What is an Otome game?
To explain briefly, it's a type of game where you try to romance handsome guys.
The settings for Otome games are often School (or academy), Fantasy, or Historical.
Since this genre mostly appeals to women, it's not surprising that these games rarely achieve global fame, no matter how compelling their storylines might be.
And here's where the problem lies.
I'm currently in an Otome game with a rather unique theme—fairy tales.
Yes, that means there are characters like Disney princesses or something similar.
Getting reincarnated into this Otome world was entirely unexpected for me, especially since I'd never played this game before.
What's even more shocking is that this world... is about to have players arriving.
To be honest, ever since I died and was reincarnated here, the goddess only gave me one task:
Observe the players.
...That's it.
I mean, seriously? She sent me to this world and didn't give me anything to make survival easier?
I would've been doomed if I hadn't met my grandpa!
After his death, I struggled to survive—it was incredibly difficult.
It's surprising that 10 years have passed since my grandpa's death, and now, I've become the boss of a mafia organization called Dark Days.
Alright... the name sounds super boring. I once suggested renaming the organization, but none of the members agreed, so I had to stick with it.
But hey, at least when we operate legally, my organization can use a different name to avoid detection.
I call it Free Bird.
It's the name of a song I like, although some people say it's too simple.
Anyway, back to the present. As far as I know, according to the main timeline, this is the year when the protagonists start attending school—essentially the beginning of the game.
According to the goddess, the players will take on the role of a female farmer who is unexpectedly invited to attend Fairy Tales Academy.
And then blah blah some conspiracy, blah blah the reason she was invited, and blah blah she ends up with one of the male leads depending on her choices.
Pretty generic stuff. I think readers would be incredibly bored if I were one of those perfect protagonists who interferes with main events, attracts all the girls with a single move, and is stronger than the final boss.
"Boss, may I ask you something?"
But trust me, I'm not that handsome. My face is pretty average.
"Boss, are you listening to me?"
Also, my powers aren't that strong. The only things I'm good at are fire magic, a bit of hand-to-hand combat, and owning a Magic Gear—
"Boss, are you zoning out again?"
"Huh?" I looked up to see a man with short purple hair, his forehead clearly visible.
"Can I ask why you want me to investigate the farmer girl who got invited to Fairy Tales Academy? Are you planning to stop her from entering the Academy?"
"Oh, no, no, I'm just... curious."
...
"Boss, I think you're too young to be thinking about romance."
Huh? No, that's not what I meant!
Although I wanted to explain, my serious expression probably made any explanation seem useless.
"Sigh, fine. Just don't expect too much from my people-finding skills," he sighed and quickly left.
Now alone, with only my blonde-haired secretary still calmly reading the newspaper as if nothing had happened, I glanced at the pile of documents in front of me and let out a weary sigh.
I set my pen down, stood up, and stretched.
"Are you going out?" The blonde woman glanced at me with a curious expression.
"Yeah, I need to blow off some steam."
"Yay! I've been bored to death reading the newspaper! Finally, I get to go out!" The blonde immediately tossed the newspaper aside and dashed out the door.
...I still can't believe she's 23 years old.
I adjusted my clothes calmly and followed her outside.
As I walked past the busy staff, I started reminiscing about the origins of my organization.
Dark Days had a rather violent beginning as a mafia group.
You wouldn't believe how I felt on my first day stepping into this place.
It was full of bloodthirsty, reckless individuals.
The organization ran a loan shark business, and if someone didn't repay on time, they'd get strong-armed—or sold off if they couldn't pay at all.
With such a third-rate villain origin, I was certain this group would collapse if the protagonists or players ever discovered it.
So, I had to reform the entire organization, transforming it from a bunch of reckless thugs willing to harm civilians into a more disciplined group.
Of course, since it's still a mafia, some illegal activities are unavoidable.
To address that, I implemented a few rules, and surprisingly, they worked.
To diversify our income, I turned the organization into a business enterprise, with weapons as our main product.
Thanks to my memories from my past life and the magical wonders of this world, our weapons turned out far superior to the norm.
As a result, Dark Days became a dual-faced entity: both a mafia group and a thriving business.
More successful than I imagined, huh?
Oh, and the low-rent dormitory for students? That was my idea too. Rent near the academy is absurdly expensive, after all.
As I walked, my attention was drawn to the weapons production room, so I stepped inside.
"Ah! Boss! What brings you here?!" A startled staff member greeted me politely.
"How's the progress?" I asked, looking at a rapier inside the room.
"Ah, very well! I believe we'll successfully complete this Magic Gear in just a few more days!"
"Hmm, good. I'm looking forward to it." I patted his shoulder, leaving him visibly excited.
I glanced around at the many weapons being manufactured.
Honestly, it's amusing that our organization doesn't have dwarves forging weapons, yet we can mass-produce them like this. That's also why I've been able to make so much money.
"Oh, Boss! Isn't tomorrow the day you officially start attending the academy?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well… with our organization earning so much, why do you even need to go to school?"
You know, I've asked myself the same question.
Unfortunately, I'm under the watchful eye of the goddess, and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be pleased if I abandoned the mission she gave me.
"Simple. I just want to."
"…Could it be that you never got to study in the past, so you're fulfilling that dream now? That's so sad!" The staff member in front of me wiped his tears.
"No, I mean—"
"It's okay, Boss! I'll always support you!" another employee chimed in.
"If you don't understand anything, you can ask me! I was the top student in my class!"
Before I knew it, the staff was loudly cheering my name, encouraging me.
Alright, I'm a little touched, but they completely misunderstood me.
Suddenly, purple lightning flashed in front of everyone.
"Boss, I've returned," he greeted politely.
"Oh, did you find her?" I asked casually.
"Yes, I found her… but…"
"Hmm?"
"…There are a lot of farmer girls invited to Fairy Tales Academy, around 100 of them."
"…What?"
Wait, don't tell me this Otome game is game online?!