Nadena-de Novels, No Big Deal!
A modern person transmigrating into a fantasy world wasn't exactly an unmitigated blessing.
Of course, depending on the circumstances, it wasn't without its advantages either. In my case, becoming Ivan Cluers meant I could drop every last worry about money and employment right then and there. The power to command countless people was another perk that only came with transmigration.
But still. No matter how many fantasy elements you layered on top, the default setting for a fantasy world was still the Middle Ages. Compared to the modern world, the shortcomings and inconveniences weren't just one or two.
The biggest one I felt, of course, was the absence of smartphones. A smartphone that could melt away twenty-four hours of your day without breaking a sweat—once that was gone, the reverse culture shock was no joke. If I'd at least had a computer, I might not have felt the smartphone-shaped hole so keenly… but come on, a computer in a fantasy world?
So after transmigrating into Ivan Cluers and getting forced into a digital detox, I genuinely thought I was going to lose my mind. I nearly went crazy from dopamine withdrawal, you know?
And so my brain, dropped into a fantasy world, naturally started chasing dopamine—and the place it landed on was… reading.
Honestly, I didn't have high expectations going in. Could a brain that had gotten used to web novels really be satisfied with the novels of a fantasy world? But once I started reading… they were actually fun. It made me realize I'd been underestimating the fantasy world a little too much. In the end, the people living in a fantasy world were still people. Their pursuit of entertainment wasn't all that different from modern folks.
So the first hobby I spoon-fed to Aria was reading. Fantasy-world novels that even a modern dopamine addict found satisfying? I figured this was a guaranteed hit.
"I've picked out some of the easier ones from the novels I enjoyed reading."
So I had a bookshelf installed in her room at a height she could easily reach, and filled it with the books I'd selected. And hey, my taste in novels and Aria's might not match, right?
"I've put the novels that are popular with young noble ladies on this shelf, so give them a try when you have time."
So I also picked out novels that noble young ladies supposedly found entertaining. But… if possible, I wanted Aria to enjoy the novels I'd read, too. Then I could talk about them with her.
As someone who couldn't remember ever having a proper conversation with Aria, a shared hobby was about the most welcome conversation topic I could ask for. Talking about the characters in a novel, memorable scenes, how the ending went… just off the top of my head, that was already plenty.
Well, even if the novels I'd read weren't to Aria's taste and she didn't read them, that was fine. I could just read the ones she enjoyed instead. And if Aria got hooked on reading? If reading became her hobby? Then I'd flex the Margrave's power and wealth right away.
Nadena-de novels, no big deal! Easy peasy!
The moment I confirmed that Margrave Ivan had left, I flopped straight onto the bed.
"Haa…"
I let out a long sigh, then pressed my fingers into the blanket and pillow. The blanket and pillow were soft and fluffy enough. Back at the ducal house, covering myself with a blanket like this, resting my head on a pillow like this—that had been nothing more than a dream. Blankets and pillows like these had been privileges reserved for my younger sister.
Back then, I'd been so envious I could hardly stand it. Even just for a single day, I'd wanted to sleep under my sister's blanket, rest my head on her pillow. That was why I'd said the current blanket and pillow were more than satisfactory. Something I'd only ever wished for had actually come true.
But Margrave Ivan had said he would replace them with even better ones.
"…They're really fine as they are."
I'd meant to refuse. These were enough. Anything more would be too much. I'd thought that anything too excessive for me was something I couldn't handle—and thinking I couldn't handle it had made me afraid.
But…
"I couldn't refuse…"
The moment I'd tried to say the words of refusal, the Head Butler's words had come back to me—and the instant they did, I'd found myself accepting Margrave Ivan's kindness without meaning to.
And Margrave Ivan's kindness hadn't stopped there.
"…Books."
He'd asked what I liked, listened to my answer, and said that finding something I enjoyed would be enough. Then he'd installed a bookshelf in my room. And filled it with books.
"I never asked for this…"
Muttering that, I got up from the bed and walked over to the bookshelf. That was when one book caught my eye. It was on the shelf of novels supposedly popular with young noble ladies.
"This is…"
A title I recognized. A book I remembered my younger sister reading with such enjoyment. How entertaining must it have been, for her to smile the entire time she was reading it? I'd been so curious back then. Of course, I'd never gotten to read it myself. Things like that weren't permitted to me. I hadn't even dared to say I wanted to read it. The moment I spoke up, I would have been scolded for sure.
