A/N: I had some more free time than usual. Also, I couldn't bring myself to draw like I usually do for some reason. Maybe because I was trying to draw my OC's? I dunno. Sometimes fan content is easier to make, especially since you can just re do what is already there, but still changing some of it.
Leon Fou [now Rapha] Barfort: Renowned adventurer and current crown prince. / previously: Hiro (pre:isekai)—Lea of Bart's Fort (The true founder of Holfort and lover to the Saintess Ann and Mary)—JOU_MOU_ (someone who used to work in Luxion's facility.)
Angelica Rapha Redgrave: Daughter of Duke Redgrave and ex-fiancé to Julius/ Previously: Ann of Bart's Fort (aka Saintess Ann and lover of Lea of Bart's fort). / Also goes by Angie to close friends and loved ones. Currently Pregnant.
Olivia: Commoner from the Kagenou Barony. / previously: Mary, lover and companion to Ann and Lea. When they had returned from their adventures in ancient Midgar, all three had been attacked by the founding heirs as they all wanted Ann. To save Lea and Ann from such a fate, she teleported them away, and swapped bodies with Ann. / Is also known as Livia by her close friends and loved ones. Currently Pregnant.
Cid Kagenou: fiancé to several famous elves but just a regular mob you'd find anywhere / previously: Minoru Kagenou boy from Earth that would be transported to the ancient times of the current before dying at the hands of his friends due to becoming demonically possessed out of grief. / Also dons the secret identity of "Lord Shadow." Leader and founder of The Shadow Garden. / Mundane Mann, a pathetic looking sword wielder that disappeared many years ago and has returned for the Bushin festival. / Kageno of Mitsugoshi, after an argument with his parents, Cid decides to go by Kageno for a while. / Herlock Sholmes. During the trial of Leon v Holfort, Cid disguised himself as the famous detective.
Alice [Kagenou: Cid's personal elf servant, lover, and childhood friend / previously: Beatrice (this is non canon, but all of Shadow Garden had identities before joining so I made a name up for her.) / Dons the secret identity of "Alpha" or "Lady Shade." Co-leader and second founder of The Shadow Garden, first of the Seven Shades. The name "Alpha" is only used by those in Shadow Garden. Currently Pregnant.
Other Shadow Garden Members: All of the seven shades have secret identities. They see their Shadow Garden names as their true names and will use that in their own thoughts. But to everyone not in Shadow Garden that sees them as their secret identities will use those names.
Beta: Natsume Kafka, renowned writer.
Gamma: Luna of Mitsugoshi, owner of said store and many others, richest Woman in the world. Xianyun, Sword master of the far eastern kingdoms. Currently Pregnant.
Delta: Sara, certified good girl.
Epsilon: Shiron, amazing musician known internationally.
Zeta: Zetan. Previously known as Lilim, named after the therianthrope hero, Lili.
Eta: Goes by Eta Lloyd Wright, renowned Architect.
Charlie: Known previously as Carla Fou Wayne.
Aurora: Called Violet by Cid, and now camps out in his soul/brain. Known as the Witch of Calamity, and the Demon Diabolos.
Other People:
Claire Kagenou: Cid's older sister and one of Leon's fiancés. Going by Nonna during her time in Alzer.
Deidre Fou Roseblade: The stereotypical haughty Ojou-Sama. One of Leon's fiancés. Going by Rogue during her time in Alzer.
Rose Oriana: Princess of Oriana. Probably the only person besides Aurora that knows Cid thinks everything is part of a game. Going by Luci in Alzer. Number 666 in The Shadow Garden.
Noelle Beltre: Beltre is a fake last name given to her after the destruction of her house. In truth, her name is Noelle Zel Lespinasse / ?
Louise Sara Rault: Currently the one and only daughter of House Rault. Also the only living child by blood following the death of her brother Leon Sara Rault. A vampire "princess" to boot. / In her previous life she was Hiro(pre-isekai Leon)'s girlfriend, Yuna. He was ready to propose but when the rumor of him being gay spread she dumped him.
Disclaimer: I don't own Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs nor The Eminence in Shadow. The only Beta reader here is the elf.
-P2W-
Louise answered her father's summons and entered his study. As soon as she closed the door, Albergue began questioning her about the report he received from his subordinates.
"Louise… would you care to guess as to why I've called you in here?" asked her father with an expression that portrayed no emotion.
Louise, who had red puffy eyes, could only nod as she stared at her feet. However, she said nothing.
"…You…" Albergue sighed. "You know that Leon is dead, right?"
"I know my little brother is gone." Said Louise, who sounded on the verge of crying again. She pulled herself together. "But… if you saw what I did, what I heard… I know Leon's gone but…"
"Is this about that hero of yours?" Albergue leaned back in his chair, clearly familiar with the subject. "I… I know you said something about seeing them in Leon. But have you… have you started to see someone else as your hero?"
"…Just… Just let me have them over. If it helps any, I think some of them work for that Mitsugoshi company that all the merchants are talking about." Said Louise as she rubbed her arm.
Albergue thought it was odd for Louise to be so clearly fixated on something, even stranger for her to make some kind of excuse. Louise could be a bit of a tomboy, but she was levelheaded and mature usually. She was always considered mature for her age. Considering her actions over the past few days, perhaps she was shouldering a larger burden than he had realized.
"…You know how things are with Serge." Albergue began to warn. "You need to stop talking about Leon."
"You don't have to explain it to me."
"Then you may leave."
As Louise slipped out of Albergue's office, he heaved a deep sigh. He put his elbows on his desk and rested his chin on his folded hands. "All of this seems suspicious."
