Chapter 1
I, Mariko Takahashi, am a high school student at Kashiki High School.
I was living an ordinary life without any problems, but in my second year of high school, I heard that a transfer student had arrived in the class next to mine, so I went to see her with my friend.
When I sneaked a look at the new student through the classroom door, I heard a voice somewhere in my head say, “The game has started.
The game is on…”
A woman's somewhat dumb voice.
I asked her if her friend had said something when I heard her voice, which sounded like she was muttering to herself, but she said she hadn't said anything.
I wondered if it was my imagination. I thought, and when I turned my attention back to the new student, I heard the voice in my head again.
'You're the quintessential hero, you're so cute! This is not going to shut up the attack character.
Indeed, the transfer student is cute.
Her face is well-defined though she looks simple, and her waist-length golden hair is swaying in the breeze that comes in through the window. It was like a scene from a movie.
But I don't understand what he means by “attack character. What is this voice anyway? Is it a blank ear? Is there such a thing as a clear-cut “blank ear”?
When I thought of that and recalled the words I had just heard once more, a great deal of information flowed into my mind.
It was like a runaway light as images flashed through my mind.
Lots of good-looking guys.
The figure of a transfer student reflected there.
The image of someone hugging someone with the sunset in the background.
It was only for a moment that I remembered the images. But for me, it felt as if I had been watching the images for a long time.
A sharp pain hit my head and I crouched down on the spot.
My friends who were around me were worried and tried to talk to me, but I was too sorry to hear their voices because I realized a terrible truth: I was in a place where I could not hear them.
(This is the world of “Kimiharu,” which stands for “Kimi no Moku no Seishun wo!
Kimiharu is an Otome game that I loved in my previous life, that is, before I was born into this world.
In the spring of my sophomore year of high school, the main character moves for her parents' reasons and falls in love with a handsome guy at the high school she moved to.
This game was very popular for a while. One of the reasons for its popularity is the sensitive portrayal of the main character's emotions. The main character's feelings for the character she is capturing. The game expressed in detail the feelings that cannot be conveyed by just saying “I love you,” and the girls in the world shed tears or blushed along with the main character.
The storyline, although set in an ordinary setting, makes good use of it to make the audience feel as if they were really reliving their youth all over again. The story is set in a short period of one year from the time they meet to the time they get together, but it is packed with so much content that after clearing it, you will feel as if you have finished reading a full-length epic.
Above all, the stills are beautiful. Not only the characters are beautiful, but also the backgrounds, skies, and clothes are so detailed that I could not help but sigh in admiration every time a still was shown.
It would be strange not to like such a game.
In a previous life, I was crazy about that game.
I loved it so much that I devoted my once-in-a-lifetime high school youth to the game, and even after graduating from high school, I bought every item I could get my hands on and kept my favorite character as a standby on my phone for years to come.
Yes, the reason I fell in love with the game so much is because of the characters I guessed.
One of the characters to capture my attention is Kurogane Taga.
When the main character was a sophomore in high school, he was a senior one year above the senior in high school, a loner delinquent character with a cool personality.
He was ranked 3rd out of 7 players in the ranking of game purchasers, but he was always No. 1 in my opinion.
I liked him the best. I liked her so much that I was willing to devote everything to her. No, I love it. I still love him.
He always looked at me with an angry expression, wrinkled his brow, and glared at me, and I fell in love with him at first sight. It was a beautiful fall.
I miss my high school days when I told my friends rather seriously that I wanted to marry someone like Toraga….
And now, here I am. I am in the world of the game, and I am a second-year high school student just like the main character.
In other words. I can secretly watch and hopefully hear the voice of the character I'm most interested in!
I resisted the urge to go insane, apologized to my friends for worrying them, and hurried back to the classroom.
In the game, the main character meets the attacked character at the entrance ceremony.
He meets Toraga on the rooftop after school. When the protagonist goes to the rooftop alone, he finds Toramasa lying on his back and looking at the sky. The protagonist leaves the rooftop in a hurry.
But this is not a game.
The fact that the protagonist went to the rooftop after school and met Toramasa means…
–If I go to the rooftop after school, I have a chance to see Toraga in the flesh…
Once I decided that, I didn't hesitate.
I want to hate myself for not remembering and wasting a year of my life.
Now that I remember, I want to burn Toraga into my eyes, even if it's just for a second.
I won't be able to see him after I graduate from high school anyway. If that is the case, I will do my best to pursue Toraga during this last year of my high school life.
I am not a stalker. I will say it again. I am not a stalker.
I just worship him sometimes in secret with all my might.
Making excuses to myself, I waited for that moment after school every second.
The school chime sounded and the after-school period arrived.
I told my friends that I had something to do and ran out of the classroom alone, sneaking behind the stairs near the rooftop to wait for the protagonist.
After a while, I heard the sound of the main character going up the stairs leading to the rooftop.
I'm sure of it, because I saw him sneak up. It was definitely the main character who went up the stairs. There was no one else there, not even the blonde.
A few moments later, I heard the sound of someone rushing down the stairs.
That sound made me realize that the protagonist had met Toraga.
My heart was pounding.
I sneakily sneak up the stairs so as not to make a sound.
(I only saw him for a little bit, just a little bit.)
I know he is on the rooftop, but if I don't go now, when will I go?
