Chapter 16

To be honest, Adi wasn't particularly interested in how the story of "Dora Gaku" would unfold. Even if he were to die in the game, he would have only thought, "How pathetic to die and leave the lady behind." After all, it was just a game, and one that only Mary remembered from her past life, with no real credibility. Still, he was going along with it because Mary said so. On the other hand, if someone other than Mary had started talking about a dating game and past lives, he would have laughed it off, no matter how true it might have been.

But now, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened in the fan disk. Mary's demeanor had changed so drastically.

"Miss, we don't have a role in the fan disk, right?"

"...No, that's not true. The ones who don't appear in the fan disk, the ones who were sent to the Northern Land, are not us."

Mary took a deep breath to regain her composure. When she looked at Adi, he had a puzzled expression, as if he didn't understand at all. She wanted to say, "What a silly face," but she held back, remembering that she had probably had the same look on her face a few seconds ago. She took another breath, composed herself, and smiled.

"Adi, you have a route in the fan disk."

She smiled brightly and even said, "Isn't that great?" If you only looked at her appearance, Mary would seem like a graceful young lady, praising the growth of her servant. From the outside, one might even feel her composure. However, her heart was still in turmoil.

In the main story of "Dora Gaku," Adi does not fall in love with Alicia. He is what is known as a "non-romanceable character." He always stands behind the villainous lady, Mary, and overlooks her misdeeds, making him a typical henchman. However, as a dating game, Adi is also handsome and appears in every route, often playing the role of the final boss's servant, which gives him a lot of screen time. Moreover, while the romanceable characters in "Dora Gaku" are diverse, they are consistently portrayed as "noble and sparkling princes." The theme of "forbidden love" can get tiring. With Adi, who is in the opposite position of "serving," it's no wonder he gained popularity even as a non-romanceable character. Additionally, since the game is set in a school, particularly in the third year just before graduation, the romanceable characters are either the same age as the protagonist or teachers. In contrast, Adi, who is forced to attend school by Mary's whim, is five years older than the protagonist, a subtle age difference.

Being masculine, cool, and having a different charm from the other romanceable characters, and being in the position of a servant and a villain, it's understandable that he gained popularity and people expected additional routes. Of course, the users' voices reached the company, and one of the selling points of the fan disk was his route.

The story in the fan disk goes like this:

"Alicia, on the verge of entering university, begins to realize her role as a member of the royal family. However, she also feels the suffocating burden of being a royal, unable to confide in anyone, and struggles alone. One day, while secretly sneaking out of the castle to play in the city, Alicia finds Adi working at an orphanage..."

"...I'm at an orphanage?"

Adi, listening to Mary's story, tilted his head in confusion, asking, "Why would I be there?" Mary coolly replied, "Congratulations on your new job."

This only added more question marks to Adi's head.

"New job... I've been serving the Albert family for generations."

"The Albert family has fallen, and they can no longer afford to employ you."

"But, even so..."

"You seemed quite happy over there."

In "Dora Gaku," Adi originally disliked Mary.

—In fact, it's questionable whether anyone genuinely admired her, considering how thoroughly she was portrayed as a detestable woman—

But as a servant of a family that had served for generations, and with the fear that defying Mary could lead to the destruction of his entire family, Adi endured her whims and tantrums, and turned a blind eye to her misdeeds. Everything changed with the incident involving Alicia. Although he lost his position as a servant of the Albert family, he no longer had to fear the unreasonable demands of the tyrannical lady, nor did he have to feel the pain of seeing others hurt by her whims.

"I don't think I can atone for my sins, but I want to do something that will help someone."

Surrounded by children, Adi's words moved many players. This is reflected in Alicia's character. Touched by Adi's unexpected side, Alicia began to visit him for various reasons, forgave him, healed his emotional wounds, and gradually the two were drawn to each other...

"That's the gist of it."

"Wait a minute. Alicia is already paired with someone in the main game, right? What about that person?"

"It's as if none of that ever happened. A clean slate with no romantic entanglements with any of the men! After all, it's a fan disk!"

"But, Alicia is a princess, and the difference in status between her and a former servant of a fallen family is even greater than in the main game!"

"No problem! It's a fan disk, after all!"

"Besides, if a princess were to secretly meet a commoner, she would be found out immediately!"

"Everything works out perfectly! It's all about convenience and sweet, sweet romance for the players, that's what a fan disk is!"

Adi held his head in his hands, listening to Mary's enthusiastic explanation of the fan disk. "Fan disk, indeed..." he muttered, but it was what it was. "Dora Gaku" fan disk, "More! Doki Doki Love School: Also known as Mo Ra Gaku," was a fan disk, a reward for those who played the main game. It included galleries with initial concepts and unused stills, as well as mini-games, so the volume of each story was less. However, the sweetness was even higher than in the main game. Therefore, the convenience was not an issue. The key was how sweet and romantic the happy love story could be. Given that it was a fan disk, it made sense that Mary didn't have a role.

"So, I'm with Alicia...?"

"Yes, your route was quite popular."

"But Miss is in the Northern Land, and I'm here...?"

"...Yes, that's right."

Mary replied coolly to Adi's stunned expression. She slowly stood up and said, "Well, I'll be going now," heading towards the door.

"Miss, I'll see you to your room."

"That's not necessary. I need to think in the night air."

"But..."

"We're on the Albert family's property. I'm just going to the neighboring building."

"You don't look well. I'm worried..."

"We're in the same boat."

She chuckled and placed her hand on the doorknob. As Adi tried to follow, she said, "Thank you for the tea. It was delicious," subtly telling him not to follow. She added a goodnight greeting, and, knowing what she was implying, closed the door gently, leaving Adi standing there, unable to move.