The World The Girls Also Knows: The Girls God Can Only Save
AU after Goddesses Arc. Keima needs to maintain the power of the Goddesses by giving love and affection towards their hosts, while at the same time continuing his duties as a member of the Runaway Spirit Squad. How will he balance his duties, how will the hosts view him as he makes girls fall in love with him, and how can he maximize his game time while doing all of this?
And I do not own The World God Only Knows.
And I would like to thanks xellos540 for beta reading this chapter.
Flag II
Rules of Engagement
Part 8 – The Real and the Ideal
He looked at them with a gaze so intense that they either all blushed, were rendered speechless, or sank further into their chairs. His eyes held them in a spell so powerful that they were helpless before the God of Conquests.
It was a look of seriousness that few of them had seen before.
"I'm going to tell a story. Many of you already know parts of it, but for the sake of a complete picture, I'll tell all. I promise that you will leave this café understanding what this is all about."
He got the chalk and began writing furiously. It reminded the 2B Pencil members of that time he tutored them. Of course, a lot of what he wrote did not make sense to them.
"Now, let's start at the beginning. I am Keima Katsuragi. I am the God of Conquests. You also know me as the Otamegane. The glasses-wearing game nut. The dweeb. Before this all started, I am immersed in the ideal world. What is the ideal? The world of games! The world of Dating Sims, the world of Galge! It is the best world that could be!
"In contrast, the real world is nothing! The real is just a shitty game! And no, don't bother correcting me! I believe that the ideal is better than the real!" he said when he saw that several wanted to object, glaring at Chihiro, Ayumi, and Kanon.
"Of course, the ideal is not only found in games. It could be found in other places, like books," he began, "Right, Shiori?"
"Yes," the librarian squeaked.
"Or beautiful things, like the moon!"
"That's right!" Tsukiyo shouted.
"Or to the songs that you sing!"
"Oh, Keima!" Kanon shouted, her eyes widening as a full smile formed on her face.
Chihiro agreed. She was also a composer, and she could appreciate the fact.
"Or of firetrucks!" Elsie shouted.
Keima continued. "Or stage magic! Or running! Or playing drums! As long as you believe in it, it's the ideal! It's your ideal! Am I right?"
"Yeah!" all girls shouted, and several applauded.
Got you! Keima internally chuckled. As expected.
"My ideal is the world of Gal games, and it is better than the real world! Reality is just a crappy game! And before this all started, I was content to remain in the world of the ideal! I cared nothing of the real! I still don't care that much for reality. What more could I want?"
He nearly shouted. He spoke so passionately, with such intensity, his eyes burning as he looked at each of them, that the spell that he had them at the beginning only deepened. He calculated that it would increase the admiration and affection points of the girls even more, and he was right.
All the girls had looks of admiration, respect, and love as their masks were peeled away by his performance. Despite all that had happened, the affection of the girls for him remained. Even within Ayumi and Chihiro, who he knew was still angry and upset at him. It would raise sufficient flags to make the next step easy.
Part 9 – The Nature of the Weiss
"That's my ideal world. And I lived in it. Until someone sent me a message telling me to accept a mission. I thought it was a game mission. After all, it was such an innocuous email! So, I accepted. And that changed my life forever! It turned out that I was accepting a mission to save real girls. Girls that had gaps in their hearts and which were occupied by loose souls. And to save them, I drive away the loose souls by filling the gaps in their hearts. How do I do that? By making them fall in love with me! And believe me, at first, I hated that mission. Haqua, could you show them what happened before?"
The genius devil nodded before she used her raiment to show what happened in the past when Elsie first entered their lives.
"Yes, at first, Elsie was not my sister. She was a demon from New Hell, and I was chosen as her buddy. Then she became my sister. Although I was not fond of the idea, I finally accepted the fact. Right now, she is my real sister, not just a pretend one. And I would not have it any other way!"
"Oh, Divine Brother!" said Elsie as tears came from her eyes. "Thank you. That was the nicest thing I've heard from you!"
He looked at the girls, and their opinions of him grew even more. Yes, this was working. And he was telling the truth too. Mostly. After all, Elsie was not literally his sister. But that was beside the point.
Then it hit them. "Wait. What do you mean make girls fall in love with you? Are you saying—" Ayumi wondered. That explained Katsuragi's actions—still didn't make any her less bitter at her treatment.
"Yes. All of you, except Tenri, had loose souls, which are called Weiss, inside of you. That loose soul, if it was not removed, will feed on the negative emotions of their hosts, and would take control of you and your body. Ultimately, that Weiss would be reincarnated as your baby when you become pregnant."
