Chapter 6 - The Kuvork Kingdom's New Dawn
"Arisa-sama, good news! Everything has been set up perfectly."
Only three days after Nisnark's dramatic exit, he returns to my room.
I was a bit ticked looking at his self-satisifed smile. Well, more importantly--.
"What do you mean by set up? Could you explain from the beginning?"
"My apologies."
Nisnark says that and then asks for the room to be cleared.
"Everyone here is trustworthy. They wouldn't leak any secrets."
The only other people in the room are Lili and Lulu.
"This is a bit of a delicate matter concerning the entire royal family, so..."
"Arisa-sama, I will stand down."
The tactful Lulu leaves to a different room.
Lili still has to remain because it would be improper to leave a princess like me alone with a man that isn't her fiance.
"I talked directly to His Majesty."
That's certainly very proactive of you.
But--.
"I believe I said to resolve it peacefully?"
"Yes, that's why I suggested a meeting. His Majesty and the first queen have agreed to a secret meeting with you."
--You have some guts to do something like that in an absolute monarchy like this country.
If you fumbled the negotiations on such a sensitive family matter, you might have been headed straight for the gallows. Even if you're the son of a minister.
"You didn't tell him about the agricultural reforms?"
"Correct, but His Majesty is likely to be aware already."
Well, that's probably true.
"Got it, then where and when will the meeting occur?"
"The meeting will be here in your room. The time will be some time in the middle of night within the next three days."
According to him, they can't set a fixed time or day, or it might leak out to other parties such as the second queen.
Since this country is so old-fashioned, there are apparently a lot of factions that aren't a fan of my purple hair.
"That's fine, tell Father and Mother that I'm waiting."
"Understood."
Nisnark nods and turns to exit the room.
"--One more thing."
He turns to me and opens his mouth again.
"I've heard some people with connections to the neighboring countries have been seen probing your trial farm. I doubt they will do anything too obvious, but please be careful around people you don't know."
He apparently heard that from a friend who calls themselves the hermit.
That guy sounds incredibly suspicious, but Nisnark assures me that the hermit is trustworthy.
"Right, thanks for the warning. I'll be careful."
It must be the same spy that Ben told me about before.
I'll warn Lulu and the castle guards about the spies too.
◆
"--Arisa."
I wake up to someone softly cradling my body.
As I see a beautiful woman with her back to the darkness, I reflexively put myself on guard for a moment. I don't think anyone can blame me for that.
"Mother?"
Still half-asleep, I call out to the woman as my [Status Check] skill tells me her identity.
So young! She's only in her 30s.
"Ah, Arisa."
"Mother...!"
I am enveloped in her warm body and the gentle smell of perfume.
So today was the day of the meeting.
"--Father."
While still hugging Mother, I reach out a hand to Father.
He understands my intention and slowly walks closer to us. He softly touches my hand and then hugs the both of us.
This just kinda feels... happy.
I had thought it would feel more like meeting two strangers, but it looks like our bonds were stronger than I had imagined. How weird.
"Arisa. If you need to blame someone, blame me rather than Melissa."
Father says he will take on my hatred in place of Mother.
"Why? I don't hate either of you. Is there some reason?"
"...Arisa, you are truly wise."
Father gets surprised by my words, then lovingly pats my head.
"It must be this cursed color, my purple hair is the reason?"
"--That's right."
Father gives me a painful nod.
Then he continues his words as he strokes my hair.
"There are those who want to get rid of you, just because you are a bad omen. Even though it is nothing but unfounded superstition."
He goes on to explain that he set up a barrier around my building that prevents anyone with intention to harm me from entering. He created it using the power of the king, the City Core.
It would be later that I found out how much mana the barrier required.
"--This can't be."
"What's wrong, Father?"
Father suddenly makes a grim expression as he raises his voice in surprise.
"Someone has forced their way through the barrier."
Without chanting, I hurriedly activate the Psychic Magic I had set up to detect intruders.
Three people are coming in from the first floor, and another three have climbed the rain gutters and entered this floor through a window.
I was worried about Lulu and Lili, but the ones on the first floor have already passed by their room and started climbing the stairs.
"Dear."
"Don't worry. As the king of Kuvork, I have absolute power in my own castle."
Mother seems worried, but Father calms her down with a handsome smile.
"I, the king of Kuvork, asks of thee. Spirit of Kuvork, grant me the sacred treasure."
Father chants those words towards an empty space, then a blue sparkling object appears before him. It looked like a strange crystalline pattern at first, but it quickly changes shape into a royal scepter.
"--Father, they're coming!"
I tell Father about the people I detected via Psychic Magic.
The moment he draws his sword, three people kick down the door of my room.
"■ [Punishment]."
Lightning extends out from the scepter, illuminating the dark room. The thundering sound rings in my ears, and two of the men have been burnt to a crisp.
--Dad is so strong!
"Why... is the king with the cursed princess?"
The remaining black-clothed man draws his blade, and mutters that as he rushes toward us.
My [Status Check] skill tells me that the man is level 23, so he should be weaker than Father, who is level 31.
It looks like this should be fine without me providing much Psychic Magic support.
"You dare to point your blade at the king!"
Father's sword shatters the man's blade in one swing, and severs his arm in the next.
Wow, so grotesque.
"If you state your employer, I'll end your suffering quickly."
"---."
Father gives the black-clothed man his ultimatum.
In response, the man says something that was too weak to be heard.
As the focus of the entire room was drawn to the man--.
"Fools."
--A burst of white light fills the room.
My eyes!! My eyeeees!
As I get blinded by the sudden flash of light, I hear the sound of someone breaking the wall behind me.
Crap, it must be the guys who came up the stairs.
"Even if I can't see..."
I can just detect your location using my Psychic Magic.
--Shock Wave.
I stick my right hand out and launch an invisible blast.
Unlike the time with the maid, I'm not holding back now. I'm using all I've got.
"Urgh!"
"Argh!"
I hear the sounds of two of the men getting hit and falling to the ground with a thud.
Heh, how do you like Arisa-chan's true power!
"--Nuaa!"
Someone grabs me from behind and stuffs me into some sort of large sack.
"Arisa!!"
"Arisa!"
I hear Father and Mother's panicked voices.
"Let go of me!"
"Settle down brat!"
I try to flail around, but it's no use.
The sack gets slammed against a wall and the wind is knocked out of me.
"■■■ [Erase Bad Status]."
I hear Father's voice behind me, but it keeps getting further away. I get a feeling of weightlessness as the man carrying me drops down from the building.
So their real objective must have been kidnapping me rather than eliminating me.
◆
"Phew, looks like I lost them. Now I just need to wait for the bird-kin to come pick me up."
The man whispers to himself as he drops the sack to the ground.
My magic shows that we are currently the only two in the area.
At this rate, I'll get taken away to some unknown country.
--Can I really let that happen?
I shouldn't even need to ask.
Of course not.
I take a deep breath in, and slowly exhale.
I focus all of my power into the tiny spark that lies deep within my heart.
--[Never Give Up]
The unique skill that symbolizes the will to rebel against an undefeatable opponent.
Since I am only level 7, this will be necessary for taking out someone who is more than three times my level.
A faint purple light leaks from my body, and I feel powerful enough to face any foe.
I was worried that the man may have seen the light coming out of the sack, but he makes no reaction.
I keep myself calm and continue on to activate my second unique skill.
--[Over Boost]
The purple light bursts outward and envelops me like a raging blaze. An uncontrollable heat surges throughout my petite body.
"What? That light is--."
He noticed me.
But, it's already too late.
"Uooryaa!"
I stick out my right hand and launch an invisible blast through the sack.
"Gwoooo!"
Boosted to the utmost limit by my two unique skills, my [Shock Wave] shreds the man's consciousness.
"He might have died to that if he was just a little bit weaker."
I whisper that to myself as I slowly crawl out of the sack.
As a side effect from using my [Over Boost] unique skill, I barely have the energy left to stand.
I feel as though the wind could knock me over.
It looks like I was taken to one of the outer walls of the castle.
"--What an idiot. You just had to let your guard down."
A shiver gets sent down my spine as I hear that voice behind me.
It takes all my effort to turn my exhausted body to face the speaker.
"--Black clothes..."
The man in front of me was the tall and thin spy with disproportionate arms that showed up in the second prince's parade.
He's carrying a large knife, and I feel a bit of trauma from remembering the stalker incident in my previous life.
"What business does someone from Yowork want with me?"
"I have no business with you."
The black-clothed man gives me an unexpected answer.
"They told us to capture you, but I have no intention of doing that. Bringing back a cursed girl that only brings disaster? That's just plain madness. I'll be ending this here."
Ugh, he's one of the guys that believes in the superstitions.
--This is pretty bad.
I had just made up with my parents and the reforms were picking up speed. Everything was going my way. Is it really going to end here?
I don't have any MP left for Psychic Magic.
My legs are still numb from exhaustion, so I can't run away.
--I'm screwed.
"Die!"
I shut my eyes as the blade closes in on me.
My ears hear the sound of flesh being cut, and a warm liquid covers my body.
I had so much more to live for.
All I wanted was to play around with Japanese shota.
"--I want a do over!"
Those words leak out of my mouth, and I realize that I am still alive.
"Huh?"
Did I get some sort of time-reset power or something?
--Nope.
I open my eyes to see the man in front of me. He's lying in a pool of his own blood and cut cleanly in half.
"Hmph, you're still alive?"
From the other side of the corpse, a different black-cloaked figure starts walking towards me.
Really? More of you?
What is with this all-you-can-eat buffet of creeps? I'm full already, so please leave me alone.
I recognize this guy too. The small cloaked guy from the second prince's parade.
I use my [Status Check] skill again, but I still can't see their level or name.
The guy who tried to kill me was disobeying orders, so the cloaked guy must have executed him for that.
With my last remaining energy, I point one arm at the cloaked guy.
"Get out of here if you don't want to die. I'll let you live just this once."
This is a complete bluff, since I still have no MP.
"You've got guts to put on a brave face in such a pitiful condition. What an interesting little girl."
"--Arisa-sama!"
From behind the cloak guy, Nisnark shouts while running in with a group of guards.
"It looks like my reinforcements have arrived. Now the tables have turned."
"Heh."
Their only response to my words was a short laugh.
Do they really have some way to defeat these numbers?
"--Hermit-sama!"
--Eh?
"You're late Nisnark. The princess would already be a corpse if not for me."
"My apologies, Hermit-sama. Arisa-sama, are you okay?"
"Yes, thank you for coming Nisnark."
I give my thanks to Nisnark, then face up at the black cloaked hermit.
"Sorry, I was mistaken. Thank you for--"
"I don't need your thanks. Nisnark, I leave the rest to you."
The hermit interrupts my words and jumps straight down from the castle walls.
This hermit guy seems really powerful.
"What kind of person is the hermit?"
"Hermit-sama is a labyrinth researcher. They came here to investigate the Withered Labyrinth under the castle."
Huh, I didn't know about that.
So there's a labyrinth under the castle.
If they're only here because of the labyrinth, then it makes sense why such a strong person is in a poor country like this.
"Hermit-sama was the one that noticed these men's suspicious movements and informed me about them."
I see, so that's why you were able to find me faster than Father.
"Arisa!"
"Father!"
I share a long hug with Father after he catches up. He takes me back to my room, then Mother cries all over me.
After everyone settles down a bit, we finally manage to talk about the reforms.
"Are you really okay giving Alyus all the credit?"
"Yes, I think that is what's best for the country."
If I take credit, the second prince's faction may try to push me into a political marriage with him to gain my support. Apparently it's okay for half-siblings to marry in this country. To prevent that, it's best to just give all the credit to First Prince Alyus.
"I would like to continue working with Nisnark and Ben though..."
"Yes, of course. Ben is the gardener, correct? He'll be looked down on as a commoner, so I'll give him an honorary nobility title."
"Father, I love you!"
I hug Father for his nice idea.
Ben had been working so hard in the background, so he really deserved a reward.
"Arisa, let me make this promise."
Father looks me right in the eyes.
"I promise you will be able to live in the main castle by the time you are an adult."
"I'll look forward to it."
I have some fond memories of this building, but I want to live with my family too.
◆
"Arisa-sama! I've secured the budget!"
"All right! Great job Nisnark!"
Ever since that meeting with Father last month, our reforms have really started picking up speed.
We now have the budget to spread crop rotation and composting to all the farms in the country.
"Arisa-sama, the snacks are ready. Baked sweets and honey."
"Next we need to spread beekeeping everywhere too."
"What is this beekeeping?"
The sharp Nisnark quickly bites onto the word that he has never heard before.
"I'll tell you about it after teatime. Let's eat up before it gets cold, or Lili's efforts will go to waste."
I bite into the honey-covered cookie.
--Still delicious.
I ignore Nisnark's impatient stare as I look at the lovely spring sun shining through the window.
I walk over to the window and survey the sight before me.
"Lulu--"
I turn to face my half-sister.
"--This country is about to change."
A country with no hunger.
That is merely the first step.
What I really want is--
A country without sexual discrimination.
A country where people can get an education.
A country with hope for the future.
--And.
A country where sisters don't have to hide their relationship just because of a stupid class hierarchy.
"Yes, Arisa-sama will change it."
"Wrong, Lulu. We will change it."
I took these things for granted in my past life, but I'll make sure to get them again.
"Yes, Arisa-sama."
I raise my fist as I make that declaration, and Lulu nods while giving me a big smile.
"Good answer!"
I start to get infected by her contagious smile.
"Lulu."
I reach out my hand towards Lulu and she grabs it.
This where our story begins.
I don't know what lies in store for us, but I can handle it as long as she is with me.
Let's do our best, Lulu-oneesama.
Friday, May 29, 2020
Princess Arisa's Isekai Struggle - Chapter 5
Chapter 5 - Impediment to Reform
"Phew, it looks like the first full cycle succeeded."
Ben's experimental crop rotation farm finally completed the four-year cycle, and I am now 7 years old.
Compared to the terrible harvest from four years earlier, there was an 80% improvement in the amount of wheat. It's not quite as good as when the king's protection is active, but this is still a huge success.
Apparently, the news of bean-planting and mulch also spread by word of mouth to quite a few farms.
If it keeps going like this it'll take several years before we are able to reach everyone in Kuvork. That's to be expected for a world without telephones or internet.
And that's why I--.
"--Denied."
I went in as if I was a manga artist trying to get her manga approved, and this person rejects me without a fraction of kindness.
On the table before us is the 'Crop Rotation For Dummies' presentation documents that I took over a half-month to write.
The first page has a concise and easily understood summary, and it contains all the experimental data and evidence that we've collected for the past four years. But it seems like all of that had no effect on him.
"I only came here because Citam asked, but it looks like it was just a waste of time. Don't get so cocky just because things are going your way for now."
This person, First Prince Alyus, looks down on me with callous eyes. This guy is supposed to be my brother. The first queen is mother to both of us, so it's not like we're half-siblings either.
"Don't underestimate the King's Power. The monster stampedes have been going on for a few years, but the King's Power will restore the land as soon as they end. This country will be plentiful again, without the help of a failure like you."
--Failure?
Is he talking about my cursed purple hair?
That pisses me off a little, but there's something that pisses me off even more.
"When will it end?"
"What?"
The First Prince squints his eyes at me, unable to understand my question.
"I'm asking you when the monster stampedes will end."
There's been a few lulls, but the current situation has been going on for five straight years.
"Hmph, soon."
--Are you kidding me?
"How soon?"
"Soon means soon."
"In other words, you can't be sure that it will end this year."
"Obviously! No man has the power to predict the monsters!"
It's no use.
I feel the anger building up in me from the first prince's incompetence.
"Meanwhile, the people of Kuvork will die from famine, correct?"
"That's why we have opened the national treasury!"
The first prince is shouting in anger now.
According to Ben and Citam-niisama, the support from the government only reaches the areas around the capital. The frontier regions are already in a state of famine that just keeps getting worse, and entire villages are leaving the country.
"Alyus-niisama, have you visited the frontier villages like Citam-niisama?"
"Of course. I went there with Father four years ago. Don't put me together with someone who has never left the castle like you!"
Four years ago?
That was just when the crop failures started.
The villages still had a stock of food supplies back then.
"In that case--"
"I tire of your pointless drivel."
Is that really something you can say to your own sister...? I feel like this guy hates me for some reason.
I don't know why since this should be the first time we've actually met in person.
"By my authority as the crown prince, I order you to cease these reforms at once."
The prince makes that declaration while arrogantly flapping his cape and making an exaggerated pose.
"I forbid you from leaving this building. Reflect on your actions, you've done nothing but bring unhappiness to Mother."
"--Eh?"
Rather than being told to stop my reforms, or being confined to my home, I'm more surprised at the statement about my mom. Did I really do something to make her sad?
I've only seen my mom once, but I somehow still feel emotionally attached to her.
◆
"Ugh, that was a huge failure."
I lay my upper body flat against the table.
I heard from Citam that the first prince was a pretty conservative guy, but I didn't know that he hated me so much over the issue with my mom.
Next time I'll be more careful with the information gathering.
"Arisa-sama, mind your manners."
"Yeah."
Lulu pours a cup of herb tea for me.
These herbs are grown by Lili in the back garden, so they don't cost me anything.
"What can I even do now?"
If he denied me based on logic, then I could just prove him wrong with evidence. But there's nothing I can do if he's acting purely on emotion.
"--Arisa? Arisa? Are you listening?"
"Huh? Eluus-niisama?"
Before I realized it, the Fifth Prince Eluus was standing in my room and looking down at me.
It feels like he comes here every time he's bored.
Does he really like honey that much?
"Come on Arisa."
"Sorry, sorry. Did you need something?"
He was pouting a little bit, but he quickly calms down.
"Belitz-niisama has just finished up his study abroad in the Saga Empire. He should be arriving soon, so I came to invite you to the parade."
I rack my brain to remember all the details about Second Prince Belitz.
His mother is the second queen, the same as Fourth Prince Dyude, and he should be 9 years older than me.
Also, the second queen is sister to the king of a neighboring country, the Yowork Kingdom.
Even since the new king of Yowork took the throne five years ago, I haven't heard any good things about them. To be fair, our country isn't much better off with all this famine.
"Sorry Eluus-niisama, Alyus-niisama has forbidden me from going outside."
"Don't worry about that, no one has to know."
Without any other excuse, I ended up agreeing to go see the second prince's return parade.
Of course, I cover up my distinctive purple hair. I also put on a cloak and veil to hide my face. These are same kind that the castle maids usually use when they go outside.
There's a crowd of people gathered at the castle gate, and all of them seem excited.
I wonder if the second prince is really popular or something.
"Belitz-niisama!"
Eluus catches a glimpse of the redhead second prince, and runs off toward the parade without me.
You'd expect half-brothers to not get along well, but it looks like Eluus really likes him.
"He's a bit more handsome than I expected."
He seems pretty mature and relaxed for a 16-year old. His slender cheeks and narrow eyes make him look like some kind of sly trickster.
That's a type that wasn't among my other brothers.
Well, if the usually reserved Eluus likes him, then he's probably not as bad as he looks.
I use [Status Check], and see that he's level 20. He must have been doing work during his time in the Saga Empire.
"--Hmm?"
Right behind the second prince are some horse-mounted knights, along with one small-looking person whose entire body is covered by a cloak.
I get curious and try to use my [Status Check] on the cloaked guy, but I was unable to see their level or name. I guess it doesn't work too well if their body is completely covered up like that.
"""Kyaa! It's Nisnark-sama!"""
The women start screaming when they see a handsome-looking clerk.
That breaks my focus, and I get distracted from the cloaked guy.
Either way, their skills were listed as 'None', so they were probably just the second prince's concubine or servant.
"I see, this Nisnark guy would be pretty popular if he was in a classic shoujo manga."
He has long black hair like Lulu despite being a man.
When our eyes meet, he makes a wink at me for some reason.
I wonder if he's a lolicon.
