"May I... stay by your side forever?"
A girl of singular loveliness asked the question, her cherry-blossom hair fluttering in the breeze and a faint sheen of tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.
The boy merely smiled, his expression one of profound tenderness as he gathered her delicate frame into his arms.
As they stood there, gazes locked in a moment of pure affection-
"Ah, that's the stuff! The ideal little-sister heroine... I totally stan this!"
The moment the credits were skipped and the title screen flickered back into view, I let out a massive yawn and stretched my limbs until they cracked.
On the monitor, a vibrant logo proudly displayed the words 'Sword, Magic, and Cadenas¹'. It was the game that had currently taken over my entire existence.
'Sword, Magic, and Cadenas'-it was a quintessential romantic adventure game for men, generously seasoned with all the classic RPG elements one could hope for.
The setting was a delightfully clichéd medieval fantasy world. The story followed a commoner protagonist who, upon discovering a dormant talent for magic, was whisked away to a prestigious academy for the magically gifted.
It was there that the hero would encounter princesses, daughters of the high nobility, and saintly maidens, deepening his bonds with them through various trials and tribulations. Honestly, you have to love the classics.
The mechanics were strictly RPG-standard. A charmingly pixelated version of the protagonist would wander the map, and whenever he bumped into a heroine, a conversation or a special event would trigger.
If one thought about it too carefully, a hero who spent his days scuttling across the map to juggle multiple girls looked suspiciously like a playboy... but it was best not to dwell on such things.
Naturally, traversing the map often led to unsavory encounters with bandits or monsters, plunging the player into a battle sequence.
In these moments, one fought alongside the heroines in a party. The fact that affection levels fluctuated even in the heat of combat was a testament to the game's romantic pedigree.
Because the narrative branched so wildly based on the player's choices, the sheer volume of content was staggering.
With over three distinct endings for every single heroine, it had taken a Herculean effort to fully complete the CG gallery. I felt a sincere urge to send the development staff a very large gift basket for their hard work.
Some might call it uninspired or trope-heavy, but for someone like me-a lover of the orthodox and a staunch character enthusiast-it hit the bullseye. Every single heroine was perfectly tailored to my specific tastes.
The protagonist was... well, he was tolerable enough, I suppose.
Among the cast, the 'little-sister' type heroine I had just finished conquering was my absolute favorite.
She was pure, lovely, and endearingly modest. People might sneer and say, "Oh, she's just the kind of girl otakus drool over, tee-hee!" To them, I say: You are absolutely right! Do you have a problem with that?
I was so utterly captivated by her that I had replayed her route over ten times. I had no defense against the truth.
It had taken two weeks to see every ending and another week to polish off the gallery, yet I had still managed to pull two consecutive all-nighters for an extra lap of the game. Even I had to admit it was a bit idiotic.
If my university hadn't been on a long-term break, I would have been well and truly finished. With only a once-a-week gig as a private tutor and my parents footing the bill for my tuition and living expenses, I was dangerously close to being a total lost cause.
As a lonely otaku whose friends and lovers existed only in the second dimension, I didn't exactly have anyone I could casually ask to see their lecture notes with a playful wink.
However... as much as I adored that sister-type heroine, her older brother was the absolute worst.
The heir to a Duke² house, this brother viewed the commoner protagonist as a personal eyesore and went out of his way to be an insufferable nuisance at every turn.
His most unforgivable sin, however, was the backstory of how he had tormented his younger sister since they were children. Laying a hand on such a precious girl was a crime worthy of ten thousand deaths.
That said, regardless of which heroine's route you chose, a battle with the stupid brother always occurred midway through the story, and he invariably ended up quite dead.
In fact, whenever I watched gameplay videos, the comment section would be flooded with the word 'Retribution' the moment his battle started.
You could practically feel the players' collective malice-a sense that if heaven wouldn't judge him, they certainly would. The man was truly loathed.
* * *
I clicked the power button on the console and spent a few minutes idly surfing message boards and social media.
I posted a quick update: "Two all-nighters for a game, currently feeling like a zombie." My followers were quick to reply with gems like "Look at this idiot lol" and "Go to sleep, you moron." Hard to argue with sound logic.
Just as I was about to heed their advice and crawl into bed, a lone postcard sitting haphazardly on the table caught my eye.
...Ah, right. I'd forgotten to pay the electricity bill.
They wouldn't shut the power off immediately, but I knew from experience that if I didn't handle it the moment I noticed, it would slip my mind entirely. With a sigh, I decided to deposit the money before hitting the sack.
An otaku without electricity is a pitiful thing indeed. It's like a certain bread-headed superhero getting his face soaked-utterly powerless.
I changed into my outdoor sweats and shoved my wallet and phone into my pockets. Fixing my hair seemed like far too much effort, so I gave it a cursory brush and stepped out of the apartment-only to be nearly blinded by the morning sun.
I made my way toward the large convenience store chain across the road. It was the ultimate sanctuary for people with irregular lifestyles like mine, offering everything from juice and cup noodles to an ATM.
The pedestrian light flickered to red just as I arrived, forcing me to wait at the edge of the crosswalk. This road was always busy, and the signal changes were notoriously sluggish. My timing was unfortunately poor.
Summer was in full swing. Despite the early hour, the cicadas were already screeching at a deafening volume. Sweat began to bead on my forehead, and the asphalt seemed to shimmer and warp in the rising heat.
The intensity of the sun was a bit much for a body that hadn't slept in forty-eight hours.
"...Ah."
The world suddenly tilted. My vision distorted, and my sense of balance vanished in an instant. The last thing I heard was the blare of a frantic car horn before everything went black.
Summary:
An avid gamer finishes his favorite 'little-sister' route in the RPG 'Sword, Magic, and Cadenas' for the tenth time. He reflects on his love for the heroine and his absolute loathing for her villainous brother, the Duke's heir. Exhausted after two days without sleep, he heads to a convenience store to pay his electricity bill. While waiting at a crosswalk in the sweltering heat, he loses consciousness as a car approaches.
Character Insight:
The protagonist demonstrates a classic obsessive 'otaku' personality, finding more comfort and emotional resonance in 2D characters than in his actual life. His intense hatred for the 'Villainous Brother' character highlights a strong protective instinct toward the 'ideal' sister archetype, foreshadowing how his personal values might conflict with a future role as a villain. His neglect of real-world responsibilities like bills and sleep sets the stage for a dramatic transition into a new world.
Behind the Scene:
The 'little-sister' archetype is a staple of Japanese galge (girl games) and bishojo games, often focusing on a character who is not blood-related to bypass social taboos. The protagonist's reaction to the 'Villainous Brother' mirrors common player sentiment where certain characters are designed specifically to be 'hate-sinks' to make the eventual victory more satisfying.
T/L:
1 ↩ Cadenas: Spanish for 'chains.' In the context of the title 'Sword, Magic, and Cadenas,' it likely refers to 'Hanakanmuri' (花冠), which means flower crown or garland, suggesting a theme of binding or crowning.
2 ↩ Duke: A high-ranking nobleman. In 'otome' and 'galge' fantasy settings, the Duke's family is typically the most powerful house below the royalty, often serving as the primary source of antagonists or high-tier love interests.