Chapter 3

"I remember everything now."

"Remember what?"

"That this is a game world."

"Game? Like cards or chess?"

"Do you know what a simulation game is, Your Highness?"

"No, I don't."

"It's a game with a story where you become one of the characters and play through it."

"Oh, I think I've heard of something like that. It's like a board game where the story changes. It's a book, right? Maybe it's called a role-playing game."

"Yes, that's one of those games. There's a computer... a game console, where you control the main character and play in the game world."

This kid is amazing. Her imagination is incredible. If that were really possible, it would be an incredibly interesting game, I think.

"I was playing that game. This world I'm in now is the world of the game I was playing. I died once and was reborn into this world. I'm not a person from this world."

What a crazy setup!

"What do you mean?"

"I was reincarnated into this world. I used to live on Earth, in a country called Japan."

"You remember your past life?"

"Yes."

"But you were born and raised in this duchy and are now ten years old, right?"

"Yes. When I saw Your Highness, the memories from that time suddenly flooded my mind, and it became overwhelming, making me fall over."

To my dear sister, I have a situation I can't handle.

Do I have to marry this girl, love her, and make her happy?

"That's quite a situation..."

Can't I say something more intelligent?

"So, what was your life before?"

"I was always sick as a child, often hospitalized due to a chronic illness, and couldn't go to school much, so I was bedridden..."

"You look healthy now... or rather, you just fainted, so that's not the case."

"I was hospitalized for a long time, and my condition worsened, and I died at the age of ten."

This is a heavy story.

"Was it just a dream?"

"It's not a dream. It feels like a dream now, but it's real."

Oh no, what should I do? Should I just go along with it for now?

"So, how do you know this world is a game world?"

"Everything is exactly like the game I used to play when I was hospitalized."

"Do you remember what that game was like?"

"Yes."

"I'd like to hear about it."

I know this kind of thing. A child who gets so engrossed in novels or adventure stories that they can't distinguish between reality and imagination and starts to believe they are the main character.

It's called "fourteen-year-old syndrome." Some call it "fourteen-year-old disease." You know, the type who suddenly clutches their eyes and shouts, "My eyes, my eyes!" or "Gah! Calm down, my black dragon mark!" while holding their bandaged left hand. I've also known kids who think they can use magic like a great mage.

Usually, it starts around the age of fourteen, but for this young lady to be like this at ten, she's quite precocious.

In such cases, the first step is to listen to them and say things like, "Wow, that's amazing!" or "You're so impressive!" to show understanding. Then, point out the inconsistencies and unrealistic parts of their story to gradually help them understand that it's not real. It's not the best method, but it's the most effective.

"I died at ten in Japan and was reborn in this world. Now, at ten years old, I've remembered everything from that time."

"Wow, so you're twenty now. You're quite an adult, aren't you?"

"I only have memories up to ten years old, so I think I'm still ten... It's just that the memories overlapped."

Yes, the setup is perfect. Impressive.

"Prince, do you believe me?"

"Call me Shin. I believe you. It's an interesting story."

She's skeptical. She's looking at me like I can't possibly believe her. I'm sorry. To be honest, I'm currently thinking about doing a dogeza and leaving right away.

"In the game, the protagonist... at fifteen, due to excellent grades, transfers to the noble school 'Flora Academy' as a commoner, which hasn't happened in years."

"Right. That school exists. I'm supposed to attend it too. Apparently, there was a lot of opposition to naming it that when it was founded, but the Empress insisted."

"The protagonist, a commoner, studies hard and becomes one of the top students. But this makes the noble students who were already there jealous, and they start bullying her."

"...I don't approve of that. If I were there, I'd do my best to stop the bullying. By the way, is it fun to play a game where the protagonist is a tragic figure?"

"People who secretly help the protagonist from the bullying start to appear one by one, and the protagonist falls in love with them and forms romantic relationships."

"Convenient. But if they keep appearing, wouldn't it be more than one relationship?"

"The maximum number of love interests was seven, I think."

"Seven relationships?!"

What kind of promiscuous protagonist is this? I don't think it's healthy to let children play such games. I'd prefer they wait until they're adults.

"It's not about having multiple relationships. It's about not being disliked by anyone. If you're disliked by one, you'll eventually be disliked by all of them."

