Banana Fish Artbook の小説・ストーリー

As soon as I've registered my marriage with Sophie Walker, the heiress of the most distinguished family in the upper echelons, in the morning, she takes me back to the courthouse, where we file for a divorce in the afternoon. I hear Sophie's friends laughing at me mockingly. "Wow, did you seriously marry and divorce Adrian on the same day because of something William said?" "Look at how pale Adrian is! Don't tell me he's about to cry!" Sophie rushes into my adopted younger brother, William Reed's arms at that moment. She whines to him coquettishly, "Now that I've done as you said, this means you'll smile at me, right?" Soon, a smile blooms on William's cold-looking face. I want to demand answers from Sophie, only to feel my sisters pinning me on the spot. Emily Parker, my oldest sister who's a CEO, frowns at me. "Sophie is the only one who can make William smile. Can't you be nice for once?" Scarlett Parker, my second sister who's a top actress, shoves me to the ground. "William comes from a sad and pitiful background, whereas you come from an extremely comfortable one. There are plenty of fish in the sea, so you don't have to cling to Sophie." Iris Parker, my third sister who's a biology professor, wears a stormy expression. "Sophie is supposed to marry William, to begin with. Don't you dare pester them anymore." Then, my sisters stuff me into a car by force. They refuse to let me be a hindrance to William—also known as their true love—and Sophie's happiness. That's when the System, who has gone missing for a long time, finally reconnects with me. "Adrian, it seems that your conquest mission is completed! Do you want to return to your world right now?" As I sit in the backseat while gazing out the window sadly, I almost can't resist chuckling out loud. Finally, the angsty drama that I've acted out for the sake of this mission is over. Now, I don't have to give a damn about these female leads' dramas anymore.

I've always been frail by nature. Taking two consecutive steps can make me gasp for air. If I cough, there's a chance there's blood accompanying it. When I'm seven years old, a homeless man in Bronzeton tries to snatch a half-eaten piece of bread from me. I lie on the ground as I convulse like a dying fish with foam gathering at my mouth. My eyes have rolled to the back of my head as well, as though my seizure is acting up. Thinking that I've gotten infected with some sort of disease, the homeless man is so frightened that he flees from Novarra overnight. When I'm ten years old, a delinquent tries to demand protection money from me. I react by spitting dark blood at his face. The poor guy screams at the top of his lungs as he runs down the street, only to get mistaken as a murderer by a police officer who happens to pass by the area. Since then, everyone avoids me like plague on the street. They aren't scared of me—they are terrified that they might get into trouble because of me. No one knows who my parents are. I've grown up in a rundown motel, and my adoptive mother is a stripper who used to be famous. Whenever she gets drunk, she often tells me, "Your father is a mafia Don." I've always thought that she's just running her mouth purely out of drunkenness. That is, until a black limo stops in front of me on the year I turn 18 years old. Three men clad in black suits get out of the limo. The leader sinks down on one knee right in front of me, his voice quivering as he speaks. "We finally found you, Ms. Salvatore. Your father is Vittorio Salvatore, the Don of one of the biggest mafia families in Novarra." At first, I think this is just a scamming scheme. That is, until I'm taken to the estate located on Lacreth Isle that's six acres wide and sports iron gates with the Salvatore insignia carved into them. On my first day home, the fake heiress, Serena Salvatore, purposefully releases the fearsome family dog in the estate just to intimidate me. That dog keeps barking at me, frightening me to the point that I spit out blood on the spot before collapsing to the ground. My mother, Rosalina Vitelli, almost loses her mind over my collapse. But my older brother, Marco Salvatore, shouts at me angrily instead. "Why are you playing dead? You made Serena cry because of your antics!" His voice is so loud that I feel as though my eardrums are going to burst anytime soon. Even my heart feels as though an invisible hand is gripping it tightly. My eyes roll to the back of my head instantly as my body crashes on the spot. Mamma flies into a rampage and almost beats Marco to death for scaring me. Having witnessed everything, Serena kicks up a fuss by attempting to commit suicide at the estate's clock tower just so she can apologize to me. In order to prove his love to Serena, my fiance, Luca Moretti, drags me forcibly to the top of the clock tower so that Serena can do whatever she wants to me. The thing is, the winds are strong on the top of the clock tower. That's when I accidentally slip and topple over the railing. My parents, who are looking everywhere for me, happen to be around the clock tower when I crash onto the spot near them. This time, my bruised and broken body is completely drenched in blood. Shell-shocked, they remain rooted to the spot as they stare at me in bewilderment. Then, they let out blood-curdling screams.