Ch. 6 Imperfect Me
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 6 – Imperfect Me
This damn game had one special rule.
Every loop, the protagonist of the scenario changed.
In the original game Dust Flowers and Digitalis, there were five playable characters.
One of them was randomly chosen as the protagonist each loop.
This world, though not a game, was based on the game, so the same rules applied.
Naturally, the events that happened in the original game also occurred in this world.
For example, in the last loop, the protagonist was Angelica.
The young lady of the Straubitz-Schlesien Count family, who guarded the southern border of the Prussian Empire.
If you chose her in the game, she would be selected as the Crown Prince’s fiancée.
Following the main scenario, she would naturally marry the Crown Prince and become the Crown Princess.
On the other hand, if you chose a different character, someone other than Angelica would become the Crown Prince’s fiancée.
This rule applied to this world as well.
In the last loop, Angelica was the Crown Prince’s fiancée, and if I hadn’t gone on a killing spree during the school trip, the two would have married.
Knowing who the protagonist of the loop was allowed me to roughly predict the major events that would unfold.
So, it was crucial to quickly figure out who the protagonist of this loop was.
And my checkpoint for regression was at 12 years old, the starting point of the original story.
I began to go through the newspapers Isabel had brought, one by one.
I needed to find the information that would help me identify this loop’s protagonist.
- Baroness Fritz arrested in Melburg.
- Six farmers obstructing railway construction were forcibly detained.
- The monster of Düsseldorf: What is its true identity?
- Major fire breaks out in Etihonen.
- Osnabrück summit collapses.
- Landslide in Rehinar, one dead.
- Princess Sabine donates 8,000 marks to Mecklenburg orphanage.
- The truth behind the sinking of the Götzensee: A government conspiracy.
From major headlines covered by multiple newspapers to conspiracy theories only fools would believe, newspapers were the easiest way to gather information in this era without the internet.
“…The Crown Prince’s fiancée has been decided.”
The headline of the imperial newspaper.
The article announced the selection of the Crown Prince’s fiancée, accompanied by her photograph.
Though the photo was grainy and black-and-white, it was easy to tell who the fiancée was.
“Angelica…”
The protagonist of the last loop had become the protagonist again this time.
It was rare, but it wasn’t unheard of for the same person to be the protagonist in consecutive loops.
After all, everything was decided randomly, so it wasn’t particularly strange.
Still, Angelica being the protagonist again…
I felt a tiny pang of guilt for killing her in the last loop.
Of course, it was just a speck of guilt, and I quickly brushed it off.
After all the heinous and immoral acts I had committed over dozens of loops, I didn’t have enough conscience left to feel bad about something like that.
But now that things have turned out this way, maybe I should help the two of them have a happy married life this time?
Collecting the cards was my top priority, but it wasn’t too difficult, so I thought I could lend a hand.
Even if I left them alone, they would probably get married on their own, but since this was a game, there would be villains trying to interfere. I figured I might as well step in.
It wasn’t a big deal, so I thought it would be fine.
I had obtained the most crucial information.
I could have stopped there, but since I had gathered all these newspapers, I decided to go through the rest slowly.
More information was always better.
While the main scenario depended on the loop’s protagonist, the events that occurred were random.
The events varied greatly each loop, and even the same event could involve different locations and people.
For example, the same murder case could have different perpetrators and victims.
It was like a roguelike game.
Was this some kind of consideration to keep things from getting boring?
If so, it wasn’t a consideration I appreciated.
I sipped my tea and flipped through the newspapers one by one.
Nothing particularly interesting caught my eye.
“Isabel, please clean this up.”
“Yes.”
By the time I finished my second cup of morning tea, I had skimmed through all the piled-up newspapers.
There wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy.
It was just another peaceful day in Prussia.
At least, that’s how it seemed on the surface.
“I’ll be going to Krahen this afternoon.”
“I’ll prepare for it.”
I had gathered all the information I could from the newspapers.
Next, I needed to collect information that wasn’t as easily accessible.
After finishing breakfast, I spent the morning reading.
