eggtranslates)
Raws: jjwxc
Novel Updates: Link

Teaser
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

Summary
Qiao Chen strangely enough transmigrated into an interstellar-age world and grew up once again. Then again, for some strange reason, was requested to go to different worlds and search for the soul parts of this world’s military general.

As he hopped into different worlds with the help of a system, he unexpectedly discovered that he transmigrated to his other self in every world.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a coincidental chance or destined arrangement, since he has the chance to start-over, why not, while he is doing his task (of finding the soul pieces), try to get revenge and fulfilling his other self’s wishes?

Since God gave him the opportunity to change his fate, why shouldn’t he live a pleasing life?

 

T/N: I finally finished reading the much lauded “Quickly Wear the Face of the Devil” and I absolutely loved it! Reviews said “Pleasing Start-Over” is similar to FOD so I had to check it out. Sadly there weren’t any translated chapters on the NU page when I checked, so I started translating this story myself about two weeks ago. I didn’t expect to find that another translator had picked up this project when I checked back today.
I’m so excited! ⁽(◍˃̵͈̑ᴗ˂̵͈̑)⁽ Thank you to EggTranslates! Since I already translated up to chapter 2, I thought I might as well put it up to help shorten the wait a bit. Happy reading everyone, and I look forward to Eggtranslates’ work in the future.

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Previous Chapter

Arc 1 – Powerful Turtledove Occupy the Magpie Nest
Chapter 2

Qiao Chen was in the bathroom performing a quick wash up of his person. In the room outside they were already making preparations for his soul crossing. At that time, he would fall into a coma state like General Andri. He had no idea when he would be able to wake up, so he wanted to clean himself up a bit first.
Translations by www.vmnovels.com
On the counter there were three sets of clothes laid out for him to choose from. One was a set of loose hospital garments. One was a set of pajamas. And the last one was a set of casual at home wear. Qiao Chen didn’t have a habit of wearing pajamas and even as a doctor he didn’t like wearing hospital garments. It was a bit superstitious, but there was a feeling of cursing himself if he chose the hospital garments, so he put on the casual clothes and walked out of the bathroom.

The general’s bedside was filled with a lot of new equipment. Qiao Chen lay down beside the general and he could see the empire’s war god only half a meter away from him.

Various equipments were attached to his head and his arms, which lay outside of the quilt that covered him. The officer named Mutter Folly had already explained to him about the system connected to his brain and how to operate it. With this system he should have no problem surviving no matter what world he landed in. It might even be a very wonderful thing, but he couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous.

When everything was set up and ready, everyone else left the room. Folly went over to the bed and said to Qiao Chen, “Don’t worry, our equipment and system are perfect. Just pretend you’re going on a trip to another time and space, but don’t forget to bring back the general’s soul.”

Qiao Chen chuckled. Going on a trip to other time and space with such a big responsibility on his back, in the entire universe, he was probably the first person.

Gradually he fell into a drowsy state, but Qiao Chen still maintained a sense of lucidity. His brain suddenly felt dizzy. It felt like he had been riding on a bus for a long time, and experiencing motion sickness from the starting point to the destination. The discomfort of dizziness and chest tightness made him feel a little nauseous.

Qiao Chen slowly opened his eyes. His vision was a little blurry. When the scene in front of him gradually became clear, he saw a completely unfamiliar room.

He supported his still dizzy head as he sat up. After looking around the room he guessed that his soul had crossed over successfully, but he did not know whose body he occupied.

Qiao Chen was preparing to get out of bed, but suddenly dozens of images assaulted his head like a reel of film. He had to lie back down and process the information with his eyes closed. This was due to the system connected to his brain. It automatically read the body and the world for him.

The name of this body was Qi Bei Chen. He was accidentally swapped with another baby called Qi Yu Xuan at the hospital when he was born. The families of the two babies were as different as night and day, so they grew up in completely different environments.

When the two children entered their twenties, Qi Yu Xuan had an accident and needed blood transfusion. That was how Qi Bei Chen’s biological father knew that Qi Yu Xuan was not his child. Upon investigation they found out that the babies were accidentally swapped, so they found Qi Bei Chen and brought him back.

Qi Yu Xuan’s biological parents died a long time ago in an accident. Qi Bei Chen’s birth mother was sickly and died when Qi Yu Xuan was very young. His current mother was his stepmother. The mother and father have raised Qi Yu Xuan for so many years, so there were deep feelings among them. Qi Yu Xuan was a child that they were proud of since his childhood, so even if Qi Bei Chen was brought back, they had absolutely no intention of sending Qi Yu Xuan away, and they intended to continue to treat him as if he was their biological son.

When Qi Bei Chen returned to the Qi family, that was when his tragedy began, and the main culprit of these tragedies was Qi Yu Xuan, who wanted to inherit the Qi family property and assets.

Qi Yu Xuan deliberately introduced Qi Bei Chen to some rich young masters who only knew how to fool around and enjoy the pleasures of life. And many times he designed to frame and guide Qi Bei Chen to do the wrong thing. This caused the mother and father to lose patience with Qi Bei Chen and generated feelings of disgust.