"That's right," Haqua said. "The loose soul feeds from your negative emotions, which is formed from the gaps of your heart. It feeds on the negative emotions of a girl and fans it and makes it worse. It creates a feedback loop, and it won't stop until it matures. Then it would be reincarnated as your child."
"Wait. What if the girl wasn't pregnant when the loose soul fully matures?" asked Tsukiyo.
"Either the loose soul manipulates the girl so she would seek to become pregnant whatever the consequence, or if it fails and she did nothing, then the loose soul will directly cause the conception. Thus, the girl will become pregnant. Yes, a virgin conception! And no, abortion will not work. And when the baby is born, the mother always dies. Of all the records from our operations, not a single mother survived the childbirth. The Weiss drains the mother of all her energy. And the baby becomes a monster that had to be killed. Or it would become an even greater monster," the section chief answered.
Everyone, except for the two devils, were shocked. It was too horrible.
Part 10 – Love, Like and Care
"So once a loose soul resided inside of you, I had no choice but to make you fall in love with me. And to prevent complications, your memories of me were wiped out afterward. Right, Elsie?"
"Yes. If you retained your memories, then Divine Brother would not be able to capture more loose souls," said Elsie. "He needed to be free to continue with his mission."
"Does that mean that you don't love us at all? That you didn't conquer us because you love us?" asked Kanon, her voice shaking.
"I'll be honest with you. No, I don't love you, or like you, when I was conquering you the first time, or even now," he stated with a calm coldness that made all the girls shiver. "I didn't even care about you before. That's because I don't care for girls in the real world. All I cared about was 2D girls. I wouldn't even try to save you even if I knew what I knew now if it weren't for this damned collar. Could you see this purple collar round my neck? You see this? Can you see it? Haqua, Elsie, are you sure they can see it? If I didn't save you, my head and that of Elsie would be chopped off! I literally had no choice! I did this because I wanted to save my own skin, not because I cared for any of you!"
That hit the girls like cold water. They somehow knew that he didn't have the same feelings for them as they did for him. But to hear it from his own voice in such a manner was still a shock.
It made Chihiro and Ayumi angrier at the boy who toyed with their hearts. They were all but ready to go and beat him up if Haqua wasn't there, positioning her scythe menacingly, glaring at them to say nothing and do nothing.
Kanon stood up, hurt by his words. "That's a lie!" she said, her voice was shaking, determination etched in her features. "I know you don't love me. Or like me in the way I like you. But don't tell me that you don't care. You care for us! Otherwise, you'd let me die when I was stabbed. I know you care for me. You saved my life, after all. So please, don't say things that aren't true! And even if you insist, no matter what, I won't believe it!"
He looked at the rest of the girls. Their eyes were nearly in tears. Scratch that. Shiori was already crying. Tsukiyo was struggling to maintain her composure, but her body was shaking.
Yui was close to bursting. "Don't say that, Darling. That's not true!"
Only Tenri was not negatively affected. She had the same calm look, as she wasn't fooled and her faith never wavered. She knew him so well that she knew that Keima was just acting.
Everything happens for a reason, the childhood friend thought.
"You fiend! I'm gonna kill you for hurting Tsukiyo!" Vulcan yelled, Luna, floating.
"Don't you dare," threatened Haqua, pointing her scythe at the floating doll.
"Let me finish!" he said, his voice booming, if still cold. He looked at each and every girl in the eye. "I didn't care for you—at first. Clearly, by the time of the Goddesses, I already cared for you. From the moment the Weiss entered you, you became my heroines. As my heroines, I care for each and every one of you. I don't want you to be hurt, I don't want you to die, I don't want bad things to happen to you. And I promised that I would help you whenever you need me. And I did fulfill that promise. And let me tell you just so we'll be clear on this. I will save each and every one of you, as I did in the past. I would do everything to do so. Even at the cost of my life and happiness. Even if I have to break your hearts to do so. I'm just sorry if you got hurt by my actions."
He looked squarely at their eyes as he said those words. His voice gradually became softer and warmer as he continued. It exuded sincerity.
There was silence as somehow, all the anger in their eyes disappeared. Keima knew that negative emotions could be turned into positive ones and hatred into love.
Part 11 – Diana to the Rescue
Then there was more sobbing. And unlike before, the tears were not tears of sadness, but relief, or even happiness. It was Kanon, and she was now crying. Then she suddenly went and hugged Keima, and buried her face on his chest, tears flowing.
