Chapter 126 – Alps Tour

Our European tour once again shifted into the mood of a Sunday evening national anime opening.
With my onii-sama as our guide, we saw the Frankfurt Cathedral, went a little up the Rhine River by boat, then entered southern Bavaria, switched to the train, and headed east to Munich.

While traveling around Germany, I briefly thought about going to places that might be destroyed in the war to take something like record photos, but I pushed that thought out of my mind—it felt improper, and above all, far too ominous.

In Frankfurt it wasn’t the case yet, but in Munich the Christmas market season was just starting, so we got to enjoy the festive atmosphere.
That said, I was a nine-year-old girl. Hot wine with almost no alcohol was the limit for me. I didn’t even have the capacity to nibble on stollen (traditional German Christmas fruit bread), so what I could buy were only small sweets that could be eaten right away.

Not that I was interested in beer or wurst (sausages) either, so while the adults enjoyed themselves, I just passed the time quietly.

And then came our destination in Germany—Neuschwanstein Castle.
My impression upon visiting was simply, ‘It really is Neuschwanstein Castle.’

The sight before me was exactly as it had been when I visited in my previous life. London and Paris were the same—European architecture really is well preserved and hardly changes in form.
The fact that it had elevators and central heating from the very beginning also made it feel a little less impressive, just like Osaka Castle.

Because of that, I sometimes almost felt a flash of déjà vu, as if I had slipped back into my past life. But my height now is different from back then, and maybe thanks to that, I never quite mistake the present for the past.

Still, I ended up making a comment that froze the air around me, saying, “So this place hasn’t changed either,” even here at this castle, white on the outside and glittering gold inside.

“Well then, this is where we part, Reiko, Kouryuu.”

“Mm. Thanks for guiding us. Let’s meet next in Japan.”

“Thank you very much. Once again, it is sad to part, even if only for a while.”

“We’ll see each other in the spring. Take care, both of you.”

“Onii-sama, please, take good care of your health.”

“Yeah. This time collapsing drove the point home painfully well.”

Seeing us off with that wry smile, my onii-sama brought our short German tour to a close. Then, after he saw us off at Munich Station, we boarded the train bound for Venice.

I ended up doing something similar in Venice as I had at Neuschwanstein Castle, but at this point it might as well be my personal trademark.
And really, I think Venice is an exception.

Here too, it was almost exactly as it had been when I visited in my previous life. The only real difference was that it wasn’t quite as overrun with tourists as it would be in the 21st century. St. Mark’s Square was just as it always had been, and I was so delighted that I couldn’t resist enjoying a café latte at Caffè Florian.

What’s more, the shadow of Italy’s totalitarian regime barely reached this city. After all, their stronghold was in the south. Thanks to that, I was able to fully enjoy sightseeing here.

After spending about two days savoring the city of Venice, we took the train to Milan. From there, we traveled northward into Switzerland. The well-developed railway network of Western Europe made moving around far less stressful.

Once in Switzerland, we boarded the Rhaetian Railway in the east, enjoying the classic scenery as the train wound its way up in wide loops. This, too, was unchanged from my previous life. The fact that the line was already electrified only drove home how advanced Europe was compared to Japan.

In Japan, it’s harder to find things unchanged except for historical sites. That difference in preservation and infrastructure must be what influences the fundamental level of development and national power.

Next, we took another mountain railway already in operation to Jungfraujoch. Then, heading further west and using yet another mountain railway, we reached an observation deck over 3,000 meters high, from which we could see the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa in the distance.
It was a rather hurried trip, but we were able to savor the Alps.

“Hey, Princess, what’s so fun about looking at nothing but mountains?”

Perhaps because it had been mountain railways and peaks all the way, old man Yagami, one of my escorts, asked me with genuine puzzlement.

Talking about this at an altitude of 3,454 meters didn’t seem quite right, so I gave him a flat stare. But it turned out he wasn’t speaking out of sarcasm or humor.

