-The Royal Capital, Holfort Kingdom-
It was situated on a vast floating island; a beautiful city that had many modern structures that somehow still merged seamlessly with the medieval-themed structures such as the large Royal Castle in the center, the Academy, and more.
Its population exceeded over a million and as one might expect, it has a society centered around nobility.
And in this capital city, lay the Royal Academy. (A/N: Manga only calls it an Academy, but I'll call it Royal Academy because that sounds better to me.)
It was the center, the core of the entire Game, and for most parts, the manga as well.
'Let's see. Out of the two sections that attend the school, I am in the Advanced class reserved for heirs of higher nobles or firstborns of lower nobility.'
Due to my status and popularity, and a few underhanded tactics, such as bribing, I didn't have to do much to get into it without all that entrance exam drama. Fuck that! I ain't bothering with any more entrance exams. My previous life's suffering was more than enough! Entrance exams are the worst!
As I calmly made my way towards the gate of the said Academy, taking in the sight of the grand and beautiful place, I could see and hear a few tasteless things that I had been able to avoid thanks to my adventuring career.
"Pick up the bags and hurry up! I can't be tardy on the first day due to your slow pace!"
A young woman wearing the academy attire shouted to her servant.
"S-Sorry, young miss!"
The young girl huffed in annoyance and marched towards the dorms like she owned the place.
'High nobility. I forgot how stuck up and bitchy they were in the game… This will be annoying. If not for gaining World Points, I'd have skipped this academy and done something else.'
I looked at my quest, more specifically its progress.
[World Points: 35,000/1,000,000]
'Haa… I'm still so far away. I need to accomplish greater feats than what I've done till now.'
"My lady, please allow me to carry your bag. As your loyal slave, I can't allow you to use your delicate hands to carry such heavy luggage."
A beastman boy with raccoon-like features and brown eyes and hair ears spoke to a blond girl who easily nodded before handing her backpack to the beastman boy, both wearing the school's uniform. Judging by their attitudes, they were probably a slave and their mistress.
I moved on a bit deeper into the grounds of the academy before a loud yelp caused me to turn back.
My face was constantly neutral, but internally I sighed when I saw what the commotion was all about.
"KYAH!! It's the prince's entourage! Oh my gosh!"
"Look at them, they're so amazing! So handsome!"
"Eek, make me yours, prince!"
I groaned as I looked at the band of 5 pretty boys nonchalantly yet gracefully making their entrance to the Academy gate.
'Wow, did I seriously match the timing to be exactly like in the manga? I wasn't even trying to do that. And look at these dudes.'
"They remind me of power rangers. Red, Blue, Green, Violet, and Light Blue. Well, the colors don't quite match with the standard colors, but you get the point, right?"
Standing a fair distance away from the gathering crowd, I muttered.
[I can see what you mean. They do have a resemblance to what you mentioned. My database, for some odd reason, has information on it as well. Huh… But Captain. Is it not rude to say so about them? Especially considering one of them is the prince of the Kingdom you're a noble of?]
Eris' voice came from beside me even though the floating metal grey ball was nowhere in sight. It was in stealth mode, currently.
"Heh, don't you already know my stance on things here, Eris?"
[You seem to not care one bit about the Kingdom, the royalty, and the nobility. Or anything other than yourself and what is yours. Your worldview is quite apathetic from what I've noticed.]
I raised an eyebrow at the unexpected harsh words.
"That's a bit extreme, don't you think? I do care for a few things other than myself."
[May I ask what are those things?]
"Hmm, I care about you, for one. You've been my good companion for 2 years now. I also care for the… uh… well. I guess you're not wrong. But now I feel like I'm some kind of a heartless and cold villain."
[Are you not?]
"… Okay, that hurt, Eris. I didn't know you thought of me like that. After all, we've been through."
I spoke in faux sadness. Well, she wasn't wrong, all things considered. I cared very little about this world and its denizens.
[I was just making an observation. My apologies if my thoughtless remarks hurt your feelings, Captain. I do not mean anything ill by it.]
"Hmm. Don't worry about it. And let's leave before the crowd makes its way here. I don't want to get involved in this mess just yet."
