Chapter 2

[Status Window]

Name: Theo (Kim Min-seong)

Age: 20

Job: Villager

Title: Useless Son

No matter how many times I look at it, it’s still just “Villager” and “Useless Son”.

It doesn’t even give me any stats. This guy was truly the extra of all extras.

You know what I mean, right?

The kind of character in a game who doesn’t even have a face, presence, or dialogue.

One of those villagers who are just grouped together and appear as background filler.

That seemed to be what I am now… So, what exactly was I supposed to do about it?

“Hoo…”

Normally, isn’t it supposed to go like this?

When someone is transmigrated, it’s because they’re an expert, so they’re told to use their knowledge to save the world! That kind of thing!

But how is a Villager A supposed to help the main characters or anyone else?

At the very least, shouldn’t they give me something like a noble title so I can decide whether to help or not… No, wait, that’s not it, right?

Do I even need to help anyone in the first place?

“Everything’s going to flow as it’s meant to, and the world will turn out fine without me.”

This wasn’t a game world anymore.

Once I transmigrated, this place had become one of the worlds that truly existed.

But honestly, could such a world collapse so easily, fall into ruin, or break apart just like that?

“Am I being too careless?”

Still, the truth was, when such a peaceful scene unfolded before me and my status window described me as nothing more than a mere villager, it was hard to feel any real sense of urgency.

All those things about the future, about the world ending or whatever….they just didn’t resonate with me.

If I had been transmigrated into the role of a villain in the game, maybe I would have scrambled to survive and do whatever it took. But this? This wasn’t even that.

“No one cares about me.”

Not the protagonists, and certainly not the villains.

The only person who seemed remotely interested in me right now was my suddenly appeared mother, who was probably just thinking about smacking the runaway farmer son on the back.

“…So why should I bother doing anything?”

It’s not like there were any signs of the world coming to an end.

And weren’t both protagonists incredible people? Surely, they could handle everything just fine on their own.

Because it was a game, everything was so extreme, but honestly, this was a living breathing world right in front of my eyes.

Everyone here was just ordinary people living out their daily lives.

Killing them all and shouting “world destruction!”. Wouldn’t that be the stranger thing?

“Hmm, alright.”

I made up my mind.

I already transmigrated as a villager, so let’s just live as one.

Sure, it might seem like I was being complacent.

But seriously… even if I wanted to do something, could I even do anything from my position?

Absolutely not. What could Villager A possibly accomplish?

What if the world ended? Well, what else? I’d just die along with it.

Until then… I figured I’d spend my time soaking up the affection of this sudden family and try to erase that “Useless Son” title from my status window.

***

For the next month, I worked like a lunatic. I woke up earlier than anyone else to help my parents with their farm work and went around solving the villagers’ requests as if I were taking on quests from NPCs in a game.

[Status Window]

Name: Theo (Kim Min-seong)

Age: 20

Job: Villager

Title: Proud Son, Village’s Best Handyman

I wasn’t too happy about the “proud” part being tagged onto “son” but still, I had earned the title of “Village’s Best Handyman”. Not too shabby.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what use any of this actually had, but at the very least, it gave me a +1 boost to my sense of pride.

“Theo, how about taking a break today?”

Even my mom, who used to charge at me like a bull and yell at the top of her lungs over every little foolish thing I did, had softened up considerably.

She had even started suggesting I take a day off every now and then.

That’s not to say I was suddenly great at my work. Actually, it was far from it.

Before I ended up in this world, I had never even been near farming, so naturally, I was still terrible at it.

But even if I wasn’t good, I could at least show that I was giving it my all.

That was the one thing I was confident I could do better than anyone.

And since what my parents had originally expected from Theo was that kind of sincerity, the times I got scolded for messing up had noticeably decreased.

“Then how about I head into the village and pick up some groceries?”

“Oh, come on, it’s your day off. No need for that.”

“Still, you’re always too busy with work to make time for it, Mom.”

“Oh my, just listen to my son. Every word out of your mouth is adorable these days. I absolutely love this new you.”

Watching my mother look at me with sparkling eyes made me feel a little embarrassed, but at the same time, I found myself thinking, “Ah, so this is what family love feels like.”

How could someone like me, a complete orphan, ever have experienced the love of parents anywhere else?

Forget about the games, transmigration, or the original story.

If this transmigration happened for the sake of my happiness, then I’d say this kind of life was far better than being the protagonist of some story.

“Then if you give me the shopping list, I’ll pick everything up on my way back.”

“Alright, thank you as always. Oh, and here, take this to use when you’re out having fun today.”

“Oh, but I still have some of the allowance you gave me last time…!”

