I was just thankful that Katarina herself, being as dense as she was, didn’t notice what I was doing.
The shopkeeper’s bell rang, and the last customer left. The restaurant was closed for the night. Regina told me to go outside and put up the “closed” sign, and when I came back, I found her talking with Katarina and the old woman working at the restaurant. The three seemed to be having fun.
“Well done. Nobody seeing you work like that could guess that you’re a noblewoman,” I told her, and she thanked me and smiled. It was kind of a back-handed compliment, but she was so happy nonetheless. Her innocent joy was really a sight to behold.
I then asked about how things had gone, and she started giving me details about waiting tables at the restaurant. That wasn’t what I’d meant. She had obviously forgotten about her mission. I sighed and explained what I was talking about, and her eyes widened.
“Ah!” she gasped, looking shocked. She really had forgotten. Katarina always tried her hardest, but when she focused on one thing, she tended to forget everything else.
“You forgot about it, didn’t you? Just as I thought. You probably had your hands full though, it being your first day as a waitress,” I told her, and she apologized.
“But if there are even more customers tomorrow, gathering information will also be even more difficult,” I added.
“You’re right… What can we do?” she asked.
Things weren’t looking good. I wished I could help more, but since I was standing in a corner, I could only hear the conversations going on close to me. Also, as a bouncer, it’d be weird if I just started prowling around the restaurant.
“Don’t worry,” Regina chimed in.
She explained that she used her Wind Magic to listen to all the conversations that were going on in the restaurant at all times. I thought that, when she was being hit on at the counter, she seemed very uninterested, and this explained it. She wasn’t just bored… She was actually busy listening to all the other customers.
My opinion of her changed now that I knew that she was actually working surprisingly hard. Unfortunately, she also said that she hadn’t heard anything about the kidnapping. It wasn’t going to be so easy.
“But the more customers we get, the more likely we are to find something. If you all work hard, I’m sure we’ll find the information you need! Anyway, I’ll worry about the intel, so you can focus on waiting tables,” Regina finally said before disappearing to the back of the restaurant.
Katarina looked relieved that she could just focus on one thing. I then joined her and the old woman in cleaning the floor.
Katarina was used to cleaning from doing it at the Ministry, and she was actually so good with a mop that, yet again, she really didn’t look like a noblewoman. When we were almost finished, Katarina started talking with me.
“Since we also serve alcohol here, I was worried that I’d get harassed by drunk guys, but thankfully nothing of the sort happened,” she told me.
Just as I thought, she didn’t notice what I was doing. To be honest, I thought that I overdid it, but as long as she didn’t notice it, that was fine. I went along with the misconception she had formed of how things had gone, and she commented that I must have had little to do as a bouncer. She easily accepted my agreement.
I thought that the more we talked about this, the more likely it was for me to slip up and say something that I shouldn’t, so I decided to go straight to bed.
However, I was worried about whether Katarina could make it to her room. I was so used to waiting for her that I did it here too. When she finally came out, I told her that we should go to our respective rooms, but all of a sudden, she said, “Sora, I heard from Regina that you were actually keeping the drunks from bothering me. I’m sorry I didn’t notice! Thank you.”
I didn’t know how to reply. That woman and her big mouth.
“…It’s what I was hired to do. You don’t have to thank me,” I said. Being thanked after pretending not to have done anything was embarrassing, and I couldn’t manage to say anything more than that.
“But you’re always saving me in one way or another. Thank you, really,” Katarina added while tugging on my back to turn me around. My heart rate immediately rose and my face went red.
I was frustrated, and I showed that by ruffling her hair. She complained, but when I told her to go back to her room, she said goodnight and thankfully did as I ordered. After seeing her enter her room, I went into mine.
It took a while for my heart and face to go back to normal.
Being around Katarina always messed me up, and maybe because of that, that night I had a dream about something I hadn’t thought about in a while. It was a memory of when I lived in the slums and I got on the wrong side of some thugs. I thought I was going to die, but a friend came to help me at the last moment. Everyone had their hands full trying to survive, so being saved like that stood out even more. I clearly remembered that being the only time such a thing ever happened. I wondered how that friend was doing right now.
Just after I woke up the next morning, I heard a loud noise nearby. It sounded like it came from the hallway, but we were supposed to be the only ones using this employee space. I walked out of my room to check but I saw no one. That didn’t make sense though, so I went down the hallway toward the restaurant and glimpsed someone in the kitchen. I took a better look and saw that it was Maria Campbell, working on something.
“What are you doing?” I asked her, and she looked surprised.
“Sora? Why are you here?”
“I heard a noise and came to check.”
“Did I wake you up? I’m sorry…” She bowed her head apologetically.
“Don’t worry, I was already up,” I told her, “and anyway, what are you doing so early in the morning?”
“I wanted to prepare some things before having to cook for the restaurant…” she said, blushing.
