I’m Spying on the Heroine in an Otome Game World 4022 min read
Volume 3 | Chapter 10: October (Up) – Part 1
My heart kept racing the next day. The closer afterschool came, the sound of my heart became louder and louder. Kazu-nii looked at me with concern during class, but he didn’t react any other way.
Finally, all the classes were over. I walked to the student council room with heavy feet.
It’s scary to face Kaneshiro-senpai. I thought I regained my composure yesterday though. Maybe this is what Kazu-nii calls ‘being interfered by the game system’.
Finally, I reached the third floor of the western building. I stopped at the end of the hall, just in front of the student council room. I breathed in and out deeply before I made my resolve to knock on the door.
“Please come in.”
I opened after those words and greeted everyone with a smile as I entered. I noticed Mizusaki-senpai glancing my way, Tanaka-senpai bursting into a smile, and Kaneshiro-senpai narrowing his eyes.
“Excuse me, Kaneshiro-senpai,” I said. But I think my voice might be trembling. “I have something I need to discuss with you. Would you have a bit of time?”
I took him with me to those flower beds.
I didn’t like the idea of being alone with him in a closed room. That being said, this wasn’t something we can discuss in a room filled with people. When I think of it this way, having a discussion at the flower beds felt like the best choice. I mean, if something happens, I could run as soon as possible without issue.
“What business did you have with me, Shiori-san,” Kaneshiro-senpai questioned.
“…Kaneshiro-senpai, please listen to me until the very end without thinking I’m crazy. I’m serious about what I’m about to say.”
I feel like I can now understand a little about how Kazu-nii felt when he confessed this world’s secret to me during spring with this same kind of introduction.
“It’s about the stones you and Mizusaki-senpai have. I know other people who have extremely similar stones.”
“…Eh?” Kaneshiro-senpai frowned a bit.
I demonstrated how big the stones were with my right hand’s thumb and index finger. “It’s a stone about this big, right? That person’s stone is amber in colour though. His hypothesis is that it is the very embodiment of his ‘heart’. If someone of the opposite gender obtains this stone, he would have his ‘heart’ stolen away.”
“……” Kaneshiro-senpai fell silent.
“I don’t have a stone, so I don’t really know how they work. However, I know that there are multiple people who have this same kind of stone. I also know that there is a girl approaching those people with those stones. My goal is to make sure that a certain person’s stone doesn’t fall into her hands.”
I stopped here and examined Kaneshiro-senpai’s reaction. Hm, he still hasn’t made a move.
“I do not see Kaneshiro-senpai or Mizusaki-senpai as objects of romantic interest. In no way have I been purposely acting to draw your attention. I have only been doing my work as a vice representative of my class. Because of my duties, I can’t avoid seeing you two in the student council room. I am trying to avoid as much as I can in the future, so, please…” I sucked my breath in. “Would you please take me off your alert list?”
Kaneshiro-senpai still didn’t move, pasted on his face was his usual gentle smile.
I thought for the whole day if I should confess about how this world was an otome game. However, I thought that talking about the stones instead might be easier to win Kaneshiro-senpai over. …I mean, the possibility of him believing me rambling about games was really low.
We want to stop Maria-jou from capturing Kazu-nii.
Kaneshiro-senpai wants to keep women away from Mizusaki-senpai.
Why can’t these two parties work together?
——Kaneshiro-senpai’s expression softened.
“The person you are talking about who has a stone is Hibiya-sensei, am I right?”
Huh!? My eyes snapped wide. …Damn it, I can’t affirm or deny.
“So you won’t deny,” Kaneshiro-senpai continued. “…Incidentally, have you touched his stone before?”
“I have never touched his stone,” I answered. I touched Katsuragi-kun’s stone though.
“Yet you believe Hibiya-sensei’s story? Why? I believe this is quite an absurd story,” Kaneshiro-senpai pointed out as he looked at me searchingly.
“…Why do I?” I couldn’t help but let out a dumb sounding voice.
Err, sorry. It’s true that when I heard this world was an otome game, I did doubt Kauz-nii. I also thought, what the heck was this guy talking about. But I didn’t think Kazu-nii was lying to me.
“…It’s hard to explain but I believe that he would never lie to me. Ah, but he does hide things from me, which is different from lying though,” I mumbled out as I scratched my forehead. How should I answer him?