"Nah, looks like he's just a womanizer."
He is rapid firing those winks out to every maid that he sees.
He also waves back when he sees the women waving at him. Seems like the type that I don't get along well with.
"--Yowork knights?"
"Why are they in His Highness's parade?"
A few servants and maids start murmuring to each other after seeing the back end of the parade line.
Just like they say, there's quite a few knights wearing a uniform I've never seen before.
I was a bit interested, so I use [Status Check] to view the information of the Yowork knights.
It looks like those are the knights that serve the house of the second prince's mother, the second queen.
After the knights pass, I continue watching over the rest of the carriages in the parade.
"What the heck?"
There's someone whose status information is fading in and out.
He's thin and tall, with disproportionately long arms. His affiliation says 'Kuvork Kingdom: Lesser Servant', but it's blurry and hard to see.
I rub my eyes and use the [Status Check] skill again, and his affiliation has changed to 'Yowork Kingdom: Intelligence Division'.
It looks like he was sent here as a spy.
He must have some sort of item or skill that interferes against analyze-type skills.
I continue looking at the other people in the parade and see two other spies mixed in. Sending in spies to a neighboring country may be pretty normal here, but I was honestly surprised to bump into them so suddenly.
Just in case, I should set up some detection-type Psychic Magic around my building as a precaution.
◆
"All's right with the world..."
It's been a month since I discovered those spies, but the days have been passing without any significant events. No assassinations or other weird incidents.
I have already warned Lili, Lulu, and Ben to be careful around the second prince's men just in case.
According to Ben, a suspicious looking guy already visited his farm and tried to probe his secrets.
Ben managed to dodge his questions by saying that his fields were specially blessed by the king's power.
"Arisa, is that farm the one?"
For a change of pace, Citam is taking me on horseback to Ben's trial crop rotation farm. Eluus and Lili are coming along too.
"Wow, this is amazing Arisa. That farm is so much greener than the others!"
Eluus raises his voice in surprise.
"--Wow."
I've already seen the numbers, but it has much more impact when seeing it in person.
The neighboring farms have started the agricultural reforms as well, but the difference is still clear.
Of course, I can't take full credit for this. These results are greater than I had ever imagined.
Ben and his family must have worked their butts off to get this far.
"Huh? Nisnark is here?"
Citam turns his gaze to Nisnark, the overfriendly handsome clerk with long black hair.
Nisnark notices us and starts waving at us to come over.
Based on my information, Nisnark isn't actually part of the second prince's faction. He is the son of a cabinet minister, and political enemies with the greedy nobles that have been giving me so much trouble.
He's apparently good at his job, but has a bit of an issue with women. It's only been one month since his return, but I've heard that he is already in relationships with several different women.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Citam-sama and Eluus-sama. Could that person behind you perhaps be--"
"Don't worry about it, that's my attendant."
Nisnark tries to get a look at my face, but gets interrupted by Citam.
Since First Prince Alyus's stay-home order is still in effect, it would be pretty bad if my identity gets revealed here.
"I see, your attendant..."
Nisnark makes a suggestive statement as he nods his head a few times.
--Has he figured it out already?
"Ben-dono was just about to show me the compost. Would you care to join us, your Highness?"
"Sure, we came to see that too."
--Ah, you idiot.
Eluus said something dumb before Citam and I could stop him.
"That is indeed great timing."
"Yeah! ...Huh? What's wrong Brother?"
Eluus gives Citam a confused look.
"Whatever, let's go."
Citam looks a bit angry as he leads the way.
He's still too childish to hide his displeasure, so it always shows up like that.
Well, that kind of immaturity is just one of the reasons why little boys are so cute and lovely.
"Ugh, it stinks!"
"Hahaha, that's the smell of the compost."
Ben's family laughs at us clenching our noses as they shovel the compost around.
It's my first time visiting this place, but the composting looks like it's going well.
"What are you doing right now?"
"Right now we're shoveling the compost pile to aerate it. That makes it so that the entire pile composts evenly."
One of the men answers Nisnark's question.
"Did you come up with that?"
"No, a princess from the castle taught us about that."
"Was growing beans and turnips also Arisa-sama's idea?"
"Yeah, the princess even came up with the wheelbarrow over there."
After hearing the man's answer, Nisnark squints his eyes and gives me a suggestive sideways glance.
--Yeah, he knows.
He must have somehow figured out my identity.
Nisnark continued questioning Ben's family for a while, and I was able to see all their cheaty agricultural progress with my own eyes.
These guys are really something.
It must have been rough doing all the experimentation and manual labor to put my half-baked knowledge into practice.
I'll have to praise Ben a bunch the next time he comes to visit.
He said he was expecting a child soon, so maybe I'll plagiarize some fairy tales and give him a picture book.
Since he's a gardener and farmer, maybe 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'The Ant and the Grasshopper'.
◆
"Arisa-sama, my apologies for being unable to greet you the other day."
The day after I went to Ben's farm, the handsome clerk Nisnark paid a visit to my room.
That was fast. I didn't think he would be coming so soon.
"I believe this is the first time we've met. It's nice to meet you, may I ask for your name?"
I tilt my head at him slightly.
Haha, did you really think Arisa-chan would fall for such a cheap trick like that?
"Very well. I am Nisnark Tolues, a clerk working under Minister Tolues."
He accepts my request without hesitation and introduces himself.
I feel like I'll bite my tongue if I try to say his full name.
"What business did you have with me?"
"I believe I could be of use to your agricultural reforms. Please allow me to assist."
So that's why you went to scout out Ben's farm.
This guy is well distanced from the Yowork Kingdom faction as well as the greedy nobles faction, so he would make the ideal partner... ignoring his problem with women. Unfortunately, this is the worst possible timing.
"Tolues-dono, are you aware of the fact that Alyus-niisama has forbidden me from continuing the reforms?"
Even if he's the son of a minister, he can't just ignore the crown prince's words.
"Indeed, I am aware."
Nisnark nods at me without a second thought.
I somehow get the feeling that glasses would match well with that scheming face of his.
"After I obtain permission from Alyus-sama, you would be willing to work with me to solve this country's food supply issue then?"
"Very well, if you can get his permission peacefully."
"--Then please wait for the good news."
Nisnark gives the bow of a retainer and leaves, beaming with confidence.
He started off asking to help me, but that somehow changed to me helping him. Well, I'll have no complaints if he can manage to help fix my family issues.
Chapter 6
"Phew, it looks like the first full cycle succeeded."
Ben's experimental crop rotation farm finally completed the four-year cycle, and I am now 7 years old.
Compared to the terrible harvest from four years earlier, there was an 80% improvement in the amount of wheat. It's not quite as good as when the king's protection is active, but this is still a huge success.
Apparently, the news of bean-planting and mulch also spread by word of mouth to quite a few farms.
If it keeps going like this it'll take several years before we are able to reach everyone in Kuvork. That's to be expected for a world without telephones or internet.
And that's why I--.
"--Denied."
I went in as if I was a manga artist trying to get her manga approved, and this person rejects me without a fraction of kindness.
On the table before us is the 'Crop Rotation For Dummies' presentation documents that I took over a half-month to write.
The first page has a concise and easily understood summary, and it contains all the experimental data and evidence that we've collected for the past four years. But it seems like all of that had no effect on him.
"I only came here because Citam asked, but it looks like it was just a waste of time. Don't get so cocky just because things are going your way for now."
This person, First Prince Alyus, looks down on me with callous eyes. This guy is supposed to be my brother. The first queen is mother to both of us, so it's not like we're half-siblings either.
"Don't underestimate the King's Power. The monster stampedes have been going on for a few years, but the King's Power will restore the land as soon as they end. This country will be plentiful again, without the help of a failure like you."
--Failure?
Is he talking about my cursed purple hair?
That pisses me off a little, but there's something that pisses me off even more.
"When will it end?"
"What?"
The First Prince squints his eyes at me, unable to understand my question.
"I'm asking you when the monster stampedes will end."
There's been a few lulls, but the current situation has been going on for five straight years.
"Hmph, soon."
--Are you kidding me?
"How soon?"
"Soon means soon."
"In other words, you can't be sure that it will end this year."
"Obviously! No man has the power to predict the monsters!"
It's no use.
I feel the anger building up in me from the first prince's incompetence.
"Meanwhile, the people of Kuvork will die from famine, correct?"
"That's why we have opened the national treasury!"
The first prince is shouting in anger now.
According to Ben and Citam-niisama, the support from the government only reaches the areas around the capital. The frontier regions are already in a state of famine that just keeps getting worse, and entire villages are leaving the country.
"Alyus-niisama, have you visited the frontier villages like Citam-niisama?"
"Of course. I went there with Father four years ago. Don't put me together with someone who has never left the castle like you!"
Four years ago?
That was just when the crop failures started.
The villages still had a stock of food supplies back then.
"In that case--"
"I tire of your pointless drivel."
Is that really something you can say to your own sister...? I feel like this guy hates me for some reason.
I don't know why since this should be the first time we've actually met in person.
"By my authority as the crown prince, I order you to cease these reforms at once."
The prince makes that declaration while arrogantly flapping his cape and making an exaggerated pose.
"I forbid you from leaving this building. Reflect on your actions, you've done nothing but bring unhappiness to Mother."
"--Eh?"
Rather than being told to stop my reforms, or being confined to my home, I'm more surprised at the statement about my mom. Did I really do something to make her sad?
I've only seen my mom once, but I somehow still feel emotionally attached to her.
◆
"Ugh, that was a huge failure."
I lay my upper body flat against the table.
I heard from Citam that the first prince was a pretty conservative guy, but I didn't know that he hated me so much over the issue with my mom.
Next time I'll be more careful with the information gathering.
"Arisa-sama, mind your manners."
"Yeah."
Lulu pours a cup of herb tea for me.
These herbs are grown by Lili in the back garden, so they don't cost me anything.
"What can I even do now?"
If he denied me based on logic, then I could just prove him wrong with evidence. But there's nothing I can do if he's acting purely on emotion.
"--Arisa? Arisa? Are you listening?"
"Huh? Eluus-niisama?"
Before I realized it, the Fifth Prince Eluus was standing in my room and looking down at me.
It feels like he comes here every time he's bored.
Does he really like honey that much?
"Come on Arisa."
"Sorry, sorry. Did you need something?"
He was pouting a little bit, but he quickly calms down.
"Belitz-niisama has just finished up his study abroad in the Saga Empire. He should be arriving soon, so I came to invite you to the parade."
I rack my brain to remember all the details about Second Prince Belitz.
His mother is the second queen, the same as Fourth Prince Dyude, and he should be 9 years older than me.
Also, the second queen is sister to the king of a neighboring country, the Yowork Kingdom.
Even since the new king of Yowork took the throne five years ago, I haven't heard any good things about them. To be fair, our country isn't much better off with all this famine.
"Sorry Eluus-niisama, Alyus-niisama has forbidden me from going outside."
"Don't worry about that, no one has to know."
Without any other excuse, I ended up agreeing to go see the second prince's return parade.
Of course, I cover up my distinctive purple hair. I also put on a cloak and veil to hide my face. These are same kind that the castle maids usually use when they go outside.
There's a crowd of people gathered at the castle gate, and all of them seem excited.
I wonder if the second prince is really popular or something.
"Belitz-niisama!"
Eluus catches a glimpse of the redhead second prince, and runs off toward the parade without me.
You'd expect half-brothers to not get along well, but it looks like Eluus really likes him.
"He's a bit more handsome than I expected."
He seems pretty mature and relaxed for a 16-year old. His slender cheeks and narrow eyes make him look like some kind of sly trickster.
That's a type that wasn't among my other brothers.
Well, if the usually reserved Eluus likes him, then he's probably not as bad as he looks.
I use [Status Check], and see that he's level 20. He must have been doing work during his time in the Saga Empire.
"--Hmm?"
Right behind the second prince are some horse-mounted knights, along with one small-looking person whose entire body is covered by a cloak.
I get curious and try to use my [Status Check] on the cloaked guy, but I was unable to see their level or name. I guess it doesn't work too well if their body is completely covered up like that.
"""Kyaa! It's Nisnark-sama!"""
The women start screaming when they see a handsome-looking clerk.
That breaks my focus, and I get distracted from the cloaked guy.
Either way, their skills were listed as 'None', so they were probably just the second prince's concubine or servant.
"I see, this Nisnark guy would be pretty popular if he was in a classic shoujo manga."
He has long black hair like Lulu despite being a man.
When our eyes meet, he makes a wink at me for some reason.
I wonder if he's a lolicon.
"Nah, looks like he's just a womanizer."
He is rapid firing those winks out to every maid that he sees.
He also waves back when he sees the women waving at him. Seems like the type that I don't get along well with.
"--Yowork knights?"
"Why are they in His Highness's parade?"
A few servants and maids start murmuring to each other after seeing the back end of the parade line.
Just like they say, there's quite a few knights wearing a uniform I've never seen before.
I was a bit interested, so I use [Status Check] to view the information of the Yowork knights.
It looks like those are the knights that serve the house of the second prince's mother, the second queen.
After the knights pass, I continue watching over the rest of the carriages in the parade.
"What the heck?"
There's someone whose status information is fading in and out.
He's thin and tall, with disproportionately long arms. His affiliation says 'Kuvork Kingdom: Lesser Servant', but it's blurry and hard to see.
I rub my eyes and use the [Status Check] skill again, and his affiliation has changed to 'Yowork Kingdom: Intelligence Division'.
It looks like he was sent here as a spy.
He must have some sort of item or skill that interferes against analyze-type skills.
I continue looking at the other people in the parade and see two other spies mixed in. Sending in spies to a neighboring country may be pretty normal here, but I was honestly surprised to bump into them so suddenly.
Just in case, I should set up some detection-type Psychic Magic around my building as a precaution.
◆
"All's right with the world..."
It's been a month since I discovered those spies, but the days have been passing without any significant events. No assassinations or other weird incidents.
I have already warned Lili, Lulu, and Ben to be careful around the second prince's men just in case.
According to Ben, a suspicious looking guy already visited his farm and tried to probe his secrets.
Ben managed to dodge his questions by saying that his fields were specially blessed by the king's power.
"Arisa, is that farm the one?"
For a change of pace, Citam is taking me on horseback to Ben's trial crop rotation farm. Eluus and Lili are coming along too.
"Wow, this is amazing Arisa. That farm is so much greener than the others!"
Eluus raises his voice in surprise.
"--Wow."
I've already seen the numbers, but it has much more impact when seeing it in person.
The neighboring farms have started the agricultural reforms as well, but the difference is still clear.
Of course, I can't take full credit for this. These results are greater than I had ever imagined.
Ben and his family must have worked their butts off to get this far.
"Huh? Nisnark is here?"
Citam turns his gaze to Nisnark, the overfriendly handsome clerk with long black hair.
Nisnark notices us and starts waving at us to come over.
Based on my information, Nisnark isn't actually part of the second prince's faction. He is the son of a cabinet minister, and political enemies with the greedy nobles that have been giving me so much trouble.
He's apparently good at his job, but has a bit of an issue with women. It's only been one month since his return, but I've heard that he is already in relationships with several different women.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Citam-sama and Eluus-sama. Could that person behind you perhaps be--"
"Don't worry about it, that's my attendant."
Nisnark tries to get a look at my face, but gets interrupted by Citam.
Since First Prince Alyus's stay-home order is still in effect, it would be pretty bad if my identity gets revealed here.
"I see, your attendant..."
Nisnark makes a suggestive statement as he nods his head a few times.
--Has he figured it out already?
"Ben-dono was just about to show me the compost. Would you care to join us, your Highness?"
"Sure, we came to see that too."
--Ah, you idiot.
Eluus said something dumb before Citam and I could stop him.
"That is indeed great timing."
"Yeah! ...Huh? What's wrong Brother?"
Eluus gives Citam a confused look.
"Whatever, let's go."
Citam looks a bit angry as he leads the way.
He's still too childish to hide his displeasure, so it always shows up like that.
Well, that kind of immaturity is just one of the reasons why little boys are so cute and lovely.
"Ugh, it stinks!"
"Hahaha, that's the smell of the compost."
Ben's family laughs at us clenching our noses as they shovel the compost around.
It's my first time visiting this place, but the composting looks like it's going well.
"What are you doing right now?"
"Right now we're shoveling the compost pile to aerate it. That makes it so that the entire pile composts evenly."
One of the men answers Nisnark's question.
"Did you come up with that?"
"No, a princess from the castle taught us about that."
"Was growing beans and turnips also Arisa-sama's idea?"
"Yeah, the princess even came up with the wheelbarrow over there."
After hearing the man's answer, Nisnark squints his eyes and gives me a suggestive sideways glance.
--Yeah, he knows.
He must have somehow figured out my identity.
Nisnark continued questioning Ben's family for a while, and I was able to see all their cheaty agricultural progress with my own eyes.
These guys are really something.
It must have been rough doing all the experimentation and manual labor to put my half-baked knowledge into practice.
I'll have to praise Ben a bunch the next time he comes to visit.
He said he was expecting a child soon, so maybe I'll plagiarize some fairy tales and give him a picture book.
Since he's a gardener and farmer, maybe 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'The Ant and the Grasshopper'.
◆
"Arisa-sama, my apologies for being unable to greet you the other day."
The day after I went to Ben's farm, the handsome clerk Nisnark paid a visit to my room.
That was fast. I didn't think he would be coming so soon.
"I believe this is the first time we've met. It's nice to meet you, may I ask for your name?"
I tilt my head at him slightly.
Haha, did you really think Arisa-chan would fall for such a cheap trick like that?
"Very well. I am Nisnark Tolues, a clerk working under Minister Tolues."
He accepts my request without hesitation and introduces himself.
I feel like I'll bite my tongue if I try to say his full name.
"What business did you have with me?"
"I believe I could be of use to your agricultural reforms. Please allow me to assist."
So that's why you went to scout out Ben's farm.
This guy is well distanced from the Yowork Kingdom faction as well as the greedy nobles faction, so he would make the ideal partner... ignoring his problem with women. Unfortunately, this is the worst possible timing.
"Tolues-dono, are you aware of the fact that Alyus-niisama has forbidden me from continuing the reforms?"
Even if he's the son of a minister, he can't just ignore the crown prince's words.
"Indeed, I am aware."
Nisnark nods at me without a second thought.
I somehow get the feeling that glasses would match well with that scheming face of his.
"After I obtain permission from Alyus-sama, you would be willing to work with me to solve this country's food supply issue then?"
"Very well, if you can get his permission peacefully."
"--Then please wait for the good news."
Nisnark gives the bow of a retainer and leaves, beaming with confidence.
He started off asking to help me, but that somehow changed to me helping him. Well, I'll have no complaints if he can manage to help fix my family issues.
Chapter 6
Princess Arisa's Isekai Struggle - Chapter 4
Chapter 4 - Super Beautiful Girl Appears! The Quiet Half-Sister Lulu!
"Edamame is so great."
Three years have passed since the experimental crop rotation farm was started. Afterwards, a large number of other farmers started planting beans too, and the fruits of their labor have reached me.
Thanks to my idea for using beans to recover the earth's nutrients, and my invention of the wheelbarrow, I've become famous to the people in town. They have titles for me like [Wisdom God's Daughter] and [Hidden Princess of Bounty].
Well, I can't go outside still, so that's just what I heard from Lili and Ben.
I still listen to my brother's classes, and I've lately been spending more time in the castle library and archive room.
Fame also came with its own pains--.
"You! Take the pattern paper out of your pocket immediately."
"A-Arisa-sama? What are you talking about?"
"If you give it back now, I'll let you off with only a dismissal."
For example, this dumb maid. The greedy nobles have been sending people like her to spy on me.
If they would be willing to implement my ideas, I would be fine sharing them. However, most of them are just in it for personal gain, so it is too risky to trust them.
I've started to miss that previous maid that always looked at me with the scornful glare. She was surprisingly decent, but she left after marrying her childhood friend. I remember being surprised at how handsome her husband was.
