BACK at the Sakurazaka estate, Shizuki had returned. We found ourselves in her room, seated opposite each other, with an interesting video playing on the large monitor for the both of us. The video showed a high school girl in her uniform, her face beet red as she ran from the room yelling:
“D-Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not like I did that to help Nonokaaa!”
Yeah, I know. She got my most embarrassing moment on video somehow.
She paused the video, freezing the frame to catch me mid-stride. Carefully, she laid the remote control aside, her eyes slowly drifting from the screen to meet mine. “I’m curious, do you have to try to be that tsundere, or does it just come naturally to you?”
Elbows on my knees, I buried my face in my palms. “Just kill me now.” I shook my head. “I…I have no excuse.”
I mean, there was nothing better I could say to clear up what was captured in high-definition right in front of us. You know, it was really strange because I swore people who reincarnate as villainesses usually struggle in vain to escape their doom. Why was I the only one who had trouble shaking off what seemed like boundless trust the game’s characters placed in me? What happened to that restoring force I was so confident wasn’t strong? I believe in you now; please, do your thing!
Shizuki’s half-smirk faded. “In all seriousness, Mio, your knack for getting into trouble is becoming a problem. I know you’re trying very hard, but I’m starting to think you can’t bring yourself to be evil.”
My heart fluttered. “W-Wait, please! Give me another chance. I can do it. I can prove myself!” Desperate, I shot up and slammed my palms on the coffee table before us. Shizuki couldn’t give up on me now! If she did, Shizuku would…!
“Calm down, I’m not saying you need to go,” Shizuki said calmly. “I only meant that you aren’t fit to be evil.”
“I…I don’t understand. What use is a villainess who can’t be evil?”
“Have you already forgotten what I told you? This world might be based on a game, but it isn’t one. We can think outside the box to accomplish our goals.”
Right, she’d said that before, back when I had struggled to reach the villainess’s grades before entrance exams. While missions in a video game were hard-coded and inflexible, missions in the real world were significantly more malleable.
“You mean the means don’t matter as long as we reach the right end?” I ventured.
“Precisely. Consider it this way: Nonoka has assimilated well at school, demonstrated a strong drive for self-improvement, and—if the data on her latest outing is to be trusted—exhibited a fashion sense leagues better than before.”
“I see. So, she’s bettering herself just like she would’ve in the game.”
Now that I thought about it, she was more outgoing than before, carried herself more gracefully, earned better grades, and had a trustworthy circle of friends…
But wait, does that mean… “The good ending—is it possible without a villainess?” I dared to hope.
Shizuki gave me a transient, unreadable smile. “I suppose that depends on how you define ‘good.’ Good for whom, exactly? For instance, if ‘good’ were defined as ‘advantageous to the Sakurazaka Group,’ then yes. We can weather the impending storm with or without your involvement.”
“Right. You know the future, after all,” I said with an air of resignation.
It would be beyond easy for Shizuki to save the Sakurazaka Group. All she needed to do was secure a substantial short position on vulnerable stocks—which she could because she reincarnated. Then when the crisis hits and the markets plummet, she and her family would profit immensely and laugh all the way to the bank as the only financial stronghold left standing in the wake of an era-defining economic collapse.
Though the amount of everyday people who would suffer from such a self-serving strategy was…unthinkable.
“On the other hand,” Shizuki continued, “if ‘good’ were defined as the survival of your sister, that ending is also easily achieved. I could buy the pharmaceutical company spearheading the research tomorrow if I so wished.”
“But you wouldn’t, because you would see no benefit in it.”
“Well, I suppose,” she replied with a noncommittal sigh.
Shizuki’s goal, though I hadn’t heard her say so outright, was no doubt to ensure all of Japan made it through the financial crisis. Saving Shizuku’s life was just an afterthought—my reward for a job done right. In other words, what Shizuki was trying to tell me was that a “good ending” couldn’t just be good for just me or just her, but for everyone.
“Is there no other way to save Shizuku and all of Japan?” I asked.
“No, the Ruki route is the only way,” she replied, then turned thoughtful. “Although, I suppose that’s not entirely true. There are other ways, though they are far more treacherous than our current path. There very well may come a day when we have no choice but to brave such peril, but fortunately, that day is not today.”
“Far more treacherous, how?”
“The Sakurazaka Group could be mobilized to pursue complete dominance over the other zaibatsus. If we could stand at the helm and call the shots, there’s a good chance we can withstand the crisis.”
“Complete dominance over the other zaibatsus? Is that even possible?”
“Not for me.”
If not you, then who?
“There is a third option,” Shizuki said after a pause. “But it involves making a sacrifice—Nonoka.”
“I don’t think that…”
“No, I don’t think either.”
I nodded quietly. It wasn’t that I hesitated at the thought of sacrificing others for my goal. If I wasn’t willing to go that far, I couldn’t claim to be truly determined to save Shizuku. I had already deceived many for this cause.
But that did not mean I would sacrifice Nonoka to save myself. Sacrificing anyone was a last resort reserved for moments of crisis.
“Given that none of the other options work for us, that leaves us with our original plan,” I said.
“Indeed,” Shizuki agreed. “You signed up to be the villainess, and be the villainess you shall.”
“But it kind of feels like we have to change something, don’t we?”
“Nope. Stay the course. The one you just set, that is.”
I felt a twinge of unease. “Sorry, but just so that I’m absolutely sure I heard what I think I heard—you want me to lean into the tsundere bit?”
“Correct,” she replied instantly.
I grunted in discomfort.
I get what she was saying. It was a fine plan for me to play the tsundere until the very end, where in one, foul move, I overturned everyone’s perception and became the bad guy. You know, like so:
“You tricked us!”
“Have I? From day one, I’ve been nothing but honest about my cruel intentions. Perhaps now you’ll take my words seriously.”
I had considered that possibility. Come to think of it, I was pretty sure we had even discussed such an approach. While it suited our goals, it didn’t exactly scream “villainess.”
Hm.
I snuck another glance at the monitor. Continue that? Continue being that trainwreck?
“This is going to be an embarrassing three years,” I said quietly as my cheeks turned a rosy pink from the shame.
Shizuki’s face hardened. “Mio, the potential embarrassment isn’t what should concern you. You realize that this means you will now be actively forging a bond between Nonoka and the others—a bond that you will eventually have to break.”
“Right… I’ll still have to betray them, won’t I?”
Betraying them now was already hard enough. It had taken everything I had and more just to do what I had done at the kibasen. The thought of having to betray them again, with an even stronger bond, made my chest tighten with pain.
Still…
“I’m prepared to do what I must. I am the villainess, and I will lead everyone to their happily ever afters.”
Even if that meant facing my own doom.
I smiled softly. Shizuki’s reaction was muted, as if she had expected this from me all along. She regarded me quietly, an almost imperceptible look of concern creased her brow.