Prologue
One weekday morning.
I head to school with Nakagawa (who is in disguise).
Huh? What happened to Elsie?
She went off saying something like, "I'm going to master the art of being a stand-in for the princess!!"
I wonder if she's worried because I made a series of mistakes in cooking and cleaning?
"Wait a minute?"
"Is something wrong?"
"Elsie should have had the runaway soul sensor."
In other words, you'll never find a runaway spirit at school!
"Huh? In that case..."
"So, I can play games as much as I want! How wonderful..."
"Elsie has the sensor for me. She said there's more of a chance of runaway souls over here than over there."
"...I see."
So that sensor could be used in Nakagawa too?
I feel like Elsie's purpose is becoming increasingly irrelevant. I wonder if Nakagawa will start using Hagoromo soon? He's already using something similar, though.
Elsie is certainly useful just by acting as Nakagawa's stand-in, but...
"Oh, that reminds me, Keima. Do you have time after school today?"
"I'm busy playing games."
"Um, if you don't mind, I was wondering if you could teach me how to study..."
"Studying?"
Now that you mention it, I think we talked about something like that while I was trying to win over Mami. We were both so busy we didn't have time, though.
The game is important, but I also feel bad about breaking my promise.
"There's no other way. I'll finish this in 30 minutes."
"What, is that all?"
"School lessons are full of wasted time. If you do them efficiently, it can be done like that."
By the way, if you just want to get a perfect score on the test, it can be done in even less time."
"What?! You're kidding, right?"
"...No, I'm not kidding. Keima wouldn't make a joke like that."
Why are school lessons so full of wasted time?
Thanks to that, I can play games even during class, so I have no complaints.
"Um, if you don't mind, could we study for the test together...?"
"If only I had the time (but I'm usually too busy with games)."
"Keima-kun is so mean!"
...And then, after school...
As promised, I'll teach Nakagawa how to study.
I initially thought about doing it in a classroom, but I gave up on that idea.
Why? It's simple.
What do you think would happen if we did this in a classroom?
......
"Ellie, are you free after school? There's a new product at the convenience store nearby..."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Chihiro. I'm going to study with God now."
"Studying, huh? Well, I guess there's no helping it... Wait, what!? Ellie is studying!?"
"Uh, well..."
"E-everyone! Hurry and head home! A storm is coming!!"
"What? But I have club activities later."
"Ayumi, you can always join the club. But I'm telling you for your own good, you should skip it today!!"
"Hmm... If Ellie wants to study, I guess there's no helping it. I'll just skip it for today."
"Um, should I call an ambulance?"
"That's it! Asamin, that's it! Hurry and call 110!"
"Huh? You call 119 for an ambulance..."
"Alright, both! I'm counting on you!!"
(Is it really this unusual for Elsie to suddenly start talking about studying...?)
......
Well, I had a feeling that this would turn into a huge commotion involving not just Kosaka, but also Ayumi, Mami, and many others.
"Well, surely it's not going that far, right?"
"...Sorry, I said a little too much."
"It's still possible for Kosaka and Ayumi, but not for Mami."
There's a good chance I'll be involved in some way.
"Wait, is the first half possible?"
"I don't know. Well, it's best to avoid any unnecessary trouble."
So, as for the crucial location..."
"How about the library? It's quiet and a good place to study, isn't it?"
A library, huh? It's a classic setting for two people to study together, even in dating sim games.
Most schools have a library (or reading room), but our school has a rather large one attached to it.
Our school, Maishima Academy, is quite large, with not only a high school but also a middle school. So, can you say the facilities are appropriate for that?
just...
"I don't mind going to the library, but this will be my first time actually going."
I'm not sure if it's a good environment for studying."
"I've only heard about it; I've never actually been there."
Hmm... Let's just go and see, and then decide."
"That's true."
Just go and try it out, and if it doesn't work out, you can always study at home or somewhere else that suits you.
However, there's one more thing I'm worried about.
