Happy Endings

"Will you help me?" It's completely out of character for Aratsuki to ask this.

It's the first I see her big gray eyes pleading, making her look vulnerable.

It's strange but a huge turn-on too.

The Princess Knight never asks for help, she'd rather die rushing into danger than reach out.

She'd never admit that she can't solve something alone.

And here we are. She's almost begging, waiting for the answer with her eyes fixed on me.

Okay. I want it to look like that, a little dramatic, but being her savior would be awesome.

"Tell me how it's done." My mind kicks into gear, putting the pieces together.

I'll have to find that philosophy book. No, she said you can only Dive into a book once.

What about her manga?

It's my second time meeting her, so I already used her story.

That was another episode though. Does it count as a separate book?

I even mixed the two stories at first.

Her annoyed expression meets my gaze, and I've done it again.

I asked something but didn't hear her answer. I'm lost in thought as usual. Old habits die hard.

"Sorry, can you repeat it?" Now I hope my eyes look like a puppy's but it must be less effective.

"I was trying to come up with something and zoned out again."

"Well, at least you try." She sighs, more patient than usual.

Is she the real Aratsuki? What if someone replaced her already?

No, focus, let her talk. She takes a deep breath to explain.

"I saw the memories of that man."

She starts and must mean Daddy Grande, whatever Danielle's father's name is.

"There are no guarantees that he knew everything right though."

Yeah. He dove into a philosophy book with the manga underneath like I did with the Iliad.

It's weird, but I'm not one to judge. Hold on, a philosophy book with the Princess Knight?

"Which episode did he use?" The first issue of the manga was so odd.

It wasn't like any other power fantasy, and nobody understood why it became so popular.

It started with Aratsuki searching for herself.

Holy fuck, does it mean he rewrote that episode with philosophy?

But they released it a year ago. Well, the Iliad is over 2000 years old too.

"I'm not sure. Believe it or not, I never read my story." She admits.

Yeah. That was a stupid question.

This means that apart from the last two issues and the first one, I could use them all.

That's twenty episodes, with a new one coming out every two weeks. How long can a Dive last?

And how much time would pass in the real world while I'm here? Wait, how do you start one?

I fell asleep with the books open on my desk. Is that it?

It sounds too easy, and I fell asleep reading books before.

Does the genre matter? Does it have to be the Princess Knight?

Do I have to fall asleep in the bookstore?

I try to listen to her explanation, but she's not saying anything new.

We resolved the Iliad in three days, and I didn't go missing in real life.

It's easy to check because if I did, the Harlot would have killed me.

"Max?" She pauses, and I shake my head. What if I could stay here forever?

I could be with her, as part of this awesome fantasy life. Yes. I want to be with her, no matter what.

There are two ways out of this that can count as a happy ending.

Both involve me and Aratsuki being together.

The question is if it should be here, in this magical world, or mine.

It's a tough one. I spent my life reading manga and daydreaming, fantasizing about adventure and girls. As an orphan, I never had the chance of getting either of them.

And yet, she wants to go to my world, and live the rest of her life there?

It sounds boring to me, but I'd take it if it's with her.

Yeah. This is the thing. Both options have us together in my head.

"Max, are you okay? Your face is weird." Did I zone out too much again?

I always liked Aratsuki's character, but who doesn't?

"Okay. Let me know when you're back."

Everyone dreams of a beautiful tsundere who's only nice to them.

The Princess Knight is strong and smart, her face angelic.

She looks like the live-action character of herself. Real.

It's almost like... My strongest desire is to have her fall in love with me. Hold on, does it mean—

"Shit, I only realized what the trigger for this dive is." And I'm already blushing. There's no way I can tell her. All this planning is meaningless, if I can't get out of here to find the right book.

And to end this Dive, I need her to fall in love with me. Aratsuki, the loner, tsundere, independent beauty, leagues above me. And with a guy who never had a girlfriend. Fuck.

"What is it?" She raises an eyebrow. Well, this simplifies things. I don't get to choose, I'll be stuck here forever. But I'll be still with her, in a sense. "Max? What is the trigger?"

"I-it's to become stronger than you." That's the weakest lie I have said my whole life, but it's still better than the truth. There's no way I can tell her, and even if I did, what would it matter?

She wanted to return from the Iliad and save her friends. But this is her home, she won't struggle to get the trigger. Why would she fall in love with me? Only to let me escape?

It's already a clash of interests. And even if she'd be willing to help, if I tell her to fall in love with me, and she says okay, would that count? Or does her feelings have to be genuine?

"Well, you're stuck here forever." She sighs, slumping back into the chair. Yeah. That's what I'm thinking too.