[User] “I mean, I thought if you were going to say you liked a girl, it would surely be Katano.”

[Assistant] “Shiko?”

[User] “Aren’t you guys super close now?”

[Assistant] “I guess so.”

[User] I didn’t have any romantic feelings for Shiko, though.

[Assistant] “Did you know that Katano is actually Misaki’s childhood friend?”

[User] “What? Really?”

[Assistant] “Yeah. I guess it’s pretty complicated.”

[User] “What is?”

[Assistant] “It’s really not my story to tell… I bet Katano would tell you if you asked her.”

[User] Honestly, I didn’t want to know that badly. “Anyway," I said, "it’s closing time. Let’s close up the library.”

[Assistant] “Oh, you’re right. Rei, can you flip the sign on the door?”

[User] “On it.” I felt relief as I walked home that night. I’d confessed, and then Kosaki and I had talked just like we always did. It hadn’t been awkward at all. I even thought that maybe I had a chance. I was wrong. Dead wrong.


[User] “Rei, are you all right?” The next thing I did remember was Shiko, with a worried look on her face. School had already ended for the day, and I was sitting at my desk, lit by the evening sun. At some point the graffiti had disappeared. I learned later that Shiko spoke to the teacher and asked him to get it cleaned up.

[Assistant] “Shiko…”

[User] “It’s horrible. Unbelievable.” Shiko was furious for me. She denounced the things that had been done to me as unfair and defended me from every angle.

[Assistant] “Thank you, Shiko.”

[User] “You don’t need to thank me.” Her eyes were moist. I knew exactly what was coming. “Hey, Rei. Would you consider me, instead of Uchiyama?” Uchiyama was Kosaki’s last name.


[User] I knew that much, but I didn’t really understand what Shiko was saying.

[Assistant] "I like you, Rei." Shiko said more simply.

[User] I must have had a confused look on my face. "Me…?"

[Assistant] "Yeah." Shiko nodded and hugged me.

[User] If this had been a novel, maybe I would have come to love Shiko at that point. Instead, my emotions had frozen over like ice. I didn’t feel anything. No—that’s not true. The first thought that crossed my mind was that this was the reason Shiko first spoke to me, and that this was why she’d worked to separate me from Misaki and Kosaki. I thrust her away.

[Assistant] "Rei…"

[User] "I’m sorry," was all I could say before I ran. I was at my limit. I didn’t want to think or do anything else; I just wanted to get away from there. When I got home, I skipped dinner, shut myself in my room, and cried and cried. I thought the world was full of nothing but hurt. After that, I didn’t go back to school for a long time. My parents were worried, but I was afraid they would shun me like my classmates did. I couldn’t bring myself to tell them I was queer, and therefore, I also couldn’t tell them about the bullying (if you could call it that) that kept me out of school. It was about a month after I stopped going to school that I finally opened up to my parents.

[Assistant] "I see…" My mom looked surprised at first, but it only took her a moment to recover and give me a hug. "I may not be able to understand everything about you, but I am always on your side."

[User] I’ve never forgotten what it was like to hear her say those words. I might never have recovered, if not for that moment. My father was silent, and he wore a complicated look on his face, but a few days later, he took me to a support group for queer people and their families. I knew then that he was trying really hard to understand me, and that made me happier than anything. Thanks to the support of my parents, I was able to go back to school after two months. Listening to the stories of other queer people set me free. I knew I was lucky, compared to most. Even so, the way my first love had ended always stayed with me.


[Assistant] I told this entire story to Claire and Lilly, altering or excluding details where necessary to conceal that it had happened in my past life.

[User] "That’s horrible. I’m furious to hear it. Rae, tell me where these people are. I’m going to set them on fire."

[Assistant] "I’ll help, Miss Claire." Lilly volunteered.

[User] Well, that was a bit extreme. "It’s okay. I didn’t know it then, but Misaki’s home life was really rough at the time. She was going through a bad patch."


[User] "We actually became friends again after we graduated. We even formed our own Cryptid Club."

[Assistant] "Cryptid Club?"

[User] "Yeah, we went hunting for the tsuchinoko."

[Assistant] "Tsuchinoko?!"

[User] "Um, sorry, forget it." Some Japanese folklore was just never going to translate. "Back to the topic at hand. Anyway, there was a lot going on in our lives back then."

[Assistant] "It sounds to me like this Misaki person is just evil." Claire was still furious.

[User] "It’s more complicated than that." I soothed, trying to calm her down.

[Assistant] "Wh-what do you mean?"

[User] "Besides her problems at home, Misaki actually liked Shiko. But she couldn’t accept that about herself."

[Assistant] "R-really?"

[User] "Yes. The reason she banished me from her group was because she thought I would steal Shiko from her."

[Assistant] "Wh-whoa…so it was a love triangle?"

[User] "No, a love square."

[Assistant] "What do you mean?!"

[User] "Kosaki liked Misaki."

[Assistant] "That’s…so complicated…" Rei liked Kosaki, Kosaki liked Misaki, Misaki liked Shiko and Shiko liked Rei—in short, it was right out of a soap opera. I borrowed a pen and paper to draw the love square out for my companions.

[User] "What an absolute mess."

[Assistant] "Y-yes."

[User] "Well, we were all very young…"

[Assistant] "You’re still only in your mid-teens!"

[User] "Ah, I was so young."

[Assistant] "Not was! Use present tense!"

[User] Oops. I’d fallen down the nostalgia hole. "Anyway, all three of them eventually made up. Finding out about Kosaki’s true feelings was the most interesting part. We used to think she was our little angel, but really, she was pretty devilish."

[Assistant] "I had a feeling."

[User] "She sounds like the kind of person who thinks her adorable features entitle her to get away with anything."

[Assistant] "Miss Claire, you’re exactly right." Everything Kosaki said or did was calculated. Her bashful smile, her mild demeanor, wanting everyone to get along—she did it all on purpose, even the part where she got us to treat her like a darling pet. Everyone underestimated her. Once she had someone eating out of the palm of her hand, she’d use them as she pleased.

[User] "In the end, Kosaki and Misaki got together. Oh, and it was Ko and Mi, not Mi and Ko."

[Assistant] "What in the world are you talking about?"

[User] "Every couple has an order their names must be said in!" I stopped myself. I was letting my nerd show. "Well, that’s the story of my first love. I told you it was boring."

[Assistant] "It wasn’t boring."

[User] "Y-yes. It was very informative."

[Assistant] "Oh really?" In truth, the incident with the love square had laid the foundation for the person I became. I’d only gotten geekier from there, and I’d started to make impulsive rushes at people I liked—but that had been during my later years at university, so I couldn’t tell these two about it.

[User] "You’ve had a rough time of it."

[Assistant] "No, not really. And I can afford to laugh about it now. What do you think, Miss Lilly?"


[User] “Was it disappointing?”

[Assistant] “N-no. I think it actually made me like you more.”

[User] “What? !” That was not what I’d been hoping for.

[Assistant] “The point is, first loves rarely work out, and it’s even harder for queer people. That’s why you must prepare yourself for rejection.”

[User] “R-rejection?”

[Assistant] “Yes. And that’s why I can endure Claire rejecting me all the time.”

[User] “N-no, that only happens because you’re too brazen!” Claire stammered.

[Assistant] “Miss Claire’s first love was Manaria, right?”

[User] "No! Sister…was just so incredible. I misunderstood.”

[Assistant] “How did we get here, anyway? What were we even talking about to start with?”

[User] “The issue of poverty…” Claire’s eyes glazed over.

[Assistant] “It’s okay to go off on a tangent sometimes,” Lilly comforted us while Claire and I tried to pull ourselves together. “B-but to go back to what you were just saying, Rae… Ideals don’t always line up with reality, do they?”

[User] “What do you mean?”

[Assistant] “Th-the Church has many ideals that we would like to see made reality, but politics get in the way,” Lilly said, suddenly sounding like a middle-aged lady. “I-I believe the Church is coming to the end of its ability to work with politicians.”

[User] “But we can’t give up on our ideals."

[Assistant] "If we do that, the people lose out.”

[User] “Then chase those ideals."

[Assistant] "Work to make them a reality.”

[User] “Rae…”

[Assistant] “You’re not alone, Miss Claire. I’m not much help, but I’m here for you.”

[User] “Thank you.” Claire and I looked at each other, sharing a moment of connection.

[Assistant] “If you’re going to make out, get a room, you pustules!” We looked at Lilly.

[User] “Oh… I really didn’t do that on purpose, please believe me!”

[Assistant] “I believe you.” Honestly, her involuntary swearing was enchanting.

[User] “Thank you so much for your hospitality, Cardinal Lilly. Please let us know if there is anything we can do in return,”

[Assistant] “It’s my pleasure to help you learn about the Church, Miss Claire!”

[User] “What is your biggest challenge right now, Miss Lilly?” I inquired casually.

[Assistant] “Ch-challenge?”

[User] “Yes. You’ve helped us a lot, so we’d like to return the favor.”

[Assistant] “Ah… That makes me so happy to hear.”

[User] “Don’t start making out with her,” Claire muttered.

[Assistant] “W-well…” Lilly said. “I’m researching something I could use your help with. It’s called the Crosswise Curse…”

[User] “Ohh, that’s the one that affects someone’s gender, right?” Obviously, curses and such didn’t exist in Japan, and this one in particular had some dubious implications outside of its fictional status in the game. The curse made a person appear as a gender other than their true one, and Revolution used it for comedic leverage. This frankly troubled me a bit, given some of my personal experiences…but more on that later. In any case, the topic of cross-dressing and so forth interested the game developers and the players alike—as might be obvious from the cross-dressing café we constructed at the Foundation Day Festival, where the princes took on the role of beautiful maids.


[User] I have to admit the special illustrations from that event are pretty amazing. My heart still fluttered when I thought of how Claire dressed in a tuxedo for the café. So dashing! “Oh, but wouldn’t the power of the Church’s relic—the Tears of the Moon—cancel out the curse? Or at least dampen its effects.”

[Assistant] “Y-you know about the Tears of the Moon? !” Lilly gasped. “That’s one of the Church’s greatest secrets!”

[User] “Oh…” I confess: I had forgotten.

[Assistant] “Wh-where did you hear about the Tears of the Moon? !” Lilly pressed.

[User] “Er, ummm… Master Yu told me.”

[Assistant] “Th-that can’t be. If Master Yu knew of a way to reverse the curse, then why wouldn’t sh—ah!” Lilly put her hand over her mouth, flustered.

[User] “Cardinal Lilly, What did you say?” I asked.

[Assistant] “Oh, no, no, no…”

[User] “Is Master Yu afflicted with the Crosswise Curse?” Claire asked, joining me in staring intently at Lilly.

[Assistant] Lilly let out a sigh as if she had given up. “I-I will tell you—but only because it seems Rae may know a way to reverse this curse. Please, please do not let what I am about to say leave this room. If it gets out, your lives will be in danger.”

[User] “Understood.”

[Assistant] “Got it.”

[User] Defeated, Lilly started talking. “Th-the truth is…”


[Assistant] “Ah. So you heard about Yu, then?”

[User] “I did.”

[Assistant] When I returned to my dorm room that night, Misha was back. I had immediately told Misha everything that had happened at the Academy in her absence. “You already knew? About Master Yu?” I asked after Misha confessed.

