The Duke's Daughter Goes Her Own Way
[A Female Office Worker's Dream]
Translated by: ME
I had a dream.
And today, that dream came true.
* * *
I've never told anyone, because I'd instantly be labeled as a total weirdo, but I have what you'd call "memories of a past life."
Just admitting that makes me cringe. It's mega-cringe. Painful, even.
To make it worse, my past life memories aren't even from Earth. They're from... somewhere else.
That's right. An "other world."
We're way past chuunibyou territory here. This is full-on cringe-fest.
But in that world, there was no magic, and no dragons.
It was a world very similar to Earth... Maybe the lack of fantasy elements makes it slightly less cringe? ...Nah, probably not.
Since it was like that, when I was little, I thought maybe it was just Earth in, like, the 19th century or something.
But no matter how much I researched, I couldn't find any of the place names from my memories. I was just like, "Ughhh..." Seriously, I actually said "Ughhh" out loud in the library... So embarrassing.
The clothing and culture felt around the 19th century.
No magical elements whatsoever.
But there was a king, and there were nobles.
That was the other world.
Hard to say if that's a dream come true or not.
Ever since I was a child, I've been writing down everything I remember from that other world in notebooks. Even now, I sometimes suddenly remember something new—"Oh yeah, that happened too."
Every time I remembered something, I wrote it down.
I've now easily filled over ten notebooks.
...These are notebooks I could absolutely never show anyone. After I die, I guess they'll get exposed to the world too, huh?... I'd rather someone see my PC and smartphone history than these...
In a way, these notebooks are more important to me than life itself. I can't die until I've disposed of them all.
One day, while looking through these notebooks that were basically like "Other World Story Setting Guides," it hit me.
Why don't I just turn this into a *story*?!
Amazing! I might be a genius!
If I use this as source material, feature all the people I loved there, and try to create some kind of happy story, wouldn't that be fun?!
Having had this brilliant idea, I first thought about what medium to use for the story.
Manga... was out of the question.
Back in middle school art class, a friend looked at a dog I'd painted in watercolors and asked, "What's that big brown caterpillar?" Someone like me could never draw that beautiful world. It was, above all, a world of beautiful people.
Well, maybe that was just because they were nobles.
Then how about a novel! I tried drafting something on my phone, for a free posting site where I already had an account.
...It just read like a bullet-point list of settings.
No one would find this interesting. More importantly, it wasn't even a 'novel.'
Why?! How is everyone posting on that site so good at turning ideas into stories?!
The answer: Literary talent.
Ha ha ha ha... I knew it. Yeah, I knew.
The fact that my essays always came back covered in red pen from the teacher was proof enough that I didn't have it...
I deleted the roughly thousand-character memo immediately.
So, what was left?
There didn't seem to be any genres an amateur could easily tackle.
No drawing required, no writing required... What even is that?! Help me, Ikkyuu-saaan!!
(Ding!) Eureka!!
Otome games!!
Pretty boys and giggly, fluffy romance! That's it!
Why don't I just join a game development company?! And if I can get into the otome game development department, wouldn't that be perfect?! Then I could just hand off the scenario and illustrations to the experts, and I'd only have to handle the settings and plot?!
Incredible. It sounded like a dream.
The "me" in my memories lived a very happy life. So, I wanted to create a happy story.
Something that lets you drift softly through a dream in that gentle world.
From that day on, my dream became: "Join a game development company and make the otome game I want to make."
* * *
I graduated university and, as hoped, joined a game development company. My placement request was also granted: Planning and Development.
These days, smartphone apps seem to be more profitable, so recently it's been all about pitching app ideas and planning gacha contents.
I spent my days like that, but in my fifth year, a female-oriented romance simulation app I was put in charge of became a hit.
A massive hit.
It got merchandise, a manga adaptation, a novel adaptation, an anime, and even a 2.5D stage play.
The company even gave us a special bonus as a "thanks for the big hit" reward. My hands trembled when I saw the amount on the paystub.
It's terrifying! I'm scared of next year's residence tax! And my income tax!
The project had now left my hands, with a dedicated project team handling each media mix.
And for me, now with free time, there was one more reward from the company.
It was the "Right to Get One Project of Your Choice, Whatever It Is, Greenlit!"
...That said, there was a set budget. They couldn't go all-in on a single employee's passion project with all the profits they'd just made.
Even so, I was thrilled, thinking, "This is how my dream will come true!"
After that, I worked on the project proposal, sparing no time, even skipping sleep.
The budget wasn't generous, so that was the challenge.
If possible, I wanted it to be a console title, not a smartphone app, sold as a one-time purchase. That alone would skyrocket the development costs.
Working backwards from the budget, the selling price would probably be around 4,000 yen. I decided to name the project "Simple4000".
At this point, I'd be fine with an old-school, slideshow-style game. It's not like it'll sell anyway.
No blinking or mouth movements for the character sprites is fine. It's not like it'll sell anyway.
We can reduce the number of backgrounds by setting it in a 'school'. It's not like it'll sell anyway.
For music, we can just use rejected tracks from the company's internal library. It's not like it'll sell anyway.
We can use unknown voice actors. It's not like it'll sell anyway.
For the writer, someone in-house is fine. It's not like it'll sell anyway.
Yeah. It's not like it'll sell.
All I want to make is a simple, nostalgic romance simulation. Not some elaborate story. The heroine doesn't have settings like being a 'Saint' or 'able to use rare magic'.
I just want to give *that world* I loved so much some kind of form.
We don't need villains or rivals.
A story where the heroine meets handsome guys and falls in love is enough.
