"Hmm, steampunk is truly a genre I never really read much of. But why is this face so… Recognisable?"
The young lady began to meander her way back to her bedroom before settling down into one of the armchairs that made up a corner of the room. Briefly noticing it semi-faced the bed, a thought flitted across her mind.
However, finding out where she was and what was going on was more important to her at this very moment. Glancing around once again, she realised the armchair she decided to rest in had hidden a low bookshelf filled with books of varying thickness.
"I have to read through those later, hopefully there's a diary or something similar. Maybe a history book?"
As a sigh slipped out through her nose, she decided she might as well address the elephant in the room. That is to say, the very obviously sparkling translucent square that gave off the vibe it might simply explode if she didn't start paying attention to it.
"Wow! What's that?"
To anyone who might have viewed this scene, she looked like the kind of person who genuinely had flowers growing between her ears instead of a brain. Truly, it didn't suit her face, but somehow, it also fit too well. Maybe it was the fact that she was still in her nightdress. Besides, the pointing in the direction of what was a potted plant could be excused; not everyone knew about plant varieties. What an inquisitive young soul!
[WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF MAREVEIL, NEW USER]
[I AM YOUR INTEGRATED SYSTEM TO HELP YOU SETTLE INTO YOUR NEW LIFE]
[DIFFICULTY LEVEL SSS HAS BEEN DETECTED]
[ASSIGNED CHARACTER- DELPHINA DE VELASQUES]
"Fuck I know where I am."
[shop unavailable]
[perks unavailable]
[transmigration status '@*$%….]
[...]
[ERROR DETECTED]
[ASSISTANCE REQUESTED]
"No, thank you, I'm fine."
[ASSISTANCE REQUESTED]
[ASSISTANCE CONFIRMED]
[THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION. THIS SYSTEM WILL NOW TEMPORARILY TERMINATE]
A small sound echoed throughout the room, like an old-fashioned TV screen turning itself off, and the sparkling screen disappeared from sight.
The silence left behind was truly pregnant, perhaps with triplets.
Delphina de Velasques began to yank at her hair in frustration, before slumping back into the armchair.
"Well, at least this system was… Neutral enough, who knows what I'll get with whatever assistance was requested and confirmed? And Delphina? I've ended up in Delphina of all characters, truly, I think I'd rather off myself now than play along with her route."
"Is it too late to kill myself? The transmigration status wasn't confirmed, so I might disappear this time if I try it. I'm tired, but I'm not that tired."
"But the system said, 'The World' of Mareveil. That's a good sign. If we think of tropes, I know which one this might fall under. Thank the Gods it not limited to that shitty adult otome game."
Delphina stood up from the chair, reaching around to flick through the books behind. After finding nothing she was particularly looking for besides some history books she would most certainly be reading later, she headed towards the desk.
Despite the desk and small living room not being separated from the bedroom by any walls, and instead sunk into a conversation pit-like area, they were still clearly well-stocked and maintained.
"There's no way Delphina does this herself; she simply doesn't have the time."
Reaching for some rather expensive pressed paper and a clunky ink pen, Delphina began to write out her thoughts.
- The Game: Lovers of Mareveil is being called The World of Mareveil. Probably the trope- this is an alternate reality, not the game/the game was a window into 'The World' that Mareveil makes up.
- Lovers of Mareveil was a crappy 19-Gold Korean/Japanese collaboration on Western romance in the Fantasy subgenre. But there are clearly steampunk elements here in the actual 'World' of Mareveil.
- The difficulty for this world is SSS.
- Delphina dies or goes missing in every game route despite being a Sword Master.
- Delphina is regarded mainly as the game's villainess despite her lacklustre endings…
- Avoid the heroine and her boy toys??? But Delphina's twin Pietro is one of them…
- Following the law of tropes, there's more going on in the de Velasques family, hidden capture targets, Delphina's past, maybe with Pietro too?
"Wow, how do I even remember some of this crap. Thank you, brain, really remember the important things, don't you? Or was it because this game ended up being so hardcore and dirty, it's just never left…"
The silence, already heavy with triplets, was struggling to cope with what might become quadruplets at this rate, as Delphina was also struggling with her thoughts.
Long story short, Delphina <3 Pietro and tried to commit twincest…
Delphina dry heaved as she finished writing this simple sentence.
"Ugh, Nobility and the Incest trope is the fucking worst, bleh. I know it was the Japanese producers who pushed for it. Didn't she unironically call him oppa/onii-chan depending on which outfit you took as the heroine?"
"In all fairness, though, there were plenty of other hardcore tropes it immediately broached with the heroine and her boy toys. Wasn't the 'large age-gap', 'beast man', and 'size queen' tropes the routes people pushed for the most? Heavens above why do I still remember this utter crap".
- People can live for up to 200 years if they're Sword Masters. 150 max if untrained.
- The World will end if you take the wrong route.
- There's no magic, but there's The Gates.
- Everyone drinks Absinthe…
- Everyone's good-looking, but only the main characters stand out.
"Okay, I can't remember anything else at this point. But I'm sure reading through the history books will bring up memories. I wonder how The Gates work actually in the World rather than the Game."
Delphina let out a heavy sigh and moved to the small sofa and low table combination that was off to the side in the conversation pit.
"I'm forgetting something important."
Looking up towards the bed and its drapes, Delphina noticed something odd about the layout once again.
"Wow, that armchair really is a cuck chair, isn't it?"