That was when Kaneshiro-senpai opened his mouth. “Why didn’t you warn the two of us?”
“…….Huh?”
“If your words are correct, both Homare and I are targeted by that woman. In that case, we would have liked a warning about not giving our stones to her.”
“…….Haa…” My lackluster reply made Kaneshiro-senpai frown.
“Why are you looking at me so oddly?” He asked me.
“Errr, sorry. I have no interest in how you two’s relationship with her will develop in the future. I mean, Kaneshiro-senpai, if you come to like her then isn’t it fine? You also know what effects the stones have, so you would be on guard even without any warnings from me…” I admitted.
Kaneshiro-senpai sighed. He then turned his eyes to the flower beds, gazing at the withering garden balsam.
“…I don’t actually hate garden balsam. Showing their fruit in order to prove their innocence is what I call foolishly honest. Perhaps she never had any secrets to begin with.”
…Huh? Is he talking about the Greek myth again?
While I was staring blankly at him, he smiled. This smile wasn’t the usual one that he pasted on his face. It’s a smile that didn’t have any scheming maliciousness.
“You really have no interest in us,” he said before laughing genuinely amused. “I must apologize. I am very wary when it comes to women you see…… I thought the only woman I could trust in this academy is Tanaka-san. I feel like I could become friends with you too,” Kaneshiro-senpai said with a bright expression.
I have to say, it was a refreshing expression. It was so refreshing that I almost felt dizzy.
“Niimi-san, I shall promise you that I will no longer hold my guard around you. I don’t mind if you approach Homare either. I must warn that Homare’s skinship can be a little too stimulating. It might be best if you receive permission from your guardian first.”
Kaneshiro-senpai grinned. I noticed he changed from ‘Shiori-san’ to ‘Niimi-san’. …Would this be his proof of trust? I wondered for a bit.
“Please take this as a symbol of platonic affection.” Kaneshiro-senpai took my hand and brought it to his lips. He pretended to kiss it.
“Without any affairs of romance, and as only friends, please take care of me from now on,” He said to me with an elegant smile. He really looked like a prince.
From this very moment, the student council room became a safe zone for me.
□ ■ □
Next Monday, Kazu-nii summoned Iinchou and I right in the morning.
Kazu-nii would call us like this to brief beforehand like he did when Designer-kun transferred in and new seat arrangements. He probably thinks that things wouldn’t go smoothly if we went without a plan.
That being said, I questioned his nerves calling me on a Sunday night. Incidentally, he didn’t visit my home this weekend.
Iinchou and I came to school earlier than usual and made our way to the staff room. Right away Iinchou got straight to business.
“And what are we discussing today?” He asked.
“To tell you the truth, your timetables have changed,” Kazu-nii explained as he took out Class B’s schedule. He pointed his finger at the first period on Mondays. “Starting this week, your first period on Mondays will be a lecture on theology. Apparently, it’ll be held in the auditorium. It will be optional for the third years preparing for their university exams… It’ll be more or less required for the first and second year students.”
Theology? It wasn’t something I would hear normally, so I tilted my head in question. Iinchou looked like he was pondering about it carefully.
“This is quite sudden,” Iinchou pointed out. “When was this decided?”
He has a point. This came out of the blue.
“It was Sunday when we, the teachers, were informed,” Kazu-nii admitted with an exasperated face. “To be honest, we’re quite surprised too.”
“And? What are we doing in this lecture?” I asked this time.
“Since it’s a lecture on theology, it’ll involve Christianity, I’m betting. Seika Maria is a missionary school. It seems the board chairman announced it out of the blue to everyone. He didn’t mind what level the lecture is; just that we should at least have a lecture once.”
“Aren’t our class schedules decided beforehand for the entire year though?”
The details of our courses and schedule were listed on our academy’s homepage and pamphlets. The reason for this is so that students applying to this school and parents can use it as reference for applying. …I have no memory of using it as a reference during my entrance exam preparations though.
“Normally, yes. That being said, the decision is final, so we don’t have any other choice. Us teachers are currently discussing how to make up for the loss of your first period. But, well, there’s a chance it won’t happen every week if it’s just a whim of the board chairman.”
“Will students of different religions be required to attend?” Iinchou asked.
