Chapter Text
This is a world centered around Football.
But honestly, you don’t really care about that. Why? Because you don’t play football, nor do you have any special love for sports.
The main reason is that you’re an otome game player.
Sure, people often call you selfish or willful, claiming you’re not actually committed to romance or “conquering” characters, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re playing this game simply to fall in love——or, well, sometimes even romance isn’t all that important to you.
You’re terrible at remembering names, so you’ve already forgotten the game’s title, and you haven’t bothered to memorize the character names either, all you know is that the character illustrations for the love interests are all pretty good-looking.
After all, if they weren’t attractive, how could they even be potential love interests, right?
One glance, and your attention was hooked on the handsome white-haired guy. A naturally stylish M-shaped fringe frames his face, with a few wavy strands curling up, adding an extra touch of youthful energy.
The best part is that handsome face that seems faintly sleepy, which looks like a drowsy kitty.
That’s it. He’s the one.
You glanced at his name——凪誠士郎 (Nagi Seishiro).
Wait, is his surname 凪(Nagi) or 凪誠 (Nagisei)? You’re not very familiar with Japanese surnames.
With the rapid development of the gaming industry, fully immersive games have long been commonplace, reaching a point where they can be widely used in otome games as well.
You entered the familiar character customization interface, imported the face data you had painstakingly crafted for two or three hours before, and adjusted your character’s identity and talent stats.
You maxed out stats like beauty, charm, strength, speed, endurance, luck, and intelligence, nearly hitting the cap for all of them——After all, you don't like to limit yourself too much in whatever you do. For you, games exist to make you happy. If something requires suffering to achieve, you’ll weigh your options carefully.
Dark Souls-type games are not for you, you respect their players but wouldn’t touch them yourself.
Too much hassle.
Finally, you entered the game.
You chose to start from the character’s childhood. The earlier you start, the more freedom you can set things up to your liking.
You selected the option to automatically skip daily routines while manually handling key events.
Your character’s name is Chiyozaki Hazuki (a randomly generated name). As the daughter of the Chiyozaki Foundation (named according to your random surname), you’ve grown up surrounded by luxury. A child raised in a jar of honey, you are quite opinionated, plus because you are extremely talented, your parents are lenient and permissive, letting you make all kinds of choices, even choosing your own school.
At six years old, you entered elementary school, meeting your love interest for the first time.
Nagi Seishiro, who has short white hair, with his eyes barely opened, was watching the teacher talking on the podium. His head bobbed slightly before he gave in, laying his head on the desk and then he fell asleep on his desk as he wished.
You sit in the seat next to him, his face is facing you. His slightly chubby, childish cheeks looked irresistibly soft and adorable, especially with his round, not-yet-grown face pressing against the desk.
So cute, you’ve been hit.
He's like a little kitten.
You poked his cheek.
Once, no reaction.
Twice, he scrunched up his face.
A third time, he finally opened his eyes, a pair of big sleepy grey eyes staring blankly at you as he mumbled: “Don’t poke me.”
“Why not?”
“I’m sleeping.”
“But we’re still in class.”
Nagi Seishiro glanced at the teacher on the podium. In a lively elementary school classroom full of kids doing all sorts of little things, the two of you don’t stand out.
“The teacher doesn’t care.”
“But what if they do? Would you still sleep?”
Nagi Seishiro thought for a moment, “Yeah.”
How adorable.
“So can you stop poking me?” He asked again.
“Nope.” His confused gaze lingered on you,“I like poking you, so I won’t stop.”
“So troublesome……”
It seems like it's a bit of a hassle for him, “Fine, I’ll stop for now then.”
Satisfied, he closed his eyes and continued sleeping.
Over the next few days, you observed Nagi Seishiro to figure out what kind of person he was and what he liked. Then, during a break, you approached him and mentioned the latest model of a gaming console: “I’ll gift it to you. In exchange, let me touch you.”
Nagi Seishiro’s eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he replied: “Deal!”
You gained a toy which can play with.
Your new toy loves sleeping, both in class and during break. You seriously wonder if he might sleep too many hours a day that his brain would turn sluggish, but when you quizzed him with a moderately difficult question, he answered correctly.
You happily patted his head and praised: “Good job, good job.”
He looked at you, puzzled: “Why are you praising me just for this?”He asked, but despite his question, his eyes narrowed in delight.
You ruffled his hair, then cupped his cheek, giving his soft, round face a gentle squeeze. “Because you didn’t even pay attention in class and still got it right.”
“But you don’t pay attention in class either.”
True, during lessons, you were always doing something else, sometimes even outright skipping classes. The teachers doesn’t bother intervening——because you had already let your parents informed, the teachers and the principal of this school won’t interfere you. This is the power of wealth and influence.
“Because I’m special.”
Nagi Seishiro stared at you, scrutinizing your face. He blinked once, then again, before slowly replying: “Then I’m special too.”
“Eh, don’t copy me.”
“But I want to be like you.” His answer delighted you.
You scratched under his chin like and laughed: “Good boy good boy, I like Nagi Seishiro so much.”
Nagi Seishiro smiled instinctively at first but then hesitated and asked you: “Why do you call me by my full name?”
Ah, that’s because you weren’t sure what his surname actually is, and you hadn’t bothered checking.
