Chapter 1: Dim-witted Dimitri (1)

Hans, the family servant of House Dimitri, seemed greatly troubled by Lord Roman’s sudden abnormal behavior.

“So…you’re telling me I’m the eldest son of the Dimitri family, correct?” asked the young lord.

“And this is the Kairo Kingdom of the Salamander Continent, where the Murim world no longer exists…”

Lord Roman didn’t sound like himself.

Although he wasn’t considered one of the brightest, he wasn’t usually this slow. Today, he looked as if he was drunk. It wasn’t surprising, though. Recently, rumors that the kingdom was greatly troubled by the deterioration of morality among young noblemen were swirling. Hans felt it reasonable to assume that Lord Roman was acting out, just like the noblemen.

Dim-witted Dimitri, the lazy lout lord.

Unlike his brothers who were living successful lives in the capital, Lord Roman, at the age of twenty-five, was still wasting away his life on the outskirts of the kingdom, just like the lazy lord he was.

Hans approached Lord Roman with a soft voice.

“My Lord, we are expecting a visitor today. Lady Flora of the House of Lawrence, your future fiancée, will arrive soon. As the Lawrence family is well known for their dignity and courtesy, you must get ready immediately. Leaving a good first impression is of the utmost importance…”

“There is something much more important for us to do today.” Roman interrupted Hans in a stern voice, which was out of character for him. “Take me to the land’s elder. It is far more important for me to learn about this world than to introduce myself to this unknown lady.”

Hans couldn’t believe his ears. Never had he expected Lord Roman, who had basically lived in isolation for the past twenty-five years, to emphasize the importance of learning more about this world.

“Yes, My Lord.”

Hans had no choice but to obey his request and fulfill his duties as a servant.

***

Hans took Roman to a small village outside of Dimitri castle.

Because the castle doors were open to accommodate the people only in times of war, the people of this land mainly lived in small villages encircling the castle. At first glance, these villages seemed quite habitable. But the closer Roman looked, he realized most houses appeared more like shacks in the middle of a slum.

Splash.

Hans frowned with disgust after stepping into a puddle of mud.

He looked toward Roman and grew worried as the smell of the stench coming from every corner of the village struck his nose.

“My Lord, must you meet this elder? You can always ask the Dimitri House sage or even go to the library if it’s the land’s history you must learn about. I suggest we return, My Lord,” Hans said.

“I’m fine,” Roman replied. He seemed perfectly fine with the surroundings even though his pants were already soaked from the muddy water and his clothes smelled like filthy waste.

Hans was perplexed. Roman didn’t show even a hint of disgust adventuring through the village, which left him even more confused.

Although the House of Dimitri wasn’t the most prestigious family in the kingdom, Roman was known for his uncouth yet ignorant behavior toward others. This was more than enough for him to earn the unfortunate reputation of “Dim-witted Dimitri.”

However, his actions today were far from the normal ignoramus everyone knew. The person whom Hans served would never leave the castle unless it was for pleasure-seeking, even when ordered by his father. He was the type of person who would rather choose death. It was fair to say that Roman seemed like a completely different person today.

Could he have hurt his head?

While the questions continuously crossed his mind, he stopped in front of one of the shacks and carefully turned his eyes to Roman.

“We’re here, My Lord. He was one of the elders who served the House of Dimitri as a blacksmith even before the land was first granted to your family. He is more than ninety years old, basically a living corpse. So…My Lord, you must go inside to meet him.” Hans spoke in a worried voice.

He looked around where they were standing. He grew more hesitant after smelling the stench reeking from the shack and seeing the spider webs decorating its entrance. He knew this wasn’t a place where a nobleman belonged. That was the reason why Hans consistently asked Roman for his opinion on the way there. However, Roman didn’t seem shaken by anything, and he began walking toward the door without any hesitation.

“Wait outside,” he said.

“Huh?”

Even before Hans could stop him, Roman cleared the spider webs and entered inside.

“Are you the elder I’m looking for?”

“M-my young lord, what brings you to such a shabby place?”

The elder rose from his bed upon seeing the unexpected visitor, but his legs held him back from standing.

“Please remain seated,” Roman replied and sat down in front of him.

The startled elder didn’t know what to do as he watched Roman sit on the dirty ground.

