Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As Yennefer prepared to head for Kaer Morhen, Olivia was still completing a few small side quests in Novigrad. The game system worked like so. Every time she went to a new place, she would receive a lot of new quests.

Naturally, Olivia was now the de facto leader of Kaer Morhen. She was both a sorceress and a witcher. All she lacked was the trial of the grasses. Even so, as a highly technical witch with the game system behind her back, she was most likely a more efficient hunter than either one of the two.

Currently, Olivia was not alone. In addition to her source of a sister, Cirilla who would never leave her sight, she also had an elite group of knights escorting her. They may not be anything like the personal guards of Emperor of Nilfgaard and other various great kings in the Northern Kingdoms, but they were not inferior to the guards of average small kingdoms.

Money could buy you decent security. Of course, her charisma as the "Pearl of the Northern Kingdoms" also played a part in that. Wandering knights from distant lands wanted to become the guardian knight of a flourishing kingdom's princess. However, someone had already taken up this position.

Olivia's guardian knight, was of course, her sister Cirilla. Cirilla had always been great at both magic and fighting. Her talent was preeminent. Now that Olivia was personally cultivating her, she might end up even stronger than Olivia — the hacker!

She has the double blessing of the protagonist aura and the child of fate!

Currently, this protagonist child of fate was committed to her sister. As she now had a "sister complex" to bolster herself, she was stronger than ever. If her sister ever got into trouble, she would definitely "blacken."[1] She would probably transform into a huge devil and destroy the whole world…

As Olivia was not a lone ranger like Geralt, she only had to lean back and bark orders to the left and right — and her quests would be completed at her whim. It was a bonus if Cirilla did all the hard work. That way, she killed two birds with one stone. Cirilla would not be kept too long from her training. By default, they were already in the same party. As long as Cirilla killed the monster, Olivia's quest would register the kill.

To others, it would seem as if Olivia was completely making use of Cirilla. In actuality, Cirilla did it on her own volition. Her childhood trauma had turned her obsessed in the pursuit of enormous power. At the same time, she did not want her sister to take unnecessary risks. As her sister's guardian knight, she was duty-bound to be her sister's sword!

In the beginning, the inexperienced Cirilla still found herself in the occasional pinch. Whenever that happened, Olivia would always take her sister out of danger and bring her back to safety. Cirilla had full faith in her sister's capabilities, so she could go all out in combat…

The wise Olivia made an excellent leader. She stood back, surveying the scene and analyzing every detail, instead of throwing herself into danger.

Now, Olivia had an excellent reputation. When she had amassed significant wealth, she began to seek ways to improve Kaer Morhen even further. She headed to Novigrad to pitch Kaer Morhen to its ruler and people. Kaer Morhen still has more room to spare, do visit us!

No matter what era it was, talent played a major role.

To Olivia, sorceresses with potent blood energy were akin to modern production lines, while gifted commoners would be really valuable resources.

Currently, the still relative-sparse population of Kaer Morhen took their first steps into a compulsory education system. From an early age, poor children who could not have possibly enrolled in any educational institute and remain illiterate for the rest of their lives would be taken in. They gained all the knowledge they needed there, while Olivia gained all the loyalty they could offer in turn.

Naturally, the free city of Novigrad took in the wealthy and powerful businesswoman Olivia with open arms. A parliament ruled the city. Of course, its members were all wealthy businessmen. When the Speaker[2] saw Olivia's extravagance, he started to have dreams of roping her into the parliament. He could not help but voice some of his lamentations to her, saying that the security of the city actually rested in the hands of a few criminals, such as Whoreson Junior[3] and The King of Beggars[4].

If Kaer Morhen's leader, the president of Olivia's Chamber of Commerce, the leader of the witchers from the School of the Wolf, the Pearl of the Northern Kingdoms, the Cintran little Princess Olivia joined the parliament, calling it a new era would be an understatement. Of course, if she wanted to become a member of the parliament formally, she must also contribute to Novigrad. Otherwise, her position would not be justified.

Little did they know that Olivia already had a long trail of titles behind her name…

As the Speaker spoke, a relatively tricky side quest popped up in Olivia's game system. Even so, she had been given ample leeway on her methods of completing it. She could contribute to Novigrad by getting rid of the criminals who consistently gave the people of Novigrad a headache. She could also sell her merchandise to the major businessmen in the parliament at a special discount, or merely add on to her slew of titles. Coming out as the Princess of the Nilfgaardian Empire would be one option.

It could not be helped. Emperor Emhyr rule was indomitable. The small kingdoms in the Northern Realms shivered beneath his shadow. If word got out that Olivia was actually the daughter of the Emperor and his heir apparent, then Olivia would be treated as a guest of honor wherever she went…

Of course, there was a second side to a coin. Others would plot against Olivia. At worst, assassins might attempt to drive a blade into her back. Without a successor, the entire Nilfgaardian Empire would fall into civil disorder.

In actuality, Emperor Emphyr's apparent lack of an heir was a commonly whispered topic among many ministers of the Nilfgaardian Empire. Clearly, after his return, he had played around with many women, but he still bore no children…

Olivia was not in a hurry to join Novigrad's parliament. She always planned three steps ahead of anything. Indeed, this prosperous and bustling Free City was worth her interest. However, she wanted complete control, not just a seat in the Parliament.

It was no wonder that Olivia was the daughter of the dictator Emperor Emhyr. Her desire for power was far beyond that of the average ruler. There was no such thing as liberal democracy in her eyes.

When Olivia received a letter from Geralt asking her and Cirilla to return to Kaer Morhen to welcome Yennefer, she was almost finished with her affairs in Novigrad, so she decided to leave.

Coincidentally, after Olivia came out of the city, she actually encountered a certain someone who was attempting to travel to Novigrad incognito.

His name was Kistrin. He was His Royal Highness the Prince of Verden, who had once been Olivia's fiance.

He had not struck Olivia as much. He was lucky enough to be the fiance of Cintra's little princess, which ironically made him look like scum in comparison. Cirilla had furiously spread rumors about him to Olivia, saying that the good-for-nothing Kistrin was not just fat and ugly, he reeked of alcohol and bad breath…

However, when they met each other again, Olivia discovered that Kistrin was actually neither fat nor ugly. So much for freaking fat and ugly?

Translation note :

[1] In TYPE-MOON's Fate series, "blackening" (黒化, Kokka) is a process by which a being is tainted by an outside force, causing their personality to be reversed toward the orientation of evil. There are several different processes that can blacken a being.

[2] "Speaker" here takes the meaning of the presiding officer in a legislative assembly, especially the House of Commons.

[3] Cyprian Wiley, more well known as "Whoreson Junior", is one of the four crime bosses of Novigrad alongside Sigi Reuven, Carlo Varese, and Francis Bedlam. Wiley is in possession of an arena, a casino, a hideout in Novigrad, and a residence in Oxenfurt.

[4] "The King of Beggars" (Francis Bedlam) was one of the four underworld bosses in Novigrad, alongside Whoreson Junior, Sigi Reuven, and Cleaver.