Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 69: Northern feast(1)

A girl Alicia lived as an orphan in a world of sword and magic Ciel.

One day, she learned that she was an “otome game’s heroine”. Even her parents’ death was simply a part of the scenario. Alicia judged the heroine’s setting as 「nonsense」and discarded it decisively. She introduced herself as adventurer 『Aria』, gradually mastered multiple weapons and magic, and grew to become the 「Ash Crowned Princess of Slaughter」! But, by accepting a request to guard the “villainess”, before she realized it she got dragged into the stage where nobles quarreled against each other――？

「I am “I”. I’m not a game character!」

Create weapon! Train your body!

Survive the fighting against powerful enemies and smash apart the otome game!

A sublime and exhilarating other world battle fantasy with charming fighting heroine!

Charles Manson was just another broke university dropout grinding night shifts at a city bar—until time froze, and a seductive voice whispered into his mind:> “System initialized: Lust Sync. Welcome, Master. Your desires will shape the world.”Suddenly, women around him begin to act strangely—flushed cheeks, lingering stares, unexplainable obsession. It wasn’t luck. It was the system.Lust Sync doesn’t just make women fall for him—it binds them, body and soul, through supernatural “Sync Levels” that unlock hidden power, twisted love, and lust-fueled abilities. The more intense the relationship, the stronger Charles becomes.From seductive professors to dangerous yanderes, spoiled heiresses to lonely MILFs—every woman he touches begins to change… and some don’t want to let him go.But Lust Sync comes with rules, quests, and consequences. The more women he Syncs with, the closer he gets to uncovering the dark truth behind the system—and why he was chosen.Can Charles handle a world where every woman wants him—and some would kill to keep him?> “Desire is power. Power is dangerous. And now, I have both.”

After crossing over into a world of magic, Dean Bruce was mistaken for a powerful sorcerer. Though he initially intended to sternly refuse the beautiful woman’s request to become her mentor, she offered him far too much to say no!Completely clueless about magic, Dean Bruce had no choice but to make up spells on the spot. However, when he saw the astonishing power unleashed by the beautiful woman after chanting his random incantations, he was stunned.The spells he had carelessly invented… could they really comprehend magic and even forbidden spells?As Dean Bruce ascended to the pinnacle of magical prowess and became the Archmage, he candidly answered a reporter's question during an interview with the Alliance: “ never understood magic. I just made up a few incantations, that's all.”People were in awe of him—this, they believed, was the true humility of a Grand Archmage!

Waking up from a nightmare several hours before dawn, Belle fetched a drink of water.

She paused in front of her kitchen’s window when she noticed a lit lantern in front of her mansion’s garden. Her butler stood there, shovel in hand. This was no hour to be gardening.

Curious, she made her way outside, but when she had gotten close enough to see a large and hollow pit next to her eternally-stoic and polite butler, she saw him pick up a rotten body.

A DEAD BODY!

Her eyes widened fearfully when she saw her handsome butler drop the rotting body into the fresh hole. She asked in horror, ”What are you doing?!“

Surprised to see his young miss awake at this hour, he stared at her with the same expression he had been keeping up for all these years. He had made sure she was asleep before coming here.

“Gardening.”

“And the body?!”she looked at him in disbelief.

“Fertilizer,” he answered her before picking up the shovel that was on the ground. Belle was now certain something had possessed her butler. Who gardened dead bodies?!

She then heard him ask her, “Want to help me in planting it, Miss Adams?” he gave her a sweet smile.

Note: If you enjoy a book of comedy with light-hearted romance and a gothic background. This book is for you~