“Weiss-sama, I heard that you defeated the enemy leader in an instant! You helped me out the other day too, you’re really strong! As expected!”

“Ahaha, thank you. This is what happens when you try your best.”

Well, after that, I fainted in the carriage, and Rosalia was incredibly worried about me.

With the crime organization raid over, it seems that people’s opinions of me have changed somewhat. Meg spoke to me excitedly, with a hint of respect in her eyes.

And it’s not just Meg who feels this way. The soldiers guarding me from afar also seem to respect me somehow.

“Even so… Weiss-sama, you seem like you’ve returned to the old days. Before Phyllis-sama came and said the successor would change…”

“I resemble the old Weiss…?”

“Ah, forget what I said… I must have made you uncomfortable. I’m sorry.”

Meg, feeling awkward, slipped away as if her mouth had slipped.

I greeted them and headed to my office to get to work when, after a while, I heard a knock on the door. Rosalia, who had been standing beside me, opened it. [TL Note: The author didn’t mention who Weiss greeted ._. ]

“Excuse me. Weiss-sama, is it really alright to temporarily reduce the people’s taxes and then distribute food to the poor?”

“Yes, fortunately, there were jewels and gold hidden in their mansion. My family also has some hidden assets. I have to do something good for the people of my fief to make up for all the trouble I’ve caused them up until now…”

“Well, certainly, Weiss-sama’s reputation is…”

“It may be like trying to put out a fire with water, but it’s better than nothing, right? I’ve caused you a lot of trouble up until now. I’d be happy if you could teach me various things from now on.”

When I replied to the civil servant who had come into my office, he seemed hesitant to answer, so I continued. The reputation that improved this time was mainly among the soldiers who were on the scene and those who heard about it.

It was necessary to show the people that the lord had a change of heart in another way. Reducing taxes related to their livelihood should be quite effective.

Also, Barbaro and his men were collecting money unfairly from merchants and were about to get involved with slaves and drugs, which are prohibited in this country. I’m glad we could prevent that before it spread. This should somewhat improve public safety a little.

I didn’t know where they were getting those, but we learned the names of the nobles involved in the transactions, which is satisfactory.

However, knowing what will happen from now on, what will be effective, and so on, is something that game knowledge alone can’t cover in terms of actual territorial management. I’ll need to learn various things from them from now on.

“I’d like to study various things, do you have any good textbooks or something?”

“In that case, how about taking a look at the previous lord’s room?”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t been there yet… Shall we go?”

After finishing the conversation about future matters with the civil officer, I asked Rosalia, and that was her response. ++The previous lord… Weiss’s parents… In truth, there isn’t much information about them. Well, Weiss himself is just a sub-character after all… His foster sister, on the other hand, is a heroine candidate for the protagonist… He’s just a stepping stone. It’s probably because they couldn’t afford to put extra resources into the characters’ parents.++

“Weiss, are you okay?”

“Ah, there’s no problem…”

I headed to the previous lord’s room with Rosalia. Was it just my imagination, or did my body feel heavy…? Seeing my pale face, Rosalia looked worried.

My hand, which was on the doorknob, stopped unconsciously for a moment. What was that all about? Feeling a sense of discomfort in my body, I opened the door, and then… “Weiss-sama!?” I heard Rosalia’s worried voice, and I lost consciousness.

◇   ◇   ◇

Finally… I’ve become capable of using dark magic freely, as taught by Rosalia. My swordsmanship has also improved, thanks to Kaiser. The secret practice has paid off. With this, I should be fit to be the next lord. Surely, my father will acknowledge me too. Thinking so, all my hard work wasn’t in vain.

One day, after my father picked up Phyllis from somewhere, his attention was always on her. But now, it should change. With this hope in mind, I knocked on my father’s door.

“It’s Weiss. Do you have a moment?”

“What’s the matter? I’m busy… I have to go to the store to choose a dress for Phyllis to wear at magic school.”

My heart ached at my father’s cold response. ++Phyllis, Phyllis… Ever since my foster sister arrived, it’s always been about her. He used to say I was his successor, his proud son…++

“I’m sorry, Father, but there is something I’d really like you to see… Shadow. I’ve finally reached level 2 in dark magic.”

As I spoke, the shadow took on another form of me, showing its presence. This was dark level 2 dark magic. With this, I can use intermediate magic. At the age of 15, there aren’t many who can use this much magic. Even at the royal capital’s magic academy, I would be in the top tier.

