Chapter 1

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The Peaceful Life of an Extra
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* * *

In my past life, I wasn't human.

What was I, you ask...?

'A graduate student.'

Wow, that really was no life for a human.

In the prime of my life at twenty-five, I died from overwork, pulling an all-nighter to write my thesis.

'The stress of that thesis must have been intense for me to be reincarnated into a novel.'

The title of my thesis was as follows:

[A Study on the Characteristics of Social Reform Implied in Genre Fiction - Focusing on the Fantasy Novel ]

To write it, I was someone who had read thoroughly about ten times.

That means I knew the original plot and its various settings better than anyone.

'Well, as an extra, there's no real need to rack my brain remembering the plot.'

To recall the story, I have to strain my mind and remember my past life...

Doing so makes me really hungry, and my mind starts syncing up with my adult self, which feels strange.

Anyway, the bloody war and revolution will be handled by the two main characters, the father and son.

Once the protagonists create a better world where even non-ability users are treated as human, I can just kick back and enjoy the sweet life.

'The life of an extra is the best!'

I giggled in Susan's arms, then shouted to my dad.

"Dad, be careful!"

Dad was fixing the roof of Susan's house, which had sprung a leak.

Bang, bang, bang—!

The sight of him on a ladder, holding nails in his mouth while hammering away, was a familiar one.

Everyone in this mountain village calls for Dad whenever their roof leaks or their chicken coop fence breaks.

'The people here take advantage of my dad's kindness, treating him like a total pushover. Susan is an exception, of course.'

I can only make an exception for Susan, who always shares her delicious cooking with us and looks after me when Dad's not around.

The other neighbors have no conscience whatsoever.

"Oh, James. I feel bad for always asking for your help."

"Not at all. If anything, I'm the one who's always indebted to you. Please look after Lilis again today."

"Indebted? Don't say that. Lilis is so well-behaved, I don't have to worry about a thing. How can a child be this sweet and adorable?"

"Ehehe."

I wrapped my arms around Susan's neck and grinned.

Of course I'm well-behaved.

It would be a problem to compare me to a typical seven-year-old.

"Look at her smile. So cute... You're already so pretty, I can't imagine how much prettier you'll be when you grow up. Who do you take after, Lilis, hmm?"

I look like my dad... is what I'd like to say, but my appearance is completely different.

I have snow-white silver hair and blue eyes.

My looks were too flashy for a generic extra, which made me suspicious—

"A-Are you sure I'm not adopted?"

—I had asked my dad.

"He says I look like my mom!"

"Is that so?"

Dad said my silver hair and blue eyes were just like my mom's, who left home when I was a baby.

"Haha, yes. She takes after... her mother."

Dad, still hammering, chimed in with a somewhat awkward laugh.

"Your mom must have been a real beauty."

Since I've never seen my mom's face, there was no way to prove it.

So at first, I worried, what if I'm not his biological daughter?

But not anymore!

As I grew, the corners of my eyes that crinkled when I smiled, my delicately tipped nose, and the upturned corners of my mouth became a spitting image of his.

'I'm definitely my dad's daughter! And a confirmed extra!'

Brown hair, brown eyes.

Even his name is James Brown.

Since I'm the daughter of a man who is, by all accounts, just another citizen of the empire, I must also be an extra with a guaranteed peaceful future!

"It shouldn't leak anymore. And I believe you mentioned the doorknob was acting up last time. I'll take a look at it when I get back."

"Oh, that would be wonderful. Goodness, what would I do without you, James? My own good-for-nothing just eats and scratches his belly all day. He's completely useless."

The good-for-nothing Susan was talking about was her husband, Joe.

"Haha... Well, please take good care of Lilis today. Princess, Daddy will be back from the market soon."

Dad shouldered the bundle of wood he had brought and gently tapped the tip of my nose as I sat in Susan's arms.

"Come back soon! An' you didn't forget our pwomise, did you?"

"Nope, Princess. Of course not. I'll buy you some macarons."

"Hee hee."

I stayed in Susan's arms, waving until my dad's back disappeared from view.

When he was gone, I lowered my hand with a pout, and Susan chuckled.

"You really love your daddy, don't you, Lilis?"

"Yes, of course!"

As an orphan in my past life, my only memory of a loving guardian is my dad in this one.

It must have been so hard for a young, single man to raise a baby...

But Dad never missed a single day of changing my diapers, feeding me baby food, and giving me baths.

Having him by my side since I was a baby, when that crucial bond was formed, meant the world to me.

Kind, handsome, tall, and gentle.

He even gave me the chance to be born as an extra with the easiest life in this terrifying world.

'I have to grow up quickly and be a good daughter to him!'

I clenched my small fists, steeling my resolve.

* * *

At Susan's house, I had milk with honey and some cookies, then played about ten rounds of cards with Joe.

Susan watched us play and told me a story from the past.

"One night, there was a frantic knocking on the door. I opened it, startled, and there was your dad, pale as a ghost. He was holding a baby, and that baby was you, Lilis."

"That's when we found out he was a father."

Joe said, chewing on a piece of beef jerky as he held his cards.

"A young man suddenly shows up in this mountain village, keeps to himself without so much as a greeting... we figured he must have had some story."

