Volume 3, Chapter 4 – Ero-gamer and Spectator Mode

Volume 3, Chapter 4 – Ero-gamer and Spectator Mode

Translator: your_pingas

“Thanks for today, everyone!”

The rays of the sunset cast into the Student Council’s office. I raised from my seat and bowed down politely to wrap up the conference as I’ve always had.

The members are leaving one by one, only the year 3 secretary by my right, Seika Fuusai-senpai, remained. She lost a bit of her temper and is now pouting at me.

“Konoha, how many times do I have to tell you that you don’t need to act so prudishly…”

Senpai crossed her arms out of her frustration, even putting her hands close to her face. Her delicate arms wrapped in silky white skin is supporting her plumpy chest, and her hair is glistening like a dark crow’s feather in the rain from the sunset.

She’s so beautiful. I really wanted to just stare at her forever. Still, I managed to suppress my lust before giving her a usual embarrassed smile.

“Oh, it’s okay, don’t mind it, Senpai. That’s what I am supposed to do. Think about it, I am a year 1, after all, there is still a lot for me to learn from all of you!”

I clenched my fist while Senpai let out a big sigh.

“That’s what I was talking about. Our school, especially our student council, we don’t really care about the hierarchy…”

“Yes! I understand! That’s why I will train myself even harder, to allow me to work together with all of you. I sincerely look forward to that day, because I love all of you!”

I grabbed Fuusai-senpai’s hand tightly and looked at her right in the eyes.

So, Senpai blushed out of her embarrassment before looking away. “M-Man…” She mumbled to herself.

“Why can’t you listen to us for once…”

“Haha, just give up, Seika. She has always been like this!”

Kaga Kaya, the vice-president who’s ready to go home, chuckled while swinging her ponytail.

During this time, the remaining two members joined in the discussion.

“Konoha being a hardworking and sincere girl, didn’t we learn that fact a long time ago?”

“Exactly. Konoha already climbed to the top of the school in year 1 due to her friendly attitude.”

They are the vice-president, Setsusai Rinn, and the accountant, Mitsunai Sanndenn.

Rinn-senpai is the composed type, while Sanndenn-senpai is the flirtatious type. Although their styles are different, there is something shared by all the girls in the student council.

That is – everyone is absolutely gorgeous.

In the office room painted with a red shade of sunset, four hotties are looking at me sincerely.

While I…looked at each one of them.

Then, I clenched my fist once again and loudly announced my determination.

“Yes! I, Konoha, will fully dedicate myself to being the president of the Hekiyou High School, so please lend me all of your help in the future!”

*

Student Council Office, after the conference.

I, Konoha, the President of the Hekiyou High School, is now sitting alone in the room.

My back is facing the window, my ankles are on the table, my arms are crossed over each other as I prepare for the “Real Battle” in my mind.

After I closed my eyes, my nose was filled with the fragrant scent of the girls that just departed. The smell of innocent and pure girls…

“…Ha.”

My mouth curved up mischievously, and I almost exhibited my “bad habit” on my face. However, I covered my face up with my hands.

“No…not now, Konoha. That’s not your goal today.”

So, I tried to identify the situation I’m in to clear my mind.

Firstly, let’s review the unique background of this student council.

Student Council of Hekiyou High School. It’s a wonderland straight out of light novels, filled with beautiful girls every year.

In reality, starting from 5 years ago, the council started recording their daily lives and turned them into light novels. However, I have read none of that out of my lack of interest. I have nothing to do with seniors that are 5 years older than me. Especially the ones that left their normie, youthful records behind, how am I even supposed to read them? I don’t plan to, anyway.

Basically, the most crucial part is that this student council is really filled with beautiful girls, that’s unbelievable if you ask me.

Of course, there are reasons for it. It’s not easy for a school to have that many hotties, the election of the council is now more or less a beauty contest.

To put it simply, the most charming one gets to be the president, and the 2nd to 5th place gets to pick the position they like. That’s the council we’re in.

With this background, the girl that ranked 1st at the List of Most Beautiful Students in Hekiyou is me, Konoha.

“………….”

I turned my seat and looked at the full-body mirror placed at the side of the room, which showed my reflection.

An innocent face with sparkling blue eyes, a soft and bright skin that is just right that it doesn’t give off a pale and weak aura.

The glossy black hair is wrapped into a double ponytail, embodying both purity and activeness. A rather petite and thin body compared to girls of the same age, and yet my breast size is not something that you can ignore, this really gives off the “softness” of girls. Together with top grades, for the president of a student council- No, for a female, this is perfection, too perfect.

Yes, all of these almost seem surreal.

-I gave a mischievous grin to my “perfect disguise” in the mirror.

“…Ohoho…this form is perfect…”

The innocent image of the “lively year 1 President Konoha” is completely gone.

I walked towards the mirror and reveled at my reflection.

From the skin to the body and the moe double ponytails, this is too perfect to even have any room for improvement. I’m absolutely not a narcissist. I worked really hard for this image. It’s just that I’m proud of myself. Objectively, when I’m elected as the president of the student council, the goal of the girl named Konoha is already completed.