It’s a power obtained through grueling efforts. Surely, Father would praise me for this, just like he did in the past. But my faint hopes were quickly shattered.

“What… Is that all?”

“Is that all…!? Excuse me, but only a few people can do this at my age. Even Rosalia said that if I reached this level, I could call myself a full-fledged magician!!”

++Even after hearing my words, Father’s indifferent expression didn’t change. Why? I worked hard. Even Rosalia said that I was a genius to be able to reach level 2 at this age. I wanted to surprise Father, so I asked Rosalia to keep it a secret… So why won’t he acknowledge me?++

“Hmph, I don’t care what the maid you picked up says. Besides, Phyllis has already reached the same level in all four attributes. Well, it’s fine, Weiss, you don’t need to learn magic. Learn administrative work to support Phyllis, who will become the lord. If you were a little more capable, I might have expected you to have a child with Phyllis, but… she is good-looking too. She’ll probably find a talented man in the royal capital.”

“Phyllis will be the lord…?”

With that one word, it felt like everything supporting me crumbled. ++After all, I was raised to be the lord of this territory since I was a child… and now I am going to lose everything to my foster sistem…?++

Then, what was my effort for? What were the words Father once said to me? “You are my pride, my important successor.” What did they mean?

I don’t quite remember how I returned to my room after that. Rosalia said something to me, but it was all annoying.

Then, as I fell asleep to escape, the next morning, I was met with the report that Father, who had gone shopping, was attacked and killed by someone.

The sudden news threw the house into chaos. And I was chosen as the interim lord. It’s unclear what would have happened if Phyllis were at the mansion, but she was at the magic academy in the royal capital. And I started working as the lord.

The work as a lord was extensive, and I struggled every time. Perhaps they looked down on me as a newcomer; the person in charge of accounting ran off with money. When I tried to do something about a famine, I was scolded for unnecessary actions. No matter what I did, I was scolded.

Despite working hard, nothing went well. Every time, my father’s last words, “Phyllis will become the lord,” crossed my mind… And then, I started to feel that everything didn’t matter.

Rosalia gently encouraged me, but it was annoying. Kaiser scolded me, but it was just noisy. Then, Barbaro taught me the taste of alcohol. Drinking made me forget the hardships, and I felt that only at that moment I could be alive.

And I entrusted everything to Barbaro and turned to alcohol. As a result, I was miserably stabbed by a citizen and was left on the verge of death.

‘This is the life of Weiss Hamilton, who was not loved by his parents and could not achieve anything. Isn’t it funny?’

In the pitch blackness, the man in front of me, twisted his lips in a self-deprecating manner, had the same face as me now. No, I had the same face as him… as Weiss.

‘You seem to have done quite well. You’ve managed to please the people and soldiers alike… everyone seems to trust you. I’m really envious. Are you amazing… or was I too incompetent… haha, it seems my father was right. I really wasn’t cut out to be a lord.’

“That’s not true. I…”

‘It’s true!! Because you’re doing well!! Just as you peeked into my memories, I peeked into yours. You’re a resident of another world, right!? Even though you should be unfamiliar with this world, you’re doing better than me. You’re more talented than me!!’

“You saw my memories too… Then you know I’m not talented either…”

At my words, for the first time, Weiss looked away awkwardly. That’s right, I wasn’t particularly outstanding in my previous life either. I had a younger sister who was just as talented as him. The difference between us was that my parents didn’t abandon me, and they didn’t treat my sister any differently. Thanks to that, despite feeling inferior to my sister, who used my desired university as her safety net, I could accept myself as I was.

And I became interested in Weiss, who had the same inferiority complex as me… I did various research and became a fan… I wanted to make him happy.

“The reason I was able to get by was mainly because of my knowledge of games, and the reason I was successful was because of you, Weiss… you worked hard.

‘What are you talking about? I told you earlier, didn’t I? I couldn’t do anything… I had nothing…’

“That can’t be true!! There’s no way you wouldn’t know about Rosalia’s devotion!! And even when you were demoted, Kaiser’s loyalty to you never changed. The reason those two supported you is because you worked hard in the first place!! And the reason I, just a mere resident of another world, could use magic so easily is because you worked hard!!”

I ended up yelling at Weiss, who was still grumbling. After all… ++it’s unbearable to hear my favorite character speak so self-deprecatingly, isn’t it?++

“I simply did what you could have done, but more efficiently. You were an amazing guy too!! I was able to succeed because you worked so hard up until now. I am where I am today because of your efforts!!”

