Summary:
Razel is a boy who was reincarnated into an Otome game. He lived through many experiences. But one day, he discovered that his childhood friend, Elize, was being harassed by her fiancé, the third prince.
Razel and his friend, Prince Cid, become enraged with Prince Regulux and challenge him to a jousting duel to defeat him.
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Characters:
Barbara von Rosenberg (Looks like Implacable from Azure Lane)
Elize's mother and the acting head of the Rosenberg Household. In the game, she is known as an opportunistic woman who ordered her daughter to obtain benefits from her engagement to the prince.
Christina (Looks like Barghest from Fate Grand Order)
The only woman among the sword saints, a pure-blooded elf who was almost a princess. In the game, she was hated by many women because they had complexes towards her and her enormous chest.
Goredolph Aintree (Looks like Rengoku Kyojuro from Demon Slayer)
One of the four sword saints and an extra capture target in the game. A strange man who always went around smiling.
Wilhelm Malcolm von Bryes (Looks like Leo Whitefang from Guilty Gear)
The current emperor of the Arklight Empire. A man who emanates such pressure that it prevents looking him in the face, father of all the princes. In the game, he only appeared on his deathbed.
Rudolph Alan von Bryes (Looks like Nachtigal I. Fenn from Tales of Xillia)
The prime minister of the empire, a wise man who is the right hand and younger brother of the emperor.
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A beautiful white room decorated with luxurious ornaments was the place where a meeting was taking place.
The location was in the palace of the Arklight Empire, located in the center of the Ixion continent.
The empire is one of the largest countries in the world, a power among powers, thus earning many enemies.
A group of more than thirty men were gathered; they were urgently summoned to meet.
"As you can see in the documents, the mysterious criminal named Licht has been killing different people over the past few months. His latest victim was the eldest son of the Iscariote Household."
The men reviewed the documents at a large round table.
"I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Haven't the magic knights been able to track him?"
"I'm afraid not. I interrogated them several times, and none knew what to answer. This individual hides his trail perfectly. We cannot easily follow him."
"I see."
"Please review page twelve; there are more details about the incidents there."
As they turned the pages, a man shouted.
"Wait a moment!"
"Yes?"
"It says here that one of the 10 holy mages was assassinated! And that his killer could be this Licht!"
Everyone's expressions were somber, and only one raised his hand.
"Is there a possibility that he is a spy or a newly trained soldier from the Ideal Empire?"
"... We can't deny that. But we can't confirm it either."
"We only have what we've found out from the corpses whose brains weren't destroyed and the information those young people gave."
"I understand."
"I'm sorry I can't say more than this."
"Never mind. Gentlemen, it was a pleasure to see you so quickly and in this manner. My apologies, you may leave."
"Yes. Your Highness."
The men left the room one by one after saying goodbye; after no one remained, the last person inside left.
He felt unwell; his head hurt, which is why he ended this meeting quickly.
As he walked a few meters, he noticed a certain acquaintance coming from the direction he was heading.
"A pleasure to see you, Blake."
"Likewise, Sirius nii-sama."
Both were well-dressed, in white suits made from the finest and most expensive fabric one could buy.
On their right shoulder, both wore a black mantle; the emblem was of the empire. Only those belonging to the imperial family may wear it.
The shorter man was 21 years old and the taller one was 24.
The one with a bad expression on his beautiful face was the second prince in the line of succession.
A young man with blonde hair and blue eyes, slim with muscles; his haircut was short and styled to the left, with a small braid at the end of his hair.
He was Blake. Blake Greg von Bryes.
While the man with a pleasant smile and angelic aura was none other than the crown prince by right.
Sirius Emil von Bryes.
Slim without muscles, long blonde hair tied and resting on his right shoulder. His eyes were red like blood, but his gaze and facial features made him look very harmless.
Both were very attractive; the reason is that both were extra capture targets.
This world is not a simple fantasy world. It is a world with an Otome theme.
And they were characters from that game.
"I heard from someone in my faction that last week the Iscariote family was arrested for various secret crimes. The head was executed instantly and their influence destroyed at the same time. I am truly very sorry."
"That doesn't sound like condolences, you know?"
The second prince said to the crown prince.
"I'm sorry; mother always taught us to tell the truth. And I want to honor her memory with that."
"As always, you are someone who must choose his words better, my dear older brother."
"I'll be careful next time."
"Hoh? Are you implying this will happen again?"
Prince Blake is annoyed; this is because he has received several reports where members of his faction have been involved in cases of corruption, arms sales, and even worse things.
And, for some reason, the one responsible for leaving that evidence is always a mysterious being named Licht.
"I'm not trying to imply anything. I'm just saying that next time we talk, I'll speak better."
"Ha, yeah."
Blake walked towards his older brother, heading to his private mansion to rest.
After passing Sirius, he said.
"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot. Hey, did you hear about what Lux-kun did last week?"
Blake stopped and turned his head to look at his brother.
"What did Lux do?"
Sirius didn't change his expression, but the corner of his mouth showed a strange movement.
"That boy did something crazy. He tried to break off his engagement with the Rosenberg daughter in public. And to make it even crazier, a strange guy and Cid-kun challenged him to a duel."
Blake's eyes opened wide as he blurted out a comment.
"He did what?!"
◇
Life is a Russian roulette, they say.
You never know when the bullet will hit you.
Anyway, enough of this boring talk.
