First of all, there’s one thing I’ve definitely decided in my heart.
I’m planning to push this concept as far as I can.
I do want to blend in as a character in this story, but separate from that, I feel like it’s too late to show my true nature—an otaku.
Well, I wonder if people in this time period would even understand the concept of being an otaku.
No, wait…
Thinking about it, there are actually quite a few famous characters in this world. Not the ‘characters’ that appear in the game, but ‘characters’ that exist as part of the background setting.
The old characters that resonate with 21st-century Earth mostly came about in the early to mid-20th century. With the development of printing and film technology, many characters gained popularity through short animations, weekly and daily serialized comics, and have lived on until now.
Of course, some might wonder if it’s too early for characters like that to appear in this backdrop set in 1901. But in fact, there were characters like “The Yellow Kid,” who had explosive popularity even before that. Particularly, this “Yellow Kid” character was so famous that it became the origin of the term “yellow journalism.” The comic based on this character was serialized in the 1890s.
…This was something the production team had said in an interview to defend the game’s setting.
That setting concerns a character that’s somewhat popular in this world. So, within the game, it’s treated as a ‘character’ and functions as a mascot.
This dog character named “Digger” is a character from the play-within-a-play titled “Digger the Dog.”
It’s a short comic made about the stories that unfold every time Digger, who loves digging, digs a hole. Apparently, this comic has become a huge hit at the newspaper agency.
Since “The Yellow Kid” has content that is discriminatory towards Asians, it seems they created an original character like this. Still, it had the thick pen strokes typical of 20th-century characters.
Last year, after the appearance of film reels and cameras, the film industry was just starting to form, and short silent animations of around 3-5 minutes were slowly being produced. Although all of them were still in black and white.
So, what if I have a set-up where I like this character?
“…”
I don’t think that’s a bad idea.
I’ve always liked reading comics. I wasn’t fanatical about Disney comics, but I’ve read almost all the famous ones.
Coincidentally, cheap-quality plushies are now being produced, so maybe I’ll think about getting a few later.
Of course, not right now. Maybe in a year or two, after some time has passed.
Because if I break this now, it would be way too embarrassing.
Even with the ability to turn back time, I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself in real-time. No matter how much I’ve lived as a woman for 10 years, I still have those 30 years as a man before that.
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
Suddenly pulled from my thoughts, I looked up to see Alice asking.
Her gaze caught my own, “You’re looking at the book, but your eyes aren’t moving at all.”
I realized I wasn’t concentrating. I didn’t really feel like concentrating either.
“I was thinking about the sparring we had in the morning.”
“Sparring? Ah.”
Alice seemed to have come to some conclusion after hearing me.
“Were you evaluating the movements of the kids in your class?”
…I haven’t done that, but let’s pretend I did. That fits this character better anyway.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Nodding, I answered like that.
Honestly, attending the academy felt much harder than living in the palace. I don’t know about other things, but maintaining this character is proving more difficult than I thought. We had just finished our first day of classes.
Displaying the belief that ‘a student’s duty is to study,’ Alice headed straight to the library as soon as class ended. I decided to sit in front of her and read a book as well.
…I decided not to stress too much about organizing class content. Even if I did, I’d probably have to redo it several times anyway. It’s better to cram when the exam period comes. It might be cramming for others, but I’d still have enough time.
“How was it?”
Alice put down her pen and asked me. It seemed she was expecting my evaluation.
While I hadn’t properly watched Alice’s fighting scenes, I believed what she wanted wasn’t an evaluation about herself.
“Most of it was average.”
I said honestly.
Even characters who appear as main characters in the story often live lives far removed from fighting due to their settings. Although the academy also serves as a military academy, not every student who graduates intends to become an officer.
So from my perspective—no, even from the view of an ordinary person who has never had any special training, most of the students had awkward movements.
“But there were a few outstanding ones.”
Alice seemed to feel the same way and nodded as she spoke.
The winner of the sparring between Alice and Charlotte was Alice. However, Alice thought she had won by a narrow margin. From my perspective, having briefly observed Charlotte’s swordplay, I agreed with her. While she didn’t release any sword energy, her refined swordsmanship was certainly worthy of high praise.
As for Claire Grace, since I faced her directly, that’s a pass.
Considering Leo Grace’s opponent was Jennifer, he performed quite well. Though Jennifer hadn’t used firearms, so Leo likely held his ground thanks to that. At least in terms of movement, he wasn’t inferior to Claire. I guess that’s what being the protagonist gets you?
And… Crowfield.
In Class A, there’s Mia Crowfield, the daughter of Count Crowfield, whom I killed.
She had dark hair like mine with a gloomy atmosphere, her bangs long enough to nearly cover her eyes.
It was understandable, given that her kind father, who had been so good to her, was horrifically murdered. The largest piece found amongst the remains was said to be a finger. The rest were bones and flesh. It’s presumed they determined the remains to be that of the Count based on the clothing and what stuck to it.