As I mentioned earlier, the library is a facility used not only by the senior high school students but also by the junior high school students.
This means you'll be getting closer to people you wouldn't normally cross paths with.
I hope the soul-snatching sensor stays quiet until the very end...
01 The walkthrough begins again
"Wow, it's huge!"
"Hmm... I wonder how many books there are."
The library was bigger than I expected.
I had heard it was big, but I never imagined it would be this big.
The building is fairly quiet, but you can hear some conversations.
With this setup, I can teach in a corner without anyone complaining.
"Alright, let's get started. The subject is... math, right?"
"Huh? Okay. Then let's do math."
Saying that, Nakagawa opened the first page of the textbook.
"Hey, wait a minute."
"Huh? Is something wrong?"
"Isn't it just the part from the last lesson?"
"picture?"
"...Could it be that this is a review of everything we've covered from the start of this academic year until today?"
"Um, that was the plan, but... huh?"
"...Were you perhaps planning to study all the subjects?"
"Well, if possible, that would be better... no, never mind, sorry."
Now that I think about it, Nakagawa only said, "I want you to teach me how to study."
Was it just me who assumed that it was related to the previous class?
To begin with, Nakagawa hardly ever attends class, so teaching him only the lessons from that day won't do any good.
"...Heh, hehehe"
"Huh? Keima-kun...?"
"Hahahahaha!"
Fine. I'll finish this in 30 minutes!!
"Whaaaat!? What you were talking about this morning was only for one class period, right!?"
"I don't care about that! Let's do it!!"
"Uh, ah, uh, yeah"
...And then, 30 minutes later...
"Okay, that's exactly 30 minutes."
"Oh, what? It's over? Huh??"
If you try hard enough, you can make it work.
Now, let's start the game.
"Oh, so you're going to play a game right after that... I wonder if Keima has any stamina or not..."
"Huh? Your stamina will recover if you play games, right?"
"I won't do it! Because for most people it would actually be tiring!
Ah, games are really fun.
It's fairly quiet here, and it's just right as a place to play games.
Is it worth visiting during my free time? No, the rooftop is closer. It might be better on a rainy day, though.
"By the way, Keima, do you ever read books?"
"Books? I hardly ever read, and if I do, it's probably only books related to dating simulation games."
"Oh, I see. I thought I'd take a look around at what kind of books are here since we're already at the library, but I guess Keima isn't interested."
"Yeah, go ahead and watch whatever you want. I'll be playing games for a while."
"Okay, I'm off."
Saying that, Nakagawa walked towards the bookshelf.
I wonder what book they're looking for? With so many books, if they just wandered around aimlessly, it would probably take a whole day.
I want only one type of book.
There's one more thing I'd like to check out while I'm at it.
First, a cookbook to teach Elsie.
It seems like he can't even make a decent omelet yet... but I want to at least check it out because it will be necessary someday.
...You'll need it, right? You'll need it, right?
Other than that, I'd like to check out some books related to video games.
This is for Keima-kun, but... he didn't seem very interested, so I'll just do it as an afterthought.
After walking for a while, I found a shelf labeled "Games," so I took a look inside.
What I found there were books like "Modern Go Winning Strategies," "100 Shogi Endgame Problems," and "Mahjong for Beginners."
...It seems like they only have tabletop games. Are the video games on a different shelf, or are there none at all...?
Speaking of which, I wonder if Keima is good at these kinds of games? I feel like he could handle it without any trouble. I'll have to ask him next time.
I pulled myself together and searched another shelf.
After walking a little further, I came across a shelf labeled "Cooking."
There was no twist like peeking inside and finding something strange lined up; instead, there were cookbooks.
Topics include "Recommended Home Cooking for Beginners," "How to Make Delicious Kenchin-jiru (vegetable soup)," "Sweets Master's Baking," and more.
Sweets, huh? Maybe I'll borrow some for myself.
Apparently, at my library, you use your student ID instead of a library card to borrow books.
The return deadline is in two weeks. This part is pretty much the same as a regular high school.
