Chapter 6 - From a God’s Point of View

“Ah, that’s right, it’s about time… I need to save…”

I followed Kobayashi-san’s line of sight to look at the clock. It really was almost time.

Saving the game, we turned off the console. I fumbled with the remote before swapping the TV reception back to the regular public channels. The midday news report was on.

“But honestly, that was a pretty crazy misunderstanding we caused there…”

I looked at Kobayashi-san as I said that. She smirked at me and poured herself another cup of barley tea.

“Sieg really is the only one who can hear our voices, huh? Even though we didn’t really put that much thought into what we said, things got pretty out of hand, didn’t they…?”

That’s right.

Our idea itself wasn’t bad, but it sounded completely different when it was eloquently reinterpreted by the Prince. Well, there wasn’t much we could do about it after the fact.

“When you told Baldur to stay by Finne’s side, was there any deeper meaning, Kobayashi-san?”

I took the barley tea that Kobayashi-san held out to me as I asked her that.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her pale throat that quivered slightly when she began drinking again.

She’s… Ah, crap, stop thinking about weird things.

Kobayashi-san, who didn’t seem to noticed me staring, began talking again as she finished her tea.

“Hm, sort of, but not really? The key to Baldur’s survival is getting close to Finne and fostering mutual feelings for her, and since we’re dealing with that Finne, is he really going to feel the need to protect her normally?”

That Finne… So, she was referring to our MAX Level Finne.

Certainly, if MAX Level Finne entered Baldur’s route and awakened even more power, the Witch would probably have to flee very early on, let alone have the perfect defense.

Although we planned to do everything we could to prevent Liselotte from being possessed by the witch, having a back up plan like that wouldn’t hurt at all.

“If it can keep someone alive, then we should do whatever we can, right…?”

We still didn’t know how much our 【Favour]would affect things either.

“That’s right. By the way, I tried to copy this save over to a new slot and reload from previous save files numerous times, but I couldn’t do it at all. I think we’ve only got one shot at this.”

As Kobayashi-san’s expression changed, I understood how serious her words were.

We wouldn’t get any do-overs.

Somebody might really die for good.

Even if it were just on the other side of a screen, it was a hard thing to think about.

We couldn’t let it happen.

In order to keep everyone alive, we had to do everything we could.

I was a little worried that my expression had gone dark, but maybe to brighten the mood, Kobayashi-san’s next words were cheerful.

“Besiiiides, don’tcha think that Baldur is the number one choice for Finne!? He loves Finne the most, and his route can give you diabetes ’cause it’s so sweet! In fact, it’s really easy to fall into Baru’s route in the game. Even though I’d be aiming for another capture target, I’d always accidentally raise flags with Baru, and then when we’d get to the autumn ball he’d ask me to dance, and I’d think ‘Wait, I wasn’t aiming for you!’ and stuff…”

Ah, I remember that when Kobayashi-san had been playing the game on her own, I had heard her yell that a few times.

That said, I also remembered her yelling out something like, ‘No, no, I still like you Baru, okay!? Actually, I like you the most! I’m just not after you right now!’ afterwards, not to mention the deep sense of jealousy that it made me feel.

“Ah, so… Do you like him, then?”

“Hm?”

“No, I mean, I was just wondering if you liked Baldur, Kobayashi-san.”

Even though he was on the other side of the screen, just what was it about him that she liked so much?

I didn’t know whether or not Kobayashi-san would prefer being on the other side of the screen and finding love with someone 2D, but I felt a slight nervous sweat on my forehead all the same.

“Hmm, well, like, I guess I like him the most out of all of the MagiKoi capture targets.”

Kobayashi-san didn’t seem to be bashful about saying it at all.

“That’s it, huh? But you’re still fine with having him attached to Finne like that?”

I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, so thinking that it was strange, I decided to ask her. After a moment of looking confused, she suddenly sparked back to life.

“…Ah! No, I don’t mean that I like him like that! What I meant was that I like【Baldur as Finne’s Lover], okay? I just think Baru’s route was the most moe;

it’s not like I actually love him or anything!”

I was the one who looked confused when Kobayashi-san said that with a laugh.

“Mmm, maybe that’s it? Endo-kun, you might have a fundamental misunderstanding about what otome games are really about, huh?”

Misunderstanding…?

‘Otome games are romance games aimed at girls’ wasn’t enough of an understanding then?

Kobayashi-san suddenly made a peace sign right in front of my puzzled face.

“Ya see, there are two types of otome games: one where the main character heroine is basically a blank slated self-insert and one where the heroine is her own character. So, two types of people can enjoy otome games: those who like to be in the shoes of the protagonist and those who like to see stories unfold from a God’s perspective.”

‘God’ again, huh?

As I overthought her use of the word ‘God’ in consideration of everything that had been going on, she kept going.

“MagiKoi is in the latter category. When you get a CG of the capture targets, it’s not taken from Finne’s perspective, but rather from a third person’s point of view. Finne is drawn to be really moe as well, and she’s actually in lots of CGs.”

After that, she dropped her peace sign.

“Honestly, it makes you wonder if the devs actually loved Finne the most out of everyone. Maybe MagiKoi isn’t actually an otome game, but a【Watch Over the Lovely Finne as a God]game. In that case, I’ll play the Matchmaking Goddess and put Finne and Baldur together since Baldur’s the best fit for Finne.”

I see, so that’s it.

As I nodded like a sage, convinced by her words, I heard Kobayashi-san’s next words, which were spoken in barely more than a whisper.

“…But if I’m a God now, I’d rather watch over the cute Liselotte. Then I could pair her together with Siegward…”

The Matchmaking Goddess Kobayashi-san sure has a lot on her plate.

At the same time, I wished I could pray to her to make my own love requited.

Far in the distance, a whirring siren sounded out like an echoing cry.

On the other side of the screen, I saw the face of my one time friend, his expression cold and serious.

I wondered which was stronger, the feelings I once had of wanting to go to Koshien together with him or the pleasant feelings I had spending time together with Kobayashi-san now.

“Ah, it’s started, huh? By the way… Did you want to do some commentary? I can’t really commentate on baseball since I don’t know much about it.”

But, honestly, when I saw Kobayashi-san grinning at me like that, I didn’t think that it was a bad outcome at all.

There’s a fridge, heaps of barley tea, an air conditioner, and Kobayashi-san is cute.

…Honestly, this shitty weather is too hot to make good jokes.

[1] Koshien is the stadium where the Japanese National High School Baseball Championships are held. It’s kind of a big deal.