[User] “Yes."


[User] "When we were small, I did a great deal to help Yu conceal the truth."

[Assistant] "I didn’t know anything about that.”

[User] Right, so, the thing was… To put it simply, Yu was, in truth, a girl. *** Yu was the only child of l’Ausseil Bauer, the current king, and Queen Riche; Rod and Thane had been born to a different mother. In the Bauer Kingdom, succession was determined based on order of birth, so Yu was third in line to inherit the throne. Even so, when Queen Riche found out she was pregnant, she believed that one day her own child would rule the country.

[Assistant] "On October 10th, she gave birth to twins, one boy and one girl." Misha said quietly, having soundproofed the walls of our room using her high-aptitude wind magic, and even so she spoke in a small voice so as not to be overheard. As Lilly had assured us, this was a dark and jealously guarded secret in the kingdom. We could take no chances with eavesdroppers.

[User] "But, as you know, the time just after birth is one of great danger for infants. The boy died almost immediately.” With medicine in this world still mired in the Middle Ages, the infant-mortality rate was high. Healing magic was no cure-all either, as it couldn’t always touch illness and infection. In the days while Queen Riche was away from the palace and in the Church for her birth, the boy died. Upon losing her long-awaited boy, the one she believed would succeed the throne, Queen Riche fell into despair, which led to a grave mistake.

[Assistant] "Lady Riche hired a…certain individual to nurse the babe. In truth, the nursemaid was hired to inflict the curse.” As a result, the baby princess was cursed and was perceived by all to be a prince. That babe was Yu.

[User] “Does the king know of this?”

[Assistant] “Indeed. Lady Riche considered concealing the truth from the king, but she ultimately couldn’t manage to do so; he rules this country." Even so, it wasn’t until after Yu was officially introduced to the public as the third prince that Queen Riche revealed the truth of Yu’s curse. For fear of losing face, the king resolved to treat Yu as a prince, and ever since, Yu’s gender status had been treated as a state secret.

[User] “But…isn’t it true that the light of the full moon reveals the true self of those afflicted by the Crosswise Curse? I can’t believe they managed to hide it so long.”

[Assistant] "The royal family has a great deal of power to hide that which it doesn’t wish others to know. The secret was only shared with those who had been vetted with utmost care and who were deemed cooperative in their aim to conceal Master Yu’s condition."

[User] "I was one of those people.” She went on to explain. "For generations, my family were aristocrats of highest status, and we maintained close ties with the royal family.


[User] "In my childhood, I was always told to keep an eye on Master Yu.” In other words, Yu and Misha weren’t just run-of-the-mill childhood friends. They were, in a sense, accomplices.

[Assistant] “But when our house fell from grace, that relationship fell with it. The only reason my family wasn’t entirely stamped out, the reason we were allowed to merely lose our noble status and live as commoners, is that the king took on our debt as a form of hush money,” Misha said, her expression never changing.

[User] “In the meantime, His Majesty ordered the Church to study the Crosswise Curse in secret. However, his aim is not to reverse the curse, but to solidify it. He wishes Yu to not only appear as a prince, but to be one.” In short, they wanted to fulfill the queen’s original goal. Was that even possible? Perhaps it was, with the magic in this world.

[Assistant] When I asked, Misha’s expression finally changed, growing more and more distorted with distress. It was rare to see her thoughts show so clearly on her face.

[User] “I don’t know what’s possible,” she said. “All I know is that Yu hates it. Everyone sees Yu as a boy, but she’s a girl. Growing up, she was eternally confused. There was a gap between us—between what Yu knew to be true and what everyone else saw.”

[Assistant] I knew something about this kind of issue, in which a person feels their gender doesn’t match others’ perception of them. In Japan, it’s called gender dysphoria. You might call it a problem of a mismatch between one’s heart and body, which can create all kinds of problems for the person afflicted. Society can make people suffer for this in all kinds of ways, especially when they try to show their true selves in their daily lives.

[User] “Yu always expressed envy of the dresses I wore, or the length of my hair. Once…she even put on makeup in secret and asked me whether I thought she looked strange,” Misha recalled with some bitterness. “And I… No. She was lovely.”

[Assistant] On the day of the Academy festival, when we were getting dressed for the cross-dressing café, I’d thought Yu was having more fun than the rest of us, but I hadn’t guessed at all the layers underlying that moment. Yu hadn’t been delighted by any sense of absurdity. Rather, she had been overjoyed to fulfill a desire that otherwise had to be hidden. I’d always thought Yu cunning; I now understand she had no choice but to be. Yu was cursed with a double life.

[User] “Rae… You said you can reverse the curse?”

[Assistant] “Yes. In a way.”

[User] “How?”

[Assistant] “The Crosswise Curse is, well, a curse, and there’s a magical tool the Church keeps in its vaults that can negate curses.”

[User] “I…am not going to ask how you know that.”

[Assistant] I was glad Misha was good at reading delicate situations.


[User] “The only problem is, the palace and the Church both want Yu to be a prince, don’t they?” I grimaced.

[Assistant] “Yes. Or I should say, that is what the palace wants.”

[User] “Huh? Not the Church?”

[Assistant] “The Church values women, you see.”

[User] “Misha… Which do you agree with?”

[Assistant] “My wishes in this matter are utterly irrelevant.”

[User] “They are a little. You like Yu, don’t you?”

[Assistant] “Who told you that…?” Misha wanted to deny it, but I didn’t give up.

[User] “No one had to tell me. I just know. I’m your friend.”

[Assistant] “I think I’m your friend,” Misha murmured, “but at times I think I don’t understand you at all.”

[User] “So, tell me, what do you think?”

[Assistant] “I…I am attracted to boys, so there is a part of me that would be happy, were Yu to become one.” Misha seemed to understand that I wasn’t going to let this go, and her voice went soft.

[User] “Mm-hmm.”

[Assistant] “But Yu’s desires in this matter are far more important than mine. I want Yu to live a happy life, free of pain, no matter what.”

[User] “Hm… Are you saying you like Yu for Yu?”

[Assistant] “That seems melodramatic, but I… Perhaps.” Misha looked frustrated with herself.

[User] “In that case, I appreciate your support as I do what I can to ensure Yu is recognized as a girl.”

[Assistant] Misha frowned. "I told you, my opinion is irrelevant. The palace would never permit Yu to live as a girl. Especially not Lady Riche.”

[User] “Why not?”

[Assistant] “Rae, I told you—Lady Riche’s dearest wish is that her own child ascend the throne. She wanted it so badly that she had her own newborn infant cursed. This goes beyond mere stubborn ambition.”


[User] I grinned. "Then I guess you’ll have to elope, Misha.”

[Assistant] “Now what are you talking about?”

[User] “Misha, if you want to marry Yu, are you prepared to elope?”

[Assistant] “Of course not." Misha answered without hesitation.

[User] Great, now I looked silly. “N-no?”

[Assistant] “Think, Rae. Yu and I were raised as nobles. We wouldn’t stand a chance at living a good, fulfilling life if we left it all to elope.”

[User] “But…you’ve lived as a commoner all this time.”

[Assistant] “Yes, but only because of the palace’s discreet support.”

[User] “Are you sure about that?” In my opinion, Misha had a good head on her shoulders, and I was pretty sure she could have a great life no matter what she put her mind to. But that was the end of our conversation that day. It was time for bed. I played our talk in my mind again and again as I lay under the covers. I’d never realized Yu had such a dramatic backstory. So there were facts about this world that even a Revolution mega-fan like me didn’t know. Yu’s gender troubles hadn’t been mentioned in the fan disk, let alone the character reference guide. Maybe someone had decided it wasn’t “appropriate” subject matter for the game’s target demographic, and so it had been buried in the programming. When I’d taken the culture subject test, I’d been confident I knew more about this world than even the game developers, but now I knew I was mistaken. There could be dozens, even hundreds of bad endings or hidden settings that I didn’t know the first thing about. In any event, I needed to find a way to reverse Yu’s curse…and then maybe convince Misha to confess. After a great deal of mulling and reflecting, I found my answer. “The only option is the magic of shock and awe.”


[Assistant] "One, two, three, four! Now bend forward—Rae, you’re behind!”

[User] I was desperately trying to move my body to the somber music being played. But exercise wasn’t exactly my forte, and I was struggling to follow the priest’s directions.

[Assistant] “Everyone, stop. We’ll start from the top." The priest said. We returned to our original positions and began the dance again. The ceremonial dance we were currently practicing was usually performed by nuns at the Harvest Festival.

[User] Why, you might ask, was I practicing with them? The answer was simple—Lilly had asked us to.

[Assistant] “A-actually we don’t have enough people…” she’d said. “We’re looking for some volunteers.”

[User] “There’s really no one at the Church who can step in?”

[Assistant] “N-not just anyone can perform the dance, you see. The dancers must possess a certain level of magic…” Apparently, a highly skilled mage had recently left the Bauer Cathedral.


[User] “Please, would you help us?”

[Assistant] “You’ve done a great deal for us, Miss Lilly. We’d be happy to help, but would it really be all right for us to participate in such a ceremony? We’re not nuns.”

[User] “I-It’s true that the dance is usually performed by nuns, but we’re in a critical situation this year.” They really had to be in dire straits if they were loosening the requirements. Lilly blushed, suddenly coquettish, and added, “As f-far as I’m concerned, a chance to dance with my beloved Rae would be a dream come true.”

[Assistant] “Hmmm…” I was torn. Lilly really had done a lot for Claire, but the ceremonial dance would require a ton of practice that would cut into my precious Claire time.

[User] “Whyever not? Lend her your aid, Rae.” Claire said as I hemmed and hawed.

[Assistant] “Miss Claire?” I wondered what made her say that.

[User] “But I don’t want to lose out on spending time with you.”

[Assistant] “In that case, why don’t I join too?”

[User] “M-Miss Claire, you would do that? !” Lilly clearly hadn’t been expecting Claire to suggest such a thing.

[Assistant] “Is that acceptable?”

[User] “O-of course it is! It would be an honor! Oh, wow, wow… I must notify the Bishop…” Lilly went on to explain that it would mean a great deal to the Church to have an influential aristocrat with high magic power, like Claire, participate in the dance. But—

[Assistant] “Please don’t turn this into some political matter, do you hear me?” Claire said, sternly.

[User] “I-I’ll do my best,” Lilly sat up straight. “Still, Miss Claire…you really aren’t like what the rumors say.”

[Assistant] "What rumors?"

[User] “Oh… Well, um…”

[Assistant] “Ah, well. They’re probably true,” Claire said self-deprecatingly, tipping her teacup to her lips.

[User] “N-no they’re not! You’re an amazing person, Miss Claire! You aren’t arrogant or selfish at all—oh.”

[Assistant] “So that’s what.” Claire chuckled, having successfully tricked Lilly into slipping. I wondered, uncharitably, how Lilly had made it all the way to being Cardinal. Didn’t her loose lips make it dangerous for her to know Yu’s secret?

[User] “Well, Cardinal Lilly, I would say you are also quite unlike what the rumors say,” Claire said with an evil laugh befitting her villainess character.

[Assistant] “Ha ha ha… I get that a lot…” Lilly responded uncomfortably.

[User] “How do people perceive you, Miss Lilly?” I asked.

[Assistant] “As a saint.”