As I turned towards the reception counter, I suddenly realized something.
I don't have Elsie's student ID.
I obviously have my own student ID, but... if I borrowed something using Nakagawa Kanon's student ID while disguised as Elsie, it might get a little complicated. Besides, I'm not even sure if you can borrow anything with someone else's student ID.
But taking off my disguise and borrowing it would be even more problematic. I'm supposed to not be at school today. What would happen if people found out that there are two of me...?
The situation is a bit too unusual to think of any specific damage, but it's certainly going to be a problem.
Hmm... In that case, let's have Keima borrow it for us. That's the easiest way.
I immediately returned to where I was before.
"Keima-kun!"
After playing games for a while, Nakagawa called me over.
"Hmm, is it already over?"
"I'm finished, but there's something I'd like to ask you."
"You're not going to start talking about studying again, are you?"
"I'd really like to be spared today..."
No, I'd like you to borrow a book instead."
"Instead? Why don't you do it yourself?"
"Well, it seems you need a student ID to borrow it..."
"...I see, I understand."
"So, I can just return it myself, right?"
"Yes, please do."
It's a bit of a hassle to return it, but that's not a big deal.
It's much easier than teaching.
"So, what are you going to borrow?"
"Yes, this one."
It turns out Nakagawa showed me a cookbook, or rather, a book about sweets.
It appears to be a baking cookbook supervised by a famous pastry chef.
"I don't mind borrowing it, but..."
Just so you know, I don't like sweets."
"picture""
Judging from Nakagawa's reaction, I think he was trying to make it for me.
Perhaps it was meant as a thank you for today or something like that, but... I just don't like it.
"So, is that book okay? If so, I'll go borrow it."
"Uh, well... yeah. It's okay. Probably."
"Okay"
I stood up from my chair and put the game away.
I took my student ID out of my wallet and headed towards the reception counter.
And then, when I could see the reception area, I heard it.
Slurp, s...
"...Haaah"
It seems the peaceful days I've been enjoying recently are over.
02 Conditions for conquering the silent girl
"...Who's our next target?"
"Just a moment."
Nakagawa is operating something after stopping the alarm on the runaway soul sensor.
After a short while, he pointed towards the reception counter.
"Over there. He's in that direction."
I peered towards the counter from behind the bookshelf, but there was no sign of anyone queuing.
So that means the receptionist at the counter is the one with the runaway soul.
"That guy, right?"
"It seems so."
Sitting at the counter is a female student wearing the high school uniform.
She has shoulder-length black hair, and a tag that says "Library" is attached to the left side of her chest where the school emblem would normally be.
And naturally, he has a book in his hand, and he appears to be quietly reading.
Aside from the lack of braids and glasses, she looks exactly like a library committee member.
"A library committee member, huh..."
"Is there a problem?"
"No, there are a lot of library committee members in games these days."
That's why I'm getting bored of it."
"No, I'm bored... but how do we beat it?"
"I'll do it. I'll do it, but..."
If it's just a boring rip-off, I'll send a protest postcard from the user.
"...Where is it addressed to?"
Anyway, putting that aside...
Unlike the previous Asami Yoshino, it seems much easier to identify her attributes. That's good news in the sense that it will be easier to work with her.
"So, first of all..."
"First?"
"Shall we go home?"
"What, you're leaving already!?"
"First, we need to gather information. We don't know anything about them, like their name, class, blood type, height, or weight."
"Height and weight... yeah, I guess that's necessary."
"Yes, we need it! So let's bring Elsie here tomorrow and have her check it out."
"...But it would be a bit of a waste to just go home like this."
Should I set something up? Hmm...
...Okay.
"Nakagawa, put on a little act for me."
"?"
After the meeting, I headed straight to the counter by myself and spoke to the library committee member.
"Excuse me."
"..."
Huh? Didn't you hear me?
"Excuse me."
"..."
"Hello? Can you hear me?!"
"Yes!!"
