episode_0030

First and foremost, I have made up my mind about one thing for sure.

I am determined to push this concept to its limits.

While I do have a desire to blend in with the main characters as a character myself, I also feel that it’s already too late to reveal my true nature – a hardcore fan.

In this day and age, I wonder if people would even understand the concept of being a hardcore fan if I were to reveal it.

No, wait.

Come to think of it, there are quite a few famous characters in this world. Not the “characters” that appear in the game, but the “characters” that exist as part of the background setting.

Most of the characters that have stood the test of time from the 21st century Earth were actually introduced in the early to mid-20th century. Characters that gained popularity based on short animations, weekly and daily serialized comics that emerged with the development of printing and visual technology have continued to exist and thrive until now.

Of course, some may argue that it’s too early for characters from that era to appear in this world set in 1901, but there were characters like the “Yellow Kid” that had gained immense popularity before. In fact, the character Yellow Kid was so famous that it became the origin of the term “yellow journalism,” and comics based on this character were serialized in the 1890s.

…This was a story that the production team had shared in an interview to promote the game’s setting.

This setting revolved around a character in this world who was somewhat popular in their own right. So, even in this game, they were treated as a mascot character receiving the status of a “character.”

The dog character named “Digor” was a character within a play within the play called “Digor the Dog.”

The story revolved around Digor, a dog who loved digging, and the tales that unfolded every time he dug a hole were depicted in short comic strips. It seems that this comic has been gaining immense popularity in newspapers.

It seems that they created this original character in a similar fashion to the Yellow Kid, who had discriminatory content, but nonetheless, it was a character drawn in the thick pen lines typical of 20th-century Disney-style characters.

After the introduction of film and cameras for movies last year, the film industry was just beginning to take shape, and short, non-narrative animations of 3-5 minutes were starting to be made. They were all in black and white, of course.

So, what do you think about the setting where I like this character?

“…”

It doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

I’ve always enjoyed watching cartoons. I wasn’t particularly fond of Disney cartoons, but I’ve seen almost all the famous ones.

Since there are even poorly made stuffed dolls available now, maybe I should buy a few later.

Of course, not right now. Let’s do that in a while, say 1 to 2 years from now.

Because if I do it now, it will be too obvious.

Even if I were to turn back time, I wouldn’t have the courage to go through with it in real-time while enduring the embarrassment. Despite living as a woman for 10 years, I had lived as a man for 30 years before that.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

Lost in thought, Alice asked me that.

When I looked at Alice,

“You’re staring at the book without moving your eyes at all.”

I heard her say.

I definitely wasn’t able to concentrate. I didn’t even have any thoughts I wanted to focus on.

“I was thinking about the match that happened this morning.”

“The match? Ah.”

Alice seemed to make her own judgment after hearing my words.

“Are you evaluating the movements of the classmates in the same class?”

…Even though I haven’t done that, let’s go with that. It seemed more fitting for this character.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Nodding my head, I answered like that.

Honestly, attending the academy was much more difficult than being in Huangxing. I don’t know about anything else, but it was incredibly challenging to maintain my character like this. It’s just the first day of class, but it’s already over.

As if trying to physically express the idea that ‘a student’s duty is to study,’ Alice headed to the library as soon as the class ended. And I also decided to sit in front of it and start organizing the lessons I received today.

… I decided not to work hard on organizing the lesson content. Because no matter how hard I try, there will always be situations where I have to start over. It’s better to cram during the exam period. Even if it’s cramming for others, I will have enough time for myself.

“How was it?”

Alice asked, putting down the pen she was writing with. She seemed to be expecting my evaluation.

I didn’t see the scene where Alice fought properly, but what she wanted wouldn’t be an evaluation of herself.

“Most of it was ordinary.”

I said honestly.

Even though the academy is a military academy, I didn’t think that all students who graduate from the academy would become officers.

So, even in my eyes – no, even in the eyes of an ordinary person who has never practiced, most students had awkward movements.

“But there were a few outstanding students.”

It seemed that Alice also felt that way, nodding her head.

In the duel between Alice and Charlotte, Alice was the winner. However, Alice thought she won because of the slight difference in skill. Even in my opinion, who had seen Charlotte’s swordplay briefly, I thought so. She didn’t swing her sword, but her refined swordsmanship alone was worthy of praise.

I’ll pass Claire Grace since I fought her myself.

Leo Grace was quite competent considering that his opponent was Jennifer. Maybe he could withstand it because Jennifer didn’t use firearms, but at least judging from his movements, he was not inferior to Claire. Is it natural for the protagonist?

And… Crowfield.

In Class A, there was Mia Crowfield, the daughter of the Crowfield Viscount that I killed.

She had black hair like me, and with long bangs that almost covered her eyes, she had a gloomy atmosphere.

