1 A Wish

It's a starry night. Through the lens of this telescope, I can see a reddish orange sphere in the sky, that's probably Mars. A more yellowish but striped sphere which should be Jupiter and what I can only assume is Saturn in the distance with its rings as I mentally note down its position. Three down, four more to go…

"So, why am I doing this again?"

"Didn't I already tell you dummy, we're only a few minutes away from the greatest cosmological event of this millennia!"

"…"

"All the planets will align perfectly! There's even a myth that it'll even grant a single wish if you complete a challenge first for that wish to be granted." She says with a voice tinged with excitement.

"…"

"Well. It hasn't happened before… Cause it only happens once in a few millennia…" that excitement from earlier seems a bit deflated now.

"You know I don't like astrology. It's a scam to make you hear what you want to hear." I say as I put away the telescope.

At least the rooftop of this resort is fairly well decorated. Mellow lighting to perfectly complement the stars, antique wooden furniture to add to that timeless atmosphere, and the clean air away from the city. Quite enjoyable.

Not that Suzie would let me rest in peace if we didn't come here for a break.

She's sitting across from me, with that light blonde hair shining brightly even in the starlight and eyes that seem to sparkle with curiosity… and clumsiness. Along with a lively and hearty voice that belies her appearance, but that's probably a biased view.

"So, what happened to that game of yours?" I ask. Well, any topic to get away from astrology is good enough.

"Ah! My dearest prince would like to talk about that next?" she asks with a cheeky grin on her face. To which I lightly shake my head in resignation.

It's a nickname that she came up with when we were younger. Just cause I'm the son of a company CEO…

In fairness, it's a family business so I guess it kind of holds true in a weird sense. Not to mention it has been turbulent times and despite us trying to stay out of the limelight, there's always hidden dangers. So, they assigned a team of guards to me.

"Well, it was tragic. The heroine gathers allies but is always a step too late to deal with that cursed chaos army."

An otome game with a tragic end huh. They've been gaining popularity recently.

"Speaking of, the villain I had to kill in the first phase really left an impression on me… Right, its because he reminds me of you."

"… is that a threat?"

Pretending to not hear my question with a grin on her face, she continues. "I thought maybe he was gathering all the non-human and half-monster races into his cult for some ulterior motive. But nope, it was just a support group."

"What really went wrong?"

She pauses for a bit, answering with an uncertain tone, "I'm not actually sure. There were so many factions each aiming for a different thing. Even till the end it wasn't clear which one really was carrying out the summoning ritual."

"What about before that?"

"Before the news about the summoning spreads it plays just like a normal game set in a magic academy. Going through school events, meeting characters, forming parties and going on light adventures in the nearby wilderness, the usual." She pauses.

"So, it was actually a major surprise and a tone shift that it suddenly became about saving the world… Though I guess there were always some hints sprinkled about here and there. Neither I nor the heroine actually noticed them however, or attached enough importance to them." She concludes, nodding to herself.

As she is speaking of the game, I can't help but notice another twinkling object near the periphery of my vision. It's too different from that of a star. It also seems to glow a little red?

Now that I think about it, there was only one or two high rise buildings nearby that could see the rooftop of this place, could it be…?

Noticing my gaze Suzie also looks towards that sparkling object and is instantly alarmed.

"Get down!" saying so in a hushed tone she dives over me before I can react, taking cover behind the table.

As if to prove me correct, a bullet comes flying straight through. That decorative table does little to stop it as the wood splinters scatter in all directions and the bullet gets lodged into the floor, missing the both of us. That all-so-familiar sound of a gunshot follows right after.

Taking out the emergency communicator from my pocket I quickly alert my guards right as the second bullet comes flying straight through the table. And it would have hit me if not for…

"Suzie!"

Trying my best to stay calm I look carefully where the wound is. Hoping to at least attempt to stop the bleeding but… It's right in the chest. I rip away the clothes just to make sure but with my first aid training I can guess there is little hope left. Not giving up however I still try to stop it by putting pressure over it.

"Hah, you look miserable, prince dearest." She says, extending her arm to touch my face gently.

"At least don't go around planting death flags." I say, trying to be lighthearted but I can't tell if it worked.

By now the guards have arrived, forming an encirclement around us with their shields and the medic approaches us with the kit in hand, I'm sure they've also sent out a team to handle that sniper.

But she waves away the medic with her hand, "I don't think I'll make it."

"I'm sorry I dragged you here." She says, helplessness clear from her tone.

"Hey, don't be. I came here because I wanted to."

"Smooth as ever." She pulls me closer with her arm but the loss of strength is apparent.

Somehow the surroundings start to seem brighter as if a pillar of light is descending on us. I get the feel that I could make any wish right now and it would come true.

It's obvious what I'll wish for.

"You know…I really wanted to see you play the villain…Maybe you could save that world…"

Right as she speaks the last word, the entire world fades to white.