I’m Spying on the Heroine in an Otome Game World 5122 min read
Volume 4| Chapter 11: November (Up) – Part 2
The man’s lips curved to a smile while listening to Tsukishima Yuuki’s violin.
There was no spirit in Yuuki’s eyes — he merely practised like he always did.
Yuuki was bad at expressing himself, but when it comes to his music, he was honest. Normally, he would entrust all his emotions into his music and let it flow. However, such emotions didn’t exist for Yuuki right now. If someone were to put it into words, his [heart] was nowhere to be found.
Yuuki spent his normal everyday life with unfocused eyes.
Yet no one noticed. After all, the ordinary routine of the academy was slowly being encroached with these dazed students. Normally, there will be people suspicious if they had classmates who were constantly looking on with unfocused eyes. However, each of those students were affected differently. There were those who lost their hearts without showing any signs of it.
Those who entrusted their hearts to the man later went to release an fragrance into the air. That fragrance again would call and beckon another victim.
It wouldn’t take more than a month for all the students in the academy to be affected.
“Now then, I need Maria-san to quickly collect the stones,” the man muttered before turning his eyes to the candle stand on the altar.
There were nine hollow dents, with only one stone placed inside in the farthest right slot. On the opposite side to the left, the hollow dent was letting out a flickering light, waiting for the appropriate stone.
The man spoke out loud as though he was speaking to those not present at the moment.
“Every stone placed here will force all the capture targets’ affection rate to increase. There is only my stone at the moment, but even then it affected them instantly. No matter how much they may reject, if the others fall then it will be the same for them. Monday has already fallen… Now then, who will be next? Wednesday? Saturday? Haha, I don’t know, but that makes it interesting as well. In the first place, you all do not understand. Even if your feelings for Maria-san are not romantic… The game system (God) is and will continue to malfunction. The one who is in most danger right now… It should be you, Sunday. Are you aware that you were about to lose your sanity faster than even Monday?”
The man laughed.
“You would have been a disgrace as a teacher, Mister Sunday.”
The man cast his eyes to the shadows of the church.
“What do you think? Matsuri Kyouko-san.”
His eyes captured a single female student. She held a camera for interview purposes and a notebook. Just minutes ago, she had been speaking normally to the priest, but now her eyes became blank.
“You were quite tough. After all, the first time you visited the church and smelt the fragrance was back in September… In the end, you didn’t fall until I stepped on to the stage. You truly have a strong heart. You can be proud of yourself.”
The man paused for a second before smiling brightly.
Suddenly, a stone appeared at her chest before it immediately crumbled. The fragments turned into a fragrance and enveloped the girl.
“Please use your heart for my sake starting now. Allow everyone around you to entrust their hearts to the game system (God) and bring them to me.”
□ ■ □
After I said goodbye to Mizusaki-senpai and Kaneshiro-senpai—
“Well, basically, let’s be frank and drop all the pretenses for a moment here,” I said as I managed to capture Iinchou. I made him sit in a chair before laughing proudly.
It was back in October when Iinchou confessed to me that he was one of the staff who made the otome game, [Tokimeki Loveday ~Light the Candle of Love~].
I had been thinking of interrogating him so that he would explain a bit more about everything.
What I especially wanted to find out is about how Iinchou seemed to have cured Kazu-nii who acted strange for a period of time during the Cultural Festival. ……Also, I wanted to ask about the stun gun. Apparently, the stun gun Kazu-nii used to save me when I was confined during the Cultural Festival concert belonged to Iinchou.
Iinchou sure is dangerous.
“Didn’t I mention how I didn’t plan on intervening?” Iinchou said with a tired smile.
Incidentally, the two of us were at a café. I chose a café that we could stay long and had seats away from people, so they were less likely to hear. It was starting to be too cold to talk outside.
“Here I was wondering why Niimi-san asked me out on a date. Good grief.”
You didn’t think like that one bit, so don’t try to pretend.
“I said I’ll treat you to hot coffee and you followed after me normally, you know,” I pointed out.
“Well, yeah. But if it is a treat, I would have preferred a family restaurant since refills are free… And? What did you want to ask about?”
“Will you answer me?”
