Alright. Let’s make a plan.

No matter how good a person’s memory is, it’s impossible to remember every single detail about a game’s lore. Even for hardcore fans, there aren’t many people who can recite the entire script of their favorite game word-for-word without making a single mistake.

It’s the same reason not many people go through the trouble of translating the lore from their favorite games themselves. Some people don’t even bother reading lore books because they find learning a foreign language too cumbersome, let alone memorizing all the game dialogue.

I was no different. Even though I played through the game multiple times for walkthroughs and personal enjoyment, and had compared the original version to the translated one to the point of criticizing localization choices, I still didn’t memorize every line of dialogue.

But games aren’t meant to be memorized like study material.

Most games, whether 2D or 3D, offer a navigable world. Unless you have terrible spatial awareness or the developers did a horrible job with level design, after running around the map a few times, you’ll have a general idea of where things are and what events occur. It just sticks with you.

At the very least, I could recall the major events and areas from start to finish if I took my time thinking about it.

One advantage was that the game series didn’t maintain the same world or lore across all titles. Each game had its own setting, so I only needed to recall three games that shared this particular steampunk world.

The playtime was long, sure, but most of it was spent exploring maps, leveling up characters, and reading dialogue. There weren’t that many critical points to remember for a successful walkthrough.

From what I’d seen of the capital, the layout of the city was nearly identical to what was depicted in the game, at least for the parts that had been included in the game. The highways, though, looked different. It’s not surprising—creating a full-scale version of the highways in the real world would have been too much, even for a mid-tier studio like Millennium.

Not even AAA games aim for that level of detail. Some claim to recreate entire regions like Egypt or Greece, but when you actually explore the maps, cities are only a few hundred meters wide, and the whole map spans a few dozen kilometers at most. Realistically sized maps would just make the game boring to play.

Still, it’s impressive to recreate areas on such a scale at all.

That’s why the parts of the guide I wrote about "the highways" weren’t going to be much help here. I’d decided to focus on the side quest lists and ignore the highways for now.

After all, if any important areas do show up, they might have been faithfully recreated.

“Next up…”

I flipped through my notebook and placed my finger on a particular section.

“Dungeons.”

Right.

If quests are the heart of RPGs, dungeons are the foundation. The protagonist and their party fight monsters in dungeons, grow stronger, and earn rewards. Unless it’s a tactical RPG where the battles themselves are the main attraction, this is a core mechanic.

Even in open areas like forests or city streets, or inside space vessels, the layout still follows the dungeon formula—there are paths, obstacles, and monsters roaming around. So, whether it’s a wide open "field" or not, it’s essentially still a dungeon.

So, what about the dungeons in this world?

Technically, highways could be considered a form of dungeon, but they couldn’t maintain a 1:1 scale, making their limitations obvious. However, places like underground prisons or sewer systems? Those could very well be accurate to a 1:1 scale.

Especially in the later stages of the game, when reality and the supernatural begin to intertwine, complex dungeons with sprawling layouts start to appear. These massive dungeons are fun to navigate and explore.

And if those dungeons were recreated, it’s possible they’re close to a 1:1 scale in this world.

I can’t be 100% sure, of course. It would be just as strange to imagine vast sewers beneath the city teeming with monstrous creatures waiting to be exterminated.

“…I should check it out.”

The main dungeons usually appear after Chapter 2 in each game. I’m not referring to the second game in the series, but rather the second chapter within each title. Chapters 0 and 1 typically serve as a tutorial for players to get used to the game’s mechanics.

Still, there were several places that could qualify as dungeons even in the early stages.

The city’s sewers should do just fine for a test run.

Thanks to a couple of individuals who start their days unreasonably early, I was up before dawn today.

Of course, sleeping in when Alice was around wasn’t good for my character, so I downed an espresso (which I didn’t even like) and began my day.

As a result, my Sunday was going to be a very long one. But even with time spent hanging out with Alice, I figured I’d have enough time to explore one area.

…Or at least, I thought I would.

Every time I tried to gather my things, Alice would strike up a conversation.

It’s not like Alice and I were inseparable. Sure, we’d become friends much quicker than I had anticipated, but it wasn’t like we were glued to each other or anything. We were somewhere between sisters and friends—close, but not overly clingy.