"I didn't do anything! Arisa-sama, how could you be so cruel?!"
The dumb maid tries to play the victim, and runs off down the corridor.
"*Sigh*... Why does everyone have to be so stupid."
I stick out my right hand, with my palm pointed directly at the back of the dumb maid.
As the magic energy gathers in my palm, I feel the blood drain from my face.
--[Shock Wave]
I cast the smell without chanting, and the dumb maid is knocked unconscious by the invisible blast.
"--Just punishment!"
She tumbles down and rolls on the ground a few times before stopping. I look down on her and pose victoriously.
The [Shock Wave] that I just used was a spell belonging to the school of the detested Psychic Magic.
I had planned to seal it away for good, but I eventually gave into my urge to learn magic.
Thanks to a feature of the Self Status skill, I can use the skill points I gain at level up to obtain any skill I want. That's how I ended up acquiring the Psychic Magic skill.
There's also a trick where you can use a spell without chanting if you've already cast it before, and the ability to reset all your obtained skills. I learned about these things when I met a certain hero.
"Arisa-sama! What in the world is going on!"
Lili comes up the corridor, and is shocked when she sees the maid lying unconsciously on the ground.
"I was just catching a thief."
"A-again?"
I walk up to the maid, and take back the sailor uniform pattern paper out of her pocket.
Jeez, what are they even going to do with this.
"Wouldn't it have been much easier to just steal the completed product?"
--Maybe not.
After all, the best part of cosplay is making your own outfit.
Buying a costume is okay, but a self-made costume has way more sentimental value, no matter how crappy it is.
"Please return to your room, Arisa-sama. I'll go get the guards."
"Okay."
The guards here should already know about my hair color, but Lili still wants to keep me from other people as much as possible.
As I was sketching a new outfit in my room, Lili comes back.
"I've left her punishment to the head maid."
"I see."
But, the head maid works for those greedy nobles too, so there's not much point.
"Ugh, my only choice is between spies and people who think I'm just a kid. What am I going to do?"
I wonder if the maid with the glare will ever come back.
"Hey, Lili. Can the next maid be someone who isn't a spy or underestimates me? Literally anyone else would work."
"That's..."
Lili makes a frown after hearing my request.
She probably won't be able to find a suitable replacement anytime soon.
If they meet those requirements, and are willing to do chores without complaining, then they don't need any special talents.
I guess hiring people is hard in this world too.
◆
"This girl is Lili's daughter?"
Lili brings in a girl named Lulu that looks around 9 years old.
I can't see her face since it's covered by her hair, but she must be a decent looker if she's Lili's daughter.
Either way--.
Sure she meets the requirements, but she's just a kid.
It might sound funny coming from someone even younger like me, but can this elementary school age kid really keep up? She's just a normal girl without any cheats or reincarnation memories.
"Lili, I'm not asking for someone to play with. I just want some maid or servant that is willing to handle random chores and deliver messages."
If I could be greedy, a scholar or a government official would be great. But that's asking for too much.
"She's a hard worker. She might not be very good at manual labor, but she's diligent enough to handle chores and messages."
Lili gives her stamp of approval, so I take another look at her daughter.
When our eyes meet, she trembles like a small animal and hides behind Lili.
"Introduce yourself to Arisa-sama."
"Y-yes. N-nice to meet you, Arisa-sama. I'm Lulu's daughter Lili."
She's so nervous that she doesn't seem to realize her mistake, or how badly she is stuttering.
Is she really going to be okay?
--Hmm?
Something catches my eye, so I slowly walk up to Lulu, and swipe away the hair covering her face.
"Kya!"
Lulu makes a cute scream and quickly turns her face away.
I only saw it for an instant, but her face is more well-proportioned than any child idol that I've ever seen.
If she's already like this at age 9, then it's scary to think of what she will look like in five years. There would be no supermodels or idols that stand a chance against her.
Also, her face is different from the mostly Northern European-style looks of this country's people. Her features more closely resemble those of a modern Japanese person.
"Tch, damn normies--."
I get a little peeved, so I turn my back to Lulu.
"--You people are born winners and always get everything on a silver platter."
I'd say I look pretty good in this life, but I'm still no match for her.
I've already started making scented soap and skin lotion, but I wonder if I need to try making something else too.
"Arisa-sama, I know Lulu's figure may not be very attractive, but she is a good girl that is mature for her age. Please do not hate her."
"--What."
I glance back between Lili and Lulu, not understanding what I was just told.
"Not very attractive?"
Lili doesn't seem like the type to do a humble brag, and Lulu is still keeping her face covered with her hair.
"What are you talking about, Lili? If this beauty isn't attractive, then no one in this country is."
Lili looks back at me with 'I have no idea what you are talking about' written all over her face.
After a bit of conversation, I manage to clear up the misunderstanding with Lili. I learned that Lulu is considered ugly to the people here.
How pitiful. If she was born in Japan, she would be dominating the scene as an idol right now.
"Lulu, you'll be doing chores for me from now on."
I felt a bit of sympathy for her, so I decided to take her on as a maid.
"Isn't that great, Lulu?"
"T-thank you very much, Arisa-sama. I promise to work as hard as possible."
Lulu was frozen stiff, but responded after Lili prompted her. She repeatedly makes small bows to me.
"[Lulu, your skirt is up.]"
"Um? Arisa-sama?"
"It's nothing."
Lulu gives me a confused look, but I just shake my head and end the conversation.
I've never seen the people of this country bow like that, so I had suspected her of being a reincarnated Japanese person. But that must not be the case if she can't understand Japanese.
◆
"Arisa-sama, Ben the gardener is here."
"Bring him in."
"Understood."
I only hired her out of sympathy, but Lulu ended up being fairly useful.
She didn't have any particular skills, but she's always trying her best.
Although she sometimes acts as if she's a timid dog that has never gone outdoors before.
After a while, Lulu leads Ben into my room.
"Arisa-sama, here is the prototype of the pipe that you ordered."
Ben hands me the metal pipe that was created at the blacksmith workshop of his second cousin.
"That was pretty fast."
"Yes, it's just a thin sheet of metal rolled into a cylinder and held in place with a rivet. It's simple to make since we don't have to smelt anything."
They already have rivets here for making platemail, so we made use of those.
"It might be able to carry water for a bit, but it'll start leaking eventually. Is that really okay, Arisa-sama?"
"That's fine, I was going to use them as a speaking tube."
Ben tilts his head at me.
I thought they would have had speaking tubes because of how simple they are, but I guess not.
"We lay down these pipes to connect each room, then we can use them to transfer our voices in between rooms."
I show them in practice by rolling up a sheet of paper and speaking through it.
"I see..."
It looks like he understands how it works now, but not what I'm going to use it for.
Since there's no convenient magic or tool for communication, it would be nice to just use it as an internal telephone.
"Let's set it up in my building."
After selling some stuff to a Saga Empire merchant, I obtained a bit of money that I can use for personal purposes.
I was going to sell the ideas for various games, but a lot of heroes and reincarnated Japanese must have had the same idea. Games like shogi, mahjong, sugoroku, reversi, and chess already existed.
Instead, I ended up making a gamebook. This allows the reader to choose their own adventure by skipping around the book based on their decisions.
The subject of the book was the extremely popular first hero of the Saga Empire, so that probably helped.
The merchant dropped a decent chunk of cash on me, thinking that the book would be a hit to the commoners as well as the nobles. Well, books are just expensive in general too. Thanks to them, I can continue for quite a bit without worrying about my budget.
◆
"--I see how it is."
I press my ear up against the recently placed speaking tubes.
"Did you see the cursed princess's new attendant?"
"Yeah, yeah, what's up with that unsightly hag?"
"Watch out, the hag is going to get mad."
Lulu has been acting strange for a while, so I designated the maid's breakroom as the target for the speaking tube experiment.
The ones talking are the maids that were recently sent in from the main castle to help out Lili.
"Hah, she ran away."
"Well she can't run away from being ugly."
It looks like Lulu was being bullied for the past few days.
I guess I'll have to clean up this trash first.
"But isn't that Lili-san's daughter?"
"Don't worry about it, she's too busy handling the cursed princess and the king."
"Eh? So it is really is true that she's one of the king's mistresses?"
As I was thinking about how to get my revenge, some surprising information pops into my ears.
"If it wasn't true, then how would a commoner like Lili be able to wet nurse the cursed princess?"
"Now that you mention it, that makes sense."
"So the ugly hag is actually the cursed princess's sister?"
I hear the sound of a tray and cup shattering against the ground behind me.
That sound must have reached the maids too, since I hear the footsteps of them quickly running out of the room.
I close the lid on the speaking tube and turn around.
Lili is standing there, deathly still with a pale face.
"So the rumors were true then?"
"I have no excuses."
With the face of a repenting sinner, Lili falls postrate before me.
"Raise your head, Lili. And don't try to quit or anything. Of course, Lulu can stay too."
I can imagine seeing her resignation on the table tomorrow morning, so I quickly block that path off.
"Do you know the names of the three maids that were talking earlier?"
"Yes."
I listen to their names, and sure enough, they matched the people who were working for the greedy nobles.
No wonder they knew so much about these rumors.
I send Lili back and invite Lulu into the room to drink some tea with me. She looked very depressed when she entered.
"--Have a bite to eat."
Because you just feel even more down when you're hungry.
"It's... good."
"You don't need to hold back, put on some more honey."
As if I was a big sister doting on her little sister, I offer her more of the honey snacks. Well, she's actually the big sister, but whatever.
After she finishes eating a bit, I look her in the eyes and tell her a certain fairy tale.
"Once upon a time, there was a family of ducks living on the lake--."
At the start of the 'The Ugly Duckling', Lulu listened with a painful expression. After hearing the last scene, when the duckling became a swan, she finally smiled a little.
"Do you get it now? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. By the time you're an adult, you'll meet someone that finds you the most beautiful. To be honest, I already think you're the most beautiful though."
She didn't believe that last part, but I get the feeling that she opened up a bit more to me that day.
That same day, in the afternoon--.
"Arisa, give me some honey."
The Fifth Prince Eluus comes over to play. His face is much more chubby than when I first met him.
That must be one of the negative side effects of improving this country's food supplies.
"Eluus-niisama, can you listen to a request from your cute little sister?"
I hug his arm while asking him that, and he nods with his face completely red.
Guhehehe, these innocent little shota are as lovely as ever.
"--That's enough."
Called over by Eluus, the Third Prince Citam listens to the maids trash talking me and Lulu, holding back his rage.
I place the cap back on the speaking tube and face Citam.
"Those maids were sent in by the nobles backing you, Citam-niisama."
"Got it, I'll have them executed for disrespecting royalty."
"--Whoa!"
I accidentally shouted that out.
Geez, there's other ways of solving things than just chopping off their heads.
I can understand why he was so angry though. The conversation we overheard this time was much worse than before.
"Maybe we can do something a little more peaceful? We can say that Citam-niisama uncovered it before anything bad happened, so there was no need for further punishment. We can just send those rude maids back and replace them with more well-mannered maids."
"Arisa, you're too naive--. No, too kind."
He pats me on the head.
It looks like he was about to lecture me before he remembered how old I was.
"Leave the handling of these idiots to me. I'm expecting a lot of honey for this."
"Yes, of course!"
He looks a lot more mature than before, but I guess he's still young enough to be persuaded by sweets.
He quickly followed up on his words. By the next morning, the maids in questions were all gone.
"Um, Arisa-sama."
Lulu comes up to me after finding out that the maids bullying her were gone.
It looks like the replacement maids actually went and apologized to her for their predecessor's actions.
"Thank you for doing this for someone like me."
"You don't need to demean yourself like that."
Lulu tries to prostrate herself before me, but I stop her.
"And it's completely natural for me to protect my family, right?"
After hearing that, Lulu keeps repeatedly thanking me with the tears flowing freely out of her eyes.
Are you really that happy?
"But, how did you find out that they were bullying me?"
"Heheh, there's nothing that can escape my ears."
I confidently show off the speaker tube to Lulu.
"Arisa-sama, you're amazing!"
The excited Lulu shows me her sincere, wholehearted smile for the first time.
Wow, a beauty smiling like that is pretty intense.
I'm scared I might end up falling to the yuri side if I'm not careful.
Chapter 5
"Edamame is so great."
Three years have passed since the experimental crop rotation farm was started. Afterwards, a large number of other farmers started planting beans too, and the fruits of their labor have reached me.
Thanks to my idea for using beans to recover the earth's nutrients, and my invention of the wheelbarrow, I've become famous to the people in town. They have titles for me like [Wisdom God's Daughter] and [Hidden Princess of Bounty].
Well, I can't go outside still, so that's just what I heard from Lili and Ben.
I still listen to my brother's classes, and I've lately been spending more time in the castle library and archive room.
Fame also came with its own pains--.
"You! Take the pattern paper out of your pocket immediately."
"A-Arisa-sama? What are you talking about?"
"If you give it back now, I'll let you off with only a dismissal."
For example, this dumb maid. The greedy nobles have been sending people like her to spy on me.
If they would be willing to implement my ideas, I would be fine sharing them. However, most of them are just in it for personal gain, so it is too risky to trust them.
I've started to miss that previous maid that always looked at me with the scornful glare. She was surprisingly decent, but she left after marrying her childhood friend. I remember being surprised at how handsome her husband was.
"I didn't do anything! Arisa-sama, how could you be so cruel?!"
The dumb maid tries to play the victim, and runs off down the corridor.
"*Sigh*... Why does everyone have to be so stupid."
I stick out my right hand, with my palm pointed directly at the back of the dumb maid.
As the magic energy gathers in my palm, I feel the blood drain from my face.
--[Shock Wave]
I cast the smell without chanting, and the dumb maid is knocked unconscious by the invisible blast.
"--Just punishment!"
She tumbles down and rolls on the ground a few times before stopping. I look down on her and pose victoriously.
The [Shock Wave] that I just used was a spell belonging to the school of the detested Psychic Magic.
I had planned to seal it away for good, but I eventually gave into my urge to learn magic.
Thanks to a feature of the Self Status skill, I can use the skill points I gain at level up to obtain any skill I want. That's how I ended up acquiring the Psychic Magic skill.
There's also a trick where you can use a spell without chanting if you've already cast it before, and the ability to reset all your obtained skills. I learned about these things when I met a certain hero.
"Arisa-sama! What in the world is going on!"
Lili comes up the corridor, and is shocked when she sees the maid lying unconsciously on the ground.
"I was just catching a thief."
"A-again?"
I walk up to the maid, and take back the sailor uniform pattern paper out of her pocket.
Jeez, what are they even going to do with this.
"Wouldn't it have been much easier to just steal the completed product?"
--Maybe not.
After all, the best part of cosplay is making your own outfit.
Buying a costume is okay, but a self-made costume has way more sentimental value, no matter how crappy it is.
"Please return to your room, Arisa-sama. I'll go get the guards."
"Okay."
The guards here should already know about my hair color, but Lili still wants to keep me from other people as much as possible.
As I was sketching a new outfit in my room, Lili comes back.
"I've left her punishment to the head maid."
"I see."
But, the head maid works for those greedy nobles too, so there's not much point.
"Ugh, my only choice is between spies and people who think I'm just a kid. What am I going to do?"
I wonder if the maid with the glare will ever come back.
"Hey, Lili. Can the next maid be someone who isn't a spy or underestimates me? Literally anyone else would work."
"That's..."
Lili makes a frown after hearing my request.
She probably won't be able to find a suitable replacement anytime soon.
If they meet those requirements, and are willing to do chores without complaining, then they don't need any special talents.
I guess hiring people is hard in this world too.
◆
"This girl is Lili's daughter?"
Lili brings in a girl named Lulu that looks around 9 years old.
I can't see her face since it's covered by her hair, but she must be a decent looker if she's Lili's daughter.
Either way--.
Sure she meets the requirements, but she's just a kid.
It might sound funny coming from someone even younger like me, but can this elementary school age kid really keep up? She's just a normal girl without any cheats or reincarnation memories.
"Lili, I'm not asking for someone to play with. I just want some maid or servant that is willing to handle random chores and deliver messages."
If I could be greedy, a scholar or a government official would be great. But that's asking for too much.
"She's a hard worker. She might not be very good at manual labor, but she's diligent enough to handle chores and messages."
Lili gives her stamp of approval, so I take another look at her daughter.
When our eyes meet, she trembles like a small animal and hides behind Lili.
"Introduce yourself to Arisa-sama."
"Y-yes. N-nice to meet you, Arisa-sama. I'm Lulu's daughter Lili."
She's so nervous that she doesn't seem to realize her mistake, or how badly she is stuttering.
Is she really going to be okay?
--Hmm?
Something catches my eye, so I slowly walk up to Lulu, and swipe away the hair covering her face.
"Kya!"
Lulu makes a cute scream and quickly turns her face away.
I only saw it for an instant, but her face is more well-proportioned than any child idol that I've ever seen.
If she's already like this at age 9, then it's scary to think of what she will look like in five years. There would be no supermodels or idols that stand a chance against her.
Also, her face is different from the mostly Northern European-style looks of this country's people. Her features more closely resemble those of a modern Japanese person.
"Tch, damn normies--."
I get a little peeved, so I turn my back to Lulu.
"--You people are born winners and always get everything on a silver platter."
I'd say I look pretty good in this life, but I'm still no match for her.
I've already started making scented soap and skin lotion, but I wonder if I need to try making something else too.
"Arisa-sama, I know Lulu's figure may not be very attractive, but she is a good girl that is mature for her age. Please do not hate her."
"--What."
I glance back between Lili and Lulu, not understanding what I was just told.
"Not very attractive?"
Lili doesn't seem like the type to do a humble brag, and Lulu is still keeping her face covered with her hair.
"What are you talking about, Lili? If this beauty isn't attractive, then no one in this country is."
Lili looks back at me with 'I have no idea what you are talking about' written all over her face.
After a bit of conversation, I manage to clear up the misunderstanding with Lili. I learned that Lulu is considered ugly to the people here.
How pitiful. If she was born in Japan, she would be dominating the scene as an idol right now.
"Lulu, you'll be doing chores for me from now on."
I felt a bit of sympathy for her, so I decided to take her on as a maid.
"Isn't that great, Lulu?"
"T-thank you very much, Arisa-sama. I promise to work as hard as possible."
Lulu was frozen stiff, but responded after Lili prompted her. She repeatedly makes small bows to me.
"[Lulu, your skirt is up.]"
"Um? Arisa-sama?"
"It's nothing."
Lulu gives me a confused look, but I just shake my head and end the conversation.
I've never seen the people of this country bow like that, so I had suspected her of being a reincarnated Japanese person. But that must not be the case if she can't understand Japanese.
◆
"Arisa-sama, Ben the gardener is here."
"Bring him in."
"Understood."
I only hired her out of sympathy, but Lulu ended up being fairly useful.
She didn't have any particular skills, but she's always trying her best.
Although she sometimes acts as if she's a timid dog that has never gone outdoors before.
After a while, Lulu leads Ben into my room.
"Arisa-sama, here is the prototype of the pipe that you ordered."
Ben hands me the metal pipe that was created at the blacksmith workshop of his second cousin.
"That was pretty fast."
"Yes, it's just a thin sheet of metal rolled into a cylinder and held in place with a rivet. It's simple to make since we don't have to smelt anything."
They already have rivets here for making platemail, so we made use of those.
"It might be able to carry water for a bit, but it'll start leaking eventually. Is that really okay, Arisa-sama?"
"That's fine, I was going to use them as a speaking tube."
Ben tilts his head at me.
I thought they would have had speaking tubes because of how simple they are, but I guess not.
"We lay down these pipes to connect each room, then we can use them to transfer our voices in between rooms."
I show them in practice by rolling up a sheet of paper and speaking through it.
"I see..."
It looks like he understands how it works now, but not what I'm going to use it for.