In a kidnapping case set up by Qi Yu Xuan, the mother and father chose to save Qi Yu Xuan and give up Qi Bei Chen, so Qi Bei Chen died tragically in the hands of the kidnappers.

Qiao Chen cried when he saw the scene of Qi Bei Chen’s tragic death. Qiao Chen felt a bit strange. He has been a doctor for many years and he was long used to witnessing death and partings. He thought he was numb to the tragedies of others, but he was sympathetic to the general resentment and sorrow of Qi Bei Chen’s experience, as if these things were all his own experience.

However, Qiao Chen did not think much of it. He thought that this might be one of the system’s functions, so that he could bring this physical feeling into the world to better integrate into this time and space.

He went into the bathroom and stuttered to a silent halt when he looked into the mirror. Reflected on the glass was a head with a mane of non-mainstream yellow hair like that of a lion. It would seemed that he crossed over on the second day after Qi Bei Chen was brought into the Qi family. It wasn’t strange for Qi Bei Chen, who worked at the hair salon, to have this kind of hairstyle.

He brushed back some yellow strands of hair that fell into his eyes, and carefully observed the face of the person in the mirror. To be honest, this face was still very good. There were some similarities to how he looked like in his previous life. Furthermore, their names both shared the ‘Chen’ character. To have crossed over into this body, it meant that the two of them have some fate together.

In his heart, Qiao Chen spoke to the person in the mirror. Since I am using your body I absolutely won’t let you repeat the tragedy of before. I know there is hatred in your heart, but with just your abilities even if you repeat your life again you still can’t beat Qi Yu Xuan. So let me help you get revenge!

After Qiao Chen’s soul occupied this body, Qi Bei Chen’s consciousness completely disappeared. A body could not have the consciousness of two people at the same time, but Qiao Chen could clearly feel the hatred that could not be dispersed in his heart.

Qiao Chen went out to find a very high-end barbershop. He had his yellow lion’s mane dyed back to black, and then he got the hairdresser to give him a refreshing short hairstyle.

After the cut, the barber satisfactorily appreciated his own handiwork. He told Qiao Chen, “When you first came in I thought you ran out of a zoo. It was a waste of such a good face. Isn’t it much better now?”

Qiao Chen ran his hand through his newly cut hair. The hairdresser’s craftsmanship was good. This was indeed getting what one paid for. The results were much better than those cheap, small alley barbershops.

“It’s very good. Thank you.” Qiao Chen unreservedly took out one month of Qi Bei Chen’s prior salary to pay the bill. Now that his brain was connected with a system like a cheat, it was easy to make money. The stock market was the fastest place to do so. This system could manipulate the stock market. He would be staying at the Qi family house for a period of time, but he did not intend to use their money. Since he promised to help Qi Bei Chen get revenge, he did not want to owe them anything.

Qiao Chen went out and bought two new sets of clothes. He threw his colorful t-shirt and shredded jeans in the trashcan of the clothing store. Qi Bei Chen had very little savings. He did not get to save much money from his job these past few years. Just a haircut and two sets of clothes nearly dried up all his available funds. No matter what he still needed some liquid funds. Even if he could manipulate the stocks he still needed starting capital.

When he returned to the Qi family house, it was just in time for mealtime. Moreover, the entire family was present. Qi Mother and Qi Father saw that the wild lion mane Qi Bei Chen from yesterday had become the gentle and elegant Qiao Chen of today, and where shocked speechless.

Qi Mother and Qi Father looked at each other. Then they smiled and waved Qi Bei Chen over. “Bei Chen? Quickly come and eat.”

In accordance with how Qi Bei Chen acted in his previous life when he first arrived at the Qi family, Qiao Chen lowered his head, approached the table, and sat down silently.

Qi Yu Xuan looked Qi Bei Chen up and down. Then he smiled and said, “You went and bought clothes? I was planning to take you shopping in two days.”

Qi Yu Xuan’s words were not false. In the past life, he did bring Qi Bei Chen out to buy clothes, but the main purpose was to introduce him to Shu Wen Jie. Then the two of them bought him a lot of old-fashioned and tacky clothes.

When they returned, Qi Yu Xuan told their parents that Qi Bei Chen had chosen these styles of clothes himself, and that no matter how much he persuaded and advised, Qi Bei Chen did not listen to his opinions and insisted he buy these clothes for him.

Between a son that they raised for many years and a son that they just brought back a few days ago, of course their parents chose to believe in Qi Yu Xuan. Not to mention, that ghastly yellow mane that Qi Bei Chen sported. It was not difficult for them to doubt his aesthetic sense.

This was just the first step for Qi Yu Xuan to smear Qi Bei Chen in front of their father. Later, Shu Wen Jie became the biggest helper in blackening Qi Bei Chen’s name in their father’s eyes.

