Chapter 1: Reincarnation in Another World and the Summoning of Mitsunari
That day, I was in the best mood of my life.
The reason was extremely simple.
After adding the money I had earned from helping with household chores to the remainder of my New Year’s gift money, I had finally saved enough to buy the new game I wanted.
The title of the new game was Horoscope Chronicle.
It was an otome game that had become famous for its unique story and its unprecedented price tag of over ten thousand yen.
As I headed toward the game shop with excitement in my heart, my cheerful walk gradually turned into a run.
Fortunately, it was summer vacation.
Once I bought the game, I had already decided to play it nonstop.
While researching Horoscope Chronicle’s reputation, I had unwillingly stumbled upon a spoiler-filled review from a trash reviewer.
To make sure such a tragedy never happened again, I was fully prepared to stay off social media until I cleared the game.
However, the moment the signboard of the game shop where I had placed my reservation entered my sight and my eyes lit up, everything changed.
A truck suddenly mounted the sidewalk and charged straight toward me.
“Ah,”
Was this my life flashing before my eyes?
In the slow-motion world before me, I could see the truck driver sleeping at the wheel.
“N-Nooooooo!!”
An intense pain surged through my entire body.
Perhaps the function that allowed me to scream had been crushed, because I could no longer even cry out.
Thoughts of wanting to live longer and all the things I still wanted to do swirled together into a chaotic mess as my consciousness rapidly faded away.
On that day, my short life came to an end.
Or so I thought.
Apparently, I had miraculously survived.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying in a canopy bed that looked like something a princess would use.
“W-What’s going on!? Why am I sleeping in a place like this!? Normally if you’re in a traffic accident, you’d be in a hospital… Wait, even my clothes are some kind of princess dress!”
I shouted while gasping for breath.
Perhaps hearing my scream, the door to a room larger than my entire house opened.
“Young Lady! You’ve awakened! I heard you suddenly collapsed in the basement, and I was terribly worried!”
“Wow.”
A voice of admiration escaped me.
The person who entered the room was a young butler with black hair and violet eyes who perfectly embodied the phrase “strikingly handsome.”
Moreover, his features were clearly not those of an East Asian.
“Collapsed in the basement?
I should’ve been hit by a truck…
More importantly, who are you?”
The young butler blinked in confusion.
“Truck?”
It was as though he had never heard the word before.
“I am Henry Butler, your personal attendant, Young Lady.
Whatever is the matter, Lady Annaliese?”
“A-Annaliese?
No, no, my name isn’t something Western like that—”
At that moment, my reflection in a mirror suddenly entered my field of vision.
Standing there was not an ordinary high school girl.
“W-What is thisssssss!?”
A princess with pale porcelain-blue long hair, ice-blue eyes, and fair skin stood there.
And that princess was me.
A week passed before I finally began to understand my situation.
I was now Annaliese Agares.
The only daughter and future head of the Agares Ducal House, one of the two great ducal families of the Kingdom of Bael.
I knew a fair amount of history, but no nation by that name existed in the real world.
More importantly, magic apparently existed here as a matter of course.
No matter how I looked at it, this was not the world I had come from.
Most likely, after being hit by that truck and dying, I had reincarnated into this other world as Annaliese Agares.
“Well, that’s fine.
No, it’s absolutely not fine…
I died before I could even play the game I was looking forward to.”
But more importantly, there was an even bigger problem.
“This other world is the setting of an otome game, and Annaliese Agares is the villainess who relentlessly torments the heroine before ultimately meeting her doom and dying!!”
Thinking back, I had felt a sense of déjà vu when the young butler introduced himself as Henry Butler.
It had sounded familiar somehow.
Then, upon hearing my full name, Annaliese Agares, I became certain.
Both Henry Butler and Annaliese Agares were names of characters from Horoscope Chronicle, the game I had purchased right before I died.
“What’s even worse is that I only bought the game and never got to play it.
All I know comes from the official website’s synopsis, character profiles, and spoiler reviews…”
Annaliese recalled her memories from her previous life.
‘The best thing about this game is that the villainess Annaliese dies at the end of every route lol.’
That was the spoiler review that had left the strongest impression on her.
The trash reviewer had spoiled several other important plot points as well.
After seeing those spoilers, she had sworn not to encounter any more.
She had cut herself off from the internet and blocked out all information.
Now, she hated that fan mentality that feared spoilers so much.
“Ah, damn it!
If this was going to happen, I should’ve just read every single spoiler review before playing the game!
Goddammit!”
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
When she answered, “Come in,” the young butler, Henry Butler, entered the room.
“I could hear you all the way outside, Young Lady.
As the daughter of the Agares Ducal House, please refrain from using crude words like ‘damn.'”