“Isn’t this way too early?”
The restaurant served lunch as well as dinner, but there was still a lot of time until it opened. I didn’t understand why one would need to already start preparing.
“I talked with Regina, and we decided that, starting from today, we’ll be serving different dishes, as well as dessert at lunchtime. So I wanted to be ready,” she explained.
Maria was a really diligent girl, and Regina was taking advantage of that to make her work. I’d already noticed it during our undercover mission at the castle, but this girl never spared any effort. And, unlike someone else, Maria was actually talented enough that her efforts usually bore fruit, making people’s expectations grow, and in turn, making her work even harder. One really had to worry about her.
“Listen, Campbell, I agree that getting more customers to the restaurant could help us gather information, but you don’t have to do it all by yourself. If there’s anything that I can help with, just tell me, okay?”
She looked shocked for a moment. “You talk just like Lady Katarina…” she said with a smile.
“Lady Katarina?” I repeated after her, confused.
“Yes. She always tells me not to shoulder everything alone and to rely on her more,” she explained, looking delighted as she did so.
Her face practically had “I love you, Lady Katarina!” printed on it.
“You really like her, don’t you?” I asked her.
“Yes!” she said, looking even happier, “Lady Katarina is…”
She started rambling about the noble lady she loved so much. She told me about how Katarina had stood up for her at the Academy, how cool she’d looked while doing so, and so on and so forth. Her stories, which made Katarina sound like anything but the daughter of a duke, were really interesting.
“Oh, sorry… I got heated up and talked so much…” she concluded after a fair bit of time.
“No, I had fun listening,” I told her, and she smiled again.
“I want to become more like Lady Katarina, and I want her to rely on me too. This is why I am here in the kitchen so early… I want to improve myself,” she said. Her eyes were so passionate that you could tell at a glance how strong of a girl she was. Maria wasn’t your stereotypical damsel in distress.
“I see. Let me help though. What should I do?”
“Oh, th-thank you. In that case…”
I started helping her, just a little bit, as she gave me directions. I couldn’t help but feel that while Katarina’s fiancée, her brother, and all the other men around her were vying for her affections, Maria could actually be the strongest candidate to win that race.
★★★★★
I got up because I needed to use the toilet, and the sun was already up.
As I sluggishly returned from the bathroom, I heard voices coming from the restaurant and went to check. I spotted Maria and Sora speaking enthusiastically in the kitchen.
I wanted to ask them what they were doing up so early, but I also didn’t want to bother them, since they seemed to be having fun, so I just went back to my room to sleep again. The restaurant wouldn’t be open until lunchtime anyway. The blankets weren’t warm anymore, and I couldn’t fall asleep straight away, so I thought of Sora and Maria, together in the kitchen.
Those two, a beautiful girl and a handsome boy, looked so good together. They were just like protagonists in a story. Well, in Fortune Lover II one of them was the protagonist and the other one of the main characters, so, in a sense, they were protagonists in a story. That also explained why they looked so good together. They seemed to be enjoying each other’s company, and I didn’t want to turn it into a crowd and stifle their romance.
In the world of that otome game, I was a villainess, so I couldn’t really help it… Hm?! I remembered that, indeed, I was still the villainess even in the sequel! Stifling the romance between Maria and her love interests… That was exactly my role in the game. Katarina Claes was, after all, the heroine’s main antagonist.
The previous day, while I was going through my belongings, I remembered this fact after I saw the Dark Covenant and I thought I had to ask Sora about his feelings… But I’d already forgotten about it again. What’s wrong with me?
Even in my previous life, I never noticed danger and forgot about everything else the moment I started focusing on something. Teachers even wrote that on my record. But this kind of careless behavior wasn’t going to cut it now that I was threatened with doom. I have to try harder! I got out of bed and started rummaging through my stuff.
Not this one… Not this one either… Here it is!
I threw things here and there on the floor until I found what I was looking for: the Bad End Avoidance Notebook II. I had actually happily disposed of the first one as soon as I graduated from the Academy without any Bad Ends actually happening, thinking that I didn’t need it anymore. So I had to make a new one for the sequel.
This notebook also contained the mysterious note that I’d found in one of the books that Sophia had lent me. This note, written in Japanese, explained some details of Fortune Lover II, which I’d never played myself. Since nobody knew Japanese in this world, it was probably written by someone who, much like me, was reincarnated here after playing the game. I tried finding out who was behind it, but it was all in vain. Still, for me, who hadn’t played the sequel at all, this note was worth its weight in gold. I unfolded the note and started reading it.
“A new tale of love at the Magical Ministry!” it announced, listing all the new romanceable options, including Sora.
“The old love interests are back along with the old rival characters, and befriending them or gaining their approval will be vital to progress through the game. The main hurdle in finding success with the new love interests will be fighting a mysterious girl who has come to hinder the protagonist,” it then said before disclosing that girl’s identity.