He unlocked a drawer in his desk and took out the picture frame within. In the painting, a black-haired, five-year-old boy grinned back at the viewer. A young Louise was hugging the boy from behind. The boy's name was Leon Sara Rault, and he had been Albergue's son. He had died of an illness not long after this painting had been made.
"Everything would be so different if you were still with us, Leon." Albergue murmured. If he were still alive he'd be a second year, wouldn't he?
But such wistful thoughts only made Albergue hate himself.
"If only Serge would settle down a little,' he grumbled. His adopted son had yet to return to the academy.
Albergue stowed the picture back in the drawer and returned to his paperwork.
-Minoru (Cid/Shadow)-
Travelling with Lea, Ann, and Mary kinda feels like I'm camping with my Mom and Dad. Except now I got two moms.
Although, given that the three only have about 10 years on me I suppose it'd be more accurate to say were my new older siblings. I even accidentally called Lea "Onii-san" one time.
Luckily, he didn't know what that meant, but he somehow knew that he couldn't ever let it go.
In any case, my life after being rescued by the three was basically a lot of what I had been doing before. We'd go from place to place, usually storming dungeons, but occasionally fighting vampires and the scientist guys.
According to Lea and the girls, the researchers were a part of something called The Cult of Diabolos. We didn't know too much about them, just that they'd kidnap kids—mostly girls—and run experiments that would kill them. They would also team up with the vampires to create these sort of farms for humans.
Basically, if you got "got" then you had two fates. 1. Be experimented and die 2. Become human cattle and probably die.
It was super messed up. So, I was totally okay with beating them up and taking all their stuff. I mean I was already, but now I felt it was a moral obligation.
For the most part I was content with this life. The only thing I could say was annoying was that the ground would shake every night, but as a Japanese person I was pretty used to earthquakes anyway.
But my main complaint, was that I didn't really have a way to become an Eminence in Shadow. The lack of magic in this life ruled by it… well, it was my biggest roadblock. There was no way I could ever be the secretly strongest person if the main source of strength wasn't available to me.
Lea, Mary, and Ann all tried to help me learn magic but nothing was working. Lea posited that I could be one of "the old ones." A small percentage of the population that expressly couldn't use magic. Apparently I was the youngest "old one" that they'd ever meant if it was true.
Figures that I'd be part of the people that can't do magic when I expressly wanted to use magic.
It stung a little bit.
And no, Lea, I was not crying over it!
No Mary I was not pouting either!
Ann Onee-san I'm fine!
…I didn't say that. You didn't hear that. Shut up. Stop smiling like that!
Anyway, I was feeling pretty down and decided to take a walk. Unfortunately, I ended up forgetting that I made a ton of enemies. I also forgot that part of the reason I decided to stay with the three, besides just getting bored of being alone, is because Ann and Mary could erect a magic barrier around us to keep people away.
And now that I was alone...?
Well, I had entered the fight of my life.
Vampires, Scientists, Thugs, Monsters.
All of them, just to take me down. Apparently they were mostly people that I forgot to double tap or left alive because I was trying to be the Eminence in Shadow by leaving them alive to spread my name "Stylish Bandit Slayer."
Lea, Ann, and Mary probably saw this coming, because they didn't let me do that anymore.
Lea would indulge my dream sometimes, but only when we were separated from Mary and Ann for whatever reason.
Anyway, I'm facing the consequences of my actions, having to fight like I need to swing my crowbars more than I need to breathe.
I absolutely couldn't stay still, like a shark if I didn't move I'd die. Every swing, even if made wildly, was able to hit someone just because of the sheer amount of them. Unfortunately, I'm forced to face the facts that facing a bunch of people with magic while you have none and they've studied you extensively is a bad idea.
If it weren't for all the skills I've picked up over both lives there was no way I wouldn't have died in those first 10 minutes. I even had a hand cut off at one point and had to wield one of the crow bars with my mouth.
But to my surprise, it wasn't Lea, Ann, or Mary that eventually came to my rescue, instead…
With the shout of a "Minoru!" coming from up high I jumped as high as my legs could allow me. Because I knew this call out. Olivier grabs my hand to spin us both in the air so that I'll be launched higher and her launched down faster. She then uses her magic to create a huge fissure in the ground that explodes and kills at least half of the fuckers.
I expect then land in Olivier's waiting hands, to which she squeezes me to make sure I'm still alive—I assume, one time she hung on for a while—before she sets me down. I go back to back with her so we can do those cool team attacks we came up with last time, but suddenly I see some other people join in the fight.
A woman with short white hair and red eyes in a green outfit cuts down some monsters while a therianthrope with golden fur comes up to me and starts healing me. The hand that I lost even regrew.
"Minoru." Said Olivier with a tone that made me nervous, "We will talk about this later. I expected better of you."
I shivered a bit at this and started to plan an escape roue.
"You won't escape me." Said Olivier with a strong tone of voice. I was half tempted to go 'kya~!'
"So you're Minoru eh? I expected better as well." Said the white haired woman.
"Sorry for that I suppose." I said as I began to bash in some of the skulls of our opponents, "you're one of Olivier's friends?"
"I don't have any friends." Said Olivier as she vaulted over me and kicked someone's teeth in.
"What am I then?" I responded with my feelings a little hurt.
The therianthrope spoke up as she erected a barrier to shield us from magic attacks, "Oh? Aren't you Olivier's lover? She talks about you all the time."
"She what?" I said as I threw my crowbar to Olivier who used it to pry someone's mouth off their face before throwing it back to me.
"He's the only thing Olivier talks about besides the mission." Retorted the white haired woman as she slayed another monster.
