Chapter 38
Count Pophos attended the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet with a heavy heart.
Lately, not even his favorite meat dishes and sweet desserts could ease his sadness.
The source of his sorrow was the letters he had sent with great ambition to the Illusion Magic Tower.
He had already sent the same letter over twenty times, but no reply had come.
“Chomp, chomp… sniff.”
Count Pophos chewed on his meat alone in a corner of the banquet hall.
“Was my scenario lacking… cough…”
The letters contained the ideas he had fantasized about for a long time.
Count Pophos had not been able to enjoy his academy days due to his unattractive appearance.
Even at his age, he had never dated or even been in a relationship.
He enjoyed fantasizing about his academy days.
His fantasies were usually about being surrounded by many beautiful female cadets and winning their hearts.
When he saw the Arcane War, he thought that with such illusion magic, he could turn his fantasies into a game.
Count Pophos roughly outlined the scenario for the game and sent it to the Illusion Magic Tower.
He offered as much money as they needed, asking them to create a game like COL or Maple Leaf Story, set in an illusionary world.
“No, I’m telling you it’s not true—!”
While he was eating alone, not talking to anyone,
He heard Rikal shouting angrily nearby.
It was because of the recent rumours about the player <Rogue Empire’s Prince>.
Since Count Pophos didn’t play COL, he didn’t pay much attention to it.
And Rikal causing a scene wasn’t a new thing.
Soon after, Leo approached, seemingly trying to calm Rikal down.
If that had been all, Count Pophos would have continued to ignore the situation.
“Ha, haha! Hahahaha!”
But amidst the commotion, a strange laugh echoed.
Count Pophos raised his head to find out who was laughing.
The source of the laughter was none other than a mage.
It was Riot, the Illusion Mage who created COL and Maple Leaf Story.
‘Wh-what, what, the Illusion Mage came to this banquet too?!’
Riot spoke up to clear up the misunderstanding on Rikal’s behalf, then led Rikal out of the banquet hall.
Count Pophos thought this was his chance.
It was the perfect opportunity to ask directly for his fantasies to be made into a game.
‘H-however, this meat is just too delicious, I can’t seem to move… (thud) What am I doing! I need to act now!’
But the meat in his hand was so tasty that he couldn’t stop himself.
After a mental battle with himself, Count Pophos managed to get moving.
But just then, someone else was trying to leave the banquet hall too.
“Wh-where are you going, Your Highness…?”
Count Pophos spoke to Leo.
He was about to have an important conversation with Riot, and it would be troublesome if Leo overheard.
“Oh, Count Pophos. I’m just going to check on Rikal.”
“If that’s the case, I-I will… go instead…”
“You, Count Pophos?”
“Hmph… I have some personal matters to discuss…”
And Leo’s destination was the same as Riot and Rikal’s.
It was even more critical that they didn’t leave together.
In the end, Count Pophos left Leo behind in the banquet hall and followed Riot and Rikal alone.
As he stepped out of the banquet hall, the vast royal garden unfolded before him.
The royal garden, lit up with bright lights, was a splendid sight.
Panting heavily, Count Pophos waddled through the garden.
-…So…-
From a secluded part of the garden, he heard the voices of Riot and Rikal.
They were hiding in a corner, as if discussing a secret.
Gasping for breath, Count Pophos followed the voices.
The previously faint voices grew clearer.
“…So why did you use ‘Light of the Empire’ as your nickname again? You should have used a different one for your COL username.”
Count Pophos froze as he overheard Riot’s irritated words.
***
I helped Rikal out and led him into the garden.
Then, I guided him to a secluded corner where no one would come.
“Whew… I helped you once, okay?”
“Ugh! Those annoying brats! I should’ve just killed them all…!!”
Rikal, now full of anger, kicked at the ground.
Just moments ago, he had been flustered, unsure of what to do.
But his temperament didn’t change that easily.
“So why were you so hesitant back there? Acting like that will only make people more convinced.”
“And what, you think I should just reveal my username there? In front of all those nobles?”
“Well, you could have just said you were a fan or something. Either way, the suspicion will keep following you unless you fully reveal your username. Or you could find out who the real <Rogue Empire’s Prince> is.”
“And who is it then? You know, don’t you!”
“No, I keep telling you I don’t know.”
“Argh!”
Rikal clutched his head in frustration.
It must be a tough situation for Rikal.
Being suspected as <Rogue Empire’s Prince> was clearly annoying.
But he couldn’t reveal his real username either.
It made sense that he was upset.
Of course, that didn’t mean I planned on revealing the true identity of <Rogue Empire’s Prince>.
“Sigh… So why did you use ‘Light of the Empire’ as your nickname again? You should’ve just picked something else for your COL name.”
“I didn’t think much when I made it. How could I have known it would come to this?”
“Weren’t you just trying to play the idol even in COL?”
“…Do you want to die?”
“If you kill me, your secret will be posted in a Maple Leaf Story announcement, you know?”
As always, our conversation veered back to me teasing Rikal.
Well, since there’s no immediate solution, it’s better to lighten the mood, right?
