LSP – Chapter 8 – The Reincarnator

After dinner, I sat at the table with Akari (self-proclaimed little sister: elf version) for a discussion. Shari is standing beside me, witnessing our discussion.

“As mentioned before, I’m Akari Yamamine. I’m a 16-year-old Japanese high school girl.” (Akari)

“But you look like an elf.” (Finn)

“Onii-chan, you came from Japan too, right?” (Akari)

“How do you know?” (Finn)

“Because I have the blessing of <appraisal>.” (Akari)

Eh, seriously?

“Then who am I?” (Finn)

“You’re probably around 18 years old and Japanese.” (Akari)

“What’s my name in Japan?” (Finn)

“I can sense something using the appraisal, but I can’t see any textual information.” (Akari)

Hmmm

“Onii-chan, can you tell me your Japanese name?” (Akari)

I’m asked in return.

“Well, um… I don’t actually know.” (Finn)

“Eh?!” (Akari)

I did remember that I was a college student in Japan, but I couldn’t recall any personal information.

And it turns out that, Akari’s brother, who was a college student in Japan, went missing.

“What university was your onii-san from?” (Finn)

“It was TK University.” (Akari)

I’m aware of it, but it doesn’t ring a bell. Maybe if I see it, I might remember…

“I haven’t been able to get in contact with Onii-chan at all, and I don’t even know any of Onii-chan’s friends from university. They say he disappeared after sending a message about going on an exploration, and he hasn’t been attending classes either.” (Akari)

“Hmmm.” (Finn)

“So, I decided to hack into Onii-chan’s computer and check the browser history.” (Akari)

“Please don’t do that.” (Finn)

“Anyway, I found out that Onii-chan was researching a certain legend related to a shrine, so I decided to go there. And then…” (Akari)

“And then?” (Finn)

“I don’t really understand it myself, but it seems like I was reincarnated. I only remembered it a few years ago.” (Akari)

“Um, Akari-san, how old are you?” (Finn)

“Onii-chan, I already told you that Akari is 16 years old.” (Akari)

“No, I mean, in this world, how old is she?” (Finn)

“You’re asking a girl about her age?” (Akari)

“Eh?” (Finn)

◇

The timeline seems to be out of sync, but in the first place, it’s unclear whether the concept of time in reincarnation follows a specific sequence. Moreover, there is no confirmation that this girl is actually my sister.

Sharie, who had been silent until then, speaks up.

“Well, Akari-san is 16 years old, isn’t she?” (Shari)

“That’s right.” (Akari)

“Then, can I call you older sister (onee-chan)?” (Shari)

“Sure, then I’ll call you, ‘Shari-chan’.” (Akari)

“Why have you become friendly with each other?” (Finn)

“Well, because we’re both your little sisters.” (Shari & Akari)

Was it necessary to harmonize like that?

“Ummm, Akari-san.” (Finn)

“Just call me Akari.” (Akari)

“Well, you’re 16 years old, right? And I’m 13 years old.” (Finn)

“Onii-chan is actually 18 years old.” (Akari)

“Well, then, Onee-chan?” (Finn)

“What is it, Onii-chan?” (Akari)

You know what, let’s just stick with Akari.

“So, why did Akari come here?” (Finn)

“I came here to search for Onii-chan and investigate the reincarnators of this country through appraisals.” (Akari)

Seriously? I wonder how many people are here in this country?

“Um, did you find any other reincarnators?” (Finn)

“Well, there are some. They are fewer than one in a thousand people.” (Akari)

“Well, isn’t it possible that I’m not your brother then?” (Finn)

“Hmm, there were indeed others, but I have a preference for younger ones.” (Akari)

(I don’t get it)

For now, by listening to Akari’s story, I was able to learn some information about this country. It is called the Kingdom of Valizard, with a population of around 3 million. By the way, it seems that the elves reside in the neighboring Elven Forest.

“Heh, elves have a long lifespan, so it’s rare for someone to be reincarnated as an elf due to the low number of elf children.” (Akari)

Why the proud expression there?

By the way, Akari is about 160cm tall. She’s taller than me since I’m around 150cm. Sharie is about 135cm.

“I always thought elves were shorter in height.” (Finn)

“Many RPG depictions of elves portray them as slender and short, but that’s mainly because of the portrayal of elves in D&D. In the Lord of the Rings, however, elves are taller than humans. Oh, by the way, D&D refers to Dungeons & Dragons.” (Akari)

“Well, I guess so.” (Finn)

“Well, anyway!” (Akari)

After delivering a long monologue, Akari takes a breath and starts talking again.

“I want to go to a dungeon!” (Akari)

“Dungeon?” (Finn)

“Yes.” (Akari)

“The one where monsters respawn, there are floor bosses, and there’s a dungeon boss at the very bottom?” (Finn)

“Well, there might be dungeons like that.” (Akari)

“And defeating the dungeon boss grants you a dungeon core?” (Finn)

“Well, that’s a bit more on the fantasy side.” (Akari)

Is something wrong with that? And hey, I don’t want to hear an elf deny fantasy elements!

“Originally, D&D dungeons had more of a sense of being holes infested with monsters. But it’s true that JRPGs have been heavily influenced by Wizardry¹. Even in light novels, the dungeon settings often draw from the Wizardry-inspired world, which helps lower the barrier of introducing the setting by leveraging the familiarity of JRPG worldviews. By sharing the overall worldview across light novels, the dungeons become something like a public domain operating system…” (Akari)

“Akari, stop.” (Finn)

“Anyway, I’m going to search for a dungeon.” (Akari)

“Why?” (Finn)

“Isn’t it obvious?!” (Akari)

Akari looks at me directly.