"Thank you, thank you," the yandere idol said. "I knew it. You aren't that bad. Don't you ever say you don't care! You hear me, idiot!"
Keima blushed as he stroked Kanon's hair. Shiori cried even harder and went and hugged him from the side, then Yui did too.
Tenri was on her chair, silent, tears freely flowing. Her faith in her childhood friend was vindicated. Do you really have to make us cry to make your point, Keima?
Tsukiyo was the same, silent but teary.
And Chihiro and Ayumi were the same. Their anger all but disappeared, even as the hurt and bitterness remained. Tears dropped from their eyes, happy that the boy they liked at least cared for them.
Keima cared for all of them! He cared for them! And to their minds, that care, may, someday, become like, or even love. Each of the seven girls hoped that she would be the object of that love when it happens.
Keima glared at Haqua for failing to control Kanon, Yui, and Shiori. Haqua just remained calm. She glared back at Keima. You disgusting man! Planning all this! Really!
Elsie just smiled at the scene. I'm glad all of them understood Divine Brother. They'll realize that everything you do is for a reason.
It took about fifteen minutes when things settled down. The three girls around him, were, with difficulty, persuaded to return to their seats.
Keima continued, looking at the seven of them again. "And so I spent my days conquering and saving girls, all of you included. You all forgot, and I moved to my next target. It seemed as if it would stay that way forever, until you confessed, Kanon. You remembered, right? After forgetting for so long?"
Kanon remembered that very public confession and blushed as she looked around, the girls looking at her.
"When the Goddess awakened, you remembered what happened," said Keima. "You have Apollo within you. Diana told me to search for the other Goddesses, but…" He stopped. He seemed like he didn't want to say the next words as his voice was shaking, and he turned away. "I'm sorry, but…"
Someone stood up. "That's okay. Let me tell the rest of the story." It was Diana.
She stepped forward. He remembered what he should do. He removed his glasses, and clasped both her hands in his, gave her an intense stare, and flashed her a small smile while keeping a sad look on his face. "Thank you, Diana. I owe you one."
That led the Goddess to blush as well as to back away a bit in shock. It was deliberate and planned since he knew that she had fallen in love with him. He had earlier talked to the Goddess, and she agreed to tell the story, as parts of it were still too painful for Keima to tell.
"Well, you are Tenri's fiancée after all," she said while looking away as she withdrew her hand from his. He went and stood beside his sister and Haqua.
"You really are the worst!" Haqua whispered, "Playing with a Goddess like that."
"You really do look very handsome without your glasses on, Divine One," said Elsie in a hushed and admiring tone, "especially when you smile too."
Obviously, the reason he did what he did right before she talked was to make sure that she only said the best opinions about him without needing to coach her on what to say. That would help sway the girls towards his cause.
"Thank you, Tenri's fiancée," she began. "I am Diana, a Jupiter sister, who resides in Tenri."
And she started talking, telling about the entire tale, from the moment she asked him to look for her sisters, up until the final battle. And true to his expectations, that gesture made the difference. She did not say any negative things about him, kept praising him about his initiative, his resourcefulness, his intelligence, on how he was instrumental in achieving victory, on his sacrifices, his dependability. It was all true, but hearing it from the Goddess would give it more credibility rather than him tooting his own horn. She also added the fact that he will inevitably choose Tenri, which was up in the air as far as he was concerned, and that he was Tenri's fiancée, which was false.
Haqua also contributed to things that Diana did not know about. And to his relief, she followed the plan to a T. She never said anything bad about him, and generally praised him to the skies. She was professional when she needed to be, and she understood that this was her duty.
Diana finished the tale, even as her face became as pink as her eyes. "Nothing I can say or do will be enough to repay Tenri's fiancée for all that he did for me and my sisters. Without him, we would never have been reunited, and Vintage's plans would bear fruit. Maybe I would be dead, along with all of my sisters. You all, as Goddess hosts, would be dead. And this world would be ruled by demons from Old Hell. Yes, he wooed each of you, made you fall in love with him again without loving or even liking you one bit, he even hurt some of you, but think of the consequences if he didn't! He saved the world! He saved us! He saved each and every one of you! That is worth each one of your heartbreaks! What good are your precious feelings if the world is destroyed? If you are dead? And yes, if you didn't believe him when he told you that he cared for each one of you, let me bear witness to all his efforts. I can see it in his eyes, in his actions, he really did care for all of you. He is a magnificent man, wholly worthy of mine and Tenri's, no I mean Tenri's love! If you want to blame someone, blame me instead for I was the one who asked him to undertake that mission. I told him to become closer to you without actually falling in love with you since I knew that he belongs to Tenri."