I suppose that even when she hung out with me Olivier was like that. But even she told me a little bit about her family.
Suddenly some more voices call out from behind the slowly dwindling crowd.
"Protect the innocent and punish evil! Shining Arrows!" calls out Ann and Mary's voices. Thanks to them both chanting it, lances made of pure white flame rain from the sky and begin to burn all of our enemies while healing everything else the touch. As soon as the sacred flame stops its assault, so does the fight.
"Kid!" shouted Lea, whose clothes have tons of tears, as he ran over to me and immediately began to check me for damages. "Shit, I knew we should've given you some teleporting accessories or something."
"I'm fine…" I grumbled as I let him, figuring it'd be best to just let him get it over with again.
Ann and Mary, who appear to have some burn marks and other scrapes on them, start joining in.
"Minoru, what's with all this blood!" shouted Ann as she started to clean my adventuring gear and face. I open my mouth but she glares at me. "Don't try and lie to me that this isn't yours! I can tell!"
Mary joins in, "Minoru! I know you were upset but you shouldn't have wandered off so far away! You know that we've been dealing with dangerous people so obviously being by yourself would lead to bad things!"
"I know Onee—never mind. Sorry. Won't do it again." I said as I got flustered again. However before I could process my feelings I felt some hands go under my arms and then lift me away.
"Mine." said Olivier in a way that made me feel a little flustered. She held me in a hug with one hand and pointed her sword in the direction of everyone else.
It then took the rest of the night to convince Olivier to 1. Let me go and 2. That we could trust Lea, Ann, and Mary. It's embarrassing but I had to call them Ann and Mary Onee-san again to get Olivier to finally let go of me.
The memory ended shortly after that.
I had my choice of three accessories again, one representing Olivier, one representing Lea's group, and the other representing Olivier's friends. I chose the one representing Olivier.
Then when I woke up Beta helped me get ready for the meeting I had to go to with Leon and Claire.
-Leon-
Although I had meant to meet with "Louise" by herself, it would appear that even under the guise of us being new friends it wouldn't do for us to just show up and leave. Instead we were being treated to a meal by her parents as well.
I have no idea why, really. If I had to guess it'd be because two of us were guys, or at least something to that effect.
"Hey, is it just me," Cid whispered to me, "Or is everyone staring at you a little strangely?"
[I had noticed something similar Master] Luxion whispered as well, [In particular those who appear to have worked for this family for a long period of time are staring at you particularly hard. As though they are looking for something.]
"Well, the one daughter of the household did invite me over. So they're probably trying to see if I'm good enough for her or something." I answered back. I then glared at Claire. "Which is just their misunderstanding. I'm not here to try anything."
Claire rolled her eyes, clearly not believing me. "You keep saying that. The more you protest the more I don't believe you."
"What could I do to make you believe me? Seriously you and Deidre have just been insinuating that I'm some playboy or something." I whisper shouted.
"Well." Said Cid. "Let's not tell lies. Both of us have at least 7 wives each. What kind of person do you think would have that kind of relationhship."
"Don't throw logic in my direction!" I shot back. "Besides, neither of us actively set out to make these kind of relationships. We just did our best to be ourselves and it ended up like that."
Cid just shrugged while Claire giggled.
"Excuse me."
Our attention was diverted to the sound of Louise's voice.
Then, as soon as I lock eyes with her,『 Yuna… 』slips out of my mouth before I can realize what I'm saying.
『 Hiro… you're the only one who'd remember that name. 』she smiles. She's beginning to tear up already.
"Not to intrude." Said Cid as he intruded without shame. "But how much time is there until the meal? I feel like we should save the heavy stuff until after."
Claire nudges Cid with her elbow but Louise just shakes her head. "No. He's right. I came here to escort you there. Mother and Father would be concerned if I took too long. Please, let's sit down for the meal first."
Louise then led us to the dining room from the waiting area we had been in. I couldn't help but stare at Louise.
In our last life, she had blonde hair as well. It was a bit different in shade than it is here, but she kept it in the same hairstyle from then. I remember that she used to wear it longer but when I went gaga over some gacha character that fought with a shield, Yuna started to wear hers shorter. I remember telling her how cute that was.
I suddenly feel a pinch in my side. I turn to Claire to apologize but see that its Cid doing it instead.
"You said to make sure and watch you." Said Cid. I just nodded and nursed the part where he pinched. Yeesh, Cid. Why the hell are your fingers so strong? Do you work out each one or something?
Eventually we made it to our destination.
The dining room had an insanely high ceiling, and the six of us sat down at an enormous table. Something about this felt strange. Servants bustled around, laying out our meal. Mr. Albergue was seated across from me, with his wife on one side and Louise on the other. Claire and Cid were on my left. We weren't on one of those insanely long tables you see in noble houses, but there was a fair amount of room and empty seats. There was an almost royal air to the place really.
The food was a bit cold, but it was delicious.
"Does it suit your palate?" Mr. Albergue was the first to break the silence put in place alongside the food.
Not wanting to be rude I decided to answer despite still feeling a little… I want to say nervous? I don't know, but being in this room is kinda messing with my head. "It's amazing. The sauce is different from anything in Holfort or Midgar, but I like it."
Each nation had its own range of flavors, but I had no problem with the republic's cuisine. The meat was tender and accompanied by a variety of veggies I had never seen. I tried them, but the flavor definitely didn't agree with me. I could still swallow them down, but I wasn't eager to have them again. I tried to mask the disgusting flavor by combining them with the meat and realized that the other three were staring at me.
"S-sorry… did I do something wrong?" I asked nervously, feeling like a little kid again somehow.
