Author: TA☆KA	Original Source: Kakuyomu / Syosetu
Translator: Jiro	English Source: Re:Library

Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

Susie let out a small, relieved smile. Howard placed his hand on her shoulder to try and reassure her, “It’s okay,” he said with a gentle smile.

Hearing Howard’s confirmation, Susie was now ready to sit down. As she settled in, she examined the device Henry had handed her, raising her eyebrows in confusion.

(Brass knuckles? What am I supposed to do with these? Beat someone???) she wondered.

“Place your fingers here and tightly squeeze your hands.” Henry instructed. Although they looked somewhat like brass knuckles, the grip was cylindrical, almost as if a set of finger holes had been added to a bicycle’s handles.

Susie, the knuckles on her hands, slowly clenched her fists and leaned back in the chair.

“Alright, let’s begin. Sir Cloud, please sit down here.”

Henry said, showing Howard to a chair, after which he went over to the pipe organ and began adjusting it. Looking more closely at the organ, Susie could see that there were equalizing levers just above the keyboard. Henry was fine-tuning those by one.

Then, as if in response to Henry’s adjustments, the countless pipes atop the organ began to glow one by one. Gradually, light flowed into the grooves on the floor, reaching Susie’s chair and surrounding it in a growing aura of brilliance.

(Huh? I’m getting warmer. I’m also a bit itchy, but it’s not unpleasant. Huh? Why do they seem so flustered? I guess it’s fine; I don’t get a sense of crisis from them. Besides, Sir Cloud’s here, so it should be fine. It feels like I’m soaking in lukewarm water. How much time has passed? Has it been 30 minutes? It only feels like 10 seconds have gone by. My sense of time is totally out of whack.)

“We’re ready. I’m sorry it took so long.”

Henry said, pulling Susie back to reality. Susie blinked, realizing over an hour had passed since she’d taken her seat. Howard looked at her with concern.

“You have a substantial amount of Mana.” Henry remarked, “Some of the smaller magic circles burned out from the feedback, and we had to spend extra time replacing them.”

Susie then noticed the several tubes lying by the organ.

Five or six brass-colored cylinders, some as thin as pencils and others as thick as markers, lay on the floor, blackened in the middle.

Henry explained that the tubes were known as Laminated Cylinder Magic Circles. By stacking several small magic circles within the tube, it could efficiently navigate power in a compact space with minimal Mana.

“Those things aside, your results are ready. Would you like to see them?” Henry asked, turning his face towards the slab placed on the table in front of Susie’s chair.

On the stone slab, rows of characters appeared, but Susie couldn’t read them, so she couldn’t help but ask for Henry’s help.

“I see. Let’s start with your name then. It’s displayed as Susie. You have no family name. You are 153 cm tall, and your weight, well, that’s confidential, of course.” Henry chuckled, “You are a 13-year-old female. Both your physical and magical potential are incredible. However, there is no mention of your place of origin or location. They don’t appear at all. That’s strange.”

“Henry, hold on. What do you mean they don’t appear?” Howard interjected, alarmed.

“I suspect she’s from a place that does not exist here. I suspected it, but to think that it’s true.”

“Explain yourself, Henry! What are you saying?” Howard pressured him for answers. Meanwhile, Susie’s mind was racing, filled with a mixture of confusion and wonder at the implications.

(13 years old?!!!!! NO WAY! I’m a child! This can’t be! No matter how you look at me, I’m a proper adult!!! Just look at this body! Am I really underage? A minor?! Am I the next Traci Lords or something?! What would people think if this got out? I can already see the headlines! A 32-year-old man did dirty stuff to a 13-year-old girl’s body! This is not funny at all! That’s a freaking crime!!! No, wait! They’re both me! I’m totally safe! Still, this reeks of it being a crime. God, I can’t believe this! Sir Howard and Miss Sonia’s reactions were spot on… I’m only 13 years old… WHAAAAAA!)

If one were to explain Susie’s current expression via a manga character, it would be one of those with round, wide eyes, jaw dropped to the floor, and lines upon lines of sweat streaming across her face due to the sheer shock.

Inside, she felt utterly shaken by the realization that she was underage.

Despite Susie’s inner upheaval, Howard and Henry continued their discussion.

“When I began looking into Susie, a few things stood out, so I began thinking, What if?”
“Things? What stood out?”
“Before that… Miss Susie, would you mind if I asked you a few more questions?”
“No… Do…”

Susie replied, snapping back to reality.

“I’m going to ask you a series of questions. Please answer each of them with a yes.”
“Okay…”

Susie nodded.

“Are you an adult?”
“Yes.”

The crystals at the four corners of the stone slab glowed red.

“Is your name Susie?”
“Yes.”

The crystals didn’t glow.

“Are you a man?”
“Yes.”

Susie was somewhat shocked by these questions, but she answered nonetheless, and the crystals glowed red.

“When you respond with something other than the truth, the crystals glow red. This is because a reaction occurs that points out the discrepancies with the etheric body’s information, allowing us to reveal the correct information about things you may or may not know.”
“Amazing…” Susie remarked.
“If you don’t mind, may I ask a few questions about your family, Miss Susie?”

(Oh, Sir Cloud is looking at me with such concern… I guess that’s normal. He’s been worried about my family since the start. He probably wants to know if my parents are okay… But I wonder what will come up.)

Susie’s body was that of a game character, meaning there was no way for her to have parents in the first place. Yet, she was here. Which led her to think that she might actually have parents in this world. Or maybe she really was all alone. Perhaps she had parents but was simply unaware of them. It was also possible that the device would take the information from the real world. The realm of such possibilities intrigued Susie.

“Please… do…” Susie agreed.

“Alright… Is your family alive and well?”
“Yes.”

The crystals didn’t glow.

“Are your parents still alive?”
“Yes.”

The crystals glowed red.

“Is your grandfather still alive?”
“Yes.”

The crystals didn’t glow.

“Is your grandmother still alive?”
“Yes.”

The crystals glowed red.

“Are your siblings alive?”
“Yes.”

The crystals didn’t glow.

・・・・・・・・・・・・
・・・・・・・・・・
・・・・・・・・

After asking several questions, Henry was able to confirm a few details. It appeared that Susie had never known her parents and had been raised by her grandfather, alongside several other children with whom she was not tied by blood.

(So that’s how it is… It’s following the role-play setting I set for this character! To think I’d follow that… It makes sense! Oh no, Sir Cloud is looking so down… I feel terrible for making him worry over such a stupid setting. Why did this setting become a reality? This is so strange. God, what should I do? Should I laugh it off?!!)

Susie tilted her head, doing her best to smile at Howard.

Seeing her cheerful expression, Howard tried to smile back despite the concern evident in his furrowed brow.

“I’m sorry it took this long; you must be exhausted, Miss Susie.”
“I… fine… Thank… you…”

Susie responded, thankful for Henry’s consideration.

“In that case, let me ask this final one, okay?”

Susie nodded.

“Miss Susie, are you a resident of this world¹?”
“! Yes!”

The crystals glowed red.

“I see…”
“Henry, what is going on?”
“Apparently, she is not from this world.”
“Henry, just what in the world are you saying?! That’s ludicrous!”
“The signs are all here. Remember the abnormalities in the Daypahra Mountains?”

“How is Susie related to that? She only showed up in the forest after that had happened! There’s no way they’re connected!”
“Several large Mana disturbances were recorded in the depths of the Great Iroshio Forest a few days before the anomaly in the mountains occurred. It was as if a strong spell had been cast.”
“What?! That’s the first I’ve heard of this!”
“That anomalies in Mana continued even after the incident. We’re still taking measurements even now.”

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