The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

There’s a term called "national pride rush."

It usually refers to when you show something ordinary — or something that obviously exists in other countries too — to foreigners, and they react like, "We don’t have anything like this back «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» home!"

Or sometimes it’s videos or posts claiming foreigners reacted that way.

Usually, people going through tough times watch those to find a little comfort.

Honestly, I watched those videos from time to time too.

I mean, they’re fun, aren’t they?

Sure, most of the time I felt secondhand embarrassment while watching, but sometimes there were oddly relatable moments, and besides, it kind of felt like watching a real-life isekai story, so it was entertaining.

Speaking as someone who had actually been to another world,

changing the entire culture of another world using just the common sense I brought with me was impossible.

Oh, sure, I had some influence in my own way.

Things like the double tap technique with a semi-automatic pistol — it’s something you’d think anyone could come up with, but in reality, even after the invention of automatic pistols, people still thought of handguns as "single-handed guns" for a long time.

So, the shooting techniques I managed to recreate through bloody practice, based on future marksmanship, could be said to have at least some potential to influence the culture of that world.

Even if, in practice, only Lena and I could pull it off at the time.

Other than that, there wasn’t much I could change.

My knowledge was barely at a bachelor’s degree level, and even that had faded a lot after graduation.

Modern specialized knowledge had become so complex that even someone with a PhD couldn't master it all on their own.

And compared to a PhD holder, someone like me — a bachelor's graduate — was basically like a potato lying on the side of the road in terms of knowledge.

In fact, in that other world, where science and technology had developed along a different path,

the knowledge of a clockmaker was way more practical than my half-baked understanding of semiconductors or batteries.

But—

The fact that I felt that way meant that, conversely, someone from Azernan could come here and feel the same.

"Such wide roads, and so many cars.

Setting aside the technology required to build such machines or the economy that lets even commoners afford them,

just imagine how much legal infrastructure must be in place to keep such a complex system running properly?"

Hearing Alice say something like that was enough to make me feel a real sense of pride.

Honestly, at this point, it wasn’t even about national pride anymore.

There were plenty of imported cars driving around here too, and proper regulations existed in every decently functioning country.

Some countries probably had more efficient laws than ours, even.

But, on a world-to-world scale?

I had lived in that other world for a long time, grown fond of it in my own way,

and if I returned, I intended to keep living there — but no matter what,

I couldn’t change the fact that I was born here, in this world.

This was my home,

and hearing my home praised like that — of course it made me happy.

Honestly, if I had the time and money,

I would’ve loved to show them not just this country but every famous place in this whole world.

"How long would it take for the Empire to develop cameras like this?

No need to swap film, you can take as many photos as you want, costs are lower, it's so much smaller, and the colors are so vivid...

Will I ever get to take photos like this again while I’m still alive?"

Claire looked longingly at my smartphone, her gaze a little unfocused, tinged with a bittersweet sadness.

And the fact that the country that made this phone was my home made it feel even more special.

I knew it was a pretty shallow kind of happiness,

and I hadn’t worked for that company or anything,

so it wasn’t like I had any real reason to feel proud —

but still, I couldn’t help feeling good.

It’s the same feeling you get when your country scores a goal in the World Cup.

You’re not on the team, you don’t get a bonus because they scored —

but it still feels great, doesn’t it?

"You look really happy, sis."

Claire said, smiling as if my good mood made hers better too,

and I felt a tiny pang of guilt.

But, well, it was true that being with these two made me happy.

If they had just been strangers, I probably would’ve been uncomfortable the whole time.

I wouldn’t have felt this kind of pride either.

"It’s because the tea is good."

Of course, I had no intention of telling them my real feelings.

It would’ve been too embarrassing.

"It’s definitely nice.

Must be because transportation’s developed enough to make it possible."

"Come on, Alice, do we really have to talk about work while we’re out having fun?"

Claire scolded Alice as she instinctively steered the conversation back toward logistics and transportation.

Normally, Alice would’ve snapped back and they would’ve started bickering —

but this time—

"You’re right.