“So…”

After a round of appreciation in the mirror, I looked at the empty room once again before smiling confidently.

Yes, in reality, I’m not the hardworking, kind, and innocent student president like everyone thought I am. I only pretended I am for my interests and hobbies. Deep down, I’m the complete opposite, and there’s should be no way for me to become the president.

The only reason that I climbed on the way up here is to satisfy my hideous desires, to gain control of the Hekiyou Student Council, and make it my own property.

Finally, the day is here, I can finally stay in the student council office alone without raising any suspicion.

“Let’s begin…”

I’m going to materialize my dark plans.

“Let’s find the student council’s dark and sinful legacy. Yes, I’m going to…”

This is me.

The unusual and bizarre monster that is supposed to creep under the eternal darkness.

That’s right, I, Student President of Hekiyou High School, am actually-

“Let’s find the legendary adult game!”

-a completely fallen girl who loves adult games

*

Jealousy, curses, contempt.

The male who once had everything in the world, in a sense.

“Hentai King” Key?JC?Capstone.

“You want my treasured collection? Take it…”

“Find the treasure yourself. I left everything that is erotic there.”

The world is soon engulfed by an era of erotic games-

-While it’s not as ridiculous, some adult game lovers are actually curious about this, and the location of the treasure becomes a small urban legend. However, it’s not easy to find an adult game lover that can enter the Hekiyou Student Council. So, a few uneventful years just passed.

Then, finally, a girl with erotic aspirations appeared.

That’s me – the 37th president of the Hekiyou Student Council, Konoha.

“Right, let’s get to work.”

I immediately started searching in the empty student council room.

Searching the shelves for files, the storage locker, knocking the walls, and even crawling on the floor.

All of this to find the legendary adult game, affectionately known as “ONE PIECE.”

…………

What’s wrong? Did you have a problem? Say it.

Yes, I know. What I’m doing right now is severely over the line. I literally saw myself crawling around, raising my butt, and showing off my panties in the mirror, even I wanted to suicide when I saw that.

But, so what? If there’s an exciting adult game wait for me, I can throw any useless dignity I have left. That’s how a true adult games lover should be!

…………

Um, I do feel I shouldn’t do this. However, that’s precisely the reason why I am just confessing myself to a random person somewhere (maybe a god or a guardian spirit, some kind of higher entities, I guess.) and making up excuses.

Whatever. If this is the case, I’m going to keep my mind busy with an autobiography of myself during the search of the erotic game, just so I can forget the unfortunate reality I’m in. Let’s go with that.

Well, it’s not like I was born as an erotic game lover or anything.

No, actually, the “disguise” that I’m using right now, the student council president Konoha, is what I used to be like, from the bottom of my heart.

I got top grades and a somewhat good physique. It’s not all serious, though. When it’s time to play, my once innocent heart will enjoy the time to the fullest. I’m trusted by my friends, feel joyous when the others get the blessing from the bottom of my heart. It’s quite embarrassing for me to say all this myself. But that’s who I was, a sincere girl that is rare these days.

Then, two years ago, I accidentally entered the realm of erotic games when I’m in junior high.

The main fuse is a light novel recommended by one of my friends. The book itself wasn’t remotely erotic, it’s just a cliché and traditional romantic comedy. However, what struck my heart is the alluring conversations inside.

Although I loved it to the point that I rewatched the 4-episode novel five times in total, I feel more unsatisfied the more I rewatched it.

During that time, I found out that the author was a scriptwriter for erotic games, and I immediately wanted to play that. Though, I lacked the courage and played the console version instead, which removed adult content.

I feel somewhat satisfied since the game is very compelling.

However, the one thing that I can’t get it off my head is that it’s easy for me to find out some of the scenes was supposed to be erotic, only for them to be removed in the console version.

Like, even when I was just an innocent and sincere girl, I can feel something’s wrong.

After all, I spent a long time reading the part where the protagonists expressed their love for each other, and the content is supposed to be 18+. It’s guaranteed to give players scenes that make them sexually aroused but skipping the real meat, which is unacceptably tantalizing. It’s like describing the boss battle in a few sentences in an adventure manga.

Of course, I don’t think all works in the world needed an erotic scene.

However, for a novel that is initially 18+, the readers will certainly get the impression that something’s removed. Put it this way, even if new female characters are added, they simply couldn’t compensate for the missing erotic scenes! Wait, where was I?

Anyway, the result is the same, even though the content is very fascinating, I don’t feel satisfied at all. So, I started looking for games from the same developer only to find that this is his only game that received a console version.

However, I still don’t dare to immerse myself in erotic games.

When I ran out of options, I referenced people’s feedback and the recommendations on the website, from there, I found a couple famous games that had their 18+ content removed. However…

Now that I’m thinking of it, this decision is my turning point.

In reality, all those games lived up to their reputation, the content is outstanding and intriguing. Surprising plot developments, exquisite illustrators for the girls, and their eye-catching presentations. All of them provided a refreshing and exciting experience for a new gal game (adult game) lover like me.

Also, it’s because of this.

Those fantastic and perfect titles-

They all gave me indigestion due to all the removed sexual content.

