Somewhere on the absolute corner of the universe, eight wicked siblings convened on half‑born stars. Each of them looked different—different auras, different figures—and yet they seemed... embarrassed to speak.
"Hahahahahaha—this is sooooo funny. I'm so sorry."
It was Chara who laughed first, the wicked sibling of Melancholy.
"Tch. You damn brat. If you don't shut up, I will—"
Atimia, the oldest sister and the personification of Pride, began, but Chara cut her off.
"Will what? You can't do anything because deep down..." Chara's tone shifted from playful to calm and serious. "You know damn well your little silly kingdom was going to fall the second Solaz Lysane died and the leadership went to any of his brothers."
Atimia's face tightened. She had been about to move the sun toward them; Greed and Envy—Philara and Althea—placed their hands on her shoulder.
"Do you really want to do this?" Philara asked, her voice cold. She held a deep anger within.
"P‑p‑p‑please stop. This is so messed up. At least let us discuss this rationally." Althea, the sin of Envy, trembled and fought back tears.
"Tch. Fine." Atimia sat back down.
"Okay, since everyone seems to have a liiiiitttle something to hate on Solaz... for—uh... yeah—let's talk. First of all..." Atimia began.
Zeleia, the sin of Lust, spoke next. Her voice was calm and soft, but her words were swallowed by the others' personalities. "First of all, dear Atimia, why didn't you try to stop Solaz Lysane from hunting Chara's new 'pal'?"
"HAH. As if he'd stop if I said something. He's literally from the year 1500. Do you seriously think a stubborn old head like him would listen to me?" Atimia answered confidently.
"Oh really? So you did not ORDER him to not bat an eye away from... what was his name again?" Zeleia asked, forgetting, until Chara whispered it: "Rainz."
"Oh yeah—Rainz. So you didn't tell Solaz to hunt Rainz no MATTER WHAT?" Zeleia pressed.
Pride did not lower her head. She even smiled. "And what if I did? Do you remember what that little brat did when she brought her first pa—"
"Do you wish to die?" Chara cut Atimia off. Her interruption seemed to make Atimia mad; Chara's face hardened. In a fraction of a second, a sharp mana sword hovered near Atimia's neck. The others were shocked—everyone knew not to speak ill of the first Hopeseeker Chara had brought, but they had not expected her to attack. They grabbed the sword to pull it away from Atimia's throat; Atimia did not flinch.
"CHARA! PUT IT DOWN NOW!" Zeleia shouted, though Atimia remained still.
"Sleep." A calm, reasoned voice spoke, exhausted; his eyes were bloodshot red. It was Sophron, the sin of Sloth.
Chara fell asleep. Her sword vanished. Sophron's eyes began to bleed, but he did not care.
"She's asleep now. Gladfully," Sophron mumbled and yawned.
"Why are you glad? As if that brat would've actually stabbed me." Atimia sounded unafraid.
"Can we discuss the main point here?" Dymios, the sin of Wrath, took a deep breath and launched into a rapid, breathless tirade.
"We lost a lot because of Atimia's little joyride with her weird lover—or whatever their sick relationship is—because she was worried for our future. HOWEVER..." Dymios rattled, "Atimia ordered Solaz to not stop hunting Rainz, which meant both me and Zeleia and Althea and Philara sent one of our strongest Hopeseekers to fight Rainz. But—" He struggled to breathe. "Miss Huntress thought it was a good idea to tell Solaz that only he gets the kill. So he fought our Hopeseekers and killed them—"
He could not breathe for a moment; he was talking too fast.
Takes a deep breath.
"So now, Atimia, what are you going to do with your damned strongest Hopeseeker—who's also the second strongest Hopeseeker to ever exist—dead because of your foolishness? How is your kingdom going to survive the loss of their beloved king?"
It took Atimia a second to fully process what he had said.
"Oh, dear. I'll tell you. Currently his younger brother will take the throne. Obviously, I disagree with that. However, I have better plans for... later," Atimia said, unbothered.
Dymios stared at her for a second and then said, "Yeah—you are so fucked." He sounded stunned and furious.
Atimia chuckled. "Whatever you say, darling. Go, keep roleplaying with your three little ninjas—oh wait, sorry, they are two now. Wonder where the third one went. Ehehe." She giggled, which made Dymios furious.
"Do-y—" he began.
"Sleep." Sophron said again, and Dymios fell asleep. Sophron's bleeding eyes intensified.
"I'm gonna be fine."
"YEAH, WE KNOW," the others said in unison—except Chara and Dymios, who were still asleep. Vanity, Euno, remained seated and calm.
"Atimia, I have a question," Euno finally spoke.
"Hm? What is it, dear?" she asked, genuinely puzzled by his calm seriousness.