[User] “Huh?” I stared blankly at Lilly, then looked back at Claire.

[Assistant] “No way.”

[User] “Rae…that’s rude.”

[Assistant] “Oh, I’m so sorry, Lilly. I just blurted out what I was thinking.”

[User] “Th-that’s a poor apology…” Lilly, meanwhile, was tearing up. Really?

[Assistant] “I-I understand. I am no saint.”

[User] “Where did that rumor even come from?”

[Assistant] “Chancellor Salas.” Ah, that guy. I’d almost forgotten Lilly was his daughter.

[User] “I don’t like him.”

[Assistant] “Whyever not?” said Claire.


[User] “He is of the most upstanding character!”

[Assistant] “Because of how he treated Lene.”

[User] “Oh… Well, that can’t be helped. He said what was natural for an official in his position—though I understand how you feel.” Claire soothed. What was up with her today? She was being sweeter than usual.

[Assistant] “I certainly don’t intend to speak ill of someone before their daughter.”

[User] “Sorry, Miss Lilly.” I apologized again. "I just blurted out what I was thinking.”

[Assistant] “Th-that’s still a poor apology…” Lilly was full on crying. It was like we were stuck in some kind of conversational loop.

[User] “A-anyway, will you join in the dance?”

[Assistant] “If Miss Claire will be participating too, then I have no reason to refuse.”

[User] “I would love to join.”

[Assistant] “Th-thank you so much!” Lilly stood up with sudden force. She pulled her wimple back over her hair and bowed deeply.

[User] “Cardinal Lilly, you needn’t do that. It isn’t so very meaningful.”

[Assistant] “I-It is! The Harvest Festival is one of the Church’s most important rituals. If we were unable to perform the ceremonial dance, it would be the most disgraceful thing to happen since the Church was founded.” She looked up at us with a smile. “I thank you from the bottom of my heart. May you both be blessed with divine protection.” This wasn’t the flighty, careless Lilly we were used to. In that moment, I thought I understood a little of why people called her a saint.


[User] That was how we came to be practicing the ceremonial dance—which was way harder than I expected.

[Assistant] “Lift both hands slowly—now, ring the bells once. Bend your knees slowly—now stop in the half-sitting posture. Now, ring the bell once.”

[User] The ceremonial dance was performed in costumes of light, fluttering silk, with a bell-adorned fan in hand. There were a lot of slow movements, and it was really hard to maintain my posture through them. The fast movements were difficult too, but I was learning at this age that moving slowly didn’t make things easier (although in this world I was only sixteen).

[Assistant] “Rae, you need to build up your strength. At this rate you might not make it through the dance.”

[User] “Yes.” I was already regretting agreeing to Lilly’s request.

[Assistant] “Miss Claire, you are wonderful. Your movements are so precise.”

[User] “I’m trained in ballroom dancing. I can handle this sort of thing.” Claire, of course, was killing it. Naturally.

[Assistant] “Everyone, a ten-minute break. Make sure you’re drinking enough water.” The priest said, and half of the dancers promptly collapsed on the floor.

[User] “If you’re this tired already, you must not be exercising enough.”

[Assistant] “No, Miss Claire—I think you’re just extraordinary.”

[User] In addition to taking ballroom dancing lessons since she was little, Claire was also trained in the art of self-defense. She had more stamina than the average man. I, raised in a peasant home, could only fight things like Ralaire’s mother, Chimera, and Louie, because of my magic.

[Assistant] “You’ll start training tomorrow.


[User] "As the priest says, you won’t last in your current physical state.”

[Assistant] “Maybe you could train with me, Miss Claire,” I said, thinking that this would be as good a time as ever to get in shape.

[User] “R-Rae, I heard you are skilled in water magic. Is that true?” Lilly asked me bashfully.

[Assistant] “Yes. What about it?”

[User] “Er, ummm… In that case, I think you can use recovery magic if you get tired.”

[Assistant] “I didn’t think of that. I’ll do that next time.”

[User] “Absolutely not. I won’t abide that sort of cheating. You must train,” said Claire.

[Assistant] “Ahhh.”

[User] “A-actually, the nuns who dance all use recovery magic…”

[Assistant] “That may be, but I can’t overlook the fact that Rae is unmotivated.”

[User] “I’m not unmotivated,” I protested.

[Assistant] “Silence,” she snapped. Yes, this was my reward.

[User] “Still, at this rate…” Claire trailed off.

[Assistant] “At this rate…?”

[User] “Nothing…”

[Assistant] What was she trying to say?

[User] “Break’s over, back to work. Time for the second half of practice. Line up!” The dancers returned to our positions at the priest’s command.

[Assistant] As she walked away from me, Claire finally let a sad whisper slip from her lips. “At this rate, how will I be able to dance with Rae?”

[User] Needless to say, I danced my heart out during the entire second half of practice.


[Assistant] “See, your arm is dropping. Do it like this, here.” It was early the next morning, and Claire and I were in a corner of the Academy’s courtyard. Claire was sitting on a blanket spread out over the grass, and I was practicing the ceremonial dance next to her, over and over again.

[User] “Miss Claire, what is this?”

[Assistant] “A training harness for dancers,” she answered matter-of-factly, as if clothes with weights sewn into them were completely normal.

[User] “Ummm…where did you get it?”

[Assistant] “I sewed it last night,” Claire said, proudly.

[User] Wait, so she’d made this by hand?

[Assistant] “Now, once more from the beginning.”

[User] “I need a break…”

[Assistant] “Don’t be lazy.” Easy for her to say.

[User] I sank down to the ground right where I stood.

[Assistant] “And no using healing magic to recover,” Claire warned.

[User] “I know. Because I won’t be building up my strength.”

[Assistant] “That’s right.”

[User] “Hey, you’re going to get the harness dirty. Come over here,” Claire said, patting her lap.

[Assistant] What, really?

[User] "Miss Claire, are you sure?”

[Assistant] “About what?”

[User] “You want me to lay my head in your lap?”

[Assistant] “Yes, that’s right,” Claire looked puzzled. “See.”

[User] “Oh…” When I got close, she pulled my arm and laid my head down in her lap.


[User] "What’s that face for?"

[Assistant] "Well I…I’m confused."

[User] My lovely Claire. Claire, the villainess. She’d put my head in her lap? Me, the heroine? It was impossible. "Whenever I complained about ballroom dancing practice as a child, my mother did this for me." Claire said, reminiscing. I reflected on my sinful heart and urged her to continue with just my eyes. "It’s not like I could move like this right away. At first, I hated it so much."

[Assistant] "You, Miss Claire? But you never give up."

[User] "Should I tell you how I got to be this way? You see, whenever I learned how to do something, my mother would praise me. That made me want to try many things." Such was the unexpected way in which I learned why Claire hated to lose. I’d studied every piece of information I could about her, including her mother’s death, but there was still so much I didn’t know. "When I wanted to give up on ballroom dancing, my mother spoke to the teacher. Instead of scolding me, she put my head on her lap, and even though I was only a toddler, she explained to me the significance of learning to dance." Claire smiled happily. "She was always like that. She never scolded me. Instead, she’d gently explain to me what it meant to be a noble. I’ve lived my life wanting to become the kind of noble she talked about." Claire didn’t stop there. "I never thought factors outside my control might take that away from me…"

[Assistant] "Does that mean you’re not ready to give up your title?"

[User] "I…I don’t think I can. I want to do something about poverty because I was shocked by my first experience of it. In other words, I couldn’t handle actually living like that, you see?"

[Assistant] "I see…"

[User] "Now, stand up. Time to continue."

[Assistant] "Just a little longer… Miss Claire, your thighs are so soft."

[User] "Stand up!"

[Assistant] "Miss Claire."

[User] "What is it?"

[Assistant] "Peasant life isn’t so bad once you get used to it."

[User] "I don’t know…" Claire chuckled. "I will convince you."

[Assistant] "I don’t think you will, but I look forward to you trying." Claire said before returning to our lessons. For now, I concentrated on moving my body, all the while thinking of how I could change Claire’s stubborn mind.


[User] "What I want?"

[Assistant] One morning not long after that, instead of attending class, Claire and I went to the palace asking about Yu. Normally, any audience with a member of the royal family required applying for a meeting using a designated procedure and waiting for the request to be accepted, all of which took a great deal of time. Seeing Yu at the Academy was an exception to the rule. However, today, we had passed a message on through Lilly: There is a means by which to resolve Prince Yu’s condition. We were granted an audience right away.


[User] As far as appearances went, Claire was designated as a witness and I was being presented as a doctor, of sorts.

[Assistant] If I was going to change anything about Yu’s life, I first needed to know what Yu wanted. I had asked Misha, yes, but indirect impressions tend to get distorted. I needed to ask Yu.

[User] "This is not a matter of want, Master Yu." I had wanted to speak to Yu freely, so I had requested we be left alone, but since this was an issue that affected the entire country, we weren’t. Chancellor Salas was with us. I wished it could have been anyone else. Salas just kept finding new ways to earn my contempt.

[Assistant] Salad—I mean, Salas—looked directly at us and continued. "It pains me to say this, but Yu must remain a prince. The matter has long since surpassed the question of what he wants for himself." His tone clearly implied he thought this entire meeting a farce.

[User] "We understand what you’re saying, Master Salas. Of course we grasp the complexity of the issue." Claire said in a mollifying tone. "However, setting that aside, if we don’t know Yu’s true feelings, we won’t be able to provide the necessary emotional support when it finally becomes possible to confirm his manhood." Claire continued, urging Salas to consider planning for the future in every regard to ensure the success of the royal family. Every time I saw her engage in politics like this, I was blown away by her deft, intellectual arguments. Her usual haughty arrogance and selfish attitude were nowhere to be seen. In this instant, Claire was the perfect noble lady.

[Assistant] "In other words, you consider knowing Yu’s true feelings a matter of planning for the future, regardless of what might come to pass?"

[User] "That is correct."

[Assistant] Salas put his hand to his chin, thinking. He looked quite striking in that pose. He shared his silver hair and red eyes with Lilly, and his cold, clean features had earned him a large fan base both inside and outside the palace. He even consistently ranked pretty highly among players of the game. Just as a lot of guys will fall over themselves for beautiful women, a lot of women fall over themselves for beautiful men. Not that he had an iota of an effect on me. "I think there may be something to this argument. Well, Master Yu?"

[User] Yu looked contemplative. "May I speak frankly, then?"

[Assistant] "Personally…if it were possible, I would like everyone to know I’m a girl."

[User] "Master Yu…" Salas’s face creased with concern.

[Assistant] "Don’t look at me like that, Salas. There’s nothing that can be done about it, so here I am, performing the perfect prince you all see me as. But I can’t change my feelings." Yu said apologetically.


[User] "As of now, I’m able to be seen as myself once a month, under the light of the full moon, and in those moments, I finally feel a balance between my mind and soul. If—once I am put into a male body, I am sure I will never feel that peace again." Yu said, all the while maintaining a perfect princely demeanor.

[Assistant] Being queer in my previous life, I had met people with all sorts of queer experiences. A number of those people had struggled with gender dysphoria, and some had found wellness and peace in changing their mode of dress, or taking hormones, and other such things. I don’t think that was enough for everyone, not all the time. I mean, 21st-century Japan’s advanced medical technology could do a great deal, including surgically, but sometimes that still couldn’t totally cure a person’s dysphoria. However, even treatment aimed at merely alleviating symptoms can be absolutely critical, even lifesaving. In my opinion, that made all these changes utterly worth it.