I know he's there, so I have to go. No matter what anyone says, I'm going. One glance and I'm satisfied. Just a glimpse, just a glimpse of his face is all I need. ……
I put my hand on the doorknob on the rooftop and was about to gently open the door so as not to make a sound, when the door was opened by a force that was not my own.
Words cannot fully express how I was feeling at that moment.
Because the door opened by itself, you know? What, what is this, an automatic door only here? How is that possible? Why would there be an automatic door in this room, and why would there be an automatic door in a closet?
In other words, this door was not an automatic door, but was opened by someone's power, and there was only one person on the roof.
“You're in my way!”
I was frozen in a pose with my back hunched and my hand on the doorknob, when I heard a low, earth-crawling voice coming from above my head. Hearing that voice like an overwhelming champion, the average student would tremble and unintentionally utter words of apology. He has a mysterious power that is hard to believe for such a high school student.
There is only one owner of that voice that I have heard over and over again, but I can't believe it.
“Hey, can you hear me?”
His voice was even angrier than before.
My body trembled at the sound of that voice. But that made my body move, as if I was in bondage.
Slowly, I looked up.
I could see the shirt of the person in front of me, and then I saw his neck, and when I lifted my own neck as high as I could, I saw his face.
At that moment. I froze again as I looked at him, feeling a variety of emotions that I could not contain.
But what was different from before was that my body was shaking with emotions that I was not sure if they were nervousness, excitement, or joy. And the tears that spontaneously overflowed.
Without blinking, the tears streamed down my cheeks, ran down my chin, lost their destination, and fell down according to gravity, wetting the floor.
In my view, Toraga's expression of discomfort gradually changed to one of astonishment when he saw my tears. Seeing the change in his expression up close, I was moved to tears.
I must apologize to him. I had to move my body immediately.
I was thinking this in my head, but my mouth said something else.
I love you.”
I was surprised that I said it. But the words came out so naturally, just like when you see something beautiful and naturally say “beautiful.
Once the words are out, they can never be brought back in. And the feelings I had once expressed could not be brought back either.
The only thing that came to mind was myself in my previous life.
I could only see him in games, only in illustrations.
I could only see him in games, only in illustrations. I only knew him as he was drawn. I only knew his expression in the illustration. The rest is only in my imagination.
But the man in front of me was real, and the expressions he gave me were all him, all of them were real…
I love him.
Oh, I love him. I really like him, not because he's my favorite character or anything, but because I really like him and love him with all my heart, but he's a game character and two-dimensional, so it's impossible for me to confess my love to him, but he's alive right in front of my eyes.
I straightened my shaking body and looked straight at him.
I couldn't think of anything else. I just want to tell him everything I think of him.
I want to tell him everything I'm thinking about. Please don't say anything, just listen to me.”
I think I said it selfishly.
I looked into his eyes and saw a deeper crease between his eyebrows.
But my words did not stop there.
I have always loved you, Kurotetsu-san. Because you were there, my life was colored with color and became a precious memory. Because I loved, loved …… Mr. Kurotetsu, every day was so much fun.”
What I remember is my previous life.
Yes, every day was fun because he was there and I loved this game. I read various novels, looked at illustrations, wrote my own novels, and made friends through the game. I also made a best friend with whom I could understand everything.
My belongings naturally became more and more black, the color of Toraga's image, and I was surrounded by his goods. No matter how hard it was, I was able to do my best.
Because Kurotetsu-san exists, I am happy every day.”
I can't stop crying. I don't know what kind of expression Toraga has on his face right now because my vision is blurred.
I wanted to see his face for even a second longer, but now I can only vaguely see his dark hair and skin color.
I love this world in which you live. Thank you. Thank you for being born.”
I have always, always wanted to tell you.
How many times have I been saved by your presence?
You may think I am exaggerating. It is no exaggeration to say that you are my hope for life.
My throat hurts because I had to hold back my desire to cry out loud and say the words out loud. Besides, if I spoke out again, I would probably cry out loud like a child. I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to cause more trouble than I had already caused.
The truth is, I have more things I want to tell you. I have more things I want to tell you, more things I want to tell you that would take hours to tell you.
But that was enough. I was able to tell him I loved him. I could say thank you.
How lucky I am. To be able to express my feelings and to have my heart broken.
Ah, I am happy. I'm glad I was born. I'm glad to have lived.
I felt my heart lighten.
And with that lightened heart, I turned my back on Toraga and started to run.
I didn't care if I fell or fell down the stairs. I just didn't want to cause him any more trouble, so I ran desperately to get out of sight.
Then I went home and cried as loudly as I had held back.
I cried so hard that I feared I would never stop because no matter how much I cried, the tears would never stop.
I even forgot why I was crying in the middle of it, but I still couldn't stop crying.
I wondered how long it was before the tears stopped.
I suddenly thought back to my actions.
A girl I didn't know suddenly cried, confessed something I didn't understand, and ran away after saying only what she wanted to say.
I just said what I wanted to say and ran away. ……… This is a suspicious person, isn't it?
If I were in Toraga's shoes, I'd be very upset.
I'd call the police. What's with the “I've always loved you” …… stalker ……? I'm not sure why a woman I don't know would say thank you for being born…. Scary…I'm even scared …….
(Let's take a break from school for a while…)
I rolled over in bed, and with a brain that could finally think normally, I made that decision.
