"Rei, Rei! Are you listening?"

"Wah?!"

I was suddenly broken out of my micro nap as a very stern and stoic voice quickly jerked me back and forth, practically knocking me out of my bed.

"I'm- I'm listening Misha what's wrong?"

"If you were listening, you would know", she let out a defeated sigh. "Let me start again..."

This girl currently speaking to me is Misha Jur, my roommate at the Royal Academy. She's the responsible one between us, it's practically her job to make sure I don't go crazy at this point. That could be because she is my childhood friend, who knows me better than anyone at this school.

That said, it's not entirely true she is my childhood friend. While she may know me as Rae Taylor, the prodigy among commoners; I am actually Rei Oohashi, a former minimum wage worker turned teenage Otome game protagonist. In other words, I've been Isekai'd.

"... the cases really seemed to of picked up as of recently too. And it seems that it has been spreading..."

So, to cut the long story short, one day I suddenly woke up to the sight of a very beautifully colored classroom and the beautiful face of my soon-to-be beloved. That was when I realized I was spirited into my favorite video game 'Revolution', a dating sim RPG. This has been one of my favorite games ever since my university years. Full of diverse characters and situations, I've grown obsessed with the game. But there was one character that I adores who could never give a happy end, until now; and with this, I only had one goal that instantly came to mind...

"...Protect Claire-Sama!"

"You're still not listening. Why do I bother to explain this?"

"Ah... sorry still waking up. I promise I'll listen."

It was Misha's job to explain current events. In the game, she's the helpful advice NPC: giving tips to the protagonist and providing information that aids you in bewitching your current lover. Of course, it was getting pretty obvious if I dazed off again she might give me something more critical than advice so it might be best to listen to her.

With a sigh she crossed her arms looking at me more critically, "you need to know this Rei, there has been an outbreak of cursed marks appearing on people of the church. The church has been trying to tackle these cases and it seems to be spreading more, even a couple of students have been inflicted with them". She explained this as I gave her undivided attention, "I was wondering if you had any knowledge on why this might of started".

I had to yawn, it was barely 3 morning, and I was far from ready to wake up, "I don't know Misha, why did you want to ask me so early anyway?".

"Because you wouldn't arrive at our dorm until night-time and will collapse right after. The last thing I want is to try to bring this up with Claire-Sama around",

"Why not, I'm sure she'd know about this as well as I do."

"She already has to deal with your behavior with you being her maid...", that blow really stung coming from her: I thought we were friends Misha. "Also, I know you'd have the information I need. So?"

I yawned again as my tired brain tried to wrap itself around all the in-game events and side missions; maybe some bits of lore that could be important, "Uuuuuh... nope, maybe if I had more... details or something"

"Well...", she seemed a bit conflicted with that remark, looking back if I was a little more awake at the time, I would have known who this question was actually for but for the moment I was needing a little more time.

"I'll talk with you later Misha, I'm gonna need a boost for the day. Maybe you can share some details... when you have some", with that I rolled out of the bed and onto the floor. It took a considerable amount of effort to get back up; but when I did, I stretched out and yawned one final time.

"Fine, I swear Rei Taylor you're a complete mess", she grimaced as she sat on her chair.

"I know, I'll see you later then?", I asked while groggily exiting the room into the halls

"I am your roommate", she shook her head before I closed the door.

—

While walking down the halls I was soon joined by someone else, a small liquid climbing up my head and jumping up and down excited. This blob is Relaire, my always-hungry water slime. He probably sensed I was heading off to the kitchen and decided to join me.

"Have you come to snack on my biscuits again, you little cutie?"

I asked the little thing as I scooped him into the palm of my hand, he wobbled back and forth; I gave the adorable thing some pats with a single finger.

Familiars in this world are a rare sight to see, finding one that matches our elemental affinity is pretty difficult of course. But it was most likely the fact they were monsters, even the trained students trembled in fear at the sight of this adorable soul.

When I entered the kitchen, I looked around to find both the coffee beans and the biscuits. Quickly I started to boil the water and gave Relaire his biscuit, which he slowly chewed up. Indeed, these quiet moments in life are great, but there's still something better I can do. Unfortunately, Claire-sama only allows me in her room when I'm on the clock. Oh Claire-sama, so stern and sturdy, if only she let me see her more often. I would sing your name louder than the kettle right now if you'd let me.