[User] "Claire, Rae, your thoughts?"

[Assistant] "Does Rae have permission to speak?"

[User] "It’s fine. I’m just here to get it done. I don’t need to—"

[Assistant] "Thank you very much." Claire said when Salas nodded. "Rae."

[User] "Yes… So as I see it, there are two options."

[Assistant] Salas perked up and leaned forward, hopeful. "Let’s hear them."

[User] "One is to continue with things the way they are."

[Assistant] "But…what would that solve?"

[User] "It would satisfy the palace’s need for Yu to be a prince, and Yu could continue to, on occasion, be true to herself. There is a sort of balance here."

[Assistant] "And the other way?" Salas prompted, looking a little disheartened.

[User] "The other would be for Yu to embrace her life as a girl…"

[Assistant] "Were you listening to a word I said?" Salas snapped. "That is simply not an option."

[User] "Obviously, Yu would be disinherited."

[Assistant] "What is this?" Salas spluttered.

[User] I remained firm. "It’s Yu’s obligation to play the part of heir that complicates things. So, if Yu were to cast off the restraints of that role…"

[Assistant] "Are you suggesting the palace exposes the years of this deception? The scandal?"

[User] "Not at all. After Yu has been disinherited, the palace would announce the prince had taken ill, and Yu would be taken to the convent. Yu would stay there with a number of attendants, secluded for a time, but there, we could at last resolve the curse."

[Assistant] "Do you understand what you are saying?" Salas bellowed.

[User] Maybe I had rushed into this a little.

[Assistant] "That means…" Yu said, "I would have to spend the rest of my life confined to the convent?"

[User] "Not quite—it wouldn’t be confinement."


[User] “To start, you’d have to hide, but once your hair had grown out, and especially if you put on some makeup, you could go out as a new nun with none the wiser as to your royal lineage.”

[Assistant] I knew life in the convent would still be a bit difficult, especially to start. Yu would have to be a little patient.

[User] “Rae,” Salas snapped, “what about making the prince a boy in truth?”

[Assistant] “I don’t think you can.”

[User] “When you requested this audience, you—I only granted it because I thought you would have a real answer,” Salas dropped his shoulders, annoyed.

[Assistant] But it was a real answer. “Master Salas, is it not a solution if Master Yu is able to live as her true self?”

[User] “Of course not. The will of the palace is for Master Yu to be a man.”

[Assistant] “Even though there are two other heirs?”

[User] “Listen to me, Rae Taylor. It may be easy for you to throw around words like ‘disinherit,’ but disinheritance is a punishment for royalty who have committed the most severe crimes. We could not impose such a fate on Master Yu.”

[Assistant] “I believe forcing Master Yu to continue like this is a far crueler fate,” I said, doubling down.

[User] “You go too far!” Salas grimaced. “If Claire were to say such a thing, it might be permissible, but you, a commoner—you have no business discussing this private matter in the palace.”

[Assistant] “So you’re going to force Master Yu to bear the consequences of Lady Riche’s reckless selfishness for the rest of her life, even though she’s done nothing wrong?”

[User] “This meeting is over,” Salas snarled. “Leave.”

[Assistant] “Master Salas!” I snapped back.

[User] “Rae… I’m grateful for your attempt. But the world won’t change for wishes,” Yu said with a smile. She looked like she could disappear at any moment. After putting up with this farce for over a dozen years, Yu was giving in.

[Assistant] “Rae, that’s enough,” said Claire, gathering herself again. “Master Yu, Master Salas, thank you very much for your time.”

[User] “There will not be another discussion of this matter.”

[Assistant] “Understood…”

[User] There was so much more I wanted to say, but Claire pulled me away and we left the audience chamber.


[Assistant] Outside, it was raining. We waited in front of the palace gates for a horse and carriage to retrieve us.

[User] “Rae… You…” Claire started to say in a frustrated voice.

[Assistant] “Miss Claire, don’t tell me you think this is acceptable!” I said, unable to hide my anger. It started to rain harder.

[User] “I don’t think it’s acceptable,” Claire said tightly. “But as Master Yu said, the world will not change for a wish.”

[Assistant] “You would say that? You were the one who said you didn’t want to run away from ideals—did you not mean that?”

[User] “And when did you grow so high and mighty that you imagined you could speak to me in this way?


[User] "What does status have to do with this?! Claire, if we can’t even save one person, then saving our kingdom is a pipe dream!"

[Assistant] "Rae!" Claire said sharply.

[User] I turned around. I’d said too much. "I’m sorry…"

[Assistant] "Whatever has gotten into you?" Claire asked, bewildered. "This isn’t like you at all."

[User] "I… My friend. Misaki. She…or, well, he…was forced to live as the wrong gender." I’d known this was part of my problem. The whole time we were trying to help Yu, I couldn’t stop remembering Misaki. He had been told he was a girl as a child, but he’d known he was a boy. "Just like Master Yu, no one around him understood, and he was forced to live a lie…until, one day, he killed himself."

[Assistant] Claire gasped. I was looking down, so I couldn’t see her, but I heard it. "He didn’t die just because no one listened. He died because he was afraid of how he might be hurting others. And that—"

[User] "That…is awful."

[Assistant] After we went searching together for tsuchinoko, Misaki would often cry to me. Why hadn’t he been born in a body everyone would recognize as a boy’s? Why did he have to suffer over something that everyone else took for granted? If he were a “normal” boy, he could have made Kosaki so happy, and so on, and so on. "I did my best to help Misaki," I whispered, "but in the end, I wasn’t enough to heal his wounds. And there was no curse to lift. But with Yu… We can help Yu. And still—"

[User] "That’s enough. Come now," Claire said, and then she hugged me. I couldn’t help myself. I clung to her. "I still remember," I said, voice shaking. "At the funeral, I watched Kosaki cling to Misaki’s coffin, crying."

[Assistant] "I see."

[User] "But the world… Misaki’s parents blamed him. They called him weak, said he was wrong to feel how he did."

[Assistant] "I see."

[User] "I don’t ever want that to happen again. After they’re gone, it’s too late," I babbled. But I wasn’t crying.

[Assistant] "Yes," Claire was being kind, as if soothing a baby, and she kept holding me for a long time.

[User] Before we knew it, the rain was coming down in sheets, and we couldn’t hear each other anymore. Claire held me tight until the carriage came. The rain never stopped that day.


[Assistant] Practice continued for the ceremonial dance. Classes were going to resume soon, so we needed to get the majority of it down while still on summer break.

[User] "You’ve improved quite a bit, Rae."

[Assistant] "It’s thanks to Claire’s loving whip."

[User] "Would you stop calling it that?!"

[Assistant] "You’ve certainly built up enough stamina to handle the moves. But…" the priest trailed off. "You have absolutely no sense of rhythm, Rae." It was true. I—well, the player character—had no dance skills whatsoever.


[User] “Y-you’re still doing much better now than when we first started." Lilly jumps in to reassure me.

[Assistant] “But we don’t have much time left.”

[User] Claire was right.

[Assistant] “It’ll all work out.”

[User] “Of course you’d say that.” Claire lamented.

[Assistant] But it really would be fine. I’d pulled myself together in more ways than one and made all the necessary preparations. "By the way, I heard from Master Yu. We’re clear to go ahead.”

[User] “Is that so?” I’d concocted a plan to resolve Yu’s problem and put it in motion by having Claire send the prince a letter. If Yu’s answer had been no, the plan would have been dead in the water—but the answer was yes, so we were good to go. All the pieces were in place. All but one. “I wonder if she was the one who talked Yu into it?”


[Assistant] “Hey, Misha,” I said later that night, when we were in our dorm room.

[User] “What?”

[Assistant] “Do you have any intention of becoming a nun?”

[User] “Huh?” Misha looked over at me, understandably startled. “Where did that come from?”

[Assistant] “Do you?”

[User] “Of course not.”

[Assistant] “I see…”

[User] Misha turned back to her desk, muttering under her breath, “What is she talking about now?”

[Assistant] “But would you do it if it meant you could be with Yu?” I persisted.

[User] Misha stopped writing, probably because she was having trouble concentrating. “Rae, what are you thinking?”

[Assistant] “About the happiness of my best friend.”

[User] “You can’t trick me.”

[Assistant] “I’m not trying to trick anyone.” I climbed out of bed. “I might be able to do something about Yu’s situation.”

[User] “How?”

[Assistant] “Well, it’s the same as what I already told you before with the curse stuff.”

[User] “That’s not what I mean. How are you going to convince the court?”

[Assistant] “Shock and awe.”

[User] “Are you planning something crazy again?”

[Assistant] “You make me sound like an evil mastermind.” I had nothing but good intentions. Well, mostly. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the royal family. “Actually…” And with that, I explained my scheme to her.

[User] “What are you thinking?” she demanded.

[Assistant] “I think this is the only way.”

[User] “You realize that if they discover your involvement, you will be executed, yes?”

[Assistant] “I won’t let that happen.”

[User] Misha put her hand to her temple, as if her head hurt. “Why are you so set on this?”

[Assistant] “I told you already. For my best friend.”

[User] “A half-truth at best, wouldn’t you say?”

[Assistant] “Of course not.”

[User] “Liar,” she declared. “You aren’t my friend.”

[Assistant] I was taken aback. “Why would you say that?”

[User] “You aren’t Rae Taylor,” she said. “Not the one I know.”

[Assistant] I was starting to grow anxious.


[User] "Wh-what are you talking about, Misha?"

[Assistant] "It was like the day we enrolled in the Academy…you became someone else.” Uh oh. I didn’t like where this was going.

[User] “Until that day, you were strange, I admit, but you were still, at heart, an ordinary girl. But ever since we came here, you’ve been a completely different person." Her cold, red eyes pierced through me. “At first, I blamed the stresses of our new environment. But, no. It’s something else, something more, and I see no sign of you changing back. You’ve become another person.”

[Assistant] “Misha, do you hear what you’re saying?”

[User] “Of course. I know it’s ridiculous. But it’s the only explanation.” Misha wasn’t backing down. “So, who are you? What happened to my best friend, Rae Taylor?”

[Assistant] I couldn’t bluff my way out of this one. I had always thought Misha aloof—I never imagined she would study me like this. What could I do? What would make her understand? “I am Rae Taylor.”

[User] “That’s your answer? Then I regret to inform you, but I won’t be going along with your plan. And I won’t help you endanger Yu.”

[Assistant] It was useless. I wouldn’t get anywhere just bulling my way through this. “Okay… Okay.” I took a deep breath. “I’ll tell you the truth. But I don’t think you’ll believe me.”

[User] “I’ll be the judge of that.”

[Assistant] And so, for the first time, I told someone everything I knew—the entire story, from start to finish. That I remembered being a different person, in another world, and that in these memories, this world was the setting of a game I had played. That I’d somehow been transported to this world to be the game’s heroine, and that I’d been struggling, since then, to save Claire. Misha looked flabbergasted, but she listened to the end without interrupting. “This world is the setting…of a game?”

[User] “Can you believe me?”

[Assistant] “Honestly…it’s outlandish. Perhaps beyond me. You said the world you came from is more technologically complex, didn’t you?”

