An Otome Game Spinoff Featuring a Prince with Maxed-Out Affection and a Reincarnated Noble Girl
The Will of the World and the Stone
Translated by: S3
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*****
That ‘Stone’ was brought into existence by the one who created the world.
The Creator was also the administrator of the world, a being who desired its continued existence.
However, the world grew too vast, and the number of sentient beings multiplied too greatly for the Creator to manage alone.
Thus, the Creator bestowed the Stone upon a group of peaceful, easygoing pacifists who were the simplest to manage.
「This is a Stone that grants wishes」 he told them.
The Stone collects massive amounts of information—data—from its surroundings, sifts through it, categorizes it, and based on that, ‘grants the wishes’ of the ‘Wisher (Client).’ This Command (Order) was given top priority by the Creator.
However, there were restrictions on the wishes to be granted.
‘Those who wish for the world’s destruction.’
‘Those likely to harm others.’
‘Anything else deemed non-peaceful.’
Such wishes could be discarded as ‘ungrantable.’
The Stone gathered information, drew in those with peaceful hearts, and listened to their desires.
From there, it would collect more data and send a Report (Status update) to the Creator.
『The kingdom remains peaceful today,』 it would say.
Looking at the report, the Creator would feel relieved. That kingdom will be fine as long as I leave it to the Stone, he thought.
However, that Stone began to exhibit rather strange behavior.
Upon noticing and checking the Stone’s recent Recording (Log), the Creator found that it was repeatedly looping back and forth through the same timeline.
It would progress to roughly the same point in time, then revert to a specific moment.
Was it some kind of Malfunction (Error)?
The Stone prioritizes the ‘wishes it should grant.’ This ranking is determined by the Stone itself, judged as ‘Optimal’ based on the vast amount of information and circumstances it has gathered.
Wishes that have been fulfilled are deleted from the Stone’s working memory.
Currently, there are six ‘Wishes (Tasks)’ in execution.
In order of priority: ‘The permanent peace of this nation,’ ‘The survival of the nation,’ ‘The health and happiness of the royal family,’ ‘The continuation of the royal lineage,’ ‘The health and happiness of the current King,’ and ‘The health and happiness of the next King.’
…What peaceful wishes. They seemed to be prioritized based on the number of people who wished for them. Just how many people had prayed for ‘peace, health, and happiness’?
And yet, with only these peaceful wishes active, what was it doing stuck in an infinite loop?
At the end of the time period through which the Stone kept cycling, the ‘Health and Happiness of the Royal Family’ and the ‘Continuation of the Royal Lineage’ invariably became impossible to achieve.
This was because of one prince—a boy who was like a Singularity (Bug).
No matter how many times it restarted, the existence of that prince made several of those six goals unattainable.
It didn't matter how much the circumstances were altered.
The Creator looked further ahead into time to observe.
Even after the Stone’s loop trial count exceeded a thousand, there seemed to be no solution.
Yeah, this is no good.
This is an infinite loop.
Now, what to do? Rewrite the Stone’s behavioral programming? Or rather, should I simply ‘Erase (Delete)’ that prince as if he never existed? No, if the prince isn't there, the royal lineage won't continue, which would just result in another infinite loop.
So, what to do?
If a solution cannot be found using what exists within ‘That World,’ then I shall bring one in from ‘Another World.’
The Creator set his sights on a world with a culture and civilization completely different from the one he managed. There, the concept of ‘Isekai Reincarnation’ was a popular trend.
If they were already familiar with such a concept, they would surely adapt even if thrown into another world.
However, from a population of over seven billion, whom should he send? Transferring massive amounts of soul data is such a pain—no, it would put too much of a strain on the world.
Let's narrow down the conditions.
First, a woman. Someone with no resistance to the concept of ‘Isekai Reincarnation.’ Someone that prince might take an interest in.
Still too many. Let's narrow it further.
I want someone who will take an interest in the world I manage. It’s a world I’m fond of. If possible, I’d like someone who will love it.
The Creator gave a revelation to a certain game creator.
『Create an “Otome Game” like this and that… It’ll be a massive hit, no doubt about it… (Total Lie).』
I'll choose from the women who took an interest in that Otome Game. …Surprisingly, it actually sold well. It even got a manga adaptation… The manga sold better than the game… Why?! The game was good, wasn't it?! (Genuinely Pissed).
At any rate, I chose one woman from those who had been interested in and touched by those works.