It was understandable that she felt that way since her kind father was occasionally gruesomely murdered. I heard that the largest piece of the body found was a finger. The rest were bone fragments and pieces of flesh. It was judged to be the remains of the viscount by the clothes stuck to them.

I didn’t see the body myself, but I must have heard the story. And there must have been rumors that the emperor was behind the assassination of the viscount. Assuming it was the same situation as the original work.

The staff Mia Crowfield was holding was a dummy staff that couldn’t be used in actual combat. It could use light magic at best, but couldn’t use magic powerful enough to kill a person.

And on that magic staff, there was a magic power measurement window that looked like a thermometer, showing the ‘magic power of the magic to be used’ at a glance.

When Mia Crowfield tried to use magic with the dummy staff, the measuring device was completely destroyed.

Naturally, Jennifer declared Mia Crowfield’s victory on the spot. Very satisfied with herself.

… In the original work, she used magic to shoot a huge lightning bolt at the enemy.

She was someone I had never met before, but how would she react if she found out that I killed her father? Even now, she doesn’t say a word to me just because I’m the princess. Maybe she really will try to kill me? It was like that in the original story when Claire’s true nature was revealed.

Thinking about it made me feel a bit uneasy. In the game, injuries were just graphic effects that didn’t actually hurt, but in reality, getting hit would leave a gaping hole in your body. Well, in the game, most humans could take a sword strike or a gunshot and just lose HP without any real consequences. It was a game mechanic, and players didn’t find it strange.

People who cared about such things were considered weird. In FPS games, there were people who pointed out that after being shot, if you waited a few seconds, you would be fine again.

I think it’s unlikely that we’ll become friends.

And even if we’re not that close, it shouldn’t be a big problem. Crowfield’s story progressed separately from that, so I don’t really need to get involved. Leo is there.

“Well, at least it’s not just a bunch of clueless people here. There are definitely things to learn from.”

Alice smiled contentedly and picked up her pen again.

And I knew that Alice’s smile wasn’t just because there were things to learn. She was probably feeling good about being able to make a new friend, like Charlotte.

I hope that smile never fades.

That’s how I’ll make it.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

My younger brother… or so I thought, but Leo, who was making the outrageous claim that he was Claire’s brother, asked her that.

The two of them were sitting side by side in a street cafe. In mid-April, with the winter completely gone, the warm sun was shining down. Claire thought it would be foolish to let this sunlight go to waste.

Near the academy, the buildings were mostly equipped with the latest boilers. The smoke rising from the chimneys was inevitable, but at least the smoke around here was white, not black. It was just steam, not thick smog.

Many people in the Empire proudly considered black smoke a symbol of modernization, but Claire didn’t really agree with that. Coming to the academy made the world look different. What’s so good about that black smoke? If they like it so much, they should try cleaning the chimneys themselves.

Well, the reason the world looked different wasn’t just because the sky was clear and blue.

“A secret.”

But she couldn’t tell the reason to anyone.

She considered Leo a precious family member. In fact, if you counted the time spent together, Leo had known Claire much longer than Sylvia. But even so, Claire felt much closer to Sylvia.

Perhaps it was because Sylvia was the first ‘guardian’ she had ever felt. A child who was more mature than any adult around her, even though she wasn’t an adult herself.

When a child is separated from their birth parents, the bond with them doesn’t completely disappear. The child remembers their birth parents for years and sheds tears of joy when they meet again later.

Well, Sylvia wasn’t exactly old enough to be called a parent. But seeing her here now, she seemed to be around the same age as Claire.

In reality, this morning, she wanted to come out to a place like this with Sylvia and have a cup of tea. She wanted to share with each other what had happened and how they had been doing.

But Sylvia probably had her own story too.

In the dark alley, a nameless orphan almost died anonymously, but now she was living as a princess in the royal palace.

“……”

She used to be someone who laughed so well when she was young.

She wasn’t someone who raised her voice and scolded others, but she quietly smiled at the children, sharing various snacks and telling old stories. Although it was a memory from when she was very young, Claire could never forget it. It was the first “memory” she had experienced since she was born.

That person had become someone who used formal language with children of the same age and became secretive.

What happened in the palace?

At least, it wasn’t a memory that could be easily laughed off.

“……No, I mean… Haa, no. I feel like if I knew more, it would be a big problem, so I won’t ask.”

Laughing to herself, Claire suddenly looked serious, causing Leo to want to ask something but he just closed his mouth.

Even if Sylvia asked her not to say anything, she wouldn’t have told him even if he asked.

Well, it’s okay.

After all, she would continue to see his face in the future.

Thinking about the past ten years of repeating expectations and disappointments, there were plenty of opportunities to find a smile on Sylvia’s face.

“You’re laughing again this time.”

As Leo muttered as if he was embarrassed, Claire took a sip of milk tea filled with sugar and milk.