“Even so, I want to give it to you.”

Back when I first possessed this body, if I asked for money saying I wanted to take a break, my mother would scold me and ask what money I thought we had. Now, she was handing out allowances!

Ahh, this is it. This is the life.

This is what you call a successful life. A happy family!

Excited, I tucked the allowance safely into my pocket and headed toward the village. As usual, the place was bustling with noise.

“Hey, Theo! Taking a day off today?”

“Yes, Mother told me to rest.”

“You rascal, so when are you going to get a job, huh?”

“Haha, I’ve been saying I want to learn swordsmanship!”

“Swords or knives, same thing!”

The butcher, who had been pestering me to take over his business ever since I mentioned wanting to handle a sword, greeted me with the usual stuff. He was asking yet again when I planned to settle down with a proper job.

“Theo, the vegetables are fresh today!”

“Oh~, these onions are really fresh!”

“Hmph, the more I look at you, the louder your voice gets, and you’re so charming. I like it!”

As expected, the vegetable shop owner who always insisted my loud voice made me a perfect recruit for his business was at it again.

“Oh my, Theo, you’re looking as handsome as ever today.”

“Haha, you’re the only one who says that, ma’am. But thank you.”

“Any chance you need some flowers today?”

“Ah, not yet, it seems.”

It appeared I was something of a favorite of the florist lady, who never missed a chance to call me handsome every time she saw me.

Looking at this vibrant and bustling village always made me think. I didn’t know why I had ended up possessing someone in this place, nor when this outsider version of me would finally disappear. But until that day came, I couldn’t help but want to live happily here.

Ah, is this me getting sentimental because I’m getting older?

Well, of course, Theo was twenty, but the Kim Min-seong inside was twenty-five.

“They say Her Highness the Crown Princess has finally made an appearance.”

“Really? Isn’t this her first time showing up at an official event?”

Sitting in the village square often meant overhearing news about the main characters of this world. Most of the time, it was gossip about the Saintess.

I had brushed it off before, thinking it wasn’t yet the time for the Crown Princess to start playing an active role… but wait, what?

Hold on, the Crown Princess? Not the Crown Prince?

“Excuse me…!”

With a flustered expression, I pushed my way into the group of people I had been talking with moments ago and asked,

“Hey, isn’t that Theo? What brings you here?”

“That… just now, you mentioned Her Highness the Crown Princess, right?!”

“Yeah, that’s right. Are you interested in Her Highness too? Here, take a look at the newspaper.”

I quickly grabbed the newspaper and scanned the article related to the royal palace.

[After Her Appointment as Crown Princess, Her Highness Makes First Public Appearance]

It was real.

It truly was the Crown Princess, not the Crown Prince.

“Why do you look so pale, Theo?”

“Oh, no… it’s nothing! Thank you, I’ll return the paper now!”

“Alright. You always seemed disinterested in gossip, but look at you, Theo. Turns out you’re a man through and through. Getting all curious about Her Highness the Crown Princess now?”

“Come on now, isn’t her status far too high? Speaking of which, what about my daughter? Someone like you Theo would be a perfect match for her….”

“What nonsense are you spouting! Theo’s already someone I’ve got my eye on!”

Until recently, the uncles who were adamant about never considering me as a match for their daughters were now treating me like some kind of heartthrob. It was hard not to feel a little grateful for the change.

But right now, that wasn’t what mattered to me.

“Ah, I have somewhere I need to be. I’ll head off now!”

“Alright, go on then.”

“Why does Theo look so busy? Could it be he’s got a girlfriend now?”

I slipped away from these uncles and hurriedly dashed back home.

Of course, it wasn’t to help with my mom or dad’s farming work. Instead, I headed in the opposite direction. That is towards the warehouse.

I had been collecting newspapers featuring articles about the Saintess inside the warehouse.

When I pulled them out and checked, as expected, they were still all about the Saintess.

Even though Protagonist 1 had been swapped out from being the Crown Prince to the Crown Princess, no miracle had occurred where Protagonist 2, the Saintess, had somehow become the Saint instead.

“No, no, no way… I must’ve seen it wrong. Yeah, that’s it. That has to be it.”

I stared at the newspapers for hours, over and over again, as if glaring at them hard enough could change the words. I even went back inside to watch the news about the Crown Princess’ official public appearance and tried to convince myself otherwise.

I kept denying it. Over and over again. For hours.

But no matter how much I denied it, nothing about the reality that had already been set in stone changed.

“So, the Crown Princess means Protagonist 1 is a woman. And the Saintess means Protagonist 2 is also a woman.”

It’s… a yuri mode.

…Ah, shit. I’m screwed.