Life returned to its usual rhythm after the trip.
If anything had changed, it was perhaps the fact that I now had to prepare two more lunch boxes every morning.
After dropping Bronie off at kindergarten, the house felt strangely desolate, as if the empty space had grown larger than before—another small shift in my daily routine.
Well, by evening, it usually gets so loud that I actually find myself missing this desolation.
I was killing time cleaning the kitchen, which had been turned into a battlefield during the morning rush of meal prep, and then moved on to the rest of the house. Suddenly, the chime of the doorbell echoed through the halls.
"Yes, coming!"
It was nearing lunchtime, but I wasn't expecting anyone at this hour. I wondered if I had ordered something as I swung the door open.
"It's been a long time, Captain. I trust you've been well?"
"Mr. Welt?"
Standing there was a familiar, dapper gentleman I hadn't seen in a while.
Welt Yang.
The founder and former Sovereign of Anti-Entropy was standing right on my doorstep.
"Please, have some."
I couldn't just leave him standing in the hallway, so I invited him in and prepared a cup of Maxim instant coffee—brewed to his specific tastes.
"...As expected, your coffee is superb."
Mr. Welt admired the brew with a look of genuine appreciation before taking another sip. I simply shrugged my shoulders in response.
It wasn't just a simple packet of Maxim; I had carefully adjusted the ratio, water temperature, and volume specifically for him. It would have been more surprising if he hadn't liked it.
"So, what brings you all the way here?"
"To be honest, I've created something new recently."
With those words, Mr. Welt reached into his bag and handed me a game software package.
"...Honkai Impact? And these three on the cover—"
"Kiana Kaslana, Raiden Mei, and my apprentice, Bronya Zaychik."
"No, I can see that clearly enough."
My question was: why on earth had this become a video game?
With the memories of my past life, the artwork and the title itself were incredibly nostalgic. However, encountering them as a physical reality now left me with a very complicated set of emotions.
"I suppose that reaction is only natural. It is a game based on their personal histories, after all."
"Which means they gave their permission?"
"Precisely. For that matter, I've already secured permission from others who will appear later. I want the younger generation to have an easy way to experience the chronicles of these heroes."
"So, what kind of game is it?"
The packaging itself featured familiar combat scenes. Recalling my past life, I assumed it was a 3D action game and played along, asking Mr. Welt for more details.
"First off, the title is the motto Kiana put forward: 'To fight for all that is beautiful in this world.'"
"In that case, is Kiana the protagonist?"
"To be accurate, it features a three-protagonist system. As for who would be the face of the title, they eventually decided it through a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors."
Are you three really okay with deciding the main character of the title like that?
Even if I felt a sense of nostalgia because Kiana was the main face in the game I remembered, it still felt ridiculous.
"Truthfully, it was the first time I've ever seen a wall literally crack from the sheer pressure of people playing Rock-Paper-Scissors. Haha!"
"...I apologize on behalf of my family."
I take back my previous thought.
How do you even crack a wall with sheer pressure just by throwing 'Rock'?
I heard that even as Herrschers, they usually suppressed their Honkai energy levels to match a standard Valkyrie.
Normal Valkyries don't crack walls just by their aura, you know?
They are definitely getting a lecture when they get home.
"Getting back to the game itself, here is the introduction: 'Valkyries—the warriors of the world's most powerful organization, Schicksal. Within their slender bodies, they carry genes capable of resisting the source of chaos. Honkai—the incarnation of chaos. The destruction of human civilization is their ultimate goal. And you are the Captain of these Valkyries, tasked with leading them to fight against humanity's greatest and most powerful enemies.' ...That is the prologue."
"Oh, I see. And what genre is this?"
Listening to the familiar intro, I asked Mr. Welt about the genre.
Honestly, seeing the screenshots on the back of the box, I was already convinced it was that 3D action game from my past life, but I figured it was polite to ask.
"It's a dating sim."
"Ah, of course, a dating si... what?"
"Hm?"
Excuse me, what did you just say?
I thought I had misheard, but Mr. Welt repeated himself with total confidence: the genre was a dating sim.
I mean, sure, the original game had some... 'elements' like that, but once you got into the actual plot, those disappeared completely, didn't they?
