Things have gotten complicated.
Apparently, if I don't conquer a real girl, I, that demon, and the woman with the stun gun will all die.
I wish this was some kind of prank, but it doesn't seem like it.
...or rather, that woman with the stun gun...
"Kanon-chan, I saw you on TV yesterday!"
"Oh, yes! Thank you!"
"I'm really looking forward to the next live show!"
"Thank you so much! Please continue to support me!"
Were we in the same class...?
And apparently, she's a currently active idol who's been the subject of recent rumors.
Of course, he's confident in his singing. After all, he's a professional.
Anyway, that doesn't matter. For now, let's just get through the game a bit.
I was a little worried that the stun gun might have caused some data loss, but it seems there were no problems. PFP really lives up to its reputation.
Oh, we were in the same class...
I guess even people in my own class didn't know about me...
I almost instinctively pulled out a stun gun, but I managed to restrain myself.
If I act out in front of so many people, Okada-san (my manager) will get mad at me again.
Okay, let's switch gears now. I need to study!
...yeah?
"..." Beep beep beep beep...
God is playing video games during class!!
Huh? Nobody's saying anything, is that okay?!
(Hey, hey, wait a minute!)
(Huh? What? What happened?)
I'll try asking the girl sitting next to me.
(Um, God, no, that person, is it okay that he's playing a game!?)
(Well, um, yes. No matter how many times we warn them, they won't stop, so all the teachers have given up.)
That being said, the teacher currently teaching the class is Mr. Kodama, who is famous for being strict about such things.
Even I, who rarely attends school, know about it, it's that famous...
"Hey, you there! Stop talking about things unrelated to the lesson!"
"Oh, sorry!"
See, I get yelled at just for speaking in a low voice!
"Hmm, well then, I'll return the quiz from the other day. Everyone did pretty poorly."
"..." Beep beep beep beep...
"Hello, Katsuragi-kun, hello, Katsuragi Keima-kun..."
Katsuragiiiiiii!!"
"Hmm? Oh, yes."
"Hmmmm, is that really okay? With that kind of attitude?"
"No problem, I'm able to balance it 100% with my studies."
"Just getting a perfect score isn't enough! Huh?!"
The god's name is Keima Katsuragi.
And even though he plays so many games, he still gets a perfect score... I'm kind of jealous.
I wonder if there are any secrets to studying? I'll ask later. It's a serious problem.
Since it was after school, I headed to the rooftop, which was our meeting place.
To be honest, I wanted to skip work and go buy a game, but my life is at stake.
The game itself and the life needed to play it are equally important. But the save data, which is the memory of a 2D girl, is even more important.
When I opened the door to the rooftop, a demon named Elsie was already waiting.
"Welcome back, God!"
"This isn't a maid cafe, you know."
"? Maid cafe?"
"That's fine if you don't know. Hasn't Nakagawa arrived yet?"
"Yes, the princess hasn't arrived yet."
Could it be that they're taking a long time to shake off the civilians?
Well, she is a popular idol after all...
"Hey, can't you use some kind of demonic power or something to bring him here?"
"D-Don't ask me to do something so unreasonable! All I can do is use this Hagoromo to become invisible or something like that!"
"Isn't that enough?! Hurry up and find him, turn invisible, and bring him here!"
"Ah, yes, yes!!"
"Hey!! Turn invisible yourself before you go!"
If outsiders are loitering around, it'll cause a commotion!
"Y-yess
I wonder if that guy is really a demon...? He seems incredibly incompetent, though.
...A few minutes later...
"God! I have brought the princess!"
Elsie suddenly appears, having reverted to her invisibility.
Of course, Nakagawa is with them.
"Um, thanks, Katsuragi-kun. You drove Elsie home, right?"
I was glad I could shake off the other people."
"Yeah. It's a common sight in games for fans to be unable to meet their idols because of some random background character."
"Oh, really?"
Huh? You just called me an idol...?
"Hmm, was I wrong? You're Nakagawa Kanon, right?"
"Oh, you even know my name! Thank you, Katsuragi-kun!"
Before I could even wonder what he meant by "thank you," Nakagawa, for some inexplicable reason, hugged me.