That’s what I thought when I made that joke.
But it ended up causing a big problem.
Rustle—
“…!”
“…Oh.”
In the middle of our conversation, we heard a rustling sound.
And we could hear suspicious breathing as well.
Rikal and I quickly lowered our voices.
“Is someone there? Could it be…?”
“It’s too dark to see. Surely, they didn’t hear us…?”
Rikal, uncharacteristically, seemed genuinely fearful.
It seemed like he was nearly in a state of panic.
If that sound was from a person and they had overheard our conversation, Rikal would probably wish he could just disappear.
I could see from the trembling in Rikal’s eyes what he was thinking.
“No, no way. It’s not a person.”
In these situations, it usually turns out to be a passing cat. That’s how it typically goes.
The cliché is to build tension like something is about to happen, only for nothing to occur.
“H-H, Your Highness…”
But, unkindly, that cliché did not occur.
Instead, a twist that would cause an enormous ripple.
From between the bushes emerged a portly noble with a protruding belly.
“Count Pophos…?”
Seeing who it was, Rikal murmured in a surprised tone.
It seemed like Rikal knew this noble too.
Judging by his attire, he seemed to be a central noble.
But wait, Pophos? For some reason, that name sounds familiar.
More importantly, he didn’t overhear, did he?
“Wh-What do you mean, ‘Light of the Empire’… What are you talking about…?”
Oh no. He heard.
I slapped my forehead, thinking that we were in serious trouble.
Rikal was already trembling like a leaf, drenched in cold sweat as if it were raining.
“S-Surely… the Third Prince is JeBbit…?”
“N-No, haha! What are you talking about? The Third Prince being JeBbit? How could a rogue like him possibly be JeBbit? Hahahaha!”
I tried to cover up the situation urgently in place of the stunned Rikal.
Even though I openly insulted him, Rikal was too out of it to react.
Now that he had been caught, it was as if Rikal was socially dead.
He must have felt like the sky was falling.
I desperately hoped that this Count Pophos hadn’t heard the whole conversation, forcing a smile.
“D-Don’t lie! I heard everything about the nickname and the idol stuff…!”
“Ah…”
Thud—
In the end, Rikal collapsed to the ground.
This Count Pophos guy. He might look foolish, but he’s not as gullible as I’d hoped.
He seemed needlessly stubborn about things.
“Th-The Prince is JeBbit… Then, was the JeBbit that appeared until now a double…?”
Rikal and I both remained silent.
Rikal seemed to have completely lost his mind.
And I didn’t dare to answer, unsure if I could handle the consequences for Rikal’s future.
But why does this Count Pophos speak like this?
Is it really okay for him to talk like that to a prince?
After a while, Rikal, who had regained some of his composure, spoke.
“…Count Pophos.”
“Ugh, wh-what?!”
Rikal suddenly stood up and placed his hand on Count Pophos’s shoulder.
Then he gripped Count Pophos’s shoulder so hard it seemed like he might break it.
Count Pophos let out a strange sound as if he were in pain.
“…You’re going to have to die here.”
And then Rikal drew his sword.
I hurriedly grabbed Rikal’s arm.
“W-Wait, Your Highness! No matter what, this isn’t the way! And if you kill him here, it’ll be discovered eventually!”
“So what if they find out? It’s not like Count Pophos has a wife or kids to come looking for him.”
“Well, that’s a bit hurtful…”
“But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to kill someone! Please, put the sword away!”
I managed to calm Rikal down.
In the end, we decided to explain the situation to Count Pophos and ask him to keep the secret.
Rikal still thought it would be better to just kill him.
But I didn’t want to see an innocent person die right in front of me.
Besides, it was Rikal’s mistake, so killing Count Pophos made no sense.
“I-I can keep the secret… But not for free…!”
“Is there something you want?”
“I-Illusion Mage Riot… Why haven’t you responded to my letters?!”
“Letters?”
Letters?
I tried to recall any recent letters I’d received.
Nothing special came to mind…
“…Ah! Count Pophos!”
Then it hit me.
The long letters I had been throwing away without reading for some time.
The ones with uncomfortably detailed storylines and character settings, asking me to create a dating sim.
The name of the sender on those letters was Count Pophos.
“A dating sim… No, so you were the one who asked me to make that game, Count.”
“That’s right…! Why haven’t you responded?!”
“I did reply at first. I said it wasn’t possible.”
“But…! Please make it…! I even wrote up to the 28th revision of the scenario because I thought my story was lacking…!”
“No, that’s not the issue here…”
How could a hopeless otaku like this exist in this world?
Was the person who first thought of a dating sim in my past life like this too?
Comparing them to Count Pophos seemed too disrespectful, so I apologized inwardly to the original dating sim creator.
“A-Anyway, if you make it, I’ll keep the secret…!”
“But I’m a developer of online games…!”
So, the condition Count Pophos proposed was this:
If I made him a dating sim, he would keep the secret.
I glanced back and forth between the desperate Rikal and Count Pophos, deep in thought.
—
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