Chapter 3: The Grand Library and Translation Magic
The royal capital of Sirius, seat of the Kingdom of Bael, lay north of the Agares Territory.
Since the capital was called Sirius and the capital city of the Agares Territory was called Altarf, the cities of this world were probably named after stars from the real world.
The capital she visited for the first time was overflowing with life.
The merchants’ energetic cries echoed throughout the marketplace.
However, when she peeked into a side alley, she found street children and beggars.
Annaliese felt as though she had caught a glimpse of the darker side of a medieval European-style fantasy world.
While being scolded by the accompanying Henry with, “It’s dangerous, so please don’t go near them!” she continued toward their destination, the Royal Library.
And when they finally arrived—
“Wow!
T-This thing is huge!”
“…Is that truly the extent of your vocabulary?”
“Shut up.”
Ignoring Mitsunari’s exasperation, she gazed up at the Royal Library.
As someone born into an ordinary family, Annaliese lacked the words to properly describe such a magnificent structure.
Still, she felt that if the lost Library of Alexandria had survived into modern times, it might have looked something like this.
Ordinary citizens needed permission to enter the Royal Library.
However, as the daughter of a duke, Annaliese and her attendants enjoyed unrestricted access once she presented proof of her status.
The moment she stepped inside, she was overwhelmed once again.
Bookshelves stretched endlessly in every direction.
Even if a hundred people devoted their entire lives to reading, they probably would not be able to finish every book housed here.
“Magnificent.
The person who built this library must have been a historical giant rivaling even Taiko-sama.”
Even Mitsunari, a man from another world, seemed deeply moved.
For someone who revered Toyotomi Hideyoshi, saying that someone rivaled Taiko-sama was the highest praise imaginable.
Afterward, Annaliese rented out an entire lodging facility in the capital.
She had argued that a single room would be enough, but Henry had immediately rejected the idea.
For an entire week, she visited the Royal Library every day, absorbing knowledge.
“…How strange.”
“To be able to read characters I have never studied as though they were my native tongue.”
Mitsunari spoke while reading a geography book.
Naturally, books in another world were written in another world’s language.
Yet both Annaliese and Mitsunari could read them without difficulty.
“I’m sure some kind of translation magic activated when we were summoned into this world.”
“It’s the kind of convenient plot device that only works in a game.”
“I’m glad this world is an otome game!”
“But it feels unsettling.”
“As though my soul was tampered with without my knowledge.”
“I get what you mean, but let’s just be grateful for the convenience right now!”
Some players might have complained about such a convenient setting.
However, from the perspective of someone actually benefiting from it, convenient plot devices were wonderful.
If anything, Annaliese wished the convenience would go even further and somehow revive her in her original world.
Unfortunately, no matter how many nights she went to bed hoping for a dream-ending scenario, it never happened.
“So the Solomon Continent contains three nations.”
“The Kingdom of Bael, to which the Agares Ducal House belongs, possesses both the largest territory and the greatest national strength.”
Mitsunari muttered while studying a map of the continent.
The Kingdom of Bael controlled the southern half of the Solomon Continent.
The Kingdom of Asmodeus ruled the north.
And tucked away to the northwest of Bael was the Kingdom of Belial.
Their relative strength was apparently around fifty for Bael, forty for Asmodeus, and ten for Belial.
“It seems that Bael and Asmodeus have generally fought one another while the smaller Kingdom of Belial has survived by skillfully navigating between them.”
“Ah, Mitsunari-san.”
“According to this book, only the Kingdom of Bael has claimed the title of Great King as leader of the Solomon Royal Line.”
“Oh, and right now Bael gets along with Belial, but apparently has a bad relationship with Asmodeus!”
“If that is the case, then the leadership of both nations may already be preparing.”
“Preparing for what?”
“A festival to become friends?”
“The Olympics?”
“War.”
“Cough!”
The word came so casually that Annaliese choked.
Back in 2021, when she had been alive, war still felt like something distant.
“I-I don’t think people should start wars that easily!”
“According to this history book, Bael and Asmodeus were at war until only six years ago.”
“A peace agreement was reached, but six years is not enough for the heat of war to fade.”
“T-Then could my death somehow be connected to that war!?”
“If we avoid the war, could my future change too…?”