I was a little surprised. “Iinchou, are you Buddhist?”
“I would think more than half of Japan practises Buddhism. And, well, I don’t think the number of Japanese Christians even reaches one percent of the population. It’s considered a minor religion here. That’s why I’m questioning why the students are being forced to attend,” Iinchou elaborated.
“You have a point.” Kazu-nii pondered for a bit before smiling. “Well, it’ll be held in the auditorium and not in a classroom. If there are students who don’t want to attend no matter what, we wouldn’t mind their absence. I mean, this country guarantees our freedom of religion. Though I do want students to show up if they just want to skip class.”
Kazu-nii ended our meeting like this.
Iinchou looked gloomy as we headed to our classroom. I guess he really didn’t want to listen to a lecture about Christianity.
Personally, I don’t really care. I won’t say I’m an atheist though. I mean, aren’t Japanese people rather open-minded about religion? In the ‘that kind of god exists too, huh’ thing of way. If the chairman wants to hold a lecture, then I don’t mind listening about it once.
I’ll turn the lecture down if they want me to donate though.
“Niimi-san, are you going to attend the lecture?”
“Yeah. I don’t have any fixed beliefs with religion anyways. Iinchou, you really don’t want to attend then?” I asked.
“Yeah…… The lecture will be done by a real priest, right? Being forced to attend and listen is a little…”
“If you are really against the idea, want me to make an excuse for you? It’ll be a little questionable if our class representative decides to skip in front of our class, right?” I suggested.
Iinchou widened his eyes.
“Go and hide out in the infirmary. I’ll tell the class that you’re not feeling well. Come back in the second period, saying you got better,” I added.
“Ah… Hmmm…” Iinchou mumbled. “…….Niimi-san,” he said, bowing his head after debating for a while. “I’m sorry but could I count on you?”
“I don’t mind. It’s no big deal anyways.”
“I’ll thank you somehow later. Niimi-san, when is your birthday again?”
“You don’t need to go so far. My birthday’s Christmas Eve — just don’t get me iced tea.”
“Then hot is fine?”
“Making it hot doesn’t change anything,” I complained with a laugh.
Come to think of it, Iinchou asked for a birthday present in June. I asked him if iced coffee was fine and he told me to make it hot. In the end, I gave him a folded umbrella though.
Iinchou went off to the infirmary like that. I waved my hand at his back and saw him off.
Suzuki-obaachan sensei might get angry with him when she notices he came to skip class. Well, Iinchou should live with that as a price.
Still, I couldn’t imagine this weak point of Iinchou. I didn’t think he disliked religion that much.
I sat at my desk absentmindedly until it was homeroom time. I got up before it started though to get ready to explain the change of our Monday’s first period. While I was at it, I informed everyone Iinchou had gone to the infirmary because he was feeling unwell. Kazu-nii was surprised but he didn’t question it.
I surveyed the class but there wasn’t anyone with issues attending a lecture on theology. Suddenly, I realized Maria-jou was absent today. She was often late or absent for the whole day on Mondays due to her hospitalized grandmother. Today, too, she was probably visiting her grandmother at the hospital.
“Alright, then let’s head to the auditorium,” I announced to the class and started the move.
When I reached the auditorium, I grabbed a seat together with Yumi-chan. There were enough seats here for all the first year students, but there’s definitely not enough for all the students in the academy.
I took a quick glance around to see there were no students listening to the lecture while standing. It seems quite a number of students have skipped the lecture. Well, this lecture was optional for the third year since they had exam preparations, so not everyone was skipping.
“Yumi-chan, are you broadminded in regards to religion?” I asked my friend. I know this was a weird question too, yet I recalled what I discussed with Iinchou, so I tried asking.
“Hmm…. I go to the shrine during New Years, visit graves during O-Bon, and celebrate Christmas. I would like my wedding in a church, but I think I’ll feel more relieved if I have a Buddhist funeral.”
In other words, Yumi-chan was the same as me. We didn’t have fixed beliefs.
Still, Yumi-chan in a wedding dress, huh. It doesn’t click in my head. However, I hope to be good friends enough that she would ask me to give a speech as her friend when it happens.
“Yumi-chan, I think you’ll suit a traditional wedding ceremony too,” I commented.