"Huhu, that's right. Anyway, your dad said the baby wasn't sick, but she just wouldn't eat. He said she must be hungry, but every time he brought the bottle near, she'd burst into tears. I took a look to see why, and my goodness."

"Me? Why wouldn't I eat?"

I drew a card and pushed a large pile of acorns—our substitute for chips—into the pot.

"You were over five months old, but he was still only feeding you formula. You must have been so sick of it that you were holding back your hunger to make a point."

Susan laughed, picturing my dad's clumsy attempts.

"I told him to come in, then I grated an apple, mashed a banana, mixed it with the formula, and made some baby food. And just like that, the baby who 'wouldn't eat' finished the entire bowl. Your dad's eyes went wide."

"Heh heh... He was so polite after that. Every time he saw me from a distance, he'd run right over to greet me. And whenever he chopped wood, he'd give me half, which made my life a lot easier."

"Oh, you freeloader. You should earn your keep if you're going to eat. Taking advantage of a good man while you slack off."

"What was I supposed to do? James insisted on sharing. It's rude to refuse a kind gesture, you know."

"Anyway, he must have felt overwhelmed raising a baby for the first time, because from that day on, he started asking questions and learning all he could."

It was fascinating. To think that my dad, now a master homemaker, was once so clumsy.

"Heh heh. I win this time, kiddo."

Joe grinned and flipped over his cards.

Five hearts.

"A flush! Mwahahaha!"

With his hairy arms, Joe raked in the pile of acorns on the table.

"Hold on."

I grabbed Joe's arm. Then I revealed my hand.

K, K, K, 7, 7.

"Hmph. Full house."

Joe's jaw dropped.

I hopped off my chair, spread my skirt, and swept all the acorns into it.

"Let's play again tomorrow. I'm always up for a challenge."

"A-A full house? No way!"

Susan and I burst out laughing at the sight of a stunned Joe.

And so, with my skirt full of acorns, I returned home with Susan.

It was almost time for Dad to get back.

"Thank you for having me today."

I put my hands together politely and gave Susan a deep bow.

"You can go on ahead, Susan. I'm going to do the laundry."

"What? Why are you doing laundry? Just leave it."

"Dad will be tired when he gets back, so I want to do it for him!"

"My goodness... Lilis, you have the heart of an angel. Then let me do it before I go. Is that the laundry?"

Susan asked as I brought over the basket of laundry.

I flinched and hugged the basket tightly.

"Oh, no, you can't. Dad's underwear is in here."

"Oh my."

"Ehehe, don't worry. I'm good at laundry. It's easy. I just have to go to the stream right behind here and give it a good scrub-a-dub, right?"

Susan was amazed.

"You were so small and started talking late, your dad was so worried... But it turns out you're a genius. What seven-year-old is a card shark and does her dad's laundry?"

"Ahem."

Seeing me puff up my chest with pride, she patted my head, looking impressed.

"Well, I'll be on my way then. Make sure you eat dinner."

"Okay, Susan! Goodbye!"

After seeing Susan off, I headed to the stream to do the laundry.

'Dad doesn't like it when I do the laundry in secret, but...'

I'm going to keep doing it anyway.

Because I'm a child with the mind of an adult who understands the hardships of Mr. James, the single dad who raises a child alone, does all the housework, and even chops and sells wood.

"Who's the dutiful daughter washing her dad's underwear at age seven? Yep, it's Lilis Brown!"

I found a spot by the stream, sat down, and snickered as I took out the laundry.

The idyllic surroundings, with their beautiful mountains and clear water, were as peaceful as ever.

'Ahh, the life of an extra is so leisurely. I wish every day could be like this.'

I may be a commoner and a non-ability user who isn't treated like a person in this world, and my life might be a bit poor.

'But the protagonists will soon create a better world, so I have nothing to worry about. Compared to my past life, this is as good as it gets. Reincarnation is the best!'

It was then.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—.

'Huh? What's that sound of horse hooves?'

As I was busy scrubbing the laundry with my small hands, a strange presence suddenly emerged from beyond the forest.

Zenon, a small rural fiefdom in the southern part of the continent. And in a remote, mountainous corner of even that.

This was an isolated place with only six houses, including our own.

In other words, there was almost no one who would come all the way out here on horseback...

'This... I have a bad feeling about this.'

My intuition was spot on.

"Giddy-up!"

Heeigh—!

In an instant, six strange men on horseback burst forth and came to a halt right in front of me.

They were all dressed in silver armor with blue capes.

I immediately recognized the crest embroidered on their capes.

The imperial crest.

They're imperial soldiers!

And with blue capes, that means...

'The D-Dos-rank Holy Knights? No, why would such esteemed individuals come to this humble place?'

My jaw dropped in shock.

"Seize her."

At the command of the man in the center of the knights, one of his subordinates grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and lifted me up.

"Gak!"

Then, he mercilessly jabbed a police baton-like object into my chest.

"Ugh! Th-That hurts..."

It was an artifact used to identify ability users, as far as I knew.

The metal rod-like artifact soon began to glow with a blue light.

"She's an ability user, Captain. It seems she is indeed the daughter of Enoch Rubinstein."

Me? Isn't this thing broken?

"I could tell just by looking at her."

While I was still bewildered, the handsome, black-haired man who seemed to be the captain of the knights scoffed and took me from his subordinate.