episode_0046

Alright. Let’s make a plan then.

No matter how good a person’s memory is, it is impossible to remember all the settings of a game. Even the most hardcore fans can’t recite the entire script of their favorite work without missing a single word.

You can tell that there are many people who don’t directly translate the settings of their favorite games. Many people don’t bother reading the game manual just because they find learning a foreign language too tedious. How many people would actually go through the unnecessary trouble of memorizing all the lines?

I was one of those people. Even though I broke the game a few times to write a walkthrough, played it a few more times because I liked it, compared the original and Korean versions, pointed out translations or tones I didn’t like, and even criticized the distribution company, I still couldn’t memorize all the lines.

But games are not meant to be memorized like studying.

Unless it’s a text-based game, most games, whether 2D or 3D, provide a background where characters can move. Unless there are serious spatial perception problems or the level design is so bad that textures are overly copied without any discernible hints, after wandering around the map a few times, you can roughly remember what’s where and what events are happening.

At least I could slowly recall where and what happened if I thought about the game from start to finish.

It was helpful that this game series had a consistent world-building that shared all backgrounds and settings.

The steampunk-themed world has been used since the 14th installment. Excluding the upcoming releases that I haven’t played, 14, 15, and 16 have been released, so just thinking about three installments was enough for me.

The playtime is long. But the long playtime is mostly due to exploring the map, leveling up characters, and reading long dialogues. There weren’t many parts that needed to be remembered in the walkthrough.

From what I’ve seen, the appearance of the central city in this world is almost identical to what was shown in the game. Of course, the details were quite different. Implementing the actual distance of a long avenue like that was too difficult even for a company like Millennium.

No, even AAA games don’t go that far. Some games claim to have recreated the entire region of Egypt or Greece, but when you actually play, the cities are only a few hundred meters in size, and the map is only about ten to twenty kilometers from end to end. And if the map is realistically sized for the player to explore, it can be boring throughout the gameplay.

Well, the fact that they could implement a region of that size was impressive in itself.

Anyway, that’s why I decided to focus only on the subquest list for the ‘avenue’ part of the walkthrough that I had written down in my notebook as soon as the situation stabilized when I came to this world.

Well, even if it’s an avenue, if an important area comes up, I don’t know if it will be properly implemented.

“So, next is…”

I flipped through the notebook and pointed to a section with my hand.

“Dungeon.”

That’s right.

If quests are the flower of an RPG, the foundation is the ‘dungeon’. The main party of the game defeats monsters in the dungeon, grows stronger, and receives rewards. This is a rule that is hard to escape unless it’s an SRPG where battles themselves can take up an entire episode.

Background into a clear space, whether it’s a dense forest, a city full of buildings, or even inside a space battleship, ultimately there’s a path, obstacles, and monsters in between, so you can’t escape the framework of a “dungeon.” Even if you try to escape, it’s still a “field,” and in a sense, that field is like a clear dungeon.

So, what would this dungeon in this background be like?

Strictly speaking, you could consider it a kind of dungeon in Gado, but since you can’t maintain a 1:1 scale in Gado, the limitations are clear. There were many places like abandoned underground prisons or sewage facilities that could be considered to be of a size that could be thought of as 1:1.

Especially in this game, as you progress to the latter part, a very complex dungeon with a background like a fantasy intertwined with reality appears. A vast and expansive dungeon provides the fun of conquering it.

And if that’s the case, wouldn’t that dungeon be implemented in the game on a 1:1 scale?

Well, it’s hard to be a hundred percent sure. Even so, it was awkward to think of the bizarre creatures that needed to be expelled in a city sewer as a pile of them.

“… Should I check it out?”

The real dungeon will come after the second chapter of the Gakshi series. It’s not about the second work of the world view, but about the second chapter of each work in the same world view. The prologue and the first chapter were like tutorials for adapting to a new system.

However, there were still quite a few places that could be called “dungeons.”

Wouldn’t the city sewer system be enough?

*

Thanks to two people who wake up early in the morning faster than usual, I woke up early this morning.

But since Alice was there and it wouldn’t be good for her character to sleep in, I started the day with an espresso that didn’t suit my taste.

Thanks to that, Sunday was going to be very long, and even considering the time spent with Alice, I had plenty of time to explore a place.

… or so I thought.

There was a moment when I was thinking about something, and Alice spoke to me.

Alice and I didn’t always stick together. We… well, we became much closer than I expected, but we weren’t always longing for each other or anything like that. It was a vague relationship somewhere between siblings and friends.

