New third novel, The Incompetent Bratty Prince, is out (1/3 chapters)

 

 

Reincarnated as Pushover Third Prince

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

“Your Highness Harold, if you don’t start getting ready soon…” (??)

Servants came to my room while timidly watching my mood.

That’s true. If you were to upset me, who is already so irritable, you never know what would happen to you.

“I understand. I’m sorry, but could you wait just 30 more minutes?” (Harold)

“!? Y-yes, of course…” (??)

The servants opened their eyes wide, and then, quickly left the room.

Uhm, I really wanted to say that just a simple excuse shouldn’t warrant that reaction of that degree, right?

“Sigh… well, given my usual behavior, I guess it can’t be helped…” (Harold)

Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw a weak-looking character with slicked-back black hair and glaring grey eyes. I let out a big sigh.

My name is “Harold Weir Dehaubalz”. I’m the third prince of the Dehaubalz Kingdom, one of the great powers in the Western countries. I am the worst kind of man, cowardly, despicable, and easily influenced by those with power. That’s who I am.

Why do I speak so badly of myself? Because I’m… just a henchman character, the lackey of the protagonist’s rival, in the chat-based romance RPG “Engage Hazard” (abbreviated as “ Enhaz”). It’s complicated. To put it simply, I’m like that guy with the weird hairstyle that defies the laws of physics in that popular cat-shaped robot anime. I’m a pitiful existence that can’t even be considered a pushover, always flattering the rival character, bullying the protagonist, and ultimately suffering more than the rival character. It’s sad just to say it.

I realized this fact this morning. When I woke up, the typical reincarnation trope happened that my memories of my previous life came flooding back. In my past life, I was just a normal college student named “Tachibana Haru.” I moved to the city from the countryside to attend university, but being naturally shy and introverted, I couldn’t fit in and was a loner. To ease my loneliness, I started playing “ Enhaz”. I became hooked on the lively chat talks and the cuteness of the heroines (or rather, the people behind them), spending most of my part-time job earnings on gacha pulls. It’s sad to think about even before I reincarnated. Damn it.

Anyway, this world is different from the one I was in before. I must prevent the game’s scenario from playing out. If I don’t, I’m destined to die. No, you might wonder why a mere henchman character has to face such a fate, but unfortunately, this man named Harold ends up plotting a rebellion. Naturally, the many heroines are extremely jealous of the protagonist, who is recognized and liked by the rival characters, the First Prince and the Second Prince… no, by almost all the people who appear in the game.

However, this Harold, having lived selfishly as the Third Prince, couldn’t do anything on his own and was a pitiful man who relied on others for everything. Naturally, his rebellion failed miserably, easily thwarted by the protagonist and the heroines, leading to his execution right in front of the protagonist who had built a harem. Despite wanting to change things, Harold’s reputation was already in the pits due to his outrageous behavior over the past 13 years. He was already off to a negative start before the main story even began.

By the way, the rival characters, the First Prince and the Second Prince, have cleverly reconciled with the protagonist, and will never die no matter what route you take. In fact, since they are originally cool and handsome characters, the developers even released “Enhaz ~Girls Side~” where they appear as cool and yandere handsome characters serving the female protagonist. Harold? Of course, he’s not in it.

Anyway, to avoid such an end, it’s best to improve my reputation and avoid getting involved in the main plot of “Enhaz” as much as possible, but…

“That’s easier said than done…” (Harold)

That’s because the protagonist is my younger brother, the Fourth Prince, and the rival characters are my elder brothers, the First and Second Princes. Just living normally means I’ll inevitably get involved. There’s no escape. Luckily, I’m currently 13 years old, so I still have three years until the main story begins. During that time, I must somehow forcefully create a survival route that doesn’t exist in the game. For that…

“I can’t afford to fail today’s meeting.” (Harold)

The game “Engage Hazard” revolves around the protagonist meeting numerous unique and cute heroines, and the goal is to bring back the world’s best fiancée as a condition to be chosen as the next king. It’s a story of adventure and romantic comedy. In the RPG part, the protagonist solves incidents occurring all over the kingdom and the world, meeting heroines (fiancée candidates) during those events and progressing the romance part in a chat format, which is a very innovative feature.

Unfortunately, the game had the unfortunate combination of being too innovative and requiring players to purchase tickets for chat interactions and pay double the usual amount for gacha pulls for heroines and weapons, which severely impacted players’ wallets. Consequently, it received a barrage of criticism and low ratings from users upon release, leading to the service being terminated within half a year.

When I saw the “Notice from the Management” suddenly posted a week before the service ended, I slept with tears streaming down my pillow, thinking about how much money I’d poured into the game… Only to wake up as Harold.

“Anyway, I’m not going to die! I will survive, no matter what!” (Harold)

This world offers nothing but despair for the future, but I’ve fully completed the game’s scenarios… No, there was still that one-week limited event that began with the service termination notice. Regardless, I know this world of “Enhaz” inside out! So, if I work myself to the bone to avoid every single event in “Enhaz,” I should be able to manage somehow. Please let it be so. I’m begging you.

“And, that girl… Hahaha! I’ll do ittttttttttttt!” (Harold)

With a small-time villain’s laugh befitting Harold, I raised my fist towards the mirror.

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