That's all. A gentle story.
Put another way, it's a story with no excitement, and probably boring.
But, the art! Only the art is non-negotiable!
Only an artist who can draw those sparkling people close to how I remember them!!
I scoured social media, read tons of manga, watched tons of anime... and finally settled on a certain manga artist... No idea if they'll accept, though.
After that, I just had to make some simple character charts~♪ and submit the proposal~♪
I already had the heroine decided.
Lady Mariebell Fluorite. She was the daughter of a Count, a bit of a space cadet sometimes, easygoing, generous, and very approachable.
At first, I thought about using my favorite, Lady Elizabeth, but I just couldn't picture Lady Elizabeth falling in love with anyone other than the Crown Prince... I *can* picture her doing a comedy routine with him, though.
Besides, the heroine in an otome game is the 'player's avatar.'
She has to be someone the player can relate to.
Thinking that, Lady Elizabeth was a bit too unreal. The daughter of a Duke, beautiful, kind, astonishingly smart, yet unpretentious, a Queen beloved by all her people... She's just too much, even for an otome game heroine.
Someone like Lady Mariebell, with her more common touches, her dislike of standing out, her occasional lack of confidence... is easier to relate to. Or rather, it's easier for *me* to make a game about her.
Well, I'll tweak her personality a bit for the game, of course.
...And here lies the problem.
Who should the romance options be?
It's an otome game. The staples are: the Prince, the Chancellor's son, the Knight Commander's son, the Head Magician's son... etc.
We can't do the last one. There's no such organization in that world.
Well, first and foremost, it's gotta be the Prince, right? Since the heroine is in her teens, let's go with the Crown Prince!
The real Prince (by the time I died, he was the King, though) isn't really suitable as an otome game target, so I'll have to change his personality a bit.
The actual Prince was devoted only to his Princess, a man spoken of as the very symbol of a happy marriage.
...Hmm... No matter how much I think about it, I can't picture the Prince falling in love with anyone but Lady Elizabeth... At this point, I'll just have to make him a completely different person who just looks like the Prince!
Let's give him a setting where he had his engagement broken as a child! And then make him the usual type, the expressionless, icy prince! The Prince often had what you'd call a 'blank expression' anyway!
Next, maybe the intellectual type? Was there anyone good around that age...?
Thinking this, I flipped through my usual notebook.
And then, it suddenly hit me.
If *I* was reborn on Earth from 'over there,' maybe there are others like me.
With seven billion people, there's gotta be at least one, right?
If that person saw this game, they'd probably laugh.
They'd think, "Who the heck are these people?!"
Just imagining that scene made me chuckle, and I laughed to myself for a while.
* * *
When I submitted the proposal, I was told, "Can you increase the number of romance options a bit?" So, I increased it from the planned four to seven by adding three more.
Struggling to find suitable people to add, I desperately squeezed in Lord Elric as a last resort... I kinda regret it.
Reading the submitted scenario made me regret it even more. I'm so sorry, Lady Elizabeth...
The manga artist agreed to handle the art as well, the in-house music team composed a perfectly, wonderfully cheesy OP theme, and production went smoothly.
Thanks to the fantastic work of the web design team, the official site looked great. Almost *too* good, to the point I was worried it might be called 'promotional fraud.'
...Well, it's not like it'll sell anyway.
For the voice actors, I went to a voice acting school and picked people whose voices were similar to the ones I remembered... To be honest, I'd never actually heard some of their real voices, so I picked those based on gut feeling.
* * *
And then, we mastered the disc. I played through it, confirmed there were no bugs, and gave the OK.
* * *
The crystallization of my dream went on sale today.
Selling 10,000 copies would be more than enough... Though it probably won't even sell that many.
If Lady Elizabeth was reborn 'over here,' I'd love for her to play it.
And I'd want her to say, "Who the heck are these people?!"
But the Prince's voice is a bit like the real one, right? I think Lord Alphonse's voice is pretty close too!
...As for the young master... I can only apologize... All I could do was tone down that garbage-level brother-complex of his!!
I never really wanted to include him in the first place! But I couldn't include the Grim Reaper, could I?! An assassin with that god-tier visuals and a mental fortitude of tofu?! He might be a tasty character, sure. But meeting the Grim Reaper at school is just way too unrealistic...
Besides, a mere servant wouldn't have that many acquaintances among the nobility!
At best, it'd be the people around Lady Elizabeth!
I was satisfied. I had managed to give form to the happy memories of my past life.
What should I do with these notebooks now?
...Maybe I'll keep them for a little while longer.
The game's visuals from the sample disc the company gave me were displayed on my TV at home.
I should buy one copy myself as a memento. Maybe there's someone who'd want to play it. If so, I could lend it to them.
The ending theme played as the staff roll scrolled by.
And at the very, very end, my name as the General Producer.
My name, which just so happens to share the same sound as the one from my past life.
Producer / General Director
Anna Harada
Reflecting on that fun and happy past life, I turned off the game console.
* * *
Author's Note:
Thank you so much for staying with me through this long story!
I hope we can meet again somewhere.
This was the originally planned final chapter, but as a big thank you for your support, the grand appreciation festival will continue for a little bit longer.
The world was kinder than I thought... (*´Д｀)
* * *
ME's Note:
If you still didn't get it. This is the PoV of the otoge creator Marie and Ellie talked about. Turn out their theory was true.
Anna was one of the Ellie's maid.
Thank you for reading. If you want to help my hobby please download and install LDP9 with my link down below. Just Click the small yellow LDPlayer Banner.
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