The man could feel someone gently tapping his body. The rough hand made the man think of the hands of an exhausted parent. It was that warm.
"Young master, it is morning."
But the voice was very profound. The man felt chills throughout his body and his eyes subconsciously opened. Rather than the bright sunlight coming in through the window to warm the man's eyes, what he saw was an old man standing there with a satisfied expression.
"It is surprising to see you wake up after a single attempt."
"Huh?"
"The master wishes to dine with the young master since it has been a while. It looks like it will be possible today."
The man could see a mirror past the old man's shoulder. Inside the mirror was a red-haired man who seemed to be confused looking back at him.
'I guess that guy is me.'
"Young master Cale?"
The man turned toward the source of the worried voice to find the old man, who looked like a servant, looking toward him. But that concerned man was not the problem.
The man clearly heard it.
Young Master Cale. It was a familiar name. He slowly blurted out the name.
"Cale Henituse?"
The old servant was looking at him like he was looking at his own grandson.
"Yes. That is your name, young master. I'm guessing you are still a bit drunk."
Listening to the concerned response of the old man, the man naturally thought about a name that was even more important than the name Cale Henituse.
"...Beacrox."
"Are you talking about my son?"
"...Chef."
"Yes. My son is the chef. Do you need him to make something for your hangover?"
The man felt his surroundings turn dark and he started to feel dizzy. He lowered his head and put it into his hand.
"Young master, are you still drunk? Should I call the doctor? Or will you wash right now?"
The man looked at the red hair that was falling in front of his face. It was a bright red color, much too different from his original black hair.
Cale Henituse. Beacrox. Beacrox's dad, Ron.
They were the characters that appeared at the beginning of [The Birth of a Hero], the novel the man was reading before he fell asleep last night.
He jerked his head up and looked around. He could see the bedroom that was completely different from a typical Korean design. It made the man think about Europe. Every single thing in the room was extremely extravagant and luxurious.
"Young master?"
The man responded to Ron, the old man who was pretending to be concerned and worried.
"Cold water."
"Excuse me?"
He needed something to clear his mind. He could see the face of Cale Henituse in the mirror behind old man Ron.
'Still looks normal.'
'I guess Cale hasn't been beaten to a pulp by the main character just yet. '
His handsome face caught his attention.
The man had become Cale Henituse when he opened his eyes.
Cale Henituse. The trash who was beaten to a pulp by the main character in the beginning of [The Birth of a Hero]. That was who he was.
"Young master, I presume you will not be bathing in cold water. Are you asking for drinking water?"
Cale turned his gaze toward Ron. Ron may be pretending to be a benign old man, but he was actually hiding his true identity as a cruel and vicious individual.
He made the request to Ron.
"Please get me some drinking water."
He needed to drink some cold water and clear his mind first.
"I will prepare it right away."
"Great. Thanks."
Ron flinched for a second and had an odd expression on his face, but Cale did not notice it.
***
Ron had to leave the bedroom as there was only warm water in the room. Once he was left alone, Cale got off the bed and headed to the bathroom. If he really was inside of the novel, he knew that there should be a large mirror inside.
As expected, the full body mirror was inside the bathroom. Cale Henituse, who had a lot of interest in his appearance and physique, had this mirror set up in here. Nobody else in the household had such a mirror.
The man in the mirror had red hair and a pretty fit body. It wouldn't be wrong to say he had a body that would make any style look good.
"I really am Cale."
The man in the mirror indeed was Cale Henituse from the novel. [The Birth of a Hero] was very descriptive about each of the character's appearance. That was why the man had no choice but to agree that he had indeed turned into Cale Henituse.
Do people usually become calmer when they are surprised and shocked? Cale, no, Kim Rok Soo, calmly thought about the night before.
It was a typical day off. It had been a while since he had read an actual book instead of on his phone, so he went to the library to check out some books. He borrowed the entire series since he planned to read all day long.
The name of that book was, of course, [The Birth of a Hero]. He managed to finish the fifth volume before he fell asleep. But when he woke up, he had turned into Cale Henituse, the individual that the main character mercilessly beat up in volume 1.
'Will things go the way they did in the novel?'
He felt unnaturally calm. Once he got past the point of shock, his mind had calmed back down. He started to remember the contents of volume 1.
[The Birth of a Hero.]
This novel was about the birth of the heroes in the Western and Eastern continents, as well as their trials and growth. The main character was, naturally, Korean. He was a student who had been transported into the world when he was a freshman in high school. Furthermore, his lifespan became as long as a dragon's lifespan, making him pretty much never age.