Eventually, I crossed the line and entered the realm of erotic games.

After I watched the sex scenes, I realized most titles planned them well enough so that the plot wasn’t affected. The console version didn’t give a part of the story to blatant fanservice. It made the progression of the plot way better in some situations. Still, I had sometimes stumbled on games that can only impress people when they included the erotic part. However, at least I won’t feel uncomfortable with the incomplete plot in console versions. Most importantly, there are still a whole bunch of famous titles out there that weren’t available on consoles yet!

I’m sinking deeper and deeper into erotic games.

I’m just after the plot at the start. Before I even realized it, I started to develop preferences for the illustration style of the female characters, sometimes even able to give comments to the illustrator. At last, I abandoned the plot altogether and bought the game just for the drawings.

While I’m not born yuri, I didn’t realize until now that I’ll be aroused when I’m around cute girls. Therefore, this Hekiyou Student Council is literally a paradise for me, I feel so excited! *cough*

A-Anyway, that’s how I became the slave of erotic games in less than two years.

Of course, I never admitted to my closest friends or family that I have dirty hobbies like this. No matter how much you admire adult games, there are still rules and boundaries that you shouldn’t violate.

In reality, thanks to the model student life I have always been in, none of my friends or family knows anything in that realm. The girl that recommended me the light novel is not even a passionate reader in the first place, and she is definitely not the girl that I will invite to an erotic game discussion panel.

If we are just talking about average gamers, I can immediately come up with someone in my mind. The problem is, while a person that loves games and a person that loves erotic games sounds similar on the surface, the difference between them is like comparing an elf to a dark elf. Both are in a stringent state that can quickly escalate into an interracial war when there’re misunderstandings. I really don’t dare to come up to them and just chat about erotic games.

Come to think of it, I guess I’m still a good student deep down in my heart.

I wanted to be liked, and I wanted to be trusted. The time and effort required for all that is a lot, but I don’t feel like it’s a tough task. The “Konoha” on the surface is not a disguise or acting, it’s just that I’ve never shown anyone my inner self.

But then, a peculiar hobby is like a fire. The more you tried to suppress it, the hotter it burns. That’s why I tried my best to polish my outer Konoha to prevent that fire from burning everything down. Then, I ended up in an infinite vicious cycle. Well, I guess it’s a positive one in a sense.

So, that’s the twisted birth of the beautiful student council president that is secretly an erotic game lover.

“…Phew.”

I snapped back to reality and looked at the room that I’m still searching with all my power before I mumbled to myself with a confident smile.

“Sigh, I guess I still had my own goals when I went out of my way to become the president.”

If it weren’t for this, I would never give up a vast portion of my personal time to participate in student council activities. I already had to work to deal with my hobbies and the spending required to maintain my outer image, not to mention studying hard for good grades. Honestly, I didn’t have time to care about the student council.

Still, I had put becoming a member of the student council as my goal.

All of this to find the legendary adult game and to treasure all of the beautiful girls in the world!

“For an erotic game lover, this is a completely logical decision!”

I can’t call myself an erotic game lover if I didn’t grab this once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Luckily, I kept on polishing myself for years, and I already gained everything I needed to get the top 5 in the ranking of beautiful girls. I never thought I get to be no.1, though. The reason for this seems to be that I have gained way more votes from the guys than other contestants.

Well, I did more or less referenced 2D anime girls when I’m shaping my image. I think that gave me a lot of points. My look is close to the guys’ imagination, after all. To me, I guess the “Konoha” on the surface is like roleplay, a roleplay that takes care of my hobbies and real-life interests. Just to illustrate how perfect my performance is, I sometimes even sighed to myself, “Damn, I’m going to be a popular female protagonist in erotic games, aren’t I?”

Um, although the image of me that is reflecting off the mirror is an exhausted high school girl searching for erotic games everywhere with dust on her head, it’s too weird for me to become a protagonist. At least I will never try to play as this character, that will scare the crap out of me.

“…Phew, I’m tired.”

I paused the search, sat on the presidential chair, and lazily pressed the bottom of my neck.

I had my reasons to search for an erotic game so tirelessly. It basically boils down to a local urban legend posted on an underground forum.

The folklore says that there was a psychopath full of motivation in the Hekiyou Student Council years ago. He was also a severe lover of adult games, his collections will make an expert show their horribly stained white feathers.

However, when that guy graduated from high school, he got a whole bunch of reasons that forced him to deal with his treasures. In the end, most of the games were reluctantly sold. There is one that’s forever not for sale in his heart, though.

The so-called legendary erotic game, “ONE PIECE.”

No one knows the actual content of that title. However, if it’s a game that Is treasured by an erotic game lover, do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down? The most reliable rumor has pointed out that, “The student council at the time published a few light novels, then they got to meet a famous scriptwriter of erotic games with their connections in the industry. The student council may have received the extraordinary works of that scriptwriter back when he was still writing doujins.

This rumor persisted, and it is the one that I believed in.

This situation, together with my original decision to enter Hekiyou and me having the strength to join the student council, I think fate is asking me to join.

