Princess Arisa's Isekai Struggle - Chapter 3
Chapter 3 - Down with Sexual Discrimination!
"Brother, it looks like we were spotted."
"Let's go in."
Two of the shotas enter the room.
Both of them are incredibly handsome. Third Prince Citam is 6 years older than me and looks like an honors student. Fourth Prince Dyude is 4 years older than me and looks like a troublemaker.
The Fifth Prince Eluus is still by the door and peeking inside. He's two years older than me and seems like the timid-type.
All three of them have super soft-looking blonde hair.
"This kid is our sister?"
"Wow, her hair is really that cursed color."
Hmm? What color did you say?
My vocabulary is still pretty weak.
"What's 'cursed color'?"
"Ah! She can talk!"
Well, yeah, of course I can talk... is how I wanted to respond internally.
Externally, I made use of my cute toddler face and added on a "Pretty please?"
"The color of unhappiness."
"The hated color."
The fourth prince starts pulling my hair.
--Ow, what the hell are you doing!
I stuff the honey-covered spoon into his mouth.
"Ah! Stop!"
"I'm not stopping until you give up."
After a short struggle, the fourth prince surrenders to me with tears forming in his eyes.
"Hmph, I win."
"A-Arisa?"
The third prince looks down on me in shock.
Oops, looks like my 'angelic imouto' strategy is falling apart before it even started.
No, wait, I still got this.
Arisa, you can do this!
"Onii-sama, what's wrong?"
"I-it's nothing."
Fuhahaha, my angelic smile is undefeatable.
I'll have no problems getting a boyfriend in this life.
"--Father."
I hear the youngest brother whisper quietly from the door.
Through the open door comes a handsome man who looks like the splitting image of a king.
He has the same blonde hair as my brothers.
And he seems pretty young, maybe in his 30s.
"Citam, Dyude, I told you to stay away from the cursed child!"
OK, I get it already. I didn't want to believe it, but there's no more room for doubt after seeing papa like that.
I'm the cursed child.
It must be because of this purple hair that my parents don't come to visit me.
Is it in fashion now for the gods to start you off with terrible luck?
I think I'd rather have easy mode.
While silently cursing god, I climb in bed and cover my head with the blanket.
That night--.
"...Arisa. My daughter who is fated to bring unhappiness."
A figure stands at the side of my bed.
"Keeping you away was the only thing your weak father and mother could do for you. All the blame lies with us."
His large hand brushes my purple hair.
"This was the only thing we could do to protect you from the fools who believe in the old superstitions."
By the time I woke up, I had forgotten the words said to me in my sleep. The next morning, I somehow felt a bit refreshed.
Time to keep working to improve my life as a princess.
◆
"Look over there!"
I throw in a little feint and blonde shota falls for it.
"Dammit, I lost again!"
"Ohohoho, looks like you're lacking in kung-fu."
I stand victoriously over the frustrated blonde shota, Fourth Prince Dyude.
"Ahaha, Dyude always falls for those tricks.
I'm currently playing around with Third Prince Citam and Dyude in my room.
Although our first meeting was cut short by the king, they've been coming over to my building rather frequently since then. Apparently they use some royalty-exclusive secret passage.
First, I fed them lots of sweet honey. Then, I grabbed their hearts by teaching them about children's games from Japan.
I should try telling them some Japanese stories and fairy tales later too.
"Arisa, why do you know about all of these games?"
"Because I'm bored?"
Citam asks me a good question, but I dodge it by making a cute smile while tilting my head.
"Making games just because you're bored? That's still amazing!"
"You're so cheeky for someone that doesn't even ◇◇."
Citam seems impressed, but seeing that causes Dyude to get jealous.
Do you really love your brother that much?
"No bullying your sister."
Dyude looks like he's about to hit me, but he gets stopped by the dependable Citam.
"Tch, it's fine if it's Arisa."
Dyude whispers that to himself.
Uh no, that's not okay.
Wait, before I forget--.
"Is ◇◇ fun?"
Making the most innocent face possible, I ask Citam.
"It's not that fun."
"I know right. I'd rather be practicing my sword than ◇◇."
Citam responds with a wry smile and Dyude starts swinging around his hand like a sword.
I guess ◇◇ is studying then?
"What do you do for studying?"
I ask Citam again.
"Learning how to △△, and learning this country's ▽▽."
"What's △△?"