"... This is bad?"
He was going to be beaten into a pulp by such a person. The important thing, however, was that he had not been beaten up just yet.
Cale took his eyes off the mirror and walked into the tub that was full of warm water. He leaned against the tub and looked up at the ceiling. It was that expensive marble that was described in the novel. The estate that Cale lived in was actually full of marble.
Cale started to mumble as he looked toward the ceiling.
"It's not like there's much I'll miss."
His life as Kim Rok Soo. There really wasn't much to it. He was an orphan and didn't have much money. He also didn't have a person he loved to death, nor a friend he would give his life to save. He only continued to live because he could not die.
Yes, he could not die.
He completely hated the thought of death or pain. He became an orphan after both of his parents passed away from a car accident when he was little.
He didn't like pain or death. No matter what it was, even if he was rolling in a pile of dog shit, it was still better than being dead.
'For that reason, I need to first make sure I don't get beaten up.'
Cale did not know what day it was in the novel right now, but he was sure that he had not met with the main character just yet. The reason was simple.
'I don't have the scar on my side.'
Cale Henituse, the trash of Count Henituse's family. A few days before meeting the main character, Cale was drinking and causing a ruckus. He was flinging things around and got stabbed on his side by a broken desk leg, resulting in the scar.
What an interesting character. He didn't get the scar from fighting someone else. He got it because he got angry that the alcohol didn't taste good and threw a tantrum. He meets the main character a few times after he gets the scar, and, in a refreshing cider-like scene, gets beaten to a pulp.
"Mm."
Cale crossed his arms and started to think.
He did not know what happened to Cale after getting beaten to a pulp in volume 1. All he knew was that the main character, Choi Han, has many fateful encounters and overcomes a lot of trials to grow into a hero along with his party members.
Thus the era for him to prove that he is a hero will begin. The Roan Kingdom that Cale currently lives in, as well as many other locations in the Eastern and Western continents, will be filled with war. It truly will turn into the time for the heroes to show their full potential.
Cale started to frown. Kim Rok Soo, the man who became Cale. His life motto was pretty simple.
Living long without pain. Enjoying the small joys of life.
Living a peaceful life.
"... As long as I make the story proceed like normal while taking out the fact that I get beaten up, the main character will take care of the rest."
For some odd reason, he could recall every single line in the book without any issue. Cale relaxed in the warm water while coming to a final conclusion with his now clear head.
"It's worth trying."
It was worth trying to avoid the continent's war and living peacefully. This trash's situation was much better than when he was Kim Rok Soo. The location of this estate was also in the corner of the Western Continent, making it an ideal location to avoid the war. In the novel itself, there were many nobles who managed to avoid the influences of war. Even if he could not completely avoid it, he should be able to at least reduce the damages to a minimum.
"Young master, are you inside the bathroom?"
He could hear Ron's voice coming from outside. Cale thought about Ron's true identity. Ron was an assassin who crossed over from the Eastern Continent by sea. He pretended to be a benign old man, but the true Ron was a cruel and merciless man.
"Yes. I'll be right out."
His natural response was to talk informally to the old man. Cale realized what he was doing and made up his mind about what to do in the future.
He needed to push that old man to the main character and send him away.
That old man could easily kill Cale with a single blow, but treated Cale like a puppy you left alone because you felt bad for it. He was smiling gently, but there was not an ounce of care about Cale on the inside. In the novel, Ron leaves with the main character and his son after Choi Han beats Cale to a pulp.
Cale put the bathrobe on as he quickly exited the bathroom. Ron was standing there with a smile on his face and a tray with a cup in his hands.
"Young master, here you go."
Cale picked up the cup and walked past the old man. He did not want to make eye contact with such a dangerous old man.
"Great, thanks."
Ron's expression turned odd once again, but Cale had already walked past him. Cale took a drink of the cold water as he started to think.
'There are too many strong people here.'
In fact, there were too many of them. No matter where the main character went, there were either strong individuals or individuals with hidden secrets. These individuals were both human and other races.
'I at least need the strength to protect myself.'
In order to live long without pain in the continent that will soon be filled with war, you needed a decent level of strength. Of course, you could not be too strong. Then other complicated things will happen.
Cale thought about the different fateful encounters that occurred in the beginning parts of the novel. The powers that strengthen the main character and his party members. He was thinking about the ones that would help him live long without pain. There were a couple that came to mind. He just needed to pick one of them.
