Prologue
“Kanda-senpai, are you done with your work?”
I’d been in front of my computer for a long time doing data entry, so I had no choice but to do a bit of stretching. Then I heard a familiar voice from behind me.
“I’ve just finished.”
As I answered the question, I turned around to where I had heard the voice from. There, as I expected, was a woman with a smile on her face. She was a junior at work and we often chatted because we both liked games and anime. By the way, I’m “Kanda Kazuto”, just an ordinary company employee who likes games and anime.
“Kanda-senpai, did you play the game that I recommended to you the other day? Were you able to complete it?”
“Oh… that game you mentioned a few days ago. It’s an Otome game, but it was quite interesting. I played it a lot and cleared it right away.”
I bragged a little bit to my junior, and she continued the conversation with a look of surprise on her face.
“Oh, as expected from Kanda-senpai! This game, even though it’s an otome game, has high ratings for battles and area development. I thought you would like it, Kanda-senpai, because the story feels like an extra.”
“…I thought it was strange to say that the story is an extra for an otome game.”
The game that my junior introduced me to was called “Tokimeku Cinderella!” or “TokiRera!” for short. I told her that I wasn’t interested in otome games and that I preferred games where I could level up steadily. But my junior didn’t give up and kept recommending it to me.
“This game is said to have the main story as an extra and other elements as the main content, so I highly recommend it to you, Kanda-senpai.”
I gave in to my junior’s persuasion and decided to try an otome game. And then I found out that the system of the game was much more interesting than I had expected and I became addicted to it.
The story is a typical “Cinderella story”. However, the elements of character development and area development that are interspersed in it are enjoyable.
If you work hard enough to complete 100% of the game, you will unlock a free mode where you can enjoy various elements such as character development, territory development, territory battles and dungeons.
There is even a hidden boss that can only be defeated if you do a lot of free mode play.
“Actually, I liked the system, as you said, but it was quite difficult to capture the male characters”.
“Well, that’s part of the fun. By the way, there was a hidden boss that could only be defeated by playing through the free mode, was it not? I gave up on it, but did you manage to defeat it, senpai?”
“I did beat it, but it was pretty tough. It’s different when an otome game has that level of difficulty.”
I laughed and continued talking to my junior about the game.
The reason why the free mode in TokiRera! is considered the main content is partially due to this hidden boss. For some reason, only the hidden boss is exceptionally strong, even though the overall difficulty of the otome game is low. It’s set to defeat the player instantly at the beginning of the battle if they don’t have a certain level of strength. At that moment, the enemy’s activated technique is displayed with the message “You are not qualified to stand before me”, creating a powerful effect that provokes the player. Even now, when I remember being defeated by the hidden boss on my first attempt, I can’t help but laugh at the surprise.
“Yes, it’s true. Personally, I would have liked to see a bit more emphasis on the main story characters. It would have been nice to have a route for the villain as well”.
“I was mainly concentrating on the extra elements, so I didn’t pay much attention to the main story. It didn’t bother me that much”.
As we talked excitedly about the game, we realised that it was past our working hours. It was late at night, so it was time to call it a day and head home.
“Well, senpai, good job today!”
“Ah, good job to you too!”
After saying goodbye to my junior in front of the company, I continued on my way. As I waited for the pedestrian light to turn green on my way home, I suddenly felt a tremendous discomfort in my chest. I wondered what it was, when another strong shock resonated in my chest. At the same time I had a feeling of suffocation and a crushing pain in my chest. Unable to stand the pain, I tried to grab my chest over my clothes, but it was no use. Before I knew it, I collapsed on the spot, kneeling down. I thought I heard someone screaming, but I couldn’t make out who it was. As the impact from my chest began to subside, the darkness began to engulf my vision.
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Thanks for picking up ln version