Therefore, after a long and painful journey, I can finally stay in the student council room without raising any suspicions and spending my time searching for erotic games like this. But…

“…Where is it!?’

I reviewed my past in my mind and spent an hour searching in the room.

When I roughly finished exploring this not-so-huge room, I finally screamed out of my frustration regardless of whether there are still people in the school.

“I-It’s been an hour, why is it not here!? This is just a small room! I looked all over the walls, the floor, and even the ceiling yet there’s nothing, what the hell is going on!?”

This room is half the size of the standard classrooms with just a few bookshelves and cupboards. I really don’t understand how can an erotic game escape my carpet searching.

The game could probably be gone, maybe someone took it away before me.

However, allow me to reject that.

The reason for this is with the local forum I mentioned earlier, a user that is highly speculated to be Key?JC?Capstone himself has arrived and left a message behind.

“I went to Hekiyou earlier and found that the erotic game is still intact.”

That is what he posted.

Honestly, there is always a possibility for impersonations. However, that local forum has already turned into a platform for erotic game discussions midway for some reason, only a few adult game lovers around here cared these days. There’re so few members that there’s less than one message per month, I feel like no one will cast such a shabby prank like this. Moreover, when you consider the na?ve motivation that doesn’t come out from an aged man, I can say confidently that the user is probably the guy who hid the game.

I can’t help but bite my fingernails.

“But where did he hide it!?”

Humans have always hide their erotic products since antiquity.

The hotspot for guys is usually under their beds, the DVD box of movies for a more elaborate option. Me, an intellectual, will hide them in the wardrobe’s bottom shelf where my underwears are. Beautiful girls poking their heads out of a sea of colorful panties, that’s something that even I’m ashamed of when I saw it. However, no one in my family found out because of this.

Anyway, what I wanted to say is that erotic game lovers are often experts at hiding things.

“Damn, erotic game lovers are really a pain in the butt.”

I ignored my identity and stomped on the floor. To be honest, I underestimated the difficulty of finding the legendary adult game. I expected I can find it in under 30 minutes.

Then, I ended up in an unreasonably hard, real-life room escape game where there’s no hope at all.

I grabbed my phone from my pocket and checked the time. It’s 6 PM already, which means I have to get going. However, I don’t know when I can stay in the room alone like this if I missed this chance. The members are good girls, after all. They will never allow me to work alone like this. I only managed to get them home when I said I still got a few documents left that I have to sign. They barely resisted helping me, even with such a simple task. This is an excuse that can’t be used twice. God knows when I can stay alone in the room.

“………….”

I looked around the dark student council room and bit my fingernail even harder. I really can’t think of anywhere else to hide an adult game. I had already worked off my butt to try and eliminate all possibilities. Still, I can never understand what the legendary guy is thinking.

Suddenly, I found out the mirror is reflecting an exhausted, dirty, and defeated girl who looks like she’s about to cry. I feel like my spirit is wavering as the room darkens.

Honestly, this is how I’ve always been.

A gifted student sounds like a good description of mine. However, this basically means that I don’t have any particular talents.

I can masterfully finish anything without errors, but I can never get 1st place in vital times.

I can rank at the top 5, or top 10 regardless of grades or sports. However, I have never been a no.1.

Since there are always more talented beings that can take all glory away.

Hence, I freaked out when I ranked 1st in Hekiyou’s most attractive girls. I even felt blessed for a short while before it disappeared completely.

Why? It’s because even if I didn’t hear it for myself directly, the truthful words from the students of Hekiyou had still passed to me.

“Sigh, if Karen Tendou from Otobuki is here, she is definitely no.1.”

This sentence.

I’ve always heard Karen Tendou-san’s fame from Otobuki. Put it this way, even though I just took a glance at her from far away, I instantly and painfully realized that, “this person is different.”

Of course, all members of the Hekiyou Student Council are attractive girls with their own unique personalities, including myself. I sincerely felt that even after I eliminated my narcissist's brain and the bias towards my school.

But then, Karen Tendou is the most extraordinary. In this world, everyone has their preferences for their definition of attractiveness. Even for an idol group where every member is outstanding and cute girls, there is still a wide range of favorites based on people’s desires.

However, Karen Tendou has some kind of attribute on her that made everyone feel that she’s attractive regardless of their preferences, the qualities that you can’t find easily even in the performing industry. The distance between our starting line is overwhelmingly long. It’s not an exaggeration when I say she’s blessed by the gods.

The world that she is living in is not one that can be reached with effort or self-improvement alone.

“…Sigh.”

I looked at my helpless reflection in the mirror before I let out a self-mocking sigh.

I deeply realized I’m nothing when compared to that angelic girl. I admitted defeat a long time ago because I love beautiful girls more than anyone else.

Still, even so, I have to say.

Admitting defeat doesn’t mean that I’m not upset.

While there’s no point in being jealous of other people’s talent, but when you face a situation where your hard-worked result was quickly overwhelmed by someone with unique expertise in a single stroke, it’s hard to get over it.

That is why even when I used the jealousy to fuel my efforts in improving myself, I will often lose when I’m up against the word “talent.”