"...Oh, is there something you need?"
"...yeah?"
"Ah, uh, um..."
"...Is there something I can help you with...?"
For a moment, I thought she was a unique character—a librarian who speaks in an archaic, formal manner—but it seems she just misspoke.
Upon closer inspection, the book I'm holding is a historical drama. Could it be that I've picked up the book's style of speaking?
I was a little surprised, but I pulled myself together and accomplished my goal.
"I'd like to borrow this."
"..."
When I handed the girl in front of me the sweets recipe book that Nakagawa had asked for, she accepted it without a word.
Even though they're silent, it's not like they have a bad attitude; their actions themselves are polite. Perhaps they're just not good at talking?
"...The return deadline is in two weeks."
"Yes, thank you."
He said that and was about to turn on his heel, but then stopped himself.
"Oh, that reminds me. I'm looking for a book about video games right now. Do you think this library might have one?"
"......picture?"
"So, the game..."
Just as I finished speaking, a voice called out from the entrance.
"God! It's time to go home!!"
That's Nakagawa's voice, disguised as Elsie.
"Oh, look at the time already."
I'll come back tomorrow. Bye."
"..."
The reaction was extremely weak, but I felt like he nodded slightly.
What I asked Nakagawa was simple.
The request was, "After I borrow the book, I'll talk to that girl for a bit, so please wait about 10 seconds after I start talking to her, and then call out to me from the entrance."
"What was the meaning of that last part?"
"If I do that, I'll have an excuse to talk to him again tomorrow."
Besides, ending a conversation abruptly like that makes a lasting impression. There probably aren't many people who are called "God-sama" (a respectable term for a deity).
Also, I've made it clear that my goal is the game book, so if the other person takes some kind of action, like providing the book, it will give me a starting point for completing the game.
Things probably won't go that smoothly, so this is just a side note."
"I see."
What was it like when you actually talked to them? Do you think you can win them over?
"She seems like a typical, unassuming library committee member. Conquering her will be a piece of cake."
...or so I thought..."
"Huh? Did something happen!?"
"...No monologue is coming out."
"......picture?"
"It's a monologue! It's a description of inner thoughts!"
Normally, it would appear at the bottom of the screen!!
"...Um, this isn't a game, okay? This is reality, okay?"
"Damn it, this is what I mean about reality!"
"If you can't see the monologue, it's absolutely impossible to beat the game!!"
"What, it's impossible?! Not just difficult?!"
"Oh yeah, that's right!"
I guess I'll just have to somehow get him to confess... This is going to be troublesome."
"Ah, so in the end it's just going to be a nuisance."
That's all, but it's troublesome...
Reality is definitely a crappy game.
03 A mountain of books
...The day after finding the runaway soul, on the first day of the conquest, after school...
"Heh heh heh, my time has finally come!!"
"Ah, yeah, I guess so."
As planned yesterday, I brought Elsie along to look up the profiles of the girls I'm trying to win over.
He was really enthusiastic about something and is still like this now, but I'll just leave him alone for now.
I entered the library and checked the counter, and the same girl from yesterday was sitting there.
Move to a hidden spot and then give Elsie instructions.
"That's the girl! I'll go then!"
Hagoromo-san! Please!
As Elsie said this, a part of her feathered robe transformed into a translucent, disc-shaped form.
When they used it to hold the girl up to the light, mysterious symbols (the characters of hell?) appeared on her robe.
"Here it comes! Here it comes!"
Her name is Shiomiya Shiori. She is a second-year student.
Height 157cm, weight 41kg, blood type B, birthday December 26th.
That's about all we know about Hagoromo-san."
"I see. Thanks for the help."
"Of course! After all, I'm God's buddy!!"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Were we in the same grade?
I don't remember seeing it in my class, so it's probably not in Class B.
"God! What should I do next?!"
"Ah, right... just read one of those books around here."
"That's the information dissemination thing! Leave it to me!!"
Saying that, he toddled off and disappeared into the distance.
