In Otome Games, Size Is a Critical Matter
“Thank you for helping me pick out the clothes.”
“Something like that is nothing.”
Oskar laughed heartily at my words.
Thanks to Oskar recommending clothes for Veronica, I hadn’t gotten lost even when I went to the clothing shop alone. Not that I was proud of it, but this was my first time choosing women’s clothing, so I definitely would have floundered. I had nearly resorted to using the Simulation function to pick up each garment one by one until I found the right ones. If I had done that, I never would have made it in time.
Whether Veronica would like them or not was secondary; what truly astonished me was Grand Duke Oskar’s eye for fashion.
“Why are you looking at me like that? You find it suspicious that I know so much about a lady’s attire, don’t you?”
What? How did he know?
“I often accompany my wife on her shopping trips. You can trust me.”
Huh.
An unexpected reason. For a man who constantly went on about what a “true man” was, this uncle was completely under his wife’s thumb…
“My third wife especially loves shopping, you see.”
“……”
Was this his third marriage, or did he have three or more wives? Either way, it wasn’t ordinary.
“Hmm, you are still young, so you wouldn’t understand yet. Marriage too—it seems you haven’t experienced it.”
While I was thinking, Oskar looked straight at me and spoke.
“A man must fear no one and never back down. But there is just one person—he must know how to yield to his wife. That is what makes a true man.”
Oskar suddenly put on a serious face and tried to drill his philosophy of manhood into me.
“Our family atmosphere is certainly like that as well.”
“Hahaha! The head of House Hasgard is a true man indeed!”
Well…
My father doesn’t so much yield as he actually loses. Mother’s physical strength is beyond imagination. Thanks to that, one might think the three brothers would be sturdy as well, but our physiques take after Father, so that isn’t really the case. The second nearly died with his chest pierced by the fourth Karma’s axe, and the third suffered from an incurable disease until I possessed him. It seems only the first son inherited Mother’s body. Still, we are sturdier than ordinary people, at least.
I continued chatting with Oskar about this and that until Veronica returned.
For clothes chosen by two men putting their heads together, they suited her so perfectly it looked as though they had always hung in her wardrobe. Before buying her the dress, she had worn only shabby everyday clothes or maid uniforms, which had been a waste of her tall stature and figure. Now she radiated a soft, gentle image, as if she were some noble young lady. Veronica’s somewhat strong personality and impression paired with the feminine, thin dress and the fur coat that covered her sleeves created a delightful imbalance. Her smooth skin, reflecting the ceiling lights, shone brightly. Having just bathed, she looked even more radiant than usual.
“I’m glad they fit so well.”
When I spoke, she flinched in surprise.
“…Worst.”
“Why? Are they uncomfortable?”
“They fit too well—that’s the worst part, you…”
She turned her head as if to hide her cheeks, which had flushed red—perhaps from the heat of the bath.
Was it because she thought I knew her clothing size so well? That wasn’t my doing either.
I certainly didn’t have the ability Amelia once claimed—to know a woman’s weight just by lifting her, or to discern her size at a mere glance. Instead, I simply had a little of an otome game’s power.
If you open the Character menu, the heroines’ body measurements are naturally listed. Most information is locked behind favorability thresholds, but body sizes are the exception. You can see them from the start. After all, it would be absurd for an otome game to lack such critical details.
Bzzz—
Suddenly, the inside pocket of my coat vibrated out of nowhere. There was no reason for Houndry to contact me. What was this?
“Excuse me.”
I hurriedly asked Oskar’s pardon and left my seat. Opening the door into the corridor, I checked a quiet corner where no one was around and lit the flame.
Fsshk!
“What’s the mat—”
—Karma-nim, hello! I’m so sorry for contacting you out of the blue with this! It was urgent, so I borrowed it for a moment!
The moment I heard the voice, I relaxed. Lucia’s tone was so high-pitched it was hard to believe it belonged to the same person.
“Urgent?”
—Is Senior Veronica there? If she is, could you put her on for a second?
“I’m not a pigeon.”
—I’m really sorry! Just this once, please. Ah, Karma-nim. Speaking of pigeons reminded me—did you know there’s an incredibly fast pigeon at school? It looks dumb, but it’s faster than a hawk. Its name is Jonathan.
It was a topic that hit a little close to home, but I ignored it.
“I’ll put her on, so stop the nonsense.”
—Of course! Thank you!
Leaving the smiling Lucia behind, I returned to the room while keeping the flame alive.
“Veronica, Lucia is looking for you.”
“Lucia? Why?”
“How should I know?”
I handed her the match and pushed her outside.
“Yeah, Lucia. What’s up?”
The moment Veronica closed the door, she raised the match to eye level.
—Senior! It’s been so long!
Lucia pressed her blue eyes so close to the flame she almost touched it, her face full of delight.
