The Emperor's Children (1)
The Emperor's Children (1)
Lately, I'd come to feel with absolute certainty that the ability to turn back time was truly an absurd, game-breaking cheat skill.
Ah, though anyone listening might find that statement laughable. It was true, after all, that an ability capable of erasing my own mistakes reeked of cheating just from the description alone.
What I meant was that the range of applications for this ability was ridiculously wide.
First, as anyone who received this ability would think, mistakes could be corrected.
For example,
"Eek!"
"...... Huh?"
...... When my 'stepbrother' suddenly split me open with a sword.
In the original work, Claire originally became one of the Emperor's children. That meant she became one of the Emperor's favored villainous officers, wielding a 'whip-sword' that often appeared in Japanese subculture.
Although it was called a whip-sword, it didn't mean the blade was flexible and could be swung like a whip. You know those blades that look like snap-off cutter blades, where the segments of the blade are connected by sturdy cords? It was one of those swords that, by some principle I didn't quite understand, could be used normally as a sword but would extend and swing around like a whip when needed.
A sword of that shape that didn't exist in reality, but for some reason appeared incredibly often in subculture.
Moreover, her outward appearance was in an incredibly sadistic-looking outfit and she had a high, sharp voice. Though they said that wasn't her true appearance but rather one after she had given up and let go of everything, it still matched the uniquely decadent atmosphere with her distinctive dead eyes, allowing her to become a popular character in her own right.
She was also often a guest character who joined the protagonist's party, and she had a Bond Gauge, so raising her Affection Level allowed you to see specific events, but she was also a character who ultimately died according to the story.
Well, since the developer was the type to attach all sorts of reasons and revive popular characters, she could have come back alive in a sequel, but she did die in the latest installment I played, so......
Of course, not now.
Claire was safely in the orphanage run by the Grace barony within their domain. I didn't know how the original plot would unfold, but at least the Claire of this world didn't have to suffer horrific pain that might make death preferable. And there was no need for her to become a villainous officer. No reason to, either.
...... The problem was that I had filled that 'villainous officer' position.
My appearance had changed a lot from when I first entered this place. I had tried to change it. It was because I judged that holing up here was safer than being kicked out by the Emperor. I always maintained a meticulous grooming routine and tried to keep a respectful attitude toward my superiors. Even my long, bothersome-to-maintain hair was cut short and kept neat at all times.
But, well, looking at the current situation, it made me think, had I really needed to try that hard?
Because right here was a perfect specimen who lived exactly the opposite of me, yet wasn't cast out by the Emperor.
"Uh, hey, you okay?"
I heard my 'stepbrother' asking me that.
"......."
My body wasn't completely split in half. It wasn't a sword strike filled with serious intent, after all.
But it was a fatal enough attack that the pain hadn't properly set in yet. It seemed my brain was frantically pumping endorphins through my body to prevent me from dying of shock.
But from my experience, this state didn't last long. Probably, just a little more time and maddening agony would rush in, and screams would leak from my mouth.
And if that happened, leaving aside my life for the moment, my 'value' as perceived by the Emperor would plummet straight into the abyss.
That would be troublesome.
"Hey, wait a sec, the blood is......."
You crazy bastard, you did it.
I thought while glaring at my stepbrother.
Again.
*
Well, anyway.
By turning back time like this, I could dodge even a sword strike I was supposed to take.
It was even possible to dodge without looking.
Ah, of course, the faster the opponent's sword, the harder it was to dodge, which led to more 'mistakes,' and naturally more frequent retries, but that didn't matter. Because I could turn back time as many times as needed.
It wasn't just simply dodging; I could retry again and again until even the image of my dodge became the one I desired. Whether it was a frantic dodge rolling on the floor, or a stylish dodge where I easily evaded by half a step by a hair's breadth. It depended on the number of attempts I made.
...... And in the seven years since I became 'Sylvia Fangriffon' from 'Sylvia Black,' I'd dodged this stepbrother's sword swings several times a day. Even if my ability to track movement didn't improve, when you spent a day dodging the sword strikes of one of the world's strongest swordsmen several times—no, from my perspective dozens, or even hundreds of times—you naturally developed a sense for it, whether you wanted to or not.