“Heavy wartime taxation breeds public resentment.”
“The resentment explodes.”
“A rebellion occurs.”
“The state is overturned.”
“And then comes revolution.”
“A common enough story.”
Indeed, history in the real world had seen such events repeatedly.
Any high school student with even a passing interest in history had probably read a manga version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms and knew about the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
Annaliese remembered the beggars and vagrants she had seen in the capital’s back alleys.
Individually, their power was insignificant.
Yet history had proven that when tens of thousands gathered together, they could become a storm capable of shaking nations.
“…More importantly, Annaliese.”
“You have investigated yourself as well, haven’t you?”
“Of course!”
Unlike protagonists blessed with the convenient ability to inherit all the memories of their reincarnated body, Annaliese had not been so fortunate.
She had used every method available to learn about herself.
“I am Annaliese Agares!”
“I’m fifth in line to the throne!”
“Fifth.”
“It is fortunate you are not first or second.”
“Well, the current royal family is still around.”
“But among the nobility, I’m the highest.”
“There is another important matter.”
“This otome game has a protagonist, does it not?”
“Like Hikaru Genji in The Tale of Genji.”
“What kind of person is she?”
“I only know her from the official website description and a single line of dialogue.”
“First, she’s from House Valefor, another ducal family just like mine.”
“It seems the Agares and Valefor families are known as the Two Great Ducal Houses.”
“Oh, and in Annaliese’s character description, it said, ‘Unlike the protagonist, who cares deeply for the people, Annaliese is a selfish noble lady who cares for nothing but herself.'”
“So by implication, the protagonist probably has compassion for the common people.”
“In terms of the Five Elders, you would be Ieyasu and the protagonist would be Lord Uesugi.”
It seemed that in Mitsunari’s mind, Tokugawa Ieyasu remained the villain.
Given that Ieyasu’s actions ultimately led to the destruction of his lord’s family, that was only natural.
Any achievements of the Edo Shogunate meant absolutely nothing to Mitsunari.
Annaliese personally had no particular grudge against Ieyasu, so she silently apologized to him in her heart.
“Oh, right.”
“Since she’s the protagonist, all her stats and magical abilities are top-class.”
“But what’s even more important is her personality!”
“According to the official site, she wasn’t the typical otome game heroine at all.”
“She sounded more like a female Cao Cao.”
“What sort of woman is that?”
“Let’s see…”
Annaliese searched her memory for the memorable quotes displayed alongside the character illustrations.
Brimming with energy even through the artwork, Veronica Valefor, the protagonist of this world, had declared:
‘I will leave behind enormous footprints!
Footprints that will remain for a hundred years, a thousand years!’
The quote had been so striking that Annaliese had even listened to the sample voice.
“That’s the kind of woman she is.”
“If she truly possesses the caliber of Cao Cao, then a somewhat corrupt ducal daughter would hardly be worth her attention.”
“She’s probably not just somewhat corrupt.”
A gloomy atmosphere settled over them.
Taking responsibility for one’s own sins was natural.
However, being forced to take responsibility for everything the original Annaliese Agares had done before her reincarnation was depressing.
“H-Hey.”
“What if I just live quietly and behave myself?”
“Couldn’t I survive by flattering the protagonist once she rises to prominence?”
“If you are willing to place your life entirely in the hands of this protagonist, then do as you please.”
“Ugh.”
She had no rebuttal to that.
“…Judging from recent events, Veronica Valefor seems to be extremely famous.”
“One day she entered a public singing competition and won.”
“The next day she participated in a piano competition attended by noble youths and won that as well.”
“She has also won beauty pageants and women’s swordsmanship tournaments.”
“She is truly talented in every field.”
“Your comparison to Cao Cao may not be inaccurate.”
The hero Cao Cao was renowned not only as a conqueror skilled in both literature and warfare, but also as a gifted artist.
Veronica Valefor’s versatility seemed comparable.
“Oh, and she has succession rights too.”
“They’re lower than mine though.”
“Apparently she’s eighth.”
“A ducal daughter eighth in line to the throne…”
“Yet your death comes through a revolution.”
“If Veronica is the protagonist, then despite possessing succession rights, she joined the revolution.”
“She is certainly not a woman bound by convention.”
“But the guillotine route is only one route out of many.”
