Kazuki Yamada had exactly three things on his mind as he stumbled out of the library at 2:47 AM: his upcoming thermodynamics exam, the energy drink he desperately needed, and the new isekai webnovel that had just updated with a beach episode.
The exam could go to hell. The energy drink could wait five minutes. But that beach episode? That was essential.
He pulled out his phone mid-stride, thumbs already navigating to his reading app. Twenty years old, engineering major, and the closest he'd come to female contact in six months was when a girl in his study group had accidentally brushed his hand reaching for a calculator. He'd thought about that touch for three days straight.
College was supposed to be different. Everyone said so. Movies, TV shows, hell, even his older cousin had promised him that university was where the magic happened. "You'll be drowning in opportunities," the bastard had said with a knowing wink.
Lies. All lies.
Turned out that being a socially awkward engineering student with the conversational skills of a wet napkin didn't exactly make you catnip to women. Who knew?
Kazuki's phone screen lit up his face in the darkness as he scrolled through the chapter synopsis. Beach episode, beach episode, come on... His free hand fumbled in his jacket pocket for his earbuds.
The blare of a horn shattered his concentration.
Kazuki's head snapped up. A delivery truck – one of those massive ones that brought supplies to campus – was barreling toward him. He'd wandered into the street without even noticing.
His body moved on pure instinct. He threw himself backward, arms windmilling, phone flying from his grip. His back hit the pavement hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs. The truck roared past, missing him by maybe two feet. The driver didn't even slow down.
"Holy shit." Kazuki lay there for a moment, chest heaving, staring up at the streetlight above him. His heart hammered against his ribs. "That was close. That was really fucking clo – "
The bus hit him from the other direction.
---
The first thing Kazuki noticed was that he wasn't dead. Or at least, he didn't feel dead. Though admittedly, he had no frame of reference for what being dead felt like.
The second thing he noticed was that he was lying on something considerably softer than asphalt. Silk, maybe? His fingers curled into fabric that felt expensive in a way his dorm room sheets definitely weren't.
The third thing he noticed was the smell. Not the usual combination of old pizza and desperation that characterized his living space, but something rich and heady. Incense? Smoke? Something else he couldn't quite place.
Kazuki's eyes snapped open.
He was staring at a ceiling that belonged in a gothic cathedral. Vaulted arches of black stone stretched overhead, carved with intricate patterns that seemed to writhe and shift when he looked at them too directly. Crimson banners hung from the walls, emblazoned with a symbol he didn't recognize – a crowned skull wreathed in flames.
"What the actual fuck."
He sat up quickly – too quickly. His vision swam, and he had to plant his hands on the mattress beneath him to keep from toppling over. Except they weren't his hands. Not exactly.
His hands had been normal. Student hands. Slightly calloused from holding pens and occasionally attempting push-ups during bouts of guilt about his declining physical fitness.
These hands were pale. Not just pale – alabaster white, like someone had carved them from marble. His nails were darker, almost black, and when he flexed his fingers experimentally, he could see faint traces of something glowing beneath the skin. Red light pulsing in time with his heartbeat.
"Okay. Okay, don't panic." Kazuki's voice came out different too. Deeper. More resonant. The kind of voice that belonged to someone who commanded respect, not someone who'd once gotten shoved into a locker during high school. "There's a logical explanation for this. I'm... I'm in a coma. That's it. Coma dream. Very vivid coma dream."
He looked down at himself. Gone were his hoodie and jeans, replaced by an elaborate black outfit that looked like someone had taken a Victorian nobleman's wardrobe and decided it needed more spikes. A high-collared coat with silver fastenings, dark trousers tucked into boots that came up to his knees, and – was that a cape? He was wearing a cape.
"I'm having a stroke," Kazuki muttered. "A very specific, very elaborate stroke."
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
The words appeared directly in his vision, glowing red text that hung in the air like a video game HUD. Kazuki yelped and fell backward onto the bed, which was apparently large enough to fit four people comfortably.
[WELCOME, DEMON LORD KAZUKI OF HOUSE VALDRIS]
[BLOODLINE: INFERNAL NOBILITY - TIER 3]
[CURRENT STATUS: RECENTLY AWAKENED]
[INITIATING TUTORIAL SEQUENCE...]