Her voice was passionate, her pink eyes blazing. She commanded the undivided attention of the room. She indeed was the Tactician Goddess at that moment. And Keima could observe the guilty feelings on the faces of the girls. Except for Tenri, all of them, not only Ayumi and Chihiro, clearly held grudges against him for his actions during the search for the Goddesses.
Part 12 – Will You Wait For Me?
"I don't know about the others, but as far as I am concerned, Keima did nothing wrong during the search," said Kanon, ignoring the part where Diana claimed Keima for Tenri, and stopping the others from making comments. "Thank you for saving my life."
The bespectacled pink-haired girl looked at the boy.
Any normal boy would be blushing or embarrassed by the praise tossed his way by the Goddess. But he was not a normal boy. He was the God of Conquests. He kept a poker face throughout, and just nodded when the speaker glanced at him. Diana, of course, did not know what would happen if Tenri's love died. She did it as a personal favor to him.
"That's enough," said Keima. "I don't deserve those words. It was merely my job. And I'm sorry for all the that you've suffered. And I'm sorry for all the mistakes that I did.
"That brings me to the meat of the matter. The reason I called you here," he said. "I am still under contract with New Hell. My life is still in danger. I must make girls fall in love with me to save them from the Weiss. Even if I love one of you, I cannot be together with anyone until this is over."
"But why?" asked Kanon.
"Because I'll say to other girls I save that I love them and I like them, and I'll kiss them too," said Keima. "I'll be cheating on whoever I choose. I cannot do that. I'm sorry, but you cannot change my mind on that."
"How long?" asked Tsukiyo. "How long before this contract of yours is over?"
He went back to lecture mode. "Due to recent events, the number of Weiss in this place was reduced. Thus, I only have to capture 500 to 600 more Weiss, and I will be done with my contract. That's about five years worth of capturing."
"Five years? So you can choose one of us after five years?" the blonde moon lover pressed.
"After five years, I may be able to choose someone. But it would be unfair to ask you to wait for me for that long. Who knows? Please give up on me. I am not worth it. You might find someone else that's for you."
"I'll wait!" Kanon promptly answered. "Even if it takes one hundred years, I will wait."
"I'll wait too. I already waited for ten years. What are five more years?" replied Tenri, in a soft, shy, but resolute voice.
"Yes, darling! Five years is nothing!" Yui added. "I'll make you my wife! We'll be only 22 when that happens!"
Shiori nodded before she hid her red face behind the menu. Tsukiyo also nodded, in a dignified manner.
"Tell me, Katsuragi. Be honest with all of us. Do all of us have a chance after the five years is over? They all say they will wait for you, but if you have no intention of picking any of us, wouldn't that be a vain hope? Tell us right now who you'll pick so those of us who have no chance could move on," Chihiro demanded. She knew that she had no chance. She was coldly rejected for Ayumi. And she was planning to take herself out of the competition to support her best friend.
Keima was expecting the question. To be honest, if he had to choose right now, he would have picked Chihiro. And he would tell her that he loved her. But with the knowledge that he couldn't choose any one of them until this was over, he suppressed that emotion.
"All of you have a chance to be chosen by me at the end of the five years," he said, looking at the seven girls in front of him. And he was not lying. He would choose Chihiro now but after five years? Who knows what could happen! He might outgrow his love for her, or even develop feelings for another of his heroines that would be greater than his affection for Chihiro. He played enough games to know that sometimes, love was not constant, especially if there was no firm commitment. Maybe he could fall in love with Ayumi or even Yui in the next five years. Perhaps any of the other six girls could displace Chihiro. Maybe his love for her could fade away and make the competition even more equal? That's not impossible. Until he makes a definite choice, all of them had a chance.
He looked at them when he said those words, and their eyes lit brightly. Especially Shiori and Tsukiyo. They never thought they had much of a chance, to begin with, and to be told that they still were in the game was heartening. It gave them hope.
"In the meantime, it's best if we avoid each other," he continued. "It'll only hurt you to see me conquer other girls."
Part 13 - Schedule
"Wait! Hold on! I can't accept that! I won't!" Kanon shouted.
Everyone looked at her, admiring her determination and openness. As expected, Kanon was the most expressive of her feelings towards the bespectacled boy. She became the de facto spokesgirl for the others.
