That World of Otome Games is Tough for Us - Volume 2 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

ONE WEEKEND AFTERNOON, Marie and I finished shopping and dropped into a café. I plonked down the ridiculous number of shopping bags. My cheeks hollow with the utter exhaustion of having accompanied Marie, I took a sip of tea. The thought of lugging the bags back to the dorm made me sink into my seat.

Marie was the complete opposite. She was in high spirits, having bought everything she wanted. She dug eagerly into the cake she’d ordered, reflecting on our outing. “I feel way better about the school trip now that I have proper clothes. It’s not like I could just wear my uniform the whole time, so I was worried.”

When she told me that all her clothes but her uniform were worn and threadbare, I’d felt like crying on her behalf. Given her personality, I figured she’d demand brand-name, high-end clothing, but her frugal mentality kicked in. To my shock, when she tried to buy the priciest stuff, her knee-jerk negative reaction kept her from making the purchase.

Her body and soul recoiled from the thought of pouring so much money into clothing. Ironic, given that her goal was to find happiness and live the high life, which she’d essentially accomplished. What kind of curse was this? That was what it had to be—a curse.

“You sure you’re okay with all these bargain buys?” I asked.

“It’s not like I had any other choice! Whenever I tried to buy something else, seeing the price tag made me dizzy. Just the thought of buying brand-new clothes off the rack makes me nauseous.”

Looks like she’ll need some therapy even to live like a normal person. If her mindset’s this bad, when will she actually enjoy her newfound wealth?

“How did you make it through summer break?” I asked.

“Oh, the break? Um…” Marie’s cheeks reddened. “Your mom offered me clothes to wear. I couldn’t tell her no when she was being so nice, so I borrowed them.”

I pressed a hand to my forehead. “I wish she’d said something about it.”

Luxion was in a half-transparent state to prevent unnecessary attention, only allowing us to make out his vague outline. Hovering between us, he interjected, “Master, your mother is unaccustomed to the wealth your family now enjoys. She spent the majority of her life in poverty.” 

His words stung more than usual. “Yeah, she’s suffered quite a bit, too,” I agreed. “Maybe I should pick up souvenirs for the family today and send them home.”

“A splendid idea. In fact, that would be a rather surprisingly productive use of time compared to how you normally spend weekends, Master.”

My top lip hiked up in a sneer. “I could do without the sniping from the peanut gallery, thanks.” He really knew how to get under my skin.

“Let’s stop the usual bickering there,” Marie said. “We should focus on the school trip! Like, I never dreamed we’d head to an island inspired by Japan. Kind of feels like fate, doesn’t it?”

There was something disorienting about the prospect of visiting an island based on Japanese culture in a Europe-inspired fantasy world. But perhaps the island shouldn’t have surprised us; the game devs didn’t seem to have put much thought into the world and its lore. Trying to rationalize the existence of an island that clashed with the rest of the game’s aesthetic was an exercise in futility.

Still, I understood why it felt like fate to Marie, since we’d both been Japanese in our previous lives. Little did she know our destination was no coincidence.

“It’s not fate,” I told her. “I’m the reason we’re going there.”

“Huh?” Marie tilted her head to the side.

“See, I bought off—er, sent gifts to the professors. And kind of hinted that I’d love to go to that island for our trip.”

“Are you for real?” Marie gave me a judgmental look.

“You are downplaying your involvement, Master,” Luxion interrupted, offering a more detailed account. “Master prepared a substantial sum of money to bribe your teachers. He privately met each one and passionately expressed interest in visiting this island on the trip. The exorbitant amount he offered for the professors’ ­cooperation uniformly delighted them, and they agreed to support his bid.”

Marie stared at me blankly. “You really are a scumbag. You should’ve given me some of that money.” She held out her hand expectantly.

I narrowed my eyes. “I already give you an allowance to cover your daily expenses.”

“But I want gold coins! Actual gold coins! Look, I may not be able to buy luxurious jewelry or clothes, but I’d like to have gold coins. I think I could hold those without shaking like a leaf.”

“Producing white-gold coins for you would be simple enough. Shall we start with a conservative amount? Say, a thousand?” Luxion offered.

White gold was imbued with mana and gave off a mystical glow. It had a similar composition to regular gold but was pure white, as its name implied. Its rarity and quality made white-gold coins the most valuable of all comparable currency. Even a single coin was worth a fortune, making it the perfect material to fulfill Marie’s wish.

Alas, the mere mention of white gold had Marie’s hands trembling uncontrollably. “I-I think I’ll let you off the hook for today,” she said, as if doing us a favor.

“A shame. If you ever change your mind, please let me know at any time. I will stock ten thousand coins in the meantime,” said Luxion.

Marie shook her head, eyes dazzled. “Did…did you say ten thousand?! As in ten thousand white-gold coins?” Her mouth twitched. “Ah ha ha…ha ha ha!”

“Now look, you broke her,” I told him, pointing emphatically at Marie. “This is your fault, Luxion.”

“I merely offered to present her with the very thing she said she desired.”

As much as I blamed him, Marie did have issues of her own.

Tucking a hand into my pocket, I produced a jewelry box containing a necklace. I set it on the table in front of Marie; she immediately shot up straight, regaining her senses at the prospect of a gift.