Qi Yu Xin came downstairs, saw Qi Bei Chen at the table, and was also stunned. Ridicule and disdain flickered through Qi Yu Xin’s eyes. “Mom, did you give him money to buy new clothes? I also want to buy clothes.”

Qi Mother looked at her daughter with doting and helpless eyes. “You already have a few closets full of clothes. You still want to buy more? Your big brother Bei Chen just came back to us, of course he needs some new clothes to change and wear.”

“Those clothes are out of date. The season just changed and new styles of clothes just came out.” Qi Yu Xin continued to act like a spoiled child with her mother.

“Just let her buy it. Our Qi family doesn’t lack money for a few sets of clothes,” the father said.

“Thank you, Dad.” Qi Yu Xin thanked her father happily. Then she dismissively glanced once more at Qi Bei Chen before sitting down and beginning to eat.

Qi Yu Xin was Qi Bei Chen’s half-sister. She has been admiring Qi Yu Xuan since she was a child. After learning that she and Qi Yu Xuan have no blood relationship, the happiest person was her, because now she has the opportunity to marry Qi Yu Xuan.

As for Qi Bei Chen, her half-brother, she loathed him. She always felt that he was an intruder who suddenly broke into their happy family. In the past, when Qi Yu Xuan did away with Qi Bei Chen, Qi Yu Xin also put in a lot of effort.

“Bei Chen, in the future, this is your family. You don’t have to be too restrained. If there’s anything you need, just tell me. If there’s something you want to play with, you can also tell me.” Qi Yu Xuan added a pair of chopsticks to the table for Qi Bei Chen. He spoke to Qi Bei Chen with a very gentle and considerate voice.

“That’s right.” Their father nodded. “In the future, the two of you will be like blood brothers. You can support each other. Bei Chen, you should follow behind Yu Xuan more and learn from him. Out Qi family is one with status and prestige. You have to change your quailing habits.”

“En.” Qi Bei Chen answered in a small voice.

“What blood brothers? There’s absolutely no blood relation at all.” Qi Yu Xin looked at Qi Yu Xuan with a shy look. Then, afraid that he would misunderstand her, she said quickly, “I think that big brother Yu Xuan is more like a member of our family. Even if there is no blood relation, he’s still more like a member of our family than a certain person who is like thin spare ribs. Just look at our tall and powerful Dad.”

Receiving the praise of his beloved daughter, Qi Father laughed out loud.

“Oh, you,” Qi Mother patted her daughter’s arm, but she didn’t really blame her. She also added a lot more food to Qi Bei Chen’s bowl and said, “Bei Chen, eat some more.”

Since he was a child, Qi Bei Chen never got enough to eat, so his body was lacking in nutrition. Naturally, he could not keep up with Qi Yu Xuan’s tall and strong body, but he still wasn’t just some thin spare ribs like Qi Yu Xin had said.

Just look, this type of family, there really is nothing to recall fondly. So even when I avenge you don’t think of my methods as being too severe. In his heart, Qiao Chen spoke to the body he now occupied and to the departed soul of Qi Bei Chen.

Previous Chapter

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T/N: The author keeps mistyping Qiao Chen’s name as Qi Chen. It’s super confusing considering how similar it is to Qi Bei Chen. Translator wants to say: Author, please keep your characters’ names straight… ?

T/N: Hello! Some of you may be familiar with Vanilla Muse as the translator of The Big Landlord, which is another Chinese BL project that I am working on. It’s a transmigration story set in historical times. I hope you’ll also enjoy Pleasing Start-Over, which is a fast transmigration novel set in different times and space.

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Next Chapter

Prologue – The Starting Cause
Chapter 1

Qiao Chen went to the kitchen and got out a pot of congee that he had prepared the night before. He filled up a bowl with the congee, made a few refreshing side dishes, and then set everything on the dining table.

Even if he was living in another world, he still kept some habits from his past life. In the morning, if there was time, then he had to have a bowl of hot congee along with a few side dishes. This will insure his good mood all throughout the day. Moreover, the technology in this word was much more advanced, so no matter what dishes he wanted to make he didn’t have to do it himself. He’d only have to set things up. It was convenient and fast and the taste was not bad.

After a leisurely enjoyment of breakfast, Qiao Chen drove his own suspension car to the hospital for work.
Translation by www.vmnovels.com
He has been a doctor for two lifetimes. Why two lifetimes you say? That’s because he transmigrated into this world.

Qiao Chen was an orphan in his last life. He completely relied on his own efforts, working while studying to complete his medical school studies and became a doctor. He went through many hardships during that period. On occasion, he would still recall those days.

In the previous world, after a twelve hour long surgery, Qiao Chen, who was unable to take a break, immediately jetted off to the bathroom. After using the toilet, he was washing his hands as usual when the mirror on the wall suddenly became a vortex and sucked in his soul. As his soul was being sucked away, he clearly saw his own body limp on the bathroom floor.

When he woke up, he was once again a baby in an orphanage. But unlike his previous life, this was an interstellar era. In this space and time there was no planet called Earth. Perhaps once upon a time Earth existed, but it has already long been forgotten.