“I-I know that!
But sometimes people just really want to use vulgar language!”
“Haa…
Is that so?”
Henry wore an expression that looked half-convinced and half-unconvinced.
At first glance, he looked like a loyal and capable butler who would properly admonish his master when necessary.
However, Annaliese knew something.
Henry Butler was listed on the official website as a romanceable character.
‘He’s serving me so diligently right now, but is he secretly harboring resentment?
Or maybe he doesn’t hate me yet, but he’ll eventually be abused by the villainess Annaliese and then healed by the protagonist or something?
Hmm…’
“W-What’s wrong?
Why are you staring at my face like that?”
Being stared at so intently by Annaliese, whose appearance was unquestionably beautiful, Henry’s cheeks turned red.
However, all she learned from observing him was that his natural first-person pronoun was apparently “ore.”
In that case, there was only one thing left to do.
Ask him directly.
Annaliese opened her mouth.
“Hey, Henry!
You don’t hold any grudges or dissatisfaction toward me, do you!?”
“Eh!?”
Caught completely off guard, Henry hurriedly replied.
“The Agares family hired someone like me, a commoner, as a servant.
How could I possibly resent you, Young Lady?
Did I perhaps do something improper?”
“Nothing like that.
I think you’ve been doing a great job.”
Though, someone like me—a modern high school girl from an ordinary family—wouldn’t have any way of judging a butler’s manners.
Annaliese added that thought silently.
If she took Henry’s words at face value, he seemed to have favorable feelings toward Annaliese Agares.
However, she couldn’t tell whether those feelings were genuine or merely a lie to conceal his true emotions.
The only things Annaliese could trust without doubt in this world were the information she remembered from the official website and, regrettably, the spoiler reviews from that trash reviewer.
‘If Annaliese dies in every route, then I must die in Henry’s route too.
I don’t know exactly how, but according to that spoiler reviewer…’
‘The best thing about this game is that the villainess Annaliese dies at the end of every route lol.’
The review resurfaced in her mind once more.
And the words “dies at the end” repeated over and over.
‘She’s the kind of character that actual players unanimously applaud when she dies.’
Such was the nature of the world.
If a character was beautiful enough, people would defend their evil deeds or support them out of contrarianism.
Annaliese Agares was undeniably beautiful, judging from the mirror.
And yet everyone celebrated her death.
That meant the character Annaliese must have been an exceptionally well-crafted hate sink.
If she were merely a player, she would have praised the game’s writing.
But now that she had become the character herself, she wanted to complain about whoever had created such a perfectly detestable villainess.
“U-Um, Young Lady?
Are you perhaps feeling unwell…?”
Henry peered at her worriedly.
But Annaliese couldn’t fully trust that expression.
What if, beneath that concerned face, he actually harbored murderous intent?
She could objectively recognize that paranoia was taking hold of her.
“I’m fine, Henry.
I just want to think by myself for a while, so could you leave me alone?”
“Y-Yes.
Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
After bowing, Henry left the room.
Watching his retreating figure, Annaliese steeled her resolve.
“I really have no choice but to use that magic.”
She looked toward the grimoire resting on the table.
In the basement where the original Annaliese Agares had collapsed, a single grimoire had been found beside her.
The magic recorded within that book was the Agares family’s inherited Super Magic, a power that surpassed ordinary magic.
Super Magic was passed down through the royal family and the noble houses that had existed since the nation’s founding.
Each family’s Super Magic was completely unique.
No two were identical.
Even the royal family was not allowed to know the details of another house’s inherited Super Magic.
However, all Super Magic shared two common traits.
First, it could produce miracles impossible to replicate with ordinary magic.
Second, every use consumed not only magical power but also the caster’s lifespan.
The amount of lifespan consumed depended on the caster’s magical power and the scale of the spell.
According to the Agares grimoire, this particular Super Magic could consume up to ten years of life.
“According to this grimoire, the Agares family’s Super Magic summons a heroic savior from another world.
I don’t know who might kill me in this world, but someone from another world won’t start off with maximum murderous intent toward me!”
Using up lifespan was terrifying.
Not just a little terrifying.
But it was still better than spending her entire life trapped in suspicion and paranoia in a world where she couldn’t trust anyone.
Besides, according to the official website, Annaliese was “blessed with extraordinary magical talent.”
She would probably lose no more than five years.
Even so, since lifespan was the price, this wasn’t something she could spam.
Descending into the basement, Annaliese carefully drew the magic circle with the utmost precision.
Then, at two in the morning, believing the timing would bring good luck, she activated the summoning spell.
“Come on!
A strong, kind hero who is twenty percent kinder than normal!”
Since no incantation had been specified, she simply shouted whatever came to mind.
