Translator: Shizukuku

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 122 – The More You Know

“I wonder if reading these [ Fundamentals of Swordsmanship ] books will make me a better swordsman.”

I picked up one of the books on swordsmanship and flipped through its contents.

Vidello-san’s bookshelf was filled with quite a few instruction manuals on swordsmanship. They weren’t neatly bound books but had a rather homemade feel.

“I don’t think it’s possible to improve just by reading about it. Does Mac want to improve his sword skills?”

“Yeah. I eventually want to visit the elf village, and I probably won’t make it there unless I improve my skills.”

“Elf village…? Isn’t that considered a legend?”

“Yeah, but it exists. It’s supposedly Emily-san’s hometown. It’s said to be a treasure trove of alchemy materials.”

“Alchemy, huh?”

Vidello-san’s face scrunched up in a worried frown.

Yeah, that’s right. I’m really weak right now.

“I think if you keep at it, you could definitely make some progress in your sword skills. However, everyone has their limits. Maybe, Mac, you should start by building up muscles first before focusing on the sword. Work on it until the sword feels lighter.”

“Muscles, huh…”

I touched Vidello-san’s biceps as he stood next to me.

I loved muscles. If I could have them, I would.

However, there was a lingering fear from back in middle school when Yuuta told me, “They say if you build muscles first, you won’t grow taller.” It struck me hard, and since then, putting on even a bit of muscle was scary. After all, I was still in my growing years. Definitely on the brink of a growth spurt!

“What’s the matter?”

“Well, a while back, I heard that if you put on muscle, you won’t grow taller.”

When I said this to Vidello-san, he burst into laughter. He pulled me close, his beautifully muscled arms hugging my shoulders.

“Who told you that? That’s not true. I’ve been learning to use a sword since I was little, and I’ve grown a lot. I believe that training has actually helped with my height. When you put effort into your training, the bones in your knees and elbows grow with a cracking sound. It hurt so much I couldn’t sleep at first, but it was worth it.”

“Wait, I’ve never experienced that kind of growth pain. I’ll give it my all, then. I want at least a little more height.”

Even now, our height difference was 15 centimeters. And I was still about 5 centimeters taller than I was in reality. I’ve decided. I’m going to do muscle training. I’m going to do a lot of muscle training.

“I’ll train my muscles until I can look down on Vidello-san.”

“I look forward to that.”

Even if I did get bigger, I hoped Vidello-san wouldn’t start disliking me. He often said that I was small and cute. If I became bigger, he might not like me!　

Vidello-san was still laughing, and I found myself laughing along, my eyes following the books on the shelf. Of course, his arms were still wrapped around me. I was enjoying his biceps.

As I glanced down, I noticed books on etiquette and other subjects an aristocrat would read. The ones on the lower shelf had beautiful bindings.

“I just randomly picked up a few books from my father’s room. I kept a handful of them, but the rest, I sold.”

“Your father’s?”

His father must have been an aristocrat. Commoners and people who lived in the city wouldn’t have much use for etiquette-related books.

Gently wrapping my arms around Vidello-san’s waist, he responded by dropping a kiss on my head, as if reassuring me that everything was okay.

In the corner of his father’s heirloom books, there was an additional thin book without a spine. 

Somehow, it caught my attention, and I reached out to take a closer look.

“This is…?”

As I reached for the book, Vidello-san’s hand got there first. 

Feeling a bit cautious, thinking it might be something private, I pulled my hand away. Vidello-san smoothly took the book out.

Then he flipped open the blank cover.

“Eh… these characters…”

There, written on the page, were familiar characters for us players; it was English.

Basically, the in-game text was based on the language and characters used in this world. With the translation function, communication and reading text were made possible. So, things like signs used characters that I’d never encountered in reality. The names of the towns themselves, which were 1 through 10 in Italian, sounded somewhat strange to me, but maybe in the original language, those town names would sound completely different. The details on how this worked were somewhat unclear to me.

But this was the first time I had ever seen English characters while logged in.

I couldn’t help but look at them.

“They are strange letters, aren’t they? I can read them because my mother taught me. Since half of my blood comes from the country that uses this script, my mother taught it to me when I was little.”