"Young master, we will start to dress you now."
"Oh, right. Thanks."
The door soon opened and couple servants entered to help Ron dress Cale. Cale did not notice that Ron had a stoic expression unlike his usual self as he looked at the clothes the servants were bringing in.
"Ah, something simple today."
He hated really complicated attires. Simple clothes that let you relax comfortably were the best.
"Yes, young master."
The servant in charge of the attires quickly pulled out some simple clothes and Cale changed into the simplest of them all. He lightly frowned after finishing getting dressed. Even this, 'simple,' attire was extremely extravagant and not to his liking.
However, the reflection in the mirror was quite handsome.
'He really is handsome and makes any clothes look good.'
The face really was the final piece to fashion. He looked in the mirror and fixed his sleeves before turning around to look at Ron.
Ron was once again smiling like a gentle old man.
"Ron, let's go."
"Yes, young master."
Cale walked behind Ron. It was nice that he did not need to know the layout of the estate. He just needed to follow Ron wherever he needed to go. All of the servants that Cale saw flinched and bowed respectfully before they seemed to run away.
'Why are they so scared? Cale never hit people.'
He just liked to drink and play. Sometimes, when he was drunk, he did break things. But that was why he was the trash of the family. He also did not treat people like people, other than the few people he liked.
'Well, it's better if nobody talks to me.'
Cale thought about it peacefully. It would be more difficult if he was in the body of a model citizen. A trash can do as he pleases without worry. It was only possible because there was no desire to live as a model citizen.
"I will now open the door."
"Sure."
Cale nodded his head toward Ron. The book mentioned that Cale treated Ron, someone who raised him like he was his own grandson since he was little, as nicely as he treated his own father. It mentioned that he always responded to Ron and treated him like a person. Of course, Ron did not really think that way. That was why it was easy for Cale to talk to Ron. He just needed to answer Ron's questions and treat him like a human being.
"I hope you enjoy your breakfast."
"Thanks. Ron, make sure you eat a good meal too."
Cale walked past Ron and into the dining room. He could see his family sitting there. His father and the current head of the Henituse household, Deruth. Next to him was Cale's step mother, the Countess, as well as her son and daughter. The four people looked toward Cale.
"You are late again, today."
Cale's gaze turned toward his father who spoke. [The Birth of a Hero] described Cale's feelings for his father like this.
'His father was the one person that Cale listened to. The reason the trash did not leave the area and got everything he wanted inside the Count's territory was because of his father, Count Deruth Henituse.'
But, unfortunately, Cale's father was unlike the other strong fathers in this novel. He did not have any special skills or influence. He just had a lot of money. However, Cale liked this a lot. It was the perfect family environment to live a simple life.
Then there were the other three individuals.
His stepmother who knew that he did not like her and avoided him.
Her smart first-born who found it difficult to deal with his much older brother Cale.
And the cute youngest of the family who avoided her older brother Cale.
But it wasn't like Cale bothered them or they bothered Cale. They just treated each other like strangers.
Cale thought this was such a great environment to quietly live alone.
"Take a seat."
"Yes, father."
Cale looked at the feast on the table that did not meet his definition of breakfast and sat down on his seat. He then felt something was odd and lifted his head up.
"Is there something you need to say, father?"
"... No, I do not."
Deruth was staring at Cale. The rest of the family was doing the same. Cale made eye contact with each of these family members. They all quickly turned away whenever he made eye contact and continued to eat.
'I guess they find me really difficult to handle.'
Cale turned his head toward the table as well. This luxurious feast that was different than the breakfast he used to eat just to fill his belly made him start to smile. He first started by cutting the sausage in half with the knife.
'It is so juicy.'
He didn't know if juice flowed out as soon as he cut into it because it was handmade or because it was cooked well, but the color on the sausage made him hungry. Cale started to smile without realizing it.
Clang.
He heard something fall down and made eye contact with his younger brother Basen. He could see that Basen had dropped the fork in his hand.
"My apologies."
Basen calmly apologized like the personality described for him in the novel. The servant in charge of the meal quickly came over to hand Basen a new fork and picked up the fork on the floor. Watching that made Cale think that it was nice to be a noble, before he focused once again on the food in front of him.
Cale had found the first good thing about coming into the novel. This breakfast was extremely luxurious and so tasty that his stomach was completely happy.
The smile on his face could not disappear.
"...Ho?"
That was why he did not hear his brother Basen's shocked proclamation.