K_Y_4815

There’s this super-famous game series called First Fantasy—people usually call it FF. It’s a massive franchise, loved by everyone from casual gamers to hardcore fans.

They made an anime version of FF, but it’s often called the biggest flop in the entire series. Why? Because the main characters never catch a break, and the story is full of gloomy, depressing twists. Most people hated it, saying it’s the darkest stain on FF’s record. Some fans even refused to admit it was part of the series! The official title of the anime is First Story, but in a joking way, people started calling it FS to make it sound separate from actual FF.

In this infamous anime, there’s a villain named Arc Noyadarma. His name sounds all grand and evil, but he’s basically just a throwaway bad guy. His final scene is so brutal that viewers don’t feel satisfaction—only trauma. Now, our protagonist has been reborn into this poor guy’s body… even though he knows nothing about FS!

“A count? Isn’t that, like, easy mode for life? I’ll do whatever I want and be a corrupt noble!”

That’s how he decides to take advantage of his new noble status for personal gain. But somehow, he keeps saving the people around him—and ends up wrecking all the depressing storylines of the original FS without even trying.

Reborn as a Villainous Noble

Lampard nods with admiration as he looks over the peaceful Garm territory.

Not long ago, nobody would have imagined such a scene.

In just a few years, the land has developed a lot.

It still has a ways to go, but compared to when the previous lord was in charge, the progress is incredible.

The biggest problem for the people used to be bandits.

Until recently, Garm's soldiers weren't well-trained, so bandits ran wild.

The locals suffered because of that.

Arc's military reforms improved the quality of the troops, but since he also reduced their numbers, bandits still roamed for a while.

Eventually, Arc hunted down the bandits himself, risking his own life. He wiped out most of them, and the survivors fled Garm.

Naturally, the people's opinion of Arc soared.

Thanks to these improvements in the territory, they almost worship him like a hero.

Plus, seeing Arc's success firsthand boosted the soldiers' morale, and their numbers increased.

"This must be what they call a hawk born to a kite," Lampard says.

Ever since Arc became the Count of Garm, the territory has continued to grow.

Even though he's young, Lampard can't help but feel excited about the future.

By the way, some of the bandits Arc defeated had ties to the Dark Hand.

Arc ended up destroying one of their bases without even realizing it.

That base was actually a magical ore mine.

They used it for funding their activities.

Arc not only beat the bandits but also gained a mine filled with magic ore, giving him a major new source of income.

Also, these red magic stones found in the mine will become a key item for powering up the main character.

In the original story, the protagonist would visit Garm around the middle of the plot to find these stones. But in this world, Arc has them first.

Until now, Arc's reforms—actually carried out by Lampard—focused mostly on stopping financial losses.

They wanted to cut wasteful spending and invest extra funds, but without a main source of income, reforms didn't go smoothly.

With the discovery of the magic ore mine, though, Garm finally has a big revenue stream. It'll achieve even more growth from here.

In the original story, Garm was ruined by the Dark Hand at the beginning. But because Arc got involved, its fate is changing dramatically.

And so, because of Arc's meddling, the original storyline is gradually shifting.

When the mine was found, shady people started showing up.

One guy with a scary scar on his forehead looked like a total criminal.

He said he was a weapons merchant.

A weapons merchant… oh yeah, a "merchant of death."

I'll have him sell the magic stones from my mine.

Naturally, I'll make tons of money!

Other merchants also came to make deals.

They looked honest, wearing fancy clothes and acting all trustworthy.

But that won't make me a huge profit.

So I decided to do business with the one who seemed the most suspicious.

"I'll give your company priority to buy my magic stones."

I'm sure I grinned back the same way.

He can sell all the weapons he wants, and I'll get rich!

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