“Is…Is this really a fantasy game?”

I was dumbfounded by the sight in front of me. The streets were lined up with all kinds of food stalls I was all too familiar with in my old world. They were serving things like hot dogs, burgers, ice cream, and a bunch of other food you’d eat while on the move. I never would’ve guessed food like this would be served in this world.

Ignoring my surprise, Xara dragged me off to a hot dog stand and our food adventure began.

Thankfully she hadn’t asked me to pay for everything because I wasn't exactly in the mood to spend anything right now. And I'm glad that's how things went since in the end Xara both bought and ate pretty much everything the food stalls had to offer. Even stuff I personally thought tasted weird or disgusting. Did that make her one of those foodie characters? She never really went out with the MC in the game more than once and that wasn’t even for food. Meaning I guess there are things even I don’t know about these heroines.

We ended up spending around two hours at those food stalls.

By the time we were done, I was stuffed to the brim and found it hard to move. Xara, however, still seemed like she was ready for more.

In order to keep my stomach from exploding, I managed to convince Xara that we should do something different.

With that, she took me off somewhere completely unexpected.

“A…Museum?”

“Mhm. Apparently, this place goes over the entire history of magic over the last forty years. I’ve always wanted to check it out.”

“Really? Why didn’t you go to it sooner then?”

Xara hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I…wanted my first visit to this place to be with someone special.”

“...I see.”

Someone special? So why didn’t she go here with Riko?

As we explored the museum, I started thinking about this whole thing.

She mentioned she wanted to come here with someone special, and we just spent the day grabbing food and enjoying each other's company. Aren’t these things you do when you’re on a date with someone?

If that’s the case, why would she have invited me instead of Riko?

Wait. Don’t tell me…

“Axel! Check this out!”

Before finishing that thought, Xara called out to me.

Walking over, Xara began pointing out a lot of different stuff she was interested in with a sparkle in her eye and we ended up spending quite a bit of time at that museum and didn’t finish until it was almost five in the afternoon.

There were plenty of interesting things in there to look at, but I never got the chance to get a good look since Xara would drag me off to the next location every time she was done looking.

Once we were finished in there, we stepped out and Xara turned toward me.

"Hey, there's one more place I want to take you today. Is that okay?

"Um...Sure."

Thinking about where the heck this last place could be, I didn't even noticed Xara grabbing hold of my hand and dragging me off in the complete opposite direction of the school.

We continued walking for another twenty minutes or so and that’s when I was starting to wonder just how far off this place was.

Around noon, we finally arrived.

“This is the place,” said Xara.

I found myself looking up. We appeared to be standing in front of a bell tower. I recognized this place. Wasn’t this…?

Wanting an answer, I turned to look at Xara.

“Why did you take me here Xa-Whoa!”

Keeping her grip on my hand, Xara flapped her wings and soared into the air with me being dragged behind her.

The wind blew through my hair as we flew upward. It kinda felt like when you put your hand out the car window.

A moment later, the wind came to a halt when Xara stopped at the top of the tower.

Placing me on the stone floor next to the bell, Xara planted her feet on the ground and looked at me.

“There’s something I wanna show you. Come here for a second.”

Her voice suddenly got serious as she gestured for me to look over the edge of the bell tower.

Knowing what was coming next, I slowly walked over to the edge and looked out at the horizon. From where I stood, the sun was beginning to fade. But unlike normal where it just faded out of view, I could see a purple and orange hue emanate from it. Honestly, it looked incredible. This was the sight of a setting sun. Not an easy view to get unless you know the perfect spot.

“Wow,” was all I could say.

It had a completely different feel than it did when playing the game.

It felt…new, different, fresh. It was remarkable.

Xara stepped up next to me.

“When I saw you that night and you showed me a beautiful sight of the town, I thought I’d return the favor by showing this great spot I found. It’s really beautiful.”

I nodded in agreement.

“It’s amazing.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

This really was like a whole new experience. But as nice as the sight was, what came next was gonna be a big blow to my heart.

As the sky slowly began to darken, I took a step back and found myself looking at Xara who moved in front of me and looked into my eyes.

“Axel. When we first met, I only thought of you as a teasing jerk and someone who never cared for other's feelings. But when I was suffering, you came to my rescue and showed me you’re more than that.”

Xara held her hands to her chest.

“And after everything you’ve done for me, I’ve realized something very important.”

After that, the next words that left Xara’s mouth made my heart ache and flutter at the same time.

“Axel…I think I've fallen in love with you. You’ve shown me there’s more to life and how far dreams can really go. You mean more to me than anyone else I know. Would you please...be my boyfriend?”

Yep. There it was. The confession at the end of the Xara route. Something truly wonderful….as well as something I don’t deserve.

“Xara. Before you hear my answer, let me ask you something.”

While I already made up my mind, I’d be lying if I said winning her love didn’t sound appealing. Even if it meant taking Riko’s happiness away, I could still have a happy life myself. However, her answer to my question was what would lead to whether I change my mind or not.

“What is it?”

I was silent for a moment. As much as it hurt to ask this, it was necessary.

“If I said yes, would you cling to me like you did Riko?”

Xara’s eyes went wide.

“Of course no-!”

“Don’t just answer! Think before you speak!”

Startled by my tone, Xara began to think of her response.

