CH 31.2

The Treasury of Taboos and Secrets (1)

“Fufu, I don’t remember the last time I have seen you this panicked, Princess, you weren’t this panicked during the carriage matter either. But neither His Highness nor I are your enemies, Princess.”

“It’s impossible for me to punish you, Alicetia… No, should I use this as an excuse to make you my wife…”

Alicia spoke to me with a wonderfully gentle expression, but Elder brother made a pretty bad one in the middle of his sentence. You haven’t given up on that yet? He’s a popular guy as far as I am concerned. When you look at his face, you can’t see the black-hearted prince that he is.

But is it okay to talk about it? My father, mother, and brother are all family to me, but I don’t know if they will listen to me and think the same way as I do. Even though I have no memories, I was born with very advanced knowledge from my past life, which makes me worried whether they would still call me their daughter and little sister? I want to be with them forever. That’s what I think about the family I have in this world. I’m willing to give up my knowledge for that, but highly developed technology is no different from magic. And the technology of Earth, if released to this world, could change the worldview of the people living in this world. That’s why I decided to release my creations in stages, one after the other, and that’s how it all started. But the things in that room most likely won’t be released for several hundred years. However, I don’t think it would be surprising for Arland to be subjugated at any time, as it’s being targeted by the powerful nations of the Empire and the Imperial State, so those things need to be maintained for a resistance. That’s why my creations and their blueprints are kept in the treasury. If I die and there is a crisis in the country afterwards, it will be for the protection of the country at that time.

Now, to tell or not to tell? People rot. Things that are too convenient, too powerful, can make people arrogant. It is easy to talk about it, but I am responsible for creating it, so it is not something I can say without thinking.

“Mhm, so you won’t tell us about it after all. No, you must be afraid that talking about it will change things. It’s true that knowledge can change people, but we don’t want to make you unhappy. However, what you have is a little too heavy for you to hold alone, don’t you think? You have a lot of secrets that you can’t tell anyone, and you are growing up, leaving behind the sensitive years that you would normally spend with other children your age. I’m guessing that your secrets are so big that you can no longer be an innocent child. I say this as your family member. Tell me. You can live as you are, I won’t deny you, I want you to live a life suitable for your age.”

“I want to be a little closer to you, Princess. I’m afraid when you are looking somewhere far away. Are you perhaps going to leave for that far away place? Those are my worries. I would like you to be more childlike. I want you to make friends instead of barricading yourself to research.”

The two of them were looking straight into my eyes, and I… I couldn’t say anything.

“Ugh… umm…”

I was speechless. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to say or how much to say. I think and act on my own, so I’m not good at relying on others. If I can do something myself, I do it by myself. I think it’s the right thing to do. But, being born a princess, is it okay for me to do that? Isn’t it also necessary to rely on others and listen to their opinions to come up with the best ideas? I wonder how selfishly I have been living my life. I’m afraid to tell them everything. Maybe I will get locked up somewhere by myself. I don’t want to be alone anymore…

“!? Princess!?”

Alicia embraced me. My body trembled. The pain in my head was terrible. I think I felt like this before.

Then I saw it. I saw a girl alone in a dimly lit room, a girl doing something while crying alone, and countless adults mocking her.

(Hmm… it really is that difficult to seal human memories, huh. Erasing them completely would have a profound effect on her personality. But… it’s also my job to help you survive, even if you remember everything.)

The shaking in my body started to calm down when I heard a voice of some kind. I think I heard someone say something, but I can’t remember, and it was a strange feeling that didn’t even felt like remembering whose voice that was. I might have also something earlier, but I can’t remember. I don’t know why I was trembling so much, but it would certainly be a good time to tell them.

I don’t know how much I can tell them, but now that they know about the treasury, I guess I have to tell them. I don’t know if they will understand what’s inside after, but I will be as honest as I can.

“N, I’m okay now.”

“Really? If it’s too painful for you to talk, I don’t want t hear it. I will wait for you outside.”

“If you can’t, you don’t have to talk yet. I’m sure you are confused by the turn of events, and I don’t mind waiting for you a little longer.”

I’m sorry I made you guys worry a little. However, I was feeling only mild fatigue and no more headache. My mind iwas s also lighter. I felt like I could talk now.

“I’m fine, but when I tell you, you can’t tell anyone else, okay? That was the Treasury of Taboos. I understand of all the effects of the items in there… but I don’t think the people of this world would understand.”

“Mm, you mean the things you have shown us until now were like toys?”

My Elder brother is correct. What I have brought out are imitations of otherworldly paraphernalia with simplified systems to make everyday life richer and easier.

“Those were not toys, but these are on a completely different level. If the nobles get to know about them, they might think about destroying the Empire and the Imperial State. And these are most likely are capable of it.”

They are prototypes, so there are not many of them, but they all could be called masterpieces. If I can complete the magic furnace that I’m currently studying, I can make them all move. The magic furnace is a magic power amplifying furnace that existed in ancient times when magic tools were first developed. The magic furnace, which uses a large magic sphere to efficiently generate magic power, can be a perpetual motion machine, similar to Earth’s engines. However, controlling it requires god-like technology, and in that era when magic tools were flourishing, the failure of the drive experiment of the super-sized magic furnace wiped all living beings in the country, and the magic furnace was also destroyed by it. Fortunately, it’s still possible to use magic spheres to move airships and the like without a magic furnace, so the magic furnace was forgotten, and many people believe it to be just a fictional thing that never existed, but my opinion differs. With frequent use, it is a dangerous thing that could make a country vanish just like in the past, but from I learned, the manufacturing was done by the users of spirit magic, and it is likely that they have used “Synthesis” that I often use to make a large magic sphere by combining several magic spheres into one. This is why it is impossible to reproduce magic furnace now that so many spirit magic users have disappeared.

“It cannot move now… well, I could make it move if I wanted to, but it would take a lot of magic power. But, it will work as long as I am here, and that’s why I cannot show it. They are for use for people with resolution when the country is in life-threatening danger. Therefore, without this key, no one can get their hands on them unless they make a contract with the treasury. However, no one but me can touch this key.”

“So it’s an Artifact, huh. So you had one in addition with your eye.”

An Artifact is an item that is also known as a Treasure Tool. I learned that an Artifact is an item that you already have at birth, and that you will be able to use when you become aware of it at some point in life. Some people realize that they have it just before they die, so when you can use it is up to you and your luck. And those who have a strong connection with spirits since birth often have it.

I have to explain this Treasure Tool first. Because this is very different from other Treasure Tools.