Chapter 2: Aagh, My Eyes

Yoon Yi-gon—no, in this world, I am Pizza. I took a moment to get a grip on the situation.

I had a complete set of memories from living as Pizza for 17 years. But I also had all the memories of Yoon Yi-gon…

There was no sense of disconnect. The only things I couldn’t recall as Yoon Yi-gon were like the vague memories of when I was three years old.

All the important events were perfectly clear.

‘I’m… I’m… both? No… Both are me?’

My head felt like it was about to explode. All the experiences from this world, and the knowledge from Earth, collided in my mind like a tidal wave.

Whether it’s a Potara fusion or some kind of personality merge, it’s not something to be taken lightly. That was all I could think as I sat there, dazed, for several hours.

Fortunately, there was no one else in the house where I woke up, so I had time to sort things out.

‘Is this that possession thing from web novels? Or is it regression…? Or fusion?’

Luckily, as a fan of fantasy and martial arts genres, I quickly accepted the situation.

Still, even though my two sets of memories had merged, my main perspective was that of the Republic of Korea. The life I’ve lived in this world feels more like an auxiliary memory.

‘Since I woke up in this world… shouldn’t it be the opposite? Or maybe the one with more knowledge takes precedence?’

Overwhelmingly, I had more memories as Yoon Yi-gon.

‘I was born in the Republic of Korea. Yoon Yi-gon—a businessman dreaming of a unicorn Startup. Handsome, ambitious, a classic cold city guy…’

Maybe I was exaggerating a little.

‘On the Yuras Continent, I’m Pizza. Seventeen years old. Reddish-brown hair, blue eyes. Face is pretty decent…’

By local standards, Pizza’s looks weren’t top tier, but I was still considered handsome.

Who would complain about having a young, good-looking body? That was a definite plus.

Then, all at once, the memory of falling into the Han River floated into my mind.

‘Ah, right! I almost died…’

I couldn’t tell if I actually died or if I was fused into this world at the brink of death, but it was the first time I had ever truly tasted the fear of dying.

I died.

That was an undeniable fact. Or maybe, in this world, I just happened to recall my previous memories.

That humble wish to buy a building near Samsung Station, watch the city night view from the top floor, and sip a glass of wine would never come true now…

In my former life, my last memory was standing on a bridge over the Han River, and now here I was, in a completely different world.

‘A rising star in the Startup World back on Earth… and now, in this world, I’m a vagrant?’

Memories of my life as Pizza flashed before my eyes like a lantern parade.

‘Ha… There’s nothing worth salvaging here, is there?’

Pizza’s life on the Yuras Continent, aside from his face, was completely unsatisfying.

Pizza had never once left the village.

He had lived his whole life in Costa Village, a small town within the Ashford Territory of the Tutun Kingdom.

I lost my parents to war and became an orphan.

The villagers, after suffering losses to the Demon race, gathered the surviving orphaned children from several neighboring villages.

There were about a thousand of us at first, and under the protection of the kingdom and the villagers, we lived in the outskirts of Costa Village, in the Communal Living Area.

‘Is this kind of like a neglected orphanage…?’

Naming it the Communal Living Area seemed to carry the implication that there was no capacity to care for us like a real orphanage would.

We’ll give you the bare minimum to survive—fend for yourselves.

‘Tsk. Orphaned, whether in this world or the last, that’s one thing that hasn’t changed…’

After that, for a long time, the various kingdoms waged war against each other. Now, it’s been about three years since the war ended.

During the wars against the Demon race and between nations, Pizza simply survived within the Communal Living Area.

There were times we faced invasion, but as we were on the furthest side of the conflict, we were mostly spared from disaster.

The Tutun Kingdom continued to provide us with minimal rations so we could survive.

When we first arrived, most of us didn’t even have names.

‘The reason I became Pizza…’

Perhaps as a means to clear away the remnants of war, one of the villagers suggested we give the children names after delicious foods, hoping they would live bountiful and unyielding lives.

‘Hmm… Who was it, I wonder? Must have been one of the villagers…’

So we ended up with names like Pizza, Pasta, Salad, Arancini, and so on.

‘My name is Pizza. Is my surname Pepperoni or Combination?’

After the official declaration of peace with the Demon race, one day the Prince of Tutun visited the Communal Living Area.

Back then, I was only two years old, so I don’t remember it myself, but the Prince, moved by our plight, promised us rations for a minimum of eighteen years.

Fifteen years have passed since then. In the meantime, Tutun Kingdom went to war with its former ally, the Jovia Principality.

‘After the Demon race disappeared, humans started fighting each other.’

Those over ten were sent off to the front, or, if particularly talented, dispatched to other cities.

There were rumors that some were taken off to war, some became handmaids, others rose to the ranks of noble officials—but we just hoped they were living well, somewhere.

‘Now, there are about 200 of us left…’

The ones who remained were those who had lost even the will to work.

Even the villagers who pitied us began to see us as idle wanderers, aimlessly roaming and chatting, and started calling us “the vagrant lot” with a tinge of scorn.

In just three years, even the promised rations would end. After that, it was everyone for themselves.

‘What kind of job can you do in this kind of environment?’

With nothing learned, we couldn’t leave for other cities. Without power, if we went to the battlefield, we’d just be used as cannon fodder.