“It’ll depend on the question,” he said. Iinchou sipped his coffee with a composed expression. He raised three fingers with his free hand. “Still… Alright, I’ll answer any three questions. I’ll only answer three questions for you.
“Only three? Why’s that?” I asked.
“Three is the standard number when it comes to magic that will grant you any wish, am I right? In a way, I am a god of this world. I can spoil many things, but it won’t be interesting for me. I want to see humans of this world live and act like themselves. If I accidentally spoil something and distort someone’s way of living, there won’t be any meaning anymore,” Iinchou replied to me with a smile on his face.
Really, he has a great personality.
If I can only ask three questions, then I really have to narrow my topics down. I mean, I have a mountain of things I want to ask… However, what is most important to me right now?
“Then, first, please tell me about the stones,” I asked.
“Stones are smaller than boulders and bigger than sand. Incidentally, gravel is much smaller than rocks but bigger than sand. In medical science, there are such things as kidney stones in your internal organs,” Iinchou smoothly explained.
I glared at him.
“Good grief,” Iinchou said before shrugging his shoulders.
I sipped my drink placed right in front of my eyes. Incidentally, I got ice tea. I should probably switch to hot soon, but I feel like ice tea has more volume. It might be the ice though.
“I told you before, didn’t I? The [stones] are proof that someone is a capture target… It is the very embodiment of their [heart]. If the opposite gender takes it in their hand, they will literally obtain that person’s heart. There’s no effect when the same gender takes it.”
“You said, ‘You’re been affected by miasma and took it into your body,’ back at the Cultural Festival, didn’t you? Is the stone not something that should be materialized all the time?” I asked further.
“Ah…… You actually heard me. I messed up, didn’t I,” Iinchou said a little miffed. “Would you mind my own speculation on this matter?”
I was confused but nodded regardless. I mean, just moments ago, this guy went strange and called himself a god.
“Those [stones] weren’t actually a part of the game system. What I’m about to say is my own research on the stones,” Iinchou said before he placed his coffee cup down on his saucer.
“The [heart], besides looking after it yourself, can be left in two places. The first is the church, and the second place is within your own body. If they place it in the candle stand at the altar, they won’t be able to remove it even if it belongs to them. If they properly take it inside their own body, their heart will belong to themselves just like many other people. They will also no longer be affected by outside influences. But when they don’t properly take it inside their body, they won’t be able to change anymore. In other words, it’s impossible for them to reform or change their ways. They will forget how their heart was once materialized into a stone and become just a character in a game. Well, I guess that can also be called a happy end?”
T-This is bad. I don’t really understand him. I was greatly perplexed and quickly grabbed my notepad from my bag to take notes.
“O-One more time! Slowly! Go slowly!”
Iinchou smiled a bit tiredly when he heard my request.
“The [heart] can be held by themselves, taken inside their body, or left at the church. You can understand this, right? And the only method that will let someone move their [heart] around is when they carry it themselves. This is because their [heart] is materialized into a [stone] and can be treated as an object. If they can correctly take this [stone] into their body, it would be the best ending for them.”
“What do you mean by correctly?” I questioned.
“When they fill what they are missing or lacking, it’ll naturally be taken inside their body. To explain it like a game, the capture target needs to solve their own worries and doubts without relying on the heroine’s help. Of course, they wouldn’t be able to do this naturally. It’s a different story if they had some sort of chance encounter that will guide them. Of course, it’s because they can’t solve their doubts by themselves that there is room for the heroine to step in. All the capture targets are missing something in their hearts. If they take their hearts within their body, they won’t be affected by outside influences anymore.”
“Hmmm……”
“If they take their [stone] into their body incorrectly, we can’t help them because we are counted as outside influences. When this happens, their heart becomes fixed in place. They will lack what they are lacking in their hearts, leaving their doubts unresolved. Well, there will be people who won’t be bothered by this though. …I think in Hibiya-sensei’s case, he’ll be quite troubled if this happens? I mean, he’s properly self-restraining himself right now. When it happens, he wouldn’t be able to do this anymore.”
I wonder what Kazu-nii is lacking, but let’s leave that aside for now. As a human being and as a person working and living in society, it’ll be a really big problem if he can’t self-restraint himself anymore. I’m really grateful to Iinchou who stopped him just before it was all too late.