What are these "love interests"? Are you treating people like objects? I wish you'd come up with a better term.

"...Can you stop calling them 'love interests'? It makes me sad as a man."

"I'm sorry... You're right. They are real people."

"...Men don't usually dislike women that much. If someone were that promiscuous, I wouldn't want to be involved with them in the first place."

"That's the game, though."

I wish you'd accept reality. I think that's the first step in overcoming "fourteen-year-old syndrome."

"So, what happens to the protagonist?"

"Eventually, if the protagonist marries one of the love interests after graduation, it's a good ending."

"You mean a 'happy ending,' right?"

"Sorry. Yes, that's right."

"If there's a good ending, there must be a bad ending. Is there a best ending too?"

"Yes. The bad ending is being hated by everyone and expelled from the school."

"That's harsh."

"The best ending is marrying the prince and becoming a princess."

"Is that the best? So the protagonist also has a romantic relationship with the prince?"

"Yes."

"I don't think that's possible. A prince would usually have a fiancée."

"The protagonist meets the prince through a small incident at the school and develops a romantic relationship through various 'events.'"

"What are these 'events'? They sound like special occasions... Besides, would a prince with a fiancée really have a romantic relationship with a girl like that?"

"And at the graduation party, the prince breaks off the engagement with his fiancée and marries the protagonist."

"That's a terrible prince! That's just cheating! No matter how you look at it, it's just cheating!"

"That's true, but for the protagonist, that's the happy ending."

"...I don't necessarily think marrying a prince is a happy ending. I mean, I'm a prince, and I have to say, governing a country comes with the responsibility to make the people happy. That's why it can only be entrusted to a noble lady. It's not right to involve a commoner."

It's the same as my sister.

Does this protagonist have the resolve and determination to marry into a prince's household in a foreign country, like my sister? I think that part is unrealistic.

"...Are you the protagonist? No, no, no, you're not a commoner. You're a duchess's daughter, Seria."

"No, I'm not the protagonist."

"Not the protagonist?"

"I'm not the protagonist."

"Then who are you?"

"I'm the prince's fiancée, the one who is denounced and has the engagement broken off, and is then expelled."

"Wh-What?!"

So, what?

Are you saying I'm that cheating, terrible prince?

Am I going to become that kind of person?

Am I being seen that way by her?

"I'm the antagonist. The 'villainess,' to be precise."

"Calling a noble lady a 'villainess' could be considered treason... By the way, what's the prince's name?"

"Shin Midland, the first prince of the Lastear Kingdom, which means, Your Highness."

"Do I really seem like such a terrible person?"

I'm disappointed.

"No, the prince is kind and treats everyone equally, even commoners. He's the envy of all the students."

"...Well, that's his duty while at the school. The school is supposed to be free of class distinctions."

That's true. The school's motto is, "All who pass through this gate must abandon their status." It's based on the idea that everyone is equal before knowledge.

It was proposed by my father, the king. To attract capable talent, we should accept people without regard to their status. I agree that this is a good policy. So, whether you're the son of a duke or a baron, a boy or a girl, a commoner or a noble, there are no class distinctions within the school. Everyone is treated equally.

"Your Highness, who is my fiancé, falls in love with the protagonist, and I become an obstacle."

"I'm a terrible person."

"I start to bully and harass the protagonist, which makes Your Highness dislike me even more, and I end up being expelled..."

Expulsion. In this country, expulsion can mean expulsion from the school, loss of status, banishment to another country, house arrest, or even execution. But they wouldn't do that to a minor student, no matter what.

"...You don't have to do that."

"Huh?"

"I mean, you don't have to do that."

"But I can't stop Shin-sama from falling in love with the protagonist."

"Then I won't get close to her."

"I don't know. I don't know if the game will play out as it did or if I can stop it. If I can't, I'll be expelled, and the Collette family will fall, leading to a terrible outcome... There's no happy ending for the villainess."

I can see why you wouldn't want to be my fiancée.

But it's frustrating. It's unfair to be accused of something I haven't done and to have my engagement broken off because of it.

So, you were playing this game in the hospital, and you died at ten, right?

Thinking about it, this girl has had a tough life. Is she going to repeat that in this world?

I feel sorry for her.

Next: "4. A Man Doesn't Back Down Here"