"N-no…" said Mr. Albergue. His eyebrows were raised in surprise. "It's not that. Are you… not fond of vegetables?"
Apparently my distaste had shown on my face. Cid and Claire were both smirking in my direction even. "I've never had these before. They have a real unique bitterness that's kinda hard to stomach, but I can manage."
Mr. Albergue looked flustered. "Oh, really… say how about a drink to help wash it down?" Mr. Albergue then motioned for a servant to bring in a bottle of what looked like wine given the dark red color, but the label seemed to say something like 'sap.'
"Oh? What's this?" asked Cid as it was poured for us. Given he's always been a bit of a wine snob he was happily swishing it around as he took in the drink.
"This is some sap from the sacred tree. Fresh. Please, take a drink." Insisted Louise. Her mother nodded vehemently, making me feel a bit suspicious but since we're in their home and Luxion hasn't said anything I figured why not.
However, as I raise the cup I notice a weird scent that was almost metallic, and much to my horror it was in flavor as well.
COUGH*
COUGH*
"Huh." Although Claire and I hack up the drink due to the strong blood-like flavor, Cid takes a few more sips. "I'm sorry if this comes across as insensitive but seeing as you are all vampires, do you enjoy this due to the metallic taste?"
I shoveled some more of the meat available in order to mask the taste, only to discover that now I just feel like I'm eating someone or something. I tear up a little.
I eyed the family of three in suspicion, thinking this to be some kind of Alzerian prank, only to feel bad when I see mom burst into tears. "I'm sorry. Please excuse me." She stood up and left, several servants followed behind her.
"I'm sorry about that," Louise said. "She'll return in just a moment, I'm sure. Please understand, she doesn't have anything against you."
"Sh-should I apologize? I feel bad." I asked. Claire nodded in agreement.
"No… no you don't have to. It's not your fault." Said Mr. Albergue. He was staring down at his lap. "… if you don't mind would you care to hear us out?"
I nodded.
"I had a son." Said Albergue.
"Do you mean Serge?" I asked. I think I saw Cid react to the name but I wasn't too focused on him right now.
"No, I mean my biological son. His name was… Leon." This was the first I'd heard about this.
However, "I suppose you all know then?"
Albergue nodded, "You're Leon Rapha Barfort. The so called 'Bloody Crown Prince' by those who admire you and the 'fiendish knight' by those who don't. I hope you don't mind that we looked into you."
I shook my head. "No, I can understand why considering everything about us. It's not like we tried to hard to disguise ourselves anyway. But I'm guessing that there's a lot more to this story than just my name?"
Albergue nodded. "You… you look just like him. A him that got to grow up, in any case."
"They do say that statistically everyone's got like two doppelgangers out in the world." Said Cid with a shrug as he continued to drink the Sacred Tree Sap. "It's probably a coincidence."
Albergue smiled sadly. "I suppose so."
Louise glanced at me and grinned. "Leon… I mean, my younger brother… he also hated those vegetables, and he only ever drank the sap once. He had the exact same reaction that you did just now… seeing that must've brought a wave of memories back for my mother."
"If you don't mind me asking… how old was he when?"
"Leon was five years old when a sickness took him from us." Answered Albergue.
Five… come to think of it, that was the age I had been when I had awoken in this world with a high fever.
…
Surely it was all just a coincidence… right?
"By the way," I said partly to move things along and partly to gain more information about the game's storyline. "Serge hasn't been coming to the academy, has he? Where is he?" His absence was noticeable at the table, with a seat by me clearly meant for him given how Cid wasn't allowed to sit there earlier.
Louise's expression clouded. "He stormed out sometime during the winter break and hasn't come back. We get messages from him every now and again, so we know he's alive."
"So…he's just hanging out somewhere?" I asked.
Cid looked around and saw a portrait of the family to the side. "Oh, I've seen him before."
"You have?" questioned Albergue.
Cid nodded, "Yeah. When we went to the Great Ize Shrine for the new year. I teamed up with him to defeat this monster made of mochi that was terrorizing the locals."
"I… I know that actually happened… but… like…" I struggled to come up with a response.
"Well, it's nice to hear that he's doing good I suppose." Albergue mumbled. He turned to me. "I hear adventuring is a legitimate profession in the kingdom, but the same cannot be said of the republic."
Here, adventurers were at the lower end of the hierarchy. It's why we only had to worry about Narcisse standing in our way when we went after the sapling.
"Serge longs to be an adventurer. He even takes a ship out on breaks so he can go exploring. Perhaps you can understand where he's coming from."
I nodded. "I can. I am where I am because of my success as an adventurer."
I meant it too. Although, it wasn't exactly by choice. My life had been in danger. I had no idea what would drive a rich brat to go adventuring. The pure thrill of it? Hating his family circumstances? If anyone could understand, it'd probably be those idiots.
"I'm sure he'd get along swimmingly with Prince Julius and his friends."
"Perhaps I should consult with them and arrange a meeting," said Albergue.
Louise frowned. "I will not acknowledge Serge's predilection. He cannot be an adventurer. It's ridiculous. He's the heir of our house."
"Can't he be both?" I asked.
"Pardon?"
I shrugged. "I suppose there's something to be said of his life being in danger. And I suppose that women can't be heirs in this place given that you adopted Serge in the first place, but it might actually be a good thing that he gets some worldly experience. I know how much good it did me on my path to the throne."
"But how's he going to be a good head of the house if he's always out adventuring? Last our tutors said, Serge had flunked all his tests. Several were even expressly about things like swordsmanship and tactics! Serge just brute forces everything!" Louise complained, reminding me of when Jenna would talk badly about me in front of others.
