BEDWYD
VOLUME ONE: Brave New World
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Prologue:
A Certain Magical Rebirth (Or Summoning?)
"The light at the end of the tunnel" is a widely believed phenomenon in which people—who were previously presumed dead, or had a near-death experience—would suddenly come back to life spouting nonsensical delusions, exclaiming "I saw the light!"
I, myself, wasn't exactly an avid proponent of the idea, but I wasn't entirely opposed to its theorized existence, either. As a fan of manga, novels, and the isekai genre, I was slightly inclined to believe, or more accurately, hope, that it was true.
The lure of a second chance at life—hell, at anything at all—in a world of fantasy and magic where you could leave behind your worries and problems with modern society was something that was enticing.
It was simply in the nature of humankind, the curse of individuality and existence, and born from the fear of the limited time we have in our life.
Thoughts like "if only I had a second chance" are a product of it.
That's why no matter who you are, I believe the idea of isekai is, to some degree, tempting.
Or maybe I feel that way because I'm someone who succumbed to the despair, or lure, that is nihilism.
Regardless, however, anything that I ever said or thought no longer matters anymore. Because I no longer matter anymore.
Why? Well, that's simple. My life has come to an end. And a brief one at that.
I was walking back from the convenience store when before I knew it, I was here.
Wherever "here" is.
There was a sharp pang like something was gone, as if I'd been missing a limb, but I had no clue what, nor could I make any sense of it.
That was, until I went to inspect myself and I found what was missing: everything. Everything had been missing, not just me, but the area around me was included.
Disregarding my new incorporeal form, there was an omnipresent void surrounding me, and a painted canvas of abyss that had beset my senses like that of a creeping storm. Or maybe a brewing story would be more veracious. Except that storm—that story—was still yet to come; seemingly fated to forever be concealed by a veil right underneath my nose, unfolding behind the scenes.
I could sense it.
The only clearly perceptible thing was a newly born light.
A rapidly growing, spherical tunnel of light.
And that was when suddenly, it hit me.
A second chance…
The very thing I had dreamed of had been granted, albeit forcefully.
I was currently experiencing this so-called "light at the end of the tunnel."
In mere seconds, the light had begun to fully envelope me, folding around "myself" and disrupting my spiral of thoughts.
I squinted my incorporeal eyes, unsure of what was happening, and after what seemed to be an eternity, I was bombarded with a litany of audibly rising, indiscernible sounds as I eventually reached my "destination."
Despite the noises surrounding me—the once nonexistent world now beginning to fully realize itself around me, draped in a hefty tint similar to a glass bottle; suggesting I lacked the knowledge and understanding to fully understand what was happening around me; to me—I was gradually able to make out the sound of muffled voices and the shapes of figures around me.
Particularly, the gossamer voice of a woman.
"Congratulations, King Regius, Queen Eslin. He's a healthy boy!"
***
Chapter 1
A Certain (Not So) Magical Beginning
I think it's been… maybe a few months?
Ever since I reincarnated, that is. Honestly, life as a baby isn't as terrible as I thought it'd be.
Besides the whole can't-control-bladder or can-only-grumble-indistinguishable-words, and literally-no-motor-control-whatsoever situation. Those were a new kind of hell for me…
But besides those huge downsides, everything else is fine.
It turned out that I was born as a prince to the Verlice kingdom, one of the most influential kingdoms on the continent of Ethos.
The haze of discrepancy at my sudden placement in this world had begun to fade over time, and I slowly began to get accustomed to my new style of living. The world I lived in now was modern-anachronistic, if that made sense.
Like a medieval setting in mid Europe, sorta thing, except a bit more advanced.
There were carriages, nicely paved roads, and tech that—although not as impressive as the ones in my
previous life—is still pretty impressive considering the lack of real technology.
Of course, there is a reason as to why technology is so under advanced here, one simple reason indeed… the influence of magic. That's right, magic.
I was more than surprised when I found out for myself that it existed in this world. No, not just existed, the world ran on magic, itself, like the oil on a machine's cogs.
I was trying to learn how to stand one day, but ended up tripping and hurting myself, scraping my knee in the process which drew blood. One of the palace's maids, however, had healed it. And I'm not talking just a regular kiss and a bandage healing—I mean fully chanting a spell and a green light materializing from thin air kinda healing!