Since there's no convenient magic or tool for communication, it would be nice to just use it as an internal telephone.
"Let's set it up in my building."
After selling some stuff to a Saga Empire merchant, I obtained a bit of money that I can use for personal purposes.
I was going to sell the ideas for various games, but a lot of heroes and reincarnated Japanese must have had the same idea. Games like shogi, mahjong, sugoroku, reversi, and chess already existed.
Instead, I ended up making a gamebook. This allows the reader to choose their own adventure by skipping around the book based on their decisions.
The subject of the book was the extremely popular first hero of the Saga Empire, so that probably helped.
The merchant dropped a decent chunk of cash on me, thinking that the book would be a hit to the commoners as well as the nobles. Well, books are just expensive in general too. Thanks to them, I can continue for quite a bit without worrying about my budget.
◆
"--I see how it is."
I press my ear up against the recently placed speaking tubes.
"Did you see the cursed princess's new attendant?"
"Yeah, yeah, what's up with that unsightly hag?"
"Watch out, the hag is going to get mad."
Lulu has been acting strange for a while, so I designated the maid's breakroom as the target for the speaking tube experiment.
The ones talking are the maids that were recently sent in from the main castle to help out Lili.
"Hah, she ran away."
"Well she can't run away from being ugly."
It looks like Lulu was being bullied for the past few days.
I guess I'll have to clean up this trash first.
"But isn't that Lili-san's daughter?"
"Don't worry about it, she's too busy handling the cursed princess and the king."
"Eh? So it is really is true that she's one of the king's mistresses?"
As I was thinking about how to get my revenge, some surprising information pops into my ears.
"If it wasn't true, then how would a commoner like Lili be able to wet nurse the cursed princess?"
"Now that you mention it, that makes sense."
"So the ugly hag is actually the cursed princess's sister?"
I hear the sound of a tray and cup shattering against the ground behind me.
That sound must have reached the maids too, since I hear the footsteps of them quickly running out of the room.
I close the lid on the speaking tube and turn around.
Lili is standing there, deathly still with a pale face.
"So the rumors were true then?"
"I have no excuses."
With the face of a repenting sinner, Lili falls postrate before me.
"Raise your head, Lili. And don't try to quit or anything. Of course, Lulu can stay too."
I can imagine seeing her resignation on the table tomorrow morning, so I quickly block that path off.
"Do you know the names of the three maids that were talking earlier?"
"Yes."
I listen to their names, and sure enough, they matched the people who were working for the greedy nobles.
No wonder they knew so much about these rumors.
I send Lili back and invite Lulu into the room to drink some tea with me. She looked very depressed when she entered.
"--Have a bite to eat."
Because you just feel even more down when you're hungry.
"It's... good."
"You don't need to hold back, put on some more honey."
As if I was a big sister doting on her little sister, I offer her more of the honey snacks. Well, she's actually the big sister, but whatever.
After she finishes eating a bit, I look her in the eyes and tell her a certain fairy tale.
"Once upon a time, there was a family of ducks living on the lake--."
At the start of the 'The Ugly Duckling', Lulu listened with a painful expression. After hearing the last scene, when the duckling became a swan, she finally smiled a little.
"Do you get it now? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. By the time you're an adult, you'll meet someone that finds you the most beautiful. To be honest, I already think you're the most beautiful though."
She didn't believe that last part, but I get the feeling that she opened up a bit more to me that day.
That same day, in the afternoon--.
"Arisa, give me some honey."
The Fifth Prince Eluus comes over to play. His face is much more chubby than when I first met him.
That must be one of the negative side effects of improving this country's food supplies.
"Eluus-niisama, can you listen to a request from your cute little sister?"
I hug his arm while asking him that, and he nods with his face completely red.
Guhehehe, these innocent little shota are as lovely as ever.
"--That's enough."
Called over by Eluus, the Third Prince Citam listens to the maids trash talking me and Lulu, holding back his rage.
I place the cap back on the speaking tube and face Citam.
"Those maids were sent in by the nobles backing you, Citam-niisama."
"Got it, I'll have them executed for disrespecting royalty."
"--Whoa!"
I accidentally shouted that out.
Geez, there's other ways of solving things than just chopping off their heads.
I can understand why he was so angry though. The conversation we overheard this time was much worse than before.
"Maybe we can do something a little more peaceful? We can say that Citam-niisama uncovered it before anything bad happened, so there was no need for further punishment. We can just send those rude maids back and replace them with more well-mannered maids."
"Arisa, you're too naive--. No, too kind."
He pats me on the head.
It looks like he was about to lecture me before he remembered how old I was.
"Leave the handling of these idiots to me. I'm expecting a lot of honey for this."
"Yes, of course!"
He looks a lot more mature than before, but I guess he's still young enough to be persuaded by sweets.
He quickly followed up on his words. By the next morning, the maids in questions were all gone.
"Um, Arisa-sama."
Lulu comes up to me after finding out that the maids bullying her were gone.
It looks like the replacement maids actually went and apologized to her for their predecessor's actions.
"Thank you for doing this for someone like me."
"You don't need to demean yourself like that."
Lulu tries to prostrate herself before me, but I stop her.
"And it's completely natural for me to protect my family, right?"
After hearing that, Lulu keeps repeatedly thanking me with the tears flowing freely out of her eyes.
Are you really that happy?
"But, how did you find out that they were bullying me?"
"Heheh, there's nothing that can escape my ears."
I confidently show off the speaker tube to Lulu.
"Arisa-sama, you're amazing!"
The excited Lulu shows me her sincere, wholehearted smile for the first time.
Wow, a beauty smiling like that is pretty intense.
I'm scared I might end up falling to the yuri side if I'm not careful.
Chapter 5
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Princess Arisa's Isekai Struggle - Chapter 3
Chapter 3 - Down with Sexual Discrimination!
"Brother, it looks like we were spotted."
"Let's go in."
Two of the shotas enter the room.
Both of them are incredibly handsome. Third Prince Citam is 6 years older than me and looks like an honors student. Fourth Prince Dyude is 4 years older than me and looks like a troublemaker.
The Fifth Prince Eluus is still by the door and peeking inside. He's two years older than me and seems like the timid-type.
All three of them have super soft-looking blonde hair.
"This kid is our sister?"
"Wow, her hair is really that cursed color."
Hmm? What color did you say?
My vocabulary is still pretty weak.
"What's 'cursed color'?"
"Ah! She can talk!"
Well, yeah, of course I can talk... is how I wanted to respond internally.
Externally, I made use of my cute toddler face and added on a "Pretty please?"
"The color of unhappiness."
"The hated color."
The fourth prince starts pulling my hair.
--Ow, what the hell are you doing!
I stuff the honey-covered spoon into his mouth.
"Ah! Stop!"
"I'm not stopping until you give up."
After a short struggle, the fourth prince surrenders to me with tears forming in his eyes.
"Hmph, I win."
"A-Arisa?"
The third prince looks down on me in shock.
Oops, looks like my 'angelic imouto' strategy is falling apart before it even started.
No, wait, I still got this.
Arisa, you can do this!
"Onii-sama, what's wrong?"
"I-it's nothing."
Fuhahaha, my angelic smile is undefeatable.
I'll have no problems getting a boyfriend in this life.
"--Father."
I hear the youngest brother whisper quietly from the door.
Through the open door comes a handsome man who looks like the splitting image of a king.
He has the same blonde hair as my brothers.
And he seems pretty young, maybe in his 30s.
"Citam, Dyude, I told you to stay away from the cursed child!"
OK, I get it already. I didn't want to believe it, but there's no more room for doubt after seeing papa like that.
I'm the cursed child.
It must be because of this purple hair that my parents don't come to visit me.
Is it in fashion now for the gods to start you off with terrible luck?
I think I'd rather have easy mode.
While silently cursing god, I climb in bed and cover my head with the blanket.
That night--.
"...Arisa. My daughter who is fated to bring unhappiness."
A figure stands at the side of my bed.
"Keeping you away was the only thing your weak father and mother could do for you. All the blame lies with us."
His large hand brushes my purple hair.
"This was the only thing we could do to protect you from the fools who believe in the old superstitions."
By the time I woke up, I had forgotten the words said to me in my sleep. The next morning, I somehow felt a bit refreshed.
Time to keep working to improve my life as a princess.
◆
"Look over there!"
I throw in a little feint and blonde shota falls for it.
"Dammit, I lost again!"
"Ohohoho, looks like you're lacking in kung-fu."
I stand victoriously over the frustrated blonde shota, Fourth Prince Dyude.
"Ahaha, Dyude always falls for those tricks.
I'm currently playing around with Third Prince Citam and Dyude in my room.
Although our first meeting was cut short by the king, they've been coming over to my building rather frequently since then. Apparently they use some royalty-exclusive secret passage.
First, I fed them lots of sweet honey. Then, I grabbed their hearts by teaching them about children's games from Japan.
I should try telling them some Japanese stories and fairy tales later too.
"Arisa, why do you know about all of these games?"
"Because I'm bored?"
Citam asks me a good question, but I dodge it by making a cute smile while tilting my head.
"Making games just because you're bored? That's still amazing!"
"You're so cheeky for someone that doesn't even ◇◇."
Citam seems impressed, but seeing that causes Dyude to get jealous.
Do you really love your brother that much?
"No bullying your sister."
Dyude looks like he's about to hit me, but he gets stopped by the dependable Citam.
"Tch, it's fine if it's Arisa."
Dyude whispers that to himself.
Uh no, that's not okay.
Wait, before I forget--.
"Is ◇◇ fun?"
Making the most innocent face possible, I ask Citam.
"It's not that fun."
"I know right. I'd rather be practicing my sword than ◇◇."
Citam responds with a wry smile and Dyude starts swinging around his hand like a sword.
I guess ◇◇ is studying then?
"What do you do for studying?"
I ask Citam again.
"Learning how to △△, and learning this country's ▽▽."
"What's △△?"
Maybe those are 'writing' and 'history'.
"Arisa is so stupid. You don't even know how to △△."
Shut your mouth, Dyude.
I take a look around the room, but there's no nothing to write on like a paper or a blackboard.
"This."
Citam takes a slip of paper out of his pouch and shows it to me.
Crude letters are written on it.
I see, so △△ must be writing.
"What's this?"
"Obviously, that's writing!"
"What does it say?"
After hearing my question, the arrogant Dyude shuts his mouth.
It looks like it's something he doesn't know either.
Well, no matter. The field is set--.
"Nii-sama! I want to learn writing too!"
I raise one hand while jumping.
Shota brother, it's time for you to fall for your moe imouto!
I wait for Citam's response while doing an evil laugh internally.
"Sorry, Arisa."
"You're such an idiot. Women don't need to learn how to write."
Dyude starts laughing at me, interrupting Citam's apology.
So this country still has the antiquated idea that women don't need to go to school.
I had expected some discrimination since it's a fantasy world with swords and magic, but this is more bothersome than I had thought.
I face my head down while covering my mouth with my hand, then yawn a little bit.
"Pretty please?"
I beg them with tears at the corners of my eyes and the two shota princes broke. They ended up agreeing to let me hide in their room so that I could listen in on their lessons.
As usual, cute is justice!
Since we used the secret passage to move between my detached building and the castle, I didn't see anyone else on the way there.
The passage was surprisingly clean and there weren't any spiders.
"Nii-sama, does anyone clean this place?"
"No way. The only people that can come through here are royalty.
Well, I guess that's true. It's supposed to be used as an emergency escape route.
If no one is cleaning it up, then maybe some large adult passed through recently.
We arrive at Citam's luxurious room, and I hide in a drawer. Thus began my lessons.
I learned all about this country's math, language, and society. My brothers probably didn't even understand half of it because of how young they are.
I was shocked to find out that slavery is still a thing here.
Luckily, I was born a princess. Working your way up from slavery would be practically impossible.
I learned about the military, the surrounding countries, dangerous monsters. Also about the demon lords and heroes.
Unfortunately, they did not have the magic class that I was looking forward to.
There are few mages in this country, and most of them can only use something called Convenience Magic. That's why even the military only has a handful of mages.
The royal wizard even had to study abroad in one of the larger countries, like Shiga Kingdom to the south, or Saga Empire to the north.
Most of the subjects were pretty boring, but I have gained a lot of new vocabulary. Also if someone asks me why I know something, I can use the excuse that I learned it in class.
"Hey Nii-sama, did you find out why purple is considered a cursed color?"
The three young princes didn't seem to know, so I asked them to find out the reason from the king or the instructor.
"Father just said 'You don't need to know', and the instructor..."
The instructor apparently just dodged the question.
It looks like he doesn't want to say. That, or he really just doesn't know.
This purple hair is really mysterious. I've tried to dye it, but for some reason it doesn't stick.
Now that I think about it...
I remember back to the god that reincarnated me. That purple ball of light crosses my mind.
Is it possible that god is hated in this world...? Well I don't have any evidence to prove it either way, so there's not much point in making such wild guesses.
I request my brothers to ask anyone else they think would know.
Lili is going to start worrying about me soon, so I should head back now.
"Are you alright by yourself?"
"I'm fine, don't worry. I've been doing this for like a month."
I decline my brother's help, and confidently head back to the detached building by myself.
"--I'm lost."
That's weird.
I followed the same route as usual. Did I screw up somewhere?
I cross my arms to think about what I'm going to do next when I hear the faint voices of people talking.
"So, what is ---?"
"Make --- you don't --- anyone."
This conversation sounds kinda ominous.
Driven by curiosity, I tip-toe closer to listen in to the conversation.
I see a gap in the wall with a bit of light slipping through. The voice must be coming through this gap.
Bringing my face closer to the gap, I peek inside.
There is an adult man, and a high school age young man, sitting and facing each other.
I can only see the adult's back, but I can see the young man's face.
--He looks like my brothers.
I use [Status Check] on the two and learn that they are the king and the first prince.
"This is a secret only known by the king and the crown prince."
After hearing that, I thought to myself "Isn't this pretty bad?". But I eventually gave into the curiosity and continued eavesdropping on their conversation.
"The king is the king because he controls the City Core."
The City Core... That must be just what it sounds like, the main controller for a city.
I heard in class about the Dungeon Core that is supposed to be at the bottom level of each labyrinth. This must be the city version of that.
"The City Core?"
The king orders the first prince to remain silent until the end of the explanation.
"--Beneath the castle, there is a secret area called the City Core Room. The person who inherits the throne will also inherit the City Core. Then, they will be able to wield its godly powers."
This sounds like the 'king's protection' that I heard from Lili before.
The king continued on to explain the abilities of the City Core, as well as the leylines and mana source that supply it.
It's like I accidentally bumped into a pile of the world's secrets.
"One last thing, make sure you remember this--."
I had thought he was finished, but the king looks into the first prince's eyes and starts talking again.
"--Someone who has received a baptism from a god is unable to inherit the City Core. Once you have confirmed an heir, you should have the other princes baptized."
With that, the king stops for good.
"Is that why you stopped the priest from using Holy Magic when Teresa was pregnant?"
"That's right. It should not be able to affect an unborn child, but our country's analyzers are not skilled enough to confirm if that is the case. You should distance your wife from Holy Magic and blessings when she is pregnant. At least until you have two potential heirs."
"Understood."
It looks like the two are finally finished, and they exit the room.
Actually--.
Why is it that you can't inherit a City Core if you've been baptized?
In the end, the king never said anything about the reason.
I guess the first prince wasn't considering that either, since he never asked.
Well, I guess it doesn't matter to me.
WIth this country's discrimination against women, there's no way a princess like me will ever inherit the throne.
"That's not a flag!"
I mutter that to myself to brush off the feeling of dread that was creeping up on me.
I somehow managed to return to my building before dinner time.
By the time I finally found the entrance to the secret passage, I was about ready to cry.
No more overconfidence!
◆
"Wow, everything is covered in dust."
Today I was invited by the troublemaker Fourth Prince Dyude to one of the old storerooms at the castle. The timid Fifth Prince Eluus is here too.
Third Prince Citam probably would have stopped us, but he's out touring the nearby towns and villages with the king.
"What the heck is this?"
"Ugh, a spider web."
Gegeh, I can't stand spiders.
They have no right to live.
I don't care if they are 'beneficial'.
Just search and destroy.
--Oh hey.
That book has a pretty nice looking cover.
I cheerfully walk towards the shelf it is on.
"Arisa, be careful since the floor is pretty fragile over there."
"Yeah yeah."
I give an absentminded response to the Dyude as I reach my hand towards the book.
--You're mine now.
I use both of my hands to pick up the heavy book.
Looking down at the book, I see something sitting on it and waving hello to me.
"Spideeeer!!"
I quickly throw the book down and step back, crashing into a pile of junk.
--*creak*
Crap.
Before I could react to the sound, the floor collapses under me. I fall into the lower level along with the junk.
Luckily, the lower floor had a bunch of stuff piled up close to the ceiling. If I had landed on the floor rather than that pile of stuff, I may have gotten seriously hurt.
I should really be more careful if I don't want to get sent back to the cycle of reincarnation so soon.
"Arisa, are you still alive?!"
"Arisa!"
Behind a thick cloud of dust, I see the two shota princes looking down at me through the hole in the ceiling.
"I'm here!"
I still feel a bit dazed from the shock of falling, but I shout up to let them know that I am alright.
There's so much dust flying around now that I start coughing violently.
I shake myself awake and quickly take out a handkerchief to cover my mouth.
"Wait there! I'll get an adult!"
"Everything will be okay!"
The two shout back at me.
These guys are more reliable than I thought they would be.
I'm surprised the troublemaker prince acts so well under pressure.
After the two leave, I recover my senses and start taking a closer look at the surroundings.
"Oh, found it."
I stare at the book that caused me to fall.
"A dictionary, huh? Judging by this signature, it seems like it was a copy transcribed by one of my ancestors."
I use the little bit of light leaking from the hole in the ceiling to skim through the dictionary.
Hmm, this should be useful for improving my vocabulary.
"--Open."
I activate my [Item Box] skill.
A jet black square appears in front of my eyes, and I toss the dictionary in.
"Now then, are there any other books?"
Guess I'll do a bit of treasure hunting before they come rescue me.
I obtain a worn out old map, and a mountain of papers that looks like a receipt journal. The papers are completely covered with letters and numbers, so I didn't have time to examine them.
I continue past the piles of various artworks and junk, and I come up to a shelf with five books.
These books have degraded heavily over time, but even then I can tell that their bindings used to look splendid.
"I wonder what's written here."
It's too dark for reading this far in.
One by one, I toss my spoils into the Item Box.
I was worried that I might run out of MP, but it was just barely okay.
I'll take a closer look at them tomorrow.
◆
"--Psychic Magic?"
After getting rescued from the underground storeroom, the two princes and I got a harsh scolding. I wasn't able to take a look at my new treasures until the day after.
"Whoa, what's with this introduction?"
Reader of these cursed and forbidden texts. Wizard who lusts for the twisted powers to control the hearts of man. Vow that you will not use these spells to enrich yourself. If you cannot make that oath, then close this tome at once.
This magic looks like it's for brainwashing people.
I'm interested in magic, but this doesn't seem like my thing. I should only try it if I really have to.
Well the dictionary seems more useful anyways.
"And this pile of papers is--"
A bunch of taxation data from about 150 years ago. It contains a list of all the villages and towns, as well as what they produce.
It also contains information about what substitute foods they used in the case of a famine.
"Are famines really supposed to be that often in this country?"
In a 20-year period, there were three different famines.
"At that rate, I'm surprised there was never a revolution."
Mixed into the pile of papers was the diary of a tax officer. I start flipping through that as well.
It looks like he was also having trouble eating potatoes all the time.
These are like the same complaints I was making a while back...
"Wait a second."
I look at the dates in the diary, and compare them to tax documents.
"It seems like a famine occurs after each long period of mostly potatoes."
That sounds about right.
Judging from the tax documents, these potatoes don't seem to be a crop that is especially resistant to failure.
"--This is pretty bad."