Cid nods. "Yeah, when I teamed up with him it was basically like fighting with Greg. He only used attacks, no stat stuff or ailment inflections."
"That's enough of that." Said Albergue who looked equal parts resigned and apologetic. "My apologies for exposing my family's issues like that, Leon—er Hiro."
"Not at all." I said as I returned to my meal.
I can't believe that on top of being Louise/Yuna's ex form a past life, I was also apparently the doppelganger for this life's deceased brother. And it looks like the reason Serge is a route at all is because of whatever deep-seated issues he has with his family.
Man, why couldn't I have just stayed in Holfort? Heck, Midgar's probably got something simple going on right now too.
-Alexia-
I wish I went to Alzer with Poochie and Leon-nii.
It's so boring!
Iris was allowed to go back to Midgar so she's there and training her knights for the foreseeable future. As I understand it though, Miss Beatrix occasionally forces her to go out and destress by either sparring with each other or by having dinner with Poochie's Bitc—
…
I rub my neck, feeling as though there was something about to hit it. I look around and see that I'm still in the library. Weird. Must've been the breeze coming from the window.
I close said window and go back to my seat, only to see that not only my chair but my table is occupied by a bunch of people that I hadn't seen in the library at all.
"Heya." Said the therianthrope woman with gold fur and some really cute cat ears. "I heard you were going to talk to me eventually. Figured I'd go ahead and go after you first."
"Zetan… was it?" I asked as I calmly took a seat. I looked to the pink and brown haired women that accompanied her. I'd seen these two before. "You're also P—Cid's lovers, correct? I don't think we've formally met."
"Hello, I am Nicole." Said the brown haired woman with a polite nod.
"You don't deserve to know my name." said the woman with pink hair and two ribbons on each side. (A/N: In the chibi manga, Victoria has a civilian-ish outfit. It's basically just her normal one but a dress and ribbons instead of horns. No name though.)
"Call her Vicky." Said Nicole. "And as you had surmised, we too have been blessed with the opportunity to be with our Lord and love."
"You know, I obviously love the guy too. But you speak about him like he's the next coming of the three heroes… although I guess his past life was friends with them according to Leon-nii." I said.
"Hmph. That you cannot understand his splendor makes me want to disapprove of you." Said Vicky.
I just scoffed, "Okay great. Glad to know that you don't like the fact I don't want to kiss the ground he walks on. But newsflash, Alice said I only had to get the approval of the first seven wives. You're not one of them."
Vicky just glared in my direction. Admittedly it freaked me out a bit but I didn't back down. Worst case I'll have to use that belt thing that Sara and Eta gave me to transform into Arsene again.
"Guess that brings us back to the main point." Said Zetan.
I sat up a little straighter, "Right. Is there anything I need to do to gain your approval?"
Zetan began to twirl around some keys she had connected to her skirt with a string. "Let's see… first, as I recall you have Luna, Sara, and Eta's approval so far yeah?"
I nodded.
"But Natsume said she disapproved, since you two don't get along." Pointed out Zetan, much to my annoyance. It's not my fault that boobie elf is so annoying! But Zetan kept talking. "But she did say to us that it might be fun to see you have to watch her get pleased by darling before you finally get whatever's left. So I think that we can consider her a maybe."
That's… a little concerning. But I suppose I can work with that. I'll just have to make her face that scenario herself.
"That just leaves me and Shiron." Said Zetan. "Don't suppose you have any idea on how to win her approval?"
…Is…is she trying to help me…?
No. It can't be that simple. From what little I do know about Zetan from that time at the resort she's a bit of a sneaky person. There has to be more to it than this.
It's best to be honest on this occasion, I feel as though my lies would be unraveled like a ball of yarn.
"As much as I'd like to say I have some grand plan. I don't. I know of Shiron, of course, her gift with music is unparalleled. But as for her desires, I can't say much has come up. Unless I can somehow appeal to our shared desire for Cid." I answered. Admittedly each time I had gotten approval, it would appear that I'd gotten it because the other members of his harem simply didn't feel like refusing me.
"Hm…" Zetan leans in and sniffs me, I lean a little away from her due to it being a bit too weird, but also because it tickles. "You don't seem to be lying. Good. I don't like liars."
Zetan then takes a look at the books I had been studying. Nicole and Vicky had even been reading some of them.
"Hm… a bunch of history books here." Noted Nicole. "But I don't think this has anything to do with the current course material."
Vicky just continued to look through the books with that sour expression on her face.
"I've been trying to look more into all the weird stuff that's been going on." I revealed. Since we were in the royal library it was unlikely that I had to worry about someone overhearing us. These girls sneaking in could only be an exception. "Since you're with Cid, you're probably friends with Leon-nii, right?"
All three girls make a so-so gesture.
"We helped set up his wedding." Said Nicole with a shrug.
"If our Lord and love says he's our friend then he's our friend I suppose." Said Vicky, although she still looked like she was eating sour grapes as she said this.
"Right, well, do you know about that group that Leon-nii's been looking into?" I asked.
Nicole smiled. "You mean The Shadow Garden?"
I nodded. "Right, and that other group too, The Cult."
Vicky started to frown at the mention of it. Well, it's more like she was bearing her teeth like an animal growling or something like that.
"I'm pretty sure that Leon-nii told me a decent amount of what he knew, but I can tell that he didn't tell me everything." I said.
"You can?" asked Zetan.
I nodded, "Iris and my parents hide stuff from me all the time, I'm used to seeing the signs."
"Have you considered that perhaps things are being hidden from you because you don't need to get involved." Said Vicky.
I shook my head, "I'm a princess. Hell, I'm even the crown princess of Midgar currently. If I don't need to get involved then who does? That's not even mentioning the time I was kidnapped."