[User] As Misha only possessed scientific knowledge equivalent to that of medieval times, it was tricky to communicate some concepts to her—like what a video game even was—but I took my time and did my very best. “So, you…are Rae Taylor, but not Rae Taylor?”

[Assistant] “I think so. Kind of. I remember my life as Rae Taylor, but I also remember my former one. So…I guess that’s why I seem like a different person to you.” Misha fell silent for a while, no doubt chewing over whether my story was fact or fiction. When she finally opened her mouth again, it was to say, “You truly believe revolution is imminent?”

[User] “I do.”

[Assistant] “And when that happens, the royal family will be eliminated?”

[User] “Yes.”

[Assistant] “I see… In that case, my answer is this.” Misha sat up straight and faced me. “I will help you. I will believe what you have said.”

[User] I collapsed on the bed from relief.


[User] "Oh, thank God…"

[Assistant] "Were you so very nervous?"

[User] "How could I not be? You might have thought I’d lost my mind."

[Assistant] "I suppose that’s true," Misha said. "But taking everything into account, what you said makes a great deal of sense, in retrospect."

[User] "For example?"

[Assistant] "Your test results. You never were very good at studying."

[User] "That’s the most mortifying possible reason for you to believe me."

[Assistant] "There are others. The fact that you counteracted the Nur Empire poison."

[User] "Oh…right. Cantarella. Yeah, I was really glad I could do that. Thane would have been a goner without me."

[Assistant] "But, well, Misha. I’m glad you believe me. You’re…taking this unexpectedly well."

[User] "Unexpectedly? Your story isn’t as foreign as you might think to the people of this world."

[Assistant] "What do you mean?"

[User] "You describe your world as one ruled by science. Ours is ruled by magic. In fact, you remind me of a legend about a lost spirit."

[Assistant] "Oh, huh, I remember that."

[User] "Does that not describe you?" Misha asked.

[Assistant] "I guess it does, yeah." In fact…Rae Taylor’s parents weren’t biologically related to her. She was their foster child, though they had raised and loved her as their own. Perhaps this somewhat explained my exceptional magic abilities.

[User] "Well, I believe I understand a great deal more, now. Thank you for telling me, Rae."

[Assistant] "I feel better too," I confessed. "I was really nervous."

[User] "Were you? Then it must have been especially hard when you told your parents."

[Assistant] "Huh?"

[User] "Huh…? You mean you haven’t told them yet?"

[Assistant] Misha puts her head in her hands. "This is precisely the sort of thing you ought to explain to your parents straight away."

[User] "R-really?"

[Assistant] "Yes. They didn’t say anything when you were visiting?"

[User] "No, nothing in particular."

[Assistant] "I suppose they’re open-minded." Misha sighed. "Goodness, it’s getting late. Don’t you have practice again tomorrow? Will you be all right?"

[User] "Oh, yeah, no problem. I’ll use magic to sleep soundly tonight."

[Assistant] "Yes. Please do so. I’ll wake you in the morning. Good night."

[User] "Good night." I turned off the light and got into bed, then used the water magic sleep spell on myself, and it worked immediately. I hadn’t planned on telling anyone about myself, but at least now I had Misha’s consent. All I had to do was wait for the show to start. I prayed it would go well. No—I would ensure it went well.


[User] “Rae, do you have what you need?”

[Assistant] “Yes. Everything is going smoothly.”

[User] “I-I’m nervous…” A passerby would assume we were discussing the ceremonial dance, but our words carried hidden meanings.

[Assistant] “Miss Claire, Miss Lilly, you know what you need to do, right?”

[User] “You needn’t even ask.”

[Assistant] “Oh, yes.” Everyone needed to do their part in this plan. Even Rod and Thane were part of it, though they weren’t with us. While Lilly’s penchant for blurting things out kept me uneasy, I could only trust her from here on out.

[User] “Lilly, don’t forget the—”

[Assistant] “I-I have it right here.” Lilly held out two bracelets, which I promptly slipped on. At that, I left the two of them and approached the priest in charge of the ceremonial dance.

[User] “I’m so sorry, your holiness.”

[Assistant] “May I please use the restroom?”

[User] “The dance is about to begin. Can’t you hold it?”

[Assistant] “No, I really can’t.”

[User] “Fine, then. Hurry up.”

[Assistant] “Thank you very much.” I bowed once and left.


[User] "That dancer is a vision!" Even though speaking was forbidden during the dance, someone unconsciously cried out in admiration. Everyone who heard them knew who they meant. One dancer was a head taller than everyone else. While her movements synchronized with the others’, she clearly stood out.

[Assistant] "What is it…? It’s like she’s crying but happy…"

[User] "Like her emotions are in conflict."

[Assistant] The slow movements made us look like we were bound in chains. But for some reason, each sweeping gesture of the arm, each step of the foot, captivated the audience. Someone wrote later that the one dancer’s movements made it seem like she had, for the first time, allowed herself some forbidden feeling.

[User] "That’s Rae Taylor, right? You know, the commoner they allowed into the Royal Academy."

[Assistant] "Oh, that girl. But she’s not a nun, is she? Why is she performing the ceremonial dance?"

[User] The audience started to get confused.

[Assistant] "Who cares about that. She’s breathtaking."

[User] What’s that they say? Don’t sweat the small stuff. The crowd opted to do just that, bowled over by the dancer’s expressivity. They wanted to keep watching forever. But alas, the song came to an end. The dancers gathered in the center and danced as if struggling, or perhaps rejoicing. And then— Ding. We rang our bells loudly at the end and spread our arms wide, then knelt on the stage. After a moment of silence, just when the crowd was about to burst into applause—


[Assistant] "Listen, my people!" The dignified voice booming through the venue was none other than the dancer that had left such an impression on everyone: “me.” However, the voice wasn’t mine.

[User] "Wha…Yu? !" The first one to realize this was Queen Riche.

[Assistant] Yu(in Rae's Body) bit into the bracelet around my wrist, tearing it away.

[User] The person who looked like me instantly transformed into Yu. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. While tall, Yu’s silhouette was curvy. Breasts pushed against gossamer silk. To put it bluntly, this body was unmistakably feminine

[Assistant] "What is the meaning of this?! Who is this beside me?" Queen Riche turned to the Prince Yu seated beside her.

[User] "My deepest apologies, Lady Riche. It’s me."

[Assistant] When I removed my own bracelet, the Prince Yu seated by the stage was revealed to be yours truly.

[User] "Rae Taylor?! What is the meaning of this? !" the queen howled.

[Assistant] "Master Yu gave me my orders. I don’t know the reason. The prince simply told me to sit here with the royal family in his place."

[User] Of course, I had been the one to make this proposal, but we had to lie about whose idea this whole charade had been in order to ensure my safety. The bracelets Yu and I had worn were magical tools provided by Lilly that allowed us to take on illusory forms. They weren’t relics possessed by the Church but her own personal belongings.

[Assistant] Meanwhile, the audience was starting to get the idea.

[User] "What do you mean?


[User] "Isn’t that Prince Yu?"

[Assistant] "But she’s a girl."

[User] "Prince Yu is a girl…?" However, their chatter abruptly stopped. The people had lost their voices.

[Assistant] She remained hidden. Good job, Misha.

[User] "I am deeply sorry for misleading you all, but this is my true form." Now, the only sound anyone could hear was Yu—also Misha’s work.

[Assistant] "I have been deceiving the entire kingdom. I am, in fact, a girl. I will no longer lie to you, or to myself. I wish to live out the rest of my days as my true self, the girl you see before you.”

[User] Riche was moving her mouth, trying desperately to speak, but no words rose to her lips.

[Assistant] Salas also strained to bark orders to his underlings, but he had no voice, so good luck to him!

[User] “My people, please, forgive me. In recompense for my years of deception, I hereby abdicate my seat in the line of succession.”

[Assistant] The queen fainted. Apparently, the shock was too much for her.

[User] At that moment, everyone’s voices at last returned. Chaos erupted around me.

[Assistant] "This was your doing, Rae Taylor." King l’Ausseil said to me. For some reason, his tone was not accusatory but gentle.

[User] "Whatever do you mean?"

[Assistant] “Well… I’m sure you know nothing about it. Nothing at all." King l’Ausseil said, chuckling wryly. "In the end, perhaps it’s better this way.” And with that, the king left, saying only, "Salas, take care of this."

[User] “Hmph," Salas rushed to give orders to his subordinates.

[Assistant] I was arrested.


[User] "You look better than I expected."

[Assistant] “It’s because you’ve come to visit me." The sight of her face filled me with delight. I wished I could reach through the bars to hug her.

[User] "And how has prison been?"

[Assistant] "Not so bad, thanks to you.” A week had passed since the Yu incident, and I’d been locked up the whole time. The investigation itself was going in our favor, largely because everyone, including Yu, had kept their stories straight. Yu confirmed that I’d acted on her instructions, and Claire and Lilly backed her up. Rod and Thane did the same. More importantly, King l’Ausseil himself was apparently on my side, as was most of the palace.

[User] "Well, my food was poisoned, though." Likely retaliation from someone in Queen Riche’s camp. Thankfully, I diligently cast antidote magic on everything I ate.

[Assistant] "What?!"

[User] “I’m relieved you’re all right, but…”

[Assistant] "It’s all thanks to Misaki."

[User] "What do you mean?"

[Assistant] "He showed up in my dreams."

[User] "I see you’re still completely incorrigible." he’d said to me in his usual gruff tone. I hadn’t heard it in so long. Dream Misaki laughed awkwardly. "Thank you for saving someone who knows what it’s like. Now don’t be an idiot. Make sure you check your food.” That was all he said.


[User] “Is that…something that can happen?” Claire asked.

[Assistant] “Well, it was probably just my mind manifesting my unconscious desires,” I admitted. Even so, I held that meeting close to my heart.

[User] “I told you this was dangerous.”

[Assistant] “You were right,” I acknowledged.

[User] “What’s going on in the world?”

[Assistant] “It’s gone almost exactly as you planned.” Claire continued on, explaining that Yu had been sent to the convent and she was now living freely as a girl. In an attempt to resolve confusion, the palace had announced that Yu had been struck with a curse and that the shock of this had driven Yu mad. Yu had then entered the convent under the guise of receiving magical treatment. She was partially confined for now, but as I had explained to Yu before, her movements wouldn’t be restricted for long.

[User] “I have brought a message from Yu,” Claire finished. “She said, ‘Thank you. I will be sure to repay you’.”

[Assistant] “Oh, is that so? And how are things with the curse?”

[User] “Well, that has been something of an ordeal. Everyone assumed her return to her true form was temporary at first.” Those who’d known of the curse had assumed Yu appeared as she did at the ceremonial dance because of the light of the full moon. However, in truth, we had broken the curse with the Tears of the Moon just prior to the performance. The Tears of the Moon required two magic users of considerable power to wield, but it turned out that between Lilly and Yu, we had just who we needed. Lilly had been investigated for her role in all this, but she had explained she simply couldn’t refuse a request from Prince Yu.

[Assistant] “Also, as Miss Lilly possesses considerable status, she cannot be so easily punished.”

[User] “What about Misha?”

