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Hayashi Ren slowly opened his eyes. The soft glow of the setting sun greeted his vision, leaving him disoriented.
He looked up at the tall ceiling of the room, adorned with luxurious ornaments he was sure he had only ever seen in interior design magazines. As he moved his body, he felt the softness of satin sheets wrapping around him.
"Where am I?" Ren murmured in a hoarse voice.
He tried to recall the last thing he did—piles of reports, crushing deadlines, endless overtime. His body was exhausted, his breath short, and then… darkness. His memory stopped there. He was certain he had reached his limit, that his body had given out under the pressure of work.
"I should be… dead," he whispered.
But this reality felt far too real. He touched his face, feeling skin that was smooth, fresher than usual.
When he looked at his hands, something felt strange. They were cleaner, younger—not the hands of an office worker used to constant typing.
Ren tried to rise from the bed, but his body felt light and unfamiliar. He stood up slowly, facing a large mirror in the corner of the room. What he saw made him recoil in shock.
"This… isn't me."
The face staring back at him was handsome and youthful, with flawless skin, neatly slicked-back black hair, and sharp, piercing eyes.
This wasn't the face he knew as his own.
Ren held his head, and his fingers felt something odd—a rough fabric wrapped around part of his head and forehead.
He leaned closer, studying his reflection. A bandage was wrapped around the top of his head, covering a wound or injury he couldn't remember getting.
"What exactly happened to me?" he muttered, his voice barely audible in the silence of the room.
A soft knock broke his daze. Before he could respond, the door opened, revealing a middle-aged man in a formal servant's uniform.
"Yukito-sama, I'm glad to see you're awake. However, you must remain in bed and rest," the man said with a deep, dignified voice. He bowed respectfully. His name was Sebastian.
"Yukito?" Ren was stunned. He looked at the servant, then back at his reflection in the mirror.
"Who…?" he whispered, just loud enough for the servant to hear.
Sebastian looked slightly confused but quickly offered a polite smile. "Of course, sir. You are Kambe Yukito, younger brother of Master Kambe Daisuke. You had an accident—fell down the stairs—and as the doctor mentioned, your memory may be affected. But do not worry, we will make sure you are well taken care of."
Ren sat silently for a moment, trying to digest the servant's words. The name Kambe Yukito sounded unfamiliar, but something in the back of his mind whispered that all of this felt like a scene from a story he had once read or watched.
"Transmigration?" he murmured to himself, barely believing his own thoughts.
Ren looked at the reflection once more, at the handsome face that clearly wasn't his. The situation felt completely illogical, but beneath that, there was a strange sense of familiarity.
He remembered reading manga or watching anime with this exact premise—a normal man dies, only to wake up in someone else's body, in a world completely different from his own.
He closed his eyes, trying to piece together scattered memories. The name "Kambe" sparked something in his mind.
"Kambe Daisuke…" he whispered. "Isn't that the name of the main character in The Millionaire Detective anime?"
He tried to recall the details. The show followed a ridiculously wealthy detective who used his fortune to solve cases in unconventional ways.
If he was right, then he wasn't just in another body—he was now inside a fictional world he had watched before. But as far as he remembered, Daisuke didn't have a younger brother in the anime.
Ren furrowed his brows in thought. After a moment, the answer came to him.
"An alternate universe…" Ren muttered in disbelief.
Sebastian looked at him with concern. "Yukito-sama, are you feeling unwell? Is there anything I can assist you with?"
Ren shook his head slowly, trying to calm both himself and the servant. "No. I'm just a little dizzy. Maybe it's the head injury. I'd like to rest for a while."
Sebastian nodded with understanding. "Of course, Yukito-sama. I will ensure no one disturbs you. If you need anything, just press the bell beside the bed."
He bowed once more before stepping back and gently closing the door behind him. The soft sound of the closing door echoed in the vast room, now silent again.
Ren sat frozen on the bed. The room was calm, but his mind buzzed with endless questions.
"I died… and now I'm alive again in a fictional world. In the body of someone who shouldn't exist."
He lifted his hand and stared at it for a long time. It felt real—too real. The beating of his heart, the rhythm of his breathing, even the faint pain in his head from the injury… this wasn't a dream.
"If I've been given a second chance, then I won't waste it."
His gaze shifted—no longer confused, but filled with resolve. Ren gripped the bedsheet tightly.
"I don't know why I'm here, or what this world expects of me. But… if this is my new life, then I'll live it on my own terms."
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