Before I turned away, I noticed another person approaching that caused another, albeit smaller commotion.
'Angelica, huh. The main "antagonist" from the Otome game is here too.'
Though, in the manga, from how far I read, she seemed pretty decent in reality. She even became a good person later once she was saved by Leon during a very embarrassing moment for her. But I stopped reading soon after that. I got bored of it; it failed to keep my attention at the time.
'I wonder where Olivia is. I was hoping to see her as well. That'd mean I'd have met the entire main cast from the Otome game on day 1. Oh, well. Doesn't really matter.'
I turned and made my way towards my destination, the High nobility students' dorm.
'Hopefully, my neighbors are at least decen—'
I shut my mouth with a hand, realizing I was about to possibly jinx myself just now. Given the nature of the world and my previous experiences, it actually happens in this world.
'That was close.'
***
"And with the coming of the quiet spring, I welcome all of you to these halls as first years…"
The dark blue-haired prince recited the introductory speech on the stage as the students all sat quietly, enthralled by his speech—but mostly by his looks.
'Why am I here…'
"… I sincerely hope that these following few years are filled with…"
'… only to suffer from boring speeches.'
"Eris, play Despacito."
Sitting at the furthest back, I quietly murmured to my hidden companion as I adjusted the disguised earpiece I was wearing. It was hidden using the same technology as the one Eris used to go into stealth mode. Pretty nifty, if I say so myself.
But I only confused my AI companion with that strange demand.
[Pardon me. What's 'Despacito'?]
"Nothing. I was just messing with ya. I meant, play one of the songs stored in your database."
I dodged the topic and distracted her with something else.
[Understood. Playing 'Fur Elise' by—]
"Uh, no, not that. I'll fall asleep listening to that one. Play something more exciting. Something from Rock or Pop genre, you know?"
[Understood. Playing 'My little Popsicle' by Tiny PP.]
"Pfft! Da fok?!"
I accidentally snorted out loud, causing a few heads to turn my way. It was a bit awkward and uncomfortable after that since some of those looks came from the Price's fangirls who didn't seem very happy with me interrupting their "beloved prince's" speech.
'Fuck. Damn it, Eris!'
[Whoops.]
That little shit did it intentionally! Did she realize I was making fun of her?
'Damn, she's vindictive sometimes!'
Luckily, they soon lost interest in me and focused back on their idol. Good for me. I didn't want any unexpected annoyances right now.
Once the boring entrance ceremony was over, I immediately left the hall, making a beeline to my room.
'Let's take a nap and think about what to do later.'
"Eris, wake me up in 3 hours."
[You're treating me as your alarm clock now. Alarm set.]
"Aw, don't be like that. You're just too awesome and helpful."
'And convenient.'
I stopped myself from muttering that she was a great replacement for my old smartphone. That might have been a bit too much.
'After I wake up, I should go meet that Marie chick. Not that I have any relation with her unlike OG Leon, but I should still set a few things clear beforehand. Don't want her running out messing things, not that she can do much.'
I didn't want her getting in my way, knowingly or unknowingly. Other than that, I didn't really care if she wanted to take Olivia's spot as the Saintess and be the prince and his boyband's shared lover.
I could actually feel a bit of comradery with her as a fellow Isekai'd person who was himself going to do something similar (*cough* make a Harem *cough*)… that is, if I had been in High School DxD.
'Damn it.'
I was still a little annoyed that my first World Travel was disrupted like that.
***
[-In some back alley-]
I walked to the girl I had been looking for the previous half an hour.
"Hello, Marie. Do you mind if we have a little one-on-one chat?"
I spoke to the blond midget who was currently hiding behind the corner of a building, spying on the prince who seemed to be roaming in the alleys on his lonesome for some odd reason. Possibly feeling the need to be alone.
I bet someone like him must feel the need for it at times.
"Eep!"
The midget squealed in surprise as she turned to face me nonchalantly standing.
"I-I'm not someone suspicious! I swear. I was only passing by!"
Good thing I put a sound barrier around us before I 'disturbed' her.
'Pfft. Does she think I caught her stalking the prince or something? Should I mess with her?'
