Burning warmth and pain.
While being in the middle of an endless dark void those are the only things I feel. I try to move my arms, but they don't seem to listen to me. My eyes, no matter how hard I strain them, can't make out anything within the darkness that surrounds me and I can't even tell if I actually opened them or not.
Then my mind gets overtaken by another wave of throbbing pain radiating from my entire body. Even with my clouded and hazy consciousness, I can sense the nearby warmth creeping towards me and slowly turning into a scorching heat that threatens to swallow me at any moment.
I already feel it trying to engulf my lower body, but my arms and legs still refuse to respond to me. After struggling to move for some time without any success, I eventually just give up while the fire looms ever closer. Faced with the inevitable, my mind becomes weirdly clear and a few thoughts occur to me.
If this was going to happen to anyone, at least it happened to me.
As someone living a hollow existence without any aspirations or meaning to it and just drifting through life, I guess it wouldn't make much difference if I just disappeared.
So if I think about it like this was the outcome of exchanging the fate of an unfortunate but bright person who had a future to look forward to, with mine, it would make me feel a bit better.
They can use my life to live much happier than I could and pursue their dreams with a caring family by their side.
…I know all of this is just wishful thinking. This was just an unfortunate accident without any deeper meaning. But if I look at it that way it makes me think that this isn't a bad thing after all.
It's not bad at all…
However no matter how much I try to tell that to myself as the end draws closer, I still get overtaken by an intense fear and longing.
I… After all, I don't want to…!
By now the flames are eating away at my whole body and it feels like it wants to seep into my very being to make me a part of it as well as it consumes my body and soul before I could finish my last thought.
Yet before the last strands of my consciousness fades, all of a sudden the pain completely disappears and a new sensation takes over. A warm embrace, unlike anything I've experienced before, covers my body as if telling me that everything will be okay and the atmosphere becomes more welcoming. A radiant light slowly enters my vision, pushing the darkness away. Then just as I try to focus my eyes…
"...This dream again."
I wake up.
I sigh, then push away my cover and sit up. This small dorm room, the golden locks cascading down on each side of my face and the extremely fair skin on my hands that are still slightly shaking. All of these signs point towards the same reality, yet I still stand up and walk over to the old dressing table in the corner of my room and pick up a small hand mirror.
"..."
Reflected in the mirror is a face of perfect beauty. Her enchanting light blue eyes naturally pull in one's gaze. And her long, straight golden hair almost looks as if it's radiating warmth, like a small sun. She looks like she's near the latter half of her teenage years, and it's already evident that after her already faintly mature charm completely blooms in a few years, she could easily rival all the models I saw in my life. An appearance fitting for an otome game protagonist.
While it is an incredibly attractive face no matter how you look at it, it is not the one I'm used to seeing.
"I'm sorry. It seems I really can't give your body back to you…"
Lucy Castille.
That's the name belonging to this body, which is undoubtedly from an otome game I used to play. It's already been two weeks since I woke up as her after dying in a house fire.
I still wonder why I'm here. While games like that were one of the few things I found entertaining, it's not like I particularly liked this otome game. I would have especially never wished to become the protagonist of all characters. Main characters are all dazzling people with great ideals and beautiful dreams. Along with the strength to make those become a reality.
Compared to them, someone like me should just blend into the shadow cast by their figures. Just an unremarkable part of the crowd that nobody would notice if they disappeared. Just like before…
And yet unlike my wishes, it looks like I'm stuck in this body. Although fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, after I got here I was also hit with all of Lucy's memories. It's lucky because I now know all her circumstances and everything she experienced so far, many of which the game didn't touch on. But also unfortunate because I'm confronted with the fact that she was also one such dazzling person.
Facing her many hardships with a confident smile. Growing up in a cold and unwelcoming mansion as the only child of the Northern Duke. Yet Lucy, determined to take control of her future, ignored all the cold gazes, all the mistreatment she received and instead put everything into her studies. Eventually her efforts bore fruits and she ended up at first place on the entrance exam to the academy the game took place at. She was so close to realizing her dreams and yet that's when I took her place instead. Stealing the future of such a bright kid… I never wanted this.
