I was still staring at my new face in the mirror. A face with green pupils, black hair, and a body shape and style very similar to people from Loen.
"Heh, I mean Caucasian..." Seriously, this world's terminology seemed so easy for him to recognize or even understand. But I'm actually from Earth! So of course I prefer Earth's terms, which are naturally more familiar to me.
Although... actually, this world's terms are quite familiar too, so I don't feel too strange about any of them. But it's clearer to me that it's more enjoyable to use Earth terms because I still haven't accepted that I'm inside a 'novel's' world.
I tried pinching my cheek and my hand, harboring the foolish hope that all of this was actually just an unbelievably realistic dream. But of course, the result was zero. Heh, at least I tried. Even if the result wasn't as hoped.
After doing that useless thing, I immediately went and walked towards the table with a really nice wooden stool, intending to sit down while trying to figure out what I should actually do now.
Shortly after, I sat on the chair by the large table which had a gas lamp on it. Ah, right, I hadn't tried turning on any lighting, letting the pale red moonlight serve as the main illumination.
Besides... I didn't want my butler, Fritzh, to come just because I was randomly trying to contemplate everything that had happened to me now.
The table actually had several other items besides the gas lamp. There were some things that I, ugh... I mean, John, had kept, such as a family photo, a photo of himself, and some random objects he owned.
Hey! Now that I think about it, John has a copy of Roselle's diary page! Wait..., actually, John doesn't really know it's Roselle's diary. To him, it's just a historical artifact from the Emperor that he collected out of admiration. But I know! I know exactly what this thing means!
I suddenly thought of that while trying to trace through the fragments of John's memories. I also remember that although John was disgusted by Roselle's behavior towards women, he was truly admiring of the man.
Heh... he was actually just a cheat who used Earth knowledge to create Earth-like items and became rich! I'm genuinely amused by John's previous thoughts about Roselle.
Wait? Come to think of it, John possessing a copy of Emperor Roselle's page is an advantage, right? I mean, I currently can't confirm whether Roselle never found a way back to Earth, although I'm ninety percent sure he indeed never found a way home. But perhaps the copy John has is the key!
My heart raced. Roselle's diary! This is a clue! Maybe, on the page that Klein never translated..., maybe there's a clue about how to return! Even if my confidence is only ten percent, it's still hope. A smile spread across my face, imagining being able to undo all this and go back.
And then, as if doused with cold water, reality hit me.
"I...don't know Mandarin!" I said softly at the table, but full of frustration. Of course! I only know "Ni Hao" and "Xie Xie". But how could I possibly decipher a secret code specifically designed for Chinese people?
"This is trash!" was truly the only statement I could muster from all this. Seriously, why did I have to come to this world without complete knowledge about it?
If only... I had known I would randomly end up in the LoTM world, I would have spent my time reading the novel to the end, then I would have also read the second book, then the Wiki, and I would even have read all the fan theories for the novel!
I was so angry that if there was anyone who made me transmigrate to this world, I feel like I would punch and trample them right now.
Seriously… why did Roselle write his diary in Mandarin anyway! I'm really angry at Roselle too; if only he had written his diary in English, I might have understood it.
Well, actually, it's because he was Chinese and the author is also Chinese, of course he would write in Mandarin. But still, it's really infuriating.
"Okay. Okay. Calm down," I muttered to myself to calm down from all the chaotic thoughts about all this. Well, even though I calmed down, my anger still remained.
But… come to think of it, I actually can know the contents of Roselle's diary. That's right, I can just ask Klein to read it for me!
No. That's stupid, I don't even know if Klein would actually read the diary to me or not, so of course that idea can't be considered.
Besides… I don't want to interfere with the Plot! And I also don't know what will happen to Klein at the end of the story; my perspective on all this is really blurry. And it would be terrible if I intervened in the story and caused Klein's death due to my own mistake.
Not only because Klein is my favorite character after Audrey, but with his death, the LoTM world might be thrown into chaos. After all, he is the main character of the novel… I really won't risk changing the plot. Right, I think I'd better make some kind of rule for myself.
Maybe the first is DO NOT CHANGE THE PLOT, because if I do that, perhaps a bad ending for this novel would be inevitable.
Then I probably also have to BE JOHN LYNCH, hah. Wait, why should I become this person? But… I don't know if this is an important character or just a random character I randomly possessed.
Actually, I'm also not too fond of being someone else. Wait, actually John Lynch is myself, why am I considering him another person?
As I was thinking about that, I felt myself frowning unconsciously again. Right… actually, every time I think that I'm not from this world, it makes me really sad because everyone I loved and knew before has disappeared.
Wait a second… what's the date today? I completely forgot about remembering the date, considering everything I do next is actually related to this. And it would be funny if this turns out to be an event 10 years before Klein transmigrated.
So I started trying to trace back John's memory of today's date and I remembered that it's now June 26, 1349! Okay, this is good.
But… what date did Klein transmigrate? I'm quite sure that Klein did transmigrate this year, but I don't really remember the specific month. No! I must remember this!
I pressed my temples while trying to recall the date Klein first transmigrated to the LoTM world.