While she likely didn’t see that corpse directly, she must have heard the story. And she probably heard rumors that it was the Emperor who ordered the assassination, assuming the same circumstances as the original work.
The staff she held was a dummy that couldn’t be used in a real battle. She could cast a bit of light magic, but couldn’t use magic powerful enough to kill someone.
That magic staff had a magical measurement window shaped like a thermometer that clearly displayed the ‘magical power’ of the spell she intended to use.
As Mia tried to cast magic with the dummy staff, that measuring device shattered completely.
Of course, Jennifer declared Mia’s victory right then and there—with a very satisfied expression.
…In the original, she had used a spell that shot massive icicles into the enemy.
Though she hadn’t once made eye contact with me, I wondered how she’d react if she ever found out I was the one who killed her father. After all, she barely spoke to me because I’m a Crown Princess; she might actually try to kill me! That’s how Claire’s past showed it in the original work.
Thinking about it that way sends a slight chill down my spine. Based on that graphic design, there wouldn’t be any injury, and it would just end as an effect; if I was hit for real, there’d be a giant hole in my body. But hey, in games, even if you get slashed by a sword or shot by a gun, you just lose HP and stand there unscathed. That’s just the game’s allowance, and players often didn’t find it odd.
Actually, those who cared about such things often ended up being considered strange. In FPS games, there were folks who pointed out that if you get shot and rest for a few seconds, you’re fine again.
I think it’ll be unrealistic to get close to her.
And it’s not really a big problem if we’re not very close. The Crowfield family storyline develops separately from that. There’s no need for me to help. Leo is there after all.
“Well, at least it’s a relief that it’s not just a bunch of nobodies. It’s definitely a place where there’s something to learn.”
Alice said with a satisfied smile and picked up her pen again.
And I knew very well that the reason she was smiling didn’t just come from the fact that there was something to learn.
She was probably happy because she could make new friends. Like Charlotte.
I hope that smile never breaks.
I’ll make sure of it.
*
“What are you thinking so hard about?”
My brother… or at least, the one who claims to be Claire’s brother, the ridiculous Leo, asked Claire like that.
The two of them were sitting side by side in a café on the street. It was mid-April, and warm sunlight poured down as if to prove that winter was completely gone. Claire thought it would be foolish to let this sunshine slip by.
The buildings near the academy were made to use the most modern boilers possible. The smoke billowing from the chimneys couldn’t be helped, but at least the smoke pouring out from the area was white instead of black. Just water vapor, not thick smoke.
In the empire, many people proudly consider black smoke a symbol of modernization, but Claire didn’t quite agree with that. Coming to the academy had made the world look different. What on earth did those people find good about that black smoke? Then they should clean those chimneys themselves.
But that’s not the only reason the world looked different—it’s also because the sky was clear and blue.
“It’s a secret.”
But she couldn’t share the reason with him.
She thought of her precious family. In fact, Leo had known Claire much longer than Sylvia when taking into account the time they spent together. But still, Claire felt much closer to Sylvia.
Perhaps it was because Sylvia was the first ‘guardian’ she had ever felt. A child who was not even an adult yet was more mature than all the adults around her.
Even if a child separates from their biological parents during childhood, that bond doesn’t completely disappear. A child will remember their biological parents for years and will shed tears of joy when they meet again later.
Well, Sylvia wasn’t that much older to be called her parent. Looking at her here now, she might actually be the same age.
Truth is, Claire wanted to come out to a place like this and have tea together this morning. While doing so, she wanted to share stories about what had happened and how each had been doing.
But Sylvia must have her own story as well.
Once an orphan who nearly died unnamed in a back alley, she was now living as a Crown Princess within the royal family.
“……”
She was someone who used to laugh so well as a child.
Though not someone who laughed loudly, she would quietly smile at kids and share various snacks while telling old stories. Those memories from her very early childhood were something Claire could never forget. It had been the first ‘memories’ she ever had.
Now, that person had turned into someone who spoke formally to kids her age and wrapped herself in mystery.
What could have happened during her time in the royal palace?
At the very least, it wouldn’t have been a memory she could just laugh off.
“……No, I mean… Hah, forget it. I feel like knowing more would be problematic, so I won’t ask.”
After laughing alone, Claire’s serious expression caught Leo’s attention, and he was about to ask something but ended up shutting his mouth.
Even if he asked her to speak, she probably wouldn’t, since Sylvia had told him not to.
Well, that’s alright.
After all, they’d see each other’s faces going forward.
Considering the last ten years of hoping and being disappointed repeatedly, there would surely be plenty of opportunities for Claire to find a smile on Sylvia’s face.
“Here we go again, smiling.”
Ignoring Leo’s mumblings that sounded like astonishment, Claire took a sip of her milk tea, which was loaded with sugar and milk.
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