[Assistant] “She is negotiating with her parents.” Misha wished to leave the Academy and join Yu in the convent, but her parents were resisting. Well, it sounded like her mother was on her side. She kept pointing out that the Jur family has plenty of capable heirs, so they could let their daughter do as she pleased. She had also been swayed by Yu, who had specifically asked Misha to remain by her side in the clergy.

[User] “Since it was her parents’ fault that Misha’s childhood was so rough, it seems like they feel obligated to give in a little.”

[Assistant] “Is that so?” In that case, it was only a matter of time until Misha’s wish was granted too.

[User] “But how have you been, Miss Claire?”

[Assistant] “I am perfectly fine. Except, of course, for the embarrassment of having my servant arrested.”

[User] “That’s it? You’re not lonely? You don’t miss me?”

[Assistant] “Well, aren’t you confident?” she said.

[User] Tee hee. "Did Master Dole say anything?” I asked.


[User] "Nothing." Claire cocked her head to one side. "I thought for sure he would fire you, but that hasn’t come up at all… Exactly what do you have on my father?"

[Assistant] "It’s not like that. Master Dole is just a kind man." I was lying, of course. I couldn’t tell her the real reason. As we talked, the prison guard came over to us.

[User] "Forgive me, Miss Claire. His Majesty wishes to speak to Miss Taylor."

[Assistant] "He does?" I asked with some concern. Maybe the king wasn’t quite as much on my side as I’d thought.

[User] "What could he possibly plan to ask her?" Claire demanded. "We have already confirmed she only acted on Lady Yu’s orders."

[Assistant] "Either way, I must ask you to leave."

[User] "Fine, then. I shall return shortly." And with that, she left.


[Assistant] I was taken to the royal audience room, my hands bound behind my back. A criminal being granted audience with the king had to be unprecedented. I had a bad feeling about this.

[User] "Let me see your face."

[Assistant] I raised my head from my prostrated position to see King l’Ausseil, two guards, and no one else. Queen Riche and Chancellor Salas were nowhere to be seen.

[User] "I asked everyone to leave," the king explained, seeing my confused expression. "I am here to hear the truth."

[Assistant] Ah, I see.

[User] "I have been pained by Yu’s suffering," the king continued. "She has been forced to deny herself for the sake of others’ egos." Lady Riche’s ego, namely. Not that he mentioned that. He was, after all, a monarch, and as I understand, they’re rarely forthright.

[Assistant] "I only know what I’ve already told you."

[User] "You’re quite clever. I like it," the king said, stroking his beard. He looked satisfied. The sinking feeling inside me grew. I didn’t care what happened to me, but consequences from this moment could well spread to the princes, Lilly, and my beloved Claire.

[Assistant] "You shall be released today."

[User] "Thank you very much." I heaved a sigh of relief, thinking my fears groundless. But King l’Ausseil wasn’t done.

[Assistant] "You will also be stripped of your right to attend the Royal Academy."

[User] "What? !" Wait a second! "Your Majesty, with all due respect—!"

[Assistant] "Starting today, Rae Taylor, you will be an officer of the Secret Service. You will report directly to me." The king smiled. "There are very few people in this court whom I can trust. I am in need of your assistance, Rae Taylor."

[User] Stunned into silence, all I could do was stare back at him.


[User] "SECRET SERVICE?" King l’Ausseil regarded me for a long moment, as if testing me.

[Assistant] "I eventually managed to say. I don’t know what that means. What does Your Majesty wish me to do?"

[User] When he finally spoke, it was to completely change the direction of the conversation. "What is your opinion of our current political situation?"

[Assistant] “I think it is far too complex for a mere commoner to comprehend.”

[User] “Don’t be modest. I know your grades at the Academy. I’m aware you possess a deep understanding of this country’s inner workings.”

[Assistant] Obviously, I couldn’t tell him it was all just memorization from playing a game. “I believe Your Majesty’s attempts to encourage meritocracy have been successful," I said instead. "Not just for royalty and nobles, but for the talented people from commoner backgrounds who are being promoted to positions of power.”

[User] “And yet, the Commoner Movement,” the king sighed. “We are stagnant, Rae Taylor. The aristocrats wield too much influence over government officials, and they resist every opportunity for change. I wanted us to reach for the future. That was why I introduced policies to elevate talented commoners.”

[Assistant] “Have you not seen that begin to happen?”

[User] “We’re off to a decent start, yes, even if it’s slow. But the essential structure, the hereditary oligopoly in which aristocrats benefit from the oppression of the commoner class, hasn’t changed in the least,” the king said. “Hence, I need you.”

[Assistant] “I apologize for repeating myself, but what does Your Majesty wish from me?”

[User] “You will expose the crimes committed by powerful nobles.”

[Assistant] “I decline,” I said immediately.

[User] The king frowned.

[Assistant] “Why is that?”

[User] “My food’s already being poisoned. I have no wish to make more enemies.”

[Assistant] “Do not lie to me.”

[User] “I’m not lying.”

[Assistant] “You seem perfectly healthy.”

[User] “I counteracted the poison.”

[Assistant] “Then you have no real objection.”

[User] Ugh. This was hard—wildly so. It was difficult to get anything past this man, which, I supposed, made sense. He was the king, and the foremost politician in this country.

[Assistant] “At least listen to what I have to say," said King l’Ausseil. "I don’t believe the entirety of the aristocracy is complicit, but two in particular I suspect of underhanded dealings.”

[User] “Ahhh…”

[Assistant] “First, the Chancellor, Salas Lilium, and second, the Minister of Finance, Dole François.”

[User] I stopped short. In the game itself, the king didn’t have much of a presence. Other than having put the new policies of meritocracy into motion, he seemed like a pretty generic monarch. If anything, he came across as kind of dumb, because—depending on the route taken by the player—he could make strategic blunders like stoking the flames of the Commoner Movement and precipitating the loss of his own throne. He might have been acting with the people’s best interests in mind, of course, disregarding his own fate, but I’d always gotten the impression he was more unable to control the nobility.


[User] But if he already knew of Salas and Dole’s activities… I had to reevaluate my opinion of his abilities.

[Assistant] “What can a lowly commoner like me possibly do to challenge aristocrats important enough to hold positions such as Chancellor and Minister of Finance?”

[User] "You are close to both their daughters." The king said.

[Assistant] In other words, he wanted me to use Lilly and Claire. "Again, I decline."

[User] "I see. In that case, I have no choice but to investigate not only you but Lilly and Claire for treason in this business with Yu."

[Assistant] "We were only following Lady Yu’s orders.”

[User] "So you say, but a case could be made for a version of events in which you three kidnapped my child." He was threatening me.

[Assistant] “I don’t think Master Dole or Master Salas would stand by and let that happen.”

[User] “Likely not. But, as king, I can overrule the two of them when necessary.”

[Assistant] I didn’t answer. Was he bluffing? If he was capable of bringing such power to bear on Dole and Salas, then why did he need my help to investigate them at all? That said, the Yu affair had caused an unprecedented scandal for the monarchy. In the unlikely event that the king was being serious, then Claire might well be in danger here. I couldn’t be arrested for this, not right now. I’d happily suffer whatever fate it took to save Claire, but the king had frankly terrible timing. Soon, Claire would be in all too real danger, and until then, I couldn’t leave her side. "I understand." I said stiffly. "I accept the position as a member of your Secret Service."

[User] "Good." The king nodded in satisfaction.

[Assistant] I accepted for several reasons, really, one of which being that the more I thought of it, the more I realized that this position might be turned to good use. I had already begun deploying countermeasures to rescue Miss Claire from the coming crisis, but I might be able to make something of this role as well. "I have but two requests." I said.

[User] "Speak."

[Assistant] "First, please afford Miss Claire and Lilly the same privileges. I cannot execute Your Majesty’s orders without their full cooperation. This is absolutely necessary."

[User] "Hmph. Very well. I expected you to object to their mere involvement."

[Assistant] "The matter far exceeds my ability to handle on my own." He was right; I didn’t want to involve the two of them. But I had no choice. "And the other request?"

[User] "In the event that I find evidence of injustices committed by Master Dole and Master Salas, I ask that Your Majesty grant Miss Claire and Miss Lilly immunity."

[Assistant] "Hmph…"

[User] "Destroying their noble houses may be unavoidable, but if Miss Claire and Miss Lilly will be punished for their fathers’ crimes, then I refuse to cooperate any further."

[Assistant] The king thought for a moment. He stroked his beard, deep in thought. "Very well."


[User] “The two girls will not be held accountable.”

[Assistant] “Thank you very much.” I said. Honestly, if he was already this ready to grant me what I asked, this whole thing might go better than I’d hoped.

[User] “Before I begin the actual investigation, what sort of authority does the Secret Service have?”

[Assistant] “They are not omnipotent. Powers and privileges are appointed as required by the job at hand. What do you require?”

[User] “The bare minimum would be the authority to inspect the subjects’ finances and the authority to make arrests.”

[Assistant] “Hmph. Agreed.”

[User] “One more thing. This one’s quite important. I would like to be granted the authority to make plea bargains.”

[Assistant] “Plea bargains?” Oh. Maybe they didn’t yet have that idea in this world?

[User] “In the event that a criminal admits to their crime, and cooperates with the investigation by naming their accomplices, they may be given a reduced sentence or be acquitted of their wrongdoing.” I said,

[Assistant] “And what would you do with the authority to offer such bargains?”

[User] “A few things. Most importantly, it would help me secure information to move forward with the investigation of more serious misconduct.” I was already generating a strategy for how to pursue Dole and Salas, and I laid it out for the king.

[Assistant] “I see,” he nodded. “In that case…you will find this useful.” As I looked at him in confusion, the king called over one of his guards and took what looked like a playing card from him. He handed the object to me.

[User] “What’s this?” I asked.

[Assistant] “A magical tool that allows one to record conversations. It cannot be duplicated, which makes it invaluable for important transactions and investigations,” he said. “It is a rare item; handle it with care. Now, is there anything else you require?”

[User] “Not at this time.” I answered.

[Assistant] He looked surprised. “Aren’t you going to ask about compensation?”

[User] “The guarantee that Claire and Lilly will not be held accountable is enough compensation for me.”

[Assistant] “You have no other desires?”

[User] “I wouldn’t say that…” It was just that nothing mattered more to me than guaranteeing Claire’s safety.

[Assistant] “You said the same during the Chimera incident at the Academy, didn’t you?” the king mused. “You spared Lene and her brother’s life. I have received all the reward I require.”

[User] “If more people were like you, this would be a much better country.” That was going a bit too far. I was very aware that I was a weirdo. If everyone were like me, before long, the Bauer Kingdom would fall to ruin.

[Assistant] “Now then, when you begin your investigation, you must speak with Rod,” the king said. Apparently, Rod had been in charge of the investigation thus far. I was then granted authority to meet freely with the eldest prince, as well as released from prison. But how am I going to explain this to Miss Claire? What a royal pain.


[User] "You must be joking!" The first thing I did with my newly reacquired freedom was search out Claire. I might have been stripped of my enrollment at the Academy, but Claire didn’t know that yet, and the king had said I was allowed to stay in my dorm room at the school. However, when I explained the king’s request, Claire reacted exactly as I expected.

[Assistant] "My father would never behave in such a shameful manner!"

[User] "Well, the king just wants me to conduct an investigation." He’d actually said they were highly suspect, but if I told Claire that, she might just storm the palace.

