Orario, Soma Familia Hall.
Charles groaned, pressing a hand to his forehead as he slowly woke up.
His nose twitched faintly—there was a thick, heady scent of alcohol in the air.
Urgh—
He opened his eyes and froze.
The walls around him were rough-hewn stone, with no tiles—more like something from the late 80s.
The structure was similar to a wine cellar, lined with stacked wooden barrels.
On the floor lay thirty to forty collapsed "corpses," faces flushed unnaturally, drool trailing from the corners of their mouths, all giggling idiotically in their stupor.
Where am I?
What was this strange environment?
Looking down at his smaller hands and feet…
After a brief moment of disorientation, Charles thought hard—then remembered.
I… have been reincarnated!
A flash—
His vision flared white—
Fragmented memories surged in, overwhelming him before he could react, forcing themselves into place.
His name was Charles.
Gray-haired, human, twelve years old—a reincarnator whose past-life memories had just awakened.
His parents had been adventurers of the Soma Familia in the Labyrinth City of Orario.
They'd died in the Dungeon not long ago, trying to earn money to buy Soma's divine wine.
There might have been an older sister in his memories, but she had gone missing in early childhood.
Parents dead? That usually meant a special fate.
Realizing this, Charles had been secretly thrilled.
He never expected the trigger for awakening his memories… would be divine wine!
Yes, that's right.
To expand the Familia, Captain Zanis would give each new member a "gift" of Soma's divine wine.
Anyone who's read Familia Myth knows exactly what that stuff does—just saying it aloud could invite unspeakable, world-shaking horrors.
—Back to just before he got drunk—
"To celebrate your joining the Familia, I specially requested divine wine from Lord Soma! Consider it a company benefit—now let's drink!"
"Woo!"
Zanis' voice still rang in his ears.
This is a scam!
"Of all things, I never thought that even in a new life, I couldn't escape this cursed fate," Charles muttered in disbelief.
"Begone, rotten luck! And you too, déjà vu!"
Hello, my name is Charles, just your average transmigrator.
In my previous life, I was just a security guard—steady, diligent, like a cog in a machine. My only hobbies were games and anime.
I never expected that after a routine transfer at work, I'd find my superiors were all people in black suits with strange, foreign wine names.
Especially the big shot of the organization—always smirking coldly, talking about "rats," "foxes," and "blood roses." He'd pat my shoulder and tell me to work hard, be loyal like my parents had been, and never become a rat.
Before I knew it, I was holding an assault rifle, guarding the door of some underground medical research office.
I nicknamed the place "the distillery."
Later… well, there was some good news.
The boss's wife? Gorgeous—golden waves, movie-star curves.
Bad news? The boss found out.
Surprisingly, he didn't get angry—maybe because he liked the girl I was assigned to guard, "Shirley," even more.
With the lady's help, I got my own codename—Alaska.
From there, I went downhill fast—driving for that damn big shot, handling "rat" clean-ups.
Until my parents secretly revealed… they were actually agents from the Far East.
Turns out the "rat"… was me.
And in one mission to rescue a key researcher's relative, my cover was blown. I was "cleaned up."
After that…
Charles "luckily" reincarnated into the Soma Familia.
"Another hell-difficulty start, huh?" he muttered, sweating.
With his past-life memories coming back, Charles knew exactly which world he was in—
DanMachi/Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? — a young boy's western-fantasy hero's tale.
Gods, monsters, heroes, and the Dungeon… a few words summed up the world.
But—
"Why is it that other transmigrators get to choose their goddess and build relationships, while I'm stuck competing with a bunch of lunatic drunkards?! Damn this so-called 'good luck'!"
Charles suspected he had some strange karmic tie with distilleries.
He'd landed in a Familia where if you couldn't earn money, you'd get beaten; if you did earn money, it would be stolen; even getting stronger required paying for Falna updates. No way out at all.
And now he was addicted to alcohol.
He thought of Liliruca Arde, the Pallum supporter from the original story—working all day, begging for scraps at night, resorting to theft just to survive.
Was he supposed to wait for some white-haired hero to rescue him? But he was a fucking man!
