I Have a Stalker of Noble Status. And to Make Matters Worse, their Numbers are Increasing (BL) - Chapter 15

“Right, if I had to sum up the other two in one word each, they’d be ‘Scheming Crown Prince’ and ‘Younger Puppy Third Prince.'”

Wait, that’s not just an “Academy Prince” anymore!

A real lineup of princes?!

“…The Crown Prince? But the Crown Prince is engaged to…”

I remember Ray mentioning that the engagement with Violetta-sama is already set.

The gentle smile of Violetta-sama crosses my mind.

“Yeah, the Crown Prince’s ending for the hidden character is the ‘Abduction End.'”

Inhumane!!

“And the Third Prince is, what, around ten years old?”

“He’s the ‘shota’ character.”

Inhumane!!

What is going on with the morals of this world?!

“The Third Prince is scheduled to skip a grade and enter the academy when the heroine is in her third year. Since his introduction is late and there’s only one year for his romance route, he’s considered a bonus character. When he appears in the game, he’s twelve, and the heroine is eighteen, so I guess it’s a dream come true for those who like the ‘onee-shota’ dynamic.”

…Onee…shota…?

Somehow, Max feels like someone from a completely different world. Oh, right—he’s a reincarnate, so he must have been from another world.

“Fortunately, for the Eternal True End, it doesn’t require a romantic relationship to develop! For now, let’s set these two aside and focus on the Ghost Prince and the muscle-brained knight. And Raymond, as a fellow student, you should try to interact with Angelica a bit more.”

“Ugh, fine… I get it. I’ll try my best.”

Ray… seems like he has a lot on his plate.

“The next issue is definitely raising parameters. Fortunately, Angelica seems to have high initial stats, so I’ll handle the academic side of things. As for beauty, we can probably manage that with money. After that… leveling up and gaining the people’s favor, I guess.”

“Popularity? First time I’ve heard of that. What’s that about?”

“Well, it’s like the support rate for a saint, or how liked she is in town. This naturally increases when you solve requests or succeed in adventure parts.”

I see. There’s really a lot to do.

“We’ll just have to help Angelica out with all of that.”

“Yeah. And lastly, I’d like to check if the ‘helpful items’ that appeared in the game work in this world too.”

“Helpful items?”

“They’re things that raise parameters, increase levels, or decrease fatigue. Some items can also increase intimacy when given to the targets.”

That sounds a little… scary.

“There’s also that special meal at the academy cafeteria that only high-ranking nobles can eat, right? Turns out that’s one of them too. It’s from the ‘Chef’s Whim’ series.”

“What?!”

Wait—I’ve eaten so much of that stuff!

Chef, please don’t start turning “helpful items” into alchemy on a whim!

“Well, I don’t think it’ll affect ordinary people eating it. It’s just regular food offered at the academy. From now on, maybe you could invite Angelica and have her try the whimsical dishes from time to time. That should help with leveling her up, right?”

Max casually mentions, “I think if you eat Chef’s Whim dishes, you get a little experience, right?”

Meanwhile, Ray’s face twitches, looking thoroughly stressed.

Ray… seems to have a lot going on… for real.

“Well, if it gets too late, it’ll be harder to invite Angelica, so we should head out soon.”

With that, Max turns off the white screen and puts the magic tool back into his pocket.

“Oh, right. Prince Chrisford doesn’t remember anything about himself, got it? Don’t go saying anything unnecessary to him or to Angelica.”

“Wh-what?!”

Max, could you not just casually drop such an important detail?!

“The heroine meets a mysterious ghost who has lost his memories. As she struggles to help him regain them, they slowly grow fond of each other… But in the end, he’s a ghost. No matter how much they fall in love, they can never be together. That’s the tragic yet heart-wrenching premise of the Chrisford route. If you suddenly blurt out, ‘Hey, you’re actually the second prince who was nearly poisoned and has been in a coma all this time! You’re alive, by the way!’ it’d completely ruin the mood, don’t you think?”

I mean… this isn’t just about spoilers or ruining the mood…

Max really doesn’t seem to view this world as reality.

From his perspective, this is just the world of an otome game, and I can understand why he feels that way.

—But Max, everyone here is actually living their lives.

As I follow Max, who strides out of the room full of enthusiasm, I can’t shake the quiet, lingering feeling of loneliness settling in my chest.