Reincarnated as a Mob in an Otome Game, but the Characters Were Worse Than I Expected, So I Crushed Them All and Destroyed the Story [Dropped] - Chapter 02: Mob Realizes He’s in an Otome Game

Chapter 02: Mob Realizes He’s in an Otome Game

The name given to me in this world was Edward.

It had been four years since I was reincarnated here.

And today marked my fourth birthday.

“Ed, happy birthday! I’m so glad to see you growing up healthy!”

“Happy birthday, Ed. You’ve grown so much.”

My parents beamed at me with warm smiles.

I had been born into a commoner family—not exactly well-off, but we got by.

More importantly, my parents were kind, and I had been growing up in good health, both physically and mentally.

“Thank you, Dad! Mom!”

I made sure to act as childlike as possible.

If I acted too mature, it might make them worry unnecessarily.

That said, it did feel nice to be celebrated.

Even though my mental age—combined with my past life—was well over twenty, it felt like my body was pulling my mind along.

I didn’t feel quite as old as before.

Not like I had the energy of a student or anything, though.

“It’s our precious son’s birthday—of course we’re going to celebrate!”

“That’s right. We even got you a present, Ed.”

“A present?”

What could it be?

A toy, maybe?

…Playing with toys at my age was kind of a stretch.

Well, technically my body was still a child, but still…

“Ta-da! We bought you the book you wanted, Ed. I hope you like it!”

“Huh!? A book!?”

I had been thinking about how to react properly, but the moment I heard book, my surprise slipped out naturally.

Books were expensive. They weren’t something you could buy on a whim.

Even though I had no trouble speaking or understanding the language in this world, for some reason, I couldn’t read or write at all when I first got here.

Luckily, my mother—who, unusually for a commoner, was literate—had been teaching me little by little.

Just a few days ago, I had finally learned to read most of the language.

After that, I asked if they could buy me a book, but I hadn’t expected much.

At worst, I figured I’d wait until I could earn my own money and buy one myself.

But they actually got one for me…!

“Do you like it?”

“I love it! Thank you, Mom! Dad!”

“But isn’t this book a little difficult for you?”

“I’ll be fine!”

“Haha! Our son’s a genius! Maybe he’ll grow up to be someone important!”

“Honestly, you’re getting a little carried away…”

Despite her words, my mother smiled warmly.

Just seeing me happy made my parents this happy.

That alone made my heart feel warm.

Maybe this was what they meant by unconditional love.

“Can I read it now!?”

“Of course. But it’s expensive, so take good care of it, okay?”

“I will!”

Taking the book from my mother, I hurried off to the bedroom.

I didn’t have a room of my own, but I wanted a quiet place to think.

Sitting down on the bed, I looked at the title on the cover.

“The History of the Criminal Kingdom”

Criminal Kingdom…?

That name sounded familiar somehow…

I had only asked my parents for a book about this country’s history, so this was the first time I even learned that the nation I lived in was called the Criminal Kingdom.

I had already accepted that this world wasn’t Earth.

After all, I had seen people conjure fire out of thin air using what was basically magic.

I could still remember how excited I was the first time I saw it.

But still… why did the name Criminal Kingdom feel so familiar…?

(Was there a country or region like that in my past life…? No… this feels like something else…)

The answer was right at the tip of my tongue, yet I just couldn’t grasp it.

A strange sense of unease crept over me.

“No… hold on… Could it be—!?”

Suddenly, the pieces clicked together in my mind.

The reason the name Criminal Kingdom felt so familiar—

It was because…

(Is this… the world of MagiRom…!?!?)

MagiRom—short for “Magic Romance~A Commoner Like Me Is Being Adored by Princes!?”—was the very otome game I had been playing right before I died.

And Criminal Kingdom was the country where the game’s main setting, Freesia Academy, was located.

(I don’t have solid proof yet… but this familiar feeling—it has to be that…! If this really is the world of MagiRom… No, I can’t jump to conclusions just yet…)

I originally just wanted a book to learn more about this world.

Whether it turned out to be the MagiRom world or not, that didn’t change what I needed to do.

Taking a deep breath, I flipped open the cover.

(The history of the Criminal Kingdom… Founded in Year 702 of the Creation Era… The first king was… Caesar…? Which means… this really is—!)

The name of the first king was way too familiar.

My doubts were quickly turning into certainty.

Four years was more than enough time for me to forget the finer details of the game’s lore, but as I skimmed through the book, the memories of the story came rushing back with startling clarity.

And after an hour of reading…

“Yeah… there’s no doubt about it.”

There were way too many familiar historical events and locations.

It was more than enough evidence to confirm it—this world was definitely the world of MagiRom.

As for Edward… there was no character by that name in the game.

Which meant… I was just a mob.

(Alright… I need to sort things out. I should go over the story again in detail…)

I grabbed some paper and a pen and sat down at my desk.

Then, I carefully wrote out the story for every route.

There were a few parts I had forgotten, but thanks to the book, I managed to piece everything together.

I ended up using a lot of paper, but oh well.

Let’s call it a necessary expense—I’d pay my parents back when I got older.

That aside, knowing that this world was from MagiRom made things a lot easier to handle.

If this were a completely unfamiliar isekai, I’d be in trouble.

But I had played this game nonstop ever since it came out.

Even if I was just a mob, I might be able to avoid getting caught up in unnecessary trouble and ensure a safe, happy life for myself and my family.

Not to mention, I was really curious about magic.

I wonder if I can use it too…?

“Oh my, have you been reading this whole time?”

“Ah, Mom. What happened?”

Lost in thought, I hadn’t even noticed my mother enter the room.

Since I had written everything in Japanese, she wouldn’t be able to understand it.

Still, just to be safe, I subtly slid the MagiRom storyline notes under some other papers.

“You were so quiet, I thought you had fallen asleep.”

“Nope. This book is really interesting, so I got completely absorbed in it. Thanks again for buying it!”

“Fufu, I’m so glad you like it. You’re going to grow up to be a smart one, Ed.”

“I will! History is so much fun!”

Speaking like this still felt a little embarrassing, but after a year, I had mostly gotten used to it.

Besides, unlike the boring history lessons from my past life, learning about this world’s history felt more like uncovering the hidden lore of a game—so I wasn’t really lying when I said it was fun.

“I can’t wait to see what you grow up to be, Ed.”

“I’m gonna become a great man and protect Mom, Dad, and everyone in town!”

A kid was allowed to dream big, right?

Of course, in reality, I had zero intention of standing out.

But saying it was free, and I knew my mom would be happy to hear it.

“Oh my, what a bold statement. Could it be that the next great hero will come from Haralua?”

“…Eh!?”

The moment I heard Haralua, I felt the blood drain from my face.

I must’ve visibly reacted, too, because my mom looked at me with concern.

“Ed? What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”

“N-No, it’s nothing… Um, about the town we live in…”

“Haralua? What about it?”

So I didn’t mishear her…

I wished I had.

Because Haralua was the very first town in this kingdom to be attacked by monsters.