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View Cover ~
Before I explain the situation.
I should clarify that I'm a man with extremely normal tastes.
It was purely by chance that I ended up reading the romance fantasy novel, "Heaven's Ceres".
I happened to see a banner ad.
When I checked the serialization site, it had over a million views, high recommendations, and many favorites.
I couldn't help but wonder just how fun it could be.
The synopsis went something like this:
Ceres, the only daughter of a Count, sickly but kind and pretty, is the female protagonist.
She accidentally discovers she possesses the power of a saintess.
This leads her to meet various male leads.
… Just reading this, everyone would probably think it's a typical reverse harem story.
If it weren't for the 'obsession' and 'angst' tags attached.
But back then, I didn't really know what 'obsession' and 'angst' meant.
I just thought it meant the guys were a bit overly obsessed with the girl. I started reading the novel without much thought.
Afterward, my expression hardened progressively, and I found myself cursing out loud without realizing it.
"These male bastards are all crazy?!"
One guy strangles Ceres asking why she was with another guy, then another guy imprisons her, telling her to only look at him.
There's even a guy who threatens to kill her parents if she doesn't marry him.
A plot that inevitably makes you swear!
Looking at the comments, many people were cursing besides me.
Despite that, the novel was popular because, like a soap opera, it was the kind of story you kept reading even while complaining.
I got hooked too and diligently read every chapter after starting it.
I kept wondering when the situation would improve. But instead of getting better, it just kept plummeting.
She gets framed as a fake saintess and thrown into an underground prison.
She's constantly tormented by one crazy male lead and loses her saintess powers.
One guy cuts her Achilles tendon so she can't run away, crippling her leg.
She's diagnosed with a terminal illness, seems to barely recover, and then kills herself because she no longer has the will to live.
The protagonist suffers endlessly only to end up committing suicide!
[Is the author insane?]
[I wanted angst, but not this much!]
[This is too harsh]
[The suffering female protagonist died, but why are all the male leads still alive and well?]
Even the readers who enjoyed angst couldn't take it, and the comment section exploded.
I was the same.
Watching her suffer through hundreds of chapters, I'd grown quite attached to Ceres.
I often commented, begging the author to let Ceres find happiness.
And this is how you end it?
[Did "Heaven's Ceres" mean Ceres goes to heaven?! I've never seen a novel like this in my life. I asked you so many times to let the kid live well, and this is what I get? You must be the first author to drag out the protagonist's suffering for hundreds of chapters!]
Furious, I sent the author a long, profanity-laced message, but still simmering, I downed a bottle of alcohol.
… That was the situation before I got drunk and fell asleep.
"Where am I?"
But when I woke up, it was a completely different world.
I half-sat up in bed and looked around.
The bed was huge and plush, in a room filled with expensive-looking items.
This wasn't my room from before I fell asleep!
My body felt strange too. I'd definitely had a drink before bed, but not that much.
I felt lethargic and weak, like waking up after binge drinking.
Could someone have drugged and kidnapped me while I slept?
"Why would anyone kidnap someone like me...."
As I muttered that it was ridiculous, I suddenly noticed something strange.
The voice that came out wasn't mine. It was a very fine, pleasant, beautiful voice.
"A m-mirror!"
Feeling a sense of foreboding, I looked for one.
Spotting a mirror over there, I tried to get out of bed to go to it, but felt a sharp pain the moment I moved.
Wh-what? Why is even walking so difficult? Just walking makes me short of breath and my legs ache!
"Ugh...."
I gritted my teeth and walked, exercising patience.
Struggling over to the mirror, I confirmed what I expected: a completely different appearance.
Long silver hair. Flawless white skin.
Rich eyelashes and brilliant blue eyes.
A face like a beautifully crafted doll.
Incredibly beautiful, yet familiar.
"Ceres?"
There was no mistaking it.
The reason I first got interested in the novel was because I was drawn to this appearance.
It looked exactly like a 3D rendering of Ceres's face from the novel cover.
"What the...."
Stunned, I stumbled backward and unfortunately lost my balance, falling to the floor.
My body won't move!
I tried desperately to stand up, but this body, which struggled even to walk, wouldn't obey.
"What's that noise?"
"Could it be!"
As I groaned and writhed on the floor, my sounds attracted people.