We're in a period of potatoes right now. If they keep going like this without any crop rotation, there will eventually be a potato failure, causing a devastating famine.
I hope I'm just overthinking this, but Lili said that the king's protection won't be available this year either.
I should prepare a countermeasure just in case.
"Lili! Lili!"
I quickly rush over to Lili and ask her to call for Ben the gardener.
◆
"Four field crop rotation?"
"That's right! It's written right here. A long time ago, a king who hated potatoes came up with it."
I point to the tax documents and the dairy, as well as the dictionary as evidence.
Like Lili, Ben is illiterate. He doesn't know what's actually written in these.
I feel a bit bad for taking advantage of his ignorance, but his help is essential to this experiment.
"First is beans. The fields will get much better if you plant one field of beans. It'll help just as much as the mulch from before."
This country's farmers usually grow some kind of green peas-like bean crop, but I asked Ben to plant orc beans instead. This was one of the substitute foods mentioned in the tax data, and it's apparently similar to soybeans.
"Just plant beans?"
"Yes, that's what is written in these old documents."
"If it's so amazing, then why don't the people today know about it?"
This guy is pretty smart for someone that never had an education.
"That's simple. That's because the king's protection is much easier. Wasn't it pretty rough carrying all that mulch back?"
Ben nods at my words.
"I had to go make so many trips to the forest."
There obviously aren't any trucks here, so he must have had to transport the huge amounts of dirt manually.
People with the Item Box skill might be able to help, but there aren't nearly enough to carry as much as a truck.
"Then did you want to try experimenting with fertilizer as well?"
"Fertilizer?"
"Yeah, it's incomplete, but there's a little bit written in here about it. First, let's try doing a trial run with a small vegetable garden."
I tell them about fermenting the mixture of animal dung and straw, and they started giving me strange looks. I explained that I was pretty doubtful of it as well, and left the decision of whether to do it or not to Ben.
"Oh yeah, can't you use a carriage to transport the mulch?"
"It's too deep in the forest, so there's no roads that go in that far."
"What about a wheelbarrow?"
I'm not sure if wheelbarrow is actually a word here, so I just used something that sounded close.
"You make a container like this, and then a person pushes it from behind. It's much easier than carrying it manually."
They didn't understand the picture I drew, so I made a 3D figure of it using folded paper.
It was pretty hard to do without any glue.
"Wow, Arisa-sama is so talented."
"Do you think you can do it?"
I ask Ben if he's able to make the wheelbarrow. He says that he'll try to get the help of his carpenter and blacksmith cousins. They might be able to make a prototype out of spare parts.
And so my technological cheat strategy entered the second stage.
Chapter 4
"Brother, it looks like we were spotted."
"Let's go in."
Two of the shotas enter the room.
Both of them are incredibly handsome. Third Prince Citam is 6 years older than me and looks like an honors student. Fourth Prince Dyude is 4 years older than me and looks like a troublemaker.
The Fifth Prince Eluus is still by the door and peeking inside. He's two years older than me and seems like the timid-type.
All three of them have super soft-looking blonde hair.
"This kid is our sister?"
"Wow, her hair is really that cursed color."
Hmm? What color did you say?
My vocabulary is still pretty weak.
"What's 'cursed color'?"
"Ah! She can talk!"
Well, yeah, of course I can talk... is how I wanted to respond internally.
Externally, I made use of my cute toddler face and added on a "Pretty please?"
"The color of unhappiness."
"The hated color."
The fourth prince starts pulling my hair.
--Ow, what the hell are you doing!
I stuff the honey-covered spoon into his mouth.
"Ah! Stop!"
"I'm not stopping until you give up."
After a short struggle, the fourth prince surrenders to me with tears forming in his eyes.
"Hmph, I win."
"A-Arisa?"
The third prince looks down on me in shock.
Oops, looks like my 'angelic imouto' strategy is falling apart before it even started.
No, wait, I still got this.
Arisa, you can do this!
"Onii-sama, what's wrong?"
"I-it's nothing."
Fuhahaha, my angelic smile is undefeatable.
I'll have no problems getting a boyfriend in this life.
"--Father."
I hear the youngest brother whisper quietly from the door.
Through the open door comes a handsome man who looks like the splitting image of a king.
He has the same blonde hair as my brothers.
And he seems pretty young, maybe in his 30s.
"Citam, Dyude, I told you to stay away from the cursed child!"
OK, I get it already. I didn't want to believe it, but there's no more room for doubt after seeing papa like that.
I'm the cursed child.
It must be because of this purple hair that my parents don't come to visit me.
Is it in fashion now for the gods to start you off with terrible luck?
I think I'd rather have easy mode.
While silently cursing god, I climb in bed and cover my head with the blanket.
That night--.
"...Arisa. My daughter who is fated to bring unhappiness."
A figure stands at the side of my bed.
"Keeping you away was the only thing your weak father and mother could do for you. All the blame lies with us."
His large hand brushes my purple hair.
"This was the only thing we could do to protect you from the fools who believe in the old superstitions."
By the time I woke up, I had forgotten the words said to me in my sleep. The next morning, I somehow felt a bit refreshed.
Time to keep working to improve my life as a princess.
◆
"Look over there!"
I throw in a little feint and blonde shota falls for it.
"Dammit, I lost again!"
"Ohohoho, looks like you're lacking in kung-fu."
I stand victoriously over the frustrated blonde shota, Fourth Prince Dyude.
"Ahaha, Dyude always falls for those tricks.
I'm currently playing around with Third Prince Citam and Dyude in my room.
Although our first meeting was cut short by the king, they've been coming over to my building rather frequently since then. Apparently they use some royalty-exclusive secret passage.
First, I fed them lots of sweet honey. Then, I grabbed their hearts by teaching them about children's games from Japan.
I should try telling them some Japanese stories and fairy tales later too.
"Arisa, why do you know about all of these games?"
"Because I'm bored?"
Citam asks me a good question, but I dodge it by making a cute smile while tilting my head.
"Making games just because you're bored? That's still amazing!"
"You're so cheeky for someone that doesn't even ◇◇."
Citam seems impressed, but seeing that causes Dyude to get jealous.
Do you really love your brother that much?
"No bullying your sister."
Dyude looks like he's about to hit me, but he gets stopped by the dependable Citam.
"Tch, it's fine if it's Arisa."
Dyude whispers that to himself.
Uh no, that's not okay.
Wait, before I forget--.
"Is ◇◇ fun?"
Making the most innocent face possible, I ask Citam.
"It's not that fun."
"I know right. I'd rather be practicing my sword than ◇◇."
Citam responds with a wry smile and Dyude starts swinging around his hand like a sword.
I guess ◇◇ is studying then?
"What do you do for studying?"
I ask Citam again.
"Learning how to △△, and learning this country's ▽▽."
"What's △△?"
Maybe those are 'writing' and 'history'.
"Arisa is so stupid. You don't even know how to △△."
Shut your mouth, Dyude.
I take a look around the room, but there's no nothing to write on like a paper or a blackboard.
"This."
Citam takes a slip of paper out of his pouch and shows it to me.
Crude letters are written on it.
I see, so △△ must be writing.
"What's this?"
"Obviously, that's writing!"
"What does it say?"
After hearing my question, the arrogant Dyude shuts his mouth.
It looks like it's something he doesn't know either.
Well, no matter. The field is set--.
"Nii-sama! I want to learn writing too!"
I raise one hand while jumping.
Shota brother, it's time for you to fall for your moe imouto!
I wait for Citam's response while doing an evil laugh internally.
"Sorry, Arisa."
"You're such an idiot. Women don't need to learn how to write."
Dyude starts laughing at me, interrupting Citam's apology.
So this country still has the antiquated idea that women don't need to go to school.
I had expected some discrimination since it's a fantasy world with swords and magic, but this is more bothersome than I had thought.
I face my head down while covering my mouth with my hand, then yawn a little bit.
"Pretty please?"
I beg them with tears at the corners of my eyes and the two shota princes broke. They ended up agreeing to let me hide in their room so that I could listen in on their lessons.
As usual, cute is justice!
Since we used the secret passage to move between my detached building and the castle, I didn't see anyone else on the way there.
The passage was surprisingly clean and there weren't any spiders.
"Nii-sama, does anyone clean this place?"
"No way. The only people that can come through here are royalty.
Well, I guess that's true. It's supposed to be used as an emergency escape route.
If no one is cleaning it up, then maybe some large adult passed through recently.
We arrive at Citam's luxurious room, and I hide in a drawer. Thus began my lessons.
I learned all about this country's math, language, and society. My brothers probably didn't even understand half of it because of how young they are.
I was shocked to find out that slavery is still a thing here.
Luckily, I was born a princess. Working your way up from slavery would be practically impossible.
I learned about the military, the surrounding countries, dangerous monsters. Also about the demon lords and heroes.
Unfortunately, they did not have the magic class that I was looking forward to.
There are few mages in this country, and most of them can only use something called Convenience Magic. That's why even the military only has a handful of mages.
The royal wizard even had to study abroad in one of the larger countries, like Shiga Kingdom to the south, or Saga Empire to the north.
Most of the subjects were pretty boring, but I have gained a lot of new vocabulary. Also if someone asks me why I know something, I can use the excuse that I learned it in class.
"Hey Nii-sama, did you find out why purple is considered a cursed color?"
The three young princes didn't seem to know, so I asked them to find out the reason from the king or the instructor.
"Father just said 'You don't need to know', and the instructor..."
The instructor apparently just dodged the question.
It looks like he doesn't want to say. That, or he really just doesn't know.
This purple hair is really mysterious. I've tried to dye it, but for some reason it doesn't stick.
Now that I think about it...
I remember back to the god that reincarnated me. That purple ball of light crosses my mind.
Is it possible that god is hated in this world...? Well I don't have any evidence to prove it either way, so there's not much point in making such wild guesses.
I request my brothers to ask anyone else they think would know.
Lili is going to start worrying about me soon, so I should head back now.
"Are you alright by yourself?"
"I'm fine, don't worry. I've been doing this for like a month."
I decline my brother's help, and confidently head back to the detached building by myself.
"--I'm lost."
That's weird.
I followed the same route as usual. Did I screw up somewhere?
I cross my arms to think about what I'm going to do next when I hear the faint voices of people talking.
"So, what is ---?"
"Make --- you don't --- anyone."
This conversation sounds kinda ominous.
Driven by curiosity, I tip-toe closer to listen in to the conversation.
I see a gap in the wall with a bit of light slipping through. The voice must be coming through this gap.
Bringing my face closer to the gap, I peek inside.
There is an adult man, and a high school age young man, sitting and facing each other.
I can only see the adult's back, but I can see the young man's face.
--He looks like my brothers.
I use [Status Check] on the two and learn that they are the king and the first prince.
"This is a secret only known by the king and the crown prince."
After hearing that, I thought to myself "Isn't this pretty bad?". But I eventually gave into the curiosity and continued eavesdropping on their conversation.
"The king is the king because he controls the City Core."
The City Core... That must be just what it sounds like, the main controller for a city.
I heard in class about the Dungeon Core that is supposed to be at the bottom level of each labyrinth. This must be the city version of that.
"The City Core?"
The king orders the first prince to remain silent until the end of the explanation.
"--Beneath the castle, there is a secret area called the City Core Room. The person who inherits the throne will also inherit the City Core. Then, they will be able to wield its godly powers."
This sounds like the 'king's protection' that I heard from Lili before.
The king continued on to explain the abilities of the City Core, as well as the leylines and mana source that supply it.
It's like I accidentally bumped into a pile of the world's secrets.
"One last thing, make sure you remember this--."
I had thought he was finished, but the king looks into the first prince's eyes and starts talking again.
"--Someone who has received a baptism from a god is unable to inherit the City Core. Once you have confirmed an heir, you should have the other princes baptized."
With that, the king stops for good.
"Is that why you stopped the priest from using Holy Magic when Teresa was pregnant?"
"That's right. It should not be able to affect an unborn child, but our country's analyzers are not skilled enough to confirm if that is the case. You should distance your wife from Holy Magic and blessings when she is pregnant. At least until you have two potential heirs."
"Understood."
It looks like the two are finally finished, and they exit the room.
Actually--.
Why is it that you can't inherit a City Core if you've been baptized?
In the end, the king never said anything about the reason.
I guess the first prince wasn't considering that either, since he never asked.
Well, I guess it doesn't matter to me.
WIth this country's discrimination against women, there's no way a princess like me will ever inherit the throne.
"That's not a flag!"
I mutter that to myself to brush off the feeling of dread that was creeping up on me.
I somehow managed to return to my building before dinner time.
By the time I finally found the entrance to the secret passage, I was about ready to cry.
No more overconfidence!
◆
"Wow, everything is covered in dust."
Today I was invited by the troublemaker Fourth Prince Dyude to one of the old storerooms at the castle. The timid Fifth Prince Eluus is here too.
Third Prince Citam probably would have stopped us, but he's out touring the nearby towns and villages with the king.
"What the heck is this?"
"Ugh, a spider web."
Gegeh, I can't stand spiders.
They have no right to live.
I don't care if they are 'beneficial'.
Just search and destroy.
--Oh hey.
That book has a pretty nice looking cover.
I cheerfully walk towards the shelf it is on.
"Arisa, be careful since the floor is pretty fragile over there."
"Yeah yeah."
I give an absentminded response to the Dyude as I reach my hand towards the book.
--You're mine now.
I use both of my hands to pick up the heavy book.
Looking down at the book, I see something sitting on it and waving hello to me.
"Spideeeer!!"
I quickly throw the book down and step back, crashing into a pile of junk.
--*creak*
Crap.
Before I could react to the sound, the floor collapses under me. I fall into the lower level along with the junk.
Luckily, the lower floor had a bunch of stuff piled up close to the ceiling. If I had landed on the floor rather than that pile of stuff, I may have gotten seriously hurt.
I should really be more careful if I don't want to get sent back to the cycle of reincarnation so soon.
"Arisa, are you still alive?!"
"Arisa!"
Behind a thick cloud of dust, I see the two shota princes looking down at me through the hole in the ceiling.
"I'm here!"
I still feel a bit dazed from the shock of falling, but I shout up to let them know that I am alright.
There's so much dust flying around now that I start coughing violently.
I shake myself awake and quickly take out a handkerchief to cover my mouth.
"Wait there! I'll get an adult!"
"Everything will be okay!"
The two shout back at me.
These guys are more reliable than I thought they would be.
I'm surprised the troublemaker prince acts so well under pressure.
After the two leave, I recover my senses and start taking a closer look at the surroundings.
"Oh, found it."
I stare at the book that caused me to fall.
"A dictionary, huh? Judging by this signature, it seems like it was a copy transcribed by one of my ancestors."
I use the little bit of light leaking from the hole in the ceiling to skim through the dictionary.
Hmm, this should be useful for improving my vocabulary.
"--Open."
I activate my [Item Box] skill.
A jet black square appears in front of my eyes, and I toss the dictionary in.
"Now then, are there any other books?"
Guess I'll do a bit of treasure hunting before they come rescue me.
I obtain a worn out old map, and a mountain of papers that looks like a receipt journal. The papers are completely covered with letters and numbers, so I didn't have time to examine them.
I continue past the piles of various artworks and junk, and I come up to a shelf with five books.
These books have degraded heavily over time, but even then I can tell that their bindings used to look splendid.
"I wonder what's written here."
It's too dark for reading this far in.
One by one, I toss my spoils into the Item Box.
I was worried that I might run out of MP, but it was just barely okay.
I'll take a closer look at them tomorrow.
◆
"--Psychic Magic?"
After getting rescued from the underground storeroom, the two princes and I got a harsh scolding. I wasn't able to take a look at my new treasures until the day after.
"Whoa, what's with this introduction?"
Reader of these cursed and forbidden texts. Wizard who lusts for the twisted powers to control the hearts of man. Vow that you will not use these spells to enrich yourself. If you cannot make that oath, then close this tome at once.
This magic looks like it's for brainwashing people.
I'm interested in magic, but this doesn't seem like my thing. I should only try it if I really have to.
Well the dictionary seems more useful anyways.
"And this pile of papers is--"
A bunch of taxation data from about 150 years ago. It contains a list of all the villages and towns, as well as what they produce.
It also contains information about what substitute foods they used in the case of a famine.
"Are famines really supposed to be that often in this country?"
In a 20-year period, there were three different famines.
"At that rate, I'm surprised there was never a revolution."
Mixed into the pile of papers was the diary of a tax officer. I start flipping through that as well.
It looks like he was also having trouble eating potatoes all the time.
These are like the same complaints I was making a while back...
"Wait a second."
I look at the dates in the diary, and compare them to tax documents.
"It seems like a famine occurs after each long period of mostly potatoes."
That sounds about right.
Judging from the tax documents, these potatoes don't seem to be a crop that is especially resistant to failure.
"--This is pretty bad."
We're in a period of potatoes right now. If they keep going like this without any crop rotation, there will eventually be a potato failure, causing a devastating famine.
I hope I'm just overthinking this, but Lili said that the king's protection won't be available this year either.
I should prepare a countermeasure just in case.
"Lili! Lili!"
I quickly rush over to Lili and ask her to call for Ben the gardener.
◆
"Four field crop rotation?"
"That's right! It's written right here. A long time ago, a king who hated potatoes came up with it."
I point to the tax documents and the dairy, as well as the dictionary as evidence.
Like Lili, Ben is illiterate. He doesn't know what's actually written in these.
I feel a bit bad for taking advantage of his ignorance, but his help is essential to this experiment.
"First is beans. The fields will get much better if you plant one field of beans. It'll help just as much as the mulch from before."
This country's farmers usually grow some kind of green peas-like bean crop, but I asked Ben to plant orc beans instead. This was one of the substitute foods mentioned in the tax data, and it's apparently similar to soybeans.
"Just plant beans?"
"Yes, that's what is written in these old documents."
"If it's so amazing, then why don't the people today know about it?"
This guy is pretty smart for someone that never had an education.
"That's simple. That's because the king's protection is much easier. Wasn't it pretty rough carrying all that mulch back?"
Ben nods at my words.
"I had to go make so many trips to the forest."
There obviously aren't any trucks here, so he must have had to transport the huge amounts of dirt manually.
People with the Item Box skill might be able to help, but there aren't nearly enough to carry as much as a truck.
"Then did you want to try experimenting with fertilizer as well?"
"Fertilizer?"
"Yeah, it's incomplete, but there's a little bit written in here about it. First, let's try doing a trial run with a small vegetable garden."
I tell them about fermenting the mixture of animal dung and straw, and they started giving me strange looks. I explained that I was pretty doubtful of it as well, and left the decision of whether to do it or not to Ben.
"Oh yeah, can't you use a carriage to transport the mulch?"
"It's too deep in the forest, so there's no roads that go in that far."
"What about a wheelbarrow?"
I'm not sure if wheelbarrow is actually a word here, so I just used something that sounded close.
"You make a container like this, and then a person pushes it from behind. It's much easier than carrying it manually."
They didn't understand the picture I drew, so I made a 3D figure of it using folded paper.
It was pretty hard to do without any glue.
"Wow, Arisa-sama is so talented."
"Do you think you can do it?"
I ask Ben if he's able to make the wheelbarrow. He says that he'll try to get the help of his carpenter and blacksmith cousins. They might be able to make a prototype out of spare parts.
And so my technological cheat strategy entered the second stage.
Chapter 4
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Princess Arisa's Isekai Struggle - Chapter 2
Chapter 2 - Poor Country? Then Time for Cheat Technology!
"Hungry."
Two years have passed since I was reborn as a princess in the Kuvork Kingdom.
I managed to learn a little of the language here, but my vocabulary is still weak.
I tried repeatedly using my MP when I was a baby, hoping that I would get super magic growth. That didn't work out.
It did give me a little bit of EXP though, so it wasn't completely pointless.
That's right, the world I reincarnated into has a game-like level system.
Everyone I've seen is below level 20, so high-levels must be fairly rare.