Zetan nods this time, "So, not satisfied with your role as a spectator anymore."
"My role…?" That sounded familiar.
"Don't worry about it. In any case I can respect that attitude." Said Zetan as she leaned back in her chair. I have to say that her general demeanor reminds me of some of the more delinquent people I've seen.
Still, I'm here for a purpose. "But I suppose that doesn't include your approval?"
Zetan laughs. "Nah, you got it."
I blink. "Eh?"
"Well, Alice doesn't want me to approve of you, so yeah. You got my approval." Said Zetan as she laughed and poked at Vicky's now icky face. Zetan also then mumbles something that sounded like "She's had it too good for too long, getting first everything…"
"Just like that?" I asked. I was also a bit concerned at the apparent infighting.
Zetan shrugged. "Eh. I came here to check on what you'd be like when put on the back foot and see what you've been up to since the trial stuff. Seems you're alright." Zetan and the other two got up. "Try to get along with Natsume though. She's the second one of us to have met Cid. I'll admit her 'pick me girl' stuff gets annoying sometimes but you're not going to get anywhere fighting her."
"…I'll try." I said.
Zetan just nodded and got up with the other girls. "Well, go ahead and get back to your studies then."
With that they turned around one of the bookshelves and then left. I looked after them in curiosity and saw that they were gone.
You know… Leon-nii did say that some of the Mitsugoshi employees probably also worked for The Shadow Garden. I suppose that means that there's a non-zero chance some of poochie's lovers are also shadow garden members.
…
I'll have to worry about that later, when I have more resources available to me. For now, I'll go ahead and go back to studying…
Did the girls reorganize everything? And it looks like they replaced some of the books too… Did we even have a book like this in the library? Wait…
-Leon-
After the meal Louise led us to the greenhouse garden her family kept. Inside, there was a gazebo with a tea table. I was itching to prepare some tea at the sight, but I sadly didn't bring anything.
"So…"
"So…"
Cid and Claire said nothing as Louise and I fumbled with beginning an honest conversation.
"It's really you, Hiro."
『 Yeah, it's really me, Yuna. 』I said.
Louise—or I suppose Yuna—started to tear up again. 『 I can't believe I'm hearing someone else speak Japanese, let alone hearing you speak it. 』
『 You know… 』Cid interrupted us without concern for tact.『 Shouldn't you both confirm that it's actually, you know, you? As far as I can tell you both are just going off of vibes. 』
Yuna's eyes widened in shock at Cid. 『 C—can, is he…? 』
I shook my head. 『 Cid was just taught the language. 』I then cleared my throat. "But, uh, Claire wasn't. So I think maybe it'd be more appropriate to speak like normal."
Claire pouted as she angrily poked me in the face. "You guys really ought to teach me that secret language already. It's one thing when it's a secret between you two, but now that your ex knows it's just making me angry!"
"She… they know?" asked Yuna.
I nod. "Cid and Claire and some of the people I trust the most in this world."
"Are… are you?" Yuna points her fingers at me and Claire, the implication clear. I grab Claire's hand and she smiles brightly, even a bit smugly in Yuna's direction. "O-oh… okay… I… mm."
I feel bad, but Cid doesn't and he goes for the jugular. "He's also dating 6 other girls. Well, actually, he's married to two Olivia the kind half of the Saintess, Angelica Rapha Redgragve daughter of Duke Redgrave and the Passionate side of the Saintess. There's also Princess Iris of Midgar, Clarice Fia Atlee—who's an earl's daughter, Deirdre Fou Roseblade—who's a earl's daughter as well, and then there's another member but I won't mention things because of her current position."
I look at Cid and mouth "Dude, what the fuck" in shock. However, I see him raise his hand and Claire places money in it. I understand somewhat, but also, Cid's one of the richest people on the planet. So again, I can only stare at him in shock and horror.
I turn back to Yuna who's started to cry a little before she pulls herself together. While sadly chuckling she says "I… I guess that makes sense. You used to joke you'd get a harem if you ended up in a different world. And here we are! Not to mention how popular you were back then."
"Ugh, even then." Complained Claire.
Yuna nodded. "His inability to not get involved with things he cared about and his forward nature got the attention of lots of girls back then. He didn't ever notice though. I had to kiss him on the lips during a new years party for him to start even looking at me."
"Let me guess, he just thought you got swept up in the excitement." Said Claire.
"Hey now." I tried.
"Yup." Revealed Yuna. "Get this, it gets worse. That wasn't even the beginning. No, we met at the start of uni, and I got a crush on him pretty early on. I did everything to get his attention, making him lunches, hanging out in between classes, always sitting next to him during drinking parties. Heck, sometimes I'd pretend to be drunk and force him to take me to his place and he didn't do anything!"
"I'm not going to do anything to an unconscious girl!" I said. Claire raised a brow, and I recall the time she saw me with Livia. "Not without their permission anyway!"
"That lucky bi—" Yuna started her sentence but I glared at her making it clear that wasn't allowed. "…Girl. That lucky girl."
"Besides, I was just glad to have a new friend. If you go around thinking that every girl you meet is going to be into you just because she's nice then you're no different than a pervert." I said.
"You used to stare at my chest before we started dating."
"That's different."
"Uh-huh."
"You told me you tried to show them off to me on purpose."
"Oh so now you remember stuff I said."
"Don't change the subject! I swear, you always do this!"
"I'm starting to think the reason that you two broke up wasn't just because Marie spread rumors that you were gay." Said Cid.
All of us turn to him. I hear Claire kick him underneath the table.
