Chapter 7 : "Otome Heroine" meets "Occult murder mysteries". Isn't that the wrong geeeenre ?!

Week 1 Day 7.

Hm, there's been something off for a while now.

It's been one week, and absolutely no attempt on my life.

My attempts to find Lilia-chan haven't yielded any fruit, so I've started a pursuit with Oriens' "first prince"

After the hell I've been through, trying to get Lilia-chan to notice me, it has been... Disappointingly easy to get him. A few words, touches and suggestion, and he was totally wrapped around my fingers.

Ah, but maybe I'm too hard on him, after the super prideful princess with sky high specs, everyone else seems dull.

I think I get it now, the reason everyone is so hung up after Lilia.

It's because she's the unattainable objective in a dating game. The one you can admire, that you can run after , but that will never be yours.

I'll change my review of the game after finishing to play, it deserves a higher rating that the one I gave it.

I haven't bedded or tried anything intimate with Oriens' first prince, because that was the trigger for the bad end. So I was stuck with speaking words of love that were told so many times already that they didn't hold any value anymore.

Aaaah, how boring.

How can you expect me to go back to normal after seeing that rose garden CG and all the time I spent chasing her ?

I bid him a good evening and went to my rooms.

He looked disappointed that I disregarded his offers to go to his room.

I'm so bored. I hope something exciting happens...

I'm thirsty.

Week 2 Day 1.

Beware of your wishes, lest they'll be granted.

The castle was in turmoil.

Because the dried corpse of Oriens' first prince was found in his room, sacrificed, in what looked like a ritual. His heart was never found.

From what I heard, there were talks of war with Oriens now, since the heir to the throne died here, and the king was... Unable to sire more children?

The shock from learning what happened gave the king a heart attack. He was found in his own bedroom. With no sign of unnatural death.

The whole castle was mourning, I was wondering.

Did I accidentally unlock the game's secret route ?

Having a murderer on the loose sure sounds scary. I can get why people are scared. I would be too, if this happened back home.

The coronation is programmed to happen in three weeks.

Poor first prince, too become king in that kind of circumstances.

I feel a bit chilled to be honest. I rub my arms, trying to get rid of the goosebumps. It's September, after all.

"Are you feeling alright?"

The second duke came from behind me. He sent his wife back home when he learned about what was happening here. This dutiful side for him made him my second favorite, in friendship routes.

"Ah, with what happened, how can I be truly alright..."

I'm 100% Sure that was Nagito, after all, he's a magic user, and the legitimate heir to the throne of Oriens. The question is why would he act now .

I didn't forget his allusion to the 'no save game'...

It is a definite possibility his AI is as high as Lilia's after all, they share the same creator. For such a high quality AI, how much would it take to become fully self aware ?

But this, in itself, isn't this dangerous ? Each time a game is over before the end, the data is transmitted to the servers to be saved, which means that if I don't reach the true end, he will download himself in the main servers ?!

It's too dangerous ! I ... How can I deal with that ?!

If I act against him, Lilia will destroy me and he will win.

If I leave, he will win.

I feel a bit light headed...

"You're obviously not right. I'll accompany you to the healer."

His voice was stern and he firmly led me away.

As we walked down the hall, I saw Nagito pushing a tray with refreshments and a cake. White sugar roses and strawberries. As he passed me, his eyes flickered over me and he smirked.

"I did tell you to run away, onee-chan..."

My whole body seized in fright, but Nagito was already gone, as if he never stopped to speak to me to the first place. Can it be he...!

...

In any case, being alone right now is too dangerous. That's why I'll stick with that guy.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The week passed, but nothing happened.

He was sweet, but ultimately pretty boring, I mused in his bed.

He's late...

I'm cold.

Week 3 Day 1

The second duke's body was found sitting in his office, a frozen statue and his heart missing.

When I saw it, I screamed and fell to the ground.

This is too much...

What did I do to you ?

Is that what happens when you manage to force Nagito into a Rival position, or is simply doing this for his own fun ?

"I-I don't get -hic- it, why does this have to happen ?!"

The people around me looked at me with pity.

They all saw how all those men flocked around me, and now I lost my husband, and two of my 'lovers'.

That was official now, whatever was his twisted game, I was the target.

...

Those presentiments, the day before they died, the thirst and the cold, the dry and frozen corpses.

Was it Nagito sending me warnings about how they were going to die ?

If that's the case, doesn't that mean that I have a way to save them ?

But why would he do this, to toy with me ?

I have to find him.

And Find him I did, at the end of the week.

He was currently reading a botany book in the library.

How strange, I would have thought he'd pass as much time as he could with Lilia.

"I'm starting to think your mind is damaged, onee-chan. I remember telling you to run away ?"

I sat and glared at him.

Everything's his fault.

He closed his book and put it on the table, a cheery expression on his face.

"I wonder if that's the time I should be doing a chess analogy, but chess is pretty much useless right now, so let's speak about more interesting things. I'll be magnanimous and let you start."

What is he after?

At least, he seems willing to speak.

I breathed in and let out a trembling voice.

"Why did you kill them."

"I did not kill them. My turn. How did it feel to see that girl ripped apart by wolves ?"

What is he talking about ? I'd know it if I saw someone die in front of me !

"Hm, you don't even remember it. Not memorable then. Your turn."

I ignored him and spoke to him in a shrill voice.

"You're not the killer ? Who is it ?!"

He looked at me, bored.

"Aaaah, that's what I get for communicating with brain dead people, I guess. I suppose I'll answer both, but since you broke the rule, I'll have to end our conversation afterwards. I am, in fact, not the killer. And about who it is... "

He seemed to thing about it for an instant, before smirking at her and closing his eyes.

"Well , one could wonder where the responsibility lies. The one who did the deed, the one who commanded it to be done by obligation, the one who ordered it in revenge for what the victim did, or the victim itself?"

What ?

"The neverending chain has to be broken somewhere after all, or we'd never get to the end of that tale. Well, I can't say that it was a pleasure speaking with you, Lilia will grow restless if left alone too much, and in the current times, I don't want her to be left alone."

I tried to get up, but my body couldn't move anymore from my chair.

I heard Nagito's childish voice from behind me, extremely close, a solid, blade like item against my back, whispering in a coldly amused voice.

"You'd better watch behind your back, o-nee-chan, grudges don't die out easily..."

Then the blade disappeared and he went away.

"Well, I'll look forward how long you can survive this little , no save game..."

Never have footsteps sound so ominous before.

When I finally gained back my freedom of movement, I fell to the ground writhing in pain.

It burns

Week 4 Day 1

The burnt body of the prince of Mana was found in a brothel, a gaping hole where the heart should be.

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Countdown indeed.

Or is it a count up ?

In any case, there's definitely a bodycount !

The end (of this arc) is near ! You hear me ?

And Nagito gets to be a creepy brat !