Maybe those are 'writing' and 'history'.
"Arisa is so stupid. You don't even know how to △△."
Shut your mouth, Dyude.
I take a look around the room, but there's no nothing to write on like a paper or a blackboard.
"This."
Citam takes a slip of paper out of his pouch and shows it to me.
Crude letters are written on it.
I see, so △△ must be writing.
"What's this?"
"Obviously, that's writing!"
"What does it say?"
After hearing my question, the arrogant Dyude shuts his mouth.
It looks like it's something he doesn't know either.
Well, no matter. The field is set--.
"Nii-sama! I want to learn writing too!"
I raise one hand while jumping.
Shota brother, it's time for you to fall for your moe imouto!
I wait for Citam's response while doing an evil laugh internally.
"Sorry, Arisa."
"You're such an idiot. Women don't need to learn how to write."
Dyude starts laughing at me, interrupting Citam's apology.
So this country still has the antiquated idea that women don't need to go to school.
I had expected some discrimination since it's a fantasy world with swords and magic, but this is more bothersome than I had thought.
I face my head down while covering my mouth with my hand, then yawn a little bit.
"Pretty please?"
I beg them with tears at the corners of my eyes and the two shota princes broke. They ended up agreeing to let me hide in their room so that I could listen in on their lessons.
As usual, cute is justice!
Since we used the secret passage to move between my detached building and the castle, I didn't see anyone else on the way there.
The passage was surprisingly clean and there weren't any spiders.
"Nii-sama, does anyone clean this place?"
"No way. The only people that can come through here are royalty.
Well, I guess that's true. It's supposed to be used as an emergency escape route.
If no one is cleaning it up, then maybe some large adult passed through recently.
We arrive at Citam's luxurious room, and I hide in a drawer. Thus began my lessons.
I learned all about this country's math, language, and society. My brothers probably didn't even understand half of it because of how young they are.
I was shocked to find out that slavery is still a thing here.
Luckily, I was born a princess. Working your way up from slavery would be practically impossible.
I learned about the military, the surrounding countries, dangerous monsters. Also about the demon lords and heroes.
Unfortunately, they did not have the magic class that I was looking forward to.
There are few mages in this country, and most of them can only use something called Convenience Magic. That's why even the military only has a handful of mages.
The royal wizard even had to study abroad in one of the larger countries, like Shiga Kingdom to the south, or Saga Empire to the north.
Most of the subjects were pretty boring, but I have gained a lot of new vocabulary. Also if someone asks me why I know something, I can use the excuse that I learned it in class.
"Hey Nii-sama, did you find out why purple is considered a cursed color?"
The three young princes didn't seem to know, so I asked them to find out the reason from the king or the instructor.
"Father just said 'You don't need to know', and the instructor..."
The instructor apparently just dodged the question.
It looks like he doesn't want to say. That, or he really just doesn't know.
This purple hair is really mysterious. I've tried to dye it, but for some reason it doesn't stick.
Now that I think about it...
I remember back to the god that reincarnated me. That purple ball of light crosses my mind.
Is it possible that god is hated in this world...? Well I don't have any evidence to prove it either way, so there's not much point in making such wild guesses.
I request my brothers to ask anyone else they think would know.
Lili is going to start worrying about me soon, so I should head back now.
"Are you alright by yourself?"
"I'm fine, don't worry. I've been doing this for like a month."
I decline my brother's help, and confidently head back to the detached building by myself.
"--I'm lost."
That's weird.
I followed the same route as usual. Did I screw up somewhere?
I cross my arms to think about what I'm going to do next when I hear the faint voices of people talking.
"So, what is ---?"
"Make --- you don't --- anyone."
This conversation sounds kinda ominous.
Driven by curiosity, I tip-toe closer to listen in to the conversation.
I see a gap in the wall with a bit of light slipping through. The voice must be coming through this gap.
Bringing my face closer to the gap, I peek inside.
There is an adult man, and a high school age young man, sitting and facing each other.
I can only see the adult's back, but I can see the young man's face.
--He looks like my brothers.
I use [Status Check] on the two and learn that they are the king and the first prince.
"This is a secret only known by the king and the crown prince."
After hearing that, I thought to myself "Isn't this pretty bad?". But I eventually gave into the curiosity and continued eavesdropping on their conversation.
"The king is the king because he controls the City Core."
The City Core... That must be just what it sounds like, the main controller for a city.