I amused myself with the idea for a while while the midget sweated bullets, her eyes darting all around.
In the end, I decided against it and spoke.
"Relax. I know. I am just here to talk to you, but I guess I caught you at a bad time. You're about to start one of the starting events with the prince, right?"
My casually spoken words shook her to the very core as she gasped, her eyes turning into giant saucers.
"Wha-How?! Why? No, what?! How do you—?! It can't be…"
It seemed I came off a bit too straight, but her reaction was quite amusing. She probably metaphorically shat her panties.
"How do I know? It's coz I'm someone like you, from Earth, who knows about this Otome game."
'Though, you and I are not the same.'
I added mentally, fixing a metaphorical tie on my imaginary high-class suit in my head.
It took her a moment to get past the shock of her lifetime.
"You're also reincarnated?"
"More like transmigrated, but sure. They're similar."
"How? Why? And how did you know I was—?"
I raised a hand to stop her stuttering. Taking a deep breath, I spoke.
"Look, it doesn't matter. Just know that we're in similar boats and I have no intention of messing with that guy and his power ranger team."
I pointed to the oblivious prince who stopped to play with a stray kitten.
It took her a little while to think and be able to speak again. But when she did, her previously frightened and innocent-looking façade broke and she changed into her actual self.
"What do you want, then? Why are you bothering me? If you want to be my friend or something, then I refuse. I'm not intere—"
She choked on her next words as an invisible pressure washed over her.
The next moment, she fell to the ground standing on all four limbs, shaking, sweating, and panting.
Keeping my aura in check, I spoke, my voice calm but foreboding.
"Listen up, you. I don't give a damn about you and your obvious plan to be the protagonist of this world. I'm not here to be friends with someone like you either. As I said, I have my own goals here as well. And some of it might cause trouble with the power rangers boy band you're wet down there for. So, if you and I are on opposite teams, just suck it up and take an L, okay? I promise I won't go out of my way to fuck with your goals. But I am the kind of person who won't tolerate it when someone messes with MY plans either. So, I'm here to give you some FRIENDLY advice. Don't get in my way and I'll try to stay out of yours. Understood?"
Releasing the pressure, I gave her a sunny smile and waited for her to catch her breath.
"Y-You… I… S-Sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't kill me! I'll do anything you say! I s-swear I won't get in your w-way!"
And when she did, she immediately prostrated and started apologizing.
'Hmm, did I overdo with the threatening bit? Eh, it's probably fine. I'll give her a carrot after that stick. She'll be fine. From what little I know about her, she seemed quite resilient. Especially when it came to her goals.'
I decided to speak, my voice now normal and somewhat friendly.
"Hey now, I'm not some monster. I won't kill you or hurt you. Seriously. I just wanted to discuss a few things. Sorry I blew my temper so suddenly. Not sure what got over me for a moment there. Here, let me help you get back up. Your dress is getting dirty."
I pulled the still-shaken girl to her feet and used one of the utility magic on her.
"
With a gust of wind, she was rid of all the dirt.
But her face was still pale.
'Okay, maybe I did overdo it. Whoops.'
"Uh, you okay?"
I looked into her eyes and when her eyes met mine, she immediately diverted them in fear.
It was kind of a surprise that she hadn't run away in fear. But that might be because of her shaking legs. She could barely stand back up on her feet and I had to give her support.
"Marie?"
I asked again and after a brief silence, she finally replied.
"I-I am okay.…"
"Okay, that's good. Again, sorry for the outburst. I only came to introduce myself to a fellow transmigrator. I wish you luck in your endeavors. Anyway, since you were busy with something, I'll leave you with it. Let's talk some other time if you're up for it. It'll be beneficial for both of us if we sorted out our plans so we don't bother one another. I'll treat you to lunch or something as an apology. Okay?"
She didn't say anything, but she did nod. That was enough for me.
After letting her take support from the wall, I left her to her business not realizing I may have greatly messed with her mental health and ruined her current task just now. Oh well.
***
[Marie's POV]
She fell back to the floor as she hugged her body in fear and shock, tears pooling in her eyes as she couldn't stop herself from remembering the horror she had just experienced.