So, this time, as an erotic game lover myself, I finally admitted defeat in something that I’m an expert at…because I lacked talent…

“Ugh…”

I really can’t let it go. I barely kept the tears from rolling down my eyes.

My polished appearance is inferior to others, my hard trained physique is nothing when compared to talents, I studied with everything I had only to lose to a genius’s random spark in his/her brain. I can still get myself over all this when I comforted myself that there’s nothing more I can do about this.

However, if it’s to the point where I was marked “unqualified” for a game that I loved from the bottom of my heart, even I will get upset.

…………

“…Sigh, I’m going home.”

I mumbled to myself depressingly before packing up and heading home.

*

“Damn, I’m filled so much lust right now.”

Basically, there’s no way for my sentimental, girl-like heart to last for 3 minutes. After I walked out of the school and towards the bus station, I changed my mind and started dashing to the downtown.

“I can run to the game shop and make it home before dinner!”

Even if I can’t, I can just say that there are activities in the student council.

I really needed to find a game to calm down my lust right now. But, I’m still wearing my high school uniform, so I can’t enter the adult game section. That’s fine, a console version will do for now! Console versions are like the promotional videos for sexy portraits that the guys loved, sometimes even more than porn. What makes gal games compelling is that they can really give you the freedom of imagination when you are filled with sexual desire.

“Moreover, I’m immersed in erotic games for a long time and distanced myself from gal games, now’s the time to catch up.”

It’s easy to leave the console version behind when you start exploring the erotic genre. However, I never treated adult games as a better replacement for gal games.

While adult games gained their individuality from their wide range of scales, gal games are for all age groups, the developers have to put more effort into the plot if they can’t rely on the sexually-arousing scenes alone, and that’s a fact.

Ah, even so, when compared to the ridiculous being that is the legendary adult game, there’s no way for me to deny that it overshadowed other products. Still…

“Kyaa! Now’s not the time for that! All I need to do now is head to the goal!”

I started using my entire body’s energy and charged towards the game store. However, I ran into the toilet when I’m close.

“I need to disguise myself even though I’m not buying erotic games, just to play it safe.”

I skillfully untied my double ponytails and let all the hair wrap around my head chaotically, then I stuffed the paper tissues into my mouth to puff up my cheeks before wearing a pair of rustic red glasses. If I’m being picky, I would have changed my body shape and perhaps wear a bit of makeup as well. However, since I’m not getting into the adult gamer zone, I guess this will do.

I walked into the store while feeling relieved that the number of customers and the games that they’re selling has always been the same. To be honest, the price here is quite high, and the quality is not outstanding either. This is just a typical game store. It’s both cheaper and more convenient to buy the games online. Even so, this is still a treasured “typical game store” in a sense.

To put it simply, you can purchase everything from brand new titles to erotic games.

“…Looks like there’s no one from our school.”

I picked up a random game from the new release area near the entrance and used the gaps between the shelves to observe the situation inside the store. Aside from the brown-haired cashier who’s lazily reading his magazine, there’s no one around.

I put the game back onto the shelf and walked towards the section for gal games like it’s nothing.

The games are listed alphabetically. There’s no way for me to decide by reading the titles alone. So, I turned to the “Featured” section, which showed the cover of the games…

“Sigh, it’s all new releases and famous titles…”

I considered myself to be a gamer. So I can’t help but feel disappointed when nothing is refreshing enough to catch my eye. Usually, when you finished playing all the well-received titles on the internet, you will turn your eyes on games that are recommended by a person. Hence, I’m really interested in the games that the staff has picked out. It looks like I’m out of luck today, though.

“Well, let’s just start with something I’m interested in…”

I made up my mind and picked up a box of a game that has a refreshing name and started scanning it. Then, when I’m picking up the fourth box because the first three isn’t really compelling.

“So…that’s why…”

“?”

Someone’s coming from the entrance, I immediately put the game back onto the shelf and started peeking at the side.

“By the way, you’re really interested in this, Mizumi-kun. I respect you.”

“That’s enough, Amano-kun. It’s really embarrassing when you are praising others this seriously. Didn’t other people tell you that?”

I took a glance, two high school boys chatted with each other as they entered the store.

“Their uniform…they are from Otubuki.”

Phew, good to know that they aren’t from Hekiyou, I should keep observing.

The guy called “Amano-kun” looks like a weak and short student. He’s not ugly, but I feel like no one will remember him.

“Hey, he’s like the typical protagonist in dating sims.”

He looks alright, but you don’t know where he’s good at. I guess this is what you call a person that is lacking in personality.

“…Sigh, I shouldn’t complain when I’m a hardworking student myself.”

I spent a lot of time polishing every bit of me to climb to what I am today. If we were just talking about base stats, maybe I’m more or less similar to him. Now that I’m thinking about it, I feel somewhat sympathetic towards him…

Anyway, the problem is with the guy next to him, Mizumi-kun.

Soft skins, cute face, brown hair, a tall body that doesn’t feel give off a fragile feeling, and a balanced physique. Most importantly, the guy gives off a refreshing aura that attracts people.

“…Crap, he’s so awesome to the point that I’m falling for him.”