Damn it! This is really difficult. My mind is filled with memories about ingredients and how to make potions in the Visionary pathway, but even my memory about this is just as bad because I only remember the ingredients and potions for Sequence 9 and 8. The rest are just names…
"Hah.. but I really need to know the specific date." After that, I pressed my temples even harder and finally I remembered! Klein transmigrated in July, so it should be around now. Although… I still don't remember the exact date. But as I recall, the original Klein committed suicide because of a book? Wait? What book was that! I completely forgot! What the hell. Even though that book was really important, I completely forgot about it and I'm sure it's impossible for me to forget this considering it's the core plot of volume one and I reread this volume twice!
Moreover, the sensation of me forgetting about this book and some character names and gods is completely different from the sensation of me forgetting a date or specific potion ingredients in the Visionary pathway. It feels like… my memory was forcibly erased?
No. No, I better not think about this and just consider it something beyond my control. Right, besides, I don't want to deal with super powerful characters who could kill me in an instant.
But the main point is, it should be safe now because I know the month and year Zhou Mingrui transmigrated into Klein's body, and strangely it coincides with my month. Hah, come to think of it, maybe I transmigrated before Klein. Who knows, I can't be sure about that, so it's better to be prepared for other possibilities as well.
But… how can I know the novel's events accurately? I don't really remember the date of every event in that novel. I mean, I do remember that Klein became Sherlock Moriarty in September, but I also don't remember the exact date. Hah, come to think of it, I only know about the date December 28th, when the Great Smog of Backlund will happen.
This is why all of this is really bad. I mean, I'm in my new world full of weaknesses. Like I only know about half of the LoTM plot, and haven't actually finished it, I know some random facts I read on the Wiki but don't remember the reasons, then I can't read Mandarin which automatically eliminates me from reading Roselle's Diary.
Shouldn't someone like me get one powerful ability? I mean. Come on, whoever summoned me is truly trash. Not only did they make everyone and my original family disappear, they didn't even give me any ability. Or at least, shouldn't I have transmigrated into someone who was already strong from the start!
Sigh... alright, I guess I'm complaining too much about this. Shouldn't I be grateful, because I transmigrated into the body of someone who is actually very rich? At the very least, I won't face financial difficulties like Klein did in the beginning.
Alright, maybe this is the cheat advantage I have, but actually I'm still not satisfied with all this! I mean, the being that summoned me literally made the people I love and want to protect disappear, and the compensation is only this? It's still completely not equivalent!
But I have to think again, how can I know what Klein will do later? Or should I just remember the dates until September? Because as I recall, everything in volume one was arranged using a very powerful book, so most likely everything that happens in volume one will happen. Except for the Tarot Club part; that might change quite differently.
However, I can't do anything to change the Tarot Club, or even know the club's developments, considering my goal is DO NOT CHANGE THE PLOT, so if I know about the Tarot Club's news, the only reason I could know that is because I have CHANGED THE PLOT.
Alright… Problem one, regarding Klein, is settled. At least this novel shouldn't change, so I better continue thinking seriously about the second problem. How will I face my 'parents' later? Will they see the difference? And how should I become 'me'?
I held my face with my fingers while thinking about that. I also gazed at the strange red moonlight while thinking, hoping to find an answer.
Okay… come to think of it, John Lynch is a fairly intelligent man in his university, clearly not in the genius category, but he is a smart man.
He also has a few very close friends: Alistair Hobbs, Beatrice Magnate, and Thomas Eiffel. Those three were the original John's close friends, right? I think I also have to figure out how to interact with them, especially since we'll be graduating soon.
Honestly, thinking about university reminds me of my own university life back on Earth. I remember I had a few close friends who often shared interesting information; I even started reading Chinese web novels from one of them. Initially, I wasn't too interested in Chinese web novels, hah.. I used to read Japanese novels more than Chinese ones at first.
But putting that aside. I pressed my temples while trying to retrieve more of John's memories until I felt it was enough.
Well.. alright, the main point is, being John is quite easy. This man is basically a company heir who isn't too interested in business. But he has a fairly good understanding of economics, and he's very interested in history, especially regarding Roselle, because he considers that man exceptionally great. Although he himself isn't too fond of Roselle's overly flirtatious style. But he's clearly a "fan" of Roselle.
So what I really need to do while being John is to be a Roselle fan, someone with fairly good economic knowledge, an heir uninterested in inheriting the company. It's all easy. It's all somewhat similar to my original self back on Earth, the difference being, I was never a company heir.
Ah, right, I also need to remember the information I know inside a text; maybe I should use an English text. And since Loen, or all languages in the Northern Continent, use letters somewhat similar to the alphabet, I can just say it's random writing.
Hah, that reminds me of my junior. That girl did the same thing I'm thinking of now in many ways; well, I'm copying her in this regard.
Hmm. Come to think of it, something like this shouldn't be suspicious, right? Hah, I don't know. But the original John never did this.
But actually, after remembering my Junior, my thoughts about her suddenly grew deeper, and it really made me even more annoyed at whoever summoned me to this world. Because I heard a rumor that she seemed to have fallen in love with me. Of course, I didn't immediately believe all the random gossip circulating.
But… everything that girl did towards me seemed to justify all that gossip, so back then I intended to approach her and have a serious relationship with her.
Hah, I even had thoughts of proposing to her at the end of this year.. but because of my own foolishness and this
trash summoner, I suddenly ended up in a 'novel's' world that I read myself.
Thinking about it is truly frustrating…