“What is an incorrect method?” I asked next.
“For example, being affected by miasma,” Iinchou answered.
“What is this miasma?”
“That question will count as your second question. Are you okay with that?”
“Wait a second.”
I got carried away and asked too much. I can only ask two more questions, so I can’t carelessly pick one.
Right now the mysteries I have are the [miasma], the [church], and… the [True Reverse Harem Ending].
Kazu-nii was affected by miasma but returned to normal after Iinchou splashed him with water. The vice-class rep of Class A and Katsuragi-kun’s cousin both had unfocused eyes and returned to normal with a stun gun.
In other words, I don’t know the details of the miasma, but I know ways on how to approach it. I think it’s okay if I leave miasma aside for now.
The next mystery is the church. I mean, this has been a mysterious place since I enrolled into the academy.
According to Kazu-nii, there is a legend in this academy where if you lit a [Candle of Love] with someone, you will be tied together with eternal love. I don’t know if people have actually tried this out though.
At the altar in the church, there is a candle stand with seven hollow dents. I think it was Designer-kun who said they were just big enough to fit the [stones] inside. I wonder if it’s his intuition as a capture target telling him this or whispers from his God of Fate.
Anyways, if I make an assumption that you need all the stones to create a reverse harem, it’s probably correct to insert the stones into the dents.
According to Iinchou’s explanation, if you insert the stone into the candle stand, not even the owner of the stone can take it out.
…Errr? In other words? If you insert the stone into the dents, you can’t cheat anymore? I guess it means the capture target will be completely captured. If I think about it a bit more, those stones can be touched by anyone. It won’t be strange if there was some equipment/device that will restrict the stones from moving for the game.
I observed Iinchou and he was currently calling a staff to order a seasonal parfait. Since it’s November, the seasonal fruit was European pear. You’ll get fat, you know. I wonder if Iinchou was a sweet tooth?
Last is the True Reverse Harem Ending. I barely know anything about it. According to what Iinchou said last time, Maria-jou needs to capture eight capture targets, which includes Father Michel.
…I wonder what kind of ending it is. Kazu-nii didn’t even know about the existence of an additional capture target for the complete version, so he has no information to give. I doubt Maria-jou will tell me if I try to ask her. In other words, I could only ask Iinchou right now.
“Okay, I decided. My second question is about the [True Reverse Harem Ending]. Tell me about it. What kind of ending is this?” I asked.
Iinchou looked dumbfounded. “You need an explanation for a reverse harem ending?”
“Cause, I haven’t played an otome game before. Maria-jou is going to be super popular, right? That’s fine but what is she going to do? Is she going to have all the capture targets waiting on her? Or is everyone going to get along merrily?”
Incidentally, if it’s the latter, I think it’s fine while everyone is still a student. Though I really wonder what will happen afterwards. Will everyone stay single forever and Maria-jou spends time with them all equally?
“Hmm…” Iinchou looked a little lost as he went silent. Eventually, his pear parfait came and he ate one bit before continuing. “I guess I can put it this way. To sum it simply, she gets to keep all of them.”
“Huh?”
“No matter who she chooses or who she doesn’t choose, they will only devote their love to her. Even if they get ignored, be indifferent to, they will never betray her nor would they leave her. Adding to that, they won’t do anything to discomfort her either. Basically, they will always work anxiously to please her.”
I was dumbfounded.
How should I say this… T-The capture targets will become convenient guys? Like all the members of Mizusaki-senpai’s fan club. Ah, no, Mizusaki-senpai does treasure his fan club.
“Well, I don’t know what will happen after the game ends. Maybe events with age limits might happen or maybe they will endlessly hang around forever in a surprisingly pure fashion,” Iinchou added.
“I-Is that fun? I mean, to be in a relationship like that…”
“Why don’t you think of it as having a lot of good-looking friends? All of them view you as special, spit out sweet words, and don’t notice any other girls. I think it’s the ultimate form of an otome game.”
I can’t. I’m too shocked that I can’t say a single word.
Maria-jou, are you really fine with this? To be frank, I think your capture targets all have troublesome personalities.
