Chapter 3

I quietly lowered my gaze.

Slowly, my arms began to tremble violently as a cold sensation crept down my spine.

And little by little, I started to realize just how hollow my previous self truly had been.

Spoiled.

Narcissistic.

Delusional.

A snob who always believed she stood above everyone else.

Always on top.

Except for someone special.

"Anything troubling you, dear Madam? An existential crisis, perhaps—"

"Silence."

I was too stunned to speak.

Speechless.

That hostile response was the only thing I managed to spit out, despite knowing perfectly well how rude it sounded. Though... perhaps glorifying the tragedy of my previous life made that cruelty easier to swallow.

Slowly, I lowered my gaze toward my own body again, trying to rationalize every unnatural change forced upon it, even though I knew I should have accepted it more positively.

But then again...

"Delusional narcissist yet painfully self-aware" had always described me better anyway.

I began forcing myself to list every positive thing about this new body.

It felt... alive.

Light. Almost too light.

For years, I never once complained about needing a cane just to stop myself from fainting halfway through the day.

Still...

Perhaps everything would have been different if I had possessed a body like this much earlier.

My breathing felt natural.

My body no longer cheating against me.

Calm. Stable. Steady.

Almost... effortless.

Nothing like those jagged breaths I used to struggle through every single day whenever I exercised even a little too much, as though my own body constantly threatened to murder me for daring to overstep my limits.

It had always felt too unfair to push myself any further, so naturally, everyone prioritized me instead.

And now...

I genuinely felt like I could do anything.

Even those absurdly heavy sports activities back at school.

"I see."

Of all the possible responses I could have given, that was the only one that came out.

"What about everything else, then?"

"Those were just the basic details, weren't they?"

"And you still haven't explained anything about my kingdom."

"Its terrain. Its enemies. Political affairs. Bla bla bla—"

"Understood."

That loading circle appeared again.

Seriously...

Where was my usual tea break when I actually needed it?

"Based on the scope of the term 'everything,' I will now provide additional information relevant to your request."

"The Claudia Aurelis Kingdom is located in the far eastern region of this world."

"More specifically, it serves as the reconstructed equivalent of what was known as Japan in your previous world."

"The kingdom possesses multiple political adversaries."

"Its longest-standing mutual rivalry is with the neighboring Hibiscus Kingdom."

I tried my best to digest all that information on my own—the kind of thing that would usually leave me mentally exhausted.

And, surprise surprise...

Apparently that exhaustion remained regardless of whether I was healthy or crippled.

However—

BEEP!

Turns out time had always been far too cruel to me.

A sharp electronic beep! suddenly echoed throughout the room.

I flinched immediately.

And yes, I deliberately repeated how exactly beep! sounded when it rang through my ears.

Are you irritated?

Great.

How does it feel?

Painful?

Fufufu...

Good for you, because it's much louder over here.

Apparently this world had already begun tormenting me with surround sound effects.

BEEP!

And then came the second one.

Still the exact same BEEP!.

My my, so loud and painfully consistent.

That cerulean-blue display blinked before me once again.

Honestly, I would've loved to react dramatically with something like:

"What the hell is that?!"

or:

"What's even the purpose of this thing?!"

But apparently even this world refused to stop giving me heart attacks one after another.

Because if not for getting reincarnated, I probably would have died twice already.

Sigh...

"What is it?"

"It is a message, my dear client."

"Kingdom Ceremony Event. It will begin in five minutes."

"Client attendance is mandatory."

The AI said it calmly.

No—

Let me phrase that properly.

AND YOU'RE ONLY SAYING THAT NOW?!

"You should've mentioned that earlier, you know..."

I took a deep breath once.

Then twice.

Anything to relieve stress.

But then—

I immediately stood up from the sofa and rushed out of the room.

No dramatic scene of me falling out of the chair.

No reliance on a cane.

Nothing.

Just my body carrying itself naturally.

"Where are you going?"

I ran as fast as I could.

My loud, heavy drap-drap-drap footsteps echoed sharply throughout the polished hallway as I moved far faster than my previous body would have ever allowed.

"Young Lady Sekhmeth, where are you—"

Huh.

Even the house assistant is the same.

I ignored her.

Meanwhile, the artificial intelligence silently floated beside me.

Its crystallized silhouette hovered through the air like some kind of cursed customer-service ghost, drifting smoothly down the hallway while perfectly matching my pace.

No footsteps.

No breathing.

No sound aside from the occasional glitching crackle surrounding its body.

Okay.

Wait.

Why are you even following me?

And what is this?

The Olympics?

By the way, I knew exactly where I was going.

There was no way I could have mistaken it.

First floor.

Near the kitchen.

Regardless of whether this place had become more luxurious or not.

Although...

I had to admit it had already been luxurious from the very beginning.

And no, before you start assuming things—

I was not bragging about how absurdly rich I was as a teenager.

You're simply too poor, and that's hardly my fault.

Ah, there it is...

Look at what they've done to my already enormous beloved bathroom.

Apparently they decided it still wasn't luxurious enough and expanded it even further.

The moment I entered, I immediately closed the door behind me.

Not letting anyone see me changing my dress.

Or squeezing my boobs.

Yourself included.

Understood?

Good.

Oh right, wait.

Turns out I almost forgot.

That earlier woman was my maid—the household assistant who was always prepared whenever I needed something extremely urgent.

Her full name?

Completely unimportant.

I usually called her "Kaguya-san" based on her first name.

Who even knows what kind of absurd alteration this world made to a name inspired by some Orihime-like story anyway.

Okay, got it already?

Great.

Let's fast-forward time now.

I want to take my clothes off first.

...