04 - Similar Does Not Mean Same

The first day of enrollment is over, and I'm heading home.

Suddenly being transported into this game against my will, I make my way towards the dormitory where my room should be. I need a calm space to settle down and ponder over the bizarre turn my life has taken.

This adventurer academy draws students from all corners around the globe, so most reside in dormitories near the academy. I wonder if I'm assigned to a dormitory as well...

"Well... was it Garcia? You're not listed in the dorm. Are you commuting from home?"

"Um... Where exactly is 'home'? Could you tell me my address?"

Checking the room allocation table at the dormitory entrance, Theodore Garcia's name was nowhere to be found. When I asked the dormitory manager about it, I learned that indeed, he commutes from home.

The manager handed me an admission pamphlet for the adventurer's school with a hint of pity, whispering, "you're still young..." As I flipped through it, I recognized a location that seemed familiar. The world of The Conquest was modeled after virtual Japan from nearly the same era.

I'd visited this area in the real world, a serene park with vistas of mountains and sea, nestled in a quiet residential neighborhood. Yet, the view from the school now showed bustling buildings and condominiums. Pondering deeply, I couldn't find an answer. I thanked the manager and marked my home on the map.

'But similar, does not mean same!'

Passing through the strict, sturdy main gate, the school's surroundings transformed into a downtown area bustling with hotels, department stores, and commercial complexes. At first glance, it resembled the streets of my former world. But observing the passers-by, armored figures carrying large weapons made it unmistakably clear: this was The Conquest's world.

After about five minutes of walking through this lively cityscape, I reached my destination address.

The first floor of the mansion houses an elegant foyer, adorned with a grand chandelier and intricate marble flooring. Above the arched entrance, a subtle plaque reads "Garcias Residence". Despite its title as a mansion, the surname engraved on the plaque is unmistakably "Garcia". However, the presence of a sleek luxury car parked out front hints at shared occupancy rather than sole residency...

'Is it alright to enter here? But I'm hesitant to step into an unfamiliar house...'

Somehow, I managed to summon a faint memory. As I gazed at the building before me, a sense of déjà vu washed over me, akin to the comfort of my parents' home. In reality, this was Garcia's parents' residence.

After lingering outside the mansion for a while, a woman wearing a white apron, around 30 years old, called out from the front door.

"Oh, Theo. I almost mistook you for a suspicious person."

"Well... I'm home."

She had a gentle face and a slender figure. She seemed far from the image I had of Garcia's mother, who I remembered as chubby. Yet, memories confirmed that this beautiful 30-year-old was indeed his mother!

"Welcome back, big brother~"

Emerging from behind her, a girl with short, youthful hair and a large hoodie, possibly in upper elementary or junior high, greeted me. She was also quite adorable... Addressing me as "big brother," this girl was undoubtedly Garcia's younger sister!

"You seem surprised... Is something the matter?"

"Ah... No, it's nothing."

Indulging in such a mysterious feeling, I entered the fluttering house. The mother and daughter are talking in front of the fridge about what to do with today's meal, and they don't seem to care about me in particular.

My room is up the stairs, toward the back of the second floor.

Slowly, I've begun to understand how to access Garcia's memories. The process of recalling them is different from usual, as if I'm consciously tapping into another personality.

Normally, my thoughts are my own, and the memories that come to me immediately are from my original world. However, when interacting with people who had a strong impact on Garcia, like Akari Hoshimi or his family, Garcia's emotions can resurface unconsciously. These emotions are distinct from my own, making them easy to recognize.

For instance, I feel frustration when I think of Akari Hoshimi and relief when I see Garcia's mother and sister. Since I didn't have a beautiful lover or a family in my original world, these new, intense emotions are confusing.

Given this, it seems I haven't just taken over Garcia's body; I've also assimilated his memories and feelings.

I feel sorry for Garcia, who was abruptly taken over by a stranger from another world. Ideally, I'd like to leave quickly—if only I knew how. This situation is really the fault of The Conquest's developers.

Whether I find a way back or continue living as a scumbag in this world, I need to gather information and navigate this situation carefully.

Well, what should I start with?

—————————————

Garcia's room, located in the northeast, was dimly lit. When I entered, I was stunned by its luxury: beautiful marble floors, a big bed, a spacious layout, and even a TV, game console, and a high-end PC.

'What the hell?! This guy is actually rich!'

Looking around and sifting through Garcia's memories, I felt surprisingly at ease. For the first time, I realized how nervously I had been holding myself because of the sudden transition. I threw my stuff on the bed and sighed in relief.

Despite the initial comfort, the room was half a garbage dump, with discarded clothes, bottles of Coke, piles of comics, and some hidden adult magazines. I had no choice but to clean up the mess while turning on the TV.

'Maybe just a little peek at the magazine is fine, right? This isn't lust! Just sudden curiosity, nothing more!'

I opened one of the magazines and glanced through it for about ten seconds. What struck me was that most of the girls inside resembled Akari.

'Damn, Garcia really loves her, doesn't he? No wonder he got so angry when the MC told him to leave.'

On the TV screen, a well-dressed man was speaking on the platform of the Diet. At the bottom of the screen, his name and title were displayed: he was a senator and a count.

'Count? '

The world setting of "The Conquest" is modeled after Japan. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not, but it's a good thing. It is more like the pre-war Empire of Japan, with its coercive and militaristic politics and aristocratic system.

First of all, the political system is based on the House of Peers, which is the upper house of the Diet for the nobility only, and the House of Representatives, which is the lower house for the common people. The aristocracy does not own land, but it is not just a title. The aristocracy also has a number of vested interests and powerful social privileges, such as not being judged by the judiciary and being able to exercise political power according to their titles.