As she did so, a heavy silence hung over the two of us. It was so quiet that I almost forgot to breathe.

Finally, she answered.

“I…I can’t promise that.”

I knew it.

“Xara. You remember the night I told you about clinging to Riko and how bad it was?”

“Y…Yes.”

“Just to be clear, I didn’t say that for you to stop clinging to Riko and cling to me instead. I said that because I realized the dangerous path you were treading. A path no one wants to go down.”

As I remembered her route, it was clear she never thought for herself. She never grew. Honestly, I didn’t even know what the creators were thinking when making her character. It made me sick to think of how dependent she’d be on the MC in the future.

Xara didn’t seem to fully understand what I meant, but that was okay.

“It’s fine if you don’t get it. However, until you can say for certain that you can survive without having to cling to me, I can’t return your feelings. I’m sorry.”

With that, I jumped off the roof and created a pad of wind to catch me before I hit the ground. As I left, I could barely hear Xara crying from the top of the tower.

I’m sorry Xara. But this just isn’t how I want it to turn out. I never intended for you to fall for me. And with the way things are now, it just makes me look like someone who manipulated you into dropping one guy for another.

Thus, I left, ignoring that nagging feeling in my head telling me to turn back. Refusing to let the feelings of the man I used to be affect who I am now.

As Axel left me behind, I found myself in tears. Why wouldn’t I be? I just got rejected by the guy I liked. I’d be more surprised if I wasn’t sad. Trying to wipe away the tears, I looked into the sky to find it had grown dark. It looked like night had taken over.

Curling up into a ball, I rocked back and forth as the tears continued falling down my eyes. No matter what I did, they wouldn’t stop.

Still crying, I thought back to his question.

“If I said yes, would you cling to me like you did Riko?”

I knew I couldn’t say no to that. Not after everything that happened.

And when I think about it, that was probably why he rejected me. He didn’t want a repeat of what happened before. Despite it making sense, that didn’t stop the pain in my chest. I poured my heart and soul into that confession.

So, because I was unable to hold back the tears, I ended up crying until daybreak.

School was back in session. However, Xara wasn’t there. Apparently, she hadn’t even returned to the dorms until early this morning. And I already had a good idea as to why.

But as much as I wanted to help her, I knew seeing me wouldn’t be a good thing right now. So I decided to stay away for the time being.

Talking with Dianne, I tried my best to keep on a smile as best I could. And after that, I left class during the first break to hang out with Roy and Flynn.

Throughout the whole day, I kept on a fake smile.

Finally getting back to my dorm room, I plopped on my bed as Nia appeared next to me.

“I’m guessing this attitude has something to do with that succubus. Right?”

I didn’t say anything. I just continued lying there.

With a sigh, Nia used all her strength to pull me over and sat on top of me.

“What’re you doing?” I asked with a groan.

“I'm sitting here until you cheer up.”

“What does cheering me up have to do with sitting on me?”

Ignoring my question, Nia laid down on my chest.

“You’re still feeling guilty about unintentionally manipulating her feelings right?”

I was silent for a moment before nodding.

“I never would’ve guessed just sharing my thoughts with her would lead towards her opening up that curse.”

“Even if that wasn’t what you were trying to do, you still did it.”

“...I know.”

The curse of the succubi ancestry. I read about it when I asked Nia to show me everything she could about succubi. It’s apparently a curse placed by the first succubi on all future generations. It’s a curse that attacks them in their dreams in an attempt to take over the mind of a weakened succubus and turn them into a human killing machine. Why? Because of a stupid war between humans and succubi fifty years ago. I didn’t remember anything like this happening in the game, so it took me a bit to realize that was what was going on with Xara.

Actually, now that I think about it, right before I was sent to this world, I recall an announcement for a fan disc, some special bonus that's similar to DLC that was set to come out and expand on some of the heroines throughout the game.

Was this that fan disc? Or was this something the world had come up with on its own? I didn’t know.

As for the curse itself, while I wasn’t sure, I think telling Xara my honest thoughts about her clinging problems might’ve been the reason behind her mental instability. Because I told her my personal gripe with her character, she found herself doubting both Riko and herself which gave the curse a chance to take effect.

Now that might not be the case at all. But it’s my belief that I caused her this pain. Because of that, I can’t accept her feelings since they were merely the result of my poor choices. For that, I refused to accept her until I was positive she could think on her own. As well as deal with my own feelings on the matter.

I may have been disappointed at the time when I realized she had given into the curse, but when I think back on what I said, it might’ve been my fault to begin with. And for that, I take full responsibility.

Getting up from my bed as Nia fell off me, I walked over to the window and looked out at the school below. I’d almost forgotten how high my room was.

Stretching out my arms, I turned to Nia.

“Well, I guess it’s about time I start getting back to normal. Can’t have myself losing focus now. If I slip up even once, those royal assholes will pounce on me before I have the chance to react.”

Smacking my face with both hands, I tried my best to clear my thoughts. That’s right. The people at this school hate me. I can’t leave myself open. Otherwise, my life here could end in an instant.

Taking in a deep breath, I smiled and looked out at the sight in front of me.

As crazy as it sounds, It’s been a little over six years since I was sent to this world. Six wild years with several twists and turns I never saw coming. And despite the struggles, I was still here. And as I thought about what could be in store for me here at this school, I found myself looking forward to what the future held.