Someone suddenly opens the door without knocking, and enters my room.
"Arisa-sama, you've already awoken?"
"Yeah."
This is Lili, my wet nurse and the person who takes care of me. She's one of the few people that actually comes into this room.
The only other person who comes here is a teenage maid that always gives me a scornful glare.
I've only seen my mom once. She just made a sad face after looking at me, then left without saying anything.
My dad apparently lives somewhere in the castle, but I've never seen him.
Oh right, the castle!
Lili carried me over to the window once, and there was one of those medieval castles like you see in Germany.
That would be great... if I was sightseeing.
In reality, there's a constant draft and it gets incredibly cold at night. This is really a terrible place to live.
Well either way, I live in a building that is detached from the main castle.
"Arisa-sama, time to eat."
Lili has a somewhat Japanese-looking flat face. I'd say she's on the prettier side.
The country's people mostly have Northern European-looking faces, but Lili's face is different. I guess her parents or grandparents might be from another country.
"Yeah!"
Yay, I was getting hungry.
I waddle my way over to the table.
"Potato, again..."
I take a look at the food on the table and lose my appetite.
As usual, potato stew, and some boiled potatoes chopped up with a pinch of salt. Also a cup of water drawn from the well.
Sure there's enough calories, but I'm getting sick of it.
Can't they consider just a slightly more balanced diet?
I thought I was supposed to be a princess here.
"Arisa-sama, please chew carefully as you eat."
Lili helps me up into the toddler chair and hands me a spoon.
"[Itadakimasu.]"
It looks like they don't pray before eating in this world, but I still have the habit of saying 'itadakimasu' before every meal. In Japanese, of course. Lili probably thinks it's just some baby talk.
I reluctantly start eating the potato stew.
The boiled potatoes are super dry, but the powdery potato stew is slightly easier to eat.
"Want eat bread."
Since it would be pretty weird for me to speak fluently, I added some fake lisping and poor grammar.
Back when I couldn't eat solid food, they gave me goat milk and bread porridge, but it's almost all potatoes nowadays. For dinner, they sometimes add some leafy vegetables.
Also my teeth aren't fully grown, so it's a bit hard to chew those vegetables.
"This year, ▽▽ is ◇◇, so His Majesty is eating potatoes too."
Oh, it's been a while since I've heard some unknown words.
"What's ▽▽?"
"▽▽ is the plant that is used to make bread."
Lili has the 'Oh no, not this again' face, but she is still nice enough to answer my questions.
So ▽▽ must be wheat then.
"Then what's ◇◇."
"It means that we couldn't get very much. It was about half as much as usual."
Maybe it means crop failure?
If it's really been halved, wouldn't there be a famine?
"Are the people okay?"
After hearing my question, Lili has her eyes wide open.
I can understand how she feels.
It's just weird for a two-year old child to hear about a crop failure and then be able to imagine a famine.
"There's no need to worry about that. Please continue eating or the potatoes will get cold."
Lili puts on a fake smile and changes the subject.
She's right though, cold potatoes would just be even worse. I can worry about the people later.
I focus on the food and slowly finish all of it.
"Phew."
Why do I have to get so sleepy after my stomach is full?
My eyelids start closing, and Lili puts me to sleep on the bed.
At least I was able to learn some new words by talking to Lili, so I'll call it a day here.
I also gained a little bit of EXP. Rather than the standard method of killing monsters, you apparently get EXP for learning new things as well.
◆
"Mmm, that was a good nap."
I wake up from my nap and stretch my body on top of the bed.
I'm not going to die of hunger any time soon, but I still want something different every once in a while. Maybe they can make something like potato chips or croquettes with what they have here?
Or maybe I can invent a steamer for making steamed potatoes.
Those would be pretty great if we can put some butter on them.
I wipe off the saliva leaking from my mouth with the cotton pajama sleeve, and jump down from the bed.
"That dried fig from before was so good."
Either sweets are super expensive, or they only buy organic, because I hardly ever get any.
The only time I was able to eat a fig was when I had a fever, then I never saw one again.
Apparently the fever was because of my MP overuse.
On that subject, why didn't they tell me that Item Box needed MP!
It's a pretty hefty cost too.
Self Status and Hide Skill don't use MP, and Status Check uses so little MP that I would get tired and fall asleep first. That's why I didn't realize the cost of my skills until I tried to put stuff in my Item Box.
Of course, I keep my skills hidden all the time.
But it was kind of hard to think as a baby. It took me about three days after being born before I remembered to turn on Hide Skill, so my parents may have caught a glimpse of my skills.
Now that I think about it, Lili said that I was born with the name 'Arisa', but they still don't know the reason for that.
"My face is kinda itchy."
I head to the bucket of water in the corner of the room and wash my face.
My purple hair swings forward and enters my sight.
Yeah, my hair is purple now. Very fantasy. Well, more like anime.
It just seems to be me though. The other people here have normal hair colors.
Lili has black hair, that maid has brown hair, and mom has blonde hair.
Well, it's normal for the heroine to have an unique hair color. If I get sick of it, I'll just dye it or something.
"[Yokkorassho.]"
With a Japanese shout, I climb up the chair next to the window.
There's a balcony on the other side of the window, so it's safe for even a toddler like me.
"As usual, there's nothing but the courtyard, the castle, and the mountains."
The climate here feels similar to the Touhoku basin.
I might be wrong since I've only been alive for two years, but there seems to be shorter summers and longer winters.
Spring and fall are there too, but they are both incredibly short.
The nearby forest seems pretty big and bountiful, so they should be able to get things like vegetables or mushrooms. There are all sorts of stuff other than potatoes...
"--Arisa-sama, you certainly enjoy looking at the scenery."
Lili comes in carrying a change of clothes.
I mean, there's pretty much nothing else to do here.
I want to learn how to read and write, but it would be pretty weird for a two year old to bring that up out of nowhere. There's no picture books or anything, so there's nothing I can use as an excuse.
"Lili, continue."
"Continue?"
She tilts her head at me.
"Why crop failure?"
"There were many monsters this year, so His Majesty needed to use △△ on the monsters instead."
Lili explains to me, although she looks a little bothered.
I ask what △△ was, and it seems to be something like 'protection' or 'power'.
The kings of this world might have some sort of special power given to them by the gods.
It might be like the cheat skills that I got.
Maybe I'll be able to find out for real if I meet him.
"Crops grow if have protection?"
"That's right, they will be much more plentiful."
Wow, that power must be pretty impressive.
"Then what if no protection? What do instead?"
I tried asking her about the countermeasures.
"Instead?"
Lili has a strange look on her face.
"You don't do anything? Can't you make [fertilizer], or change to an easier crop--?"
--There's a lot of things you could be doing.
"I don't know what this 'fertilizer' is, but changing wouldn't help anything. If potatoes and wheat aren't doing well, then nothing else would be able to do better."
It looks like the farmers of this country are completely reliant on the king's protection.
After conversing a little bit with Lili, I managed to get a word for fertilizer. Apparently, they only use that in the distant areas where the 'magic spring' or 'mana source' or whatever has been exhausted. They've already stopped using it everywhere else.
The king's power must be so great that it is causing science to regress.
"Can't they try grabbing some forest dirt and putting it in the farmland?"
I didn't know if there was a word for 'mulch', so I just replaced it with 'forest dirt'.
It would probably take too long to make real fertilizer, so using mulch seems like a decent alternative.
"Why would they do that?"
Lili starts looking at me suspiciously.
--Crap!
You see a two-year old that just learned how to talk, then she suddenly starts talking fluently about something she shouldn't even know.
That would just be scary.
It's no wonder she's creeped out.
"Because..."
Think, Arisa, think!
Staring at the forest, I rack my brain for an excuse.
--That's it!
"Look!"
I point my hand at the forest.
"Forest is healthy!"
"Healthy?"
I nod at Lili, who responded exactly as I had hoped.
"Forest is healthy, no protection."
"Now that you mentioned it..."
Yes! It looks like I managed to push her in the right direction.
"Lili said before. Dirt, good for vegetable."
I don't remember if she actually said that, but she probably said something similar.
"Make vegetable with forest dirt! Then, vegetable healthy too!"
I make my best toddler smile to emphasize it.
I doubt that is enough to make her believe me, but I'll be satisfied if I managed to avoid being labeled as a weirdo.
◆
"Want to go outside."
I was bored of staying in this room all the time, so I tried complaining.
"Winter is coming soon, so you can't go outside."
Fine, then I'll go somewhere in the castle.
"Want to see kitchen."
"You'll just bother the cooks, so you can't."
You won't be able to stop Arisa-chan that easily!
I'll never give up, and I won't even need to use my unique skill.
"Can go when not bother."
"There's mice--"
"Don't care about mice."
I can't handle spiders, but mice are fine.
After all, I went to Mouseland practically every year to celebrate the New Year's.
"But--"
"I'll scream and cry at night."
After I whined for a bit, Lili backed down.
"It will be cold, so wear this."
Lili puts a large hat on my head.
It's made of straw, so it keeps poking into my head. Ow.
"It huuurts."
I try to take it off, but she puts it on again.
"You'll catch a cold if you don't wear it."
"I don't wanna."
"You have too."
"I said I don't wanna."
Come on, please.
"I won't take you outside unless you wear it."
"Lili is a meanie."
As Lili picked me up and carried me through the corridor, it hit me.
This hat is for covering up my face and my conspicuous hair color.
I don't understand why, but there must be some reason that I'm stuck in this detached building with my parents never visiting me.
--Well, I'll probably find out eventually.
I pull myself together and start looking around at the castle halls as if I was sightseeing in Europe.
The floor is made of stone, and there aren't any gaps in it--. Wait, not entirely.
It looks like it was well-made using advanced technology, and then repaired with today's crude technology.
Just like on Earth, where the Romans created an advanced empire, and then technology regressed during the Dark Ages.
I might have mistaken this for past Earth if god took away my memories of the reincarnation.
"Smells like potato?"
"This is the kitchen."
I look over to where Lili is pointing. What I saw was a place so dirty and disgusting that I feel like I'll never be able to eat anything again.
"Seriously..."
The knives and pots and covered in rust. The cutting boards are just left in the open without being cleaned.
All the utensils and cookware are stuffed into a water tub without scrubbing off the leftover food. The surface of the water has bubbles constantly coming out of it.
And to top it all off, the food is just left out in the open when it isn't being used.
--I feel like throwing up.
"Lili, [unsanitary] is bad. Tell the cooks!"
"Unsanitary?"
Crap, I couldn't think of a word for that so I said it in Japanese.
"Dirty is bad, leaving food in the open is bad."
"Haha, Arisa-sama likes being clean."
"No!"
--Lili doesn't understand.
I need to learn enough vocabulary so that people understand me, or other improvements will be impossible.
◆
"--sama. Arisa-sama. It's morning."
So cold.
Lili says it's almost spring, but it still feels like the middle of winter to me.
At least it's a bit better now that the snow isn't piling up anymore.
Lili ruthlessly rips the blanket off. I quickly change into my clothes and put on a thick wool jacket.
I survived the potato-filled winter and became 3 years old.
In this country, they don't celebrate birthdays, and just add one to your age at the beginning of the year.
"Arisa-sama is so much more obedient than your older brothers and sisters."
I've lived for three years and that is the first time I'm hearing this.
Apparently I have brothers and sisters.
But that's later.
Right now, I'd care more for some hot food than some siblings I've never met.
"Huh?"
Today's stew has something other than potatoes.
There are two different kinds of white turnip-like vegetables in here.
"First time, seeing?"
"Those are snow ◯ and sweet snow ◯."
I guess ◯ is turnip then?
I've always liked turnips.
"Sweet--urgh."
I was tricked.
This isn't turnip.
It's sweet at first, but then there's just a dirt-like aftertaste.
The texture seems familiar, maybe daikon?
Oh right, I remember now. This must be sugar beet.
"The other one is..."
Good, this one is a normal turnip.
There isn't much of the turnip, aka 'snowturnip'. It looks like they added more of the sweet snowturnip to compensate.
Apparently these are both hardy vegetables that can grow under the snow.
Do they not need sun or something?
"So good."
I'm happy just eating some vegetables other than potatoes.
I feel like humming now.
"It's all thanks to you, Arisa-sama."
"--Hohe?"
I made a weird sound while eating since I was surprised at Lili's words.
"You don't remember? Last year, during the wheat harvest."
What did I do?
"When we talked about the crop failure, you suggested bringing the healthy dirt from the forest, right?"
"Yeah."
Oh yeah. now I remember.
I think I told them to use mulch.
"After you suggested that, I told the others in the servant's dining area. Then, Ben the gardener got interested and said he would try it out in his own field."
Great job, Ben the gardener!
"Did it work?"
"Yes. I wouldn't call it bountiful, but his fields clearly yielded more crop than the others."
"Aw yeah!"
"Arisa-sama, mind your manners."
I excitedly raise my fist into the air, but Lili gives me a light smack.
--No physical abuse!
"Is it just Ben this year?"
"No."
Lili shakes her head at me.
Apparently, the other farmers heard Ben's story and are going to try the same thing on a portion of their own fields.
If everything goes well, it shouldn't be too long before bread and other vegetables fill my dinner table.
--Oh right.
"Lili, can we make [sugar] from the [sugar beet]-- the sweet snowturnip?"
I couldn't think of the word for sugar so I accidentally said it Japanese.
Lili probably thinks I'm making up words again.
"What is 'satou'?"(TL Note: Sugar is pronounced as 'satou' in Japanese.)
No, stop that weird pronunciation.
My heart is beating faster for some reason.
"If we boil the sweet, will it turn into honey?"
I try rephrasing the question in a cuter way.
"If you boil the sweet snowturnip, it just has a muddy flavor. It doesn't turn into sweet honey."
Lili says that with a pained expression.
So they already tried boiling it.
If that didn't work, then sugar beat and sweet snowturnip must be different after all.
"I want sweet."
Without the muddy aftertaste.
After tasting the sweet snowturnip, I get reminded of my burning desire for sugar.
"Lili, is there [beekeeping]--. Is there any honey?"
"It'll be a bit longer before the hunters can go into the mountains, and we'll need to wait longer for the bees to make enough honey too."
Hmm? Are they not doing beekeeping?
"The hunters get the honey?"
"Yes, but only if they find a beehive while hunting."
Yeah, it looks like they aren't doing any beekeeping.
"Beehive? They bring the bee's house back?"
"--Yes, that's right."
Lili nods to me after hesitating a little bit.
"Can the bees live in the castle?"
"No, we need to break the beehive to take the honey out."
Lili shakes her head at me as she answers.
"Don't break it!"
I shout to emphasize my sadness.
"Why? Why do you have to break it!"
"We can't get the honey without breaking it."
Lili responds with a troubled face as she shakes her head.
"The poor bees... Can't you get honey without breaking it?"
"That's just the ▽▽ of nature."
There goes some new vocabulary, but now's not that time for that.
"I got it!"
A lightbulb goes off in my head. With a smile, I bring Lili and run over to the drawer.
"Lili, over here."
Making sure she watches closely, I gently open the drawer in front of her.
"Just make the bee's house like this drawer! Then the honey can come out when you open it, so you don't have to break it!"
I confidently explain the idea to Lili.
With this, they should be able to come up with the nest box used for beekeeping.
I might have gone too far with the fluent speech, but I'll fix that before she notices.
"No break nest, and bees live in castle! We share honey all day!"
"That is very nice, Arisa-sama."
It looks like she's not taking the idea of beekeeping seriously.
However, I can still hope that she talks about it to the other servants like she did with the mulch.
"Yeah! Lili, tell hunters."
I try to throw in some more insurance to make sure she does it.
"Yes, yes, I understand. Please finish up eating. It's going to get cold."
"Okay!"
She's right, it's been a while since I've eaten something other than potatoes. I can't let this get cold.
I shut myself up and focus on eating.
--So good.
If I could implement crop rotation, it would be even better for improving the food supply. But no one would believe a dumb kid on something like that.
My first goal should be learning how to read and write.
It's unbelievable that someone who works in the royal castle like Lili isn’t literate.
I just need some sort of excuse, then I can say I want to learn.
◆
The months pass and it turns to summer--.
My new life after reincarnation is just a battle with boredom.
--Hmm?
"Something smells good."
There's a honey-like smell, and a crepe-like smell.
I had nothing to do, so I just sit there with my stomach rumbling and enjoy the smells. After a while, I hear Lili coming over with heavy footsteps.
The door was already open to improve circulation, and Lili comes in carrying a small plate.
"Arisa-sama, fresh honey and baked snacks."
"Ahhh, it looks so good!"
My saliva is going to overflow if I keep looking at it.
"Can I eat?"
"Of course."
As soon as she gives her permission, I grab a honey-covered cookie and take a big bite.
First, I enjoy the refined sweetness of the honey flowing through my mouth.
A slight taste of salt comes from the crumbling cookie, giving the honey's sweetness even further emphasis.
"[Best marriage]!"
"Huh?"
"That means it's super delicious!"
Lili tilts her head at me, but I just return with a big smile.
Anyways, I'm amazed that they were able to afford to give me so much honey.
"So much, honey."
I couldn't just say it like that, so I use broken sentences to tell her my surprise.
"During the winter, I was talking with other servants about Arisa-sama's ideas for the bee box. Then, Ben the gardener told his hunter and farmer cousins about it."
Not bad, Ben the gardener's family.
They know how to be proactive.
"Ben, good. He can be my retainer."
"Haha, I'll tell Ben that you complimented him."
"Yeah!"
I really do want him as a retainer.
I need someone as my arms and legs for implementing crop rotation and Arisa-chan's other super cheat technologies.
If only I had some sort of old documents or books that I could use as an excuse for implementing them.
Also, I still need to learn how to read.
--Huh?
I see some shadows peeking in from the entrance of the room.
Three shotas are looking at us. I've never seen them before.
Northern European shotas.
Their soft blonde hair, their innocent looking expressions, their thin arms and legs... Too cute.
Non-Japanese shotas tend to age too quickly, but they might even be cuter than 2D shotas while they're still young.
Guheheheheee.
My saliva is starting to spill out a little.
Actually, who are these kids anyways?
I activate my Status Check skill to learn their identities.
Well, well, well. Just the suckers I was looking for.
"Who's over there?"
I make a cute innocent smile and look over at the three shotas... the third prince, the fourth prince, and the fifth prince.
Come on over!
I'll take very good care of you.
Chapter 3
"Hungry."
Two years have passed since I was reborn as a princess in the Kuvork Kingdom.
I managed to learn a little of the language here, but my vocabulary is still weak.
I tried repeatedly using my MP when I was a baby, hoping that I would get super magic growth. That didn't work out.
It did give me a little bit of EXP though, so it wasn't completely pointless.
That's right, the world I reincarnated into has a game-like level system.
Everyone I've seen is below level 20, so high-levels must be fairly rare.
Someone suddenly opens the door without knocking, and enters my room.
"Arisa-sama, you've already awoken?"
"Yeah."
This is Lili, my wet nurse and the person who takes care of me. She's one of the few people that actually comes into this room.
The only other person who comes here is a teenage maid that always gives me a scornful glare.
I've only seen my mom once. She just made a sad face after looking at me, then left without saying anything.
My dad apparently lives somewhere in the castle, but I've never seen him.
Oh right, the castle!
Lili carried me over to the window once, and there was one of those medieval castles like you see in Germany.
That would be great... if I was sightseeing.
In reality, there's a constant draft and it gets incredibly cold at night. This is really a terrible place to live.
Well either way, I live in a building that is detached from the main castle.
"Arisa-sama, time to eat."
Lili has a somewhat Japanese-looking flat face. I'd say she's on the prettier side.
The country's people mostly have Northern European-looking faces, but Lili's face is different. I guess her parents or grandparents might be from another country.
"Yeah!"
Yay, I was getting hungry.
I waddle my way over to the table.
"Potato, again..."