Now I could dodge non-serious strikes like this one by just a single step's difference.
No, but seriously, does it make sense for him to swing a sword at a twelve-year-old right now?
While I was grateful in my own way that this guy had brought me here, he wasn't a sane individual.
Well, he was like that in the game too. His reason for being under the Emperor was supposedly because he could cross swords with more guys if he stayed here.
"Whew."
As I leaned forward to pull my body away and dodged the blade flying from behind, I heard the sound of him whistling.
I immediately reached into the holster under my left armpit, drew my pistol, and turned my body around.
For a while after becoming the Emperor's daughter, I had agonized.
I had the ability to turn back time, but my physical abilities were nothing special.
I was just the same as other kids my age.
A body too frail to be compared to the other monsters under the Emperor.
Of course, to the other guys who didn't know I had the ability to turn back time, I could only appear as a monster with extraordinary visual tracking, hearing, and senses that surpassed human limits. Like dodging every incoming sword strike, noticing an assassin's position the moment I entered a room when no one else had caught on, or figuring out in advance who was standing outside the door.
Naturally, I was merely acting based on what I'd already seen, but to others, it looked as if I had discerned it purely with my own senses.
You could call it a real-life TAS (Tool-Assisted Speedrun).
But even so, there was no way the Emperor would be satisfied with just this ability. As someone who dreamed of world conquest, he would probably want actual combat skill that allowed me to reliably confront and defeat someone.
So what I chose was the 'gun.'
The production company had publicly stated that this game's setting was drawn from the Industrial Revolution era.
However, perhaps thinking it would be boring if they took it directly from actual ancient history, the developer introduced various differences from the real Industrial Revolution.
As befitted such a period setting, the designs and overall technological level resembled the mid-nineteenth century. But because this was steampunk, a fantasy genre, the technology was actually far more advanced. Methods such as mass production and press forming, which would have been crude and only just emerging in the original world, were commonplace here. There were even computers of a sort, and in some ways the setting evoked aspects of twenty-first-century society, especially the school uniforms.
True to fantasy, parts of this world's technology approached the late 19th to early 20th century. The firearms of this world had metallic cartridge cases and looked similar to the individual firearms generally associated with those used in the First and Second World Wars. It seemed some technological areas hadn't yet reached the same period on Earth, but considering they hadn't been that way in the original work, they'd probably be resolved within a few years.
However, even in an era where mass production was common and the press forming technique had been introduced, revolvers were still more popular than automatic pistols, and bolt-action rifles more so than semi-automatic rifles or submachine guns. That was because the designs hadn't been completely stabilized yet, so the reliability of simpler firearms far exceeded that of complex ones.
The Wexler revolver I carried around was a military model. It was a top-break type where the entire frame hinged forward to eject the spent casings all at once, and then the six bullets loaded on a moon clip were replaced all together like a magazine. Made to fit an adult man's hand, it wasn't the right size for my still-growing hand.
Of course, I had dropped it several times at first while trying to draw it. But then again, for me, there were always infinite opportunities.
Turning back time again and again, I found the optimal posture for drawing the gun.
When I turned back time, all my strength training or running I'd done went back to being for nothing. Because my body condition reverted to match that timeframe too.
But the sense that my head remembered remained.
I could practice drawing the gun thousands, tens of thousands of times. If it got tough, I could just turn back time and do it until I got used to it.
Shooting was the same. As long as the gun had even a single bullet loaded, I could practice shooting anywhere, at anything, over and over. Whether the firearm was a revolver or a bolt-action rifle almost as tall as I was.
On top of that, even if I missed, I could just keep practicing until I hit. If necessary, I could even hit the same spot with another bullet so that only a single hole remained. I could simply turn back time until it happened.
I'd wager that no soldier in the Empire had undergone as much shooting practice as I had.
Bang!
A strong recoil was felt from the revolver in my hand—
"...... Huh?"
"...... Ah."
You know what? When a person continuously practices only hitting the exact center of the target, later, deliberately shooting to miss actually feels more awkward.
...... There was a neat bullet-sized hole right in the middle of my stepbrother's forehead.
Uh, um.......
Again.
*
In Norse mythology, there was a god called Baldur.
