My family's greatest joy is when my elder brother returns home. How could it not be? Every time he comes back from his travels, the souvenirs he brings always overwhelm us with their sheer abundance. However, apart from money and new household items, most of his other gifts are hardly useful.
For example, the gifts he gives me. He never seems to match them with my hobbies or interests, even though he should know a lot about them since he used to live here. From character figures, comics, to posters, none of them really suit my taste. Until the last time, he even gave me a naked woman cartoon bolster, despite knowing that I am a girl.
I once suspected that my future gifts would be even more repulsive than all of that. However, I was wrong. Six months ago, he surprised me with a complete computer set as a birthday present. Perhaps he thought it would be going too far to give me morally questionable items for my seventeenth birthday, so he just handed over his old computer to me.
Of course, only the computer is truly useful. Everything else ends up being just decorations or even trash.
This time around, the gifts didn't change my earlier statement. What I received was a book and a video game disc. Interestingly, both the book and the game have the same title, "Sophia's Story" for the novel, and "Sophia's Story: Rev." for the game.
At a glance, I can speculate on what might be the reason for the "Rev." in the game's title. It could be an abbreviation for "revolution" or "revision." It could also be "reverse," but based on the two cover illustrations, I believe the protagonist is still the same.
Anyway, whatever the actual meaning of "Rev." is, at least, we can glean some clues from the respective cover designs. The novel's illustration looks vintage, while the game's version appears more contemporary.
Then, is that all there is to it? Well, how would I know? After all, I just finished reading the novel right before having this long monologue. However, in its place, let me give you a brief overview of the novel.
The story revolves around a girl named Sophia. She used to be the daughter of a landlord in the countryside, but after both her parents died in an accident, she was raised by her wicked aunt. That's what caused her to have a past filled with neglect.
After completing her basic education, she attends an academy in the imperial capital, having handed over all the remaining inheritance to her wicked aunt's family. Consequently, in this novel, Sophia is portrayed as a poor individual who values money greatly.
One day, Sophia witnessed the Crown Prince, who was her classmate at the academy, brushing off the lunch prepared by his fiancée, the antagonist Duke's Daughter. Seeing the food scattered and trampled, Sophia, infuriated, approached and scolded the Prince. Coincidentally, she was the only one bold enough to reprimand the arrogant young man, which eventually piqued his interest in her.
I suppose there's no need to explain the rest, as you probably already know how these kinds of stories unfold. So, let's skip ahead to the ending part.
Under the charge of lèse-majesté, the Duke's Daughter was exiled abroad instead of being sentenced to death. The Emperor, whose health worsened, passed away in the epilogue. Although not explicitly mentioned, it's evident that the Crown Prince would soon ascend the throne as the new Emperor.
Now, I can't help but wonder. Isn't it a concern to hand over the throne to a young man whose only preoccupation seems to be with romancing a girl from the countryside? Sure, I understand that there will be ministers overseeing his actions. However, that doesn't solve all the problems.
Nevertheless, this story revolves around Sophia. It seems impossible that in this sweet tale, there would be a tragedy where Sophia's love falters due to the disparity in their status.
She will undoubtedly become the Empress. In both the good and the bad sense of it.
On one hand, I'm glad that Sophia gets to be with her true love. However, on the other hand, I'm worried about the fate of the empire.
I can't fathom how the company where my brother works could create a game based on such an absurd novel. If it weren't for the captivating visuals of the beautiful protagonist, I'm certain this game wouldn't sell.
Hopefully, the addition of "Rev." in the title is indeed an abbreviation for "revision." Moreover, in this game version, it seems to offer alternative routes for other male partners besides the Crown Prince. I hope these additional story routes can make up for the shortcomings in the main route.
Sitting in front of my brother's old computer, I gaze at the monitor screen, waiting for the loading screen to switch to main menu of the game while listening to the background music, which has a fantasy-themed orchestral feel.
As the loading screen reached one hundred percent, the display dimmed, then went black. The only contrasting color on the screen was the cursor. Strangely, it had been more than ten minutes, and there was still no change.
Could the game be broken? Well, before jumping to conclusions, it's possible that the computer itself is too old.
I minimized the game window and returned to the desktop. After trying the refresh command several times, even though I knew it wouldn't be of any use, I maximized the game window again.
The screen remained dark.
Suddenly, everything around me turned dark as well.
It's nighttime now, and it seems that the power is out. I tried reaching for my phone, which I had placed next to the mouse earlier, but my hand couldn't seem to find it.
Strange.
I walked toward the door, trying to recall its position. After my hand finally grasped the doorknob, I opened it.
The door creaked loudly as it swung open, and a burst of light from outside penetrated the darkness of the room. My eyes were momentarily blinded by the intense light. Then, as my vision returned to normal, I realized that something peculiar had happened all around me.
It's like... I don't remember moving into a treehouse. Besides, wasn't it just nighttime? Moreover, why do I suddenly feel the urge to use the bathroom?
I turned around to check the room... only to find it vanished into thin air. Even the doorknob had transformed into a rope handle. Beyond this treehouse door, there was no furniture except for a few pieces of cloth and a book on a wooden plank.
The book had a leather cover with a green gemstone in the middle. I went back inside and picked up the book, then opened it.
As I suspected, it was blank. Not a drop of ink stained the pages.
I feel familiar with this object, as well as the ambiance. It's as if I've seen it somewhere before. Even faintly, I know what will happen next. If my guess is right, someone will come here shortly.
"Martha, are you up there?"
In less than ten seconds, my prediction came true.
"Yes!" I replied.
"Step out for a moment!" the voice from outside commanded. "I brought the water!"
Honestly, I was torn; I needed to use the bathroom urgently, but I felt like I would miss something important if I ignored her instruction.
After placing the book back where it was, I stepped out of the treehouse. From the veranda, I saw a little girl. Her hair was short and white, and her eyes were a beautiful deep blue like the ocean. In her left hand, she held a leather pouch that likely contained water, just as she mentioned earlier.
"I'm going to throw it to you, okay!" she said.
Indeed, she was going to throw the pouch, and somehow, I would manage to catch it.
"Ah, okay!"
The girl then threw her water pouch. The trajectory of the throw was precisely where my hands were, as if it were impossible not to catch it.
"...I-I got it!" I shouted, echoing the words that appeared in my memory. So, she would soon climb up the rope ladder and appear through the side terrace.
Oh dear, I really need to use the bathroom....
By the way, my previous guess was also correct; the girl hurriedly climbed up the rope ladder. Once she reached the top, she immediately entered the treehouse and took the only book there. Opening the middle pages, she then poured water onto the book.
"Wow... magical!" she exclaimed joyfully.
Suddenly, words appeared as if by magic. They were written in an unreadable script, and the sentences formed a circular pattern in the middle of the two pages.
From the center, a white light emanated, spreading all the way to the edges of the book's letters. After the white light faded, a new light emerged. This time, the light was a dark purple glow, pulsating instead of radiating.
After that... let's try to remember. The white and dark purple lights will alternate, becoming faster with time.
Yes, now they are quite fast.
And then... what was it again?
Oh my goodness, I really need to use the bathroom!
Oh, right. The book will explode with intense light and be completely destroyed.
Explode?
Instinctively, I grabbed the back of the girl's clothes, intending to pull her out of the treehouse. However, it seemed there wouldn't be enough time. So, I just hugged her from behind as she faced away from the book, which was now flashing wildly.
"Close your eyes and ears, Sophia!"