The problem is that while I had already finished studying before turning back time, Alice always goes back to the situation and memories before they were intertwined, even her improvement spirit goes back to the beginning.

A swan may float gracefully on the surface of the water, but in reality, it struggles to maintain its graceful posture by flapping its legs.

In fact, a swan is built with a body structure that can obtain enough buoyancy to float roughly on the water, and with long legs, it was a creature that could move forward just by waving its legs, but the “people around” don’t think so.

In my opinion, Alice’s skills were always top-notch, but to meet the expectations of those around her, she always studied and trained hard. In a different sense from Leona Claire.

And to Alice, the golden weekends were literally “golden.” Time is something that even money can’t buy. If you study and train during that golden time, it can be very helpful for improving your skills.

… And to Alice, I was the best study and training partner.

As I was preparing in the room, there was a knock on the door, and Alice came in with a book in hand, her eyes widening as she asked, “Where are you going with all that preparation?”

“Ah, well—”

“… Is it because of Father?”

“…”

Yes. I met Alice this morning and completely twisted the reason why I was tired to the Emperor.

Even if Leo and Claire hear about it later, I thought they would just brush it off by saying, “It’s the Emperor’s big picture,” so I didn’t think much of it. In fact, Claire did just that.

Actually, I just lost my words this time, but it seemed like Alice took it a bit differently.

“I want to go too.”

I blurted out without realizing it.

“….Huh?”

“Ah.”

Again.

*

I barely managed to hold back from blurting out. Even though I almost let out a “Why?” from my mouth, I could still manage to hold it in. Being able to hold back a major disaster consciously, maybe I have quite a remarkable ability?

“…It’s okay to have that expression.”

What kind of expression is that?

Of course, I couldn’t directly ask. Alice was already good at reading my expressions without me saying anything.

Just because she could read expressions didn’t mean she could always see through my thoughts like looking into clear water. Seeing a grimace on someone’s face could mean they’re in pain or terrified.

“You shouldn’t go where the Princess goes.”

“But aren’t you the Princess?”

“…We are different.”

As I spoke, Alice’s eyebrow raised slightly. It was a clear expression of annoyance.

“The Princess will become the Empress of this country in the future.”

“Do you think there’s a place where the Emperor of this country shouldn’t go?”

No, no matter how much…

…Wait, come to think of it, the Emperor probably wouldn’t care much about where he was. As long as it benefited him and helped him wield power, he probably wouldn’t care.

If there was something to be done, he could do it as much as he wanted. And he could confidently say that he had no shame.

“And.”

Alice pointed at me with her finger.

“I think you’re the most difficult person to control in this empire right now. You don’t tell me what you’re thinking, yet you hope for me to become the Emperor. Honestly, I don’t know what I want after becoming the Emperor, so I need to keep a close eye on you, right?”

“….”

Well, she’s not wrong at all.

It was true. In the eyes of the people in this world, I was a mysterious figure. And that mystery was something I had created and maintained. In fact, there were many thorns attached to me, like a warning that said, “Don’t touch him under any circumstances.”

The problem is… that warning doesn’t work on anyone else.

I just wanted to see Alice confidently rise to the throne, casting aside all feelings of inferiority. Because she’s Alice.

Whether she’s the rightful heir or the only child with the Emperor’s blood doesn’t matter to me. If Alice had her current appearance and personality, I would still want her to become the Emperor, even if the setting changed a bit.

Because that’s how it goes in the game.

In Chapter 16, Alice becomes the Emperor. Since Alice was a character who saved Claire’s life at the risk of her own, she wasn’t yet a “death-possible character.” In fact, even characters who were thought to be dead could come back to life in sequels in various ways. I have some clues I’ve gathered since coming to this side, but… I’ll think about that later.

The Emperor, who was originally the ruler, plunged the world into war and was eventually overthrown by the protagonists.

…Of course, there were two more scheduled works after that, so the fact that the emperor died must be a disguise, or someone will probably revive the emperor.

“…Understood.”

In the end, I said that to Alice.

Well, even in this world… no, especially in this world, the sewer is a place that is more repulsive. Maybe even just going to the entrance, Alice would be terrified and turn back, wouldn’t she? She really hated it in the game.

“…Although the expression doesn’t please me, well, okay.”

At least Alice seemed to know what kind of expression I made this time.

It must be ‘annoyance’ right away.