“Seeing, experiencing, eating, and feeling things different from everyday life—that’s the real charm of travel. Besides, no matter where you look in the world, you won’t find another place where you can come this high by train. If you don’t savor the chance to enjoy such breathtaking scenery so easily, what else would you do?”

Even with my polite explanation, his reaction was dull, and in the end he just tilted his head.

“I don’t get it. All I understand is that sometimes you get to eat good food.”

“Yagami-occhan, you’re just not suited for traveling. On a round-the-world trip like this, that’s a bit of a waste.”

“I’m your guard, Princess. There’s no such thing as waste for me. But a trip around the world, huh. Now that you mention it, that’s what this is. Well, I’ll just think of it as ‘a frog in a well, know not the great ocean.’”

“That’s unusually modest of you.”

“One can become modest. How many people have you met on this journey? And besides, I could never have imagined we’d actually be witnessing history.”

His words were a little unexpected.
Maybe that’s why I felt like teasing him a bit.

“So, you’ve realized at least a little of my greatness?”

“Not greatness—more like fear.”

“Even though you could easily snap my neck if you just reached out your hand?”

“Yeah, that’s what’s frightening. You say you see the future, and yet you deliberately look at an abyss beyond imagination, foresee it, and still manage to keep up the appearance of composure. That’s the scariest part. But that’s also what makes you worth serving.”

With that, he finished and gave me his usual sly grin.
In the end, that’s probably all he wanted to say. One way or another, it was proof that even old man Yagami had gotten a bit sentimental looking at the majestic mountains that make people seem so small.

By contrast, Wan-san, who could be called his partner, was as steady as ever, always saying things like, “Now this is truly a magnificent view!” no matter where we went—and that, in its own way, was reassuring.

And Shizu was also running in her usual mode. But in Shizu’s case, since she’s the cool type, she just doesn’t show it on the surface. I know well enough that inside she’s often surprised or moved.
Still, since she serves me, she always returns to her calm mode right away. Watching that makes me feel a little lonely.

“Ojou-sama, since you have your next appointment, please prepare to depart soon.”

“Yes. Next is Geneva, right?”

“Yes. One night in Geneva. You have an appointment there with someone from a local bank. From there, we move on to Marseille, then by ship to Egypt, afterward Istanbul, Greece, Rome, and then return to Marseille.”

“Hm? We’re coming back to Europe again? I thought we’d head home directly.”

“That was the plan, but we lost a whole week in Paris, remember? Because of that, it’s already December. At this rate, we’d end up spending New Year on the ship heading home, so I figured—why not stay and experience Christmas and New Year in Europe before returning?”

“Say things like that beforehand.”

As we were talking, old man Yagami cut in with a businesslike jab. At times like this, if I don’t handle him the proper way, he’ll get seriously angry.
So I put my hands together in a cute pleading gesture and explained my reasoning properly.

“Sorry. I only decided on it today while on the train, so I was going to tell you when we gathered tonight. Besides, the ship we’ll be using is a charter, so the journey will be safe.”

“In that case, no problem. And with all this constant moving around, the only thing to really watch out for are pickpockets. Any ruffians crazy enough to go after the Princess would have been dragged around so much they’d be exhausted by now.”

“I think I’m more scared of the upper-class types than of ruffians. You never know where they’re connected or when they’ll suddenly show up.”

“True, the rich can be more troublesome.”

Despite my serious concern, old man Yagami burst into a loud, hearty laugh. His laughter echoed through the Alps, bouncing back as an echo.
Hearing that, I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten to do, despite being in the mountains.

“Yah-hooo!”

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

Yah-hoo:
Derived from the German shout “JOHOO (Yoh-hoo).” Said to have been used by mountaineers in the European Alps.
It was brought to Japan in the early Showa period, where “Yoh-hoo” became “Yah-hoo.”
Since it was around the time Wandervogel (the youth hiking movement) spread to Japan, the credibility seems high.
That said, there are various theories.