I take a look at the food on the table and lose my appetite.
As usual, potato stew, and some boiled potatoes chopped up with a pinch of salt. Also a cup of water drawn from the well.
Sure there's enough calories, but I'm getting sick of it.
Can't they consider just a slightly more balanced diet?
I thought I was supposed to be a princess here.
"Arisa-sama, please chew carefully as you eat."
Lili helps me up into the toddler chair and hands me a spoon.
"[Itadakimasu.]"
It looks like they don't pray before eating in this world, but I still have the habit of saying 'itadakimasu' before every meal. In Japanese, of course. Lili probably thinks it's just some baby talk.
I reluctantly start eating the potato stew.
The boiled potatoes are super dry, but the powdery potato stew is slightly easier to eat.
"Want eat bread."
Since it would be pretty weird for me to speak fluently, I added some fake lisping and poor grammar.
Back when I couldn't eat solid food, they gave me goat milk and bread porridge, but it's almost all potatoes nowadays. For dinner, they sometimes add some leafy vegetables.
Also my teeth aren't fully grown, so it's a bit hard to chew those vegetables.
"This year, ▽▽ is ◇◇, so His Majesty is eating potatoes too."
Oh, it's been a while since I've heard some unknown words.
"What's ▽▽?"
"▽▽ is the plant that is used to make bread."
Lili has the 'Oh no, not this again' face, but she is still nice enough to answer my questions.
So ▽▽ must be wheat then.
"Then what's ◇◇."
"It means that we couldn't get very much. It was about half as much as usual."
Maybe it means crop failure?
If it's really been halved, wouldn't there be a famine?
"Are the people okay?"
After hearing my question, Lili has her eyes wide open.
I can understand how she feels.
It's just weird for a two-year old child to hear about a crop failure and then be able to imagine a famine.
"There's no need to worry about that. Please continue eating or the potatoes will get cold."
Lili puts on a fake smile and changes the subject.
She's right though, cold potatoes would just be even worse. I can worry about the people later.
I focus on the food and slowly finish all of it.
"Phew."
Why do I have to get so sleepy after my stomach is full?
My eyelids start closing, and Lili puts me to sleep on the bed.
At least I was able to learn some new words by talking to Lili, so I'll call it a day here.
I also gained a little bit of EXP. Rather than the standard method of killing monsters, you apparently get EXP for learning new things as well.
◆
"Mmm, that was a good nap."
I wake up from my nap and stretch my body on top of the bed.
I'm not going to die of hunger any time soon, but I still want something different every once in a while. Maybe they can make something like potato chips or croquettes with what they have here?
Or maybe I can invent a steamer for making steamed potatoes.
Those would be pretty great if we can put some butter on them.
I wipe off the saliva leaking from my mouth with the cotton pajama sleeve, and jump down from the bed.
"That dried fig from before was so good."
Either sweets are super expensive, or they only buy organic, because I hardly ever get any.
The only time I was able to eat a fig was when I had a fever, then I never saw one again.
Apparently the fever was because of my MP overuse.
On that subject, why didn't they tell me that Item Box needed MP!
It's a pretty hefty cost too.
Self Status and Hide Skill don't use MP, and Status Check uses so little MP that I would get tired and fall asleep first. That's why I didn't realize the cost of my skills until I tried to put stuff in my Item Box.
Of course, I keep my skills hidden all the time.
But it was kind of hard to think as a baby. It took me about three days after being born before I remembered to turn on Hide Skill, so my parents may have caught a glimpse of my skills.
Now that I think about it, Lili said that I was born with the name 'Arisa', but they still don't know the reason for that.
"My face is kinda itchy."
I head to the bucket of water in the corner of the room and wash my face.
My purple hair swings forward and enters my sight.
Yeah, my hair is purple now. Very fantasy. Well, more like anime.
It just seems to be me though. The other people here have normal hair colors.
Lili has black hair, that maid has brown hair, and mom has blonde hair.
Well, it's normal for the heroine to have an unique hair color. If I get sick of it, I'll just dye it or something.
"[Yokkorassho.]"
With a Japanese shout, I climb up the chair next to the window.
There's a balcony on the other side of the window, so it's safe for even a toddler like me.
"As usual, there's nothing but the courtyard, the castle, and the mountains."
The climate here feels similar to the Touhoku basin.
I might be wrong since I've only been alive for two years, but there seems to be shorter summers and longer winters.
Spring and fall are there too, but they are both incredibly short.
The nearby forest seems pretty big and bountiful, so they should be able to get things like vegetables or mushrooms. There are all sorts of stuff other than potatoes...
"--Arisa-sama, you certainly enjoy looking at the scenery."
Lili comes in carrying a change of clothes.
I mean, there's pretty much nothing else to do here.
I want to learn how to read and write, but it would be pretty weird for a two year old to bring that up out of nowhere. There's no picture books or anything, so there's nothing I can use as an excuse.
"Lili, continue."
"Continue?"
She tilts her head at me.
"Why crop failure?"
"There were many monsters this year, so His Majesty needed to use △△ on the monsters instead."
Lili explains to me, although she looks a little bothered.
I ask what △△ was, and it seems to be something like 'protection' or 'power'.
The kings of this world might have some sort of special power given to them by the gods.
It might be like the cheat skills that I got.
Maybe I'll be able to find out for real if I meet him.
"Crops grow if have protection?"
"That's right, they will be much more plentiful."
Wow, that power must be pretty impressive.
"Then what if no protection? What do instead?"
I tried asking her about the countermeasures.
"Instead?"
Lili has a strange look on her face.
"You don't do anything? Can't you make [fertilizer], or change to an easier crop--?"
--There's a lot of things you could be doing.
"I don't know what this 'fertilizer' is, but changing wouldn't help anything. If potatoes and wheat aren't doing well, then nothing else would be able to do better."
It looks like the farmers of this country are completely reliant on the king's protection.
After conversing a little bit with Lili, I managed to get a word for fertilizer. Apparently, they only use that in the distant areas where the 'magic spring' or 'mana source' or whatever has been exhausted. They've already stopped using it everywhere else.
The king's power must be so great that it is causing science to regress.
"Can't they try grabbing some forest dirt and putting it in the farmland?"
I didn't know if there was a word for 'mulch', so I just replaced it with 'forest dirt'.
It would probably take too long to make real fertilizer, so using mulch seems like a decent alternative.
"Why would they do that?"
Lili starts looking at me suspiciously.
--Crap!
You see a two-year old that just learned how to talk, then she suddenly starts talking fluently about something she shouldn't even know.
That would just be scary.
It's no wonder she's creeped out.
"Because..."
Think, Arisa, think!
Staring at the forest, I rack my brain for an excuse.
--That's it!
"Look!"
I point my hand at the forest.
"Forest is healthy!"
"Healthy?"
I nod at Lili, who responded exactly as I had hoped.
"Forest is healthy, no protection."
"Now that you mentioned it..."
Yes! It looks like I managed to push her in the right direction.
"Lili said before. Dirt, good for vegetable."
I don't remember if she actually said that, but she probably said something similar.
"Make vegetable with forest dirt! Then, vegetable healthy too!"
I make my best toddler smile to emphasize it.
I doubt that is enough to make her believe me, but I'll be satisfied if I managed to avoid being labeled as a weirdo.
◆
"Want to go outside."
I was bored of staying in this room all the time, so I tried complaining.
"Winter is coming soon, so you can't go outside."
Fine, then I'll go somewhere in the castle.
"Want to see kitchen."
"You'll just bother the cooks, so you can't."
You won't be able to stop Arisa-chan that easily!
I'll never give up, and I won't even need to use my unique skill.
"Can go when not bother."
"There's mice--"
"Don't care about mice."
I can't handle spiders, but mice are fine.
After all, I went to Mouseland practically every year to celebrate the New Year's.
"But--"
"I'll scream and cry at night."
After I whined for a bit, Lili backed down.
"It will be cold, so wear this."
Lili puts a large hat on my head.
It's made of straw, so it keeps poking into my head. Ow.
"It huuurts."
I try to take it off, but she puts it on again.
"You'll catch a cold if you don't wear it."
"I don't wanna."
"You have too."
"I said I don't wanna."
Come on, please.
"I won't take you outside unless you wear it."
"Lili is a meanie."
As Lili picked me up and carried me through the corridor, it hit me.
This hat is for covering up my face and my conspicuous hair color.
I don't understand why, but there must be some reason that I'm stuck in this detached building with my parents never visiting me.
--Well, I'll probably find out eventually.
I pull myself together and start looking around at the castle halls as if I was sightseeing in Europe.
The floor is made of stone, and there aren't any gaps in it--. Wait, not entirely.
It looks like it was well-made using advanced technology, and then repaired with today's crude technology.
Just like on Earth, where the Romans created an advanced empire, and then technology regressed during the Dark Ages.
I might have mistaken this for past Earth if god took away my memories of the reincarnation.
"Smells like potato?"
"This is the kitchen."
I look over to where Lili is pointing. What I saw was a place so dirty and disgusting that I feel like I'll never be able to eat anything again.
"Seriously..."
The knives and pots and covered in rust. The cutting boards are just left in the open without being cleaned.
All the utensils and cookware are stuffed into a water tub without scrubbing off the leftover food. The surface of the water has bubbles constantly coming out of it.
And to top it all off, the food is just left out in the open when it isn't being used.
--I feel like throwing up.
"Lili, [unsanitary] is bad. Tell the cooks!"
"Unsanitary?"
Crap, I couldn't think of a word for that so I said it in Japanese.
"Dirty is bad, leaving food in the open is bad."
"Haha, Arisa-sama likes being clean."
"No!"
--Lili doesn't understand.
I need to learn enough vocabulary so that people understand me, or other improvements will be impossible.
◆
"--sama. Arisa-sama. It's morning."
So cold.
Lili says it's almost spring, but it still feels like the middle of winter to me.
At least it's a bit better now that the snow isn't piling up anymore.
Lili ruthlessly rips the blanket off. I quickly change into my clothes and put on a thick wool jacket.
I survived the potato-filled winter and became 3 years old.
In this country, they don't celebrate birthdays, and just add one to your age at the beginning of the year.
"Arisa-sama is so much more obedient than your older brothers and sisters."
I've lived for three years and that is the first time I'm hearing this.
Apparently I have brothers and sisters.
But that's later.
Right now, I'd care more for some hot food than some siblings I've never met.
"Huh?"
Today's stew has something other than potatoes.
There are two different kinds of white turnip-like vegetables in here.
"First time, seeing?"
"Those are snow ◯ and sweet snow ◯."
I guess ◯ is turnip then?
I've always liked turnips.
"Sweet--urgh."
I was tricked.
This isn't turnip.
It's sweet at first, but then there's just a dirt-like aftertaste.
The texture seems familiar, maybe daikon?
Oh right, I remember now. This must be sugar beet.
"The other one is..."
Good, this one is a normal turnip.
There isn't much of the turnip, aka 'snowturnip'. It looks like they added more of the sweet snowturnip to compensate.
Apparently these are both hardy vegetables that can grow under the snow.
Do they not need sun or something?
"So good."
I'm happy just eating some vegetables other than potatoes.
I feel like humming now.
"It's all thanks to you, Arisa-sama."
"--Hohe?"
I made a weird sound while eating since I was surprised at Lili's words.
"You don't remember? Last year, during the wheat harvest."
What did I do?
"When we talked about the crop failure, you suggested bringing the healthy dirt from the forest, right?"
"Yeah."
Oh yeah. now I remember.
I think I told them to use mulch.
"After you suggested that, I told the others in the servant's dining area. Then, Ben the gardener got interested and said he would try it out in his own field."
Great job, Ben the gardener!
"Did it work?"
"Yes. I wouldn't call it bountiful, but his fields clearly yielded more crop than the others."
"Aw yeah!"
"Arisa-sama, mind your manners."
I excitedly raise my fist into the air, but Lili gives me a light smack.
--No physical abuse!
"Is it just Ben this year?"
"No."
Lili shakes her head at me.
Apparently, the other farmers heard Ben's story and are going to try the same thing on a portion of their own fields.
If everything goes well, it shouldn't be too long before bread and other vegetables fill my dinner table.
--Oh right.
"Lili, can we make [sugar] from the [sugar beet]-- the sweet snowturnip?"
I couldn't think of the word for sugar so I accidentally said it Japanese.
Lili probably thinks I'm making up words again.
"What is 'satou'?"(TL Note: Sugar is pronounced as 'satou' in Japanese.)
No, stop that weird pronunciation.
My heart is beating faster for some reason.
"If we boil the sweet, will it turn into honey?"
I try rephrasing the question in a cuter way.
"If you boil the sweet snowturnip, it just has a muddy flavor. It doesn't turn into sweet honey."
Lili says that with a pained expression.
So they already tried boiling it.
If that didn't work, then sugar beat and sweet snowturnip must be different after all.
"I want sweet."
Without the muddy aftertaste.
After tasting the sweet snowturnip, I get reminded of my burning desire for sugar.
"Lili, is there [beekeeping]--. Is there any honey?"
"It'll be a bit longer before the hunters can go into the mountains, and we'll need to wait longer for the bees to make enough honey too."
Hmm? Are they not doing beekeeping?
"The hunters get the honey?"
"Yes, but only if they find a beehive while hunting."
Yeah, it looks like they aren't doing any beekeeping.
"Beehive? They bring the bee's house back?"
"--Yes, that's right."
Lili nods to me after hesitating a little bit.
"Can the bees live in the castle?"
"No, we need to break the beehive to take the honey out."
Lili shakes her head at me as she answers.
"Don't break it!"
I shout to emphasize my sadness.
"Why? Why do you have to break it!"
"We can't get the honey without breaking it."
Lili responds with a troubled face as she shakes her head.
"The poor bees... Can't you get honey without breaking it?"
"That's just the ▽▽ of nature."
There goes some new vocabulary, but now's not that time for that.
"I got it!"
A lightbulb goes off in my head. With a smile, I bring Lili and run over to the drawer.
"Lili, over here."
Making sure she watches closely, I gently open the drawer in front of her.
"Just make the bee's house like this drawer! Then the honey can come out when you open it, so you don't have to break it!"
I confidently explain the idea to Lili.
With this, they should be able to come up with the nest box used for beekeeping.
I might have gone too far with the fluent speech, but I'll fix that before she notices.
"No break nest, and bees live in castle! We share honey all day!"
"That is very nice, Arisa-sama."
It looks like she's not taking the idea of beekeeping seriously.
However, I can still hope that she talks about it to the other servants like she did with the mulch.
"Yeah! Lili, tell hunters."
I try to throw in some more insurance to make sure she does it.
"Yes, yes, I understand. Please finish up eating. It's going to get cold."
"Okay!"
She's right, it's been a while since I've eaten something other than potatoes. I can't let this get cold.
I shut myself up and focus on eating.
--So good.
If I could implement crop rotation, it would be even better for improving the food supply. But no one would believe a dumb kid on something like that.
My first goal should be learning how to read and write.
It's unbelievable that someone who works in the royal castle like Lili isn’t literate.
I just need some sort of excuse, then I can say I want to learn.
◆
The months pass and it turns to summer--.
My new life after reincarnation is just a battle with boredom.
--Hmm?
"Something smells good."
There's a honey-like smell, and a crepe-like smell.
I had nothing to do, so I just sit there with my stomach rumbling and enjoy the smells. After a while, I hear Lili coming over with heavy footsteps.
The door was already open to improve circulation, and Lili comes in carrying a small plate.
"Arisa-sama, fresh honey and baked snacks."
"Ahhh, it looks so good!"
My saliva is going to overflow if I keep looking at it.
"Can I eat?"
"Of course."
As soon as she gives her permission, I grab a honey-covered cookie and take a big bite.
First, I enjoy the refined sweetness of the honey flowing through my mouth.
A slight taste of salt comes from the crumbling cookie, giving the honey's sweetness even further emphasis.
"[Best marriage]!"
"Huh?"
"That means it's super delicious!"
Lili tilts her head at me, but I just return with a big smile.
Anyways, I'm amazed that they were able to afford to give me so much honey.
"So much, honey."
I couldn't just say it like that, so I use broken sentences to tell her my surprise.
"During the winter, I was talking with other servants about Arisa-sama's ideas for the bee box. Then, Ben the gardener told his hunter and farmer cousins about it."
Not bad, Ben the gardener's family.
They know how to be proactive.
"Ben, good. He can be my retainer."
"Haha, I'll tell Ben that you complimented him."
"Yeah!"
I really do want him as a retainer.
I need someone as my arms and legs for implementing crop rotation and Arisa-chan's other super cheat technologies.
If only I had some sort of old documents or books that I could use as an excuse for implementing them.
Also, I still need to learn how to read.
--Huh?
I see some shadows peeking in from the entrance of the room.
Three shotas are looking at us. I've never seen them before.
Northern European shotas.
Their soft blonde hair, their innocent looking expressions, their thin arms and legs... Too cute.
Non-Japanese shotas tend to age too quickly, but they might even be cuter than 2D shotas while they're still young.
Guheheheheee.
My saliva is starting to spill out a little.
Actually, who are these kids anyways?
I activate my Status Check skill to learn their identities.
Well, well, well. Just the suckers I was looking for.
"Who's over there?"
I make a cute innocent smile and look over at the three shotas... the third prince, the fourth prince, and the fifth prince.
Come on over!
I'll take very good care of you.
Chapter 3
Monday, May 25, 2020
Princess Arisa's Isekai Struggle - Chapter 1
Chapter 1 - Reborn as a Princess? Aw Yeah, I'm a Winner!
"Tachibana, sorry, but can you take care of the meeting record?"
"Understood."
The head of accounting throws some more work at me and then walks off at a brisk pace.
Even though it's Friday afternoon, this place is still incredibly busy.
"Urgh, this is never going to end!"
As I return to my office, I see one of my coworkers from general affairs. He is screaming while nearly ripping his hair out.
You know it's going to fly off for good if you keep doing that right?
--Hair should be your long friend.
I wake up my computer from sleep mode and talk to the coworker from the adjacent cubicle.
"Didn't you say you needed to leave on time and meet with your girlfriend?"
I glance at the clock mounted on a pillar, and see that it's already 30 minutes past the normal close time.
"My manager pushed some more work on me right when I was about to leave."
We both look around the room and his manager is nowhere to be seen.
"What is he doing now?"
"In a meeting with the customer, along with the department head."
It's pretty unusual for the customers come to us like that.
"I guess it can't be helped. Hand it over, I'll finish it for you."
I took a quick look at it, but it didn't seem like it was something that only his department could do. Mostly busywork.
Compiling data from the company's internal survey and transcribing an interview recording. This really isn't the kind of stuff you should be making someone work over the weekend for.
"Are you really okay with that, Tachibana?"
"You're still using the same format as when I was contracting in general, right?"
After my contract period ended, I was hired on as a permanent employee and changed departments.
"Yeah, it's been left the way you made it."
"Then everything is fine. Leave it to me and head over to your girlfriend."
"Thanks, I'll make sure to pay you back somehow!"
"Don't worry about it."
The coworker looks at me as if I was his savior, then heads out.
He's a generous one, so I'll probably be getting an expensive lunch out of this later.
I quickly finish up typing up the meeting record, then move on to the documents he left me. I hum a short song to myself while cleaning up the paperwork.
"Tachibana-senpai is as manly as ever."
"Why doesn't Tachibana-senpai have a boyfriend yet?"
"It's because she's more manly than them."
The other people in accounting are gossiping about me.
If you aren't going to help, then get out of here.
"Arisa-senpai, over here!"
From the entrance of the office, my kouhai calls out to me.
Well to be fair, she was hired as a employee before me.
"Yeah?"
She was the girl from management that I helped out yesterday.
"Thank you very much, Arisa-senpai! You drove the stalker away yesterday, and you even helped me file the police report."
"Don't worry about it, anything for a cute kouhai."
That and we live in the same apartment complex too.
