Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Royal Head Maid, Ophelia
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But I said I wanted to see it.
“I am Ophelia, the Royal Head Maid.”
“Eh...?”
Normally, an introduction should come with some context-appropriate explanation.
Just like how if a robber breaks into your house and you shout, “Who’s there?!” they shouldn’t reply with, “Hello. My name is Hong Gildong.”
“No, I mean... that’s....”
“My apologies for startling you. I have come to attend to you, Princess.”
“Wh-where did you come from...?”
I was so surprised I couldn’t even speak properly. Imagine seeing a stranger for the first time, watching you while you were drooling in your sleep. It’s impossible not to be this shocked.
“You created me yourself, Princess.”
“I did...!? When did I do that.... Ah!!”
Having just woken up, my head was groggy and my eyes were blurry. But as my mind cleared, I finally remembered.
‘It said the Fragment of the Kingdom was complete...!’
As I stood there dumbfounded, a notification popped up on the status window.
‘It’s real. I really did create her.’
Last night, I tried to wait until the timer ran out in the early morning, but I couldn’t stay awake and fell asleep. Does that mean Suri turned into this head maid...?
“Suri... is gone...?”
“Pardon?”
“I can’t see Suri anymore...?”
I was waiting for Suri. The one who saved me and Mecha-Doggo in the gate, who always helped me get dressed. I was waiting for Suri, thinking she would become an awesome... super-powerful eagle.
“Suri... I want to see Suri....”
The thought of never seeing her again made tears well up in my eyes. If I had known she would leave like this, I would have at least thanked her before the process was completed.
I should have thanked her for helping me with everything. Instead, I just heartlessly asked if she was ready, and then she was gone.
“Suri. You are speaking of the bald eagle who attended to you before me.”
Ophelia knelt before me and extended her right arm. A blue light of magic began to gather above it.
“Eueh...?”
“Here she is.”
—Keeek
“Suri...? Suri?!”
Ophelia then slowly lowered her arm, placing Suri on top of me. As if nothing had happened, Suri pecked my cheek with her beak, then waddled over to her usual spot and flopped down.
“It’s Suri!!!!”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“But... how...? Suri was upgraded....”
“Suri is a professionally trained creature meant to assist in the royal family’s hunting activities. It seems her form was temporarily recreated due to a lack of materials for a physical body, or perhaps a shortage of magic.”
Come to think of it, the status window did say it was a temporary form. Suri’s shape only appeared after I inserted the magic stone, when it said a power source had been detected.
“Is-is that right...? So she’s the exact same Suri as before...?”
“That is correct.”
Judging by her reaction, she’s definitely the same Suri from before. She’s lying in her usual spot, and when I peeked over, I saw she was lying next to Minium. Minium was rolling around and greeted Suri happily when she arrived.
“Thank goodness.... I thought she was gone....”
“You are very affectionate, Princess.”
“Suri saved me in the gate... and she even bought clothes for me... though I didn’t really like the clothes....”
“Yes, she is indeed... an exceptional and clever creature.”
It’s such a relief that Suri is back. Now, the remaining problem...? No, not a problem, but a situation? The baffling point...?
“But... who are you, really...?”
“I am one of the Fragments of the Kingdom. I am Ophelia, the head maid who will assist you in attending to your needs and rebuilding the royal family. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“N-nice to meet you too....”
Ophelia bowed, so I bowed back in return. So, Suri didn’t turn into a person; she still exists separately. That means Ophelia is a maid created for me through my ability....
First of all, she’s gorgeous. I don’t know how rare metal could produce this kind of texture, but her skin is fair, and she’s objectively a beauty.
In the past, I would have been jumping for joy, but in this body, there’s not much I can do. So I don’t really feel that way.
“S-so... what were you doing...?”
“After waking at approximately 2:21 AM, I was engaged in simple tidying, cleaning, and information gathering.”
“Information gathering??”
“My awareness of this world is still limited, and I am unfamiliar with the operation of the tools furnished in this residence. I have been examining each one to deduce its purpose and draw conclusions.”
“Ah...! I see....”
When you hear ‘kingdom,’ you think of ancient times, right? Of course, I think England still has a royal family, but it doesn’t feel like that.
It might not be easy for Ophelia to use modern technology. What’s the surest way to solve this?
Mecha-Doggo knew everything. Which means....
‘What if I turn this phone into a golem and merge it with Ophelia...?’
Ophelia would be able to easily access the internet, gather information, and help me with various things like Mecha-Doggo used to. She’d become like an automatic search system that does everything I ask.
Plus, Ophelia can talk. Wouldn’t her performance be much better? The new phone I received is also much more advanced than my old one.
“Umm.. Ophelia!”
“Did you call?”
“I know a super easy way to get information! You might even be able to learn all the knowledge in this world!”