The problem was that, unlike me, Alice’s memory reset whenever I rewound time. Her drive to improve also seemed to reset along with it.

You know how people say that swans float gracefully on the surface of the water while their legs frantically paddle beneath to maintain that elegance? Well, that’s the perception, anyway.

In reality, swans’ bodies are built to float with ease, and their long legs allow them to glide effortlessly. But the problem is how others perceive them.

To me, Alice was always top-tier in terms of her abilities, but to meet those external expectations, she was constantly studying and training—much like Leo and Claire, but in her own way.

And to Alice, the weekend was like a golden opportunity. Time is something you can’t buy, and using that time to study and train would help her continue improving.

…And, of course, the best study and training partner in her eyes was none other than me.

Whenever I was in my room getting ready to head out, there’d be a knock on the door, and Alice would walk in with a stack of books in her arms, her eyes wide with curiosity.

“Where are you going, all packed up like that?”

“Ah, well—”

“…Is it because of your father?”

“….”

Right. I’d already pinned my early exhaustion on the emperor earlier this morning when I saw her.

Even if Leo and Claire eventually found out, I figured I could just say, “It’s all part of the emperor’s grand scheme,” and they’d more or less understand. Claire certainly hadn’t questioned it when I used that excuse earlier.

To be honest, I had simply run out of things to say. But it seemed Alice had interpreted it differently.

“I’m coming with you.”

I found myself involuntarily slapping my forehead.

“…What?”

“Oh.”

Again.

I barely managed to stop myself from facepalming this time. Though I almost blurted out, “Why?” I also managed to hold back. It’s impressive that I was able to consciously avoid a major slip-up like that—maybe I have more talents than I realize.

“…I don’t care if you look at me like that.”

What kind of look was I giving her?

Of course, I couldn’t just ask her outright. Alice had gotten pretty good at reading my expressions lately.

Even though she couldn’t read my mind like an open book, she could still interpret my facial expressions and come to her own conclusions—whether I was frowning in pain or fear.

“It’s not a place for the princess.”

“And you’re not a princess?”

“…We’re different.”

At my response, Alice raised one eyebrow slightly, a clear sign she was annoyed.

“You’re the future empress of this country.”

“Do you really think there’s anywhere in this empire my father, as emperor, wouldn’t go?”

Well, now that she mentions it…

When I thought about it, the emperor probably wouldn’t care if he were standing in the imperial palace or the sewers, as long as it served his interests or helped him wield more power.

He was the kind of person who would do anything necessary to achieve his goals, without a shred of shame.

“And besides,” Alice continued, pointing at me. “I think you’re the hardest person to control in this entire empire. You never explain what you’re thinking, yet you still want me to become the empress. Honestly, I have no idea what your real intentions are, so it only makes sense to keep a close eye on you, don’t you think?”

“…”

She wasn’t wrong.

Not a single thing she said was incorrect. From the perspective of the people in this world, I was indeed a mysterious figure, and that was entirely intentional on my part. It was like the quills on a hedgehog’s back, sending a clear message: "Don’t mess with me."

The thing is, those warnings only work because no one knows what my true motives are.

I just wanted to see Alice rise to the throne and rule with confidence, free from all her insecurities. Because she’s Alice.

The fact that she’s the legitimate heir or the emperor’s only trueborn child doesn’t really matter to me. If she retained her current personality and character, I would support her as empress, even if the lore had been different.

Because, in the game, that’s how it goes.

At the end of the 16th game, Alice becomes the empress. Since Claire risked her life to save Alice, Alice wasn’t a character who could die just yet. Sure, there were heroines who came back to life in later installments after being "killed off," but… that’s a whole other matter.

There were a few clues I’d gathered since arriving here, but I’ll think about that later.

The current emperor, of course, plunges the world into chaos before being overthrown by the protagonist and his party.

…That said, with two more games planned after that, it’s highly likely the emperor’s death is either faked or that someone resurrects him later on.

“…Fine.”

In the end, I agreed to let Alice come along.

Sewers, after all, are… well, they’re even more repulsive in this world. I bet once we reach the entrance, Alice will take one look and freak out, wanting to go back. She hated them in the game, after all.

“…I don’t like the look on your face, but fine.”

I had a pretty good idea of what expression Alice had seen on my face.

It was probably "annoyance."