“We’re going back to Japan!” (Akari)

I see. Japan, huh? It’s probably because even though I have knowledge about Japan as a concept, I have very few personal memories associated with it, which is why it doesn’t feel quite familiar to me.

“So, Akari, you want to go back to Japan after all?” (Finn)

“Well, you know, this world isn’t so bad either. I’m an elf, so I’ll stay young until I’m 1000 years old, and that’s nice. But overall, the experience here is quite poor. The food isn’t delicious, there are no bidets, no anime, light novels, games, smartphones, or friends either.” (Akari)

“But it doesn’t seem like you have many friends in Japan either.” (Finn)

“Don’t underestimate high school girls. Even though they may be superficial, I have plenty of friends.” (Akari)

“Um, Akari onee-chan?” (Shari)

“Yes, Shari-chan?” (Akari)

“Shari may be your little sister, but I’ll be your friend.” (Shari)

“Thank you! It’s the first time I’ve made a friend!” (Akari)

Eh, what about the dungeon?

◇

According to Akari, she has tried investigating ways to return to Japan, but she the results were empty.

“If someone summoned me or something, I think there might be a way to ask that person.” (Akari)

“Did Akari feel like she received cheat skills or something from God in a white room before coming to this world?” (Finn)

“No, not at all.” (Akari)

“I see. Same here.” (Finn)

Hmm, I wonder if there’s anything like that.

“Well, how about class transfer?” (Finn)

“I haven’t even met any classmates.” (Akari)

I see.

“But I haven’t been run over by a truck or anything, so I think it wouldn’t be strange if I could return to my original world.” (Akari)

“But we are reincarnated, not transferred, right?” (Finn)

“Do you know about the brain in a vat²? Or perhaps the dream of a butterfly³?” (Akari)

I have considered that possibility as well. We might be trapped in a world similar to a VRMMO. In that case… I look at Shari. Could it be that Shari is actually an NPC? Or perhaps a philosophical zombie⁴? No, maybe it’s us, the ones who have been reincarnated, who resemble the Swampman⁵?

I shake my head. There’s no point in speculating about things we can’t perceive. Moreover, there’s no evidence that our supposed “original world” is not a computer simulation.

“Well, well, since we don’t know what’s going on, anything is possible.” (Akari)

“As for hints, there is only that shrine.” (Shari)

“Do you remember anything about that shrine?” (Finn)

“There was a cave behind the shrine, with a sacred rope barrier.” (Akari)

“That sounds ominous.” (Finn)

“And I do have a memory of going inside there.” (Akari)

“I can’t believe you went in there.” (Finn)

“But, it’s because of Onii-chan…” (Akari)

Ah, right. I’m sorry. 

“Well, now that I think about it, it might have been a dungeon.” (Akari)

“I see.” (Finn)

“So, there might be dungeons in this world that lead to Japan, you know.” (Akari)

“There is a possibility.” (Finn)

“That’s why I’m going to explore every dungeon in this world.” (Akari)

She’s quite determined and resilient.

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Image of Akari before reincarnation

“As mentioned before, I’m Akari Yamamine. I’m a 16-year-old Japanese high school girl.“
~ Link to source

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TL notes:

Thanks for reading!

Oh boy I gave up on the philosophical stuff and threw it into ChatGPT-sensei. This writer sure knows a lot of stuff huh. Or is this stuff commonplace and I am the ignorant one? Well good luck if your gonna try to read all that footnote, I kept it in for you nerds out there.

Btw according to some reviews on the novel, the monsters and dungeons in this novel very closely resemble the ones from the world of D&D. I never played D&D, so I don’t know what it means but I’m looking forward to the dungeon exploration part. And also now that I think about it, JESUS the reviews of this novel on kakuyomu are all positive and long. I guess this a story you either really like or are not interested in at all. I’m definitely the former.

P.S. NU finally accepted the cover image yay

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Footnotes:

1. Wizardry is a role-playing video game series created in 1980s and it has a D&D-type gameplay. The first game was very influencial to JRPG classics like FInal Fantasy and Dragon Quest.
2. The brain in a vat is a philosophical thought experiment. It imagines a person’s brain disconnected from their body and placed in a vat of fluid. The brain is stimulated by a computer to create sensory experiences. The person perceives an illusory reality without direct contact with the external world. It raises questions about knowledge, perception, and the nature of reality.
3. Dream of a butterfly is a philosophical concept describing a dream where one becomes a butterfly and questions the boundaries between dream and reality. It symbolizes the ambiguity of perception and prompts reflection on identity and understanding of the world.
4. The concept of a “philosophical zombie” is a thought experiment in the philosophy of mind. It imagines a being that is physically identical to a human but lacks conscious experience. A philosophical zombie would behave indistinguishably from a conscious person but would lack subjective awareness. The scenario raises questions about the nature of consciousness and whether it is purely physical or involves non-physical aspects. It challenges the idea that physical processes alone can account for subjective experience.
5. The swampman is another philosophical concept. It imagines a person created by a lightning strike in a swamp, with no connection to the original person. Swampman shares the same physical appearance and memories but lacks prior experiences. It raises questions about whether personal identity relies on physical or psychological continuity.