"So what do you want?" asked the gamer.
"Even if we can't be together, can we, at least, spend time with you, Keima?" asked Kanon. "Please! To wait for you for five years—I can bear that, but don't shut yourself up from us. I want to spend time with you during the wait!"
He looked at Kanon and the others. "Knowing all that you know now, how I played with you all, lied to you, and stomped your hearts, do you still want to spend time with me? Are you still willing to wait five years for me to finish my mission? Can you bear to see me conquer other girls?"
"I do," Kanon said. "I understand. You have no choice. You have to save them all."
Keima looked at the rest of the girls. Tsukiyo was blushing hard and merely nodded. Shiori looked him, her face still covered by the menu. She peeked out, her face fully blushing, and nodded before hiding her face again.
"Yes, I would," said Yui without hesitation. "You don't love any of those other girls, right?"
"Me too," said Tenri. "You're doing it for the right reasons. I trust you, Keima."
He looked at Ayumi and Chihiro. Both were looking at the side, their eyes unable to meet his.
"I'm not changing my mind. I still am hurt, and you still need to give me an explanation," said Chihiro. "But I'll give you a chance. If you give me a chance too."
"I can't decide on it yet. I'll let you know," Ayumi equivocated.
"Fine. If you want, I'll let each of you spend time with me during the next five years," said Keima, relenting, giving a sigh of defeat and looking at the floor. "I guess we better think of how we're gonna divide my time and make rules and such."
"Then, I'll make you fall in love with me!" said Kanon. "And you'll choose me!"
"No, Tenri is gonna make you fall in love with her," Diana declared, challenging Kanon.
"That boy is Tsukiyo's!" Vulcan shouted. "She'll make him hers!"
"He's Yui's! Yui's gonna capture Keima's heart!" Mars asserted.
"He's gonna choose Ayumi!" Mercury added.
As this was going on, Keima erased the blackboard and began writing something else. When it was over, he slammed his fist against the board, getting the attention of all the girls.
"Thank you. Okay. I'll give you my time," he said. "Now, I wrote the schedule for each girl. I made it so that each of you would spend equal time with me for the next week. I wrote it with consideration of your free time. Read it, and read the rules I wrote below the schedule. Other than that, I would be busy, and I cannot give you my attention."
The Rules
Rule One
This schedule is the tentative schedule by which Keima Katsuragi will spend his time with Tenri Ayukawa, Chihiro Kosaka, Ayumi Takahara, Shiori Shiomiya, Tsukiyo Kujo, Yui Goido, and Kanon Nakagawa.
Rule Two
Any girl mentioned above can only approach Keima Katsuragi during her schedule above if her sole purpose is to spend time with him.
Rule Three
However, outside the schedule, the girls can approach Keima Katsuragi for any other purpose other than to spend time with Keima Katsuragi.
Rule Four
Keima Katsuragi cannot refuse to spend time with a girl during her scheduled time, except for emergencies, or when he is doing another conquest. In that case, he is required to make it up to her another time. If the reason is not valid, he will make it up to the girl in double the amount of time.
Rule Five
Keima Katsuragi can refuse any girl's approach outside the scheduled time for any reason at his discretion.
Rule Six
The scheduled time with Keima Katsuragi is a right of each girl. However, she may choose not to exercise her right for any reason, and if she did so, she may not demand that he make it up to her if her reason is not an excusable and valid reason.
Rule Seven
It is preferable if the girl who cannot make it to inform Keima Katsuragi in advance. She can trade her time to any other girl if that happens.
Rule Eight
Trading of time and schedules is allowed, provided both girls agree. Keima Katsuragi's approval for such is not needed.
Rule Nine
How the scheduled time will be spent will be the girls' decision. If she cannot make a decision, Keima Katsuragi will decide.
Rule Ten
Each girl cannot deliberately interfere with the scheduled time of another girl with Keima Katsuragi. Any malicious interference will result in the halving or forfeiture of the time of the girl for that week.
Rule Eleven
How each girl follows this rule will be a consideration on who Keima Katsuragi will choose after the five years is over.
Rule Twelve
A new schedule every week will be drawn up based on changes in the free time of Keima Katsuragi and the seven girls. The girls themselves can make suggestions on the schedule for the next week.
Rule Thirteen
New rules or amendments of existing rules could be made with the unanimous consent of all parties, which consist of the seven girls named above, Keima Katsuragi, Elsie Katsuragi, and Haqua du Lot Herminium.
