Saving the World and Falling in Love [Western Fantasy]

The next story in this setting is an estate-management novel, "After Becoming a Dungeon Lord, I Made Up with My Archenemy." Scroll to the bottom to read the blurb.

Also known as "Reborn, I Fell in Love with My Best Friend and Happened to Save the World." A handsome young lord and mage who would die without romance, top x a handsome mercenary bottom with formidable fighting skills and boyfriend energy. The couple are inseparable, always kissing and cuddling, and explore the world together as they fill in the map.

Note: All supporting characters are matchmakers. The top briefly becomes nonhuman near the end. Primarily based on D&D, with original additions.

Rey, a classical tragic hero and a lifelong magnet for bad luck, was reborn.

In his previous life, all his struggles were like a tower of sand, eventually collapsing with a crash. This time, with fate finally on his side and a winning hand dealt to him, he decided to make up for every regret:

First, stop his mercenary company from being destroyed; use the skills he learned in his previous life to manage his territory and end the cursed land's fate of hunger and cold.

Second, help his best friend get revenge. His friend, Caesar Visconti, is an unfathomable yet reliable lord, another unlucky soul who has endured every kind of suffering life can offer. He deserves a happy ending.

Third, explore the world, seal the apocalyptic evil god, and save the world.

Fourth, win the title of "King of Knights" at the tournament. After retiring, buy a farm with the savings he has in the dwarven bank.

Rey discovered that doors that had once been shut to him were now open, and problems that had once been thorny were now as easy to pry open as oysters.

The only variable was his best friend. In this life, Caesar was a mysterious mage and the lord of the kingdom's wealthiest territory.

After an accident, Caesar claimed to have contracted a rare illness: lovesickness.

It's a rare occupational disease among mages, a bizarre terminal condition that makes you turn into a cat after casting spells and die if you don't replenish your magic in time.

The good news was that Caesar survived after having his magic replenished. The bad news was that the complications turned his clever brain into a magical cauldron, endlessly churning out bizarre and chaotic remarks:

"I hate the world. I hate naked apes. Everything I do is only because you love this land... Are you really unwilling to marry me? Our children and we will share our wealth and power until the world ends."

"Sir, we're unable to have children. Also, what does 'loving the world' have to do with 'marrying you'?"

"Children don't matter. What matters is our sacred union. Perhaps you want to control the entire kingdom? Oh, your boundless ambition is so fascinating."

"Although I'm not currently first in line to inherit, I'm confident I can persuade the other contenders. Of course, 'persuasion' in the broad sense includes assassination, poisoning, framing, threats, and bribery."

Rey: ??? Did you eat Caesar and turn into a doppelganger? Spit him out!

Caesar: Beware of mysterious creatures! Whether it's a harpy, a mind flayer, or a unicorn, you sweet, innocent thing will be dragged back to its lair and forced to mate and lay eggs!

Rey: ??? Not being able to have children doesn't mean I'll lay eggs! Reproductive isolation! Reproductive isolation!

Caesar: If you don't love me, nothing has any meaning. I swear here and now that I will love you for the rest of my life. You are the only master of my body and soul. Just imagine: if certain acts could soothe my inconsolable grief and bring you pleasure too, why wouldn't we do something that benefits us both?

Rey: ...Just say you want to sleep with me.

Rey despairingly discovered that his enemy wasn't the world that had once opposed him. It was his best friend.

And everyone mistook his heroism for a lovers' quarrel.

Lady A: Caesar is a born political animal, a political machine that judges everything by its usefulness... No, perhaps it's a way to win people over. A person in love is willing to give their life for their beloved, which is more reliable than the strongest bodyguard, isn't it?

Friend B: Enough. What kind of wedding gift do you like?

In the face of skepticism or congratulations, Rey adjusted his plans: put off saving the world and focus all his efforts on curing his best friend.

As he treated his friend and explored the world, he was bestowed with countless strange titles: Dragonslayer, the only dragon speaker in centuries, monster hunter...

As he grew closer to his friend, Rey was rumored to be a "succubus knight." Some claimed that any creature who looked into his eyes for a few seconds would fall madly in love with him, willingly grovel at his feet, and eagerly offer him everything they had: wealth, power, even their lives. That was the only way to explain why a saintly, abstinent lord was so infatuated with a man.

Rey had no time to bother with the rumors, because he himself was becoming stranger by the day. Huh, isn't lovesickness an occupational disease for mages? How did he catch it too?

The twists and turns of his heart went like this:

Brothers are brothers. My brother would never lie to me!

...Fine, kissing, cuddling, and sleeping together are also expressions of brotherly affection!

...Fine, even if my brother lies to me, he wouldn't hurt me. He must have his reasons!

...Fine, who says brothers can't be lovers? How narrow-minded!

After accepting his best friend's feelings, Rey accidentally discovered that his former best friend, now his lover, seemed to be the key to the evil god's revival. Even the miraculous second life he had been given was a lie his lover had woven.

Lost in the fog, he wondered: What exactly was his lover? A vessel carefully chosen by the evil god, or the evil god itself?

Now his bedmate had become the creature he feared most, constantly babbling mad things about "love, death, and destruction."

Rey, quick to make peace with the situation, breathed a sigh of relief. At least its surface was smooth. It wasn't the terrifying, furry spider.