She was the one who had most brutally trashed the prince, who was a ‘fictional character,’ in her critiques.
While reading the manga, she would periodically mutter, 「No way,」 or 「Not a chance.」
The Creator transferred that woman’s soul, along with her memories, to his world.
Please, just like that, keep firing off “No way, that’s impossible” at that prince… he wished.
He rewound time in the world’s Management Record (Save data) to a point before the prince’s birth.
There, he reflected the soul of the woman brought from the other world into this one.
How about that?
He fast-forwarded time to observe, but as expected, they hit a point where they couldn't escape the loop.
No matter what, the woman brought from the other world would be killed.
The prince had become much better… Or rather, he had become a Character (Unit) whose ability parameters were so high it was almost frightening.
Even with that prince, he couldn't protect her. Since I had specifically chosen a ‘woman the prince might be interested in,’ it seemed the prince had truly loved her. But that affection was too strong; if she died, the prince would also choose death.
This won't work.
But no matter how many times they restarted, the woman would die.
Assassinated, killed by her brother, killed by a maid—at one point, she was even the victim of a random stabbing.
If she was going to be caught up in Random Events (Criminal incidents) as indiscriminate as a random stabbing, there was nothing to be done.
The Creator decided to rethink things based on the information the Stone continued to collect.
What should be done to keep that woman from dying?
Though he was the Creator, he could not personally interfere with things that had naturally grown within that world.
He could erase an existence entirely, but for example, it was impossible to move the year the prince was born earlier or later.
That was only possible for the woman from the other world, whom he had added later.
If she was going to be killed by her brother, what if she was born a year after him?
He had the Stone calculate the result—a Simulation.
As expected, she was killed by the brother, who had become the ‘Elder Brother.’
Then, two years… Again, killed by the brother.
For some reason, the day of her death was the same every time. Upon investigation, it seemed the world itself was trying to eliminate her, as she was an ‘Impurty (Foreign Object).’ Altering the ‘World itself’ was difficult. He didn't know how much of an impact touching a single spot would have elsewhere.
…I'll have to let her and the prince do their best. Prince, do your be-est!
Three years… If they were the same age, she would be killed by the young lady who should have been her best friend. What is this? This is brutal…
Four years… Still killed by that young lady. The cause was jealousy. It seemed the young lady had also secretly harbored feelings for the prince.
The fact that the prince’s ability scores are too high is also a problem… I'll have to think about that too.
Five years… Finally, she was able to live out her natural lifespan without dying! This is it! …Wait, is it…? The age gap between her and the prince is about seven years now… Well, I guess there’s no problem on the prince’s end. Both his affection—his Love Level—and his obsession are swinging past the limit—they’ve hit the cap (Maxed out).
He searched for a Record (Save data) from a time when the prince’s ability scores were moderately high and integrated the woman from the other world so that she would be seven years younger.
As insurance, he left the ‘memory of being her friend’ within the woman who would have killed her.
Alright, Restart (Trying again).
And while he was at it, he tossed the massive amount of trial-and-error records he had on hand to that game creator. Now, I wonder what they’ll make?
The creator, struck by inspiration, made a spin-off of the Otome Game: a Mystery/Suspense Adventure. Taking the Otome Game as the ‘main story,’ the goal was to uncover the conspiracies swirling behind the scenes and avoid one’s own death.
That game sold even better than the main story. Since the ‘Mystery Adventure’ genre was essentially a dying breed, enthusiasts hungry for that genre pounced on it. It received praise for the quality of its scenario, striking a chord even with those who simply enjoyed games for their stories. Naturally, fans of the main story bought it as well.
The final consensus settled on: 「You don't need to play the main story, but you have to play this one.」
WHY?! The main story was good, wasn't it?! (Seriously Pissed)!!
In the game’s True Route, none of the major characters die, all threats are removed, and it’s a Grand Finale (Happy ending).
A “Story” has to be like this, the Creator thought, smiling with great satisfaction. …Except for the fact that the main Otome Game was losing to various spin-offs.
And so, even today, the Stone sends its report to the Creator.
『The kingdom remains peaceful today.』
*****
This turned out to be a longer story than I expected, but to everyone who stayed with me, thank you very much. And well done.
A Request for the Kindhearted
Please give me your feedback! (Very loud voice)!!
There are nutrients I can only absorb through the feedback of kind souls. To be specific, it just makes me happy!
If you're thinking, “Is that all?” then feel free to ignore this.
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Until then, stay well, everyone.
Thank you for reading.
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