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Chapter 2 – Awakening

“Dowaaaaa!!”

A violent tremor shook my entire body.

What was shaking me?

There was no need to ask. It was an earthquake.
It wasn’t just me—everything was shaking.

And it was a big one, probably around a magnitude 5 or 6.
Even as someone from Kanto, where earthquakes were commonplace, it had been a while since I’d felt one of this scale.

Being originally from the coastal region of northern Kanto, I was all too familiar with this kind of tremor. It brought back memories—memories I didn’t want to recall—of the great disaster that had once covered half of Japan.

And then, a terrible thought crept into my mind.

“Is… is this the Second Great Kanto Earthquake?!”

I screamed at the top of my lungs, as if trying to out match the shaking.

After all, if you’re Japanese, a little earthquake shouldn’t faze you. 

Probably.

But then, the worst happened.
Amidst the deafening roar, an even louder crash rang out, and the room—no, the entire building—collapsed. And it wasn’t just a minor collapse—it was complete and utter destruction.

“!!”

I had already dropped to all fours and taken shelter under a nearby desk, so at this point, there was nothing more I could do.

Faced with the sheer power of nature, I was painfully reminded of just how powerless humans really are.

But it seemed that luck was on my side. Even after the shaking stopped, I was still conscious. More than that—I didn’t feel a single pain.

Cautiously, I opened my eyes and looked around.
I was inside a Western-style mansion.

One that I had never seen before.

“Where… is this?”

The moment that thought crossed my mind, another flood of memories surged into my head like a raging torrent.

No, that wasn’t quite right.
It was hard to explain, but it felt more like my memories were merging with something else.

(With what? With who? Huh? What is this?!)

For a while, the two sets of memories—no, the two people’s memories—clashed within my mind.
It felt as if my head had turned into the epicenter of a massive earthquake, but over time, it gradually settled.

As if something was stabilizing within me, the more time passed, the more both sets of memories started to feel like they truly belonged to ‘me’.

Finally, I was able to think clearly again.
I had no idea how much time had passed, but one thing was certain: there had been a massive earthquake, and the building I was in had collapsed.

I needed to get out of this dangerous building.

If possible, I wanted to find something to cushion my head for protection. With that thought, I opened my eyes again and scanned my surroundings.
As expected, it was a Western-style mansion built from brick. Sunlight streamed through the shattered windows of the half-collapsed structure, suggesting it was daytime.

However, no matter how much I looked around, I still had no idea where I was.

And then, a memory from just a short while ago came rushing back.

(That’s right! I was crossing the street when a truck ran a red light and slammed into me!)

With that realization, I once again took in my surroundings.

A Western-style mansion—meaning, this place had to be somewhere in Europe. The building’s architecture was likely from the Victorian era.
But if there had been an earthquake here, then perhaps I was somewhere along the Mediterranean coast? The climate also felt similar to a Japanese summer.

As my thoughts progressed that far, a certain wishful, otaku-like idea began creeping into my mind.

(Wait… could this be one of those isekai reincarnation situations? I mean, I did get hit by a truck, so isn’t this exactly the kind of situation I should be hoping for?!)

With that hope in mind, I continued analyzing the situation.

Maybe… the combined impact of the traffic accident and the earthquake triggered something supernatural, and I had successfully reincarnated into another world.

(But if this really were an isekai reincarnation or summoning, shouldn’t I have met some kind of god or spirit who gives me cheats first?)

That’s what I thought, but no matter how I looked at it, this place seemed far too real.
It didn’t have a game-like atmosphere at all. In fact, thanks to the earthquake, the air was thick with dust.

Even so, the fact that I was in a Western-style mansion kept my hopes alive.

So, I tried to stop crawling and push myself up onto my feet.

That’s when I encountered my next moment of discomfort.

(Huh? My hands and feet… they’re tiny? Well, I guess that is kind of cute.)

Clearly, my brain was still a bit scrambled from all the shocks I’d endured. But the fact that I could even think about casual stuff meant at least part of me was staying rational.

So, I forced myself to observe my surroundings calmly. As rationally as possible.

And naturally, I arrived at the obvious conclusion.

“…Nn? My-my hands are small—it’s not just my hands! I’ve turned into a tiny person!!”

That was the first thing I yelled.

And almost immediately, a voice called back from somewhere in the distance.

