I Came Back but the World is Still a Fantasy!?

But all she got in response was the weak voice of a troubled boy.

Shinichi had a habit of teasing the people he liked, but unfortunately for him, that made Lilisha bloom in a strange direction.

In a sense, it suited her, but it brought a great deal of damage to him mentally.

Not because he didn’t like how she reacted, but because it made him feel guilty.

And as expected, even he found himself wobbling, unable to extricate himself from the impact of that.

So the entranced princess immediately fixed her expression and smiled.

“My apologies. I appear to have shown you something unsightly… Fu fu…”

If it were just that, she would be the very picture of an ideal princess, the sort that a hundred people would be captivated by;

But as expected of a woman who has been living in a royal palace that might as well be a den of demons, she was an expert at feigning appearances. Though perhaps she’d simply realized that she wouldn’t be able to get any more out of him even if she kept that up.

“Haa… Still, I’m impressed that you were able to gather so much material from a place like this… Hmm?”

As the boy let out a sigh at the possibility of that, he changed the topic.

He was a bit forceful in the way he steered the topic away, but there was something that caught his eye among the pile of documents.

It was a title that was clearly of a different nature compared to the others.

“A Discussion on the Faults of Artificial Humans(Homunculi)… That’s a forbidden book.”

“So you did know about it… Actually, last night, when I was holed up in the underground archives, I noticed a hidden book shelf and found this hidden there covered in dust…”

“Hey, hey…”

What was it that dismayed him? Was it the part that she stayed up late despite knowing that there would be a welcoming party for her tonight?

Or was it the part where she found something troublesome like a forbidden book? In this case, it was neither.

It was because she found the forbidden book in this royal villa.

Lilisha understood where he was coming from, and she wryly smiled.

After all, there was a high chance that someone connected to the royal family intentionally hid this book. That is to say… It stank of trouble.

“…I’ll investigate it more once I get back to the capital.”

“Please do so.”

The boy said wearily as he quickly flipped through the pages.

He went through them so quickly it was curious if he was actually even reading, but Lilisha was already used to it.

“…The contents are exactly what the title would suggest.”

“Yes. I would have been fooled if I didn’t know better.”

“Like this, it would spread throughout the world without anyone knowing any better, while the few sharp-eyed would be able to decipher the meaning hidden within.”

t was an act considered taboo both by the Rimoa Church and Earthgant despite the ongoing cold war between them, showing just how much of a taboo such an act was.

“Shin?”

It might have been an intuition particular to Falandians, but Lilisha noticed Shinichi looking at the forbidden book bitterly and couldn’t help but send a quizzical gaze toward him.

“Just when I was wondering where this would end up… Oh, don’t mind me, it’s nothing.”

“I see…”

He has always had a penchant for talking to himself, but he probably had no intention of talking either way.

He mumbled to himself so quietly that she couldn’t have made out what he was saying even if she’d focused her ears.

He seemed to have said something significant, but he was basically telling her that it was better for her not to know, so she just let it pass.

“I thought you’d burned up all the copies you found including the original? Oh, I see, you must have only found one volume but made that to be the official story.”

“Ahaha… As usual, you talk about state secrets like they’re nothing.”

That was information that should have only been available to related personnel from Earthgant or people from the immediate royal family or those close to them.

It was curious how he managed to get hold of that information. Perhaps, he was just speculating, but that in itself was plenty terrifying, and the princess could only wryly smile.

But the circumstances behind that incident was not something to be talked about while laughing, and her expression tightened.

“At the time, my great grandfather suddenly died, so all of Earthgant was in chaos.”

“Your great grandfather? Ah, yes. Johann Schubal Earthgant. The king of magic, who put together the dwindling alchemy and elevated its status. It’s said that he became depressed after losing his beloved daughter and suddenly fell ill while he isolated himself…”

“My great grandfather deeply loved my great grandmother and my great-aunt. That’s why he never remarried nor accept a concubine, and he intentionally didn’t provide a fiancé for my great-aunt. Fu Fu.”

It was a questionable decision for someone from the royal family, but individually and as a relative, it was certainly a story she could be fond of.

That’s why Lilisha smiled.

But when she thought of how that led to the king’s sudden death and the panic that befell the country, she couldn’t help but find it tragic, so she stopped smiling.

“…Anyway. My great-grandfather was a brilliant man loved by his people and subjects and had many accomplishments, so the whole kingdom was understandably upset by his sudden passing. Especially since it was just right after the death of my great aunt. My great great uncle took over the throne, but he couldn’t rule right away…”

“So this book was published amidst all the buzz, huh.”

“Yes, but unfortunately, no one knows who the author is, and the church was also the one who pointed out it was a forbidden book. That’s why the royal court was a mess back then.”

“I can imagine. Of all the people, it just had to be them.”

“Indeed.”

A book that came from their nation was branded as a forbidden book by none other than the Rimoa Church.

Though it was right after the sudden death of their king, that was surely a bitter pill to swallow.

Moreover, not only did they fail to apprehend the author, they couldn’t even figure out his identity.

And despite all their efforts, it wasn’t until today that they found this one volume. Fortunately or unfortunately, it has basically been hoarded away here, but that’s just when looking at it from a results-based perspective.

“Although this incident didn’t become get much attention, the people from the church knew about it, and it was obvious that Earthgant failed to respond in a timely or effective manner, so for the ten years until my grandfather took the throne, we couldn’t adopt a strong stance against them. Well, they seem to have somehow managed the situation then, though…”

Earthgant did not just endure those ten years.

Instead, they looked for a weakness they could use against the church, and they both kept quiet about that matter.

However, when Lilisha thought about how much the related people must have suffered until they could find their weakness, she sighed.

The conflict between Earthgant and the church began from the conflict between magic and religion, but this little history of theirs might have contributed to their animosity today.

“In a sense, it’s a history that reeks of humanity.”

“…I envy you for being able to wrap it up just with that.”

As someone from the royal family, it was not a matter that Lilisha could afford to be unrelated to, so she wryly smiled.

After that they sealed the book tightly, and the princess promised to investigate it after returning to her country.

It was a matter from long ago, though, so it was doubtful if she would even be able to figure anything out.

That made her sigh again.

Shinichi narrowed his eyes at that, then he casually asked.

“…By the way, you read the book, right?”

“Huh? Yes. I read it to confirm… Is something the matter?”

The princess didn’t think there was anything off by her response, so she just nodded, but the boy muttered out loud to himself and said.

“I see… So after summoning an otherworlder, you’re going to create a homunculus next.”

“What!?”

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