I, Razel Bartlet, am an imposter in this game world.
I died in an accident and reincarnated into a world based on an Otome game.
I tried to live my life as a simple landless baron and help the protagonist and capture targets from the shadows.
My reason for doing so is that, this way, I can prevent many calamities from happening and help save the world and avoid its destruction.
The two years that the royal magic academy lasted should have been simple and boring like me; I tried not to stand out and be a background character like friend A.
But all that was ruined.
The fault for that is because I prevented an important event in the game. The end of the horrendous villainess. The problem is that, for some strange reason, it was taking place.
This event occurred at graduation and only when the protagonist and the capture targets had gathered evidence to punish her.
But for some reason, the stupid third prince was intimidating her.
The villainess, Eli, is my childhood friend.
I originally wanted to prevent something bad from happening to her, but what that stupid handsome man said made my blood boil.
That was yesterday.
My friends and teachers called me crazy.
I told them I was.
For some reason, we had to go to the Rosenberg duchy, or what's left of it, to inform them about it.
The girls left that same night for Eli's house.
While I and my good friend, the fourth prince, Cidfert von Bryes or simply Cid.
We decided to defend her.
We were in a warehouse at the academy.
Classes ended and the students went home because next week is a festival that lasts an entire week.
"Razel, stop wasting time looking at the sky and help me too."
The one telling me that was Cid.
A tall, handsome boy with navy blue hair and dark blue eyes. He was one of the extra capture targets in the game, but he was very hateful.
In reality, he is very pleasant and a good friend.
He came out to defend Eli from his half-brother.
Quite the opposite of me. A simple and ugly boy.
My hair and eyes are black; I have small irises and strange shadows under my eyes.
I am truly very ugly without a doubt.
"Razel, I'm going to hit you if you don't come right now."
Without even waiting another minute, Cid threw a box in my face.
"Ahhh!"
I shouted because of the pain.
(Can't a man think about the reason why he's doing this?)
(I mean, we're going to fight the prince and his friends in a duel in seven days.)
(And the duel method is a joust, just like in the event.)
(I have no idea how to ride a horse.)
(That was a problem; worst of all, they aren't normal horses like in classic knight movies.)
(They are actually a type of flying horse.)
(Just as I say, they are flying horses. But not as anyone imagines. It may certainly seem confusing, especially since they are called Pegasus.)
(They are constructed with magic spells to be able to fly.)
(They are normally used for sports. They are not used for combat, but years ago nobles decided to update jousts, and that's how jousts with Pegasus were born.)
(There is a magic stone inside that acts as an engine; it's similar to riding a motorcycle.)
(Back to Cid.)
"Won't you let me rest for a moment?"
"Rest from 'what' exactly?"
"Yesterday we challenged Regulux and his friends to a duel; we came to the academy warehouse today because the janitor with the keys was returning in the morning."
"We came to look for a Pegasus for you."
(It's just as he says; I don't have one. So the academy will lend me one.)
(Obviously it will be an old, used one since, if it's stored in the warehouse, it's because no one uses it or wants it.)
(Very nice of these teachers.)
◇
We've been looking for a Pegasus for me for two hours.
This place is as huge as a dock.
There are many, but they are damaged or the magic stone was removed long ago.
I don't have money to buy a new one, and neither does Cid.
Worst of all, the price is over 5000 gold coins.
This will really give me a heart attack.
"There must be one around here."
While clearing debris from trash stored here.
I found something.
"Hey Cid, come see this."
In the middle of all that trash, I found my Pegasus... but it's not what I expected.
Cid came running and then, like me, was surprised to see this.
"Seriously?"
He was astonished because we found a Pegasus.
Like all Pegasus, the upper part of its body without the legs was the saddle.
It had wings on the sides; they were decoration or served the same as airplanes; I have no idea since the game never investigated further.
Dusting it off, it looks like a perfect flying horse.
The only strange thing is...
"Why is it black?"
Its color was black. It wasn't just a part; it was everything.
From the tip of its nose to its tail, it was black.
The only things that weren't black were its eyes, but they were red like blood.
It was very terrifying.
"Let me check if it works."
Cid approached to inspect it, poking around here and there.
"It seems to be in excellent condition. The magic stone is intact and hasn't been removed. If it were removed, it wouldn't work since each Pegasus functions with the magic stone it was built with."
Cid put his hand to his chin while looking at this guy.
"I heard a rumor once."
"A rumor?"
"Yes. It was about a fairy tale, that if you took great care of an object, it would come to life through fairies that live in it."
(How curious.)
(In Japanese mythology, there is a term for such beings. They were called tsukumogami.)
(It was something similar to the story of the doll that wanted to be a real boy.)
"Why do you say that?"
I asked him.
He replied.
"Look. Here's a name written. It's not common to see this."
Cid pointed to a name written on a part of its neck.
"Schwarz?"
"What a strange name."
Apparently, it belonged to someone. It doesn't matter; now you're mine, and we need to leave as soon as possible for the Rosenberg duchy to inform the duchess, the villainess's mother, about the duel.
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Nii-sama: Older brother in a very respectful way.
Tsukumogami: According to legend, when objects such as umbrellas, sandals and musical instruments turn 100 years old, they come to life. It is popularly believed that they receive a soul. Their forms change and they gain certain anthropomorphic features. They can be benign or malignant depending on the use the owner gave them.
Schwarz: Black color in German.