In this space and time, almost everyone had a specific ability. A person’s power attribute determined the work he or she will do in the future. Qiao Chen’s ability was to cure, so in this world he was destined to be a doctor. Also, his ability index was pretty good, so this led to preferential treatment in the Imperial Star’s orphanage.

The rarer something is the greater its value. This doesn’t just apply to objects, but people as well. There were very few people who have a healing power by nature, so the profession of doctors was still very respected in this world. Qiao Chen, who had a moderate ability index, was already able to become a doctor in a very good public hospital on the Imperial Star.

After Qiao Chen visited the ward, he checked over the case in the office.

Qiao Chen’s assistant, Mary, placed a cup of coffee on his desk and reminded him, “Dr. Qiao Chen, the family members of the patient in VIP room four have made an appointment with you at 10:10 today.”

“I remember.” Qiao Chen pulled up the files for the patient in VIP room four onto the screen monitor.

When Qiao Chen was in the Imperial Star Orphanage, he had no name, only a number. The orphanage could help the children get a name after they had reached a certain age. Qiao Chen was too lazy to think up a new name, so he used the name of his previous life. As an orphan, you could choose whatever name you liked. If you wanted to, you could even call yourself ‘Fighter.’

This was really not a joke. A boy who shared the same room as him in the orphanage really took that name for himself, because he was obsessed with the fighter (aircrafts) of ancient times.

Yes, ancient times, for fighter aircrafts were already a thing of the past. Nowadays, battles were fought with warships (aka starships) and mechas.

Qiao Chen looked over the case file of the patient. He felt that this family had too much money to burn. There were no big problems with this patient. He’s living in the hospital as if it were his home. It’s already been several months and he still refused to leave the hospital.

It should be known that it cost quite a sum of money to stay in a VIP room for one day, but what can you say to rich people?

Qiao Chen felt that no matter the time and space, if you had money then it was a good time. Suddenly the door to his office was opened and more than a dozen soldiers rushed inside.

Qian Chen took a quick glance at the clock. There was still half an hour before the appointed time. Moreover, the family members of the VIP patient were considered business people, and there was no talk of them being related to the army. The reason for this visit might not be a good one. Qiao Chen stood up cautiously and looked at them.

Based on the attire, it was easy to tell that the last person who entered the room was the head officer of these soldiers. The soldiers then closed the door to his office. These actions were all carried out in one breath.

“You are Dr. Qiao Chen, correct?” The person who posed the question had a temple of gray hair and lots of wrinkles on his face, but his standing posture and the military uniform made him look very refined.

“Yes, that’s me, and you are?” In his head, Qiao Chen quickly combed through all his patients trying to find one related to the military.

“We are from the First Legion. We have some things that we need to trouble you about. Please come with us.” Although the words were polite, the tone was irrefutable. After that, they looked at Qiao Chen sideways.

First Legion? Qiao Chen was shocked. The First Legion was the highest administrative office of the Imperial Military Power. When did he ever provoke these people?

Although Qiao Chen didn’t want to go, he also knew that he did not have the power to refuse. These people could kill him in his office, and then arbitrarily passed the crime onto someone else. No one would dare to pursue the matter over an orphan with no background.

Qiao Chen rode in the suspension car of the elderly officer and arrived at the First Legion’s base. In both his lifetimes, he never thought that he would be able to see such a spectacular sight with his own eyes. In his previous world, movie blockbusters would have computer-generated images of such a scene, but those couldn’t even compare to one percent of the magnificence of the scene here. Although he was only able to glimpse the scene for a few short seconds, it was still enough to shock him.

He followed after the officer to a huge automatic door. When the double doors opened to either side, Qiao Chen could see a semi-circular laboratory-like place. It was big enough to accommodate thousands of people. There were hundreds of display screens on the wall showing different data. There were dozens of people who looked like scientists busy working on the screens. The sudden entry of the officers and Qiao Chen had no effect on them. They continued working away.

The officer took Qiao Chen into a circular glass pillar in the center of the room. The glass pillar lifted them up like a syringe. At the top of the pillar, the wall, which did not look like it have a single crack, opened up, and they entered into another room.

It was a super luxurious bedroom separated by a large pair of curtains. The outside was a gorgeous living room, and the inside, after the officer parted the curtains, Qiao Chen could see a big bed, and beside the bed were various medical instruments.

There was an unusually handsome man lying on the bed, and the shape of his stalwart figure could be seen through the thin quilt. Even if he was just lying there quietly, he could feel his majesty. Qiao Chen guessed that he must’ve fallen into a serious coma, and that he needed so many medical instruments and equipment to continue his life.

“This is General Aonan Andri. He was injured in the last battle and has been in a coma for more than a year,” the officer told Qiao Chen.

There was no way for Qiao Chen to suppress the shock in his heart. The calmness of his face was completely disintegrated and crushed. He looked at the man on the bed with incredulity.

