Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

To Zhao Youyue, Xiao Yiren was just a young creator who could not produce anything substantial. There was nothing to gain from him. Instead, it would be troublesome, if her parents misunderstood their relationship.

This creator was destined to be a passer-by in her life. If Lady Zhao’s legendary life was ever compiled into a novel, then Xiao Yiren’s presence had to be a side character or a cameo.

Of course, Lady Zhao ended up as a source of inspiration for Xiao Yiren. He could use her in many ways in his novels.

After Zhao Youyue expressed clearly about her rejection towards this ‘match-making,’ her parents who had always loved her made sure not to step on her toes again.

Zhao Jiayi and Wang Hua were very open-minded people. They did not think that girls must necessarily marry a man. As long as she had enough money, there was nothing to be afraid of. She could carry on and live her life happily. She would not have to adhere to the old Chinese customs and traditions.

Ordinary people who had no strong will of their own would only be caught up in ridiculous customs and traditions, only to shoved into marriage. After that, they would repeat their boring daily lives. In the end, they would lie to themselves, saying how blissful and perfect their lives were.

After this experience, Zhao Youyue’s focus went back to the Source World of the ‘Witcher.’ She felt that she could stop relying on the ‘autoplay assistant’ [1]. The process of climbing up the technological tree of farming was getting rather boring and dull. It was more enjoyable to shake things up in the world.

However, as this farming process lacked definition, some people might be led into thinking that the expansion of Princess Olivia’s power was just too impressive. The combination of science and magic was just too powerful. It was an industrial revolution.

It was just like in modern China, where western forces trampled the backward agricultural-based Qing Dynasty with their ships and cannons. They were basically forced into treaties that crippled them.

Princess Olivia was about to start doing something with her technological superiority…

In the real world, the Source World Culture Company that was under Zhao Youyue released an original 3D animation called “The Pathway of an Empress Regnant.” The CGI was impeccable. Afterall, it was a perfect recording of everything that had happened in the Source World.

Zhao Youyue published it on the internet. In the beginning, nobody really took notice. It was relatively slow-paced, but if one sat back and scrutinized it, they would see that it was a work of genius!

The animation was flawless, due to its supernatural nature. The sceneries, costumes could not have been designed any better!

It was truly uncommon to see a historically-inspired work that featured such accurate props. Fantasy Anime have grown highly prevalent. However, many of them had been half-assed. It was no different from watching a lazily drafted cartoon. There was no authenticity, no immersion, no passion!

However, “The Pathway of an Empress Regnant” had attracted quite a few hardcore fans. Some fans even had suspicions that those involved in the production of this work were Western History Professors who had a deep understanding of the Middle Ages…

Also, how the heck do you even overlook the quality of the animation?. Many viewers even wondered if this Source World Culture Company was crazy. How much money did they use to produce such quality?

Furthermore, who the heck were these voiec actors? They never once unveiled their names. Did they actually grab hold of professional western voice actors to do the voice overs? After all, their accents were flawless!

Even differences between the accents of aristocrats and non-aristocrats were distinct.

Most importantly, the main character of “The Pathway of an Empress Regnant” – the ‘Pearl of the Northern Kingdoms’, Princess Olivia, was adorable!

She had been incredibly beautiful since birth. Even if the loli Princess Olivia stood there and did nothing, everyone would go all moe over her! Sadly, she was a scheming ‘isekai traveller.’ She even had access to the game’s system. How fun it was to watch this overpowered loli stir up trouble.

In the beginning, everyone had casually watched this scheming loli’s path to greatness. Even watching her interact with her sister, Cirilla, was explicitly heart-warming and cute. Ah, the joy of yuri. This was just like the recently popular ‘citrus’ [2] …

Eventually, this yuri hidden gem somehow gained traction. Viewers felt that they were watching an epic masterpiece. It contained various complexities, such as politics, culture, economy, customs and many more. No other fantasy work went through such great pains to appear so convincing!

If such work made it to the west, it would most definitely be a hit. Many western audiences expressed their amazement at how an eastern cultural company could produce such an original piece of fantasy work. It was indeed a remarkable achievement!

The China in this World was very strong and powerful. It had even attracted many informants and spies from western countries as well. They had even used this animation as an example to point fingers at their own country’s quality of work. Why couldn’t they produce such quality? Where did they go wrong?

Of course, it was no fault of theirs. Their country did not have any of their Zhao Youyues who could use the ‘Two Dimensional Gate.’ Her animations had not been made with computers. Her Royal Highness Princess Olivia had handed it through the Two Dimensional Gate.

Of course, the climax of “The Pathway of an Empress Regnant” would be the ‘Massacre of Cintra.’ The sisters, Cirilla and Olivia, had to depend and go through very hard times. It had been so terrifically jarring and unnerving. Many viewers no longer treated it as a trifling past time. It was an actual religion!

Viewers started following the series zealously. They were excited to see how the sisters were going to change their fates. They were excited to see their identities as the daughters of the Nilfgaardian Empire get revealed, and lastly, they were excited to see which Princess ends up inheriting the massive empire from the South!

After all, Emperor Emhyr had done far too much evil, desecrate too many graves, and betrayed his secret virtues. He was no longer fertile. Thus, if Cirilla and Olivia’s identity were exposed, then the most qualified persons to inherit the empire would be these two Princesses of Cintra.

Under these circumstance, Zhao Youyue became Princess Olivia once again. She continued her own pathway to becoming an Empress Regnant.

Translation note:

[1] “Autoplay assistant” (挂机托管) is a service or an application where it will automatically grind the game for you. Some variation of an autoplay-mode can be found in most of the top-grossing Chinese RPGs, and their implementation can be very pervasive.

[2] “Citrus” (橘里橘气) is a popular Chinese slang describing lesbians. It originated from the Japanese Yuri manga ‘Citrus’. The term ‘citrus’ came about as the protagonist of the Anime smelled a citrus taste from her half-sister, and thus opened the doors to her Yuri adventures.

[3] “Cultural globalization company” (文化公司) refers to a company which is in the business of transmission of ideas, meanings, and values around the world in such a way as to extend and intensify social relations. This process is marked by the collective consumption of cultures that have been diffused by the Internet, popular culture media, and international travel.