“Uh…? It hasn’t been that long, has it?”
—How cold. Time feels longer for the one who’s waiting, you know!
“Y-Yeah. It’s nice to see you full of energy… maybe a little too full… So, what’s going on?”
—Well, it’s nothing major, actually. The kids are looking for a toy.
“You… didn’t tell that person you were contacting him over something so trivial, did you…? He’s going to be furious for sure.”
—Karma-nim isn’t that kind of person. Anyway! The toy’s gone missing and we’re searching for it! The kids insist we have to find it.
“A toy? If it’s a toy, it should be in the box we always leave them in. Look carefully.”
—It wasn’t there.
“That can’t be. I tidy them up and put them back every time the kids finish playing. Which toy are they looking for? What does it look like?”
—Let’s see. It’s like a doll, but its eyes are really special. Green and purple mixed together, like grass and flowers.
“Huh? There’s nothing like—”
Just then, the sound of children running over could be heard.
—Big Sister Veronica! Sis, when are you coming back?
The little ones cried out at the sight of Veronica’s face through the flame.
—Ah, we found the toy. It’s fine now.
“I’m not a toy!”
—Kyaha!
“…Don’t laugh. Did you use that person’s magic tool just for this? Even if it’s vacation, you must be bored out of your mind.”
—Well, the graduating class doesn’t have any vacation homework.
“You wouldn’t do it even if you did. Lucia, if you’re that bored, why not come here and help me? Call it field training.”
—Sorry. I don’t want that. But it is true the kids really wanted to see you! They’ve already grown so attached. And I didn’t contact you just to see your face!
“Then what for?”
—Who knows?
“Huh?”
—I just wondered how you were doing. It doesn’t seem like anything much has happened, so the thing I was worried about probably didn’t occur.
“What’s that supposed to mean? What were you worried about?”
—That, too, who knows? They say a quiet cat is the first to climb onto the hearth, right? Senior, you’re like a cat in a lot of ways.
“I’m not a cat, and I’m not a toy either.”
—Ahaha, but still, an unavoidable situation could suddenly arise and bring two people closer, you know? That sort of thing can happen anytime.
“What on earth are you talking about…?”
—Hmm. You could call it a matter of growing attached, I suppose.
“I’ve grown pretty attached to your little siblings, but earlier they looked fine to me.”
—I’m not talking about the kids.
“Lucia, if you’re going to talk, at least make it understandable…”
—Never mind. I’m not particularly happy showing this side of myself either. Don’t worry about it! Anyway, it was nice seeing your face!
“W-Wait a second!”
Afraid Lucia would snuff out the flame on her own, Veronica stopped her.
—Is there something else you wanted to say?
“You… received Karma’s help too, right?”
—Of course. I’m Karma-nim’s servant. I’m doing all sorts of things to repay the favor.
“I’m not joking. I just have something I want to ask.”
—Haha, yes, what is it?
“What kind of person is Karma?”
—He’s my husband.
“Don’t mess around. And why do you keep changing your answer?”
—Hahaha, because our relationship is hard to sum up in one word. But you’re asking me that while the person in question is right next to you? Are you trying to deceive me?
“Well… lately I’ve started thinking about it again.”
—……
“Lucia?”
—Um…… yes.
The high pitch of the well-rested Lucia suddenly dropped.
“Do you know why Karma helps us?”
—I’ve never thought about it. And I don’t want to.
“Why?”
—Because it isn’t important.
“Isn’t important…?”
—Yes. Is it important to you, Senior? Even if you knew, what would change?
“That’s…”
—Whether Karma-nim’s intentions are hypocrisy or repentance, I don’t care. I’d rather there be no reason at all.
“What do you mean? If there’s no reason, it only makes you more suspicious.”
—Isn’t affection the most groundless emotion of all?
“A-Affection?”
—Once a reason starts to form, affection disappears. Someday that reason will inevitably be betrayed.
“Betrayed…”
—Right? Say you like someone because they’re kind. The moment you see a bad side of them, that reason vanishes. They become someone you have no need to like anymore. Isn’t that sad?
“I never thought of it that way… I think I’ve been looking for reasons this whole time. Thanks, Lucia. Things feel a little clearer.”
—Hmm… this is complicated. I didn’t really want to help that much.
“Huh?”
—It’s nothing. I’m going now.
Whoosh—
The match flame vanished on its own.
‘I’d rather there be no reason… I think I understand that a little…’
Veronica opened the door and returned to where Karma was waiting.
After that, we spent another week in the south.
While the Magic Tower Lord’s gold was being melted down, I entered the mines with Veronica, mined Light-Eating Stones, and shared the bathhouse with her.
A week passed that way.
Sparkle—
I opened a box and picked up a gold bar.
“You melted them all down and remade them.”
Oskar looked around at the boxes filling the room and said,
“They’re clean enough for you to use now.”