"Oh no, the kettle!"

Ehe. It seems my Claire-centric thoughts caused me to forget to grind the beans. After removing said kettle from the stove, I got to work preparing the beans for infusion. And when that was done, I placed the grounds in the cup and poured in the water. After waiting a bit I strained the mixture into another cup and added sugar and milk. After one sip, I let out a relieved sigh and opened my eyes fully.

"Ok Relaire! Today it seems we got a curse to worry about! We need to fix this before it hits Claire!"

With my mind awake and heart pumping full of love, I started to hype myself up with Relaire cheering me on in his own inaudible way. With this fresh mind, I had a thought come to me, this event never occurred in the game. I mean I knew that already, but I didn't think much of it till now.

A curse epidemic. It seems recent too, a week or so judging from what Misha said. This might throw a big wrench into my plan; an event like this wasn't supposed to show up until after summer vacation. I'm gonna need more information in order to solve this quickly.

... but asking Misha for more information now might end up going south. Oh well...

"I gotta get ready to meet Claire-Sama, let's go Relaire."

—

I quickly got on my school uniform and grabbed my maid apron, my standard uniform to serve Claire-sama on hand and foot. It seems Misha passed out in the time it took me to wake myself up, so it was best I snuck out while I had the chance.

The sun was finally appearing over the horizon, becoming as bright red as the school uniforms filling the darkness. It was a beautiful sight to behold, even in Tokyo I barely could see such a beautiful sight with all the tall buildings blocking the sun.

But as I walked past the several doors belonging to many students, I was reminded of the sun that guided me through both my time in Japan and my time here: the one and only Claire-sama.

Claire is a special woman, especially to me. She has the face of an Angel, the body of a model, and her personality... oh I just love every bit of it. Her commitment, her morals, her ideals: I admire each and every part of her. She is the most special person in the entire world, and I will be sure she survives in this world; for you see, Claire is not just another character in this game.

Claire François is the villainess, and my one and only love. Anyone who plays an Otome game knows that the villainess never wins, and Claire wasn't the exception. However, now that I was given this gift, I will protect Claire from that fate. And if given the chance...

Speaking of which, as I got to Claire-Sama's door I gingerly knocked on it.

"Hello, my beloved Claire, I'm here to bask in your warmth again!"

There was a pause, a long silence which I found odd. I was sure I was being loud enough for her to wake up, and she would chew me out for many things I just said. It was odd and worrying, so I knocked again.

"Claaaaire! You aren't giving up already, are you?!"

Still, nothing, not a sound came from the room in front of me. Now I was getting nervous. Claire definitely hated me, but she would never provide an answer to anything no matter how crude it was. I'm sure I can be forgiven if I take a quick peek.

Looking into the room it was completely empty, with no sign of Claire or her roommate (though the latter wasn't so surprising).

"Hello Rei, are you looking for Claire-Sama?"

"I wasn't peeking!"

I practically jumped back as a calm voice whispered into my ear from behind me. When I looked at the sneaking mischief-maker who wasn't me, it was my partner in taking care of Claire-sama, Lene Aurousseau. She's been Claire-Sama's maid for over 10 years, a feat that becomes much more impressive when most of Claire's maids usually stay 3 weeks before quitting; that in mind, I don't plan on quitting myself though. I'll be working for Claire-Sama till death do us part. Though something seemed off about her today.

"Lene, you scared me. Yes, do you know where she is?"

I was quickly calmed after seeing her, but I couldn't take a moment's rest when Claire-Sama is out there all alone.

"Indeed, I do", from the tone of Lene's voice there was a caveat.

"Unfortunately, Claire-Sama told me to not tell you where she is."

there it is.

"Aw come on."

"Sorry, nothing I can do about it"

"You're teasing me! Come on"

"You tease Claire-Sama all the time."

"I tease Claire because of love"

"Is there a difference?"

"Come on please!?"

"Ok fine... I can't say... But..."

There was a short pause as Lene shot me a smile. She was planning something.

"But... I should at least tell you what happened to her", she gave me a wink and put a finger in front of her hushing lips. I nodded promising to keep my lips closed, and that was when Lene's smile dropped, and she looked to the side.

"Well, it started even earlier today..."