I Was Reincarnated as a Duke as a Matter of Course, So I Bought a Slave on a Whim and Now There’s No Turning Back - 1

Chapter 1: So… Am I Dead?

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To be honest, I was on cloud nine. April. High school. A brand-new uniform. Just that alone made me feel like my life was finally starting to look up. My heart raced with excitement at the sight of the new school building as I climbed the stairs.

Maybe because I was in such a good mood, I went up one step at a time, almost keeping rhythm. The girl walking ahead of me was probably a freshman like me. She looked nervous, walking as if she were savoring each step.

I get it, I really do.

The gazes that used to be fixed on my feet naturally lifted forward, and then…?

…Huh? Something about that girl’s posture is… What is that, some trendy dance move or something?

She was falling backward. It was something so obvious when you looked at it, yet when it happened so suddenly, my mind couldn’t keep up. Before I knew it, the girl who had been walking ahead of me was right beside me. And in an even more impossible position than before, like she was… falling?

…Huh? This girl… she’s falling—

That moment felt incredibly long, as if it were waiting for me to choose. Even though it felt that long, I didn’t think at all. I reflexively reached out my hand. My body felt as if it suddenly floated. With my left hand gripping the girl’s arm, I swung with all my strength and threw her forward.

…Ah, crap.

Guess I didn’t have enough core strength… My feet left the ground. There was nothing anywhere to support my body. It was pretty common to regret something after you had already done it. But that didn’t mean I had the option not to save her. Right now, I was falling.

That was the only conclusion I could manage. My gaze was fixed on the girl I’d saved, and I could tell she was shouting something desperately.

I wonder what she’s saying?

I found myself thinking. Then, slowly—very slowly—her skirt began to flip upward.

…No way.

At that point, my composure ended. It was like all the adrenaline of a dying man flooding out at once.

Hurry, hurry up and flip already! If I’m going to die here, at least let me see a glimpse of high school girl panties! Move, you stupid fabric! Don’t you dare, as mere cloth, get in the way of my once-in-a-lifetime panty shot! Dammit, I swore I was going to have an amazing high school life!

A desperate scream that never made it to my voice. In that instant, my vision fell into darkness. This time, I had definitely died. Did my life really just lose to a piece of fabric…? My vision went completely black, and I was certain of my death.

…Or at least, I should have been. The inside of my eyelids felt bright, so I tried opening my eyes.

…It was an unfamiliar ceiling. I’d always wanted to say that once. Well, jokes aside, it really was an unfamiliar ceiling. It seemed falling down the stairs hadn’t actually been enough to kill me after all. But where was this? For now, all I could see was the ceiling, but even that was enough to say with certainty that this wasn’t a hospital.

I tried to move my neck and realized something. It wouldn’t move. No, more precisely… I didn’t know how to move it. I thought I was putting in strength, but my body wouldn’t obey me. Instead, all I felt was something soft against my back.

Hey, hey, who’s the idiot that pumped me full of this insanely strong anesthesia? My body won’t listen to me at all. For now, I should call someone.

Thinking that, I opened my mouth.

“Ah—”

What came out was a faint sound that sounded nothing like my own voice.

…Huh? W-wait a second! 

I might’ve figured it out… The truth of this situation and what had happened to me.

Known far and wide for my keen insight, I am Minato Habata, IQ 200 million. This is probably a near-death hallucination, yeah, I get it. Wow, near-death visions these days are amazing. I’m probably seeing myself as a baby right now? Man, they’ve gotten really realistic lately.

Q: Then do you recognize this ceiling?

A fatal inconsistency stabbed straight through the conclusion I’d just reached. Oh right. It was an unfamiliar ceiling.

So then where the hell am I? Maybe I’m inside a random hospital, but—

Just then, with a click, a door opened.

“…Really, you all didn’t have to come together.”

“However, Madam, in case something should happen—”

Multiple voices could be heard As they spoke, I heard footsteps approaching. At the edge of my vision, black and white swayed. Aprons. Skirts. Matching outfits.

…Maids? Wait, hold on. Do hospitals usually have maids on staff? No, more importantly, this room doesn’t feel like a hospital at all.

“Quiet. …Ah, he’s awake.”

With that single sentence, the atmosphere changed. All at once, every gaze turned toward me. A woman who had approached gently lifted me up. The warmth was clearer than before.

W-wow, she’s insanely beautiful…

“Thank goodness… he opened his eyes properly.”

A gentle voice came to my ear. This person was a stranger. And yet, deep in my chest, I felt an unnatural sense of calm.

Th-this is weird! No matter how I think about it, this is weird!

Because right now, being in this woman’s arms felt completely natural.

“My sweet, adorable Luka-chan♪”

Before I could even process what was happening, my mouth moved on its own.

“Aah…”

What came out was a pitifully faint cry.

…Yeah. I really am a baby, aren’t I?

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