I’m Reincarnated In Otome Game?

It had been a few days since Elizabeth began working as a civil servant in Victor's territory. Known as the most brilliant student at the academy, she found herself holding her head in her hands in the office.

"The Demon Forest and barren lands… It's worse than I imagined," she sighed.

"Right?"

For some reason, Randy looked oddly proud as he responded, his demeanor and tone already slipping into informality. 

Despite his efforts to keep up appearances, Randy wasn't the kind of man who could keep up a facade for long. 

That very trait had led him to avoid interacting with others at the academy as much as possible.

Still, compared to how he acted around Harrison and others, his behavior here was tolerable. Even Randy had some sense of propriety.

"Our poverty is pretty famous across the kingdom," he added.

Elizabeth shot him a glance that seemed to say, That's not something to boast about. Randy simply shrugged in response.

"So your main source of income is the carcasses of magical beasts from the Demon Forest?"

Elizabeth flipped through the stack of papers on the desk, letting out a thoughtful hum. 

Most of the territory's residents worked hard to cultivate wheat and other crops on the infertile land, but it was nowhere near enough to sustain them. 

As a result, many villagers ventured into the forest to hunt magical beasts, using the meat for food and selling hides or fangs to traveling merchants to buy the crops they lacked.

In such a state, tax revenue was practically nonexistent.

"How are you paying the knights and servants?" Elizabeth asked.

"That would be me," Randy said, puffing out his chest.

Elizabeth tilted her head curiously, but when she learned that Randy himself hunted magical beasts to fund the knights and servants' wages, she found herself clutching her head again.

"What a reckless approach…"

Her words slipped out unintentionally, and Randy could only offer a wry smile in return. In truth, his father, Alan, was tirelessly researching ways to improve the barren land, but results had been scarce.

As a reincarnator, Randy had tried to assist his father with his hazy knowledge, but his expertise in agriculture was nonexistent. His half-baked ideas were barely making a dent in their problems.

"For now, could you show me some of the specialty products of this territory?" Elizabeth asked.

Standing up, she glanced at Randy, who begrudgingly led the way out of the room.

(Honestly, this isn't something a young lady should see…)

Unaware of Randy's thoughts, Elizabeth's steps seemed almost cheerful as her boots clicked against the floor.

"Here we store some parts of the magical beasts I've hunted," Randy said, gesturing to a large warehouse at the back of the estate. 

The warehouse, which also stored items brought back by the knights, was impressively large.

"This," he said, handing Elizabeth a clean cloth-wrapped item.

"Since traveling merchants will be coming soon, we've processed things to some extent," he explained with a wry smile as he pushed open the double doors.

From within the warehouse wafted an overpowering stench.

"W-what is this smell—?" Elizabeth coughed, struggling to endure the odor.

"Our specialty products," Randy replied with a bitter smile.

The warehouse was filled with hides, fangs, horns, fur, bones—various parts stripped from magical beasts. Though some processing had been done, it was still remains of the dead, and the smell was unavoidable.

Elizabeth was on the verge of passing out from the stench. Seeing her plight, Randy sighed, stepped into the warehouse alone, and returned with a freshly harvested hide.

"This one's from yesterday," he said, handing her a glossy black hide.

Elizabeth gasped at its lifelike texture, and as she did, her hair suddenly turned black.

"Oh, a Black Serpent. Not bad, kid," remarked Eleonora, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, her voice ringing with laughter.

"Thanks, I guess," Randy replied nonchalantly.

"Mind if I take a look inside, kid?" Eleonora asked, unfazed by the rotten smell. Without waiting for permission, she disappeared into the warehouse.

After a while, she returned, her expression perplexed.

"I see parts of high-grade magical beasts in there, even some large magic stones. Why is this territory in such dire straits?" she asked, frowning.

Randy sighed in response.

"At the end of the day, they're just carcasses. Processing and initial treatment costs mean hides and fangs barely fetch anything. Especially for high-grade beasts, dismantling them requires skilled labor and substantial money," he explained.

There were also issues with how the materials were stripped. Even valuable resources lose their worth if poorly harvested.

"Sure, we've gotten better at harvesting, but we're always on edge, never knowing when another attack might come," Randy added, letting out another sigh.

He went on to explain that the low demand further complicated matters. The same went for magic stones. 

High-grade stones, once prized, had become practically obsolete thanks to new technology that efficiently converted mid-grade stones. 

As a result, the price of all magic stones had dropped, with high-grade stones now seen as costly, high-risk waste and low return

Additionally, processing costs for high-grade materials skyrocketed their prices, limiting demand to wealthy eccentrics or niche weaponry.

In short, Randy and his people were scraping by on the meager demand for mid-grade stones and small-scale weapon manufacturing.

"Processing… preprocessing… and demand, huh?"

"Even if we set the magic stones aside, I think there's significant potential for growth if we can manage everything from material collection to processing."