He’s an entirely different character than Amano-kun. He’s not a personality-lacking protagonist born from normality, I guess he is born with a distinctive presence. From this perspective, I think…

“I guess he’s the boy version of Karen Tendou, right?”

He’s not as impactful as the blonde Karen Tendou, after all. Boys like him shouldn’t be idolized in the school, but I guess many girls will fall for him, at least I am right now…

Just when I’m lost in thoughts, I realized that they are heading towards here. Those two guys didn’t even look at the new release area for some reason. Instead, they walked straight into the store, into the gal game area where I’m standing.

“Oh, crap!”

I hastily left the area. I walked softly and quickly so that those boys don’t see me. Finally, I got to the RPG zone, where I saw them stopped at the gal game area.

I observed them from the gaps between the shelves while pressing my chest, feeling relieved.

“They are from another school, and I’m in disguise. Well, I feel like I shouldn’t take my time and pick my favorite gal game in front of them…”

So, I just stared at them for a while.

I can see their backs as they started chatting in front of the gal game area.

“So, Amano-kun, I wanted to hear your recommendations…”

“Eh?”

I am here because I wanted to hear recommendations, so I can’t help but raise my ears as I took a step forward. The guy that looks like a cowardly protagonist gave a weak smile upon facing the question from the cute one.

“H-How should I put it? I’m feeling quite embarrassed when you are seriously asking me a recommendation for gal games…”

“I know how you feel bro, but can you speed up here?”

I’m getting irritated as I grew impatient. Although I’m just releasing my anger on that guy, there’s a reason for me to feel depressed and restless at the same time.

The handsome guy called Mizumi-kun seems to share my feelings. He smiled bitterly.

“I’m not going to tease you. I was the one who asked for recommendations, why would I complain about your taste?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t suspecting you, and I don’t think I have an unusual taste. It’s just that I have never recommended a gal game to my friends, so I’m still not used to it.”

The average protagonist smile shyly…what a pain in the butt, this Amano-kun guy is so lame! Look at how straightforward Mizumi-kun is! *cough*

Well, to be honest, I know what Amano-kun is thinking. It’s not easy for you to give recommendations when your friends know that you’re into erotic games. They will found out your preferences of the opposite sex, which would include your fetishes. So, it’s way harder to answer compared to other types of games.

Just when I’m observing worriedly for some reason, the Amano-kun embarrassingly answered after a moment of consideration.

“Um…So, Mizumi-kun, are you curious in any gal game here?”

“Jesus, stop dragging, you’re a pain in the butt!”

I can’t help but stomp on the floor. Then, the boys turned around and looked at me. I hastily turned around and let off a couple coughs to cover myself. After a moment of silence, they seemed to have misunderstood my signal, so they continued discussing with a suppressed volume.

The guy called Mizumi-kun looked at the shelf, he appeared frustrated. In the end, he picked up a featured title in the store that is well-received.

“I did my homework, they called this a legend on the internet, right?”

He showed this to Amano-kun as he’s talking, it’s the cheaper version of a legendary title from an author who started with doujins. That was so popular that it got remade a few times, I guess it’s unanimously famous. Especially for the writer who’s full of individuality that has a lot of crazed fans, his overwhelming talents are well-known in the anime and novel industry.

I feel somewhat defeated as I continued looking at the boys.

“This game got momentum, even a guy who’s not familiar with gal games are interested. Was it made with talent?”

Like Karen Tendou and Mizumi-kun, who’s in front of me, some covers immediately radiated an aura in the erotic and gal game industry, they just make people feel that “this is different than the other games.” Whether it’s the illustrations, the plot, or the presentation, those titles had always included revolutionary elements. To put it this way, these are titles created with talents that justify the attention they got. Of course, they would, people are literally flocking to buy it.

While I do agree on this, there’s something that makes my heart tinge for a little bit. However, I don’t know what this feeling is…is it because I expected to hear an unexpected recommendation? I wondered for a while. Then, Amano-kun, who’s seemingly lost in thought for a moment, quickly answered Mizumi-kun’s question.

“Yup, that’s fun. I loved it so much that I barely slept for a week. I think you can be addicted to it as much as I do, this is a fascinating title.”

“Really? I’m picking this one if you say so.”

Mizumi-kun started walking towards the cashier as he’s talking.

I knew they started moving, so I wondered whether I should go back to the gal game area. Suddenly, Amano-kun grabbed Mizumi-kun by his sleeve gently.

“Oh, just a second. Although that is an outstanding game, and the content is really intriguing, I never said I recommended that to you.”

“Hmm?”

Mizumi-kun looked at him suspiciously as he stopped. I’m feeling a little bit confused as well, and then he started explaining unexpectedly in a clear voice.

“Mizumi-kun, the reason you wanted my suggestions is that you wanted to know why are gal games appealing, right?”

“Yep, you’re right. Don’t you think all members of the Game Club are too specialized? Like, no one is familiar with this genre at all…”

Mizumi-kun laughed heartily. It looks like he belonged to the Game Club. Damn, the more I know, the more I’m falling for him. In contrast to this, the guy called Amano-kun…

“What do you want? Stop nagging! That game is such a compelling one, why don’t you just recommend that one? Please don’t be so indecisive…

He’s precisely the coward protagonist in dating sims.

