Chapter 18. Mom, I'm in Love
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[Onihime]: "Haha, Great Onmyoji, you'll soon realize what a foolish decision it is to oppose me."
The protagonist's character portrait appeared on the right side of the screen. He was a refined-looking Onmyoji wearing a tall hat.
His name was [Asakura Haruka].
And he was at the maximum level 99 at the start.
[Asakura Haruka]: "Stop talking nonsense. You've harmed innocent people, and your hands are stained with countless lives. Today, I will enforce justice on behalf of the heavens."
...
It began with a tutorial battle, so the protagonist was maxed out, allowing the player to enjoy a power trip while the game thoroughly introduced its unique combat system.
Furukawa, being a hardcore gamer, was already very familiar with this kind of RPG. He picked it up quickly and easily.
On the screen, gorgeous special effects also appeared when the male protagonist used skills.
"Wow. Even the skill effects look amazing."
...
After defeating Onihime—
The protagonist Asakura Haruka woke up.
Ah~
So it was all a dream.
Still, even if it was just a dream, it was one worth savoring.
Hirose Furukawa was still relishing the Onihime scene from earlier. To be honest, he now had incredibly high expectations for the female characters that might appear later in the game.
At the very least, so far, this galgame had provided a truly different experience from others.
First, the visuals were absolutely top-tier. None of the other games on the market even came close.
The character designs and story setting were impeccable.
Now it all depended on whether the plot could deliver an extraordinary experience to the players.
If it was just about exorcising demons and steamrolling through enemies, then even with the beautiful graphics, it would still only be a first-class galgame at best. For Furukawa, that wouldn't be enough to make it an outstanding RPG.
Then again~
One shouldn't expect too much from a galgame in the first place.
...
Clearly, Hirose Furukawa had underestimated Onmyoji and underestimated the charm of a galgame.
This was by no means just a "galgame" in the traditional sense.
From beginning to end, the kinds of scenes he had expected never appeared. Instead, what he got was rich dialogue, intricate plot developments, and a variety of side quests and main storylines.
The game was only just beginning, and the earlier part had just been a teaser to hook the player.
Asakura Haruka was originally an ordinary boy from a small town, running a hot spring inn with his aunt.
And of course, since it was a hot spring inn, there were inevitably a few indescribable situations.
Naturally, the game didn't show much directly. At most, you'd get a scene where you could eavesdrop by the door and catch a line or two and use words to spark the player's imagination.
But even that level of subtlety brought Hirose Furukawa great satisfaction.
The so-called details make or break a game. For an RPG that focused on combat to still pay attention to small touches like this showed that the game's producer had a strong creative vision.
He was clearly a master with a craftsman's spirit who pursued perfection.
However...
Furukawa looked up, deep in thought. He had never heard of a company named Pokeni.
Maybe they'd poached some top-tier game producer from elsewhere?
With that thought in mind, Hirose Furukawa continued playing the game.
...
On this day, a group of strangely dressed guests arrived at the hot spring inn.
They had come from the war-torn lands of the West, though their true intentions were mysterious. Occasionally, when they mentioned something called [Fairy Island], they would behave cryptically and evasively.
In the end, these scoundrels actually poisoned Asakura Haruka's aunt.
If he wanted to save her life, Haruka would have to travel to Fairy Island to seek medicine from the shrine maiden there.
And so, Haruka boarded the ferry to the island.
After defeating the island's guardian statue, he smoothly reached the center of the island.
And by sheer coincidence, he ran into the shrine maiden [Yuuki Rei], who was bathing in the lake.
"Ah~ Who's there?!"
The girl turned around, revealing her fair arms, delicately defined collarbone—everything that could stir a man's imagination about a girl.
Her face was pure and flawless, her eyes clear as glass, long hair draped over her shoulders—pitiful yet radiating a kind of untouched innocence.
Even though it was just a static image, it was already breathtakingly beautiful.
Wow~
Hirose Furukawa's eyes widened in awe.
As expected, this is the heroine from the cartridge cover.
But unfortunately—
All the key parts were censored with holy light!
Damn it!
What a shame it was a 16+ game. If it had been 18+, he'd be feasting his eyes by now.
Speaking of which, Pokeni's censorship style was rather unique.
Furukawa couldn't help thinking—
Other companies used harsh pixelation, covering everything with huge mosaics that made it impossible to tell what anything was.
But Pokeni used a blend of blur and radiant "holy light," giving the effect a natural, artful touch—like the light was actually part of the scene rather than a clumsy afterthought.
It really made you appreciate the care and creativity of the game producer.
"Awesome."
Once he finished the game, Hirose Furukawa was determined to find out who this producer was.
...
Asakura Haruka thought she was the island's shrine maiden, so he secretly stole her clothes, hoping to use them in exchange for the antidote to save his aunt.
But he didn't expect that just as the shrine maiden Yuuki Rei finished putting her clothes back on, she beat him senseless, giving him a brutal lesson.
Fortunately, Rei's grandmother arrived just in time, or the protagonist might have died on the spot.
At this point, Hirose Furukawa laughed like a pig.
"This is hilarious! Interesting! It's too interesting!"
It wasn't just a case of meeting a girl and immediately pushing her down and sleeping with her.
This game was seriously something else.
In other galgames, if the protagonist didn't actively pursue the girls, then the female characters would just throw themselves at him. Some even skipped dialogue entirely—just click [Mate] and you'd see the final scene.
There was no story whatsoever.
But Onmyoji was entirely different. Just when Furukawa thought the protagonist was going to make a move in the lake and conquer the heroine with his "fighting" skills—
The story twisted in a completely unexpected way.
The girl had pride and had a temper. She wasn't just going to cling to the male protagonist like a helpless fly.
In that moment, [Yuuki Rei] suddenly felt alive, with a personality of her own.
For the first time, Hirose Furukawa realized: So a galgame could be done like this too?!
A heroine with her own distinct personality... felt so much more compelling.