"Now that Solaz is dead, what about your seal? Do you seriously think Solaz's brothers are strong enough to protect it? And that nasty, regular human king who had the most issues with Solaz—do you think he won't try to attack now that this is the perfect chance to kill your physical body?"
Atimia was suddenly at a loss for words. Since when could Euno think this far ahead?
"My, my. You seem to have thought about this, didn't you? Well, here's the thing: for now I don't really care about the war. I'll leave that up to Zeleia to help me out." Atimia shrugged.
Zeleia's attention snapped to Atimia. "Yeah! ...WAIT, WHAT?"
Atimia looked away with a smile. "You have the most stable country. They can't afford to lose you by defending me. Besides, you really have the weakest army of any nation and I have the strongest—it's a win–win for both of us."
"WHAAAT? ARMY? WAR? I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THAT! I CAN'T JUST DUMP THAT ONTO MY HOPESEEKER!" Zeleia protested, unprepared for the idea of fighting.
Chara woke up from her sleep. Atimia chuckled and said, "Oops, discussion is over. Bye." She teleported away as a ghost to her nation and her other Hopeseekers.
"COME BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE BIT—" Chara shouted, annoyed.
"I will NOT forget this. All of you stand seated as witnesses!" Chara warned.
"How can we stand—SEATED?" Dymios finally asked, baffled.
"Well, stand on the chair or rock thingy! Kinda like what I'm doing! Hehehe," Atimia replied.
"Sigh Why did I bother asking?" Dymios muttered.
"Eheheehehehehe. Okay! Fun is over. Bye!" she sang.
One by one, the wicked siblings teleported back to their Hopeseekers' partners. Chara returned to Rainz.
---
Rainz was traveling with Violet. He was carrying all the bags and catching his breath from exhaustion.
"WHY do I have to do all the heavy lifting again?" he grumbled.
"Simple. You're a man," Violet replied.
"THAT'S NOT AN ANSWER! And besides, you are far stronger than me, so why act weak and fragile?" Rainz protested.
"Simple—I am." Violet took a deep breath, gave her back to Rainz, and looked at him with a cute smile and sparkling eyes.
"A delicate, dependent girl~" she teased in a girly voice. Rainz almost fell for the trap but remembered how sadistically gruesome she had been when they tested cutting his hand. His face turned to disgust.
"Eeeek. After what you did, I'll never forget that you are a little devil," he muttered.
Violet stopped walking and looked at him, confused. "Huh? Why did we stop?... Vioooleeet?"
She finally opened her mouth and said, "Did you just realize I am not human, you absolute buffoon?" She pointed to the corners of her forehead—small holes, but no horns protruded.
"Ah... yes... the horns. You are aaaaa?" Rainz stammered.
"A demon girl. Yes—half demon, half human," Violet said.
Rainz's jaw dropped in shock.
"And to answer your next stupid question: no, demons are not violent... most of them, at least," Violet added, the last word barely a whisper.
Chara's meeting had ended, and now she appeared again as a voice in Rainz's head.
"HIIIIIIIIII!" she shouted inside his mind. Rainz closed his eyes.
"UGH, what the hell?" he muttered.
Violet looked at him, confused. "What's gotten into you?"
"Nothing. Agh—just an annoying voice in my head decided it's funny to shout in my ear."
I wish I could touch you to strangle you, Rainz thought.
"You did not just say that! After alllll the memories we had together—" Chara said in a dramatic voice.
"Wait—YOU CAN READ MY THOUGHTS?!?" Rainz panicked.
"Of course I can! Didn't I give you this body? I gave you my blessings and I personally became your partner! You should be grateful! Nehehehe!" Chara crowed.
Violet watched Rainz put the luggage down and shadow‑box the air. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.
Why do I have to deal with him, seriously? she thought at first, then quickly added, Wait... if I abandon him that means my chances of getting my dear Rainz back are 0.
Her face flushed. Fear and joy at the mention of Rainz's existence flooded through her.
"It's not a damn blessi—"
"Hah. You realized you were wrong and st— Huh?" Chara interrupted.
Both Rainz and Chara stopped when Violet trembled and then steadied, her face turning serious.
"Correct," Violet said without explanation and began walking again.
"Uh... Violet, I have an important question," Rainz said, sounding a bit worried as if a sudden thought had struck him.
"Hm? What's the matter?" she replied.
"Do you have a plan once we reach there?" he asked.
Violet's smile widened like a child's. She stopped walking, crossed her arms under her chest, and tried to sound confident.
"Well, I'm glad you asked. We'll work as adventurers temporarily because..." Her tone fell. "We have no money, Rainz. We're broke wanderers."
"This sounds like having a part‑time job, Violet..." Rainz said, disappointed.
"Whatever a part‑time job is, it doesn't sound pleasant," Violet admitted. She didn't understand some of Rainz's words.