I heard in class about the Dungeon Core that is supposed to be at the bottom level of each labyrinth. This must be the city version of that.
"The City Core?"
The king orders the first prince to remain silent until the end of the explanation.
"--Beneath the castle, there is a secret area called the City Core Room. The person who inherits the throne will also inherit the City Core. Then, they will be able to wield its godly powers."
This sounds like the 'king's protection' that I heard from Lili before.
The king continued on to explain the abilities of the City Core, as well as the leylines and mana source that supply it.
It's like I accidentally bumped into a pile of the world's secrets.
"One last thing, make sure you remember this--."
I had thought he was finished, but the king looks into the first prince's eyes and starts talking again.
"--Someone who has received a baptism from a god is unable to inherit the City Core. Once you have confirmed an heir, you should have the other princes baptized."
With that, the king stops for good.
"Is that why you stopped the priest from using Holy Magic when Teresa was pregnant?"
"That's right. It should not be able to affect an unborn child, but our country's analyzers are not skilled enough to confirm if that is the case. You should distance your wife from Holy Magic and blessings when she is pregnant. At least until you have two potential heirs."
"Understood."
It looks like the two are finally finished, and they exit the room.
Actually--.
Why is it that you can't inherit a City Core if you've been baptized?
In the end, the king never said anything about the reason.
I guess the first prince wasn't considering that either, since he never asked.
Well, I guess it doesn't matter to me.
WIth this country's discrimination against women, there's no way a princess like me will ever inherit the throne.
"That's not a flag!"
I mutter that to myself to brush off the feeling of dread that was creeping up on me.
I somehow managed to return to my building before dinner time.
By the time I finally found the entrance to the secret passage, I was about ready to cry.
No more overconfidence!
◆
"Wow, everything is covered in dust."
Today I was invited by the troublemaker Fourth Prince Dyude to one of the old storerooms at the castle. The timid Fifth Prince Eluus is here too.
Third Prince Citam probably would have stopped us, but he's out touring the nearby towns and villages with the king.
"What the heck is this?"
"Ugh, a spider web."
Gegeh, I can't stand spiders.
They have no right to live.
I don't care if they are 'beneficial'.
Just search and destroy.
--Oh hey.
That book has a pretty nice looking cover.
I cheerfully walk towards the shelf it is on.
"Arisa, be careful since the floor is pretty fragile over there."
"Yeah yeah."
I give an absentminded response to the Dyude as I reach my hand towards the book.
--You're mine now.
I use both of my hands to pick up the heavy book.
Looking down at the book, I see something sitting on it and waving hello to me.
"Spideeeer!!"
I quickly throw the book down and step back, crashing into a pile of junk.
--*creak*
Crap.
Before I could react to the sound, the floor collapses under me. I fall into the lower level along with the junk.
Luckily, the lower floor had a bunch of stuff piled up close to the ceiling. If I had landed on the floor rather than that pile of stuff, I may have gotten seriously hurt.
I should really be more careful if I don't want to get sent back to the cycle of reincarnation so soon.
"Arisa, are you still alive?!"
"Arisa!"
Behind a thick cloud of dust, I see the two shota princes looking down at me through the hole in the ceiling.
"I'm here!"
I still feel a bit dazed from the shock of falling, but I shout up to let them know that I am alright.
There's so much dust flying around now that I start coughing violently.
I shake myself awake and quickly take out a handkerchief to cover my mouth.
"Wait there! I'll get an adult!"
"Everything will be okay!"
The two shout back at me.
These guys are more reliable than I thought they would be.
I'm surprised the troublemaker prince acts so well under pressure.
After the two leave, I recover my senses and start taking a closer look at the surroundings.
"Oh, found it."
I stare at the book that caused me to fall.
"A dictionary, huh? Judging by this signature, it seems like it was a copy transcribed by one of my ancestors."
I use the little bit of light leaking from the hole in the ceiling to skim through the dictionary.
Hmm, this should be useful for improving my vocabulary.
"--Open."
I activate my [Item Box] skill.
A jet black square appears in front of my eyes, and I toss the dictionary in.
"Now then, are there any other books?"
Guess I'll do a bit of treasure hunting before they come rescue me.
I obtain a worn out old map, and a mountain of papers that looks like a receipt journal. The papers are completely covered with letters and numbers, so I didn't have time to examine them.