Just as I grew impatient, Mizumi-kun also gave him a confused look, hinting that he doesn’t really understand what his friend was saying.

Then, the guy named Amano embarrassingly grabbed a game on the shelf that wasn’t featured by the store, it’s not even a new release or a hot one…its sale figures are mediocre at best. Yet, he recommended that to Mizumi-kun.

“Actually, I think I will recommend this, Rainbow Court.”

“Hmm?” “Ehhhh!?”

Although Mizumi-kun let out a confused noise, I’m far more shaken than he did. That’s because…

“That game has nothing special going for it!”

To be honest, I was curious about the game’s illustration as well a while ago, so I looked up the comments for it. I found out that there’s nothing revolutionary with the plot, and it’s not touching at all. It’s really an average game. In reality, the players give it a 5/10, saying that it’s alright. So, I don’t feel that I need to play it immediately and never got my hands on it. Well, no one on the blog strongly recommended it anyway.

“He went out of his way to endorse Rainbow Court…is he pretending to be a connoisseur?”

This is the only possibility. I don’t think that game is not something you can recommend before the legendary title.

Unexpectedly, that Amano guy had the same idea as I do.

“Oh, this game doesn’t have anything going for it, and it’s not well-received or popular.”

“Really? Hmm, then why did you…”

“Um, I guess it’s because I love this game.”

“Oh, I get it. You mean that this one got a unique charm only understood by gamers like you?”

“Ah, it’s not like that. Like I have said before, this game is in no way memorable.”

“Eh?” “Huh?”

Mizumi-kun and I were confused. What’s wrong with this guy? If he’s not pretending to be an expert and emphasized that “this game has something special that only I know about” thing…What does he want then?

Amano-kun doesn’t seem to have realized our confusion. He continued.

“But then, all I know is that I love this game. The content is really detailed.”

“Oh, so you mean that it’s a great title that has a lot of effort spent on the details, right?”

“Welp, it’s not as good as you’ve said.”

“H-Hmm?”

Mizumi-kun tilted his head in confusion as he asked a genuine question.

“Um, if that’s the case, shouldn’t I just play the well-received title instead…?”

“Ah, yes, you can buy that first if you are really interested in it, that’s fine. However, I personally wanted you to check out games like this one as well.”

“What do you mean?”

Mizumi-kun threw him a logical question, which is what I wanted Amano-kun to answer.

Amano-kun scratched his face as he looked gently at the cover of Rainbow Court…and gave his conclusion while smiling embarrassingly.

“Of course, a famous title created by a genius is impressive. However, I feel the same way for games that are created by hardworking people as well, perhaps I even value the latter more.

“…………”

Suddenly-

Something pierced through my heart.

“Oh, shit.”

I really wanted to cry for some reason. I immediately tried to hold it back as I plopped my head down.

“What’s this? Why do I…have this feeling?”

I’m unable to process my emotion right now. All I can do is try my best and hold back my tears.

Just as I’m panicking, those two boys are still chatting over the shelves.

“Amano-kun…I thought you liked playing unique games like the fighting game we played earlier.”

“Um, that’s true. I’m lying if I say that I don’t like these fascinating titles. However, even if that’s the case, I feel that there’s a particular genre of games that wasn’t branded with outstanding titles.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hmm…this is hard to explain…how should I put it? Here’s an extreme example. Let say that a guy becomes addicted to suspense drama when they saw a 2-hour detective TV show, and then he comes up to you and says he wanted to read detective novels. You wouldn’t tell him to read Dogra Magra at the start, even though that is a legend filled with talents, right?” [Note: Dogra Magra, one of the top 3 detective novels in Japan.]

“Oh, I get it, that’s a good one. But, isn’t that a really extreme example? At least when I compare the famous title with Rainbow Court, I still feel like I can gain more from the former one.”

Mizumi-kun is a Game Club member, after all. He’s emphasizing on what he can gain from playing that. Amano-kun scratched his face with a smile after hearing his solid refusal.

“Yeah, it boils down to your preferences in the end. However, I think the value of “a good game that can bring you joy” and “an outstanding title” is the same. Don’t you think the former one can give you a sense of peacefulness? I believe this “relaxed peacefulness” is what I am after when I want to play gal games.”

“…That’s what makes gal games great, am I right?”

“Yup, that’s how I think. Therefore, if you want to know what makes gal games fun, I wouldn’t give you an exceptional recommendation. Instead, I hope that you can at least try out these genuine, detailed, and humble titles. Sigh, to be honest, that’s what I love.”

I saw his embarrassed face as he speaks, and then I finally realized why I’m shaking right now.

“I got it…it’s because…when I heard what he said, I feel like someone finally appreciated my life…”

Gosh, I’m just eavesdropping why I am feeling accepted right now. However, at this moment, I think that his words are for me…that’s my thought. I can’t help it.

I gave everything I could, and yet I’m still overwhelmed by talents. Then, his words made me feel all my effort wasn’t a waste.