“Hmm…?” Yumi-chan tilted her head. “But the wig you have to wear looks heavy. But the white wedding kimono is beautiful. It’ll be nice to wear that and a colourful one too.”
Hm-hmmm. I’m the one who brought up this topic but this is really a girl’s dream.
Colourful wedding kimono! Wedding ceremony! Whoa!
I’m starting to feel embarrassed. I wonder if I will marry one day? I can’t imagine myself wearing a white dress and doing it though.
“How about you, Shiori-chan?”
“Eh? You mean my wedding ceremony?”
“No, I meant your thoughts on religion but your wedding ceremony is fine too. I want Shiori-chan to wear a short wedding dress. One that’s pure white and fluttering. Wearing that kind of dress is the special privilege of a young bride, don’t you think? Shiori-chan, you have a good style, so I’m sure you’ll suit it,” Yumi-chan said.
“Err, that’s a little embarrassing so…”
A short wedding dress! Short! Ahhhhhhh!
Come to think of it, Yumi-chan says it’s a special privilege of a young bride. Just what age am I when I’m marrying in Yumi-chan’s head? I don’t have a partner, so I can’t imagine anything.
“If you’re going to hold your wedding in a church, I’ll prefer it if you don’t show your legs,” Designer-kun jumped into our conversation. He grabbed a seat behind us before I even noticed and bended forward.
“Huh? Kamura-kun, you’re listening to this lecture too?” Yumi-chan asked, tilting her head with surprise on her face.
“Cause I am Christian~ I haven’t met the Father lecturing today, so I was wondering what kind of person he was too,” Designer-kun explained.
“Huh? But don’t you attend the church on Sundays?” I asked.
Designer-kun’s expression clouded. “The Father until now is moving to a new parish. He only told me yesterday, so I was pretty surprised. He was like a dad to everyone and a really good person. If he was lecturing today, I would have wanted everyone to listen…” Designer-kun looked really disappointed. “The new Father is apparently French. The old Father was Japanese though.”
Oh. I guess this new priest just came here and is already giving a lecture. According to Kazu-nii, this lecture started because of the board chairman’s whim, so it must be tough. Wait, if the new priest is from a different country—
“The lecture isn’t in English right?” I mumbled out with worry.
Designer-kun laughed. “I said he was French. Why did you bring up English? Won’t it normally be French?”
Ah, he has a point.
Now then, things finally began with almost all the seats filled up. The students started to talk amongst themselves when they saw the man on stage.
He had blond hair? Or maybe it was even silver? I guess this might be what you call platinum blond. Anyways, the man had very light coloured hair and a tall stature. He wore clothing that resembled a school uniform — it was black with long sleeves. I wonder if that was the standard robe of a priest.
As for what he lectured, I couldn’t really recall. But he did speak in Japanese though.
I feel like he mentioned a lot about God or holy spirits and such. The first period ended before I realized. I didn’t even notice that the chime had rang for a while. I couldn’t help but be in a daze.
When I looked around me, I saw that Yumi-chan and Designer-kun were feeling the same. Everyone looked at the stage with unfocused eyes.
Still, I could clearly remember that the priest’s name was Michel. He also had beautiful features; the type you could mistaken him for an angel or fairy. In other words, he was extremely good-looking.
□ ■ □
The first Sunday of October. This was also the day before Seika Maria Secondary Academy held its lecture on theology.
Aikawa Maria had waited for this very moment like she had been praying.
There was an old church in this academy. It had a notice saying staff only, so there were barely any guests besides the weekly Sunday service.
The interior design of the church was quite simple. Once you enter the door, there will be an altar straight ahead. Behind the altar was stained glass, which will shine when the afternoon sunlight passes through. On top of the altar was a candle stand with no candle inserted. As for the pedestal, there was a gothic cross decoration and nine hollow dents. Perhaps it was missing decorations. In any case, those dents were large enough to fit a small orb.
Two people sat on the bench inside the church.
A female student and a male student. The two of them gazed at the door besides the altar.
Creak…….
Eventually, the door opened with a small sound. The man who appeared wore clerical clothing and walked slowly to the altar. He had silver hair; his light blue eyes were narrowed slightly. He looked to be from his twenties to thirties but it was hard to pinpoint his age.
The man stood in front of the stained glass and looked really beautiful. His face was like an sculptured piece of artwork and didn’t feel like it was possible in the world.