“I want to know everything about this land belonging to the House of Dimitri—its history and its geographical features. I understand it will be a long story, so I brought a drink for us to enjoy while you speak. Please take your time and tell me every single piece of information you have.”

Roman showed a bottle of alcohol hidden on his waist, and he put the bottle in front of the elder and smiled to help the bewildered elder relax.

“Please do not refuse my request,” Roman added.

From the very beginning, Roman knew that the key to his survival in the new world was no other than humbleness.

At first, the elder seemed still seemed hesitant to talk.

However, the drink provided by Roman served as the perfect thing to help the elderly man to relax. And Roman’s sincere attitude provided the final touch to make him finally talk.

“The landlord began his career as a skilled blacksmith. He began his own business and made a profit by selling iron pieces that he could make. Then he earned himself a perfect opportunity to expand his business when the Kairo Kingdom offered him a contract to sell weapons,” he began. “With the war waging, he knew it was a golden opportunity to make a big fortune and gain a higher social status. Right after the war ended, he was recognized for his distinguished merits and was named baron of the kingdom.”

Of course, the story shared by the elder was something the eldest of the House of Dimitri should already be aware of; however, this didn’t stop the elder from sharing every bit of information he had about the family and the land.

Roman’s strategy worked perfectly as planned. Before leaving the castle, he’d asked Hans to prepare what the elder liked the most. Learning that the old man was a sucker for alcohol, he brought the drink to get all the necessary information he needed.

His conversation with the elder served as an opportunity for him to learn more about the character of Roman Dimitri.

Roman. Roman Dimitri.

Actually, the identity of the man inside his body of Roman Dimitri was Junghyeok Baek. He was the leader of the Divine Force who unified the Murim world.

After fulfilling his duty as the divine leader, he calmly accepted his destiny and died.

In his world of origin, it was considered a great blessing to die after fulfilling one’s duty in life; however, the moment he died, he woke up in the current world inside the body of Roman Dimitri.

It was a harsh reality to accept.

To be exact, seconds after Junghyeok died, his soul drifted into a different realm to which all divine beings were led. This realm was a portal that would guide his soul to heaven. Unlike those other divine beings, he refused to join the heavenly souls. All he wanted was to die just like every other human being.

And now, ending up in the body of Roman, he had no choice but to accept this reality. Whether it happened by coincidence or is God’s punishment for refusing the heavenly realms, it was no longer important to him.

What mattered now was that he would start fresh in a new life in a new environment. Simply looking around the new world made his body overflow with energy. It was completely different from the repetitive, boring life he had to live as the leader of the Divine Force.

Every human being has their own purpose in life. I learned that life becomes meaningless when the duty is fulfilled. In the end, this is what I wanted. To start a new life with a new purpose as Roman Dimitri of the Kairo Kingdom. I’m prepared to take the challenge in this unknown world, Junghyeok thought to himself as he felt his blood rushing through his veins.

Thinking about the new challenges he would face reminded him of the old days when he lived every single day fighting battles and risking his life in Murim to unite the world and bring peace.

Junghyeok was a clear example of a person who couldn’t bear to live an average life.

“My Lord, that is all I have to tell you,” the elder said, concluding his long narrative.

Quite some time had passed since they had begun the conversation. They had shared enough words and drinks for them to feel a bit more intimate.

“I deeply appreciate it. I will remember and repay you one day,” Roman replied in gratitude.

“My Lord, the honor was mine. It was a great blessing for someone like me waiting for his death to have the opportunity to share drinks with you.”

Junghyeok Baek—no, Roman—smiled back at him.

The moment he stood up from his seat, he heard a loud noise outside.

Bam!

Boom!

“You little bastard!” someone yelled.

It sounded like something was happening outside the elder’s shack. As expected from all the crashing sounds, a group of men was bullying a little boy just outside.

“You little punk.”

“Just die right here, right now!”

The men continued beating the boy while yelling at him, but he didn’t even flinch.

They started hitting the boy indiscriminately with the intent of killing him, perhaps incited by the boy’s attitude. As they punched him here and there, his body was on the ground rolling over the mud. People could see parts of his body stained with blood and bruises, exposed between torn areas on his clothes. His face was already messed up with a black eye, and blood was dripping from his nose.

People started to gather around the scene. However, as soon as they saw the fang tattoos on the men’s bodies, they turned their eyes away from it.

“What is going on?” asked Roman.