“In some routes I might die because of a succession struggle or a coup instead.”
“No matter what happens, you arrive at death.”
“Just how terrible are your abuses?”
“Even I am confident I could have preserved my own life under Ieyasu’s rule if I had cared only for my own safety.”
“I simply refused to do so.”
“Like I’d know!”
“F*ck!”
“At least let me finish the game before reincarnating me, damn it!!”
“I do not understand the words, but they sounded vulgar.”
“It is fine while only I am present.”
“But if others hear you, it will diminish your dignity.”
“You should stop.”
“I-I know that.”
“Oh right, Mitsunari-san.”
“I also researched magic.”
“But I couldn’t find any spell capable of returning someone summoned from another world.”
“I expected as much.”
“If the magic that brought me here was the Super Magic passed down through your family, then only another Super Magic could likely send me back.”
“That’s true.”
Perhaps somewhere there existed a family that had inherited a Super Magic designed to send people to other worlds.
Though it was difficult to imagine what such magic would even be used for.
“Super Magic interests me, but I am also greatly interested in ordinary magic.”
“Ah, I knew it!”
Annaliese practically lunged forward.
Her eyes sparkled as she grinned.
Even Mitsunari seemed slightly overwhelmed.
“I get it!”
“I totally get it, Mitsunari-san!”
“The first thing I did after arriving in this world was try using magic!”
“I ended up blasting a tree apart!”
“…Before investigating the world itself?”
Mitsunari spoke with half-lidded eyes.
“W-Well, of course!”
“It’s magic!”
“Magic!”
“Fantastic!”
“If you found out you could use magic, you’d want to try it too!”
“And it worked!”
“It was awesome!”
Annaliese had grown up watching Harry Potter.
She had dreamed of becoming a wizard despite knowing it was impossible.
She had shouted “Expecto Patronum” before.
She had even tried chanting “Avada Kedavra.”
The fact that magic was real here was, aside from meeting Mitsunari, the only thing that made her feel glad she had been reincarnated.
Trying to escape Mitsunari’s exasperated gaze, Annaliese spread several magic books across the table.
“Magic in this world is divided into the four basic elements of fire, water, earth, and wind.”
“Then there is White Magic, which specializes in healing and buffs, and Black Magic, which specializes in debuffs.”
“It’s a pretty standard setup.”
“Standard?”
“It means common!”
“By the way, I’m an earth mage!”
As expected of a game world, the magic system felt very game-like.
Fire specialized in offensive power.
Wind excelled in speed.
Water was balanced and was the only elemental attribute capable of healing.
Earth, Annaliese’s attribute, specialized in defense and attacks using mass and weight.
“Since we’re here, let’s check your magical aptitude too, Mitsunari-san.”
“All you have to do is hold this appraisal grimoire.”
“Hmm.”
When Mitsunari took the grimoire, it displayed:
[Attribute: Earth]
[Magical Aptitude: 52]
Since the scale went up to one hundred, fifty-two was a respectable score.
“Oh my.”
“We both have earth affinity.”
“Would you like me to teach you personally?”
“Ohohohohohohohoho!”
“What is that uncouth laugh?”
“It is loud and irritating.”
“Stop.”
“I-I just thought that’s how noble ladies laugh…”
For comparison, Annaliese’s aptitude score was ninety-nine.
If this had been a world where overwhelming talent allowed a single mage to defeat entire armies, she would have focused entirely on improving her magic instead of studying politics and world affairs.
Unfortunately, that was not the case.
Even a perfect score of one hundred could not overcome overwhelming numbers.
Only yesterday she had read about a legendary archmage who had been killed by ordinary soldiers incapable of using magic.
“Well then, I think we’ve accomplished enough for today.”
“Shall we head back?”
“…There is somewhere I wish to visit alone.”
“You should return first.”
“Mitsunari-san, you don’t even have an identity in this world.”
“You won’t be able to find your way back alone.”
“I’ll wait at our usual place.”
“I see.”
That was all he said.
Then Mitsunari quickly left the Royal Library.
Annaliese felt a strong temptation to follow him.
But she stopped herself.
If Mitsunari had said he wanted to go somewhere alone, then he probably wanted to be alone.
She should not interfere.
That was what Annaliese decided.