He was a god who wouldn't be wounded no matter where on his body he was hit or with what weapon, and so the gods supposedly played by throwing all sorts of things at him.
...... For reference, it wasn't really bullying; it seemed they literally played with Baldur that way. In any case, Baldur was unharmed by anything.
The gaze my stepbrothers and stepsisters directed at me was exactly that.
Whether they suddenly popped out and swung a sword or shot an arrow, I'd know it in advance and dodge, so they swung swords at me as if it were some kind of joke.
Of course, the only lunatic who did that every time was the one who got shot by me a moment ago.
Hm.
Since I turned back time before he completely died, I don't need to count that last one as a kill, right?
Bang!
Along with the gunshot, that guy's movement stopped.
If I'd dodged the first sword strike, you'd think he'd let it end there, but this madman had apparently been preparing a follow-up attack.
The very end of his red hair, exactly near his temple, was slightly burnt. It was the bullet's path.
I hadn't necessarily meant to hit exactly there, but, well, it seemed the warning had been sufficiently delivered, so I'd be satisfied with that.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down, little sister."
Little sister my ass.
"...... Do you usually launch such vicious swings at someone who's your little sister?"
"No, I mean, you dodge every time no matter how many times I swing. I knew you'd dodge something like this."
Saying that, he ostentatiously slid his sword back into its sheath with a slightly exaggerated motion.
I didn't dodge, you madman.
Though he wouldn't believe it even if I explained.
"What if I hadn't dodged?"
When I asked, he frowned and considered it for a very brief moment, then said,
"Huh? But you dodged, didn't you?"
Exactly.
That was right.
This bastard apparently lacked a brain proportionate to his swordsmanship. Then again, that was why he had let his guard down and gotten shot by me earlier.
No matter how outstanding my skill might be, it wasn't comparable to this swordsman's ability. Of course, since I turned back time countless times to draw out the best possible outcome, no one thought that way.
To dodge this guy's sword swings every time, I even had to exercise daily to maintain the bare minimum of stamina. If I hadn't, I could've just stuck to the role of shooting from a distance and running away. Damn it.
And there were still three years left until the main story started. Since the game's setting was that children turning fifteen that year would be selected and sent to the academy, this guy still had a bit of room left to mature. Mainly in the head department.
Because in the main story, even while letting his guard down about his skill, he hadn't been so dense as to get shot.
He was still twenty-two years old in Western reckoning, so let's just chalk it up to a lack of experience.
...... Though by that logic, I was still twelve.
Damn it.
"Whoa, whoa, Sylvia."
As if he found me, glaring sharply at him, quite cute, the guy raised both palms toward me and said,
"Calm down. I'm your older brother. Would your big brother really cut his little sister for real?"
You did cut me for real.
Well, if they say that since it wasn't serious intent my body wasn't split in two, then there's nothing left for me to say.
And at this point in time, it was also true that I hadn't been cut.
"...... Lucas."
"Hey, little sis. Do you have to call me by my name so coldly? Try saying 'big brother~.' Huh? Honestly, you've seen me longer than you've seen our father."
Though that longer period was a matter of mere hours' difference.
The Emperor had been observing that orphanage from the beginning.
Of course, it seemed it wasn't really meant to find talented children like Claire or me in advance. It was probably more about investigating the nobles who frequented the brothel connected to the orphanage in order to seize leverage.
And it was this 'Lucas Fangriffon' who had received the mission of observing that orphanage.
After the fire at the orphanage, seeing me, who had led the orphans to safety and evacuated without experiencing a single hardship, Lucas judged me as 'talented,' promptly abducted me, and presented me before the Emperor.
And then swung a sword. This madman.
At a five-year-old.
As a result, after several attempts, I was barely able to dodge it.
No, I mean, I got dropped into a Millennium Company game, not some From● Software game.
Well, thanks to that, I caught the Emperor's eye and my name became Sylvia Fangriffon.
"............ Lucas. If you do that one more time, next time I will not dodge the sword strike, I will be injured, and then I will report it to His Imperial Majesty."
"Oh my, is dat so? Is our widdle Sylvia angwy? Is she gonna teww on me to Daddy?"
"......."
Should I kill him.
Should I just kill him?
I seriously pondered while fingering the pistol in my hand.