“My Lord!” Hans replied as he approached Roman and carefully explained the situation. “I believe they are members of the Blood Fangs, an infamous criminal organization known for lending money with high interest rates to needy people. Observing the scene, I think the boy had taken an immense loan from them. I suggest not to interfere and to leave here immediately.”

Despite Hans’s careful suggestion, Roman turned his eyes and examined the Blood Fang members carefully. Indeed, providing loans at high interest rates wasn’t illegal in this land, and the boy was paying the price for not keeping his promise.

However, this land belonged to the House of Dimitri. Thus, it was the Dimitri family’s responsibility to take care of such matters and judge what was right and wrong.

What would you do, Roman Dimitri?

Junghyeok wasn’t sure how he should live out Roman’s life. But one thing he knew for a fact was that Roman Dimitri no longer existed in this world.

The moment he woke up as Roman, he found a bottle with traces of poison and a short letter written by Roman Dimitri before he had taken his own life.

The letter was enough for Junghyeok Baek to understand the character of Roman. As written in the letter, the Kairo Kingdom was always under the threat of war. This required the kingdom to make conscription mandatory for certain houses, forcing them to send at least one son to serve in the military for two years and participate in the war. And Roman was no exception.

Because his father wasn’t willing to risk sending his brothers with promising futures to participate in the war, dispensable Roman was chosen by his father to represent the house.

And in the letter, Roman described how much he was afraid to join the army after hearing the horrific rumors of war and wrote how he would rather take his own life instead.

It doesn’t matter who Roman Dimitri was. I’m Roman Dimitri from now on.

As he spoke to himself, he promised to live a life based on the values of Junghyeok Baek. He slowly started walking toward the group and the boy.

“Stop right there,” Roman stated with a firm voice.

“M-my Lord, please!”

Hans was frightened by Roman’s sudden actions and tried to stop him. But he was too late.

Roman’s voice was loud and clear. The Blood Fang members stopped beating the young boy immediately after hearing his voice.

“Aren’t you Roman Dimitri?” the men asked, puzzled to see him here.

It seemed like they knew exactly who he was.

The problem was that his reputation as a nobleman wouldn’t be of any help in stopping them.

Suddenly, a man with a ferocious face who looked like the group’s leader stepped forward.

“This isn’t a game for a young lord of the House of Dimitri to interfere. Go mind your own business,” he said with a smirk on his face.

“Does he think his title as nobleman can scare us?”

“Did he demand us to stop? What a fool.”

The men talked out loud among themselves so that Roman could hear them.

“My Lord, I think it is time for us to return to the castle. It would be best if you ignored those vagrants. They don’t care who you are; they are disrespectful to everyone. Even your title won’t save you if you cause trouble right here out of the castle. So please…” Hans whispered to Roman to prevent any further trouble.

“Look, Hans.” Roman looked straight into Hans’s eyes and captured his wavering heart with a low, stern voice. “I’m still a stranger to the laws of this land, so tell me. Who here is to blame for breaking the laws of our land? In this land of Dimitri. And what would be a fair punishment?”

Hans found himself at a loss for words. It felt as if he was being captivated by Roman’s charisma. It was then that he realized it wasn’t “Dim-witted Dimitri,” an ignoramus who only thought about enjoying life, standing before him. It was a robust, charismatic lord asking him a legitimate question.

His guts were telling him to flee. However, even before he noticed, he was speaking the truth.

“Based on my knowledge, the young boy should be punished for not repaying his debt on time. But that doesn’t justify the violence committed by the Blood Fangs, as only House Dimitri holds the judicial power to judge what is right or wrong. Moreover, as the Blood Fangs have committed a severe felony by insulting the eldest son of Dimitri, death can be the only justice for what they have done.”

Hans bowed his head to Roman after finishing his sentence. He could feel his heart pounding and his legs shaking from fear, but he felt proud about what he had said.

The people in the village grew silent as if they were expecting something to happen.

On the other hand, a smirk appeared on the faces of the Blood Fangs, unshaken by Hans’s words.

“Well, then, you all have violated Dimitri’s laws, therefore…” Roman spoke out as he stepped toward the gang. He picked up a small branch from the ground and pointed it straight at the group as if holding a sword.

“In the name of justice, as the eldest son of the House of Dimitri, I shall carry out your punishment.”