Chara's voice returned. "Oh wow, you can remember what a part‑time job is, Rainz, but you can't remember anything else?"
Rainz looked to his right so Violet wouldn't mistake him talking to her alone.
"Well, whose fault is it that I can't remember anything except weird thoughts in my head?" he asked.
Chara sounded sheepish. "H‑hey now! It's not my fault, okay!? ...sorta. It's hard to carry a person's soul and memories along!"
"Bullshit. You were just being clumsy, and I still want my memories back!" Rainz snapped.
"I—well—I mean—I can, but I also—" Chara began.
"No buts. I want my damn memories back!" Rainz cut her off.
"LET ME EXPLAIN, DAMN IT," Chara said, taking a deep breath.
"When I bring something from your world, it takes half of my mana. Currently I'm recovering from bringing you."
Rainz frowned. "Oh, really? Then what about the other half?"
"If I use all of my magic power, my physical seal would weaken and I would die." Chara's voice carried the weight of that possibility.
Rainz's face shifted from annoyance to confusion. He looked at Violet. "Hey Violet, I have a question. My little annoying demon said she can't use all her power or her 'seal' would weaken. Is this true?"
Violet gave him a side eye and smiled. "Tell her to use it so she can die."
"You heard her, Chara. Hurry up and use your power and give me my memories back."
Chara bristled at his cruelty. "You big meanie! You can survive for some days... or weeks... or months... ANYWAYS, you can survive without your full memories just fine until I recover."
Rainz made a deep frown of disappointment and looked at Violet. "Sigh What's wrong, Rainz?"
"She gave the most ridiculous time gap ever! I'll probably stay without my full memories for weeks or months!"
Violet looked at Rainz. "Can you for once be useful? Ugh. Anyway, even IF you had your memories it's not going to help in anything. Hopeseekers don't come to this world with useful skills; they rely on what's here."
A small shine of hope lit Rainz's face. "Does this mean... I COULD HAVE SOME SICK MAGICAL ABILITIES? Or maybe master a sword! Or be a rad mage or a—"
"Or just a human who's useless. I swear you literally got the perfect person to have his body as a vessel only for you to be unable to learn anything," Violet said sarcastically.
Rainz stopped rambling and quickly looked at Violet. "WAIT, WAIT, WAIT. What does that mean? Does this mean I have everything Rainz Holloway had?"
"No, you doofus. You can't use the spells Rainz had mastered nor his martial arts techniques, but you probably have some muscle memory in this body,how to hold a sword and not cut your fingers," Violet said, sarcastic but practical.
Rainz brightened. "This is great! Violet, you think you can train me to get stronger?"
Violet didn't look thrilled but kept her tone casual rather than her usual sarcasm. "I guess that would be usual for both of us, considering being adventurers isn't the most... nice idea."
*We are so fucked* Violet thought to herself.
"Really? Why's that?" Rainz asked, genuinely confused.
"Well... being adventurers means our lives are not worth much anymore. If we die in battle, that's the end. If we get killed in battle, then—" Violet began.
Rainz cut her off. "What do you mean by 'we'? Speak for yourself—I am unkillable, baby." He struck a smug pose.
His smugness only angered Violet more. "You shouldn't make a demon girl angry, ha‑ha, 'cause if I die I'll drag you with me."
Before she finished, a man with glamorous white hair and a fashionable suit approached. His green, emerald eyes sparkled as he gazed at Violet. He had diamond rings on his fingers and two gold chains at his neck. He dropped to one knee before Violet, tears in his eyes.
"Oh my—oh my—oh my!!!!" he exclaimed, overwhelmed with joy. "Such beauty bestowed upon me! This world is so... PEAK."
Violet and Rainz looked at him in confusion. Violet couldn't sense him approaching, and Rainz stared.
"Are those real diamonds and gold?" Rainz blurted.
"Hell yeah, bro. These are the good stuff for my good girl, for real," the man said.
Violet looked confused and distressed. "Wh‑what are you even saying? Who the hell are you...?"
Before she could react, he struck a flawless gentleman's bow—hand to stomach, other behind his back—like a butler.
"Sorry, twin. I forgot to introduce myself." He stood and grinned. "Hopeseeker of Greed, Luraz Everain. Pleasure to meet you."
At the word 'Hopeseeker,' Violet's hand flew to her knife pocket, but Rainz restrained her.
"Get a hold of yourself. He's introducing himself," Rainz said.
"Tch. Why should I? He's a Hopeseeker and a weirdo. Killing him would be for the better," Violet muttered. Her tendency to rely on violence toward Hopeseekers seemed out of hand. Luraz paid her no mind.
"My old name was William Blacksmile, but please call me by my new body name: Luraz," he said.
"Well, anyways, babe, I gotta admit—you look hella good. Why don't you come with me? I'll let you live a rich life and—" he offered.