At the same time, that made me reflect on myself, who spent all day trying to find that adult game.

I stared at my right palm as I closed it slowly.

“Come to think of it, maybe I involuntarily focused on famous and exceptional titles as well to the point that they narrowed my sights…”

I was not this self-abased when I faced talented people in the past. I guess my condition has worsened because I became so narrow-minded.

This time, I clenched my right hand tightly.

Being unexpectedly corrected by a cowardly boy that I used to look down upon, and even letting him to save me. Never before have I been so offended by something I one hundred percent agree with…

“Come to think of it, the light novel which I found compelling at the start didn’t even have anything unique going for it. The content is universal, detailed, and genuine while appealing and gentle at the same time. That’s the cliché romantic comedy it is…”

A nostalgic and warm feeling brightened my heart. Maybe, there’s something I should do before I spend all time trying to find the legendary erotic game left by someone unknown.

They started moving as I am lost in thoughts.

“Hmm, alright. I’m buying this then.”

Mizumi-kun answered gently. I can hear his footsteps as he walked towards the cashier.

Which one did he buy? I’m curious.

However, I will never know what choice did he make.

That’s because-

I’m not looking at him at all, even though he’s handsome and straightforward.

“…It’s not like I care about this guy. Why am I…why am I..falling for him!?”

I bit my fingernails hardly as I stared at the weak protagonist in dating sims – Amano, and his face.

*

“I’m home.”

I opened the door to the living room, and lazily greeted the house. I’m exhausted.

Then, my sister, who’s wearing her pajamas, answered while focusing on her phone.

“Welcome back. Wow, you’re late, Konoha.”

“Yeah. I’m a bit busy today. It looks like I caught up to dinner, though.”

I looked at the kitchen, mom’s almost done cooking. Dad’s… probably in his room, I don’t see him in the living room or the kitchen.

I pulled the chair in front of my sister and hung my bag on the back of the seat before I sat down, and then I started watching the riddle TV show blankly. Sis stared me after the host asked a trivial question.

“…Why aren’t you changing your clothes?”

“Right, I need to. I really needed a break, though.”

“Konoha, it’s not easy to see your exhausted face, is the student council tough?”

Sis put her phone on the table before looking at me worriedly. Her face makes me feel relieved.

Speaking of my sis, she’s pretty bad at everything. Honestly, I’m way better than her when it comes to academics or sports. But then, she is still a well-qualified sister. I really appreciated that.

So, even though I never went out of my way to grumble to her, I really wanted to say that today. Of course, my love for erotic games has to remain a secret for my family.

I looked at Sis face to face and started talking about how pissed off I am today, vaguely.

“Um…how should I put it? I met a person who’s totally against me today.”

“Oh, really? What a coincidence. I was pissed, so I never told you, but I encountered a similar situation not long ago.”

“Right. It’s not every day that you get to hear my introverted sis be mad at others. Oh, but mine was really ridiculous. How should I say it? That person is fundamentally different than I am. But then, we shared something subtle in common, which really irritated me.”

“Wow, that’s really a coincidence. Me too, me too!”

Sis leaned towards me. I did the same thing as I’m getting energetic.

“If we are talking about which part of that person pissed the most of out me, that has to be the fact that I sometimes admire his way of thinking in some situations…”

“Yeah! That’s it! When you know that from the bottom of your heart that the person sucks, but sometimes he’s really an inspiring figure, that’s precisely why I am mad! I know that feeling!”

“Yes!”

I didn’t know that I can chat with my sister this much. When I finally stood up from the chair out of excitement, my bag that was hung on the back of it fell onto the floor suddenly. Everything inside spilled out because I forgot to zip the bag. The textbooks and notes are everywhere. Also, there’s something in the mixture…

“Oh, crap!”

I immediately scrambled to clean everything up after realizing something, but it’s too late.

“Huh? What kind of game is this?”

“Hey, don’t just grab it away, sis!”

Sis is only agile in times like this. She took “that” away.

She deftly escaped my grab and read the title out loud.

“What is this….Rainbow Court? Konoha, you liked this kind of game?”

“I-It’s not like that! I-I just borrowed it! Yes, I borrowed it from my friend!”

“Eh? But it still got the plastic coat on, I feel like you just bought it…”

“Damn…!”

I…I can’t say it out loud! I bought the game because of that guy’s words! I’m literally acting like a tsundere right now! I don’t want to explain it! Kill me! Shit, my face is flaring up! I-I need to take that back right now!

The more I tried to take that back, the more my sister, who’s supposed to be a slowpoke, can dodge my attacks. She gave me a mischievous grin as she ran all around the living room.

“Ooooooh, never seen this side of you before, that’s rare!”

“Ugh…t-that’s enough, sis, give it back to me, please?”

“Hmm…what should I do?”

I got agitated.

I’m frustrated with my cowardly sis’s smug face…Finally, I took off my model student disguise and showed just a tad bit of who I am as I screamed.

“G-GIVE IT BACK! CHIAKI!”

The 37th President of the Hekiyou Student Council – Hoshinomori Konoha.

This is only the start of her painful journey.