Volume 5 Chapter 234, A Dream That Shouldn’t Be Relevant At All

Translator: Nonon

Proofreader: Silavin

 

POV: Vermillion

 

 

One night, I had a dream.

 

Dealing with my Older Sister Scarlet, who had returned after a long absence. Contacting my Older Brothers, Rouche and Carmine, who had also returned. Then there was a lecture from my other Older Sister Rose towards my other siblings. Every time they tried to argue back, they were shut down with undeniable logic, a perfect illustration of the long-standing power dynamic.

I’ve also been lectured by Rose about my excessive actions, but I was also told if I cared about the other person, I should fulfil my duties until the very end. That was the night it happened.

The year-end royal duties and the New Year celebration that continued day after day. The greetings I didn’t even want to give. Constantly being bombarded with insincere praise. Eating meals that Mary had prepared much better, only to offer my impressions. I spent my days with hardly a moment to relax, and when I returned to my room, I fell asleep before I knew it.

 

“A lucid dream, huh?”

 

While it might be a lucid dream, this is a place I’ve never seen before.

Things I had never seen before were emitting sounds I had never heard and they were flashing strangely. Could those be the so-called Lost Technology? If so, perhaps the sequence of memories I pieced together using information about ancient technology has been reconstructed as history based on my imagination.

 

“It would be perfect if Mary was here. Why is it that things just don’t work out the way we want?”

 

But there’s no point in complaining about a dream. For me, it’s far more important that my precious sleeping time is being wasted on a lucid dream, something that diminishes the feeling of sleeping. Wanting to wake up as soon as possible, I concentrated my consciousness on waking up.

 

“—It’s a mystery why your Daughter, Ayase Shiro, is still alive.”

 

However, I found myself strangely curious about the words of the man who appeared in my dream, dressed in what seemed to be a doctor’s attire I had never seen before. That name and his words bothered me enough to make me want to stop trying to wake up.

 

“Her body is a hotbed of diseases. From what we have been able to identify, she’s plagued with at least dozens of deadly diseases. It would not be strange even if she died within seconds…”

 

The man who looked like a doctor explained the situation to the man and woman who appeared to be the parents of the girl named Shiro.

He told them that her senses were intact and that she was dominated by what we would call the sensation of pain. However, she had been regarding this as normal. She had grown up without ever knowing the taste of food, and she considered even that to be normal.

Above all, the man who seemed to be a doctor said, this was her reality ever since she was born, and it was hard to believe she had lived a normal life in society all this time.

 

 

“… I see. So that’s how my Daughter has been living.”

 

Then, the couple who appeared to be Shiro’s parents, acknowledged that what the doctor had said was true.

 

“In that case, it can’t be helped. We’ll assign a housekeeper to her and have her spend the rest of her remaining days with them. There’s no need for life-prolonging treatment or anything like that.”

 

They easily gave up on their daughter, as if they had lost interest.

As the doctor looked like he was seeing something unbelievable, Shiro’s parents ignored him, insisting they had to find a suitable place for her.

 

“…”

 

Then someone nearby left without being noticed by either the parents or the doctor.

It was a small girl of about 10 years, with black hair and black eyes.

 

“Wait… she looks like Mary…?”

 

Just as I had this strange feeling, the scene abruptly changed to a room where a girl with fiddling with some kind of strange Lost Technology on a bed, accompanied by a woman that seemed to be her maid.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. ___. Thank you very much for coming all the way here to someone like me. It will only be a short time, but I look forward to working with you.”

“… Yes, Lady Shiro. I will serve you with my whole being, so let’s get along until the very end.”

“Of course. I’ll be counting on you until the end.”

“… Well then, I’ll start cleaning the house right away. If you need anything, please use the phone by your side and it’ll connect to me.”

“Yes. Oh, before that, there is something I’d like to ask you if that’s okay.”

“Yes, that’s fine. I serve Lady Shiro so please order me anything you want without needing confirmation.”

“Hmm, okay? Well then, there are things I want.”

“Yes, what might they be?”

“I’d like some shoujo manga and otome games. And a few visual novels for men and manga.”

“…What?”

 

 

 

“Mrs. ___, is it true that the first time is painful for women?”

“PFFT?! W-what are you asking all of a sudden, Lady Shiro?!”

“Well, it was written in this shoujo manga. It said that it could be so painful it could render you unable to continue… I just thought that you, as the experienced party, would know better.”

“Well, I guess? I was quite popular in my teen years and it’s not like I have no experience, but a lot of things happened in track and field. Before I knew it…”

“So how is it?”