[Assistant] "The fact that he would suspect my father makes me suspect the king’s sanity! Has the François family not always protected the kingdom’s treasury with utmost honor?!" Claire revered her parents like gods. To her, Dole, her father, and Melia, her mother, were the platonic ideals of aristocrats.

[User] "M-Miss Claire, this might present a valuable opportunity." Lilly said, looking petrified. I needed Lilly’s cooperation to carry out the king’s mission, and she’d happened to be in Claire’s room when I showed up. I hoped she wasn’t neglecting her priestly duties.

[Assistant] "What could you possibly mean, Cardinal Lilly?"

[User] "I-I also don’t want to believe my father is doing something corrupt. That’s why I think we should prove our fathers’ innocence." That was an optimistic way of looking at it—though the burden of proof was on the prosecution.

[Assistant] "Wh-what sort of crimes are our fathers suspected of?"

[User] "I’m not that far yet. The king told me to speak to Rod."

[Assistant] "Then let’s be off." Claire said with a snort. She looked ready to confront the prince on her own.

[User] "It’s too late today. I’m sure you’ll both receive official instructions from the king tomorrow, so let’s wait until then."

[Assistant] "I can’t wait that long. Anyway, why is Cardinal Lilly involved in this?"

[User] "What?"

[Assistant] "Well, I thought that since we have to investigate Master Salas, we could use Miss Lilly’s help—"

[User] "You really don’t understand how dangerous this is, do you? Prying into the affairs of powerful people isn’t something to take lightly!" She was right. Especially as, thanks to my memory of Revolution, I already knew exactly what both Salas and Dole were up to.

[Assistant] "I-I can use water magic. I’m sure I can help."

[User] "It is far too dangerous. Rae has me to guard her."

[Assistant] Who was guarding who now?

[User] "B-but I’m worried!"

[Assistant] "You have nothing to fear."

[User] "I-I don’t know what you’ll do to Rae if I leave you two alone!"

[Assistant] "That’s what you’re worried about?!"

[User] "Huh? Are you going to do something to me, Miss Claire?" I asked sweetly.

[Assistant] "No!"

[User] "Why not?!"

[Assistant] "Why are we even talking about this?!"

[User] "Y-you won’t touch Rae?!" Lilly stammered.

[Assistant] "Have you taken leave of your senses?!"

[User] "Oh, you exhaust me!"


[User] “Both of you!” It had been a while since Claire and I had bantered like this. Ah, yes, this was what I’d been missing.

[Assistant] “I suppose it can’t be helped. I consent to Cardinal Lilly joining us, but please, be extremely careful.”

[User] “Y-yes, of course. You too, Rae.”

[Assistant] “Yes, ma’am.” After that conversation, we called it a night.


[User] We visited Rod at the palace after class the next day. The eldest prince’s room was spacious and handsomely furnished in warm, fashionable colors that evoked his affinity with the fire attribute. Claire’s family home astounded, but it had nothing on this room. Lilly, who lived an honorable life of poverty at the Church, looked especially uncomfortable in the midst of this luxury. As for me? It’s rude to get hung up on comparisons, so I’ll plead the fifth for now.

[Assistant] “I don’t care for small talk, so let’s get right to the point. Salas and Dole are embezzling.” He always reeked of confidence, but today his certainty was especially clear.

[User] “Master Rod, you say this because you have definitive evidence, correct?” I thought Claire would blow up, but she started with sheer logic. Perhaps she had cooled off overnight.

[Assistant] “No, I don’t.”

[User] “Y-you don’t?” Lilly said, sounding almost disappointed.

[Assistant] “Well, wait. The only thing I don’t have is definitive evidence. I have loads of circumstantial evidence.” Rod said, pulling out a notebook. “Salas and Dole are both smart. They haven’t exactly left a paper trail.” He showed us records proving that, at the very least, money tended to disappear around Salas and Dole. He also showed us a list of nobles suspected to be tangentially involved.

[User] “Can’t you just arrest those people?” Claire asked, suggesting she believed her father was innocent.

[Assistant] “They may be the ones getting their hands dirty, but they’re not the masterminds. It’d be like cutting off a lizard’s tail—it’d just grow back. We learned that the hard way. Took in a batch, but more just cropped up in their place.” He fixed his gaze on me. "So, what are you going to do?”

[User] “May I have a copy of these materials?”

[Assistant] “I figured you would say that, so I had one made.” Rod rang the bell on the table. A servant came in with a stack of papers, which I took.

[User] “Thank you, Master Rod. We will be going now.”

[Assistant] “Wait one moment, Rae Taylor.” Rod said, stopping me as I rose to leave. He’d used my full name for some reason, which gave me a bad feeling.

[User] “What is it?”

[Assistant] “Oh, it’s nothing. I just…thought I should ask you while you were here.” It wasn’t like Rod to hesitate. My apprehension intensified.

[User] “I really don’t want to hear it.”

[Assistant] “Don’t say that.”

[User] “May I leave?”

[Assistant] “Not yet. Rae Taylor, would you do me the honor of marrying me?”


[User] Everyone else froze too, but Claire recovered first. “Have you gone mad, Master Rod? !” she practically screamed.

[Assistant] “A-are you suggesting a commoner marry into the royal family? !”

[User] “Yeah. What about it?” In other words, he’d just proposed to me.

[Assistant] The only thing in my mind was: What could I possibly have done to lead him on? “Just to confirm, are you making fun of me?”

[User] “No, I’m serious.”

[Assistant] “Hmmm…” I frowned. “What is it that you like about me?”

[User] “Your personality. Your abilities. At first, I didn’t think you were all that special.” He looked like he was enjoying himself.

[Assistant] “Did I do something to change that?”

[User] “You preemptively prevented an assault on the school, you cured Thane when he was poisoned, you saved the Aurousseau family from execution, you caught Manaria off guard, and you resolved the ghost ship incident in Euclid.” Rod rattled off incidents.

[Assistant] “No…almost all of that was Claire’s doing…”

[User] “Is that true, Claire?” Rod asked her.

[Assistant] “No. It was Rae.”

[User] “What really decided it for me was Yu. You resolved a complex problem the palace had been wrestling with for years.”

[Assistant] “I really didn’t do that alone…”

[User] “Don’t be modest. I know you were the mastermind. I need someone like you at my side, not a dull noble lady who grew up coddled by a rich family. So, how about it?”

[Assistant] “How about it? I decline.”

[User] “Rae? ! Do you understand what you are saying? !”

[Assistant] “What? I was proposed to and declined.”

[User] “But you could become the queen!”

[Assistant] “Well, I don’t really want to be queen.”

[User] Her face was in complete shock, like she couldn’t believe what she was looking at. “But it’s an honor beyond your wildest dreams!”

[Assistant] “It’s not an honor for me.”

[User] “Why? !”

[Assistant] “Because I like you, Miss Claire.”

[User] “Ha ha ha! That’s right. I should’ve known that’s what you’d say!” Rod slammed his hand on the desk, laughing. He looked thoroughly entertained.


[User] “Claire, it seems Rae values being with you over marrying royalty.”

[Assistant] “Please forgive her insolence,” Claire stammered. “She’s just confused by the suddenness of it all. I am sure that once she’s calmed down and thought things through, she will see things differently.”

[User] “No, I’m perfectly calm—”

[Assistant] “Be silent, for one minute,” Claire interrupted me, sounding almost woeful. “Master Rod, please do not withdraw your proposal just yet.”

[User] “Of course. No matter what Rae thinks, my feelings won’t change.”

[Assistant] “Thank you very much. Please, let’s continue this another time.”

[User] “Of course.”

[Assistant] “It’s time to go! Rae, Cardinal Lilly.” Claire seized our hands to lead us out of Rod’s room.

[User] “W-wait a second, Miss Claire…” I started to protest, but she glared at me so hard that I swallowed my words.


[Assistant] We parted ways with Lilly at the entrance of the palace. Claire didn’t open her mouth to speak again until we were in the carriage, headed home.

[User] “Rae… You took that joke too far,” she said, in a tone of fond concern that I’d never heard her use before.

[Assistant] “Joke? What are you talking about?”

[User] “You know what I’m talking about! Rejecting Master Rod’s proposal!”

[Assistant] “I can’t marry someone I’m not even interested in.”

[User] “Marriage isn’t just about what you want! If you were to marry into the royal family, imagine how happy it would make your parents…”

[Assistant] I hadn’t even thought about it from that angle. “I can’t say for certain…” I said, “but I think my parents would respect my decision.”

[User] “Of course they would. Your parents are wonderful. But are you content to let them spoil you so? Don’t you want to make them happy?”

[Assistant] “Well…” This was really driving home the difference between Claire’s values and mine.

[User] To Claire, marrying advantageously meant repaying the family who had raised her. My casual refusal of Rod’s proposal had, to her, been so unimaginable that it looked insincere. What could I do…?

[Assistant] “But, Miss Claire…I only want to marry you.”

[User] “Rae, listen carefully,” Claire said seriously. She straightened her posture. “I understand that you are in love with me. I think it wonderful, even. But marriage is a completely separate issue.”

[Assistant] “Not to me.”

[User] “No. Love may be indulged to a certain degree of freedom. But individual desire is irrelevant to marriage.”

[Assistant] “Miss Claire…”

[User] “You must accept Rod’s proposal. Being married would not obligate you to end your relationship with me. On the contrary, if you were to become royalty, our relationship might even—”

[Assistant] “Miss Claire!” I think that was the first time I’d raised my voice to interrupt Claire. She stopped short, startled. “To me, marriage is just as—no, even more—intimate than love,” I said.


[User] "Rae…"

[Assistant] "No matter what you say, I have no intention of marrying anyone other than you, Miss Claire." Maybe she would never understand my point of view. But this was a hill I was willing to die on.

[User] "Rae, think about it carefully. Women are not permitted to marry each other."

[Assistant] "Then I won’t marry anyone. That’s it."

[User] "Even if I marry someone else?"

[Assistant] "Yes…" I really didn’t want Claire to belong to someone else. I’d denied my own feelings in the past, but Manaria had forced me to get past that. Even so, that didn’t mean I was willing to marry someone other than Claire. Especially not someone like Rod. The thought was unfathomable.

[User] "I thought I was finally starting to understand you."

[Assistant] "Thank you very much."

[User] "But now, I realize how very much I don’t." That one comment cut me to my very core.


[Assistant] Autumn arrived, and the fragrance of sweet olive floated in on the wind. It was an autumn fragrance in Japan too, and I gladly embraced that familiarity in Revolution. Only a Japanese developer would have thought to include it in the game. Some people in modern Japan thought the scent belonged solely in the domain of bathroom air fresheners, but this world didn’t share those prejudices, and saying you liked the smell of sweet olives didn’t get you odd looks. I inhaled deeply of it as I walked down the road. Unfortunately, my mood wasn’t as sweet. I started my investigation right after we spoke to Rod, though it seemed only I planned to do any actual investigative work. Claire and Lilly were more concerned with clearing their fathers’ names. I decided to start with a noble who had dealings with both Dole and Salas. The man procured military supplies for the kingdom, and according to Rod, he had shady accounting practices. His name was Wedge Thompson. We were currently on our way to Wedge’s mansion. We were on our way… I was silent. So was Claire.

