1. Tanaka Haru

Like every other unfortunate youth of the 21st century, Tanaka Haru was a slave to the internet. Namely, he was a slave to video games and the like.

Growing up without the love of his family and lack of care from those around him, his only vice to escape the harshness of reality was to play video games from morning to night.

School wasn't much of an issue since he could get the bare minimum passing grade without studying, so playing video games 24/7 didn't really affect his academics. His health though was another matter.

But while he knew better, Tanaka ignored the fact that video games were harmful to his health in the long run. As far as he was concerned, gaming was his saving grace. His only purpose. His precious hope.

When playing with characters, he didn't have to worry about others judging him. He didn't have to worry about knowing how to interact with others or the social protocols. Games were simple and easy compared to real life. That is why he loved them.

There were clear sets of rules to follow and steps to take.

Everything was predetermined and set out on a straight course.

It was perfect.

…perfect.

Yes. It should be.

So why did he feel bored now?

Why did he feel nothing when he played these games now?

The feelings of happiness that he used to experience and the feelings of accomplishment were no longer existent - as if they were never there in the first place.

Why did things come to this point?

Was it just a phase? No, it couldn't be.

He refused to believe it.

"New. I just need to try something new," he decided. He was far too afraid to accept the fact that all those emotions he felt when playing games were shallow. It was a thought that he couldn't bear to think.

Video games were supposed to be his purpose! His only salvation in life!

Picking a genre out of his norm, Tanaka was ready to try something new to renew those emotions he once felt.

The real world was too complicated to face. He wasn't ready. No, he would never be ready.

Video games were his escape from reality. From the glares, the stares, the gossip, the horridness of humans. He didn't want to experience that again.

Tanaka placed his newly purchased game into the player and entered the fictional world.

[Listen to My Heart]

That was the name of the otome game. A plot-based game that is mainly targeted at young girls and ladies that take place in fictional settings. The trope prominent in this genre is reverse harem where a single girl has several male suitors.

[Listen to My Heart] was one of the hundreds of otome games on the market.

Such games never really appealed to Tanaka as he preferred action and military ones but just for the sake of rediscovering his emotions, he opted to play an otome game for a change.

As the screen changed into the opening theme, the main characters were each introduced.

—

Melissa Bright (Protagonist): Illegitimate daughter of Count Bright. Wielder of healing magic.

Dennis Renalds (Capture Target): Second Prince of the Kingdom. Wielder of flame magic and sword aura.

Benjamin Norton (Capture Target): Second son of Duke Norton. Wielder of earth magic.

Azel Maxwell (Capture Target): Third son of the Captain of the Imperial Knights. Wielder of aura.

Zen Glenith (Capture Target): Professor of History in the Kingdom's top academy. Wielder of water magic and aura.

Leslie Maine (Villainess): Second daughter of Marquis Maine. Wielder of wind magic.

—

There were more characters listed but the ones mentioned above were the main ones.

The storyline, from what Tanaka read, seemed like the generic otome game plotline where the characters attend the kingdom's top academy as elite students. They meet and one by one, the characters fall in love with the protagonist who is the only person to possess the rare healing magic.

As a conflict, the villainess appears and causes problems with the protagonist only for her plans to be thwarted thanks to the intervention of the capture targets resulting in her imminent demise.

Tanaka had chosen the most difficult route to play; the Second Prince's.

If he didn't select the right choices, there was a higher chance his character would receive the bad ending.

However, the so-called hard choices were not hard at all. Tanaka channeled his inner girl and selected the most logical options which, in turn, brought him to the game's happy ending.

As the ending message displayed on the screen, Tanaka leaned back on his chair and let out a sigh.

"Well, that was a disappointment. Maybe it's just because these types of games are directed at young girls that I didn't find it interesting at all."

If that was the hardest route, there was no chance the other routes would be any interesting.

However, if there was one thing that irked Tanaka, it was the unfairness that the protagonist's friend suffered.

—

Penelope Barnet (Protagonist's Friend): Youngest daughter of Barom Barnet. Wielder of water magic.

—

Penelope was someone who became friends with the protagonist on the first day of school. After witnessing the protagonist's kindness toward commoners, Penelope asked to be her friend. However, things changed between them after Penelope's fiancé became one of the protagonist's distant yet love-stricken admirers.

Jealous and hurt, she tried to convey her feelings to the protagonist but was immediately crowned as a bad friend and a villain by the capture targets and admirers. As a result, she left the academy near the end of the plot and never appeared again.

"That girl definitely didn't deserve that. She didn't harm the protagonist and even talked to her about the issue like a rational person. Yet, she received such an unfortunate end," Tanaka sighed. "The creators of this game were probably desperate to add another 'villainess-type' character and came up with this sorry-excuse of a plot."

Tanaka turned off his computer and yawned rubbing his eyes.

After the game ended, he was once more left feeling nothing. His heart felt empty and dry.

He was disappointed and annoyed.

Nothing…he felt absolutely nothing as if he was just a machine in a workshop.

Maybe he was a machine. An NPC.

If only…

"If only I was in the game. Maybe then I'd feel something."

Glancing out the window, Tanaka looked over to the setting sun in the sky and thought to himself;

'After all, any world is better than this one.'