The villagers themselves were struggling to make ends meet and didn’t go out of their way to find us work.

Not that we never worked.

It was just that, whenever someone needed us, if we felt like it, we’d do some chores and get a small reward.

The children left were all boys, mostly just spending their days idly chatting with one another.

‘A standby day laborer, that’s all we are…’

Thankfully, the Costa villagers weren’t all that well-off, so they hesitated to call us for work and rarely gave us odd jobs.

If someone did call for us, that was a lucky day—because we’d get something tasty to eat.

‘The greatest event was the Nobel visit.’

Whenever a high noble visited, it was a cause for celebration.

For the nobles, the Communal Living Area was a perfect place to show off their charity. Whenever someone visited, we got to eat special food we usually never tasted.

***

‘But why did I faint?’

I must have fainted from the shock. As I probed my memory, the scene from yesterday played in my mind, clear as if I were watching a movie.

I was sitting with Arancini and Pie, as always, chatting away. The topic was life after three years.

“I’m going to go out to war and become a great knight by earning achievements!”

“If you leave, you won’t last even a week out there!”

Arancini, the best fighter among us, dreamed of going to war and making his name, but, honestly, his fighting skills were about the same as mine.

“I want to run a restaurant where people can eat their fill.”

“You’d eat it all yourself before serving anyone!”

Most of us were thin and wiry, eating the same bland food every day, but Pie was chubby.

Pie, who loved food, wanted to be a chef.

“Pizza, what about you?”

“My dream is to live just like this. In three years, I’ll be the top beggar in Costa Village.”

“As expected, Pizza-nim. You’re the one I respect the most.”

My dream, such as it was, was simply to do nothing and keep living as I always had. We’d always tease each other like this, laughing as we went.

I especially enjoyed playing the fool, taking all the jokes and mockery in stride.

‘But I know the truth. I was just a coward. I talked like that because I was too afraid to decide what to do with my life…I was scared of dying in war, and becoming a chef was out of reach for someone who’d never learned how.’

In the distance, Pasta came running towards us. He sprinted as if something urgent had happened.

“Huff… Huff… Hey, it’s a Nobel visit! Everyone, gather up now!”

“Whoa, hey! This is a big deal. Today’s our lucky day.”

“Looks like some noble’s feeling generous. If we’re late, there won’t even be scraps left. Let’s go!”

With Pasta’s words, excitement bubbled up inside us. The Nobel visit always meant the best special meals. We dashed off towards the Communal Living Area.

Even though the villagers’ lives had grown harsher from wars against the Demon race and each other, the Nobel visits continued in our Communal Living Area.

Gathering the war orphans here made it a perfect place for nobles to flaunt their charity, even in wartime. I, too, looked forward to those visits.

“That food we had last time… it melted on my tongue the moment I tasted it…”

“Hey, Pizza. Who do you think is coming today?”

“Who knows… It’d be nice if it was Lady Frana Bella, the Young Lady of the lord.”

The Communal Living Area was in Costa Village, which belonged to the Ashford Territory.

Ashford Territory was relatively small compared to others, but it had forests, farmland, pastures, vineyards, and dozens of villages.

The Young Lady visited regularly, but I’d never seen her face.

“Hey… Is it true that Frana Bella is that beautiful? Has anyone seen her?”

“I haven’t either, but rumor has it her skin is so white, she’s like an angel descended from the heavens.”

“Special food is good, but if I could see her face even once…”

“Hey… just try. If you die after seeing an angel, you’ll probably go to heaven, right…?”

“Come on. Brother always says, it’s better to live long and thin than short and bright.”

We joked as we ran. None of us had ever actually seen the face of the famously beautiful Young Lady.

Because, at those events, we weren’t allowed to look up.

There was one rule in the Communal Living Area: during a Nobel visit, you weren’t allowed to lift your head until a noble spoke to you.

“Now that I think about it, isn’t it weird? Not even being able to look at a noble… it’s not like it’s the king.”

In fact, this rule had been made by our older brothers and sisters.

It was just a bit of service to draw more support from the nobles, by making them feel more generous.

To a noble, seeing all the children bowing before them made their charity feel that much more meaningful. Plus, it was a safe way to show mercy.

When we arrived at the Communal Living Area, we immediately knelt down. Most of the others were already bowing.

Once we’d lined up on either side, the carriage door opened.

I heard someone step out, then the clinking of armor as several attendant knights followed.

Suddenly, the aroma of fresh bread drifted over.

Gurgle!

I swallowed my saliva without realizing. The rich, sweet scent teased my appetite.

I could tell—it was going to melt in my mouth. Today really was my lucky day.

It felt as if a pleasant blue sky and a spring breeze were blowing from somewhere.

Tap tap

I could sense the bread being handed out.

‘Something smells amazing…’

Each child got a piece of bread set before them. When it was my turn, the sweet scent tickled my nose.

I was supposed to keep my head down, but, perhaps caught by the gentle spring breeze, I lifted my head without thinking.

Why did I do that…?

As I looked up, the light reflecting off a knight’s polished armor flashed into my eyes. I jerked upright, startled.

Aagh, my eyes!

In that split second, I saw a startled, beautiful blonde woman—like a scene from a painting.

Thud!

That was the last memory I had before fainting, as Pizza, before merging with Yoon Yi-gon.