No need to talk about work while we’re relaxing.

Though, if I find some reference books, I’ll probably haul them back when we leave."

Honestly, that wasn’t a bad idea.

Even if we couldn’t transfer all of this world’s technology at once,

their world had enough steam technology that even basic knowledge about large-scale generators or storage batteries could cause a revolution.

It was a world where overtechnology often ran wild — maybe things would develop even faster than I imagined.

It wasn’t like people there were stupid.

"But it could be useful. Would you like to check it out? There’s a big bookstore nearby."

"Oh, really?"

Seeing Alice’s eyes sparkle with interest made me feel proud again.

"There should be a lot of books about photography too."

Ever since cameras were invented, countless techniques had been developed by photographers.

It’s about movies, not photography, but even the techniques we take for granted in films today were the results of tireless research by directors and universities.

Claire, who loved taking pictures, would definitely find something useful.

"Let’s do it!"

Even Claire, who had been glaring at Alice for talking about work while we were playing, lit up at my suggestion.

Honestly, they were both so easy to read.

Probably, so was I.

*

Hmm...

Maybe we should’ve planned the order a little better.

A big bookstore right in the middle of Seoul wasn’t exactly a tourist hotspot.

How did I know?

Because when we wandered into Kyobo Bookstore, there weren’t any other people in hanbok except us.

Strictly speaking, at least in my eyes, we were the only ones.

Maybe if we waited, a few more might come in, but for now, it was just us, and it made me a little self-conscious.

Claire and Alice, though, didn’t seem to care at all.

Maybe because they thought of it as just "traditional clothing," not something unusual.

Which meant it was silly for me to be embarrassed by myself.

Claire wanted books about photography.

Alice wanted books about technology.

Naturally, we ended up wandering through almost the entire bookstore.

Photography books were all grouped together, but "technology" covered a ridiculously broad range.

If it had been full-on professional books, they would’ve been clustered in one place, but for people like us, without a proper technical foundation, basic educational books were better.

Even if we brought them back, since no one there could read Korean, we’d have to read the books out loud — and we couldn’t very well stumble over words we didn’t even know ourselves.

Still, it was fun.

At first, I was a little embarrassed about the attention, but watching Claire and Alice seriously pick out books, asking me questions, getting my advice — it was genuinely enjoyable.

In the end, it was all because I liked them.

Claire and Alice, perhaps trying to be considerate of me, each picked out just one book.

Alice chose a general cultural history book summarizing technology, and Claire chose a book about a French photographer, who, coincidentally, carried a camera that looked a lot like the film camera she had used in Azernan.

"...Ah."

And as we were leaving the bookstore, I realized something.

"What’s wrong?"

Alice asked, and I answered, feeling a little guilty.

"We probably should’ve come here later. We had so many places we planned to visit today, and now we’ll be lugging around these heavy books..."

"Come on, sis, it’s fine!"

Claire, following behind, gave me a friendly slap on the back.

"It’s not like we’re that weak, right?"

...Ah, right.

Both of them specialized in swinging around massive swords.

"Yeah. It’ll be fine. I’m confident I can carry it all day without any trouble."

Hearing Alice say that with a smile eased my worries.

Apparently, ordinary daily life has a stronger infiltration effect than I thought.

Mixing my memories of life here with the memories I was making with these two,

I kept starting to see them as just ordinary sisters.

Ordinary...

"Heh."

"What?

Why are you laughing?"

"Sis?"

When I let out a sudden chuckle, both of them tilted their heads at me.

"...It’s nothing."

Yeah.

They were ordinary.

Here, they were just my normal little sisters.

Politics, noble families, swordsmanship, relics, bloodlines — none of it mattered.

They were just ordinary people, who nobody cared about for anything but being themselves.

"Let’s go then."

"Hey, seriously, why did you laugh?"

"Sis, are you sure nothing’s wrong?"

As they hurried to catch up, worried, I smiled slightly and walked ahead, and behind me, I heard the sound of their footsteps following half a beat later.