The girls were astonished at the detailed schedule and rules he drew up. It covered everything, from walking to school in the morning, walking to the gate, and to the classroom, lunchtime, after school events, etc. And when the girls remembered their own schedules, they were astonished that it only happened during their free time.
"When and how did you—did you know this would happen?" Chihiro demanded.
"Of course not," he lied. "I thought this up in just a few seconds after I agreed to share my time with you. It wasn't such a big deal. There are lots of games where there are similar schedules or rules. I'm the God of Conquests. This is nothing to me." In fact, he spent the past two days, with the help of Haqua and Elsie, making the schedule and rules. And there were no games where there was an explicit schedule or legalese rules. He would personally burn the game company that would insert such a thing.
"Hey, how did you know my free time?" asked Ayumi, staring at the blackboard.
"I memorized your class schedules and free time during the Hunt for the Goddesses," Keima answered.
"You mean to tell us that you will definitely spend that time with us, alone, together?" asked Tsukiyo, staring at the schedule.
"Yes," he replied. "I promise."
Kanon quickly took a picture of the schedule, followed by several other girls.
"Don't bother," said Keima. "Elsie?"
"Oh yes, Diving Brother," she said before she used her raiment to make copies of the schedule and rules and gave each one a copy.
"Those copies can only be read by you or anyone associated with Hell. To others, they'll see it as just your class schedule and the rules of Maijima High School," Haqua said.
"Well, that's it. Any questions?" asked Keima.
There was none. In truth, they were so shocked that they could not think of anything to say.
"Any objections?"
There was none.
"Do you accept it?"
"Yes," Kanon said. She was simply glad that she would get to spend even a little time with Keima each week. It was way better than just waiting for him for five years.
Tsukiyo nodded. Like Kanon, she was glad for guaranteed time with Katsuragi. She was not the type of girl to go and demand from him that he spend time with her.
Shiori also nodded. She was so shy that she didn't have the courage to actually ask Keima out. This was a big step forward for her.
"Darling, I accept it and accept you!" Yui shouted with joy. Already, she was looking at the rules, and her mind was already formulating ways to exploit them for her own benefit. "I'll consider this the rules of engagement of our competition for Keima's love. No hard feelings as long as we follow the rules, right girls?"
"Yes, Keima. Thank you," Tenri said. To her, giving that time was more than she would be entitled to.
"We'll see," said Ayumi. She was still upset, and she would demand answers from Katsuragi, even if she softened considerably because of what she learned.
"So you forfeit your time? Could you give it to me?" asked Yui.
"No! I'm taking my time for the first week. Then we'll see," said Ayumi, her voice even, her eyes uncertain. She will give all her time to Chihiro if Chihiro decides to pursue Katsuragi again. But she could not deny that she was very tempted to accept it. She just needed time to think about it.
"As for me, let's talk about it," said Chihiro. "But not now." She was a bit defensive, even as she really enticed by the prospect of having the Otamegane for her own, at least for a short period of time. She looked at Ayumi and considering giving her time to her best friend.
"Fine. Any other question?"
"Um, this is prying, but could you tell us if we're your only conquest?" asked Shiori.
"That's not a beautiful question!" Tsukiyo scolded. "But I do admit. I am curious."
"Do you really want to know?" asked the bespectacled boy. "I have conquered many other girls."
"So there are others?" Kanon asked. "Can you tell us who?"
They looked at each other, before Yui said, "Yes. Please. They don't remember, do they?"
"No. Are you sure you want to know?"
"Get on with it!" Chihiro shouted.
"Fine. Then here it is."
He erased the schedule and began writing.
Mio Aoyama. Kusonoki Kasuga. Hinoki Kasuga. Jun Nagase. Minami Ikoma. Sumire Uemoto. Nanaka Haibara. Aoba Fuse. Tooru Amami. Asami Yoshino. Shino Akuragawa. Akari Kurakawa.
"You kissed all of them?" Kanon shouted, not sure if she was offended.
"Wait? Mio too?" Yui said, shocked.
"Fuse?" cried Shiori, her classmate.
"And Miss Nagase? The teacher!" Ayumi exclaimed.
"And Kusonoki Kasuga! No way!" Chihiro shouted. "And Asami too!"
"Counting us seven here, that meant that Keima had kissed about, 19 girls! Oh, my God!" the runner shouted. "You're… you're… a playboy!"
"A playboy does it for pleasure and with his own free will. I didn't have a choice in the matter. They needed to be saved. Anything else?" asked Keima.
No one said anything.
"Good. That concludes the meeting!"