“Ojou-sama! Are you safe, Ojou-sama?!”

The voice sounded familiar, but not in ‘my’ memories. It belonged to Tokita, the head butler who served my great-grandfather.

His appearance and voice were both deeply refined, like burnished silver—a textbook example of the ‘distinguished elderly gentleman’ aesthetic that appealed to certain people.

But right now, that refined voice was filled with urgency.

(That’s rare for Tokita… This earthquake really was a disaster, huh?)

Thinking that, I raised my voice to respond.

“Tokitaaa! I’m okayyy!”

“Understood! Please stay where you are—I will come to you at once!”

“Got ittt!”

But no matter how loud I tried to shout, my voice was unmistakably that of a little girl—high-pitched and shrill like a child trying her best.

It was me who shouted, yet even I found it unbearably loud

(But… how did I even know that he was Tokita?)

Something was off.

If I had really been hit by a truck and reincarnated into another world, then logically, I shouldn’t know anyone here.

That meant something else was going on. And soon enough, I arrived at a realization.

(A Western-style mansion, a butler named Tokita, and an earthquake… Could this be the world of Tasogare no Ichizoku??)

Tasogare no Ichizoku was one of those so-called ‘otome games’.

As the name suggested, it was a romance simulation game set in a once-powerful noble family that had fallen into decline, with their grand estate as the main backdrop. The protagonist was a young woman navigating romance and intrigue in this fading world.

Not too long ago, I had been deeply into this game—it had completely hooked me in.

As a self-proclaimed history nerd, the game was right up my alley. One of its main selling points was that the protagonist interacted with many named historical figures throughout the story.
But this game was also infamous for its many tragic or bittersweet endings—even for the heroine.

Because of that, it had gained a devoted cult following.

And if this really was that world, then it wasn’t just some generic isekai fantasy world inspired by Europe.
Well, broadly speaking, I guess you could call it an ‘isekai’, but it was more like a parallel world or an alternate past.

And more specifically, it was a parallel world closely tied to the real one I had lived in.

And if that was really the case, then there was only one earthquake in this world that was deeply connected to the game’s story and setting.

“That earthquake… Could it be the Great Kanto Earthquake? Then that would mean this is Tokyo on September 1, 1923?”

I spoke the words aloud, but my questions were far from answered.

(Let’s set aside the whole reincarnation thing for now. No, actually, considering I died, it makes the most sense to assume I reincarnated into the past… but if this world really is the same as the game, and if I instinctively recognize myself as an ‘ojou-sama’ and Tokita as my butler, then—who exactly am I?)

At the very least, I was not a tiny little creature I had initially imagined myself to be.
And if today really was the day of the Great Kanto Earthquake, then I had indeed been sent back about ten years before the start of the game.

That meant the most likely possibility was that I had taken on my form from thirteen years before the events of the game.

Now that I thought about it, Tokita’s voice also sounded a little younger than the one I had heard in the game.

(So I haven’t reincarnated into a tiny person—I’m just a literal child! 

Uh, okay… the game starts in the spring after the military coup, and I’ve gone back thirteen years from that point… If I work backward, I should be looking for a female character who would be a little girl at this time. 

There were two characters that the butler referred to as ‘ojou-sama,’ right?)

Now, which one is it?
The answer to that question would determine my future.

If this really was a world where Tasogare no Ichizoku had somehow manifested into reality, then if I was that one particular character, my fate was beyond terrible.
Of course, just like in all those villainess redemption stories that had become so popular lately, it wasn’t impossible to escape ruin—even as that character. 

And I did have the knowledge to do it.

But if history here closely followed real-world history, then even if I managed to avoid my in-game doom, there was a much bigger problem: this entire country was going to lose the upcoming war.
And if that happened, I would be forcibly dragged into an unavoidable, game-ordained event, meaning, in game terms, a forced event was waiting for me.

And if this country lost the war, then no matter which of the two I was, I would still lose my status and fortune.

(What do I do? If I stay like this, I’m definitely doomed!)

As I panicked, the desperate voice of my butler searching for me rang in my ears.

“Ojou-sama! Reiko ojou-sama! Are you there? Please stay where you are—I’m coming to you at once!”

The moment I heard that voice, I felt my consciousness begin to fade.

(R-Reiko? Did he just say Reiko?! No way… I ended up as the bad one? 

Ahh, I can already hear the sound of my impending doom…)