[User] "U-ummm…" Lilly started, as if mirroring our awkward faces. I knew how she felt. Since meeting up at the Academy, Claire and I hadn’t said a word to each other besides hello.

[Assistant] "Th-the weather is so nice today!"

[User] "Except that it’s cloudy?"

[Assistant] I didn’t answer. In fact, rain looked imminent.

[User] "What did you two eat for breakfast? Lilly had rye bread and corn potage."

[Assistant] "I overslept this morning, so I skipped breakfast."

[User] "O-oh I see…"

[Assistant] "Yes…"

[User] I swallowed.

[Assistant] "Umm…Miss Claire?"

[User] "What is it?"

[Assistant] "Oh…it’s nothing."

[User] Her curt reaction brought me to a stop. How pointless of me. Lilly continued to try her best to clear the bad air between us, but ultimately, we arrived at the Thompson mansion with the same dark clouds overhead. I had hoped things would improve before this.

[Assistant] An adorable scream interrupted my thoughts.

[User] "Augh? !" Claire is spread-eagled on the ground.

[Assistant] "Argh!"


[User] “Now I have to fight with both Rae and my shoelaces? !” Upon closer inspection, the laces on her pumps had snapped.

[Assistant] “Rae, she just compared you to a shoelace. How does that feel?” Lilly asked.

[User] “I want to dye myself red and wrap myself around a pinky.”

[Assistant] On my left hand, of course. Claire had been surprisingly levelheaded of late, but she still tended to fly off the handle and overreact at trivial inconveniences. Rod’s proposal had strained things between us, but I couldn’t help finding her devotion to her different values endearing. Even watching her fall flat on her face in what would generally be referred to as disgraceful behavior endeared her to me. She disagreed with my ideas about marriage, but she wouldn’t force me to do anything I didn’t want to. She wanted to respect me, in her own way. So what was I going to do about it? This stiff, uncomfortable atmosphere just didn’t suit us. I decided to change the mood. “I am infatuated with my clumsy Claire.”

[User] “Clumsy?! What do you mean, clumsy? !” Claire erupted, as if I’d given the signal to start jesting.

[Assistant] “Please just stay there for a moment.” I took a strap from my bag and split it thinly to make a temporary shoelace.

[User] “You’re so skilled…” Lilly said.

[Assistant] “I owe it all to Miss Claire.” I removed the broken shoelace and ran the strap through the eyelets.

[User] “What does it matter, if I’m still clumsy…?”

[Assistant] “Of course it matters! Your clumsiness gave me a precious glimpse of your underwear!”

[User] “What are you talking about now? !”

[Assistant] “Oh, umm…could it be my true desires…?”

[User] “Don’t play dumb with me!”

[Assistant] I was infatuated with my angry Claire too.

[User] “N-not fair! I want to play yuri-yuri too!”

[Assistant] “Wh-what is yuri-yuri?”

[User] “R-Rae told me. When girls cuddle together it’s called yuri.”

[Assistant] “Who do you think you are, teaching Cardinal Lilly such things? !”

[User] “Heh heh,” I giggled as I stood, sticking my tongue out a little, and then extended my hand to help Miss Claire up. “Miss Claire, let’s make up.”

[Assistant] “I wasn’t aware we were fighting.”

[User] “Absolutely right. But our difference of opinion led to a bit of sensitivity, don’t you think?”

[Assistant] “I suppose you’re right.” Claire took my hand, and I heaved her up. “Ahh? !”

[User] “Mmm, this feels so nice,” I said as Claire’s delicate body landed in my arms. “I want to hold you forever.”

[Assistant] “L-Let go of meee!”

[User] “M-me too, me too!” Lilly cried out.

[Assistant] “Miss Claire, let’s set the topic of my marriage aside for now.”

[User] “Huh?! Rae, you’re going to get married? To whom?! D-did you finally realize how I feel? !”

[Assistant] “Lilly, be quiet for just a minute.”

[User] “Ohh…”

[Assistant] “Even if I do get married, it won’t be right away. I need more time to think, and either way, I don’t want this to ruin my relationship with you.”

[User] “I don’t want my relationship with you to be ruined either,” Claire admitted.


[User] "Then let’s put a pin in this for now."

[Assistant] "I suggested. I suppose it can’t be helped…"

[User] "Now then, let’s finish this job quickly, shall we?" Claire smiled as if she had been released from something.

[Assistant] "Right! Sweet, modest Miss Claire is nice, but at the end of the day, I need my Miss Claire to be bold in bed!"

[User] "Bold in where now?!"

[Assistant] "Just like you’re being now!"

[User] "What in the world are you talking about?!" And just like that, we returned to our usual antics. I was relieved. She really did know how to make me feel better.

[Assistant] "J-just…get a room already…you ugly shellfish…" Lilly wailed. I fell silent, as did Claire. "I-I’m sorry! It wasn’t on purpose!"

[User] "I’m used to it at this point."

[Assistant] "The sudden change can be quite refreshing, actually. Anyway, let’s be off. In the name of Lady Claire François, I officially declare this the start of our Corrupt Noble Regulation mission."

[User] "Does that not make it sound too dangerous?!"

[Assistant] "Pl-please don’t leave me behind!"


[User] "Well, well, Miss Claire and Miss Lilly. Welcome to my humble abode." Wedge Thompson, head of the Thompson barony, greeted the three of us with a smile.

[Assistant] Wedge was younger than Dole and a bit pudgier. The Thompson manor couldn’t measure up to the François estate, but it was large beyond the means of a lower-ranked noble. The interior was decorated with gaudy artwork that reeked of nouveau riche taste. Wedge play-acted the role of aristocrat as he led us to the parlor down the hall, prattling on about which piece of art was whose masterpiece and how many millions of gold it had cost. Claire and Lilly cringed all the while.

[User] "Well now, what sort of business did you wish to discuss today?" Wedge asked Claire as we all sat down in the parlor. He never looked at me, probably assuming I was nothing but their servant. I mean, true enough, but that’s not the point.

[Assistant] "Actually, I have been appointed to the king’s Secret Service."

[User] "Yes, I heard. What a wonderful achievement to be appointed to such a role as a woman." So he was well connected enough to have heard the news. "We’ve come to investigate the Thompson manor."

[Assistant] "Well, well… That’s concerning, isn’t it? Don’t tell me you think some manner of illegal affairs have been conducted in this house?" Wedge conspicuously winced.

[User] "We have our suspicions. Enough to warrant an investigation."

[Assistant] "Well, well. This certainly isn’t what I expected to hear from an intelligent girl like you, Miss Claire." His exaggerated gestures seemed to suggest Claire’s words bordered on slander.

[User] "We hardly enjoy this. If you have nothing to hide, Baron Thompson, then please, cooperate with our investigation."

[Assistant] "Fine, then. Investigate whatever you like." Wedge chuckled. His countenance was confident, as if he silently dared us to find anything.


[User] "Now then, can you please show us documentation of your finances from the past ten years?"

[Assistant] "Of course, ma’am. I will retrieve them from the safe. Please wait here." Wedge rang a bell to call a servant and gave him some orders. The servant, an older man, glanced at us for a moment, but said nothing and nodded before leaving the room.

[User] "Please, enjoy some refreshments while you wait."

[Assistant] "O-oh, thank—"

[User] "No, thank you. We haven’t come to make a social call." Claire sharply interrupted Lilly, who had looked excited. I hoped again that Lilly wasn’t neglecting her cardinal duties.

[Assistant] "Heh heh… Don’t say that. Did you see Broumet has a competitor now? It’s called Frater, and they make the most wonderful treats. The main restaurant is in the Alpes, but they recently opened a branch in the capital."

[User] "I very much doubt they could outdo Broumet."

[Assistant] "You should try for yourself and see. I think their work at least as good as Broumet’s, and their flavors are more complex than the average maid can devise." Wedge said. As if on cue, maids brought out trays with teapots and ramekins.

[User] "This is crème brûlée, Frater’s most popular dish. I don’t believe many people in the capital have yet tried it."

[Assistant] "I have tried crème brûlée before. She made it for me." Claire said, telling me with her eyes that she was rapidly losing interest.

[User] "You what?! N-no, Frater’s creations are completely unlike anything an amateur could concoct. Please, just try it." Wedge had probably intended to use the crème brûlée to win us over, never imagining Claire’s servant could already make it. Not that I cared, but he really took every opportunity to insult me, huh? And he seemed to be the only person in the room who didn’t notice Claire’s mounting irritation.

[Assistant] "If you insist, then I suppose I will try it." Claire lifted the spoon and made eye contact with me for just a moment. I nodded. We had already discussed in advance that I would cast antidote magic on any food offered to us during our investigation. Once I confirmed that my magic had been applied, Claire finally took a bite of the crème brûlée.

[User] "Well…it’s not bad." Claire said nonchalantly.

[Assistant] "I-It’s delicious!" Lilly exclaimed, surprise and excitement writ large on her face.

[User] "It’s exquisite, isn’t it? I was so surprised when I came upon it. My wife adored Broumet, but now she can’t get enough of Frater. Frater’s prices are far more reasonable, as well—"

[Assistant] "Still, I do prefer the crème brûlée my maid makes for me." Claire declared in an uninterested voice. This brought Wedge’s excited chatter to a halt. His face went white.

[User] "H-how could that be?"

[Assistant] "R-Rae can make it better than this?" Lilly boggled.

[User] "Why, yes. Rae, please." Claire offered me a bite of crème brûlée on a spoon.

[Assistant] "You realize this means we’ll share an indirect kiss?"

[User] "How shameless!"


[User] "That’s enough, just try it.”

[Assistant] “As you say.”

[User] Rae took the bite without hesitation. Then Rae dramatically licked the spoon clean. Rae had to properly sample the flavor. “Hmm… Not enough cream. I imagine they added too much milk in its place.”

[Assistant] “What? !”

[User] “And the sugar on top isn’t properly caramelized. I think whoever made this worked from a perfectly good recipe, but they need more practice.”

[Assistant] “Y-you! What would you know? !”

[User] “Baron Thompson, I apologize for my poorly mannered servant. And yet, I agree with her appraisal,” Claire said in a calm voice.

[Assistant] “Oh, no! I didn’t mean to criticize you, Miss Claire!” Wedge switched to an appeasing voice, but his eyes couldn’t hide his irritation.

[User] This was getting tense. Still, Rae was happy. Rae recognized this crème brûlée recipe—he said he had found it in the Alpes? Frater… It was a good name for a restaurant. While Rae contemplated this, a knock sounded at the door. The older servant returned, holding a stack of papers.

[Assistant] “Now then, let’s take a look.” With the refreshments cleared away, Claire took the stack of papers.

[User] Rae reached for the accounting books, trying to memorize what Rae saw.

[Assistant] “Miss Claire, you may have been appointed to the Secret Service, but you can’t expect me to show my family’s finances to a mere servant,” Wedge complained as Rae opened his ledgers.

[User] “She is a member of the Secret Service herself. Did you not hear that there were three new inductees?”

[Assistant] “Th-this servant? !” Wedge’s eyes rolled in agony.

[User] “Is there a problem?”

[Assistant] “N-no. Please excuse me.”

[User] “Very well, then. Rae, get started.”

[Assistant] “Yes.” Rae began with the ledgers, grateful Rae could count on Claire to come through for Rae.