People dressed as servants opened the door, saw me, and freaked out.
"Young Master Ceres!"
"Are you alright?"
They helped me up and put me back in bed, leaving me bewildered.
Who are these people? Why are they calling me Young Master Ceres?
Did I become Ceres?
But then, what's with 'Young Master'?!
Touching my chest, I confirmed I was male, not female.
Becoming the novel's protagonist was shocking enough, but my gender was different from what I knew.
"Young Master Ceres, why did you move on your own?"
As I darted my eyes around, unable to grasp the situation, one servant scolded me with concern.
"We asked you to call for us when you need to move."
"Your condition has worsened lately, and now you're doing things you usually don't."
The servants asked in a questioning tone.
The original Ceres was very weak.
Although she recovers later, in the early part of the novel, her body couldn't even walk properly.
She always had servants with her, so falling after walking alone would naturally seem strange.
"I, I just quickly wanted to check my face."
I still didn't understand the situation, but since attracting suspicion wouldn't help, I tried to brush it off.
"I thought something was on my face."
"There's nothing there? You are as beautiful as always."
"Really? Must have been my imagination."
My voice trailed off.
I couldn't think of a proper excuse, but surprisingly, the servants seemed to accept it.
"Well, she is visiting today."
"Ah, you must have been checking if anything was amiss before seeing the Hero Alios."
Alios Gravius.
Heir to the Gravius Dukedom.
Also, a Sword Master and the greatest knight in this Empire.
She's also called the Hero for defeating the human-eating demons.
And…
'A gentlemanly bastard!'
In the beginning, he really was gentlemanly.
He treated Ceres well at first, but later he also engaged in trashy behavior and betrayed her.
In "Heaven's Ceres", the first chapter ends with Alios appearing after some initial talk about Ceres.
Does the fact that that bastard is coming now mean this is the beginning of the novel?
"Young Master, is there anything you need?"
"...It's fine, you can go."
I dismissed the servants who were interrupting my thoughts.
"I'm screwed."
After carefully assessing the situation, I cursed the heavens.
I'm a man, but I've become Ceres.
Meaning I might also have to go through all the crap the original Ceres experienced!
How do I overcome this?!
In novels, when someone gets transmigrated, they usually get some cheat ability as a package deal. Don't I have one?
Far from having a cheat ability, this body is worse than my original one.
As a true man, I used to practice martial arts at a dojo as a hobby.
I was reasonably confident in my skills, but in this body, I can't even resist!
Could it be that the power Ceres possessed is still with me?
I focused my mind to check, but nothing happened.
"...Can't use the divine power yet."
Divine power.
Literally the power of God, superior to the holy power used by priests.
Being born with this was the reason the original Ceres was called a Saintess.
It was also the cause of her ruined life.
A cheat ability that could completely heal any injury or illness others suffered.
But a useless ability that couldn't even make Ceres's own body healthy!
It's revealed later that this divine power was the very reason Ceres was sickly.
The divine power, being the power of God, is too immense.
Ceres's human body couldn't withstand it, making healing herself with it impossible.
It could mend wounds, at least, but when Ceres became crippled, the power disappeared, rendering it unusable.
It seems like a crappy ability, but the story's lore explains it's difficult to handle.
She couldn't use it from the start either; she awakened it through a certain event.
Is that why I can't use it now?
Or can I not use it at all because I'm male?
I didn't know the reason, but it was fine even if I didn't have it.
"...Maybe it's better not to be able to use something like this."
Besides, in the original work, she barely used this power anyway.
The original story was mainly about Ceres suffering all sorts of humiliation, not being praised for healing people with her ability.
So, it wasn't immediately important.
What was truly important was that bastard Alios.
The first of the four male leads Ceres meets, and the first one readers encounter.
He comes seeking a meeting with Ceres, renowned as the Empire's greatest beauty, develops feelings for her, and visits her continuously.
He eventually falls in love and treats her well initially, but goes crazy as other men appear.
Then he says things like…
'I'll make you bear my child, even by force. Let's see if you can still flirt with other men with a swollen belly.'
But I'm Ceres now, and unlike the original, I'm a man, so?
"...Ugh!"
I practically rolled off the bed.
Barely moving my trembling legs, I headed out the door.
I need to escape, now!!