'I-I was about to die. Th-That guy… No, that monster! What the hell is he?! He's dangerous! He's evil! Why is this happening to me? I only wanted to have a happy life!'
After she had suddenly died and reincarnated as Marie Foe Lovan, the daughter of some poor Viscount, she had little hope in this life.
But then one day, during her studies, she discovered what world this was, and she finally had hope!
Hope to live a better life.
Hope to live her life as a queen, surrounded by handsome men(plural).
She only had a 'small' dream.
And today she was about the begin her arduous journey of getting the prince and his 4 handsome friends' attention and in due time, love. She was all set. She'd disrupted the original protagonist Olivia from wandering here and then took her place. She made sure to remember the lines which she wrote down in her personal notebook beforehand. She was about to do it when… when 'he' came.
'He' first shocked her by finding her even though she was hiding carefully. And then 'he' proceeded to blow her mind by revealing her most well-guarded secret. And then… And then…
She shuddered as she remembered once again.
'No, no, no. Why is this happening to me? I thought I could finally catch a break after that lame first life and then a decade and a half in poverty in that viscount manor in my second life. And now that Monster has come and is going to ruin my life! Why? Why?! WHY?!?!'
Droplets of tears fell from her eyes, on her clean skirt which had gotten dirty again despite being cleaned by that monster's magic as she cursed the unfairness of this world.
She stayed hopeless like this for a while before she finally regained her spirit.
'No… I won't back down. I can't! I'll absolutely find happiness with the handsome prince and his handsome friends. I'll be the queen and live the best life in this world! Nothing will stop me from—….'
She shuddered.
'Y-Yeah, I'll, uh, do it AND stay away from that monster's path. Yeah. I don't know what he wants but he said he won't mess with my plans. He doesn't seem to care about the prince and his friends. Maybe he's after that protagonist chick. Hmm, likely. T-That horny b-bastard! That must be like. A-All men are the same! Always thinking with their dicks…'
…
She was, of course, nothing like him. Her intentions were pure. She ONLY wanted to live her life as a queen surrounded by handsome men and servants.
…
'A-Anyway, it should be fine in that case, right? I'll have no fear of Olivia if that monster takes her away… Right? … Am I really safe from him? Uuuu…'
She whimpered at the unfair world.
"Why do bad things only happen to me—Ack!"
It was only then that she realized something important that she was missing.
'Crap! I was supposed to start that event with the prince!'
She hurriedly moved her still weak body and, on her fours, she peeked into the alley the prince was in previously.
It was now empty.
'Nooo!!! I lost him!'
It seemed Marie was going to have a much harder time with another, scary transmigrator also living in this world.
"Damn it all! Life is so unfair!!!"
Her voice echoes in the empty alleyway, scaring a stray cat who seemed to be sleeping close by. It hissed at her before running away.
Marie was having a very bad day.
[End of Marie's POV]
***
A/N: Somebody asked me how World Points worked and I kinda sorta didn't properly explain it in the story(more like didn't bother explaining at all). So, I'll just do it here... by which I mean I'll just copy paste the explanation I gave to the commenter below.
Basically, anything MC does that affects the story and the people in the world (especially the main cast and the ones in power) earns him World Points. The more he interacts with the world and the underlying story, the more points he gets.
Is this a simple plot device I'm using to make my otherwise lazy and uncaring MC actively participate in the story? Probably yes. Do I care that this is a pretty shoddy explanation and plot device? Heck no.
It's easier for me to explain his actions this way... most of the time.
I'm intentionally keeping it broad and vague because I don't want to focus too much on it. You'll notice the same for a lot of System stuff. But yeah, I should have explained this bit still given its importance. Hope this clears things. :)
And a reminder that this is a fan fiction. It doesn't have to be perfect or on the level of original stories. Just barely acceptable plot and a readable story is fine with me. I'm just having some fun here and trying out something new(for me). I'm just getting it out there before someone starts flaming me for being a pathetic writer or something, haha. (Yeah, I'm pretty pessimistic. Don't mind me.)
Anyways, until next time.