“That would be extraordinary. What is this method?”
“This! It’s called a ‘cell phone’???”
I said, showing Ophelia the phone that was beside me.
“If I give this to you? And merge it... you’ll be able to connect to a place called the ‘internet.’”
“I see.”
“Then, on the internet, you can ask about all sorts of things you’re curious about. Isn’t that amazing??”
“Yes, that is amazing. Where are the scholars who will answer these questions?”
How should I explain this?
“You know books, right?? Books? Should I call them scrolls...?”
“I am aware of what books are.”
“Ah, good. There are tons of books in here, but not just books... notes? And lots of other stuff. If you want to know about food, a huge number of books about food will appear.”
“A remarkable form of magic.”
“It’s not magic, but it’s similar.... But I want to use this too, and if I give it to you, I can’t use it. What should I do?”
Ophelia glanced at the phone in my hand for a moment before offering a solution.
“Once I have a perfect understanding of this ‘cell phone,’ I believe I can replicate it as a separate object and present it to you, Princess.”
“You can do that...!?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Then my phone remains my phone, and Ophelia gets internet access and all sorts of other functions. Problem solved!
“Okay! Then I’ll merge this with you!”
“Thank you.”
I grabbed the phone in my hand and Ophelia’s outstretched right hand, then shouted.
“Golem Creation, merge with Ophelia!”
Besides, this phone is for Hunters, so its magic detection is amazing. The exterior is made of rare metal, and its performance is top-notch. The phone was immediately enveloped in blue magic and absorbed into Ophelia.
“S-so, how is it...?”
“Hmm.”
Ophelia closed her eyes for a moment, checking the functions of the newly added phone. After waiting for about three minutes, she finally spoke.
“This is a very complex artifact. It took some time to replicate.”
“Eh? You already replicated it?”
“Yes, here it is.”
—Fwaat..!
A phone materialized in Ophelia’s palm with a flash of light. It was the phone I had been using, but the logo on the back had been replaced with some kind of royal crest I’d never seen before.
“Whoa...!”
I unlocked it with my fingerprint and found that all the apps I used were still installed.
“How’s the internet?”
“I am currently processing. The amount of information is vast, so it will likely take some time to assimilate.”
“Ehehe.. Take your time.”
“Thank you for your consideration. May I take a moment to verify something I have learned from the internet?”
“Ah, yes!”
I wasn’t sure what she wanted to verify, but as soon as I answered, Ophelia stood up and walked toward the kitchen. She turned the closed gas valve down and then lit the stove.
—Fwoosh..!
“Hut..”
When the stove lit up, Ophelia flinched. She seemed fascinated by the actual flame, staring at it for a moment before turning it off and closing the gas valve again.
“I see. It appears the internet contains a great deal of knowledge.”
“Ah, but... there’s also a lot of wrong information posted by all sorts of weird people. You can’t just believe everything.”
“Acknowledged. That is also something I have just learned from the internet.”
“Ehet, is that so?”
Ophelia seems pretty smart. I’m sure she’ll figure it out.
After that, she opened the refrigerator, tilted her head, and approached me.
“Princess, there is one peculiarity.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Inside the electronic device in this residence known as a ‘refrigerator,’ there is no food.”
“Ah, that’s... because I live alone and don’t cook at home....”
“I see. Acknowledged.”
She probably saw pictures of refrigerators full of food.
Besides that, she went into the bathroom and flushed the toilet, returned to the sink and turned on the water. After checking all the appliances in the house, she knelt on the floor, closed her eyes, and began to learn about other things.
‘Well then, I guess I’ll post on the gallery.’
This seems like it’ll take a while, so I should do my own thing.
The time is 8:17 AM. Early enough to be called an early bird awakening. Plus, I have a lot I want to write about today.
Full of bullshit again today
What is this nonsense now
“Eheheung. I’m an Awakened now.”
As I was refreshing the gallery to see what was being posted, a post title caught my eye.
[Anonymous (223.62) : .]
‘A title with just a single dot...! And it even has a picture!’
Nine times out of ten, it’s either a mentally scarring image like a scat pic, or one of those rare, ‘ehehe, lewd, gasp, lol’ type of photos.
Either way, the mods would delete it in a flash. My hesitation was brief, and I immediately clicked the post.
But..
‘What’s this? It’s just a black picture.’
I was refreshing to see if there were any comments when suddenly a notification saying ‘This post does not exist or has been deleted’ popped up, and I was kicked back to the Awakening Gallery.
Why would a post with just a black picture get deleted? I was wondering about that when...
“Princess.”
“Eh? Ophelia? Is there something you’re curious about?”
Ophelia, who had been sitting quietly, approached me.
“Obscene material was displayed on your phone screen, so I unavoidably censored it.”
“..Eueh?”
Protect the princess. No lewd stuff.