Ch. 5 Imperfect Me
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 5 – Imperfect Me
When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling.
It was the ceiling of my room, one I had been staring at for so many years that I couldn’t even remember how long it had been.
At first, it felt awkward, but now it felt naturally familiar.
Still groggy from sleep, I stretched my stiff body.
Then, I got out of bed and walked over to the full-length mirror placed in one corner of the room.
Reflected in the mirror was my unchanged self.
Pink hair, pale skin, blue eyes, pointed elf-like ears, and the horns on my head.
I had inherited more of my Lindblum mother’s features than my Germanic father’s.
A pretty girl at an age where she could still be called a child.
There stood Lieselotte, 12 years old.
Just a short while ago, I had been in a 15-year-old body, but now I was back to being 12 again.
Even though I had experienced this dozens of times, the sudden change in age was something I could never get used to.
Still, it was better than the first time.
In the first loop, there were no checkpoints, so I had to start as a newborn.
Perhaps the self-proclaimed goddess thought starting as a baby every time was a bit much, so thankfully, from the second loop onward, I started as 12 years old.
Standing in front of the mirror, I made various expressions.
It was something I would never have done as a man, but given Lieselotte’s appearance, it was quite fun.
Of course, it was only natural—Lieselotte was a beauty.
Though not the heroine or protagonist, she was an important supporting character.
Unless there was a specific setting stating otherwise, it was only natural for her to have above-average looks.
In the original story, she was infamous for dying so often that she earned unflattering nicknames like “Death Squad” or “Sunfish.”
“…Don’t you get tired of staring at that face, human?”
As I played around with my reflection, Rota spoke up.
When I turned around, Rota was floating behind me.
It was fascinating to see a book, which looked like an ordinary object, floating in the air on its own.
And did I get tired of it?
Of course not.
Lieselotte was one of the most famous beauties in the story.
Though she was often killed off due to the author’s whims, she was far from being treated as an extra.
“Not at all! It’s always fresh and thrilling!”
“Sure, sure…”
Rota sighed in response to my joke.
You did it too, so why are you only criticizing me?
The hypocrisy was astounding.
“So, what’s up?”
I decided to cut the jokes and get to the point.
It wasn’t like I did this every day, so there must have been a reason.
“Congratulations on completing an achievement. Here’s number 13.”
“Wow… I can’t believe it actually worked.”
I gave a wry smile at Rota’s words.
I had tried it on a whim, but honestly, the odds were fifty-fifty.
The hint for the achievement was “Kill, and kill again!” so I thought I’d give it a shot.
But I never expected it to actually work.
I couldn’t help but be surprised.
The 13th card of the Major Arcana, “Death.”
The achievement condition only had the word “kill” written on it, so I had half given up on it.
With no mention of who or how many to kill, I had no choice but to push it to the back of my mind.
Of course, after getting the hint, I tried various things.
I killed important characters from the original story, and I even hunted down the protagonist of that loop.
But there was no sign of the condition being met.
In the end, out of desperation, I tried something drastic, and it worked.
Apparently, massacring major characters or killing a certain number of people was the key.
At least I had completed one more achievement, so that was good.
Now, only three cards remain.
The 0th card, “The Fool” the 15th card , “The Devil” and the 21st card, “The World”
I let out a deep sigh.
Only three cards were left, but those three were the real problem.
None of them had any hints or even a vague idea of how to achieve them.
I have tried so many things already.
I couldn’t remember the exact number, but this damn game had gone on for over 50 loops.
I had tried everything under the sun, but with no hints, I was at a loss.
The names of the cards didn’t give me any clues either.
Surely they didn’t expect me to actually become a fool or a devil.
If that were the case, I would have cleared it long ago.
And “The World” was the biggest problem of all.
I had no idea what I was supposed to do for that one.
I even had the crazy thought that maybe I had to conquer the world to achieve it.
I decided to stop thinking about it for now.
There was no way I could complete all three in this loop.
This loop would have to be about gathering hints for the remaining cards.
Thankfully, I had completed one achievement in the last loop, so I was satisfied with that.
Besides, I had obtained a new Arcana card, so there was something to check.
I turned to Rota and spoke again.
“So, what’s the reward this time?”