"Hey, hey! What are you doing? Get away from me!!"
"Oh, I'm sorry..."
But I was a little happy that Katsuragi-kun remembered my name."
Seriously, this is why real women are...
But seriously, would an idol with tons of fans be so happy that she'd hug him over just that?
...I wonder if this guy is the one with the emotional vulnerability?
"Oh yes, you devil! Hand over the target's information!"
"Oh, yes! Um, I think it was around here... There it is. This is it!"
Elsie took something that looked like a tablet from her pocket and handed it to me.
It appears to contain a photo and profile of a woman.
" Chief Dokuro went to the trouble of finding this for me!!" daughter
"Doesn't that mean you went to the trouble of searching for the girl who had the runaway soul inside her because you couldn't find her on your own?"
"N-no, that's not true! ...Probably not."
"Ah, yes, yes."
Um... " Born on May 2nd, belongs to class 2-B..." Takahara Ayumi
"Hey, isn't that our class?"
"Let's see. 'Blood type O, height 158cm, weight 50kg, member of the track and field club.'"
"...Sigh, the accuracy is so low. This is why ..." reality
"Sei, do?"
"Oh yeah! Take a look at this guy's photo!!"
I thrust the photos at Elsie and Nakagawa.
"Is there a problem?"
"I also seem to have no problems, but..."
"Seriously, you don't even understand something like this?"
Let me explain it to those ignorant commoners.
"This Ayumi Takahara, despite being in the track and field club,
She hasn't tied her hair up!!
"...yes?"
"Um, well... hair has nothing to do with track and field, right...?"
"Don't mess with me! Track and field girls always tie their hair up!"
A soul resides in the hair ties that track and field girls use to tie their hair! Don't you even understand that?
"Hmm? Um, Katsuragi-kun?"
"What is it?"
"Even if it's important to tie your hair up, wouldn't it be fine to just tie it up when you're doing track and field activities?"
"Hmm, that's true..."
I'd forgotten because most track and field heroines have their hair tied up in their profile pictures.
There are heroines who don't tie their hair up when they go on dates, you know. I'd accept it if she tied her hair up when she was practicing for the track and field club.
"Okay, let's check it out then."
Since they're in the track and field club... are they on the field at this time? I wonder if I can see them from the rooftop."
"If you use Hagoromo's telephoto function, you can see it clearly even from far away."
"That feathered robe is really useful."
"I want one."
"I-I can't give this away!! Um... Okay, it's done! The scenery you see through the feather robe will be magnified like through a telescope!"
Let's take a look at the rooftop through the Hagoromo (celestial robe).
...I see, it's very clear.
If only we had the Feather Robe, wouldn't we not need this useless demon anymore?
...No, it's too early to jump to conclusions. In games, it's often these clueless characters who turn out to be important.
"Ah, I found it! Over there!"
"let's see..."
There are several girls stretching near the track on the sports field.
One of them is the target, Ayumi Takahara.
If you look closely, you can see something strange and hazy. Could that be a runaway spirit?
"Ah, as expected, she hasn't tied her hair up."
"Maybe they tie it up when they run..."
"No, there's no way something that convenient could happen..." reality
While saying such things and leisurely gazing at it...
...I tied my hair up.
I don't know what he was saying because I'm not good at lip-reading, but I think he said something like, "I'm going to get serious now."
"K-Katsuragi-kun, you really did tie your hair up."
"Y-Yeah, I guess so..."
"Well then, God! Let's get started on the strategy right away!!"
Sigh... I guess I have no choice but to do it...
"Where should we begin, God?"
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Right... First, we need to gather information."
It's impossible to win someone over without knowing their preferences and personality."
"But how do you do that?"
"There are plenty of ways to do it."
For example, you could get information from someone in the class who's well-informed..."
"Katsuragi-kun, is there anyone in our class who's really well-informed?"
"...Damn it, this is why !!" reality
Well, I guess there's no other choice. I'll have to gather information from her conversation.
Elsie, can you make your feather robe invisible for three people?
"Leave it to us!! With three people, it's a tight squeeze, but we can do it!"
"Okay, then you three do it."
After that, I'll move on and eavesdrop on Ayumi's conversation."