General Aonan Andri was the highest person in charge of the imperial military’s power, and he was the only person in the empire who could pilot an AA-class mecha. He was the protector of the empire. Because of his existence, other countries in the universe did not dare to rashly invade the empire.

More than a year ago, the Fingara Empire developed a very powerful weapon against the AA-class mecha. The general crushed that weapon in battle and the Fingara Empire ended in disastrous defeat. But it seems that General Andri, who was known as the war god of the empire, has also fallen in that same battle.

If this news was spread, the entire empire was sure to fall into panic, and other countries were likely to take the opportunity to invade.

“Why are you telling me?” This was the most puzzling thing after Qiao Chen recovered from the shock. The Imperial General had been in a coma for more than a year. This was definitely the biggest military secret of the empire. He was just an ordinary doctor. Why would they purposely let him know about this matter?

“Because in order to save the general, we need your help.” The officer’s expression was serious and his eyes were firm, not at all like he was lying to him.

“My ability index is only medium. I can’t manipulate these high-level equipments. I am afraid I can’t rescue the general.” Qiao Chen said this because he knew that the First Legion had definitely gotten the military doctor with the highest ability index to treat the general already. And those busy people below were definitely working hard to rescue the general. If even they could not succeed, what could he possibly do?

“Since we looked for you, then it must be because you can do it. We don’t need you to control these devices. You have another thing you must do.” The officer took Qiao Chen to the sofa outside the curtains and sat him down in preparation for a detailed conversation.

“After the general fell into a coma we used all kinds of methods to treat him. The general’s physical injuries have been healed, but no matter what we couldn’t get him to wake up. We invited the most powerful scientist and doctors of the empire to research ways to rescue the general. After dozens of efforts by the people most brilliant in their respective fields for half a year, they found that the reason why the general could not wake up was because the general’s soul was trapped in a different time and space and could not come back. We need you to go to these different time and space to bring back the general’s soul.”

If Qiao Chen’s soul had not transmigrated, he would not believe this kind of statement at all. How could you possibly go through different time and space to bring back a person’s soul?

“Why do you people think that I can do it?” Qiao Chen’s inexplicably guilty conscience; did they know that he was a transmigrating person?

“Six months ago, we began to compare the brainwaves of the entire empire’s population with the brainwaves of the generals in different time and space. After repeated comparisons, only you are the most suitable. In the entire empire, only you can smoothly pass through to different time and space to encounter the general’s soul.”

No wonder six months ago, his hospital started running brainwave tests on their doctors every other month. So they’ve already locked onto him since then. The thought made Qiao Chen shudder.

Qiao Chen wanted to refuse. Even though he transmigrated once before, he did not know what circumstances had caused the event. Now they’re saying they will artificially forced a soul transmigration. Who knew what could happen? What if there was some accident? But the officer told him everything, which was he must be prepared to do what they said. They were not asking for his opinion, but just telling him about it.

“You said go to different time and space, but how do I go? Is there any danger?” Qiao Chen knew that he had no power to refuse. He already knew the biggest secret of the empire. Even if he were not willing, they would find a way to make him agree. But he should still be clear about the specifics, so he will ask.

“In order to enable the soul of the most qualified person to go to different time and space, we created a soul shuttle system for traveling back and forth. And in this system, there are a lot of programs that you can use to help you bring back the general’s soul, such as the hundreds of millions years worth of knowledge in the universe. This system will connect with your brain. As for safety, you don’t have to worry. After all, in the entire empire, only you meet the requirements. In order to save the general, we will do our utmost to ensure your safety.”

“Can I refuse?” Qiao Chen asked with the last shred of hope he had left. He wasn’t some noble person. Rescuing the general was equivalent to rescuing an entire empire. He did not have that kind of lofty spirit. Although he normally treated people with gentleness, he knew himself well. In his heart, he was indifferent.

“As far as our investigation into your past goes, I know that you are a smart person. Whether or not you can refuse, you clearly know the answer. If you can successfully bring back all of the general’s souls, I can promise you that after the general wakes up, I will ask the general to have the emperor give you a title of nobility. Also, we added a program to the system that will increase your ability index. Every time you go to a different time and space and successfully complete the task, your ability index will increase.”

Qiao Chen sighed in his heart. It was the carrot in the beginning. If he still did not agree, next will be the stick. Either way, the final result would definitely be the same. There was no need to shed all pretense of cordiality.

“Then, instead of having a title, you can just directly give me a sum of money.” Although the title may be glorious for ordinary people, Qiao Chen did not intend to climb to the upper class. It was better to take a sum of money, quit work, and travel around the universe.

“Yes. When the mission is complete, money or title, you are free to choose.”

The officer readily agreed with Qiao Chen’s request. It seemed that this officer was an influential person by the general’s side.

Next Chapter

IMPORTANT Translator’s Note

The Short: Vanilla Muse is not picking up the translation for this story. Consider this update an addition to the teaser content for AJK.