Every time I obtained a Major Arcana card, there was a reward.
The Machina Deus Ex, a divine artifact resembling a mechanical device, granted god-like powers.
Each Arcana card came with one such artifact as a reward.
At my question, Rota flew over and opened a page.
“The Reaper.”
As she said this, she showed me the page.
On the opened page, alongside the Death card, was a description of the artifact I had obtained.
[The Reaper: Once per loop, bestow death upon a designated target.]
“What am I supposed to do with this…?”
I couldn’t help but sigh at the ambiguous ability.
Of course, it was a powerful ability worthy of the name “Death.”
The problem was that I didn’t see many opportunities to use it.
If I had obtained this earlier, it might have been useful.
A powerful ability to eliminate troublesome people without any conditions would have been great.
But that was back when I was a complete newbie. Now, as a veteran, it felt like a useless burden.
(tl: simple white elephant)
Honestly, if I wanted to, I could easily dispose of someone without leaving a trace.
But a one-time-use Death Note per loop?
What am I supposed to do with that?
Well, it’s better than nothing, I guess.
At least I had completed another achievement, so I was getting closer.
This damn game was finally starting to show signs of ending.
“Phew… Well, good things come to those who wait…”
For now, there was something I needed to do.
A new loop had started, so there were things to check.
I walked over to the table and picked up the small bell placed on it.
It was used to summon the household servants.
I rang the bell, and a clear chime echoed through the room.
A moment later, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
“Did you call for me?”
A maid entered the room, bowing as she greeted me.
It was Isabel, my personal maid, a tall woman with green hair and yellow eyes.
Of Romani descent, she had the rare brown skin tone for someone from Prussia.
“Bring me the newspaper and morning tea.”
I sat down in a chair and gave her my request.
“Which one would you like?”
Isabel asked in response to my instruction.
Of course, there were many types of newspapers.
From local newspapers covering the affairs of Auerich-Wesermünde to imperial newspapers reporting major events across the empire.
There were gossip magazines for nobles and tabloids for commoners.
Truly, there were countless types of newspapers.
Normally, I would have asked for something light to read during breakfast, but not today.
“All of them. Every type you can get your hands on immediately.”
“Understood.”
Isabel bowed and left the room without another word.
She didn’t even question my somewhat absurd request to bring every available newspaper.
She simply followed my orders without hesitation.
“Miss, I’ve brought your morning tea.”
As Isabel left, another maid entered the room.
She had prepared a tea set on a large serving cart and brought it over to the table where I was sitting.
It felt like she was always ready, given that I drank tea every morning before breakfast.
“It’s Ceylon tea, imported from the east.”
The maid said as she prepared the teacup.
It was green tea imported from the east not long ago.
The freshly brewed tea filled the transparent glass cup, sparkling like a green topaz under the sunlight.
“What toppings would you like?”
“Apple mint.”
After a moment of thought, I answered her question.
The refreshing taste of apple mint would surely make the morning more pleasant.
The maid added a few leaves of mint from a small ceramic jar into the teacup.
“Here you go, miss.”
“Thank you, Bertha.”
The completed tea was placed in front of me.
The warm green tea in the transparent glass looked like a cocktail.
If a slice of lime were added, it would have looked exactly like a mojito.
I took a sip of the tea.
Despite its cool appearance, it was warm.
Of course.
Though it looked like it would have a refreshing aroma, it just tasted like green tea.
Still, the coolness of the mint was noticeable.
And since it was apple mint, there was a hint of apple flavor as well.
As I enjoyed the refreshing feeling, Isabel returned.
“I’ve brought the newspapers.”
Isabel had piled a large stack of papers onto the serving cart.
It seemed she had gathered every type of newspaper available, as I had instructed.
The maid who had been serving me tea widened her eyes at the sheer volume of papers.
I, of course, was used to this sight and paid no mind.
I gave the same order every time I looped, so it was only natural.
I quickly skimmed through the papers on the cart Isabel had brought.
Newspapers, tabloids, and various magazines—she had gathered them all.
As always, Isabel knew exactly what I wanted.
Having been trained as my personal maid since childhood, it was natural.
I set down my teacup and picked up one of the newspapers from the cart
Vrslop_translator
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