I mean Tsuchiya-shounen gets irritated easily when Maria-jou is friendly with another guy. Tsukishima-bishounen is only beautiful; otherwise he’s just a kid in his rebellious stage. I don’t think Mizusaki-senpai will be content being put on the same level as another guy. Never mind Kaneshiro-senpai as he’s plain scary.
Ah, yeah. I think if it’s Designer-kun, you will be able to get along with him fine. As for Katsuragi-kun, I wonder… Come to think of it, when I touched his stone, he went and bit me. He’s dangerous for sure.
Next is Kazu-nii? Hmm… I think he’ll be gentle but I also think he’ll try and intervene with a lot of things. Like where you go out and what you wear. Isn’t that a total pain?
Yet all those guys will try anxiously to please Maria-jou. I guess if they do, it’ll be okay?
“You’re in shock. How about it, Niimi-san? Have you ever dreamt of something like this?” Iinchou asked.
“Never,” I replied bluntly.
No, really, I don’t feel one bit envious at all. I seriously don’t understand Maria-jou’s tastes.
She’s going to line up seven good-looking men one by one… Actually, make that eight since you need to include Father Michel. All eight of them are different from my own tastes. I prefer someone like Tsukishima-senpai who is honest, sincere, and has a good sounding voice.
“We consider someone like you a very disappointing customer back in my previous life. No matter how hard we work to make a game, you won’t be interested at all.” Iinchou laughed with amusement. “I don’t dislike this side of you though.”
Thanks, I guess.
“Now then, the next question will be your third. Ask anything you want,” Iinchou said to me before he moved his finished pear parfait to the side. Hey, you ate way too fast!
My third question, huh… I was about to open my mouth but I ended up voicing something different.
“Iinchou, why do you look so pale this whole time?”
I wonder when I noticed it. At the very least, I realized it back during the Cultural Festival. The reason why Iinchou suited the vampire look a lot was because he looked pale and unwell. I’ve also spotted him holding his chest in pain once in a while.
Iinchou widened his eyes in surprise. He then shifted his eyes away before sighing. “Is that your third question?” He asked me.
“Yeah. Cause you won’t answer if I ask normally, right? You haven’t been looking good this whole time and have been rejecting everyone. I don’t think I’m the only one worried about you,” I said.
“……” Iinchou looked the other way. “Ah… Hmm…” He mumbled under his breath before he pressed his hand against his forehead, sighing softly. “…What are you going to do if I get serious. Take responsibility for me…”
“Hm?”
“It’s nothing.” He sighed once more before continuing, “I said I’ll answer anything you ask, so I have no choice. The reason why I look sick is…… To put it simply, I don’t feel well. I’m pretty desperately trying to hold myself back. I can’t take it into my body, nor is there somewhere safe I can place it. I can’t really sleep at night either.”
“Hold yourself down?”
“Yeah,” Iinchou replied, smiling with resignation. He then took something out from inside his shirt that made a small sound. It was a pendant with a milky-white stone at the end.
“A stone……!?” I gasped.
“I’m a hidden capture target, Shibuya Iwai1. That’s who I am.”
This man really loves to surprise people.
I snapped my eyes wide in astonishment and immediately afterwards—
Crash!
There was a loud sound from the entrance of the cafe, along with screams from other customers.
“Ah, I guess it started, huh. It’s amazing how she could drink five cups in a row. Still, she didn’t have to randomly trigger the event in a time like this,” Iinchou mumbled before he returned his pendant into his clothes. He took the bill in his hand before getting up.
“R-Randomly?”
“Basically, it’s a random event. It’s an event that doesn’t directly affect anything but it raises the friendship rate… You don’t need an explanation, actually. Niimi-san, it’s better if you head home quickly. You’re sick of being involved, aren’t you?”
Iinchou quickly walked off with the bill, leaving me confused to the side. Wait, I’m the one who said I’ll treat you to coffee here.
“H-Hey, wait…..” I quickly got up and inadvertently saw the incident going on at the cafe’s entrance.
Meanwhile, Iinchou was at the cash register next door, asking the bewildered staff if he could pay. He sure is bold. The said staff was helplessly looking at the entrance. Iinchou, I think you should wait a bit.
Now, what the staff was seeing…… was a black car peeking in through a broken door. Yes, that’s right. A car actually crashed into the store. I glanced around briefly, but it doesn’t look like anyone is hurt. The front of the car dented the glass door, breaking it, but the glass shards didn’t reach the customers’ seats.