Rey tried his best to comfort him. "It's okay, we can hide away on the islands at the edge of the world and start a farm. You have eight arms and eight legs, so you can cultivate the land and sow seeds at the same time. I'm sure you can pull a plow better than a warhorse or an ox!"

"With you around, we won't need a scarecrow. The timid, foolish crows wouldn't dare come near! Darling, you're a born farmer. You should be proud of yourself!"

His frantic lover gradually calmed down.

"I promise that even if the world turns against you, I will stand by your side as always. That's also part of saving the world: staying by your side to make sure you can't destroy it."

"Come on. Let's go until there's nowhere left to go."

His lover cautiously extended a walking leg, and Rey took it without hesitation. To his surprise, there was a cute little paw at the end of the terrifying limb.

"After Becoming a Dungeon Lord, I Made Up with My Archenemy":

After an accident, Han Zhiheng transmigrated in the most undignified way possible: a truck slammed him into a Western fantasy pixel-art management game.

The good news: it was a management game he'd added to his wishlist ages ago but had missed out on getting into the beta for.

The bad news: he had to complete the collection 100 percent to return to his original world.

Han Zhiheng exclaimed, "There can be such a good deal?" Then came even worse news: his tiny fairy assistant, flapping its butterfly wings, told him that the dungeon under his rule was deeply in debt, its residents' hunger levels were through the roof, its happiness and prosperity were at rock bottom, and it was on the verge of bankruptcy.

In short, he had nothing but a bowl to his name from the start.

Worse still, a herd of wild boars was attacking the crumbling city gates.

Han Zhiheng didn't have time to open the bundle on the floor and see whether it contained turnip or parsnip seeds. He rushed into battle instead.

Taking "going all in is the essence of life" as his motto, Han Zhiheng sacrificed intelligence and magic, maxed out stamina, attack, and charisma, and easily defeated the wild boars, turning the tide and saving the dungeon from collapse.

Just as management-game expert Han Zhiheng was about to plant crops, the boar king arrived in all its glory. It could use magic and was immune to all physical attacks!

Han Zhiheng had no choice but to drop his strawberry seeds and seek help from the old mage in town.

By the time Han Zhiheng arrived, the old mage in the treehouse was on his deathbed.

In a faint voice, he told Han Zhiheng that an elven mage lived nearby in the Gryphon Mountains. The mage could take over as the town's wizard and help drive away the boars.

Relying on his excellent stamina and combat skills, Han Zhiheng hacked his way up the treacherous Gryphon Mountains.

At the summit, he met a half-elf mage who looked and acted uncannily like his archenemy.

Before Han Zhiheng could ask for help, the elven mage gazed at him with beautiful blue eyes. "Have you come to fulfill our engagement?"

Han Zhiheng: "Huh?"

The mysterious mage's expression remained calm, but his voice held a hint of anticipation. "I am your betrothed, lost to you for many years. Our engagement is proof. Only after we fulfill it can I leave the mountains and help you drive away your enemies and rebuild your dungeon."

The mage expressionlessly unfurled a scroll covered in Elvish that looked like a jumble of gibberish.

Han Zhiheng broke out in a cold sweat. So this was what they meant by "call me hubby and I'll give you the world"?

The dungeon lord, who feared no one in power, shook his head firmly. "No way. I suspect you're trying to trick me."

As the two faced off, a fierce griffin flew toward Han Zhiheng, firing a bolt of lightning from its mouth!

Han Zhiheng: "Hubby, you're the best! Save me, save me!"

In the eyes of the dungeon residents, their lord left town and suddenly came back with a mysterious half-elf husband.

For Han Zhiheng, forced into a relationship, the only difference between being single and married was that his single bed became a double bed.

To complete the collection 100 percent, he began living a happy 6-2-7 life. He was determined to escape his terrible luck at fishing and become a master angler, farmer, chef... He'd win every competition and raise the happiness of the dungeon residents and the prosperity of the city.

Most importantly, he had to give his husband a gift every day, rack his brain for sweet nothings to say, and max out his husband's affection.

"Dear hubby, you're the handsomest half-elf I've ever seen. Your eyes are full of stars."

At the same time, he and his husband also took on side jobs as couriers or messengers, exploring the underworld and completing quests, such as helping Queen Leona find her brother.

As they collected things and went on adventures, Han Zhiheng was surprised to discover that he seemed to have fallen in love with his husband, who had appeared out of nowhere, after marrying him first. He even found himself thinking, "What if I gave up completing the collection and lived happily with him forever in this virtual world?"

However, his husband from out of nowhere seemed to have many secrets he couldn't tell. He appeared to have countless connections to Han Zhiheng's real-world archenemy...

A deeply devoted, arrogant half-elf mage top x a hot-tempered, tough-guy demon dungeon lord bottom. They marry first, fall in love later, and stay together for good.

Dungeon Lord: Darling, to complete the collection, we have to have two children. As far as I know, elves reproduce with the help of the elven mother tree. If you don't mind...

The aloof mage suddenly blushed, breathing heavily as he growled, "Of course I mind! You are not having children with anyone else. We're starting on our children right now!"

The lord, pinned against the wall with a hand at his waist, struggled. "Don't just launch into an eighteen-plus scene! This is an all-ages game! I meant we should adopt two children!"

Theme: Hard work is the most glorious thing