Behind the pleasantly smiling Oskar, I gave Veronica a look. She transferred every gold bar from the boxes into my pocket.
“And over here are the Light-Eating Stones.”
He pointed to a corner where several larger, more luxurious boxes were gathered.
“Half of the Light-Eating Stones Lady Veronica mined.”
“You’re giving me half?”
“Well, if you hadn’t brought Lady Veronica, I never could have touched them. I get to take half of something that would have just sat there unused—isn’t that a good deal?”
I had said enough for about ten suits of armor would do, yet Oskar had set aside far more than that as my share.
“I’m truly grateful.”
Veronica moved those Light-Eating Stones into the pocket as well.
“Until you find a proper artisan, don’t touch them carelessly. If you handle them, they’ll all turn transparent.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Just as he said, even though I had obtained the Light-Eating Stones, I couldn’t freely touch them. They reacted to mana and entered stealth mode.
I didn’t intend to use the Light-Eating Stones as ornaments; I planned to turn them into armaments. Weapons and armor invisible to the enemy. With something like that, I could certainly catch the Death God Cult off guard.
But there was one unavoidable flaw: they would be invisible to my eyes as well. At the very least, I needed to be able to see them to make full use of them. Of course, if I attached detection buffs from the spirits, I could sense them even when transparent. The problem was that I couldn’t keep those spirits summoned at all times. Aside from the considerable mana consumption, it drew far too many eyes. I must not forget that the twins and the fox had once tried to kill me.
As I thought about it, I recalled the solution I had found once before.
Scouter upgrade.
When I upgraded it to level 2, I had seen a description unlocking that ability. It was when I had opened the upgrade window recently to check Amelia’s Bond Skill and Special Command.
One of two options:
[You can see with your eyes objects or puzzles hidden by magic.]
There had definitely been such a choice.
I had abandoned it in favor of being able to view Bond Skills, but there might still be a chance. This game was rather forgiving about missed events or items.
So I checked the level 4 upgrade.
• You can detect hidden objects or puzzles.
• Locations of hidden items are displayed on the map.
Cost: 5,000 Coins
I see.
Level 4 didn’t make me choose between the two; it simply granted the remaining option I had passed over before. Moreover, a second effect had appeared that wasn’t there previously.
Hidden items displayed on the map.
It seemed it would mark everything so I wouldn’t have to wander aimlessly through every corner of the map or hunt for guides. If I upgraded, I would easily be able to find items that appeared in the game—like the ring series or the magic sword I had gifted Rebecca.
Not bad at all.
With Laward and the heroines growing steadily, once we equipped proper gear piece by piece, preparations would be complete. Training, concluded.
It was certainly expensive, though. At first 200 coins, then 500, then 1,000. And now 5,000. Having the option from the level-2 upgrade reappear at ten times the price was annoying, but the added effect made me a little more generous. Still, thanks to catching the fox, I currently had 9,200 coins. The days when I cleared challenge quests just to scrape together 100 or 200 coins felt like ancient history.
I decided to buy it boldly.
Coins remaining: 4,200
Now then, time to test it.
The moment the upgrade finished, I picked up one remaining Light-Eating Stone from the box.
“What are you doing? I told you you mustn’t touch them!”
Veronica cried out in alarm and tried to stop me, but it was already too late. When I poured mana into the Light-Eating Stone, the black mineral instantly turned transparent. Without the solid weight, I could have sworn my hand was empty—nothing was visible at all.
“What are you doing all of a sudden? What a waste!”
Then I activated the Scouter.
Sparkle—
On the palm where nothing had been visible, the outline of the Light-Eating Stone glowed white. It was the familiar method many games used—highlighting important items with a white border as a hint. It stood out so clearly it almost hurt the eyes. At this level, it would be visible even from a distance.
“Good.”
Being able to see hidden items was a huge gain, but I also wanted to test the second effect as soon as possible. Once I decided which items to collect when the opportunity arose, I would set out on the optimal farming route. Since I needed enough for six people, it might turn into quite a long journey. Among the useful items, accessories were especially numerous besides weapons and equipment. Imagining Laward draped in rings and earrings was a little horrifying, though…
“What’s good about it… you just wasted one.”
Veronica grumbled and continued her work. Because of that, I found myself looking back at her—
“Huh?”
Why had her favorability gone up?
I had forgotten to turn off the Scouter and unconsciously looked at her; to my surprise, her favorability was quite high.
“What? Why are you… looking at me like that…?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“…Really?”
As if finding it dull, she brushed her fallen side hair behind her ear, and I stared blankly at her.
Favorability: 45.
Recalling how I had flirtingly pushed Lucia when she was at 40, 45 was not a number to ignore.
But…
It was strange.
Her favorability had been this high, yet until now there had been no signs at all.
As if…
even she herself hadn’t noticed.