No—he'd save himself!
"Hmmmm... System? Ding? Hello?" Charles called anxiously.
Silence.
Shit. No system!
Unlucky…
Drawing on the adaptability he'd honed in the "organization," he calmed himself quickly.
No panic. Compared to his past life, this was child's play.
Now… was there some shortcut here?
No, wait—this was Orario, the playground of the gods, city of heroes. He knew the plot, the secrets—he could take off from here! The Familia Captain was only Level 2—not much of a threat.
Compared to that fucking big shot always shouting about rats, Zanis was practically a saint.
First priority—figure out the timeline. Reference point?
Damn—it wouldn't come to mind. The divine wine had scrambled his memory.
Never mind… what mattered was his Falna!
He needed to check his status sheet—what if he was a natural-born hero?
Looking around again, seeing his "comrades" all collapsed on the floor, Charles kicked one aside and quietly moved toward the exit.
He'd just decided to leave when a voice called from behind a folding screen—
"Well, well… Charles-kun. Where do you think you're going?"
Charles looked up—and locked eyes with a gaze full of amusement and mild surprise.
The man had neatly parted hair, silver-rimmed glasses, and a greasy smile—eerily similar to the "manager" from his past life.
Fake, cunning, sleazy.
Well, probably not even close to that level
Charles flinched, blurting out instinctively in his old accent:
"Who the hell are you, huh?"
"Hm? Drunk?"
Damn this past-life muscle memory…
Regaining control, Charles switched to the common tongue—
"Captain… Zanis."
The name surfaced in his mind.
Zanis folded his hands behind his back, lowering his head so the glare off his glasses hid his eyes.
"I'm surprised you resisted the divine wine's effects…"
"…Uh…"
Charles glanced at the others, lost in drunken dreams, and realized why he was an "exception."
Because his past-life memory had just came back, he hadn't succumbed to the wine.
Which might make him an anomaly—and in organizations like the Soma Familia, the last thing they wanted was an anomaly.
Is this… the start of a scripted death flag?
"Not bad. You're the most promising one in this batch," Zanis said blandly.
Damn. What is this, a Horror scenario?
Charles recalled—finished divine wine was precious, usually a reward for loyal service. Giving it to newcomers was a test.
He swallowed, forcing a shaky smile and raising his brows in false pride—
"Captain, I… I did it! I passed!"
"Indeed. You've cleared the trial the god set before you. So—what do you want, little Charles?"
"I want to meet Lord Soma! I want his divine blessing!"
He was gambling—betting that Soma hadn't completely abandoned the Familia yet and might be watching.
Zanis lowered his head, the light glinting off his lenses like a murderer in a crime drama.
"Is there something you need that requires bypassing your Captain? Planning to leave the Familia? If so, I can grant that right now."
Charles froze for only a second.
"No! I'd never think that! My loyalty to the Soma Familia—and to you, Captain Zanis—is as boundless as the rivers and as constant as the sun and moon!"
If I nodded just now, I'd probably be chopped into pieces.
He quickly poured on the flattery—
"The Soma Familia raised me. Lord Soma is like my own father. Captain Zanis—you are like an elder brother to me!"
Then, tongue slightly thick from the wine—
"In some places in the world, there's a belief that an elder brother is your hero. The one you will always admire and follow! Just… about that divine wine—"
"Hahaha! Very good!"
Zanis clapped him on the shoulder. Any worries about someone resisting the wine and threatening his authority were gone—after all, even if you could hold out for a moment, you couldn't resist forever.
Even Zanis himself was addicted to it—what chance did a boy have?
"Want to be my subordinate? Then prove your worth. Surpass everyone. Stand before me again."
Wow... The audacity, so you're looking down on me? You've fucking set your death flag! Charles thought, eyes narrowing.
"Yes! I'll become the sharpest blade and cut down every disobedient rat for you, Captain!"
"…No need for that. Calm down."
"Since you're so loyal, tell me—what do you want from Lord Soma?"
Charles lowered his head humbly.
"I want to make the Soma Familia great again!"
"Speak plainly."
"…I want to update my Falna!"