Violet cut him off. "What are you talking about? Come to where? You realize we are in an open field, right? The Land of Sloth is still a three‑hour walk away."
Rainz started giggling. "Are you just lost? You could've just said that."
Luraz smiled and pulled something shiny from his pocket. Rainz was curious.
"That's not what my soul, my love, my beloved said, so I'm not lost," Luraz's tone dropped cold.
Violet and Rainz lunged back, waiting to see what Luraz would pull out. He drew a coin.
"If I am lost, heads. If I should go with you two to help you, tails." He flipped the coin into the air. Violet immediately guessed it was his blessing. She threw a knife at the coin, but the coin did not slow. The knife's handle snapped back and struck Violet's head; she fell to the ground, blacking out.
"VIOLET!" Rainz screamed and rushed to her side. He did not know what to do.
What do I do? What can I do? How do I cast healing magic? Is there even healing magic? he thought frantically.
The coin returned to Luraz's hand.
"It's tails," Luraz said. "I guess I should be with you two and help y'all."
Rainz glared. "WHAT ARE YOU ON ABOUT? WHAT WAS ALL THAT?"
Luraz tilted his head and smiled. "That's my blessing. It's called 'World's Judgment.' It simply chooses the best decision or route for me to take. What's yours?"
Rainz stared at him and snapped, "BULLSHIT! AND I WON'T LET YOU JOIN US!"
Luraz laughed. "C'mon, broski, answer my question at least. Also, it's her fault she threw the knife at the coin, and I won't hurt you two. I want to join."
Rainz's tears turned to boiling anger. "WHY ARE YOU SO INSISTENT ON JOINING US?"
"I already told you, bro—the coin told my ass to. You should be lucky I didn't kill you, Hopeseeker." Luraz grinned.
Rainz's eyes widened. "How did you know that? I didn't tell you that I'm a Hopeseeker."
Luraz laughed harder. "Oh my god, deadass? BRO! You are famous. First of all, I don't need to see you. As a Hopeseeker myself, I can sense you are a Hopeseeker too."
Rainz calmed slightly. "Then why did you say I should be lucky?"
Luraz put his hand on his chin, thinking. "I'm not sure, but it seems everyone hates YOU specifically. I've only been in this isekai world for a month, so I don't know the lore, y'know."
"Is that so? I'm... confused now," Rainz muttered.
Suddenly, a whispering, cold voice slipped into Rainz's mind.
"Hey, partner—don't think too much. Just do not tell him you are Melancholy."
Chara's voice sounded off, not her usual childish tone. Rainz did not dare question her.
He looked back at Luraz. "Hey, uh... Luraz... you don't seem like a bad person, I guess, but I don't care what the coin says. I can't let you be with me and Violet. Even if I agree, she most likely won't."
Luraz looked hurt by Rainz's refusal. "This can't be real. You know how obsessed I was with purple‑haired girls in my past life? I always wanted a waifu, but they aren't real, so... ugh, please bro, hook me up with her. I'll do anything!"
Rainz scratched the back of his head. "Sorry to break this to you, but I seriously can't understand a word you're saying."
As Rainz and Luraz conversed, a pack of huge supernatural bears appeared. Crystals crowned their heads and flickered along their tails.
"Oh, dang it. Luraz! Let's ru—"
Luraz had already carried Violet and run away. "SORRY BRO, BUT IF SHE SEES ME WHEN SHE WAKES UP SHE'LL CALL ME HER HERO! AHAHAHAHA!" He sprinted off.
Tch. The bastard. At least Violet is safe, Rainz thought.
He grabbed the luggage and ran as fast as he could, but the field was open—the bears were faster and caught up to him.
"NYOM CRYST: SHINING LIGHT!" Violet shouted. A huge wave of light flashed; the bears growled and fled.
"RAINZ! Are my luggages okay?" Violet woke and used the light magic on the bears. Luraz groaned on the ground with burning eyes; he had not closed them when she cast the spell.
"Violet, you're fine? Thank goodness. Yeah, the luggages are fine."
"MY EYEEEEEEES!" Luraz screamed in pain as his eyes burned.
"That's what you get, pervert. I didn't allow you to carry me nor give you permission," Violet snapped.
"IS THAT HOW YOU REPAY THE MAN WHO SAVED YOU WHEN YOU WERE BLACKED OUT? AUGH! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LOOK AT YOUR BEAUTY NOW?!" Luraz shouted in pain.
"You definitely deserve that, perv," Rainz agreed.
Luraz wiped his eyes and could finally see again. He looked apologetic.
"Violet looked down, her fists clenched.
"I think I need to apologize, Rainz," she said quietly. "I should have warned you about the Devil King's infection."
The last word got Luraz and rainz attention.
"Infection?" Rainz asked.
"Devil king?" Luraz asked.