"Ow." Said Cid in a voice that indicated he took no damage and had no regrets.
Yuna sighs, then her eyes flicker back and forth. "Wait… your sister's name was Hanabi, wasn't it?"
"It was." I confirmed, "But now she goes by Marie."
Yuna stands while loudly slamming her hands on the table. "SHE'S HERE!? WHERE IS SHE!"
I know I've spent the better part of my time here trying to say I wouldn't so much as look at another woman, but I have to admit that when Yuna stood up with her mana flaring, her pupils becoming slit, and certain parts of her bouncing due the fast movement… I had to cross my legs.
"I've moved on already." I said.
This shocks Yuna right out of her rage. "What…?"
"Look, I'm pissed too." I said. "I hate what led to my death. But I can't just blame it all on other people. As desperate as I was to clear my name, I knew how bad of an idea it was to stay up so many nights in a row to clear the game… wait, you know we're in a game's world right?"
"What?" asked Yuna, shocked.
Okay, this is going to take a bit.
-Louise/Yuna-
I rub my head as Hiro finishes telling me everything he knew.
"I…" I do my best to try and form words. "I knew that there was a series. I just never paid attention to it because of… well you can guess."
Hiro's rather annoying friend shakes his head, "Well, not like it matters. So much of what we do know from the games doesn't seem to really apply anymore. For instance, Marie said you weren't a vampire there."
I run my tongue over my teeth. Neat.
"Hm. Are you sure? I'll admit that aside from the difference in body temperature and some other magical things I can't say there's any major differences between a human and vampire. Plus, if it was an Otome game I'd imagine there wasn't too much effort put into my sprites." I said.
The three simply shrugged.
"You'd have to ask Marie." Explained Hiro's lover. "And even then she said that her memory isn't perfect because she was only really into the first game. The other ones were things she played every now and again to relax but her most vivid memories came from the first one."
"Right. She also said that it'd been years since she played the sequels anyway. She just remembered the stuff from the first game because she played it pretty close to her death." Said Cid.
"Hm… I do recall that she was beaten to death by her drunk husband." I revealed. I see Hiro's face move a bit before he relaxes. Hah, classic Hiro. No matter how mad he was with his sister he'd always be concerned about her. That's why I usually was the one to get mad on his behalf.
"What about you?"
"Hm?"
"What was your life like after he went?" Claire said. "You're clearly still into him."
I took a deep breath.
"Well…
After Hiro died I was a wreck. See, I had been doing my best to try and contact him for a couple of years at that point, but no one but his family knew his contact information because he changed numbers and moved cities.
I thought about you often, you know? I thought we were going to get married.
I know it was dumb of me to just believe the rumors. But… with how popular you are with girls, with how long it took for me to get you to give me a chance… with how distant you were at the time saying it was because of work…
I… I just… Ugh.
I went to your parents' house about a week after you died. I didn't know you were dead yet. But I thought I should maybe check on you. I was planning to maybe convince you to give women another chance.
But when I got there… I saw your shrine in your parents home. The funeral wasn't for another month, but your parents already had gotten a hold of your stuff.
I saw the ring you bought for me.
I saw the little speech you had in notecards ready to read for me.
I saw the future I gave up… I… *sob*"
"Yuna…" said Hiro as he walked over to me, comforting me by rubbing my head as I sobbed like he always used to.
His lover, Claire, even offered me a handkerchief.
"S-sorry." I apologized. "L-let me finish. *sniff* See, things didn't just end with my heart shattered. No. I thought the best thing I could do is get revenge, just like you would have wanted. You know, it was me that made your old company go bankrupt. I used that business degree I had to rise up in my parents' business, and got so influential that I was able to start outing black companies everywhere… I'm pretty sure that's why I ended up dying after eating something, but I was satisfied with my revenge anyway so I didn't try too hard to live."
"I thought you always lived by the thought of 'the best revenge is to seek your own happiness.'?" Cid asked.
"It is… in this life." Admitted Hiro. "I mean, I still think about getting even, but I was a vindictive piece of shit in my last life."
I nodded with a slight smiles. "He was. Did you know? One time in high school some people tried to bully him, so he shoved them off a bridge into a river. They lived, but no one messed with him after."
Claire preens, "That's my man."
"That was my man." I said with a huff. "Your man is apparently too good for that."
"My man has a mech and several ships." Bragged Claire. "And my brother has the money to fund a private militia."
I looked at the two men.
"A mech?" I asked.
Hiro nodded.
I smiled, "You always liked Gundams and all that other stuff you had to put together. I remember buying you some collector's item for one of our anniversaries."
"That was the Lego death star," pointed out Hiro, making me happy that he remembered. "But yeah, it was a great gift."
I then pointed at his friend, "You're the one with that Mitsugoshi business right? How'd that even come about?"
He shrugged. "You'd have to ask my fiancé Luna."
"Fine, keep your secrets." I said. "In any case… Hiro…"
I looked at him and Claire.
"Would… would you have ever given me a second chance back then?" I asked. I know it too selfish to ask now. I… I just wanted to see him, at least once. I wanted to make sure he was alive. I want to make sure he's happy. If he was single that'd be one thing. But…
"I don't know if Hiro would have ever forgiven Yuna." He said. I feel my heart shatter into pieces as a result.
"Okay… there was something you needed a favor for right? You can leave a letter and I'll." I try to leave but he catches my arm.
"But my name's Leon." He said with that same nervous smile that I loved. The one he wore when he asked me out on a date for the first time. "And, I'd like to be able to be your friend Louise."
I smile. I'm happy. I am, but I can't help but ask, "Just friends?"
Leon opens his mouth but Claire cuts him off.