It even took me almost two whole weeks just to get my bearings and put all my memories in order. And even now if I see a larger flame or let my thoughts wander towards how I… died, I get easily overwhelmed by memories tainted with emotions and pain. Just what kind of pathetic protagonist could I possibly make?
Well anyway, it's time to face reality. The entrance ceremony is today so I have to accept that this is how things are and just do what I can. I get up, change into my uniform and tidy up my appearance.
This face… really is excessive. I'd really prefer not to stand out, but that's a tall order while looking like this. Nonetheless I do the best I can, keeping my hair down, trying to make my bangs cover as much of my face as possible.
So this time a familiar hairstyle welcomes me from the mirror, but it does little to contain the naturally radiant aura of this body.
"Haah. I'll need to figure something out about this later."
I sigh and then turn to leave.
***
"I hereby welcome all the diligent students of Golden Vow Academy. Both old and new. First let me address all the first year students who just arrived-"
The voice of an elderly man fills the halls of the large auditorium filled with numerous students.
Seems like school principal speeches are pretty much the same no matter where you are.
I think as I subtly cover a yawn. Though the school itself is much different from the ones of my old world. With all the huge buildings with excessively decorated walls and pillars. Well I guess it's about what you'd expect from an otome game, but seeing it with my own eyes, it's still impressive.
I'm used to attending opening ceremonies in the school gyms that get set up with a small stage at most. And yet here, this huge room seems to be exclusively for events with a large, built-in stage and podium even though it probably doesn't see much use throughout a school year.
And to think I was supposed to go up there and face all these people, it still makes me shudder. Usually it is the duty of the first year student who ranked first on the entrance exam to address the student body. So it was supposed to be me since Lucy earned that position before I took her over, but thankfully I managed to turn it down in time.
The last thing I need is more attention. At least before I manage to figure out what to do about the plot of the game, it's best to just lay low. Although I wonder who took Lucy's place. In the game this was the first real event, with a choice of what you'd like the speech to be about. Depending on your choice the favorability of a capture target went up, but no matter what you chose, after the ceremony is over, some of the noble girls from the villainess' circle corner Lucy.
It's a pretty standard development of nobles talking down to the protagonist and finding fault with everything she does. When in reality they just try to curry favor with the villainess character by doing this. But before it could escalate, depending on whose favorability went up during the speech, that capture target intervenes and rescues Lucy.
So this way I will already be missing a favorability raising event, but there's no way I could handle that much attention.
"And now the first year representative, His Highness, the Crown Prince of Meridia, Arthur Valerion will give a short speech."
While I was lost in thought the ceremony kept going and only this last sentence grabbed my attention again.
So it's the 'perfect prince' type character who took Lucy's place.
The young man who takes the stage completely fits that description, with short golden hair, somewhat similar to Lucy's in color. Blue eyes and an extremely handsome face, combined with a polished appearance and elegant strides, that's the most fitting way to describe him.
Well I guess it's not surprising that he is the one who got this responsibility in the end and maybe it's for the better.
His speech was nothing groundbreaking, just a short and concise greeting and then what he hopes the future to be. Though I started zoning out again after a few sentences, but based on the reactions around me after it was over, people seemed to like it. Or maybe it's just because it's him… Well either way, afterwards a few more faculty members gave speeches, each longer than the last.
Eventually the opening ceremony came to an end after more than an hour and a half. I wonder if overly stretched out ceremonies are a universal thing… Anyway, I deliberately stayed behind in the auditorium making sure everyone else left before me.
Then I quietly slip out into the school grounds while keeping an eye out for any passerbys just in case…
"Hey man! I didn't know you got first place. That surprise was the only reason I managed to stay awake."
A loud voice suddenly cuts through the quiet school paths between the buildings.
"Well that's not quite correct, but didn't I see you get called out for sleeping by a teacher a little later?"
Followed by a more reserved voice that I heard not too long ago. I quickly duck behind a nearby tree and wait for them to get further away.
Phew, that was close.
I let out a relieved sigh, and just in case I turn to walk the long way around.
"Hey, you there."
But when I turn around I come face to face with a different familiar figure. Fiery red long curly hair, combined with sharp deep red eyes and a generally fierce aura.
"I need to talk to you."
The villainess and final boss of the game. Ah, I don't even have any capture targets for backup.
It's already game over.