I literally watched my skin knit itself back together. Yeah, talk about insane…
Above all else, though, I was just happy I understood the language without too much trouble at least.
And the fact that my parents were normal, for the most part, if you disregarded the fact that they're rulers to a literal kingdom…
Throughout my gradual stay in this world, I had come to know more about it mainly through the use of my overseer who, albeit unknowingly, doted on me.
She was my personal caretaker assigned to watch over me whenever my parents couldn't—which was frequent—and would often take me out to the city with her, Ciyradyl, the capital of the kingdom, and we'd visit tons of shops.
Probably in an attempt to help me learn the language faster, she'd talk to me along the way.
Very regularly we'd spot people donning either heavy sets of armor or extravagant, long robes wielding magnificent wands. There were people with all kinds of colored hair, but the one thing that stuck out the most to me were the animal ears.
Yes, that's correct.
Of course, in this world, there were demi-humans—commonly referred to as beastkin, or Vaella (furry demi-humans, such as bunny girls) and Baella (non furry demi-humans, such as snake girls).
Among the most common ones were fox ears, bunny ears, cat ears, and dog ears.
I occasionally fantasized about marrying multiple women of different races: humans, beastkin, elves, and whatever else my destiny decided for me.
Other than that, the city was considerably peaceful. The people were especially welcoming, too.
My favorite activity so far, besides going on outings, and my main method of acquiring information about the world was by having my personal caretaker and overseer, Esil, read books and tales to me. Esil was a half-foxian; a Vaella, meaning she possessed more human features, with some Vaellan features.
She had brown, perky ears, a soft bushy tail, warm features and a matching set of light brown hair and eyes. Also, she had this air of elegance and gentleness to her, and was extremely attractive.
I'd lay on my infantile belly and listen intently to whatever story she would choose.
And ahem!
Before you say anything, laying on my stomach was an efficient way to preserve energy and minimize the risk of injury for my miniature form.
Yeah. That's right. I'm not making excuses.
Maybe I'd occasionally kick my feet in excitement whenever the hero in the story did something cool, but that's besides the point!
Anyways.
So far, the best story was the tale of some guy named Elepytho, along with his cohort of adventurers, having fought and taken down a dragon that had run rampant and was causing disaster, titled, "The Argonaut."
I never knew how much generic stories of extreme adventures like that can really inspire you.
…Well that's not entirely true, considering I was inspired by them in my past life, despite thinking I'd never get the chance to actually be one of those heroes.
Now it made me even more excited, considering I officially had the opportunity to do so.
The man in the story—The Argonaut—was said to be the one of the only people in history to ever wield a weapon of the Exalted tier, which has now passed down to a descendent of his protege, the world renowned Hero: Lucien of House Revalor, who currently resided in another kingdom slightly south-west of Verlice—the Holy Kingdom of Myreddin, one of the most influential countries on the continent.
Geez… How amazing is that?
Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why couldn't I be born someone cool like that?
I mean don't get me wrong, nothing about being reborn as a prince is "uncool," it's just you know…
Guess there's no point in contemplating it now, anyways. Being a prince was beneficial on its own.
In the future, I'd simply have to work hard to get people to recognize me in whatever way I wanted.
So that's what I'll do, I decided. A new life meant a new me. It's time to work hard so that I can live out my life in this world as a Hero, loved by all! Hehe. That was my official goal.
And that means it's time to hit the books—literally.
…At least when the time comes, that is. As of now, I'm trapped in the body of an infant, incapable of most things.
Not a very magical start to my new life, if you ask me.
***
Mother and father—King Regius Eltath Verlice and Queen Eslin Auriaria-Verlice—were good people.
They were each well respected across the lands, and even more so in the capital city where we lived.
I wasn't able to see either of them very much due to their duties, along with the fact that the location of the Throne Room was separate from the Verlice Palace, but when I had the opportunity to, it was pretty easy to infer as to what sort of people they were. Kinda.
Mother had always been gone doing buddha-knows-what, although she usually returned every few months or so, while Father remained holed up in his Throne Room, dealing with political matters while surrounded by his court of renowned mages, and guardians of the Verlice kingdom known as the Kingsguard.
They've only been seen every once in a while on patrol around the different cities in the kingdom, but rumors (things I've gleaned from the occasional gossip of maids) say that they're legendary warriors with the strength to bring down an entire country….