And now that book was sitting on the bookshelf.
I slowly reached out my hand—toward the shelf holding the novels popular with young noble ladies. And just before my fingertips touched the book my sister had so enjoyed———the books Margrave Ivan had said he'd enjoyed caught my eye.
I believe that you, my lady, shall prove an excellent confidante to His Lordship the Margrave.
The Head Butler's words seemed to echo in my ears. The hand that had been reaching for a book clenched into a tight fist.
How much time passed? I moved my clenched fist—from the position of the book my sister had enjoyed to the position of the books the Margrave had enjoyed. And after a moment's hesitation… I picked up one of the books the Margrave had said he'd enjoyed.
Books don't run away. So the book my sister had enjoyed could wait until later. Muttering that to myself, I opened the book I'd picked up.
I sheathed the sword I'd been swinging.
"Hoo…"
Then wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. I'd just been feeling a bit stiff and thought I'd loosen up with some light sword practice… but somehow I'd gotten completely absorbed in it.
I quietly looked at the sword now resting in its scabbard. It was a little late to be feeling this way, but… a modern person whose only experience with blades had been box cutters and kitchen knives, now swinging a sword with practiced ease as the Margrave of a fantasy world—it made something in my chest feel a little heavy.
It wasn't that I was having some identity crisis or anything. I'd long since passed the age of fretting over self-identity. But still… it all came back so vividly. The scenery of the South Korea I'd lived in.
I'd tried to accept the reality I was in. Since I had absolutely no idea why I'd become Ivan Cluers in the first place, I figured quickly accepting my situation was the right call. But even so, some lingering attachment was inevitable. That attachment stood in such contrast to the way I now swung a sword with practiced ease that it pressed lightly on my chest.
Wouldn't it be more correct to look for a way back to South Korea rather than adapt to Ivan Cluers' life? I wanted to entertain that thought. This was a fantasy world—surely there was at least a slim chance, right? I wanted to think that, too. Of course, those thoughts were shattered the moment Ivan's knowledge in my head declared that transmigration and dimensional travel were the stuff of novels.
…Put another way, it meant that despite everything, the attachment still remained.
I let out a sigh.
"…Status Window."
And I once again spoke aloud the word I'd uttered on my first night as Ivan Cluers, lying in bed. Nothing happened.
…Yeah, something that didn't appear back then wasn't suddenly going to show up now. In web novels, sometimes a status window would pop up and tell you that if you reached the ending you could return to Earth. How nice would it have been if I'd gotten something like that?
"…Homesickness, maybe."
In a way, I was starting to think it might be a kind of homesickness. At least in the sense that I couldn't go back, it felt similar enough.
By the way, in most fiction people swing swords to clear their heads of idle thoughts… but here I was, swinging a sword and generating idle thoughts instead. It was almost funny.
…Maybe I shouldn't have picked up the sword?
When things get like this, you need to think about something else to shake off the distractions. The first thing that came to mind was, of course, Aria—the presumed protagonist of this nadena-de novel, who in my mind was basically confirmed as the protagonist. She'd become the hottest topic in my head lately, so it was only natural.
By now she should have picked out a book and started reading, right? I'd even set up a whole bookshelf in her room—there's no way she hadn't touched it. I didn't know Aria all that well, but… I at least knew she wasn't the type of kid to force herself to reject kindness she'd already received. I mean… had Aria ever shown me a side of herself that stubbornly rejected kindness all the way to the end? She'd never done that. So she was definitely going to read at least one book.
The only thing weighing on my mind was… would Aria actually come to like reading? Of course, even if she didn't end up liking reading, that wasn't the end of the world. Doesn't like reading? Then I'd just spoon-feed her a different hobby. There were instruments, embroidery… this world had plenty of hobbies.
But if she developed a hobby we shared, conversation topics would skyrocket. So if possible, I wanted her to take to reading—and if I was being greedy, I wanted her to enjoy the books I'd found fun, too. You could say I should just follow along with whatever hobby Aria ends up liking… but what if Aria took up embroidery? Then what was I supposed to do?
I closed my eyes and pictured myself doing embroidery.
……Okay. Time to pray desperately.
Please, please get hooked on reading, Aria…!!!