"You need to work your way up like the rest of us." She declared, "if you want to be his lover, first you gotta be his friend. You can get formally engaged if it'll keep other people away, but if you want to really stay in his heart you gotta get approval of his two wives."
Leon blushed madly.
I had a chance.
"How far can friends go?" I asked as I held his hand with a strong grip. Leon looked to Cid in panic but Cid took a sudden interest in the plants.
"One kiss." Said Claire. "But no tongue."
"Claire!?"
"Shush, I saw you cross your legs earlier."
"None?" I asked as I started to pull Leon closer.
"Rules are rules." Said Claire.
I sighed but then immediately pounced on Leon.
Chu~!*
I pull back from Leon's now scarlet face.
"You said you needed a favor, right?" I asked, enjoying how it takes a few moments to gain his senses.
"I… uh… yeah…" said Leon.
He then went on to go explain what his plans were.
To which I have to say:
Best revenge is living well, my ass.
-P2W-
In a hospital room a man sat with casts over his arms and legs. He was accompanied by a thin woman with long dark blue ahir.
"Say ah." Said the woman.
"Y-you really don't need to-"
"It wasn't a choice." Said the woman.
"A-ah…" said the man finally, accepting the food being offered to him.
The man was Jean, Noelle the dog's owner and Noelle the human's friend.
The woman was Carla. Aka Charlie of The Shadow Garden.
"Seriously, I think the doctors said I should move my arms a bit. These are more of sprains at this point rather than broken."
"You will accept my help and like it."
"Okay…"
.
.
.
A/N: I feel like I could have done another segment but I'm not exactly sure it'd fit with the chapter. I'm also drawing a bit of a blank on what to do and what not to when it comes to Minoru.
I'd like a segment or two about Minoru meeting all the reincarnations of the seven shadows, but I'm worried I'll get all the characterizations wrong. Except Teresa, she's pretty simple as far as I can tell.
I dunno, I might just skip to the boss fight of this room. We did kinda go over some of the memories that would make up this room through other characters. Like when Alpha and Aurora had those flashbacks.
Next we'll see Leon cementing his position and helping out Noelle in a very Leon-like way. Afterword there's going to be some development for Noelle and a quick return to Holfort.
Epsilon is currently in Oriana on her mission, so she's not going to be able to do much right now. Otherwise, is there anything you guys would like to see on the Eminence in Shadow side of things?
Now let's answer the comments:
SB
MWKillKenny84: Yeah, she specifically was referring to then. She says that if it weren't for him killing himself by doing the weeklong marathon he'd have gotten stabbed by a yandere girl probably. I think that means he's got a type considering Olivia.
Azure the Dragon: No, this was a scene from canon. Here Leila was realizing that someone was probably going to go to the dungeon.
Although making Leon friends with Leila in the past would be funny. But if that was a typo and you meant "girlfriend" then I'm pretty sure that would imply really bad things about Leon considering what Leila's last life was like.
Unless it was something funny like they never actually were dating and Leila just thought they were, going back to the idea that Leon was totally going to get stabbed at some point.
No one commented on the last chapter.
Someone ani: Thanks! If you have any input over the three heroes I'd like suggestions.
Ao3
JackTheMemer: Oh yeah huh. You know, as far as I can tell Mary the vampire hunter never expressed interest in Cid. Why not make her Claire's girlfriend? Seems like it'd be fun.
Wolfpaladin: Never meet your heroes Narcisse. Especially when you forget the need to make money so they can eat.
I probably could have made the meeting messier, but Louise lived till about her 50s… but also it wasn't the crimson moon… yet.
Lmao, yeah. What's funny is that in most fanfics where Hertrauda lives, she ends up with Leon. Sometimes instead of Hertrude.
Olivier basically had her first crush. From what I can tell Olivier doesn't have any boys her age around her at all, with all the scientists in the cult being old men and all the others probably being her opponents. So when she saw Minoru with his Excalibur out she went "Ooh nice."
From there them constantly meeting and teaming up made her like him. Especially, as said in the flashback when Alpha gained her memories, Minoru always treated Olivier like a person rather than a test subject or Hero.
He also hasn't developed the frei line yet. That's probably something I should do next chapter.
I had done that timing by accident honestly. Lol.
I'm not sure Handsome Jack works although I do get what you mean. I do think that the halo armor makes sense for Luxion, he feels right in a robot body more than a human one.
DivineDemonDragon: Clue-by-four? I don't know what that means. Unless you mean punching her in the face or something.
Minoru's using anything but a sword at this point. And if he was, then he probably wasn't using the ordinary style seeing as how he never learned it in this life unlike how he would as Cid.
I think the psychological issues are the main trigger. That's why Delta and Gamma were first.
BOY4_GOW:
1. Well, no. Narcisse is just a fan. Serge would be the only actual adventurer.
2. No, that's not until the events of volume 6.
3. I'll include more interactions with Louise and her family, especially during the events of volume 6. Because I felt like at this point, since I didn't reset Leon like canon did, he's more mature with it.
Totntotbt: I want to say yes, but I can't think of a good way to have all of them in the same room at the same time without some kind of crack omake.
Lmao, that's a funny idea.
That's not for a while, but it would have been interesting to have the blood moon interrupt the meeting.
You know, I feel like BB Dubai and Grown up Hans fits really well as expy bodies. Heck, I think Kiara led a cult at one point, maybe having the kid and adult versions of her act as an expy to mirror Luxion as hans would work well.
NateDraco: I'll respond to your chapter directly. But as for your comment on my fic, thanks. I always hated Pierre too, so I felt it'd be funny to just make him unimportant.