“What’s this?” she asked eagerly.

“A present. I still don’t have a green light from you on my proposal, so I figured for now, I’d give you this.”

“Wait, you mean it?!” Marie snatched up the box and stole a glance at me, awaiting my permission to open it. I nodded, and she immediately cracked it open. “Aww! Wait. Huh? This is…” She pulled it out of the box, her face contorted into an inscrutable expression.

The necklace in her hands was the item I’d retrieved from the Winged Sharks’ leader. It was a bit gaudy, but it was a key game item called the Saint’s Necklace—a rather uninspired name.

Marie held the necklace out in front of her, scowling. “Hold on a second. Why’re you giving me loot from that pirate battle? You’re not trying to get me to give Olivia this on your behalf, are you? Because in case you didn’t already know, she and I aren’t friends—or even acquaintances!”

There she goes, jumping to conclusions without letting me explain myself. I laughed at her. “Actually, I’m giving it to you because you’ve seemed cursed ever since your last life. I figure keeping the Saint’s key item with you ought to bring you some good luck.”

I probably sounded like I was joking, but I was entirely serious—about this necklace, at least.

“I give no credence to superstitious notions such as curses, but if the item brings you relief, I feel you should hold on to it,” Luxion said in a rare show of support—support he wouldn’t have given if I weren’t sincere. “Master’s knowledge of this item has proven accurate; it indeed possesses magical properties. Keeping it in your possession should have some effect.”

This holy relic possessed far stronger power than a run-of-the-mill magic item found sitting in some shop around town. Luxion had expressed great interest in it, but when I said I was giving it to Marie, he permitted it.

Marie held the necklace closer, face still twisted between displeasure and reluctant acceptance. “You’re giving it to me for luck, huh? But eventually I’ll need to turn it over to Olivia, won’t I?”

That went without saying, unfortunately. When the time inevitably came, I would have to approach Olivia and hand it to her personally.

“Ultimately, yeah,” I said. “We took down the Offreys, but as long as we give Olivia the necklace, we won’t disrupt the plot too much, right? In the meantime, might as well put it to good use and hand it off to you to fight your bad luck.” The necklace was supposedly a relic imbued with holy power, one that protected its bearer and warded off evil. I seriously hoped it’d help her.

“We must eventually restore it to where it belongs, but you should keep it in the meantime, Marie,” said Luxion. “Especially since it appears to be reacting to you.”

“Wait. Is it really? Are you saying I’ve got the aptitude to be a Saint?” Marie giggled bashfully.

I burst out laughing at that. I couldn’t help it; it was hilarious to see how excited she was at the prospect. Olivia was the game’s protagonist, so it was natural that she had the aptitude and demeanor the role required, but Marie didn’t. Not with that personality. A Saint had to be pure and kind.

Marie, a Saint? Not in a million years.

“You’re, uh, not the type,” I said, trying to hide my mirth. “With such a twisted personality, you—uh, sorry.” I muttered the apology, shifting my gaze away. My barely restrained laughter earned an intense glower from her.

Luxion gave an exasperated shake of his lens. “Master, you never learn, do you? At this point, you should be well aware that the truth always infuriates Marie. Truly, it boggles the mind how you—hm?”

Marie’s hand shot out, clamping around his volleyball of a body. Her fingers dug into the metal, which creaked and groaned dangerously in her grip. Yikes. Don’t tell me she’s actually going to crush him into scrap metal?

“My, what a capable AI,” she said facetiously. “Able to disparage Leon and mock me simultaneously. You know, Luxion, I should have a nice long chat with you.”

Luxion’s lens looked to me pleadingly. “Master, I request your assistance.”

I gave him a thumbs-down. “No way.”

“You truly do have a despicable personality.”

“You made your bed, now lie in it. You’ve got a lot of learning to do when it comes to the subtleties of human communication.” I snickered.

“You’d better not assume you’re getting out of this scot-free,” Marie told me with an ominous smile.

“Wha…?”

Crap. Looks like I’m screwed, too.

***

It was pitch black outside, the time transitioning from the latest hour of the evening to the earliest of the morning. Marie had tucked the Saint’s Necklace safely into a nearby drawer. Having kicked her blanket off during the night, she sprawled on her bed, a tendril of drool dripping down her chin as she slept soundly.

“Leon, you dummy,” she muttered to herself. “Luxion, you big jerk… Zz…”

Something rattled, echoing through the room. The drawer containing the necklace opened on its own, and black mist spilled out. Approaching Marie, the formless mass took the shape of a woman. Two golden eyes gleamed where its head seemed to be. They were almond-shaped, and wide open at first, only to gradually narrow into thin slits.

Whatever this being was, it originated from the necklace.

The mist creature peered at Marie’s face, its eyes closed in smiling crescents—an expression of pure joy. “Finally,” it purred, “I’ve found you.”

Even as the ominous being approached, Marie had shown no sign of waking. She flipped over in her sleep, still caught in a peaceful, happy dream.

“Tee hee hee!” the feminine figure tittered, stretching a hand toward Marie. “I’ll be taking your body.”

The hand pierced straight through Marie, and the rest of the mist creature’s form followed quickly, invading her frame.