WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Potter
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Protagonist of a Romance Fantasy Only Likes Me ◈
Chapter 2: Because It’s More Fun. (1)
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1.
“How was it?”
“So-so.”
That day, as he gave his sister curt replies to her questions, countless doubts were swirling through his mind.
Fallen Noble Lady Simulation looked like an ordinary romance fantasy life sim, but it had a very unusual system.
“Is everything supposed to be random like this?”
“Why? Is it strange?”
“...Isn’t it strange, logically speaking, for there to be no fixed events at all?”
“I suppose it could be.”
“The Harvest Festival happens some years and not others. The swordsmanship tournament is supposed to happen every five years, so why didn’t it happen? And where did that traitor suddenly come from without any warning?”
“That’s what makes it fun. The surprises, the variables.”
Everything was random.
There was no predetermined plot.
“I’m seriously asking, what is this Demon King supposed to be? Can there even be a Demon King in this sort of setting?”
“There has to be! Demon Kings are cool.”
“What do they do?”
“They’re, you know, some kind of dark being.”
“...”
Every reason was equally simple.
“Unexpected characters, unexpected fun, unexpected meetings, unexpected developments, unexpected endings! Isn’t that great?”
“...It certainly is unexpected.”
It was an unexpected game in many ways.
He did not particularly want to point out how strangely its medieval and modern elements were mixed together.
It was not the sort of game that needed historical accuracy anyway.
For some reason, the imperial capital alone had well over a million citizens. By then, he had simply accepted it as part of the game’s gleeful absurdity.
Small and large wars were commonplace throughout the continent, and magical beasts and bandits picked fights whenever someone left the city walls.
The capital was crawling with traitors, criminal organizations, mercenaries, and con artists. Yet parties and festivals never ceased in the imperial palace.
It was all possible because it was a game.
He had only one question.
‘When exactly does this protagonist get to be happy?’
Even when he looked through the list of endings called the Album of Memories, every single conclusion seemed bitter to him.
Even when she married a prince, it usually ended by hinting at ruin.
“That makes it more fun.”
More fun?
“Hmm.”
2.
‘Let’s go to the capital.’
Come to think of it, he had had plenty of chances to go to the capital in his previous run.
The Academy, the continent’s largest educational institution, was located in the imperial capital.
Naturally, most of the major and minor events in high society took place in Rodnis as well.
Any knight with even a little reputation headed for Rodnis under the pretext of attending the capital’s swordsmanship tournament, when what they really wanted was to meet the young ladies who would gather there. Lancel had received his share of invitations. More accurately, they had been a constant part of his life.
So why had he remained buried in the countryside?
What reason was there to go in the first place?
Even when the entire continent had praised Lancel and raised statues in his honor, he had still lived on battlefields and died on battlefields.
He had little interest in festivals, high society, swordsmanship tournaments, or romances with young ladies. Nor did he have much desire for advancement or marriage.
Over more than a hundred years, had he spent even five years in a relationship? Even those had been fake relationships for disguise, where they had not even held hands. He had never considered marriage.
During his third run, when he had achieved his greatest fame as a knight, Lancel had even rejected the advances of an imperial princess. For the record, his masculine functions had been perfectly normal, unlike the rumors circulating at the time.
‘But now I have to go to the capital.’
He knew this world’s secret.
At last, he had a reason to go to the capital.
“Happy eighteenth birthday, Lancel Dante! Did you chew on a bug or something? That serious expression doesn’t suit you.”
“Father. I am an adult now, so I will go to the capital.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“You are not skilled enough to make your way in the capital yet. I cannot let you tarnish the reputation of the historic House Dante.”
“Then that works out well. Pick up your sword and come outside. Your son will teach you a lesson.”
“Heh heh heh. Interesting. I shall personally show you how immature you still are. Once some of that warm blood drains out, you will learn your place.”
After exactly three exchanges of swords, the head of House Dante lay flat on the ground like a frog.
“I will go to the capital.”
“I will write you a letter. There is someone who will provide you a place to stay.”
The next day, Lancel boarded a carriage bound for the capital. He was accompanied only by three servants and a small amount of traveling money.
After a long journey of over a month, he passed through Rodnis’s city walls.
“...?”
Nothing appeared before his eyes.
* * *
“You have grown so much since I last saw you, Lancel. Please think of this place as your home, your hometown.”