It came to me one day that since I'd have to inherit the throne—or ring—I'd also have to keep our relations with other nations and do my absolute best to ensure nothing happens.
Meaning, I'd be swamped and piled with as much work as the King is… I'm seriously not a fan of politics.
I mean, what'd you expect? Sure, I'd probably eventually grow into it and all, but still.
This isn't exactly what I imagined whenever I fantasized about being reborn in a world of magic.
It's not what I imagined at all…
But oh well.
On a side note, Father would always spout to me—to anyone, really—mysterious advice in a very king-like fashion, which I found to be weird at first, until I got accustomed to it after a while.
I kinda figured that was just the kind of person he was.
Regius wasn't a bad person at all, though. He was strong and severe, yet kind and wise, with glowing amethyst eyes and trimmed, salt-and-pepper hair that gave him a mystifying aura, which truthfully, made him a bit intimidating.
It's a reason why I tended to avoid him whenever I could…
Sorry, Father.
Looks like you have a terrible first son.
Other than that, he had a face cut from marble itself, and despite the dark colors of the multi-layered robes you'd always catch him in, it was pretty easy to tell that he was in shape.
Unlike the classic fantasy stories I used to read, being a King in this world doesn't mean you get to sit down all day and order people around with a pot belly.
At least probably, anyways. I've never personally visited the Throne Room, so I wouldn't know exactly what goes down in there, and I veryrarely saw him.
Mother, however, was a bit… different.
Not to say that she deviated from Father in terms of kindness towards me, just that she was odd—and that's coming from me of all people…
Queen Eslin was, of course, very gentle and kind, but she was also extremely percipient.
Always clever and curious; a calculating shrewd would be appropriate to describe her.
I guess that's not that "odd," but it's deeper than that. I can't explain it very well—it just feels like whenever she looks at you she can see right through you, is all.
Her soul-piercing, golden eyes only seemed to bolster that ethereal quality to her.
It was like she was always observing the things around her—the people around her—discerning their capabilities and potential.
Mother wasn't a bad person, however, and I was still very thankful towards my parents, even if I couldn't see them frequently.
Normally, that'd cause a child and their parents to drift apart, but truth be told, I didn't mind it very much. It allowed me unprecedented amounts of free time, which will undoubtedly be taken away from me as I get older, so it's best I make as much use of it as I can.
That aside, it shouldn't be too long until I'm able to crawl now.
***
I used to wonder why Esil called me "Sera," until one day, I learned my full name: Seraphis Eltath Verlice.
It was a relatively unique name, but I liked it. It accentuated the whole fantasy prince aesthetic.
I was supposedly named after a late predecessor of the Verlice family—one of the founding forefathers, meaning "Victory bringer."
I'd learned from Esil that Mother had confided in her regularly for name ideas, along with her opinions of them, during a time when my gender was unbeknownst to them. Apparently, I would've been Seraphina had I been born a girl.
As for my features, I discovered them by accident one day as I was being carried around the palace and happened upon a long, thin pane of exceptionally reflective glass that was propped vertically against a wall.
It seemed to belong to some type of storage room.
From there, I learned that I inherited a luxurious set of deep lavender bangs that were similar in color to my father's eyes—albeit a deeper shade than what he possessed—and Mother's golden irises.
And really, I had to say… I was pretty adorable.
My looks were kinda flashy, so it was no wonder I had such a cute nickname.
Mother and the other maids around the palace were the only ones who didn't call me that—instead they'd say stuff such as "Young Lord." In Mothers case, she'd just say my full name.
Hehe…
With looks as good as mine, by the time I'm of age, I'll be having suitors lined up for me left and right!
I chuckled inwardly.
The mirthful thought of having a gorgeous, great many beautiful ladies at my side was one that had entranced me into my own reverie.
Here I come! Harem King Seraphis Eltath Verli—Wait! I cut myself off firmly.
My thoughts caught a snag and I began pondering something very seriously.
…Wouldn't that portray me as a womanizer? Is polygamy practiced here? What if it tarnishes my kingdom's reputation?! What if I get dethroned?—er, deringed—because of it!?
I'll lose all of my influence!
…No, let's calm down.
There's no way something like that would remove me from inheriting the ring, r-right?
It turns out that princes have to consider their actions very closely.
Royalty doesn't have it as easy as I thought.
***