NOVEL NEXT Chapter 112 - Chapter 112: World Crossing
Chapter 112: World Crossing
“Hey, Leo. Class is over,” I was vigorously shaken, waking me up. Huh, was I sleeping? It felt like I had a very long dream. Students were streaming out of the wide-open door of the lecture hall. If I don’t hurry, the cafeteria will be crowded after the second period. Is it already too late?
More importantly, it was a very realistic dream. Over there, I spoke fluent French, raised my level, made magical tools, and then…
“Hey, are you still half-asleep?” Bam, I was slapped on the back, snapping me back to reality. With my friend, I hurried to the cafeteria.
I’m Leo Amakawa, a second-year student at the Imperial Technical University. I moved to the capital area to attend school and live alone. Back home are my parents and grandparents… Huh. Somehow, my memories feel foggy. They should all be fine. Since it’s far away, I haven’t been back since I started school. Is that why? However, ever since I had that strange dream earlier, something feels off. It’s like this world is dream-like. No, it’s as if I already know everything about this life. That’s dangerous. Is this an occult matter?
I shoveled down my set meal while making small talk and headed to the afternoon lecture. Since we chose different classes, this is where we part ways. Language classes are a hassle when they hit. I prepared for the class by looking up today’s topic in the dictionary. Wait, couldn’t I just use my smartphone to translate?
—A smartphone? What’s a smartphone?
Moreover, I can read the text written in the textbook without any difficulty. I don’t even need a dictionary from the start. After all, German is a neighboring language. From the neighboring Arnold Empire, there’s Hyamo-san…
No, this is bad. My head is in a mess. What was that dream about? And what’s with this sense of discomfort and lack of reality?
I absentmindedly made it through the three afternoon classes and headed home. It’s a good thing I didn’t have to work part-time today.
At home, I opened up a large laptop. Was it always this big and heavy? Recent ones were supposed to be light enough to carry around, but memories of unknown origin flashed through my mind. The only thing I wanted to look up was one thing. The keywords I had been thinking of researching in my dream: “Lovey-Dovey Academy” and “Arcart Arc.”
The former was quickly found. It seemed to be an indie label otome game. It was being made by a game circle at the Imperial University of Culture, in the same capital area. I couldn’t find the term “Arcart Arc.” After all, Lovey-Dovey Academy was an unfinished game scheduled to be exhibited at a winter doujinshi fair this year. I contacted the circle.
The representative of the circle, Nagai, answered. He was deeply impressed that I had researched Lovey-Dovey Academy and rattled off quickly about how the protagonist was a character packed with his own moe elements. And then, he quickly started calling me Leo and insisted that I call him Kosuke.
Before I knew it, I was caught up in it. I was put in charge of everything from testing, debugging, and packaging the nearly overdue Lovey-Dovey Academy, to selling it on the day of the event. It didn’t help that my major was not very useful for game development. The people in the circle were also laughing nervously, saying, “We’ve been caught in quite a mess, haven’t we?”
And so, as I was dragged along, passing through my third and fourth years, I ended up joining the venture started by Kosuke, who graduated a year earlier, Love & Kühn Co., Ltd. My family objected, saying that a game company was out of the question, but I was hired as an executive. There were only three employees, including part-timers.
I worked tirelessly. After all, if I didn’t write the program, the company would be broke. Fortunately, Kosuke’s creativity, ability to involve others, and communication skills were exceptional. He came up with one plan after another, quickly made connections with people outside the company, and even hired famous illustrators, quickly turning ideas into reality. I just silently put together the framework according to his demands. I didn’t mind doing that kind of work.
Of course, everything didn’t go smoothly. We sacrificed sleep, barely managed our finances, and somehow kept the company afloat. While the game industry may seem glamorous on the surface, the backstage is very harsh. I don’t know how many times I felt like giving up. I was saved many times by Kosuke’s cheerful brightness, and I passed each day, pounding on the keyboard while feeling like I was barely getting by.
However, from that day in my second year of university, it’s as if my vision has been looking through a thin veil. Driven by something unknown, I live like this. Especially, the keyword “Arcart Arc” cannot be forgotten. Before I knew it, ten years had passed since then, the company somehow got on track, and we even had employees. Lovey-Dovey Academy has already released five works, and we were discussing whether the next sixth installment should be a social game where players can freely explore in an open-world format during a meeting.
“—I want to create a stage for Arcart. Is that okay?”
When I made my first remark about delving into the game’s story, the employees looked at me with surprise. However, Kosuke, who knew that I occasionally mentioned the word “Arcart,” said, “Great, I’ll leave the scenario there to you.”
It was the first time I wrote a scenario specification document. I usually just read through the ones that came up, scribbled in red where data was missing, and sent them back. Our company is still so analog. After all, paper is easier on the eyes and avoids the hassle of confirming what was said or not.
Despite being my first time working on the scenario for Arcart Arc, it was completed with frightening speed and precision. Because it’s all in my head. The harbor town with a sea breeze, outstanding students from all over the country and beyond. The cool son of a border count, the hot-blooded musclehead, the son of a disagreeable prime minister, and the laid-back son of a court mage. The carefree second prince, assassins, and even the hidden character—
At that moment, I remembered everything. I am Alexi. The second son of the Appel Trading Company, a second-year high school student at Marol Academy’s senior division. Along with Urrica and Lord Luca, I crossed over from the forest elf village, and then.
With deep emotions, I worked on the production of Love Kyun Gakuen 6. Each line of code I wrote meticulously weaved the world I lived in. Of course, what I input here is just a tiny fragment of that world over there. Just like here, there are various people living in that world, each with their own circumstances, crying, laughing, and living their lives to the fullest. It’s not a virtual world. I’m just linking the stories of that world and this one a little.
I finally understood why I couldn’t escape the loop. Because when I first met them, didn’t Vivi-chan say that?
“A follower? Was there such a person? Anyway, to conquer Quentin-sama’s route, you have to raise the favorability of the other capture targets to 50. We still have three more lunch events to go. Thanks for your help☆”
That’s right. To fulfill their love, I, along with Lord Luca, had to attend lunch events and raise favorability. By avoiding contact with them, especially keeping Lord Luca hidden, I was only tightening my own noose.
But let’s change that setting. I’ll remove both Lord Luca and myself as hidden characters and instead send over some suitable guys from Lachine’s nobility. Severin-kun from Class A and Thibault-kun from Class B, who performed well in mock battles. They are quite handsome and have leadership qualities. It’s a story of studying abroad in the advanced Arcart and falling in love with a light attribute beauty. It shouldn’t be a bad story for them either.
Ah, the dream-like life in Japan is almost over. I should have graduated from this world a long time ago. But coming back to this nostalgic world, occasionally seeing my family’s faces, having had a girlfriend for a short time, and successfully growing the company I built with my friends, I’m glad I came back here.
As the game was released, I sorted out my affairs. I taught everything I could to the employees and prepared for the handover. It was last minute, but I wrote letters to everyone and said goodbye. I have no regrets anymore. In the empty office after everyone had left, I took out the staff of world crossing from my inventory and waved it.