‘That’s not true… I just did things randomly…’

“That’s not true! You tried your best to manage your territory, so you were frustrated when you failed, right? The reason I supported you was that I sympathized with your pain when you tried your best and nothing worked out! I sympathized with the way you were. You said you saw my memories, didn’t you? If so, you should know too. That I was supporting you, that I genuinely wanted to save you!”

Weiss fell silent at my words. After a moment of silence, he looked straight at me and said.

‘Yeah, I saw it. That you seriously supported me… that you seriously wanted to change my future… that was our… our end… hey, forget about me, just save Rosalia…’

He said pleadingly, holding my hand. Seeing him thinking about Rosalia more than himself, I felt happy and realized once again that Weiss is indeed my favorite character.

That’s right, he wasn’t originally twisted… Although he was originally a hard-working young man, he was somewhat clumsy… and he is a young man similar to me.

“No way. I want to make not only Rosalia happy, but you too. So, I’ll make both you and Rosalia happy.”

‘Haha, you’re a greedy guy… but yeah. Maybe you need to be that greedy to turn a bad end into a happy end… I prayed to God in desperation, but I’m glad you came. You know, you’re similar to the child I was. The me who knew nothing… maybe that’s why you were able to reincarnate as me… From now on, I’m leaving Rosalia and my territory to you.’

As he said that, Weiss’s outline gradually faded. ++Wait a second, I just said I’d make you happy too!!++

When I reached out for his hand, he no longer wore the sarcastic smile he had before. Instead, he had a smile on his face that seemed as if he was relieved. He grabbed my hand.

“Wait, where are you going…”

‘I’ll be with you… no, to be precise, you’ll completely become me… that’s the contract with God. I’m counting on you, Weiss Hamilton. I believe you can rebuild this territory and give Rosalia and me a happy ending. And… that advanced magic earlier was amazing… with you, we might even surpass Phyllis.’

With those words, I was hit by a shock that felt like a stab to the chest. ++Surpassing my sister… Did you say we could surpass her? You had despaired at the difference between you and your sister…++

Well then, let’s do it!! I looked back at Weiss who had a smile brighter than anything I’d ever seen in a game.

“Yeah… I probably can’t do it alone… but with you, I think we can.”

‘Yeah, even if one person can’t do it, two people should be able to do it. I’m going to sleep, but… I’m counting on you, partner.’

As he said that, my consciousness gradually faded away. Of course, my sister and Phyllis are different people. But… still, I felt that if I surpassed her, the burden in my heart would be lifted.

And then, I fell back into the darkness.

“Weiss-sama, Weiss-sama!!”

“Hmm? Rosalia, huh…?”

“Thank goodness. You woke up. When I went to the lord’s room, you suddenly collapsed, so I was worried. You must have been exhausted. Please rest for now… huh? Why are you crying…”

When I saw Rosalia, feelings of affection, apology, and the joy of reuniting with her flooded in, along with memories of her and Weiss. ++Ah, these are the remains of Weiss’s emotions… I understand how much you truly cared about Rosalia.++

“Rosalia… I’m sorry for everything… and thank you. For always protecting me… this time I’ll protect you… I’ll definitely make you happy.”

When I hugged her while crying, Rosalia looked stunned for a moment but then hugged me back like a soothing a child, and gently said.

“Did you have a scary dream? I’m already happy. Because I can be close to the person most important to me… to you.”

++Weiss… I swear. I will protect her… these feelings are both yours and mine. I will protect this territory with you.++

Rosalia held me gently until I stopped crying.

‘Completely assimilated with Weiss Hamilton. The suppressed skills are completely assimilated. Also, this has moved the world line.’

A monotonous voice echoed from somewhere.

◇ ◇ ◇

Weiss Hamilton

++Strength:++ 40→45
++Magic:++ 50→65
++Intellect:++ 20→25

Skills

++Dark Magic:++ LV2
++Swordsmanship:++ LV2

++Occupation:++ Lord
++Title:++ Incompetent and corrupt lord?
++Loyalty of the people:++ 20

Unique Skills

++Resident of another world++
A skill recognized by a resident of that world despite being from a different world. By being recognized by the people of this world, you will not have bad status when acting in this world, and you will be able to flexibly absorb the knowledge of this world.

++(Blind Faith in My Favorite) Leap of Faith++
A skill that makes the impossible possible by believing that the main character, Weiss, can do it. It is a whimsical skill by God, and Weiss does not know the existence of this skill, and even if he looks at the status, he cannot see it.

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