The two conversed smoothly despite sharing one body. Then, Eleonora suddenly looked up as if recalling something.

"Hey, kid. I just remembered something. You're coming with me."

Without waiting for Randy's response, Eleonora placed a hand on his shoulder and snapped her fingers. Light rose from the ground, enveloping them both.

"Wait, hey—" was all Randy could protest before they vanished.

When the light faded, Randy found himself standing before a crumbling ruin.

"Where… is this?"

"An isolated island in the east of the continent."

"Teleportation magic?"

"Yeah, but it only works for places I've been to before."

After saying that, Eleonora strode into the ruins without hesitation, signaling Randy to follow. 

He hurried after her, reminded that while she controlled the body, it was still Elizabeth's body.

Randy had no weapons—his only possession being the Black Serpent's hide—Randy reluctantly ventured deeper into the ruins. But soon, he noticed something odd.

"There's a presence… but nothing's attacking us?"

Glancing around warily, he saw Eleonora puff out her chest with pride. She explained that her magical aura was intimidating enough to deter the creatures in these ruins.

(So that's why we weren't attacked back then.)

Randy finally understood why there had been no attacks when they rescued Elizabeth and returned to town. The shallow parts of the forest likely only housed small fry which were easily scared off by Eleonora's aura.

The dungeon exploration, lacking any real tension, ended quickly. 

They arrived at a small chamber with a stone coffin at its center. The lid was ajar, and it seemed empty.

"This is it?"

"Indeed. This is where I hid something that will serve as our trump card."

Grinning, Eleonora ordered Randy to move the coffin aside. 

Reasoning that she wouldn't set him up for a trap at this point, Randy pushed the heavy stone with all his might.

"So heavy… ngh!"

As the coffin scraped aside, Eleonora watched in awe.

"To think you'd move it on your own! Impressive."

Apparently, she'd intended to enhance him with magic buff but hadn't managed it in time. 

Scowling, Randy muttered that she should've done it beforehand as he finally revealed a small hole beneath the coffin.

"What's this… a parchment?"

"Don't tell me you don't even know what a scroll is. What a savage," Eleonora sighed, snatching the parchment from his hands.

Unrolling two scrolls, she declared, "This is it," and tossed one to Randy. Written on it were the words "Production Magic."

"An ancient magic scroll. You can use it by channeling your mana."

Randy nodded and activated the scroll. It glowed brightly, enveloping him in a soft light. The sensation of floating overcame him briefly, and when the scroll disintegrated, both the light and the sensation disappeared.

"With this, you should now be able to use production magic."

Eleonora smirked confidently, satisfied with herself. "Good thing I hid it for emergencies," she added with a smug nod. 

Meanwhile, Randy groaned in confusion.

(Okay… but how do I actually use it?)

While rowning, he accidentally opened status window.

It displayed a new skill, "Production Magic: Beginner," and a fresh tab labeled "Crafting." But more importantly…

"What's that thing?"

Eleonora stared at the status window in disbelief. In this world, nobody could see status screens, let alone summon them like Randy just had.

(Oh no… this is bad.)

As Randy cringed inwardly, Eleonora leaned closer, fascinated.

"Hmm, intriguing. Oh, I see…"

Finally, she concluded, "Must be some sort of rare magic."

Apparently, she detected a faint magical flow, but the system itself was unlike anything she'd seen before.

"Magic, huh?"

Still skeptical, Randy opened the Crafting tab. Instinctively manipulating it, he saw the raw Black Serpent hide in his hands shined and transformed into a properly tanned beatiful leather.

"It's fully processed…"

Staring in amazement, Randy noticed Eleonora nodding proudly as if she were responsible.

"With practice, you'll even be able to make tools," she said.

"Seriously?"

Randy spun around, startling Eleonora with his enthusiasm. To him, this power could mean realizing ideas that had previously been impossible.

(This is incredible.)

Shaking with excitement, he suddenly remembered the other scroll.

"What about the other one?"

"Oh, that? It's a copy scroll."

"A copy scroll?"

"Yes. It copies magic into a new scroll."

As Eleonora explained, Randy's face lit up with a mischievous idea.

"Think I can copy this?" he said, pointing at his status window.

Eleonora grinned back, clearly on the same wavelength. "I was thinking the same thing."

They quickly set to work. Using the copy scroll, they successfully replicated Randy's status system. 

Then, they used the new scroll on Eleonora—or rather, on Elizabeth's body.

"Status Open," Eleonora commanded, and a status window appeared before her, complete with a Crafting tab.

"Wait… does this mean—"

"Hold on," she interrupted, switching back to Elizabeth.

Now in control, Elizabeth instinctively opened her status window. 

The number shocked both herself and Randy.

"Lord Randolph… this magic stat…"

The number was incomprehensibly glitched, far exceeding anything Randy had ever seen.

(What kind of cheat-level reincarnation is this…?)

As Elizabeth marveled at her overwhelming stats, Randy silently lamented his mediocrity