"If you can wait a bit longer, we can head out together. You're probably still too nervous to go alone, right?"
"No, it's okay now!"
She makes a cute smile with her small fists clenched.
I can see why the men are all over here.
"Really?"
"Yeah!"
According to her, the police received the report and started patrolling the area. Then they found the stalker rummaging through her garbage.
It looks like he wasn't thrown in jail yet, but they have his name and address now. It'll only be a matter of time before he gets sent through the judicial system.
I guess these cute girls sometimes have it rough too.
"--Please let me treat you to dinner sometime. I know a lovely place."
"Ahaha, thanks. Don't push yourself too hard."
With a lively voice, she makes that promise to me and heads off. I go back to my desk and continue working.
I was very happy when the three people who were gossiping earlier helped me out. With their assistance, I managed to finish up everything in less than 30 minutes.
"Ufufu~, the discount bento is mine!"
I managed to acquire a super-size meat bento with a half-price sticker on it. These practically never show up. I'm humming to myself as I walk from the station to my apartment.
"I feel like drinking some beer instead of happoshu today--. Huh?"
I get a strange feeling that interrupts my good mood.
There's something off.
"Geh."
A man in black clothes slips out from behind the shrubbery in front of the apartment.
I remember seeing his thin, tall body and his disproportionately long arms.
He's the stalker that was chasing around my kouhai.
"...It's your fault."
The stalker spits those words as if they were a whisper of pure resentment.
In his hands is a large combat knife. There's no way that thing meets the legal size limit.
--Wait just a second, isn't this pretty bad?
I quickly take a look around, but there is no one in sight.
"It's your faaaault!!"
The stalker screams as he charges straight at me.
--Geh, seriously?
"You idiooot!"
I swing my heavy briefcase around and smack the stupid stalker in the face.
He falls down next to the dumpster and lies motionless.
"Justice always prevails!"
Caught up in the moment, I shout that with my fists clenched.
My hands would probably be trembling in fear if I relax them.
"--Huh?"
A chill rushes through my body.
What's this disgusting feeling?
My hand near my stomach is touching something warm and wet.
I get a bad feeling and look down to see my white blouse stained red.
"What the hell?"
My stomach must have been stabbed by the stalker's knife.
I look at the knife in his hands and it is also covered in red blood.
"Ah, this is, pretty bad..."
My vision quickly starts fading away.
[Someone go to my PC and delete the shota folder, the BL folder, and the fujoshi folder!]
I try to shout but nothing comes out. My screams were unable to reach anyone's ears.
Before I completely black out, the last thing I see is my kouhai and some man running toward me.
◆
Everything is a haze.
As if I just got out of a sauna, I feel like I am weightlessly drifting around.
My surroundings are blurry and out of focus. The only thing I can see is a white darkness.
There's nothing here.
Not even my own body.
My consciousness is going to melt into this place too.
I somehow understood that was going to happen.
--A gentle purple light.
My weakening consciousness is drawn to it.
After what seemed like an eternal instant, I found myself right next to the light.
<Death> <Notify> <Confirm>
The fuzzy purple ball of light flashes repeatedly in the white space. Along with it's words comes concepts going directly into my thoughts.
But for some reason, I am unable to think properly.
Normal questions like 'Where am I?' and 'What is this light?' don't enter my head.
<Death> <Notify> <Confirm>
"Mmm? Who?"
<I> <God> <Faith>
"Oh, hey God!"
I would realize later how stupid my response was, but at that moment my conciousness was unfocused and I wasn't thinking straight.
Apparently, this so-called god is on a completely different level from humans. Our brains are only able to interpret a set of loose images and concepts, so we can barely understand half of what they are saying.
However this time, I was somehow able to feel what the self-proclaimed god was trying to say.
<Reincarnation> <Hope> <Survey>
"Yeah, so I'm getting reincarnated by God? OK, OK, I totally got it."
<Deposit> <Authority> <Select>
"You're giving me a cheat? I guess it's like a loan or something? And I get to choose?"
Without hesitation, I stick my non-existent hand into the ball of light in front of me.
The insides of the strange light felt slimy and muddy, but I kept searching until I found something that felt just right.
"Deiyaaa!"
A small purple light gets pulled out and sucked into my body.
--[Over Boost]
The name of the light enters my head.
At the same time, I understand just what kind of power it contains.
A super move that bets everything you have for a chance to turn the tables.
"Hmm, so people will get whatever power they want. This is perfect for a fighting heroine like me. These days, heroines need to be the ones saving the hero when they get kidnapped!"
I make a smirk with my invisible mouth and imagine myself smugly crossing my arms.
"Next I'll get something even better!"
I stick my hand into the purple light ball again, looking for a second one.
I find something that fits me again, but I get pushed away when I try to grab it.
"Huh? I'm only allowed one?"
<Vessel> <Limit> <Caution>
"I see, so there's a capacity limit. The one I grabbed must have gone over."
I keep trying to get a second one, but I get repelled at each attempt.
"No problem! Tenth time's the charm!"
I pump myself up and reach deep into the purple orb.
--Got one!
I feel a bit of resistance as I grab it, but this seems like it could work.
No, I'll make sure to it works.
For gramps!
"Soiyaaa!"
With all my strength, I pull out the small purple light.
As it gets sucked into my body, I understand the cheat's name and power.
--[Never Give Up]
After learning it's effect, I couldn't help but smile.
"Yahooooo! I'm the greatest!"
This is a power that allows me to stand evenly against someone who is much stronger than me. Even against the mightiest of opponents, any attack or spell will work with at least a 10% chance.
If I combine this with [Over Boost], I can make an incredibly powerful combo to instantly defeat someone I would normally be no match for.
<Bless> <Authority> <Obtain>
"You're giving me your blessing? Thanks, God."
God starts flashing, and sends a warm feeling over to me.
"God, I promise that I won't abuse this power! I'll make sure to dedicate myself to world peace."
<Desire> <Use> <Freedom>
You're telling me I can use it for whatever I want?
As that thought passes through my head, I sense an affirmation coming from God.
<Caution> <Use> <Excessive>
It looks like there is some limit to how much I can use these powers.
I should be careful when using them.
<Reincarnation> <Bonus> <Select>
"Eh?"
God continues on, and some sort of skill tree appears in the back of my mind.
Apparently, I can get more free skills in addition to the cheat skills from earlier.
God sure gives a lot of free stuff.
<Reincarnation> <Bonus> <Unnecessary?>
"I'll choose now!"
It felt like the skill tree was about to close, so I quickly grab onto it.
I select the obvious staples [Analyze], [Inventory], and [Perfect Language].
<Insufficient> <Capacity> <Select>
God sends me a denial.
I guess I didn't have enough 'reincarnation points' or something. My soul's capacity must have been too full from the two cheat skills I got earlier.
After testing out several combinations, I ended up on a set of skills that seemed useful.
[Self Status], the power to have detailed understanding of your own status and abilities.
[Status Check], the power to view the abilities of anyone in sight.
[Hide Skill], the power to hide your skills from others.
[Item Box], the power to store a large, but not unlimited, amount of items in your own pocket space.
I feel a bit tired after trying so hard.
<Hope> <Authority> <Growth>
"Yeah, I'll make sure these cheat skills grow up big and strong."
Struggling to resist the urge to sleep, I respond to God's words.
<Blessing> <Happiness> <Full>
I hear God's blessing again.
As if it was a lullaby, I fall asleep and melt away in the white darkness.
◆
Light and floaty.
Fluffy and warm.
I was in a happy and deep sleep.
I hear a strange sound from far away. I don't understand why, but the gentle sound gives me peace of mind.
Everything is so comfortable. Then, one day.
--Ow.
<Owww, stop that>
I try to shout, but no voice comes out.
<Stop! I said stop! Aaahhhhhhh!!>
The painful torture ended as my black surroundings get replaced with a bright light.
"Ogyaaaa!"
From somewhere comes the sound of a baby crying.
I feel sick, as if I was getting rocked around in a boat. Someone seems to be talking in a language that I've never heard before. I look around to find the source of the voice, but everything is just a blur.
--They're huge!
This giant is holding me up.
My vision is still out of focus, but I can see the human figure staring down at me.
--I remember now!
Reincarnation.
I was reborn.
The memories of my meeting with god flash through my mind.
--[Self Status].
I focus my mind on the skill given to me by god. This should let me view my detailed status.
'Name: Arisa' and 'Sex: Female' pops into my head.
It looks like my name is still Arisa despite being reincarnated.
Since I don't have a family name, maybe I'm a commoner?
Right afterwards, 'Class: Royalty' pops up.
--Royalty? So, in other words, I'm a princess?
Yahooooo!
Aw yeah, I'm a winner!
Easy mode, banzai!
Huh? My vision is, getting, darker...
--Oh, I ran out of energy.
It looks like it was a bad idea to get so excited a few seconds after being born.
Good night, papa, mama. See you later.
Chapter 2
"Tachibana, sorry, but can you take care of the meeting record?"
"Understood."
The head of accounting throws some more work at me and then walks off at a brisk pace.
Even though it's Friday afternoon, this place is still incredibly busy.
"Urgh, this is never going to end!"
As I return to my office, I see one of my coworkers from general affairs. He is screaming while nearly ripping his hair out.
You know it's going to fly off for good if you keep doing that right?
--Hair should be your long friend.
I wake up my computer from sleep mode and talk to the coworker from the adjacent cubicle.
"Didn't you say you needed to leave on time and meet with your girlfriend?"
I glance at the clock mounted on a pillar, and see that it's already 30 minutes past the normal close time.
"My manager pushed some more work on me right when I was about to leave."
We both look around the room and his manager is nowhere to be seen.
"What is he doing now?"
"In a meeting with the customer, along with the department head."
It's pretty unusual for the customers come to us like that.
"I guess it can't be helped. Hand it over, I'll finish it for you."
I took a quick look at it, but it didn't seem like it was something that only his department could do. Mostly busywork.
Compiling data from the company's internal survey and transcribing an interview recording. This really isn't the kind of stuff you should be making someone work over the weekend for.
"Are you really okay with that, Tachibana?"
"You're still using the same format as when I was contracting in general, right?"
After my contract period ended, I was hired on as a permanent employee and changed departments.
"Yeah, it's been left the way you made it."
"Then everything is fine. Leave it to me and head over to your girlfriend."
"Thanks, I'll make sure to pay you back somehow!"
"Don't worry about it."
The coworker looks at me as if I was his savior, then heads out.
He's a generous one, so I'll probably be getting an expensive lunch out of this later.
I quickly finish up typing up the meeting record, then move on to the documents he left me. I hum a short song to myself while cleaning up the paperwork.
"Tachibana-senpai is as manly as ever."
"Why doesn't Tachibana-senpai have a boyfriend yet?"
"It's because she's more manly than them."
The other people in accounting are gossiping about me.
If you aren't going to help, then get out of here.
"Arisa-senpai, over here!"
From the entrance of the office, my kouhai calls out to me.
Well to be fair, she was hired as a employee before me.
"Yeah?"
She was the girl from management that I helped out yesterday.
"Thank you very much, Arisa-senpai! You drove the stalker away yesterday, and you even helped me file the police report."
"Don't worry about it, anything for a cute kouhai."
That and we live in the same apartment complex too.
"If you can wait a bit longer, we can head out together. You're probably still too nervous to go alone, right?"
"No, it's okay now!"
She makes a cute smile with her small fists clenched.
I can see why the men are all over here.
"Really?"
"Yeah!"
According to her, the police received the report and started patrolling the area. Then they found the stalker rummaging through her garbage.
It looks like he wasn't thrown in jail yet, but they have his name and address now. It'll only be a matter of time before he gets sent through the judicial system.
I guess these cute girls sometimes have it rough too.
"--Please let me treat you to dinner sometime. I know a lovely place."
"Ahaha, thanks. Don't push yourself too hard."
With a lively voice, she makes that promise to me and heads off. I go back to my desk and continue working.
I was very happy when the three people who were gossiping earlier helped me out. With their assistance, I managed to finish up everything in less than 30 minutes.
"Ufufu~, the discount bento is mine!"
I managed to acquire a super-size meat bento with a half-price sticker on it. These practically never show up. I'm humming to myself as I walk from the station to my apartment.
"I feel like drinking some beer instead of happoshu today--. Huh?"
I get a strange feeling that interrupts my good mood.
There's something off.
"Geh."
A man in black clothes slips out from behind the shrubbery in front of the apartment.
I remember seeing his thin, tall body and his disproportionately long arms.
He's the stalker that was chasing around my kouhai.
"...It's your fault."
The stalker spits those words as if they were a whisper of pure resentment.
In his hands is a large combat knife. There's no way that thing meets the legal size limit.
--Wait just a second, isn't this pretty bad?
I quickly take a look around, but there is no one in sight.
"It's your faaaault!!"
The stalker screams as he charges straight at me.
--Geh, seriously?
"You idiooot!"
I swing my heavy briefcase around and smack the stupid stalker in the face.
He falls down next to the dumpster and lies motionless.
"Justice always prevails!"
Caught up in the moment, I shout that with my fists clenched.
My hands would probably be trembling in fear if I relax them.
"--Huh?"
A chill rushes through my body.
What's this disgusting feeling?
My hand near my stomach is touching something warm and wet.
I get a bad feeling and look down to see my white blouse stained red.
"What the hell?"
My stomach must have been stabbed by the stalker's knife.
I look at the knife in his hands and it is also covered in red blood.
"Ah, this is, pretty bad..."
My vision quickly starts fading away.
[Someone go to my PC and delete the shota folder, the BL folder, and the fujoshi folder!]
I try to shout but nothing comes out. My screams were unable to reach anyone's ears.
Before I completely black out, the last thing I see is my kouhai and some man running toward me.
◆
Everything is a haze.
As if I just got out of a sauna, I feel like I am weightlessly drifting around.
My surroundings are blurry and out of focus. The only thing I can see is a white darkness.
There's nothing here.
Not even my own body.
My consciousness is going to melt into this place too.
I somehow understood that was going to happen.
--A gentle purple light.
My weakening consciousness is drawn to it.
After what seemed like an eternal instant, I found myself right next to the light.
<Death> <Notify> <Confirm>
The fuzzy purple ball of light flashes repeatedly in the white space. Along with it's words comes concepts going directly into my thoughts.
But for some reason, I am unable to think properly.
Normal questions like 'Where am I?' and 'What is this light?' don't enter my head.
<Death> <Notify> <Confirm>
"Mmm? Who?"
<I> <God> <Faith>
"Oh, hey God!"
I would realize later how stupid my response was, but at that moment my conciousness was unfocused and I wasn't thinking straight.
Apparently, this so-called god is on a completely different level from humans. Our brains are only able to interpret a set of loose images and concepts, so we can barely understand half of what they are saying.
However this time, I was somehow able to feel what the self-proclaimed god was trying to say.
<Reincarnation> <Hope> <Survey>
"Yeah, so I'm getting reincarnated by God? OK, OK, I totally got it."
<Deposit> <Authority> <Select>
"You're giving me a cheat? I guess it's like a loan or something? And I get to choose?"
Without hesitation, I stick my non-existent hand into the ball of light in front of me.
The insides of the strange light felt slimy and muddy, but I kept searching until I found something that felt just right.
"Deiyaaa!"
A small purple light gets pulled out and sucked into my body.
--[Over Boost]
The name of the light enters my head.
At the same time, I understand just what kind of power it contains.
A super move that bets everything you have for a chance to turn the tables.
"Hmm, so people will get whatever power they want. This is perfect for a fighting heroine like me. These days, heroines need to be the ones saving the hero when they get kidnapped!"
I make a smirk with my invisible mouth and imagine myself smugly crossing my arms.
"Next I'll get something even better!"
I stick my hand into the purple light ball again, looking for a second one.
I find something that fits me again, but I get pushed away when I try to grab it.
"Huh? I'm only allowed one?"
<Vessel> <Limit> <Caution>
"I see, so there's a capacity limit. The one I grabbed must have gone over."
I keep trying to get a second one, but I get repelled at each attempt.
"No problem! Tenth time's the charm!"
I pump myself up and reach deep into the purple orb.
--Got one!
I feel a bit of resistance as I grab it, but this seems like it could work.
No, I'll make sure to it works.
For gramps!
"Soiyaaa!"
With all my strength, I pull out the small purple light.
As it gets sucked into my body, I understand the cheat's name and power.
--[Never Give Up]
After learning it's effect, I couldn't help but smile.
"Yahooooo! I'm the greatest!"
This is a power that allows me to stand evenly against someone who is much stronger than me. Even against the mightiest of opponents, any attack or spell will work with at least a 10% chance.
If I combine this with [Over Boost], I can make an incredibly powerful combo to instantly defeat someone I would normally be no match for.
<Bless> <Authority> <Obtain>
"You're giving me your blessing? Thanks, God."
God starts flashing, and sends a warm feeling over to me.
"God, I promise that I won't abuse this power! I'll make sure to dedicate myself to world peace."
<Desire> <Use> <Freedom>
You're telling me I can use it for whatever I want?
As that thought passes through my head, I sense an affirmation coming from God.
<Caution> <Use> <Excessive>
It looks like there is some limit to how much I can use these powers.
I should be careful when using them.
<Reincarnation> <Bonus> <Select>
"Eh?"
God continues on, and some sort of skill tree appears in the back of my mind.
Apparently, I can get more free skills in addition to the cheat skills from earlier.
God sure gives a lot of free stuff.
<Reincarnation> <Bonus> <Unnecessary?>
"I'll choose now!"
It felt like the skill tree was about to close, so I quickly grab onto it.
I select the obvious staples [Analyze], [Inventory], and [Perfect Language].
<Insufficient> <Capacity> <Select>
God sends me a denial.
I guess I didn't have enough 'reincarnation points' or something. My soul's capacity must have been too full from the two cheat skills I got earlier.
After testing out several combinations, I ended up on a set of skills that seemed useful.
[Self Status], the power to have detailed understanding of your own status and abilities.
[Status Check], the power to view the abilities of anyone in sight.
[Hide Skill], the power to hide your skills from others.
[Item Box], the power to store a large, but not unlimited, amount of items in your own pocket space.
I feel a bit tired after trying so hard.
<Hope> <Authority> <Growth>
"Yeah, I'll make sure these cheat skills grow up big and strong."
Struggling to resist the urge to sleep, I respond to God's words.
<Blessing> <Happiness> <Full>
I hear God's blessing again.
As if it was a lullaby, I fall asleep and melt away in the white darkness.
◆
Light and floaty.
Fluffy and warm.
I was in a happy and deep sleep.
I hear a strange sound from far away. I don't understand why, but the gentle sound gives me peace of mind.
Everything is so comfortable. Then, one day.
--Ow.
<Owww, stop that>
I try to shout, but no voice comes out.
<Stop! I said stop! Aaahhhhhhh!!>
The painful torture ended as my black surroundings get replaced with a bright light.
"Ogyaaaa!"
From somewhere comes the sound of a baby crying.
I feel sick, as if I was getting rocked around in a boat. Someone seems to be talking in a language that I've never heard before. I look around to find the source of the voice, but everything is just a blur.
--They're huge!
This giant is holding me up.
My vision is still out of focus, but I can see the human figure staring down at me.
--I remember now!
Reincarnation.
I was reborn.
The memories of my meeting with god flash through my mind.
--[Self Status].
I focus my mind on the skill given to me by god. This should let me view my detailed status.
'Name: Arisa' and 'Sex: Female' pops into my head.
It looks like my name is still Arisa despite being reincarnated.
Since I don't have a family name, maybe I'm a commoner?
Right afterwards, 'Class: Royalty' pops up.
--Royalty? So, in other words, I'm a princess?
Yahooooo!
Aw yeah, I'm a winner!
Easy mode, banzai!
Huh? My vision is, getting, darker...
--Oh, I ran out of energy.
It looks like it was a bad idea to get so excited a few seconds after being born.
Good night, papa, mama. See you later.
Chapter 2
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