“… I can only say that it depends on people. Some people are fine from the start.”

“I see… So the first time you play gateball, it’ll give you blisters on your hands and it’ll hurt, huh?”

“Wait a minute, is that really a shoujo manga?

 

 

“…Lady Shiro, if I’m not mistaken, the game you’re playing right now is called an otome game, is it not?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, what is that on the screen right now?”

“It’s a robot that the main love interest rides in. He needs it to intercept the enemy country’s battleship and he fights while inside it. See, you win if you deplete the enemy battleship’s HP— What?! Reinforcements?! Dammit, our only remaining forces are the rest of the love interests…!”

“Is this really an otome game?! Based on the content, it’s a game for men, right?!”

“Of course it’s not. Apparently, it’s a popular game. So the average girl is excited by robots! I’ve learned something new today!”

“Well, there are probably some, but I think they’re a minority…”

“I hope I can see the real thing someday…”

“…”

 

 

“Lady Shiro, if I’m not mistaken, the game you’re playing right now is that unusual otome game with RPG elements that you bought the other day, is it not?”

“That’s right.”

“However, right now, it looks to me that the villain noblewoman character is crushing the heroine and the love interest with her overwhelmingly immense power. Did she get possessed by a boss and awaken?”

“No, apparently she always possessed the strongest potential, and she’s competing with the heroine with sound judgement.”

“… What an amazing game. Did she want to take back the love interest that was stolen from her…?”

“No, she’s simply testing the heroine’s group, telling them ‘Do you have the resolve to bear the responsibility of the whole nation? Prove it to me before I leave the country!’. By the way, she’s also the hidden boss and stronger than the final boss who’s leading the world to ruin, and you can finally fight her only after your stats are maxed out.”

“Maybe she should just defeat the final boss herself already.”

“But I like it when the protagonist gets stronger after overcoming hardships. It’s moving…I wish I could have felt some growth, even if not to this extent…”

“…”

 

 

“…Hmm.”

“What’s wrong, Lady Shiro?”

“It’s nothing, I’m just playing an otome game with many choices that lead to bad endings if I’m not careful… I’m having a bit of trouble deciding what to do. Oh, which one do you think is the correct answer?”

“Eh, you’re okay with me answering?”

“Yes. The situation is that a powerful monster has appeared and we’re in a trouble. The choices are, ‘throw a bomb’, ‘make a new tool and stab it from behind’, and ‘work together and attack it’.”

“Those are some incredible choices! Is there a correct answer?!”

“You see, this otome game is really fun! It’s abbreviated to ‘Ring Of Fire’.”

“The title sounds like something where Funakoshi Eiichiro would corner the culprit on the cliff.”

“The story is really interesting! The artist and the voice actors are great, of course, but there are so many other appealing parts to it! Oh, I could wish I could use magic too. And I want to nurture wonderful love like this and make everyone happy.”

“No, a world where such options exist is a bit too much…”

“That’s why I’m saying I would make everyone happy…”

“…”

 

 

“I wonder, what even was my life?”

“…”

“I’m sorry, I caused you trouble because I lived a long, selfish life. In truth, you should have been released from taking care of me a long time ago.”

“… No, the seven years I spent with you were very enjoyable, Lady Shiro. Even though you didn’t have anyone else to talk to, you still spoke to a surly woman like me, and celebrated with me in all sorts of ways.”

“Hehe, thank you. I’m happy to hear you say that, even if it’s a lie.”

“I mean it. So please don’t be discouraged… I will prepare dinner. Since it’s your birthday today, I’ll make it more extravagant.”

“Hehe, I can’t eat it though.”

“… I hope you can enjoy the atmosphere even a little.”

“Yes, thank you. I appreciate your thoughtfulness… ah, that’s right.”

“Is anything the matter?”

“Thank you always.”

“…? Yes, you’re welcome.  Well then. I’ll go get things ready.”

“Yes, please do… Thank you very much, Mrs. Shiki. Thank you…so… much…”

 

 

Time seemed to have no bearing on the conversation between the girl and the woman as it continued…

 

“…Kuh!”

 

Then, I woke up on the bed in the room where I had been sleeping.

There was nobody around and the room was dim, with little light inside the room or coming in from outside.

It seemed that I had had a long dream. I couldn’t remember much of it, but I didn’t worry about it.

After all, it was a meaningless dream.

 

“Alright, I’ll go back to sleep again and dream about Mary this time.”

 

More than anything, I want to get my fix of Mary instead of wasting time on a pointless dream.