Now that Elsie's gone, let's start the walkthrough.
I walked straight to the counter and called out to Shiomiya Shiori, the target of my conquest.
"Excuse me, I was here yesterday. Do you have any game books?"
"..."
Shiori remains silent.
However, unlike when I first called out to him yesterday, where he was engrossed in reading and didn't respond, he looked up and gazed at me, yet remained silent.
Did they simply miss what I said? Or is there some other reason?
Should I wait, or should I say something?
"Please wait a moment..."
When I was troubled, Shiori spoke up for me.
Then, he stood up from his seat at the counter and disappeared into the back of the library.
...And then two minutes later...
I waited near the counter as instructed by Shiori, and then I heard a rumbling sound.
Looking in the direction of the sound, I saw a cart carrying books piled up to about the height of a person.
I can kind of guess who's carrying it...
The stack of books stopped near the counter, and a bookmark emerged from its shadow.
"...Sorry to keep you waiting. These are all the books about 'games' in this library."
...That's a total of 1057 books.
"...Since I was only asked for books about games, I prepared books on a variety of topics, from board games like Go and Shogi to recent video games, and other things that have 'game' in their name."
This is... incredible. In many ways.
It looks like they just grabbed every book they could find using the keyword "game," but I don't think this library has such a convenient search function, and at least I've never seen one. Surely they're not going to claim they remember all the books here, are they?
Even if it were possible to search for them, gathering this many books in a single day is not just amazing, but insane.
To begin with, my goal is broadly categorized as video games, or more specifically, dating sim games... but what can I say, it's like being so afraid of making a mistake in a multiple-choice question that you end up answering all three.
I mean, who's supposed to put this back where it belongs? Is Shiori going to put it away properly? If not, then it's nothing but a nuisance, to be honest.
But well...
I've never seen a heroine prepare an amount of books equivalent to a person's height just from being asked about it the day before.
Shiomiya Shiori... she's an interesting character.
I was a bit discouraged because I was on the library committee, but oh well. Let's give it our all and conquer this challenge!
"Thank you so much for going to all that trouble."
But what I really wanted was a book about video games."
"Huh...?"
"Where are the books about video games in this pile of books?"
"match......"
He pointed to a section of the pile of books, making an inarticulate, mumbling sound.
If they don't put it into words, there's no monologue, so it won't get across... I have to find a way to get them to talk.
"Okay, then I'll just read some books related to video games. It was around here, wasn't it?"
For now, I put down the books around where Shiori was pointing to the floor.
And then it's time to clean up the rest...
"..."
Shiori starts pushing the cart away without saying a word.
If you had simply come to use the library, there would be no problem in just seeing you off, but unfortunately, I came here to conquer the bookmarks.
Don't miss the event.
"Wait a minute, are you going to clean that up all by yourself?"
"......picture?"
"No, it's not a 'Huh?', are you going to clean it up all by yourself?"
"...Ah, yes."
"That's quite a lot, about 1000 books, right? It must be tough to do all that alone. I'll help you."
"...Huh? Um..."
"Okay, where is the place? If we take our time, it'll get dark, so let's get this done quickly."
"...Um...it's this way..."
Saying that, Shiori pushed the cart, and I followed.
I considered helping push the cart, but I figured that would be getting too close.
These quiet characters don't easily show their emotions. It's probably best to proceed cautiously.
04 The First Monologue
"Where in this book is '100 Lateral Thinking Games'?"
"...It's the second one from the top, the 24th book from the left."
"24... Is this it?"
Simply ask the bookmark for the book's name, and after a short pause, it will return the exact location.
He probably has the location of almost every book in this library memorized. Surely he hasn't just memorized the locations of the game-related books.
I don't think so. If he had otaku tendencies and memorized all the books about video games, that would be somewhat believable. It's a bit of a stretch, but still believable, that he's into table games like Go, Shogi, and Mahjong, as well as more obscure games like lateral thinking games and Werewolf.