The Long: Originally, I was interested enough in the premise of AJK to attempt picking up the project just to find out what happens, but I ran into a wall when I couldn’t find an online version of the story, as it is exclusively a light novel at this current point in time (apparently it started out as a web novel, but the online version is no longer available). My Japanese skills are pretty abysmal, so I couldn’t even hope to translate the story without the aid of MTL. (My Chinese skills are marginally better, as evidenced by my other translation project, but I still had to use MTL for it.)

I abandoned the idea for some time, but then a suggestion by Nonon over on the AJK forum gave me renewed hope, and so I translated the rest of the sample raws (pages 51-60) that Claire Lilly kindly uploaded onto the forum. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, Claire Lilly will not be providing me with the rest of the raws, so my stint into translating AJK stops here. I hope you enjoy the content I managed to wring out of my overheated brain, and maybe someone else will pick up the full project in the future.

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AJK Information Page

Chapter 2.2 – Return to the Castle

With a tremendously beautiful smile, the young man put his hand on Mari’s shoulder. A cold chill ran down her back.

“Eh? …Um, what do you mean?”

When he heard that, he exerted force with his hand. Mari’s heart jumped. Even though there was a transcendental beauty so close, the kind of throbbing in her heart was different.

“Your Majesty does not talk to me like that in the first place. She hated me, you see. In this room, there is no one you can call.”

He told this to her in a voice of fascination. Aa, as she thought, the feeling she felt before was indeed one of aversion.

“‘You,’ who are you?”

Hearing this question again, Mari raised the white flag.

No matter which path she took, somewhere along the way a problem was bound to crop up. She had wanted to be honest from the start. It was only that she’d thought no one would believe. The queen wasn’t just any ordinary person. So she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
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Since this person was convinced that she was not the queen, then maybe he will believe her.

(Moreover, if the queen dislikes this person then there is a possibility that he is a decent person…)

While grievously mindful of this judgment criterion, Mari opened her mouth.

“My name is Toushou Mari.”

Somewhere in her heart, she felt relieved that she did not have to lie.

The her from before was just an ordinary person who was definitely not a queen.

The original her was just an ordinary person. Certainly not a queen or anything of that sort. Most likely they were from different worlds, too. Suddenly waking up to find herself on a battlefield, fighting without knowing the reason, even now, she did not understand the situation at all.

Finally having a conversation partner, Mari spat out everything that she could and couldn’t say up until now.

“I don’t know where this place is, I don’t know your name, or the even the queen’s name!”

(Because, everyone calls me Your Majesty, and no one calls me by name!)

By the end of her story, Mari was screaming desperately.

The beautiful man tilted his head and considered her for a while. Finally he took his hand from Mari’s shoulder.

“My name is Freyas von Calvin. In this Karkula Kingdom I am allowed to call myself by the surname Cal. I am the legitimate child of Duke Calvin. My professional duty is to serve as assistant prime minister. I am the queen’s cousin.”

“Cousin?”

“My grandmother and the previous king, in other words, the queen’s grandfather, are siblings. My face and yours are very similar right?”

(… Similar? Me and this transcendental beauty?)

Mari thought she heard wrong, but that was not the case. Mari now wore the form of the queen.

Freyas had blue eyes and silver hair, while the queen had black hair. Both the color and hue were quite different, but, indeed, they both have beautiful godly looks.

“Your name is Mary Frau Karkula, the queen of this Kingdom of Karkula.”

Mary. For the first time, she heard the name of the owner of this body. She murmured the name in her heart.

“… Apparently the queen used a revival technique.”

Freyas said, in a state of confidence.

“Revival technique?”

As she listened, Mari asked for an explanation of the unfamiliar words.
Translations by www.vmnovels.com
“Yes, the revival technique is a special technique that can be used by direct descendants of the royal line under certain conditions. There are three conditions that must be met in order to activate this technique. One, the practitioner is in a situation in which death is unavoidable. Two, asides from the practitioner there are no other direct descendants of the royal line present. And lastly, there has to be a compatible body that will replace the body of the practitioner. … I heard the queen was cut by the enemy in battle. A flashy amount of blood spilled from the neck. Everyone was prepared for the queen’s death. But you are alive.”

Mari trembled at Freyas’s words.

“T- That’s because the wound wasn’t very deep…”

Mari’s words were immediately denied.

“I heard from the healing practitioner, that your wound was merely a scratch. It seems that there was no such thing as a splash of blood. Right now, the queen is the last direct descendant of the royal line. Most likely, when the queen was on the verge of death she used the revival technique. And it chose you as the person with the most compatible body. The technique sacrificed your body to revive the queen’s body.”

“… Sacrifice?”

Mari felt a cold sweat run down her back.

“This technique replaces the state of one’s body with the state of the compatible body that was sacrificed. If the queen’s body was hurt, then that state will replace the uninjured state of your body. I’m afraid your original body is now torn at the neck and bleeding to death.”

“… I’m dying?”

Suddenly, she felt her blood draining.

The image of her figure lying in her narrow apartment with her neck slashed and blood flowing from the wound floated into Mari’s mind.