"No," Kazuki said flatly. "No, no, no. This isn't happening. This is – " He stopped. Blinked. Read the text again.
Demon Lord.
He'd read enough webnovels to know exactly what this was. The thought should have been absurd. It was absurd. But as he looked around the room again – the gothic architecture, the expensive furnishings, the literal demon aesthetic – a tiny, traitorous part of his brain started to get excited.
"Holy shit," he whispered. "I got isekai'd."
The door to his chamber – because of course it was a chamber, not a room – burst open with enough force to make him jump. A woman strode in, and Kazuki's brain immediately short-circuited.
She was tall. Easily six feet in heels that looked like they could double as weapons. Her dress was red and black, cut in a way that made Kazuki's engineering-trained mind wonder about the structural integrity – there was no way that much cleavage was physically possible without magic or very determined tailoring. Her hair fell in midnight waves past her shoulders, and her eyes...
Her eyes were actually glowing. Molten gold, with slitted pupils like a cat's.
"My Lord Valdris," she said, her voice carrying the kind of authority that made Kazuki want to sit up straighter. "You've finally awakened. The household has been in chaos during your three-day slumber."
Kazuki's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. No words came out.
She was hot. Like, unrealistically, fantasy-novel-cover-art hot. The kind of hot that didn't exist in real life, especially not in his engineering classes.
"I..." Kazuki's voice cracked. He cleared his throat, trying again. "I... uh..."
Smooth. Real smooth.
The woman's expression shifted to something that might have been concern. "My Lord? Are you well? The awakening ritual was intense, but the physicians assured us you would recover fully."
"I'm... fine?" It came out as a question.
[TUTORIAL: You have been reincarnated as Kazuki Valdris, youngest son of House Valdris, one of the seventy-two Infernal Houses that serve the Demon King. You have just undergone your Awakening, a ritual that grants demonic nobility their full powers and marks their entry into adult society.]
[QUEST AVAILABLE: Establish Your Authority]
[Objective: Successfully navigate your first interaction with your household staff without embarrassing yourself]
[Reward: Basic Demonic Etiquette Knowledge, ???]
The woman was still watching him, concern deepening on her perfect features. "Shall I summon the physicians, my Lord?"
Kazuki's eyes darted between her and the system messages. His first quest. His first real interaction in this world. And he was already blowing it because he couldn't string two coherent words together in front of an attractive woman.
Some things, apparently, transcended reincarnation.
He took a deep breath. Twenty years of social awkwardness warred with twenty years of reading webnovels. He knew how this scenario went. He'd read this scene a hundred times. The newly awakened noble, the concerned servant, the establishment of hierarchy and character.
He could do this. He just had to think like a protagonist.
Or better yet – think like a villain.
Kazuki straightened his spine, channeling every arrogant demon lord he'd ever read about. "I am well," he said, letting that new resonant voice carry weight he didn't feel. "Merely... gathering my thoughts. The awakening has given me much to consider."
The woman's expression smoothed into something more neutral, professional. "Of course, my Lord. Shall I brief you on the current state of House affairs? Much has transpired during your slumber."
[QUEST PROGRESS: 40%]
"Yes," Kazuki said, because that seemed like the kind of thing a demon lord would say. "But first – your name?"
Was it his imagination, or did she look pleased? "Lilith, my Lord. I serve as your Head Administrator and Advisor."
Of course her name was Lilith. Of course it was.
"Very well, Lilith." Kazuki swung his legs off the bed, standing with more confidence than he felt. The cape swirled behind him – okay, he had to admit, the cape was kind of cool. "Brief me."
She inclined her head, and as she began speaking about territories and rival houses and political maneuvering, Kazuki felt something shift in his chest. Not quite excitement. Not quite fear.
He was in a fantasy world. He had powers. There was a system offering him quests. And if the woman in front of him was any indication, this world was full of exactly the kind of women who'd never given him a second glance back home.
Maybe, just maybe, getting hit by that bus was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
[QUEST COMPLETE: Establish Your Authority]
[Rewards Granted: Basic Demonic Etiquette Knowledge, Skill: Commanding Presence (Rank F)]
[NEW QUEST AVAILABLE...]
Kazuki smiled. It felt dangerous on this new face.
Time to see what else this world had to offer.