I continue past the piles of various artworks and junk, and I come up to a shelf with five books.
These books have degraded heavily over time, but even then I can tell that their bindings used to look splendid.
"I wonder what's written here."
It's too dark for reading this far in.
One by one, I toss my spoils into the Item Box.
I was worried that I might run out of MP, but it was just barely okay.
I'll take a closer look at them tomorrow.
◆
"--Psychic Magic?"
After getting rescued from the underground storeroom, the two princes and I got a harsh scolding. I wasn't able to take a look at my new treasures until the day after.
"Whoa, what's with this introduction?"
Reader of these cursed and forbidden texts. Wizard who lusts for the twisted powers to control the hearts of man. Vow that you will not use these spells to enrich yourself. If you cannot make that oath, then close this tome at once.
This magic looks like it's for brainwashing people.
I'm interested in magic, but this doesn't seem like my thing. I should only try it if I really have to.
Well the dictionary seems more useful anyways.
"And this pile of papers is--"
A bunch of taxation data from about 150 years ago. It contains a list of all the villages and towns, as well as what they produce.
It also contains information about what substitute foods they used in the case of a famine.
"Are famines really supposed to be that often in this country?"
In a 20-year period, there were three different famines.
"At that rate, I'm surprised there was never a revolution."
Mixed into the pile of papers was the diary of a tax officer. I start flipping through that as well.
It looks like he was also having trouble eating potatoes all the time.
These are like the same complaints I was making a while back...
"Wait a second."
I look at the dates in the diary, and compare them to tax documents.
"It seems like a famine occurs after each long period of mostly potatoes."
That sounds about right.
Judging from the tax documents, these potatoes don't seem to be a crop that is especially resistant to failure.
"--This is pretty bad."
We're in a period of potatoes right now. If they keep going like this without any crop rotation, there will eventually be a potato failure, causing a devastating famine.
I hope I'm just overthinking this, but Lili said that the king's protection won't be available this year either.
I should prepare a countermeasure just in case.
"Lili! Lili!"
I quickly rush over to Lili and ask her to call for Ben the gardener.
◆
"Four field crop rotation?"
"That's right! It's written right here. A long time ago, a king who hated potatoes came up with it."
I point to the tax documents and the dairy, as well as the dictionary as evidence.
Like Lili, Ben is illiterate. He doesn't know what's actually written in these.
I feel a bit bad for taking advantage of his ignorance, but his help is essential to this experiment.
"First is beans. The fields will get much better if you plant one field of beans. It'll help just as much as the mulch from before."
This country's farmers usually grow some kind of green peas-like bean crop, but I asked Ben to plant orc beans instead. This was one of the substitute foods mentioned in the tax data, and it's apparently similar to soybeans.
"Just plant beans?"
"Yes, that's what is written in these old documents."
"If it's so amazing, then why don't the people today know about it?"
This guy is pretty smart for someone that never had an education.
"That's simple. That's because the king's protection is much easier. Wasn't it pretty rough carrying all that mulch back?"
Ben nods at my words.
"I had to go make so many trips to the forest."
There obviously aren't any trucks here, so he must have had to transport the huge amounts of dirt manually.
People with the Item Box skill might be able to help, but there aren't nearly enough to carry as much as a truck.
"Then did you want to try experimenting with fertilizer as well?"
"Fertilizer?"
"Yeah, it's incomplete, but there's a little bit written in here about it. First, let's try doing a trial run with a small vegetable garden."
I tell them about fermenting the mixture of animal dung and straw, and they started giving me strange looks. I explained that I was pretty doubtful of it as well, and left the decision of whether to do it or not to Ben.
"Oh yeah, can't you use a carriage to transport the mulch?"
"It's too deep in the forest, so there's no roads that go in that far."
"What about a wheelbarrow?"
I'm not sure if wheelbarrow is actually a word here, so I just used something that sounded close.
"You make a container like this, and then a person pushes it from behind. It's much easier than carrying it manually."
They didn't understand the picture I drew, so I made a 3D figure of it using folded paper.
It was pretty hard to do without any glue.
"Wow, Arisa-sama is so talented."
"Do you think you can do it?"
I ask Ben if he's able to make the wheelbarrow. He says that he'll try to get the help of his carpenter and blacksmith cousins. They might be able to make a prototype out of spare parts.
And so my technological cheat strategy entered the second stage.
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