(… Surely, the lock to the room, it was locked. Wow… a real life closed room murder case?)

Such an inane thought was nothing more than an escape from reality.

“I, I’m dead?”

While thinking, Mari became aware.

(Up until now, why have I not been wondering how my real body is so far? Normally, isn’t that the first thing to think about – how do I return to my original body?)

At that moment, her head became a mess of confusion.

(Naturally, what was I thinking? Living as a queen in this world? I did not notice until I was told that I would not be able to return there for the rest of my life.)

A black despair spread in Mari’s heart. She had a tremendous sense of incongruity of living in the queen’s body.

“… Send me back, please.”

A hoarse little voice came out of her throat at last.

“It is impossible. Moreover, didn’t you say, “I’m dead?””

“I have to hurry back! As soon as I get back, I’ll call for an ambulance!”

To the shouting Mari, Freyas returned with calm words.

“It is a waste. How many hours have passed since you came here? It was an instant death wound. There’s no way you can be alive there.”

“… Mother, I have to call my mother! She thinks I can’t take care of myself well. She’ll cry if I don’t call every night. My younger brother too, because he couldn’t live with me, he became emotionally attached to me like a fool. Also, my uncle, because he was looking after me, he didn’t take a wife while he was young… I won’t get to see him to his old age…!”

Mari was not sure what she was saying.

“I’m saying it is impossible. And you were lucky.”

It was frustrating, listening to that calm voice of Freyas’s.

“Lucky?”

“Yes. Originally, only the queen was supposed to be revived. You were supposed to have died there without knowing the reason why. But your heart is here. Although this is only a speculation, perhaps the technique may have judged the queen’s spirit to be sick. The revival technique is about exchanging the bad condition of the body all together.”
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Freyas said dispassionately. There was no sorrow or compassion for the fact that the queen’s heart was lost, or sympathy for Mari who died as the queen’s sacrifice.

“It cannot be helped. Please just act as the queen like you are now. I will follow up for you.”

“… What are you saying?”

Mari could not understand Freyas’s meaning.

“Asides from doing that, there is nothing else that can be done. This country cannot afford to lose its queen.”

“… Why?”

“Karkula’s ruler is descended from God. The God’s divine protection protects the people. As long as the ruler is present, disaster will not befall the country. Earthquakes and floods, tsunamis and typhoons… Drought and cold weather damage, all that is irrelevant to this country.”

Mari blinked at the reasons Freyas revealed.

(Disaster will not befall the country?)

“Only the rulers and their children possess the divine protection of God. Only those who succeed to the throne can leave that protection to the next generation. The queen does not have any siblings. The late king did not have any siblings. The king before that had one sibling, that being my grandmother, and both of them have long since passed away. Right now, the only one that holds the God’s divine protection in this country is the queen.”

That absolutely beautiful face gazed at the Mari who had fallen silent.

“This country needs you.”

To be precise, what was needed was a queen’s body that possesses the divine protection of God and can pass on that inheritance to the next generation.

Mari nibbled on her lip. Her head, which was dull with sorrow, gradually started to see clearly. She hit Freyas with a question.

“If the queen is a necessary existence then why did a rebellion rise up against her?”

“Only the royalty and those at the center of politics know that God’s divine protection is in the royal family. Others believe that the country itself is receiving protection. Even the leader of this rebellion, Lord Mydar, who is an important person in his area of rule, does not know this. The other lords involved in the rebellion are also in similar positions. As a result, the size of the rebellion was small. There was an overwhelming difference in military power. In the unlikely event, I thought that there would be no danger to the queen in this rebellion… As expected, was it in regard to Rion Mydar?”

Knowing the full picture now, Mari spontaneously exclaimed.

“I died for such a thing?”

“Such a thing? Disaster is not “such a thing.””

Against the unruly her, Freyas countered calmly.

“Many lives will be lost if a disaster occurs. Do you say that your life is worth more than all those lives put together?”

It was his cool-minded speech rather than his calmness that made Mari more and more frustrated.

“Wouldn’t it have been better to just tell everyone that the queen is special?! If so, then there wouldn’t have been a rebellion, and nobody would have died!”

When Mari pointed this out, Freyas smiled at her as if she was a fool.

“If we did such a thing, then this country wouldn’t have a king by now. The divine protection exists because of the king. If you acquire the king, then you can receive protection in any country. Knowing that fact, many countries will compete to obtain the Karkula king. It will be a big battle. Amidst the fighting, the Karkula king may be hurt.”

“… But”

Freyas suddenly shouted at the Mari that tried to speak.

“Shut up! Why do you think I have been enduring the queen’s reckless actions? If there are disasters great scores of human life will be forcibly sacrificed. But the people of this country have accepted that disasters do not exist as a matter course. The horrors of disasters, or the method to deal with the aftereffects, I do not know them. This country cannot afford to lose the king. Even if it is a useless king!”
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It was the passion of a man who looked cold.

It seemed that Mari finally realized the state of affairs.