You smoothly changed the nickname: “How about I call you Nagisei then?” Nagi Seishiro tries to speak, and you added: “Or maybe Shiro?”
“But my surname is Nagi.”
Oh, so you were wrong. But that doesn’t matter, “But I want to call you Nagisei.”
“I……”
You interrupted him with an intense gaze and repeated: “I want to call you Nagisei.”
Nagi Seishiro looked into your eyes, then at your face. His cheeks suddenly flushed, he scratched his face as he turned away: “So troublesome……Fine.”
Yay! Success!
As compensation and out of your grace as a young lady, you happily gifted Nagi Seishiro the latest game cartridge of Monster ○○. Not knowing the reason behind your gift, Nagi Seishiro was briefly puzzled but accepted it without hesitation.
Good kitty.
Another day, while Nagi Seishiro napped in class, you skipped class entirely, strolling out with a carefree attitude to explore.
Your exploration progressed well. As the daughter of a wealthy Foundation, it was only natural for you to be attending school in Tokyo. Originally, Nagi Seishiro should have been studying in Kanagawa Prefecture, but who are you? You’re an invincible player!
With a simple adjustment, you’d set it so all potential love interests would be attending school in Tokyo.
Just a few tweaks, and the problem was solved.
To avoid any conflicts in various tournaments caused by your actions, you additionally set it so that, apart from the characters being in Tokyo, everything else would follow the original settings.
The school remained the same, and the tournament zones were still based on the original settings.
Aside from making it easier for you to strategize, this had no additional impact.
Though you’d set your sights on Nagi Seishiro as your main target, that didn’t mean you were tied to just him.
You have the heart of a true player. Three, four, or even more love interests, it’s all fine by you. The more love triangles and chaotic rivalries, the better——as long as they don’t turn against you and instead compete among themselves!
Sometimes, you look up guides for convenience, other times, you explore things on your own for the fun of the game. As for how you decide between the two……it all depends on your mood.
So far, you hadn’t encountered a second love interest besides Nagi Seishiro. For now, you were content to see if you could discover them on your own.
Though, considering the timing, they were probably still in class. Your exploration was more about random, if you happened to stumble upon someone, it’d be a delightful surprise.
In this situation, as you passed by an elementary school, you noticed a child playing football among the other kids.
蜂楽廻 (Bachira Meguru) [Love Interest]
He has brown hair, but near his neck, it transitioned into a striking bright yellow.
What a fascinating hair.
Intrigued, you stepped into the schoolyard. Flashing a cute smile at the security guard, you easily slipped past——Of course, if you hadn’t, the bodyguards following you around would help you with the negotiation.
You approached, the kids noticed you, all of them looking dumbfounded, and one of the kids holding the ball dropped it in his hand.
Stopping in front of Bachira Meguru, you asked: “What are you all doing?”
The brown-haired boy opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again before finally answering: “We’re playing football! Do you want to try?”
They looked like they were having fun.
You replied: “Sure.”
You joined their game.
Since you’d never played football before, they eagerly came over to teach you. Bachira Meguru was even pushed out of the crowd in their excitement. After thanking them politely, you deftly stepped out of the group, turned back to face them, and tilted your head: “Shall we play now?”
The kids assumed you were addressing all of them and enthusiastically agreed, but only Bachira Meguru, who caught your gaze, knew you were really speaking to him.
Because it was your first time playing football and you were the only girl, they were careful to water you down at first, wanting you to have an excellent game experience.
You easily broke their idea of pampering the flower.
Another goal scored. They stared at you in shock, as if they were witnessing something beyond comprehension.
“Did you see her movements……?”
“When she dribbled past, it was like a gust of wind……!”
“So amazing……!”
Their eyes lit up one by one, and they gathered around you to bombarding you with praise and questions. Among them, Bachira Meguru was especially enthusiastic.
He looked at you as if you were an unprecedented treasure, his eyes filled with strange cherish and caring.
“Monster……” You heard him murmur.
Glancing at the time, you said: “Time’s up, I have to go now.”
They all say goodbye to you, looking like they want to ask something but are unable to find the words.
Bachira Meguru took a step forward, meeting your gaze. His small face was flushed with excitement, “When will you come back?”
“I’m not sure.” Fate has allowed you to meet Bachira Meguru, but you still want to try and see if you could encounter others.
“Then how should I find you?” So proactive! It's a completely different type from Nagi Seishiro!
You pulled out a pen and paper, writing down a string of numbers, and handed it to him, “This is my phone number.”
Ignoring the other kids who were watching, you focused solely on Bachira Meguru, saying: “This is a phone number that only someone I approve of can have. Even if others get it, I won’t respond to them.”
Bachira Meguru seemed stunned by this special treatment, “Why me?”
There are some things you can do without asking for clarification, ambiguous haziness is the essence.
But Bachira Meguru’s words are exactly what you want at this moment, “Because you’re the best football player here.”
He was so happy that the tips of his ears went red, and the other kids stared at the football and puffed up.
Satisfied, you left and returned to the school just as class was about to end, greeted by Nagi Seishiro’s half-asleep gaze as he asked where you’d been, you ruffled his hair with a bright smile, “Such a healthy sleep schedule, good job good job.”
Nagi Seishiro, like a contented cat being petted, narrowed his eyes in pleasure.