“I will think of you as a father, Baron Shen.”
“That sounds good. Viscount Dante certainly raised his son well.”
“He raised me too well, so he is currently confined to his bed.”
“Please hold back on that.”
A middle-aged man with a well-fed, glossy face and black hair clasped hands with Lancel.
His name was Baron Evil Shen, and he looked like the very image of a wealthy capital noble.
He might have been a baron, but his position in the capital was practically that of a merchant. People even whispered that he was the most successful stableman alive.
That was because he had made it his business to buy quality horses, groom them well, and sell them to nobles. He really did run an enormous stable.
To the capital’s extravagant nobles, a well-bred horse was much like a luxury good. Baron Evil Shen had exploited that desire to make a fortune and enter the nobility as a newly risen aristocrat.
“Money really is nice.”
“Isn’t it? Even if people call me a stableman, how could I stop smiling when I have such a fine house?”
“Certainly. I should also apologize for the prejudice I had before coming here.”
“I would like to hear what that prejudice was.”
“I will only say that it would be inappropriate to mention on such a happy day.”
“Viscount Dante certainly raised his son well.”
“I hear that often.”
Baron Evil Shen gave him the entire top floor of his three-story mansion, then soon hurried away.
Lancel decided to slightly elevate his opinion of him, from a country nouveau riche who smelled of horse dung to a wealthy and convenient miser.
3.
One month.
For nearly a month after arriving in the capital, Lancel lived like an idle layabout.
When he was hungry, he called for a servant to prepare a meal. When he was bored, he wandered through the capital to pass the time.
Having a diligent miser for a host was one of the benefits of being a dependent guest. The man was always out of the house, so there was less need to watch one’s behavior.
Still, the Shen household servants, who believed nobles naturally lived busy lives, seemed to think Lancel was rather strange.
“He has nothing to do, even though he is a noble.”
“I saw him sleep in bed for two whole days.”
“He is supposed to be a knight, but I have never seen him train. What is he?”
Lancel heard every word from afar and merely snickered.
‘You people should live for over a hundred years too. You become exceptionally skilled at passing the time.’
Of course, Lancel had not wanted to live like this.
‘Why is it not appearing?’
Fallen Noble Lady Simulation.
No matter how hard he searched during the month he spent in the capital, he found no trace of it.
Even when he deliberately examined every corner, all he could see was the bustling capital.
“How long do I have to wait?”
Two months.
Three months.
Four months.
Then a year.
Lancel could only blankly watch time pass.
‘When is this damned game supposed to begin? Did I miss something?’
That evening, Lancel brought it up with Baron Evil Shen, who had come home to enjoy dinner for the first time in a while.
“Have you heard anything about House Marigold?”
“...!”
House Marigold, a count’s family. It was the protagonist’s family in the game.
At the start of the game, it had completely fallen and become a vanished glory, but it had once been prosperous enough for every noble to know its name.
At the mention of that name, Baron Evil Shen widened his eyes and looked around.
“You heard too?”
“...?”
Lancel blinked at Baron Evil Shen, who had suddenly lowered his voice. The reaction was unexpected.
“That woman who was caught poaching outside the capital some time ago... apparently she was a daughter of House Marigold.”
Lancel lifted his teacup and tried to hide his agitation.
“The world truly is unpredictable. It was shocking enough that the once-renowned House Marigold was reduced to ruins in an instant... but who could have expected even its one remaining descendant to end up like that?”
“So when will she be released?”
“What do you mean, released?”
Baron Evil Shen lowered his voice even further.
“She was already hanged long ago, since they thought she was a commoner. In any case, do not mention this anywhere else. If rumors spread, it would be a disgrace to the nobility.”
That was right.
Poaching was punishable by hanging.
A noble could escape it, but she was the daughter of a fallen house. Without anyone to vouch for her status, no one would have believed her no matter how much she claimed to be a noble in prison.
‘Then does that mean this world has already passed the point where the protagonist disappeared?’
Unexpected developments, unexpected endings! Isn’t that great?
And then.
When ten years had passed, Lancel finally saw the game system screen he had wanted so badly.
[Play Time: 0 years, 29 days]
Marigold has died.
There is no marriage partner.
There are no achievements.
[Bad Ending 8. Framed Marigold]
This ending has been added to the “Album of Memories.”
Would you like to start the game again?
“...What the hell...”
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