“It is later revealed that this girl is Katarina Claes, who was exiled from the kingdom in the previous game. Katarina holds a grudge against the protagonist for having caused her exile, and she becomes a Dark Magic user to sneak back into the country and into the Ministry, looking for revenge against Maria. In order to obtain the Happy End, the protagonist, together with the love interests, must overcome the threat of Katarina and reveal her identity to the authorities, resulting in the villainess being thrown in jail. Should the protagonist fail, Katarina and Maria will kill each other in a duel and the love interests will fall prey to Dark Magic.”
The truth was too much for me to handle. Every time I read it, I ended up depressed and asking myself why Katarina would want to go back to the kingdom. If it were me, I’d just live the rest of my life peacefully as a farmer…
And this time, my options were either jail or death, making it even worse than in FL1. At least back then I could angle for being exiled and then go work on a farm somewhere abroad…but I’d have no such option in the sequel.
The most important thing, however, was that I risked interfering with Maria and Sora’s romance. The three of us were on missions together so often that I’d forgotten about it. And I also wanted to ask Sora how he felt about Maria, but his expression when talking with her earlier told me that he probably liked her.
I had the Dark Covenant, I had a Dark Familiar (Pochi), and now I even risked hindering the protagonist’s love… Could I ever be set up to be more of a villainess?!
I really have to do something! If I don’t…
Meeting chairwoman: Katarina Claes.
Meeting representative: Katarina Claes.
Meeting secretary: Katarina Claes.
“In consideration of both the treacherous situation we find ourselves in and the need to avoid any Catastrophic Bad End, let us commence a strategy meeting.”
“This is bad. Why are we getting closer and closer to really being the game’s antagonist?”
“We’re just living peacefully, without bothering anyone…”
“Are we though?”
“What? You mean we aren’t?”
“I don’t think we’re actively bothering anyone, but are we really, like…peaceful?”
“I think we’ve always been. Right?”
“Ahem. Let’s focus here. We should talk about the current situation.”
“So, the fact that Katarina risks being an obstacle to the development of Sora and Maria’s love?”
“Precisely. In the sequel, Katarina begets her doom by hindering the protagonist in her romance. Our standing as an unwanted third wheel is precisely what the game expects and, therefore, it is very bad.”
“So we’re doomed?!”
“We still aren’t done practicing lock-picking! How are we going to escape from jail?!”
“Jail is the best-case scenario! What if we’re killed?!”
“Ahhh! This is awful! Terrible! What can we do?!”
“Please, everyone, calm down. Doom may be a threat, but not a close one yet. It will only fall upon us if we fail to act swiftly.”
“I see… So we’re only going to be doomed later. Whew.”
“Oh, then why don’t we go and check on Maria? Yesterday she said she’d make sweets!”
“That’s nice! I wonder what she’ll bake. I’m already looking forward to it!”
“Don’t calm down that much! How can you be so relaxed all of a sudden?! Going near Maria right now is the last thing we want to do! We’d intrude on her and Sora while they’re having so much fun talking together!”
“…Indeed.”
“…You have a point.”
“If we keep acting like that, without thinking of the people around us, we’re definitely going to be doomed!”
“So…what should we do?”
“Isn’t finding that out the reason why we gathered here in the first place?”
“…That’s true.”
“Now, does anyone have any suggestions?”
“Yes.”
“Go ahead, Miss Katarina Claes.”
“Let’s root for Sora as he tries to woo Maria just as we did for Cyrus and Dewey!”
“That sounds good! Let’s root for him!”
“But wait, does he even like Maria? We should make sure of that first.”
“Didn’t you see how happy he looked while chatting with her? He never looks that relaxed while talking with people he doesn’t trust. Which means he trusts her, and if he trusts her, he probably likes her!”
“Well, yes…but even so, what would rooting for him entail?”
“What about creating chances for the two of them to be alone?”
“Interesting. But how?”
“Like, not walking in on them.”
“Yes. We’d just be a nuisance.”
“I agree, but saying it like that makes me a bit sad…”
“But it’s the truth…”
“D-Don’t make that face! Let’s think about how not to be a nuisance for those two.”
“Y-Yes… The problem is that we’re always relying on Sora and Maria for help, which means that we’re always close to them. Maybe we should be more independent.”
“Great point!”
“Great point indeed!”
“If we were more independent and acted on our own, those two would have more time to be alone!”
“I-Indeed!”
“Well, that was easy!”
“Good. Henceforth, we shall strive to be more independent and act on our own. Any objections?”
“No, ma’am!”
“No, ma’am!”
“Let’s do our best and act alone!”
And thus, yet another meeting of the Katarinas came to an end. Relaxed, I got into bed and managed to fall back asleep. I slept until Maria, worried that I wasn’t showing up, came to wake me because there was little time left to prepare. Later on, Sora got mad at me and said that I should learn to be more independent.