At that, Keima quickly ran towards the door and went inside his house before he could be accosted by the girls.
"Thank you for coming! Diving Brother will see you when it's time!" Elsie said, bowing to the seven girls.
"Yes. Come again another time! Don't tell this to anyone. Otherwise, it would be a violation of Katsuragi's contract with New Hell, and he, Elsie, and I would die!" said Haqua before the girls, still stunned, began to walk out.
…
Part 14 – After Action Report
"I got to hand it to you, that went exactly like you said it would," Haqua told Keima in the living room. She was looking at the script that Keima handed her before the start of the meeting, and as she perused it, she was astounded by its accuracy. "I can't believe you made seven girls share you with each other!"
"Of course, I am the God of Conquests! Almost everything went as planned! And even if it didn't, I had contingency plans ready," he said, quite pleased with himself. The only thing unexpected was the hug by Kanon, Shiori, and Yui that was allowed by Haqua, despite his instruction to keep the girls from him. He was weak against physical contact he did not initiate. "Knowing their personalities and their affection for me, it's like predicting the questions of an exam by Mr. Kodoma!"
"Can you tell me again why you did it? I thought you messed up by admitting you didn't love them or even like them!" the devil genius asked.
"I believe they should know the truth. I do plan on making them fall in love with Keima Katsuragi."
"But they already do! You conquered them twice!" Elsie said.
"Yes. But they fell in love with a false me. A front that I specifically designed for them to fall in love with. This time, they will fall in love with the real me. That way, it would be easier to maintain that love for the next five years. I will conquer them for the third time, for the real me, and I'm gonna make it stick. It would be easier this time around."
"How do you know that?"
"I've done this lots of times."
At the skeptical looks that he received, he added, "in games. You see, it's easier for the protagonist to get the heroine to fall in love again if the heroine was already in love, or had fallen in love before, with the protagonist. The key to getting a happy ending is to rekindle that affection points that led to the heroine falling for the hero in the first place. In this case, I am the protagonist. All of them, my heroines, had fallen for me before, twice. Therefore, it is easier to make them fall in love with me the third time. Seeing the real me, they would rationalize everything to justify their love for me. They saw the real me at the meeting. And I did not detect that their love for me to diminish at all."
"What are you talking about! They cried when you told them you don't love them!" Haqua shouted. "You're a bad man, making them cry like that! You men are all the same! Heart-breaking perverts!"
"They wouldn't cry if they didn't like me. Their reaction shows that they still long for my love, and when I gave them hope, they seized it. When I told them that I cared for them, I could almost see their affection levels rise. You could see it in their eyes, their body language. Despite you saying that I should live in the real world, sometimes, the real world could be a lot like the ideal. But only a shittier version."
"After I had crushed all those hopes, and smashed their hearts saying that at first, I didn't care for them, I pulled them back again by saying I care for them and I will save each and every them. Really, that line was repeated over and over and over in games. The hero will say to the heroine that he didn't love the girl when they met, or at the start, and the heroine will be crushed. But then, the hero will say that he changed and that he came to love her, and that he loves her right now. That would make the heroine love the hero even more because it will tell her that she had done enough to change the hero! That line is so cliché! But it works! And it worked here too! The only difference was that instead of love, it's 'care'!"
"It also worked because it's the truth, isn't it, Divine Brother?"
"Yes, you could say that," he said. Yes, he cared for them. That was shown when Kanon was stabbed. Or when he risked his own life to save Tsukiyo's. Or even during Kanon's original conquest, when he decided to get to the root of her problem, instead of making her fall in love with him by making himself a crutch.
How did that happen?
He still didn't know.
"So what's next?"
"Chihiro and Ayumi's next. Despite what happened today, despite remaining in love with me, I still have a lot of issues to fix with both girls," he said, remembering the events of the Mai High festival. He felt awful with how he handled the Chihiro Ayumi situation. He made so many avoidable mistakes.
"Anything else?" asked Elsie.
"Nothing much. Oh yes, before I forget, I need a favor, Haqua."
"I'm not your servant!" she retorted.
"I need a week free from Weiss hunting. I promise that after this week is over, I'll go back to it, but I need to talk to and convince each girl individually. I promise that if you detect a loose soul, I'm going to do it right after I spend time with the last girl."
"Fine. But if your collar explodes, don't blame me!"
"And another thing. This is for the long haul, right? I need to keep this up for five years, right? Then please, keep them together with me."
"Huh?" asked Elsie.
