"I was just joking."
"Hmm?" Suddenly, Eriri's mind cleared, and her tears stopped as if a switch had been flipped.
Her delicate, slender eyebrows furrowed, and her little tiger teeth peeked out as she shot a fierce, yet cute, glare at Hojou Kyousuke.
"You're joking at such a touching mont in the ga?"
Eriri pointed at the screen where the male protagonist, standing on a tree, reached out his arm to the female protagonist who was trapped on a castle balcony.
The knight, having transcended his role, was confessing to the princess, who he was ant to protect.
This was Eriri's favorite route and her most cherished ending in the ga.
But Hojou, this fool! How could he joke during such an emotional mont? It was unforgivable!
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry. Don't be so mad. After all, it's a ga seen from a female perspective, so I can't really relate to it," Kyousuke said, acknowledging that the ga was well-made, with each scenario perfectly designed to tug at the hearts of won.
But he was a guy! Even as an emotional coach, he didn't have that kind of empathy.
"But, 'Little Love Rhapsody'... This ga is so well done..." Eriri said, unwilling to admit defeat.
"I'm not saying it's not good."
"The encounter between the knight and the princess at the start, their playful monts outside the castle, it perfectly creates that sense of a surprising encounter that transcends social status."
"It satisfies both the thrill of breaking taboos and the fantasies of young girls."
"Then there's the princess, feeling frustrated when she sees the knight surrounded by other girls, but unable to act due to her position."
"The princess trapped in the castle, watching the noblen below, hiding in her lonely little world on the balcony, missing her knight, drowning in sadness."
"And in the end, when the knight appears, they both break through the barriers of their roles, and the lovers are united."
"The lovers are united" — Kyousuke said this in English, before explaining it in Japanese.
"You idiot..."
Eriri's mouth dropped open as she stared at Kyousuke with wide, blue eyes in disbelief.
'What is wrong with this guy?' She thought he wasn't even paying attention to the ga, but here he was, analyzing the plot in detail.
"What? Did I say sothing wrong?" Hearing the familiar "idiot," Kyousuke thought Eriri had found so flaw in his analysis.
"No, you're not even playing the ga properly!"
Slightly discouraged, Eriri placed the controller down on the table.
She wasn't happy.
She had wanted to share her favorite ga with this "interested fool," but this was the result?
"How about I try playing myself? It's a female perspective, and watching you play doesn't get into it, so I really can't feel the emotions."
Looking at Eriri's delicate face still streaked with tear marks, her eyes dull and lacking their usual sparkle, and the way she hiccupped a little like a helpless child, Kyousuke sighed.
'Oh, right. I've been the one playing all along...'
Eriri forced a dry laugh and returned the ga to the initial screen before handing the controller back to him.
"Aren't you going to change the na?" Eriri asked.
"No need. 'Eri' is a fine na," Kyousuke replied.
He wouldn't admit it, but he was terrible at coming up with nas.
If he didn't use Eriri's na, he'd likely give the character sothing ridiculous, like naming her after the protagonist's hair color.
"You're supposed to go out the left door here."
"No, I like the blue one."
"Hey, that old man's story is key to the plot! Why aren't you listening?"
"It's such a good ti, why waste it on stuff like that? Let's go explore sowhere else."
"Pick the first one!"
Eriri, watching the character with her na dash off down the unknown path, grew frantic and grabbed Kyousuke's arm, shaking it desperately.
"Why don't you play?" Sighing, Kyousuke let his arm fall.
"Alright!"
How could Eriri refuse? She hadn't played this ga in years, and she could easily lose herself for an entire day and night.
But as her hand reached out, she suddenly realized she was the one recomnding the ga to him.
"Hehe," she chuckled awkwardly, retracting her hand.
Raising his arm, Kyousuke quickly picked the most absurd option.
"Hey, you can't pick that one. There's no ending for that branch."
But despite Eriri's attempts to stop him, she couldn't help but endure, though she still didn't hold back from expressing her thoughts.
Ignoring her, Kyousuke continued into the plot.
The princess cut through everything in her path.
The knight, whom Eriri had just played, was stripped of his title for overstepping his bounds.
The bard from another branch of the story was exiled for disturbing the city's appearance.
The king's concubine's son was imprisoned in a power struggle, and the princess's iron cavalry destroyed a neighboring kingdom.
Watching the princess, with "Eri" as her na, morph into a tyrant who defeated every male lead in the story, Eriri's bright blue eyes gradually lost their luster.
'No! This shouldn't be happening! What is going on? What happened to this world?'
The plot reached its climax, and the princess had conquered all surrounding nations.
Now wearing a bright red gown and a golden crown, the queen stood alone on a little hill that she used to gaze upon from her balcony before becoming queen.
Below her, a seemingly endless army and subjects knelt in worship.
Eriri had never played this far before.
As soon as she saw the male leads exit the scene one by one, she quickly returned to the starting point and declared that this was a dead end.
This was not the ending an oto ga should have, it shouldn't even be called an ending!
"This ending isn't that bad, though," Kyousuke said, finishing the ga, excited.
Eriri really was a proper otaku teacher.
Even though it was his first ti playing, he felt the thrill. It was a good ga!
"It's horrible! The princess ends up all alone in the end. No knight, no sworn brother, no prince. It's the most twisted ending possible!"
"But it was fun."
"Without companionship, she'll be lonely," Eriri retorted.
"And what about you? When you're drawing alone, do you feel lonely?"
Kyousuke turned his head and pointed at the cabinet next to Eriri's desk where she stored her art drafts.
There were so many pieces of her work; it was clear she spent all her free ti making them.
"That's different!"
"How is it different? The princess is alone, but she created a great empire."
"Everyone kneels before her, and there are no rules to bind her anymore."
"If she wants, she could capture those knights, bards, and brothers and lock them in her harem."
"You, too, endure loneliness, but you've gained unparalleled drawing skills. You're about to debut as a writer."
"My manga protagonist, Saitama, may be invincible and lonely, but he no longer has any worries."
"No, it's not like that..." Looking at the queen in her red gown, Eriri's mind wandered.
She saw herself in green sportswear, drawing late into the night, fueled by that sa belief.
Her vision grew worse, but she kept drawing, one piece after another, and beca the true princess—not by family or appearance, but through her own hard-earned skill.
When others spoke of her, they first ntioned her unparalleled drawing talent, and only after that did they talk about anything else.
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