That being said, there were glass shards everywhere, so all the staff were flustered. They were cautious of the car that drove in with cleaning tools in their hands while trying to explain the situation to the customers as well.
The said car that broke the glass door was a foreign car brand with a famous emblem. It looked really sturdy too.
The black car did a really reckless move to come to this café, and still had people sitting inside. Eventually, they got out of the car, revealing to me that it was Mizusaki-senpai along with a number of black suited bodyguards.
“Tch……” Mizusaki-senpai crouched over. His bodyguards stood around him like they were protecting him.
The said bodyguards were paying attention outside the cafe though, so Mizusaki-senpai obeyed the instructions of his bodyguards to come inside.
“M-Mizusaki-senpai!?” It was Maria-jou who let out a cry in surprise.
Just when did she come here? I didn’t notice her at all when I was talking to Iinchou. She was absent from school today, so I wonder if her grandmother’s health is alright.
Maria-jou looked like she was in the middle of tea time by herself. She got up from her counter seat, showing five empty cups behind her. Hey, hey, seriously, when did she come in? Also, did the staff here not help clean those up?
“You’re!? ……It’s a pain right now so don’t stand up. Step back,” Mizusaki-senpai said sharply after he cast his eyes on Maria-jou. Next he called out to one of the staff here. “I’ll pay for the broken door and walls later. I’m sorry but could you evacuate all the customers?”
“Y-Yes!”
…Evacuate the customers. Is the situation really that bad? Ah, but the car could go up in flames if the gasoline catches fire. It looks like it could be dangerous.
The staff quickly evacuated all the customers away from the crash. Everyone was gathered at the wall furthest away from the entrance. We squatted under the table like we were hiding.
I, too, kept myself near the ground as I observed the situation with questions running through my head. Now that I think about it, this isn’t an earthquake. Is there any meaning to squatting down like this?
Maria-jou, too, was a member of the refuge group. She was a little further away from me, with her eyes on Mizusaki-senpai.
It seems that whatever Mizusaki-senpai and his bodyguards were vigilant about didn’t happen. Mizusaki-senpai gazed outside for a while before eventually taking out his cell phone to call someone.
From what I can hear, it sounds like he’s asking for another car. I also heard him mention a tow truck and repair company. He might also be arranging the repairs for the café at the same time.
When he finished, he walked towards us before calling out to one of the staff to summon the manager. The said manager had been observing the situation from behind the cash register. When they were summoned, they cautiously approached Mizusaki-senpai.
“I’m sorry for the trouble. The Mizusaki family will take responsibility for all the repairs. Forgive me but don’t ask for the details.”
“I-I see……”
“Please excuse us,” Mizusaki-senpai said before he handed something like a business card to the manager. He finally returned to his bodyguards.
It’s now that Maria-jou raised her voice. “M-Mizusaki-senpai…… Is there… anything I can do for you?”
Yeah, no, there won’t be. I mumbled to myself in my heart. On the other hand, Mizusaki-senpai turned back to smile gently.
Whoa. You mean this guy can make a face like that? I’ve never seen him make such a gentle expression at the academy.
“As usual, you sure like to stick your neck into places,” Mizusaki-senpai said. “But it doesn’t look like it’ll end in fun and games. Sorry, but stay out of this.”
A new car came by and Mizusaki-senpai left with his bodyguards.
Maria-jou watched him go off in a daze. Eventually, she gasped, snapping back to her senses and gazed around with panic.
The staff here started to guide all the customers outside. One of them nervously called out to Maria-jou, and she joined in with the evacuation.
Incidentally, all the customers’ bills were included in the Mizusaki family’s compensation, so we don’t have to pay.
Meanwhile, Iinchou disappeared before I knew it after paying our bill without delay.
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TL note: Iinchou! Please give us more spoilers!
In case you forgotten:
Monday – Tsukishima-bishounen
Tuesday – Designer-kun
Wednesday – Mizusaki-senpai
Thursday – Katsuragi-kun
Friday – Kaneshiro-senpai
Saturday – Tsuchiya-shounen
Sunday – Kazu-nii
