"Fiancé?"
Keima has started saying something I don't understand again.
You mean *that* fiancé, right?
"It seems you have some doubts."
"When you say 'fiancé,' you mean a fiancé, right?"
"Yeah. What do you mean?"
"Certainly, in general terms, a fiancé is a engaged person."
However, in the world of dating simulation games, it refers to "any relationship in which a romantic relationship is forced upon someone for some reason."
"Forced romance? Oh!"
"Our current situation is one where we'll be killed if we don't fall in love."
Indeed, that's essentially what the current situation boils down to.
This is quite an incredible situation...
"...However, this route doesn't strictly apply to this particular case."
"Huh? Why?"
With a few exceptions, in most engagement routes, or more precisely, 'forced engagement routes through violence,' the goal is to establish a romantic relationship.performance・character・ru・
In this case..."
"...So, I guess I need to experience real love."
"I appreciate your perceptiveness."
That's right, I have to drive out the runaway spirit inside me.
A superficial relationship just won't do.
"Don't worry. That's the only difference."
Therefore, the basic tactics of the fiancé route can be used as is.
The key to this route lies in 'sharing secrets' and 'sharing time'."
"Sharing 'secrets' and 'time'... I see. That makes sense."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
I (probably) understood it, but it seems Elsie didn't.
"Seriously, listen up?"
They both pretend to be in a romantic relationship, even though they don't want to.
It's a secret they can't reveal to anyone, and they end up sympathizing with each other because they're both in the same situation.
This will form a strong bond.
Furthermore, unless there's a specific reason otherwise, they need to be together at all times in public to show off their romantic relationship.
This time is also an important element."
"Ah, I see! I understand!"
Did they really understand?
I think it'll be fine as long as I understand, but I'm a little worried.
"Therefore, I will be revealing more information to you compared to a normal walkthrough."
There may be some things I can't talk about, but please bear with me on that."
"Okay, I'll leave it to Keima."
"Don't worry, Nakagawa. I'll get rid of that runaway soul inside you... within a week!"
Keima looked very reliable when he said it so confidently.
But I can't just leave everything to them. I have to do what I'm supposed to do.
"So, what should I do?"
"Well... I want to make it as close to a normal engaged couple situation as possible, so I want to pretend we're dating everywhere—at school, at home, everywhere..."
"Is there a problem?"
"Just two."
First and foremost, it's up to you."
"What do you mean?"
"It's pointless if you do it reluctantly just because I told you to."
If you were ordered to do it by that demon, then you and I are both victims, but if you did it on my orders, then you'd just be the perpetrator and the victim."
"But all I have to do is pretend to be your girlfriend, right? I'll be fine."
"Really? I think an idol dating someone is nothing but a scandal."
"Our lives are more important, so if it's necessary, that's fine."
And what if the runaway soul grows up...?"
After saying all that, I remembered the fate of those possessed by runaway spirits.
My hands and body are trembling, but I manage to hold them down.
"...It will only make the scandal more distasteful."
Okay, I'll keep that in mind as an option for now.
The other problem is... what happens after you release the runaway soul inside you."
"Later...later, huh?"
That is certainly a problem.
"Um, what exactly is this...?"
"Elsie, it seems like almost everyone involved loses their memory after the raid is over. Did Hell do something to cause that?"
"Yes! It seems someone higher up will take care of it!"
"That's a pretty vague way of putting it, man."
"Even if you say that, I don't know the details either..."
Oh, but the department head was complaining that major changes would be troublesome because they're trying to conserve electricity these days!
"That's all I need to know."
"That seems impossible..."
In Takahara's case, it was confined to school and only a limited number of people were interested, but if the same thing happened to me, an idol, the story would spread all over Japan.
That would mean an enormous increase in the amount of work involved.
It would be fine if it just meant more work, but if there are any memory errors or omissions, it will hinder future gameplay.
I want to get rid of the runaway spirit inside me as soon as possible, but it's a bit tricky because acting out a romantic scene isn't absolutely essential.
...I'm actually thinking quite calmly. Is it thanks to Keima-kun?
"Okay then, no pretending to be a couple. You can act normally at school too."
"...I mean, will you even be able to come to school?"
"What do you think we should do, Keima? I think we could manage to take about half the week off, but..."
"So, we can only get half of it..."
"I'm so sorry. I already asked you to make time for me last week, so I can't do any more than this..."
"Before even thinking about how to beat the game, I want to do something about that too."
Hey Elsie, can't we do something about it with our hellish technology?"
"No, no, what do you want me to do?!"
"Well... maybe two people bumping into each other could swap souls, or maybe some strange software could create duplicates of a person..."
"That's impossible!! Even a demon can't swap souls or duplicate people that easily! Maybe they could make dolls, but not this!"
A doll, a doll, huh...
It would be a stretch to use a doll as a stand-in for me.
While it's not surprising that a doll capable of simple conversations could be created using hellish technology, it's a bit impractical given that this profession involves a lot of interaction with people.
"Honestly, it's useless... Can't it at least transform or something?"
"There's no way I can do that... Wait, is transformation okay?"
"Huh? Oh."
"Then it's not impossible!"
"If you use Hagoromo-san to create the hairstyle and body type, and then cast an illusion spell, you can practically become a completely different person!"
"You can do that? I've changed my mind about you."
Nakagawa, I'm thinking of having this guy act as a stand-in to buy us some time. Is that alright?
"Uh, hmm... I'm really worried..."
I don't get the impression that Elsie has the ability to skillfully portray a role.
But I guess desperate times call for desperate measures...?
"Um, well..."
"what up?"
"It's not really a transformation, more like a disguise, and while ordinary demons can do it, I can't use illusion magic..."
"...Hey, you said all that, and now you can't do it?! You bug-monster!!"
"I-I'm so sorry!! B-B-But, maybe if I ask the department head, he'll do something about it..."
"Sigh... I hope that solves the problem."
"I'm so sorry."
I'll contact the department head first thing tomorrow morning.
The department head is very busy, and considering the time it will take to come up with a solution... I think we can get it sorted out by tomorrow night!
"Tomorrow night, huh? Well, that's not a problem."
"Yeah, that's true, if we can actually implement countermeasures."
"For now, let's put the matter of the substitute noodles on hold until tomorrow night."
So, regarding your actions up until now... Nakagawa, you're going to work tomorrow."
"Huh? Are you okay?"
"Yes. And Elsie, turn invisible and follow her."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Take a look before you become a stand-in."
"I probably can't accomplish much with just superficial knowledge, but it's better than doing nothing."
"I see! I understand!!"
"I'm thinking of going with that approach, is that okay?"
If I had to nitpick, the fact that Elsie is a stand-in is a bit worrying... but I guess it'll work out somehow. Probably.
"That's fine with me too."
"Okay. Then I'll leave it to you."
What I need to do tomorrow is to work hard as usual.
Once that's over, we'll get together again...
"...Oh, that's right."
"what up?"
"Maybe it would be better if I stayed at home the entire time I'm trying to complete the game?"
"That's... certainly true. If it's the betrothal route, then it's possible. Please do that."
"Okay, I'll do something about it."