There are a number of aristocrats and members of the noble families who serve them in the school, so you need to be careful when dealing with them. I don't think there's any such thing as a cut-and-dried exemption. The Garcia family is... a commoner? I don't think so with the wealth they have, they are rich but maybe they're just a normal wealth family with no association of politics or noble houses.

Looking into it further, it turns out this world is very similar to Japan up until the early Meiji period when dungeons first appeared. The names of the warlords from the Warring States period and the shoguns of the Tokugawa Shogunate match those in the history textbooks and terminals. The Meiji Restoration happened as we know it, but the emergence of dungeons altered the course of history, diverging from the familiar path to modern Japan.

I tried to research the current royal family and politicians, but none of their names matched those from post-Meiji Japan. Either the advent of dungeons changed the succession line, or this country, while inspired by pre-Meiji Japan, is fundamentally different. So far, it seems to be the latter, but I need to gather more information to be sure.

I changed the channel and came across a news report about a terrorist, seemingly an adventurer, kidnapping a politician. This incident, too, took place domestically. It's clear that this world is far less safe than Japan as I knew it.

In this world, a magical field was artificially created over a decade ago, but it only functions within its boundaries. Since then, there's been a significant issue with adventurers who, having leveled up extensively, are now immune to bullets, leading to problems with their use of force.

A number of terrorist groups have recruited adventurers to make political statements, while nations have trained their own adventurers to counter these threats. Adventurers with superhuman physical abilities are reportedly active in the fields of diplomacy and intelligence, operating in the shadows.

This is the age of the adventurer!

What can I say? Tck, tck, tck!

In sports, the magic field detection system has been introduced to prevent physical enhancements and ensure fairness. I'd love to see a soccer game played by someone capable of defeating a giant dragon.

I turned off the TV and picked up a newspaper that had fallen. The date on it was... four years ago?

When I checked today's date on my arm device, I realized that this was actually yesterday's newspaper.

Four years ago was around the time when The Conquest was released. What does that have to do with anything?

I thought that if I could rewind time, I could cheat on stock prices, so I looked at the economic page of the newspaper. There were a few companies I recognized, but they all had familiar names, as the zaibatsu affiliates seemed to control the economy.

Next, I checked the Internet on the PC in my room. I found nothing unusual on the usual news and video sites. But as I browsed various sites, I noticed something strange. There were some gravure-like images of women posing in their underwear, but no nude images at all. It seems censorship is very strict here. I can't imagine a country developing well if it restricts thought and freedom like this!

"I'LL NEVER FORGIVE THE JAPANESE IN THIS WORLD!!!"

"Are you okay Theo?! Why are you yelling?" My mother asking from downstair.

"Ah, no! I'm fine! Just accidentally bump my feet!"

"Be careful there sweetie!"

Okay that was embarrassing..

In light of the above, this country can be described as a virtual Japan where the political system of pre-war Japan has persisted. The country's history aligns with Japan's up until the Meiji era, but it diverges significantly from the Taisho and early Showa periods due to the emergence of dungeons.

In this world, Japan avoided a decisive defeat in World War II, yet its territory remains the same as present-day Japan. It's puzzling how they could have surrendered former Japanese territories without an unconditional surrender.

In the game, this was merely a world setting, and I didn't give it much thought. But being transported to such a world makes it a different story.

The discovery of the dungeon that led to the creation of this virtual Japan is intriguing, like reading the game's backstory. However, the reality is that this world is in a very troublesome and unstable state. A world overrun by superhumans with their own agendas is problematic no matter how you look at it.

Despite adventurers being under the control of the Adventurer's Guild, the political situation and public order are deteriorating due to terrorists and rogue adventurers. There is even a possibility that human rights are ambiguous in this country where nobles hold power. We need to quickly adapt our understanding of human rights, judicial decisions, and law enforcement, recognizing that the norms of our society may differ from those of original Japan.

And let's not forget that this world is "The Conquest". This means that scenarios and events from the game can happen in real life at the Adventurer's Academy or anywhere else in the world.

The familiar "Kazami Event" occurred early in the game, and it played out exactly as I remembered. This is definite proof that what happens in the game also happens in this world. Well, to be honest, I don't really care about the Kazami event. Its outcome doesn't affect me much.

But in The Conquest, depending on the scenario, there could be conflicts with intelligence forces, national-level wars, or even catastrophic events where entire dungeon areas are cleared. Honestly, I don't think I could handle it if any of those happened.

Another problem is that the main character is in the same class as me. While I might be able to avoid some individual catastrophic scenarios, events that occur in the main storyline of the game may be inevitable.

It's ironic that such dangerous events are exciting in a game, but when they become reality, they are nothing but trouble.

I should quickly dive into the dungeon and raise my level to prepare for any future challenges. Tomorrow and the day after are school holidays, and I have no assignments. I have plenty of time to dive into the dungeon. Besides, I'm eager to explore and play in the dungeon.

It took me about an hour to finally finish cleaning while pondering these thoughts. In the corner of the room, I had a pile of garbage neatly tied up and sorted. I'll have to take this out on garbage day.

While cleaning, I found a «Contract Scroll» which seems to be a marriage contract for Akari and Theo. It looks like an ordinary piece of colored paper, but since it's called a contract scroll, I wonder if there's some kind of magic on it.

After looking into Garcia's memory, it seems to be a simple childhood promise he made to Akari. It's not a «Contract Scroll»; it's just a cute promise from when they were kids: "When I grow up, I'll be your wife, Garcia!"

Damn! Garcia is incredibly lucky to have such a cute girl as his childhood friend! It was unfortunate for him, she was fated to depart with Garcia, no matter what.

Since I believe this scroll is a memento, I won't throw it away. Instead, I'll store it in the back of my wardrobe.