Over dozens of loops, I had read enough books to get sick of them, but the same went for my other hobbies.
The only saving grace was that the world was vast, and so were the number of books.
It would take a lifetime to read all the books in Prussia alone.
And if you added books from abroad, even multiple lifetimes wouldn’t be enough.
Of course, books were a luxury in this era, but the Auerich-Wesermünde family had the wealth to afford them.
Plus, my personal assets were more than enough to acquire any book I wanted.
After spending the morning reading, I had lunch and prepared to go out.
I changed into outdoor clothes and stepped outside, where a carriage was waiting.
It was a black carriage adorned with the Auerich-Wesermünde family crest—a dragon and a goat on a shield.
I got into the carriage with Isabel and leaned back in the seat.
Once I was seated, Isabel signaled the coachman to depart.
Since the destination had been communicated in advance, there was no need for further explanation.
I leaned against the window and watched the scenery outside.
The carriage moved along the relatively well-paved road.
Compared to modern cars, the ride was uncomfortable, but I had gotten used to it by now.
At least the leaf spring suspension, which had a long history, made it bearable.
Without it, I probably would have chosen to walk instead.
After about 30 minutes of travel from the Auerich-Wesermünde estate in the suburbs, we arrived at our destination: a newspaper office in the city.
I stepped out of the carriage and looked up at the building for a moment.
It was a four-story structure made of red bricks, with a sign featuring two crows hanging above the entrance.
As Isabel and I entered the building, a receptionist recognized me.
She perked up her ears and wagged her tail excitedly as she hurried over.
“Ah! Welcome! Are you here to see the boss?”
“Nice to see you, Katrin. I’m here to see John.”
Katrin guided Isabel and me to the reception room.
After asking us to wait for a moment, she bowed politely and left.
While we waited, another employee came in and prepared tea for us.
It was a slightly expensive tea for a small newspaper office to serve to guests.
As I sipped the tea, I heard the sound of someone rushing over.
The footsteps stopped outside the reception room door, followed by a knock.
“Come in.”
A young man in a white shirt and a beige checkered vest entered.
He looked a bit disheveled, as if he had rushed over.
He reminded me of a golden retriever.
Though John was a Komrian, not a canine, he acted just like a big dog.
“John, you didn’t have to run over like that.”
“No! I couldn’t possibly keep you waiting, miss! That would be unthinkable!”
John spoke excitedly, while catching his breath.
After composing himself, he sat down in the chair across from me.
“What brings you here today?”
“I need crows. About three of them.”
John immediately pulled out a pen and paper and asked for clarification.
“Crows” was slang for Krahen’s intelligence agents.
“I’ll prepare them right away. Who should they be assigned to?”
“Angelica of Straubitz-Schlesien, Adelaide of Bavaria, and Tatiana Nikolaevna from Ostrov.”
These were the names of three of the original game’s protagonists.
There were five protagonists in total, but the other two weren’t currently in Prussia.
John scratched his head as he wrote down the names I mentioned.
“The Crown Prince’s fiancée is among them…”
“You don’t need to investigate too deeply. Just keep an eye on them from a distance.”
I added this to reassure John, who seemed a bit troubled.
After all, I wasn’t looking for detailed information about them.
“I don’t need detailed personal information or who they met, where, and what they talked about.”
I explained this to John.
He nodded in understanding, and I continued.
“Just where they go, who they meet, and roughly what they do. That’s enough.”
Over dozens of loops, I had experienced many things.
Though many things changed randomly each time, people didn’t change easily.
So, knowing roughly what they were up to was enough.
With that, predicting their actions wasn’t difficult.
“Report to Isabel once a week. If something unusual happens or you come across information that’s hard to judge on your own, report it immediately.”
“Yes, understood.”
After hearing John’s response, I stood up immediately.
He offered me another cup of tea, but I declined and left the reception room.
“Shall we head back to the estate?”
The coachman asked as I boarded the waiting carriage.
“…No, let’s buy some sweets before heading back. Lizzy will like them.”
After a moment of thought, I replied.
It was a small gift for my little sister.
Vrslop_translator
0 Comments