As Vidello-san said this, he traced a line with his finger on the page while speaking fluent English into my ear.

I was stunned.

For some reason, the translation function didn’t work, and only English was coming into my ears.

That language… it was a language from my world.

Half of his blood came from that country. Maybe what Monto-san said was true after all.

What could this mean? Was it just part of the setting? But it seems too intricate and malicious for a mere setting.

That was why I thought it might not be just a simple matter of worldbuilding.

Both worlds could be real, and maybe this wasn’t an isolated virtual space. Maybe Vidello-san’s mother somehow ended up here from the other world.

Perhaps even Vidello-san himself could…

But…

I leaned my cheek against Vidello-san’s arm, which was wrapped around my shoulder.

Even if that was the case, Vidello-san’s home was here, and my place was over there. I used gear to control my body as an avatar, so for Vidello-san, I was the fake.

“[ I wish for this child to be happy ]… That’s what it says.”

Those words were on the first page. They must have been words straight from Vidello-san’s mother’s heart.

When I said that, I heard Vidello-san draw a sharp breath.

“Is it… from Mac’s place, those characters…?”

I nodded silently. The truth was, since I was from Japan, it was technically a different country, but it was definitely the language of my world.

Vidello-san responded to my nod with a simple “I see…” so I couldn’t quite grasp what Vidello-san was thinking right now.

My head was a little messed up too, so I didn’t know what to say.

If Vidello-san’s mother was still alive and had somehow returned to our world, she was probably genuinely wishing for Vidello-san’s happiness.

Based on that one sentence alone, it seemed very likely.

Vidello-san gently closed the book and put it back on the shelf. The contents were probably something written by his mother. So I couldn’t ask him to show it to me. I just followed the book with my eyes as it returned to its place on the shelf.

“Thank you for showing it to me, Vidello-san.”

I turned around in his arms and hugged Vidello-san’s waist.

I looked up and saw that Vidello-san also looked a little puzzled.

“No, but…”

Looking down at me, Vidello-san slowly closed his eyes and smiled. 

“It’s both a relief and a bit scary that I no longer have anything I have to hide from Mac.”

I understood that feeling.

After all, I still don’t look like my real self. This avatar is an exaggeration.

I’m really 5cm shorter. And my face. It’s a bit more baby-faced. I felt like anyone who saw me would assume I didn’t have those interests, wasn’t mature, and wouldn’t want to get involved.

That kind of fear was real.

“I’m actually not that good at school and I’m terrible at studying. Also, I can’t eat steak if it’s red. And I don’t like fried tofu. I’m not good at sports either. My hobby is gaming, but I don’t dislike reading books. My complex is that I am small. My mom is really tiny, and my dad isn’t that tall either, so honestly, I’ve kind of given up on growing taller.”

While we were still in each others’ embrace, I started rambling on about the me from the other world.

I didn’t really want to talk too much about what I was like when I was logged out. 

But for some reason, I wanted Vidello-san to know about it, just a little.

Just like how Vidello-san shared something that he didn’t want to talk about.

“My mom is only 145cm tall. She’s even 20 centimeters shorter than me.”

“That’s… she’s quite small. Like a child, she sounds cute.”

“If Vidello-san wants to know, I’ll tell you anything. If you don’t want to ask, I won’t tell you. So…”

I was about to continue speaking when Vidello-san’s lips silenced me with a kiss.

The way his lips nibbled mine instinctively made me close my eyes and open my mouth.

After a few moments of enjoying the kiss and Vidello-san’s fingers running through my hair, his mouth pulled away.

“Whoever Mac is, I love you.”

“I love you too. No matter what secrets you may have, Vidello-san, I love you.”

“Secrets… I haven’t done anything wrong, you know.”

Seeing Vidello-san chuckling, my heart lifted just a bit.

After Vidello-san escorted me back to my workshop, I sat alone in a chair in the workshop and let out a sigh.

The more I learned about Vidello-san, the more confused I became.

I wondered if Vidello-san’s mother was really alive in the real world.

The English characters from earlier were still imprinted in my mind. 

I wished someone, anyone, would tell me the truth. 

Was this place virtual, or was it another world?