And the Captain didn't even appear in the main story! Why did this turn into a dating sim?
"...Can I try playing it for a moment?"
"Of course. I came here specifically hoping you would test it for me."
At his invitation, I pulled out the console my wife and child usually use and booted up the game.
Recalling the prologue I knew from my past life, I pressed the start button. Following the familiar scene of the elevator ascending, the bridge screen appeared.
"Mr. Welt?"
"Yes?"
"Why is the actual Hyperion bridge modeled here in such perfect detail?"
Isn't this a massive security breach for Schicksal?
"I figured that if we were going to make it, we should aim for maximum realism."
I mean, even if you push up your glasses and say that so coolly...
If I showed this to Auntie Theresa, I'm pretty sure she'd confiscate the whole project before it even hit the shelves.
"By the way, do I have to pick a gender first?"
This was new; the game in my past life didn't have this.
...Wait, thinking about it, if this is a dating sim, why is there even an option for a gender other than male?
"You're the type to use your real name when you play, aren't you?"
"Yeah, it helps with immersion. Okay, done."
After selecting my gender and inputting basic physical data, a screen for the starting location appeared.
"Your choice of starting point will determine your targets and initial social relationships, so choose carefully."
"Uhh... for saying that, Schicksal is the only option?"
"Well, you haven't cleared anything yet, so the other options are locked."
"So I have to unlock them to play as other factions?"
"Consider it a reward of sorts."
I see. It is true that having something to work toward makes a game more engaging than having everything unlocked from the start.
After choosing Schicksal, a window popped up asking me to select an initial bond. I saw SD-style portraits of Kiana Kaslana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya Zaychik, along with descriptions of bonus skills granted by each selection.
"Hmm, my first partner..."
"I'd go with Kiana here. Since it's the start of the game and you'll likely take damage until you get used to the controls, a HP bonus skill would be best."
"No, Mei is a better choice. A Captain should get used to the controls quickly, so an Attack bonus would be far more efficient."
"I was thinking of going with Bronya... wait, why are you two even here?!"
I turned my head to find Kiana and Senior Mei sitting right next to me, practically sticking to my sides.
Shouldn't they be at work right now? Why are they in my living room?
"I just got this... 'feeling,' you know? Like something fun was about to happen. So I found an opening, dumped all my work on Auntie Theresa, and ran over!"
"I felt the same way as Kiana. I left my overtime to Adam and came straight home."
"...Call Theresa and Adam right now and apologize."
I rubbed my forehead. Their words were giving me a headache.
You two aren't students anymore! You're grown women, act like it!
"Captain, more importantly, I'm really looking forward to my individual ending~"
"Individual ending?"
"Miss Mei... how do you know about that?"
Mr. Welt asked, looking genuinely surprised. Senior Mei simply put her index finger to her lips and gave him a playful 'It's a secret~'.
Shaking his head as if admitting defeat, Mr. Welt explained the 'Individual Endings' I had been wondering about.
"As you play the game with a partner, your choices will increase their Affection. Ultimately, you can view an ending where you become a couple with that character. That is an individual ending. As a bonus, clearing it unlocks that character's signature weapon."
"Wait, doesn't that mean it'll be impossible to clear the game unless I play through every character's route?"
Mr. Welt looked at me as if he didn't see the problem.
"Didn't I say the primary genre was a dating sim?"
"...Out of curiosity, what's the difference between having a signature weapon and not?"
"It changes the difficulty from 'Hell' to 'Easy.'"
So the base difficulty is Hell?
And to clear it, you absolutely need to farm for everyone's signature gear?
Is this game balance even legal?
"Just in case you can't finish every route, I've implemented the Stigmata system. Equipping them won't be as effective as a signature weapon, but it lowers the difficulty to a manageable level."
"Stigmata? You mean like the ones on your bodies?"
"Yes, but I've made them into gear items. Obtaining them isn't very difficult. Anyone can get them with a little effort."
"How?"
"Through the Gacha."
"... ..."
"Naturally, for the sake of 'balance,' the better the item, the lower the drop rate."
Looking at Mr. Welt, who was boasting with his glasses reflecting the light, I came to a silent conclusion.
Yeah, this game is total trash.
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