I Have a Stalker of Noble Status. And to Make Matters Worse, their Numbers are Increasing (BL) - Chapter 9

“Hey, Rick! You’re the one who asked me to help you study, so why are you spacing out?”

“Oh, wow—you’re right! Sorry!”

At Edelstein Academy, students have several self-study periods each week to focus on subjects that align with their future aspirations.

Right now, I’m studying with Max, though lately, whenever it’s just the two of us, he tends to act more casual.

“I already finished my arithmetic assignment, by the way.”

“No way! That was way too fast!”

Max insists that keeping things informal is easier, so he expects me to do the same. As a result, our conversations have become completely relaxed.

Oh, and at some point, Max started calling me Rick. Not that I ever agreed to it.

“You see, in this world, people waste too much time solving every single equation from scratch. That’s why it takes forever. The trick is to memorize common calculations using mnemonics.”

“Mnemonics? You mean, memorization tricks?”

Tapping my workbook with his finger, Max explains further.

“For example, instead of solving 11 × 11 from the beginning each time, just remember that it’s 121. You can use a phrase like ‘One one? One one? Always one-two-one!’ to help you recall it instantly.”

…That’s an oddly intense mnemonic.

“Same goes for 12 × 12—it’s 144. You can remember it as ‘Always, always together.’”

…Is it just me, or do these mnemonics sound suspiciously stalker-ish?

After teaching me several more tricks and shortcuts, Max significantly improved my calculation speed.

I have to admit—knowledge from another world is pretty amazing!

Thanks to his methods, I finished my assignment much faster than I expected.

Now might be the perfect time to bring up something that’s been on my mind for a while.

“Hey, Max, about that ‘otome game’ you mentioned before…”

“Oh? What about it?”

Max, who had already finished his work and was stifling a yawn from boredom, immediately perked up and leaned forward.

Wow, he really loves talking about games.

“Do you have a specific ending you’re aiming for?”

“Nope. That’s not for me to decide. I’m just a love interest—it’s up to the protagonist, Angelica.”

“You’re really dedicated to this role…”

So, if I want Max’s cooperation, I’ll have to convince Ange to aim for the Eternal True Ending herself?

…Yeah. That’s not going to be easy.

“So, how exactly do you reach the Eternal True Ending?”

“Oh? Rick, are you actually that curious? You could’ve been a fine gamer in another life—what a waste!”

“Uh… sure?”

Max looked up, as if recalling something, before slowly starting to explain.

“Well, to reach it, you need to max out all parameters. And before that, every love interest has to make an appearance.”

Wait… What?

Maxing out every stat? That’s insane!

“So… aside from you and Ray, are there other love interests?”

“Of course. What kind of otome game only has two romance options? Even mobile games have more than that. There are four main love interests, plus an extra character, and even a hidden one—so six in total.”

“SIX?! That’s way too many!!”

“Really? For this type of game, that’s actually on the lower side.”

You’ve got to be kidding me!

So, if Ange wants to reach the Eternal True Ending, she has to meet all of the love interests, raise her stats to the max, and…

…Yeah, Ange has to do all that.

“Does that mean she not only has to meet the love interests but also get along with them?”

“Exactly. That’s the tricky part. The affection levels with each love interest can’t be too low, but they also can’t be too high. If she raises someone’s affection too much, she’ll get locked into that character’s romantic route instead.”

Ugh. That sounds like such a hassle…

“She has to carefully balance their affection levels, max out all her stats, ace the combat segments, and complete every necessary event. That’s how you unlock the Eternal True Ending. Sounds ridiculously hard, right?”

“Y-Yeah… But wait, is that even possible?”

“Even in the game, I couldn’t reach it. In real life? Probably impossible.”

“…Right.”

What should I do? Maybe I should just throw caution to the wind and help Lady Violetta, even if it means breaking the scenario…

But if I do that, wouldn’t I end up making an enemy out of Max? I really don’t want that.

Besides, if Ray has already failed six times, how could things possibly change just because I’m here?

All these thoughts swirl in my head, making me feel dizzy.

Ugh… All I ever wanted was to graduate from this academy safely—and ideally with good grades. That’s all I wanted…

“…Is this about Raymond?”

“!?!”

Lost in my thoughts and on the verge of feeling completely overwhelmed, I looked up to see Max staring down at me with a serious expression.

“Why do you think that…?”

“You’ve been deep in thought a lot lately. In this academy, the only people who could trouble you this much are me or Raymond.”

Oof. Sorry for not having more friends, okay?

“Let me guess. You’re thinking something like, ‘It’s not my place to talk about Raymond’s situation.’”

…Is he psychic?!

Seeing my stunned expression, Max let out a short sigh.

“In that case, there’s only one solution—

Let’s settle this head-on.”

With a smirk, Max stood up, looking ready for battle.