“Are you still working, Kanda-senpai?”
I’d been sitting for quite a while, working on my laptop. Just when I’d decided I couldn’t take it anymore and stretched, I’d heard a familiar voice coming from behind me.
“I just finished,” I replied, turning toward the voice.
It was the very woman I had expected to see, standing behind me with a smile on her face. She was a junior of mine here at work who enjoyed video games and anime, as did I, and we chatted often. Speaking of which, my name is Hajime Kanda—a regular office worker who likes video games and anime.
“Have you played the game I recommended a few days ago, Kanda-senpai? Have you finished it?”
“Oh yeah, the one you told me about the other day? It was pretty fun for an otome game. I got hooked and easily one hundred percented it,” I answered, boasting slightly to my junior.
“That’s the Kanda-senpai I know!” she exclaimed, surprised, before continuing in an amused tone. “Even though it’s an otome game, it’s gotten high praise for its battle system and base-building elements. The plot is more like a bonus, so I thought you would like it.”
“I do question whether an otome game should have a plot that’s just a bonus.”
The game that my junior had introduced me to was called Tokimeku Cinderella, aka TokiRella! I’d told her that I had no interest in otome games because I liked time sinks where I could slowly and diligently level up. My junior hadn’t given up, though, and had continued to recommend the game.
“Everyone says the plot is just a bonus, and all the other elements are the real game,” she’d insisted. “I definitely think you should play it, Kanda-senpai.”
I’d finally succumbed to her persistence, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to try an otome game just once. The gameplay had turned out to be a lot more fun than I’d expected, and though I didn’t want to admit it, I’d gotten hooked.
As you might expect from the title, the plot was a trite, Cinderella-esque tale, but the gameplay elements like character leveling and base building that took place between the main story sequences were fun. If you worked hard to one hundred percent the game—in other words, play to completion—you could unlock a free play mode where you could enjoy those gameplay elements, including leveling, base building, territory expansion, territory battles, and dungeon crawling. There was even a hidden boss that you could only defeat if you played through the free play mode.
“You were right about the gameplay being right up my alley, but it was pretty difficult to romance the male characters,” I told her.
“Well, that’s part of the fun,” she replied. “Also, there was a hidden boss you could only take down by grinding the free play mode. I gave up, but I’m guessing you managed it?”
A wry smile tugged at my lips as the conversation delved deeper into the game’s mechanics. “I did, but it was a lot of work. I don’t think the developers of an otome game should be making a boss that difficult.”
That very boss was one reason people called the TokiRella! free play mode “the real game.” The battles in the main story were easy overall, which made for swift progression, but for some reason, that hidden boss was abnormally strong. Its stats were balanced so that it couldn’t be defeated through regular gameplay. Unless your party met a certain strength threshold when facing it, you would immediately lose and become incapacitated no matter what you did.
The enemy’s opening attack was called “You varmints have no right to stand before me,” which was a taunt that had a huge impact on the players. Even now, remembering the shock I had felt when I’d first seen it made me laugh.
“Yeah. I also wish they’d spotlighted the main characters from the story more,” my junior said. “I think there should’ve been a route where you could romance the villain.”
“I focused on playing all the extra content, so I was just skimming the main story. I’m not really concerned with that stuff.”
I’d gotten so caught up in talking about video games with my junior that I hadn’t realized we should’ve left the office a while ago. It was quite late at night, so we wrapped things up and headed home.
“Well then, good night, senpai!”
“Yeah, good night.”
After saying goodbye in front of the office building, I began walking away. I had paused at a crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn, when I suddenly felt a strong, abnormal thump in my chest.
What was that?
Just as that thought crossed my mind, another powerful thump reverberated through me. A painful tightness clenched my chest, making it harder and harder to breathe. Unable to bear the pain, I clutched at my chest, but it didn’t help.
Before I knew it, I had fallen to my knees. I thought I heard someone scream, but I couldn’t be sure. The pain gradually subsided, and my vision faded to black.
This seems like dying, doesn’t it?
With that final thought, I fell unconscious.