“…….I have finally met you!!” Joy coloured the female student. “Father, I have finally met you!” She cried out like she was overwhelmed with emotion and ran from the bench.
She tried jumping at the priest but he gently refused her. “Please excuse me… Miss, we have only just met,” the man said. His clear and androgynous voice echoed in the church.
“Ah! ……I-I’m sorry!” The female student quickly bowed her head in panic. She covered her cheeks dyed in red with both of her hands.
Yes, the two have only just met. The girl had forgotten that all she did all she could to make this man appear and that nothing had progressed yet with him either.
“May I ask for your name?” The priest asked.
“Yes! My name is Aikawa Maria!” She lifted her head quickly and answered happily.
The man’s lips curved up to a smile. “The heroine of this world, right?” The tone of his voice suggested that he knew everything.
The third person in the church — the male student frowned. The scene past his glasses was extremely beautiful. A man mesmerizing like an angel and a charming, lovely girl were facing each other. However, there was a difference in enthusiasm between the two. This difference was also something the male student did not predict.
The male student knew this man dressed in clerical clothing. The female student had wanted to meet this man the whole time. The method of triggering the priest’s appearance was guessed by the male student.
And with the method envisioned by the male student, the priest did appear. However, should the priest really appear like this?
The dents at the pedestal increased from seven to nine. This, too, was predicted by the male student. Just a short while, the male student felt heat like a fire was being lit inside his heart. Yes, he planned for all of this.
“This is fine now, right?” The male student spoke to the girl. “Please excuse me. Like I have first promised, I won’t discuss this matter with you anymore in the future.”
The female student looked surprised. “Why?”
“Why what? In the first place, I have no obligations whatsoever to cooperate with you in this matter. I only had some idea about this world, and that is all. I don’t agree with your goal either.”
The girl pouted. She looked quite cute as she sulked but she didn’t attract the male student’s interest at all.
“You’re involved in this matter, so what’s wrong with helping out?” She asked.
“No thank you,” the male student declared before turning his back at them.
The priest merely smiled as he watched the third person leave the church quickly.
“He can be such a bully. But, well, whatever. He did keep his promise.” The girl smiled with satisfaction. “Father…” She turned her eyes filled with heat at the man.
His beautiful looks were just as the girl dreamed of. It was like the character from the game based on this world appeared exactly alike in front of her. The other characters of the game had differences here and there. A 2D illustration and a 3D live person wouldn’t be the same no matter what.
It couldn’t be helped, so she had given up. Sometimes those characters would react differently from what she wanted too. The female student couldn’t help but feel that was irritating.
Truthfully, she wanted to see all the events. She wanted to get closer to those men bit by bit and wait for them to smile kindly at her. When that happens, she was sure they would react the way she wanted. However, the female student needed to ‘regulate’ and ‘coordinate’. As a result, she had to let several events go by.
Hurry up and look at only me.
I want them to only whisper words of love to me.
I want you to treasure only me in this world.
No, that’s not it. That’s not what I actually want, the female student thought. She didn’t want them to love only her……. She didn’t want anyone else reflecting in their eyes.
She wants them to smile happily only when she stretches out her hand to them.
When she doesn’t reach out to them, she doesn’t want them to see anyone else.
This was the desire to monopolize, she thought.
——Until my heart catches up, until I choose you, don’t become someone else’s.
A small pain started to grow inside the girl’s heart. It felt like something was screaming inside her. However, she didn’t know the reason why yet.
“Maria-san, you are the heroine of this world. Your existence gives me the resolve to break the connection between me and the game system (God),” the man said as he continued to smile the way the girl wished. “Seek out stones. Stones that are to be inserted in this pedestal.”
The priest pointed at the hollow dents.
“With every stone, you will obtain that person’s ‘heart’. The people you gain the ‘hearts’ of will act the way you wish. I will remove everything that obstructs your way. Now, as proof of my promise to you, I offer you my stone.”
The man took out an ornament with a stone in it from inside his robes. The round stone was shining in silver colour. He then inserted the stone inside the hollow dent with his own hands.
“See? I am now yours with this,” he said before he caressed the girl’s cheek and softened his eyes.
They were like the eyes of a man in love.
□ ■ □
TL Note: Shiori solves one problem and seems to have come across another…