This man with the beauty of a god was also human. When this man did not speak much, Mari thought he was an unfeeling man. But the reality was different. He regretted what has happened.

The queen’s recklessness, the rebellion, and its consequences.

He blamed himself for not being able to stop them all.

Mari’s heart, which was upset by her own death, has calmed down. She remembered her previous determination.

(Didn’t I decide to correct the path…?)

Nevertheless, Mari’s feelings were wavering. She was angry she had to see such a thing. In such a heart of Mari’s, her uncle’s words rose to the surface.

“Mari, if you do not know what to do, just do what you can do at that time.”

(What I can do now…)

What that was, she already knew from before. She had no choice but to live as the queen. But now, she felt a resistance to admitting that obediently.

“Before I say that I will live as the queen out of necessity, aren’t there some words you must say? To the me who was a victim of the queen’s revival technique, don’t you feel sorry?”

For a moment, his empty blue eyes widened.

But after that, Freyas seemed to distort his beautiful face unpleasantly.

“I don’t want to say it to Her Majesty’s face.”

“It is the same face as yours, isn’t it?”

Resigned, Freyas smiled a bitter smile.

The tall and elegant figure bent over and bowed to Mari once again.

“It is unfortunate that you got involved with my country’s circumstances. I apologize for that. Won’t you please lend me your strength?”

Mari frowned.

“You. You must really hate the queen. Just now, I felt chills run down my back.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

Freyas was also frowning. Mari laughed and nodded empathically.

“I was aware. Lord Freyas von Calvin, son of a duke.”

“Mari. Please, call me Frey. The queen calls me this pet name, which I hate. We must keep up the appearance of the queen so as to not invite suspicion.”

Freyas seemed to be having fun as he said this.

“I understand, Frey. Let’s cooperate and set this country back on the right track.”

There was no other path to walk. As Mari told herself that, she smothered the crying in her heart.

Changing locations from the office desk to the luxurious sofa, Mari and Freyas faced each other.

“Why was there a rebellion in the first place?”

Mari asked once again.

“… Can you not speak in a more domineering way?”

However, the question was not easily answered, and attention was paid to the behavior.

It seemed that Frey was not pleased with Mari’s common attitude.

Even if he said such a thing, she couldn’t just behave like a queen. There was no longer that feeling of not being herself, like when she was on the battlefield earlier. Here, she was worried about not dirtying the dress she had on, for it seemed to be very expensive. On top of that, the commoner Mari was feeling depressed by the transcendental beauty of the assistant prime minister.
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Mari was the one who wanted to stop the polite tone in Frey, but was declined with a beautiful smile once and for all. He acted like he would be thrown in prison for being profane.

(That means that some people were put in prison for that reason, were they not?)

She could understand enough just how extreme the queen was.

Nevertheless, if one compared the difference in strength between the two opposing sides, this revolt was truly a reckless fight. But there must be some cause for the people to decide to settle the situation like this.

Frey, who took notice of Mari, finally answered the question.

“The center of the rebellion this time is the city called Dosha. Dosha is close to the kingdom and was formerly a prosperous satellite city of the kingdom.”

Mari nodded. It took about an hour for her to get back from the battlefield. She was surprised that it was so close to the kingdom.

“Because it is close to the kingdom, misgovernment and pus is easy to accumulate. It overflowed into the streets. It was a terrible environment. There, the lords who decided to deal with it started to eliminate all the vagrants at once.”

As Frey talked, his face distorted with disgust.

“I heard that they were forcibly drafted into the army and those who resisted were shown no mercy. They did not prepare an eviction destination. There was a report that a mountain of dead bodies was thrown in the wilderness near where Dosha was built.”

Mari drew a breath.

“Why was there such despotism?!”

“… The Earl of the Outer was the favorite of the queen. He was also the one that proposed the summer residence to show off the majesty of the queen.”

“The worst!”

Misery rose in Mari’s chest.

(How did the queen go so wrong?)

Guessing Mari’s feelings, Frey kept calm.

“It’s all right. I will have the Earl of the Outer take responsibility for this revolt, and confiscate both his property and the territory. He will be deprived of rank and leave the political scene forever.”

“Can you do such a thing?”

“He has lost the grace of the queen and has no power. He provoked the rebellion this time and wanted to get the queen back in a good mood with the “Construction Plan for the Summer Palace” proposal.”

Frey laughed, revealing his inner feelings of spite. No matter how he laughed, a beauty was still a beauty. Mari was impressed by strange things.

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V. Muse: That’s the end folks. Unfortunately, it’s not a very good stopping point, but I wanted to go all the way to the end of the sample raws. I’m just thankful the last page ended with a full sentence, otherwise that would be even more awkward. ?

If there is a translator out there who would like to pick up this project, please feel free to do so. And if you do, drop me a comment so that I can follow you. 😀

While you’re here, check out my other translation project The Big Landlord if you have time. Be warned though, it’s BL. Steer clear if you’re not into that, and if you are, I hope you like it!