"In a little over a year, we'll all be graduating. Normally, we would split up. Go to different colleges and universities. But if that happens, then I cannot do my job properly. Their affection levels might go down, and the Goddesses lose their powers. Though that might not happen, it's best to be cautious. I need them to go to the University that I am going to. And it must be near Maijima."
"What do you want me to do?" asked a genuinely curious Haqua.
"Well, let's see. First, the girls should pass the entrance examinations for my chosen school. If they need it, I'll tutor them so they'll pass. But just to be sure, if they fail, just change some of their answers. And I don't think it'd be hard to persuade them to go to the same college as me, but their parents might be another matter. So here's my idea. Could you modify or fix the memories of their parents, if they decide to enroll their daughter in another school, so they would choose what I chose for them?"
"That's ruthless. Yes, I could do that."
"Of course, to be sure, just in case they took entrance examinations in other schools if need be, could you fix their results so they'd fail their exams on those other schools while passing my school?"
"That's doable."
"Hopefully, the parents will decide on their own to send their daughters to my university, and the girls pass, so we won't have to do anything unethical."
"That would be for the best."
"And monitor if they're gonna move out to another place. If they would do so, fix it. Modify their parents' memories if you need to. The girls need to stay in Maijima!"
"Right."
"That's it then. My solution may not be ideal, but at least, it maximizes my gaming time."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Elsie asked, puzzled by the non-sequitur.
"I designed the schedule to leave me with as much free time for games as possible."
"I want to kill you! You're so cold and cruel!" the section chief hissed.
"I know, I know. I just want to save them, all of them," said Keima. "And I can't save them if I die due to lack of gaming time. Games are my oxygen. Don't worry, I'll save them."
Just like I saved the girls before. Even if I had to cruel to do so.
Even if it sucked.
He cursed the real world for getting him in this fix. The best thing he could do was adapt. The ideal will triumph!
End of Flag II
….
Author Notes
To Xellos540, thanks.
Well Haqua, I think, is still quite the same. She knows she loves Keima, but hides it under a guise of professionalism. And her thoughts were that humans were fickle, that if the girls were separated from him for five years, they would give up Keima, or Keima would forget about them. Haqua, meanwhile, will always be by his side because of her job as a demon and Keima as a buddy. Five years is nothing to Haqua. That's what she's thinking.
And in this chapter, Haqua's job is to keep him safe from the girls. But that does mean is that the devil still hit Keima.
Kanon is rather outspoken about her feelings. After all, she's the one who publicly confessed to Keima in front of her entire class, and would have spilled the entire thing without regard to consequences if Keima handled pulled to another place more private. Sure, there's Vintage agent, but it does tell that her first instinct is to hug Keima and confess to him. Still, Yui's worse, as she had a habit of forcing herself on Keima, which Kanon doesn't do (as much).
Ayumi's still really angry, though in this case, it's only to Keima. At least in the beginning. It helps that Chihiro was there, as it acts as calming influence that her best friend is there.
As for Chihiro, yes, but more will be revealed.
Oh yeah. Keima is in a corner and has no choice. That's the most dangerous Keima. And the one that can do unbelievable feats. The Keima who is cold, ruthless, and manipulative. It's where he's compelled to use his awesome brain, acting ability, logic, and analytical method for things other than games. It's the Keima that Elsie is always proud of. And yeah, he loves Chihiro, but cannot act on it for obvious reasons.
Anyway, thanks again for the beta and for reviewing this story.
To ZelgadisGW, thanks for your review.
Oh yeah. I'm going to have a light novel character appear. I won't give any spoilers on who it is, though.
Haqua will be the primary demon partner of Keima here, largely due to her competence. Of course, Elsie will do her part as well.
As for Tenri, just wait and see.
Hopefully, this chapter will answer how the general outline of things to come with regards to Keima and the girls.
To Guest22079, thanks for the review.
It would be hard for her to realize it, unless they return her memory. Would Haqua be able to do that? We'll see.
Oops. I'm sorry, but I have to correct that. It's a typo. But it was a hilarious one! I actually laughed out loud when I saw that! Thank for pointing that to me. I try to imagine Tenri saying that, and it's like Shiori saying "idiot". Cute and funny.
Oh yes. Kami-nii-Sama, is Divine Brother, nii-sama is exhalted brother, Kami-sama is Divine One. I first got to know about TWGOK through the dub, then after watching three seasons, I read the manga. That's where I learned of the Japanese terms. Still, I got so used to it that I routinely, in my brain, automatically translate the terms to English in my head.