However, light novels where the protagonist is a gamer but this aspect is barely utilized, or novels where multiple people are locked on a remote island and forced to kill each other under the guise of a game—that's definitely spreading herself too thin. Or rather, if she herself were a gamer, I don't think she would even consider bringing up these kinds of stories in the first place.
Maybe they have perfect memory.
"Next up... 'A Guide to Artistic Cheating in Mahjong'"
"...It's the third one from the right, at the very bottom."
"Okay."
Continuing to help half-heartedly might earn you some points, but you can't expect any dramatic changes.
Besides, a long-term strategy of continuously choosing the safest option goes against my principles.
Shall we go on the offensive now?
"But tidying up books is such a pain."
"! ..."
"Huh? Oh, don't worry. I'm not complaining about you."
When I said that, Shiori seemed relieved...or so I thought, but I'm not entirely sure.
However, she was able to clearly read the change in her expression after my next comment.
"The book I'm complaining about is this one."
"!!"
I could clearly sense the emotion of anger.
"They take up space, they're heavy, and on top of that, you have to go all the way to this huge library to find them."
It's really inconvenient."
"..."
He's probably really angry, even though he doesn't say it out loud. He's almost there.
"If I scan everything and put it on a hard drive, I can throw away all the books. What do you think?"
" ......Ba "
"yeah?"
"You idiot..."
After saying those words, he looked startled, then pushed the cart noisily and ran off.
It seems I've finally heard it. Her words and opinions outside of conveying information.
I might have made them dislike me just now, but that shouldn't be a problem. In fact, it might even make things easier.
I think Shiori will probably take care of putting away the rest of the books, so I'll leave that to her...
...For now, I'll read the video game-related books you brought. There might be some useful information in them.
What's wrong with that guy? He should just die!
My first encounter with that man was just yesterday.
I thought she came to borrow a book about sweets, but then she said something strange like she was looking for a book about video games.
I hesitated to answer, and it seemed like someone called them away, and they left after saying something about the time.
I understood that he would be coming back tomorrow and that he was looking for a game book, so I prepared one for him since he was there anyway.
Then, the next day, the man showed up just as he had promised.
I gathered every book I could think of and showed it to them.
After showing them, I regretted it to myself, thinking maybe two or three books would have been enough, or that I should have narrowed down the genre a bit more, and in fact, nearly 90% of the books were ones I didn't need.
Luckily, the man didn't seem to mind.
On the contrary, she even helped me put away the books.
My words must have come too late, but that man never once rushed me.
I ask where the book is, I stammer out the answer, and then I put it away.
Even though I was with people whose names I didn't even know, it wasn't that uncomfortable.
Just as I was thinking that, that man suddenly started spouting nonsense.
"If you scan everything and transfer it to a hard drive, you can throw away all the books."
I have read ebooks before. I'm not so narrow-minded as to dismiss something I don't know about.
But that's not a book.
The cover design, the inner cover with the colophon, the scent of the paper, its thickness, its texture!
And yet, all of that makes up the world!!
Let me state this clearly: that's not a book!
I couldn't stand the thought of them being satisfied with such a cheap imitation and trying to burn my children's books.
So... I ended up saying it.
"You idiot..."
Ugh... Even now, just thinking about it makes my face turn red with embarrassment.
What kind of thing did I just say to someone who helped me clean up?
...No, no, that's more than enough for someone who spouts such insults! Pull yourself together, Shiomiya Shiori!!
Oh, but what if he gets angry and comes yelling at me...? I can't get into an argument with someone who uses such foul language. I couldn't even do that with a normal person.
I-I'm sure it'll be fine. After all, he was making fun of books so much. He'll never come to the library again.
Yes, that's right! It's okay!
Okay! So then...
...Should I put this book away?
...Elsie at that time...
"This is... bright red! So this is what's walking around the streets of Japan these days!!"
The era of the Black Ships is over, and now it's the era of the red car!!
Fire trucks... they're so cool!!
I've become even smarter! What should I do?!