The magic circle immediately began shining with explosive brilliance.
The light was so intense that she instinctively closed her eyes.
About ten seconds later, the glow subsided.
She cautiously opened her eyes.
And there—
“………………”
Messy black hair.
Black eyes.
A face that was handsome but gave off a cold impression rather than a refreshing one.
Most striking of all was the exotic clothing he wore, something rarely seen in this world.
To put it simply, it was a kimono.
“Eh, no way, traditional Japanese clothing!?
Wait…
Does ‘hero from another world’ not mean some heavenly realm or demon realm?
Does it mean another world from my own homeland!?”
“………………”
The summoned man merely stared at Annaliese without any reaction.
Since the conversation wasn’t progressing, she spoke first.
“U-Um.”
“………………”
“Helloooo?”
“By Chikuma Bay, the beacon fires between the reeds.
Together with them, my life too shall fade away.”
“Huh?”
“My death poem.”
“I see…
Very impressive, I guess?”
Annaliese was the type of girl who knew absolutely nothing about haiku or tanka.
“………………”
After reciting his death poem, the man fell silent again.
“U-Um.”
“………………”
“Please say something!”
“Then hurry and cut off my head.”
“I’m not cutting off your head!
What are you even talking about!?”
Annaliese shouted at the sudden bombshell.
The man, however, remained completely calm.
“I cherish my life, but I will not beg for it.
Go ahead and strike.
If you possess any mercy, then remember the kindness of Lord Taiko and continue serving Lord Hideyori faithfully.
Farewell.”
At that instant, every piece of the puzzle clicked together.
A single name surfaced in Annaliese’s mind.
Excited by the unbelievable possibility, she spoke.
“Taiko…
Not Grand Duke, but Taiko?
And Lord Hideyori…
D-Don’t tell me you’re from the Sengoku period!?
What’s your name!?”
“You don’t even know the name of the man you’re about to execute?
Your ignorance is astounding.
Even if your role is merely to behead someone, you’re dealing with a human life.
What if you executed the wrong person?
A life cannot be restored once taken.”
It was an entirely reasonable lecture.
However, there was something Annaliese wanted to say even more.
Throwing her arms wide, she shouted.
“You should look around first!
Does this look like an execution ground to you!?”
Perhaps he was simply dense.
Or perhaps he had never had the mental capacity to notice.
Only after her outburst did the man finally look around.
His eyes widened.
“A foreign girl.
A basement.
A clear indication that you do not intend to kill me…
I don’t understand.
Who are you?
Where is this?
State your name.”
“I’ve been asking for your name this whole time!
Whatever.
I’m Annaliese Agares.
A duke’s daughter in this country.
I’m even related to the king, so I’m pretty important.
Well, not me exactly—Annaliese is.”
“To distinguish yourself from the nobility of your bloodline.
You understand the proper order of things.
It is a waste that you were born a woman.”
That wasn’t what she had meant at all.
However, since he seemed to have misunderstood in a favorable way, Annaliese chose not to correct him.
“Anyway, what’s your name?”
“Ishida Jibu no Shoyu Mitsunari.”
It was exactly the name she had expected.
While many of Hideyoshi’s retainers submitted to Tokugawa Ieyasu, one man stood firm against him and sparked the Battle of Sekigahara through unwavering loyalty.
That man was Ishida Mitsunari.
A smile naturally spread across Annaliese’s face.
“You’re that Ishida Mitsunari who fought Tokugawa Ieyasu at Sekigahara, right!?
Not just someone with the same name!?”
“I have never heard of another Ishida Mitsunari who held the office of Jibu no Shoyu.
But did you abduct me without knowing who I was?
What exactly were you thinking?”
“Well, it was more like summoning someone from another world.
Though why Mitsunari?
Actually, it’s more like thank goodness it’s Mitsunari.”
Mitsunari looked as though countless question marks were floating above his head.
Even Annaliese, a modern high school girl familiar with the concept of isekai reincarnation through pop culture, had been thrown into utter confusion when she first arrived here.
How much more confused must a man from the Sengoku period be?
“Another world summoning?
What countryside dialect is that?
I’ve never heard such a phrase.”
“W-Well, putting all that aside, let’s continue this conversation in my room.”
“I have no objection to holding discussions.
However, before that, I have one request.
Rather, it is a prerequisite before any discussion can occur.”
“W-What is it?”
To Annaliese, Ishida Mitsunari was the first person she could trust without suspicion.
She absolutely couldn’t afford to offend him.
Cold sweat ran down her back.
“Cut these ropes.”
“Ah.”
She nearly fell over.
After all, Mitsunari had been summoned just moments before his execution.
He was still bound with ropes.