As the game progressed, Furukawa Hirozawa came to understand—
The male lead, Yamazaki Hikaru, because he was born with dead fish eyes and had a naturally introverted personality, would always unintentionally avoid eye contact when looking at people, which was always misunderstood by others as "looking down on them."
"What's with that look of yours?"—he had heard this question countless times and had long since grown accustomed to it.
Since he was a child, he had been ostracized and isolated by his peers.
He didn't have any so-called friends.
After entering society and starting work, he became a target for bullying by his colleagues for similar reasons.
Especially this Manager Oda, who not only constantly bullied Yamazaki but, in most cases, made Yamazaki his scapegoat.
A few months ago, Yamazaki was in a car accident.
Seeing this, Hirozawa Furukawa couldn't help but feel sympathy for Yamazaki.
Good god.
Is [Kogahara Tsubakiaki] not even pretending anymore?
From the genius Onmyoji Asakura En, to the unremarkable Moriyama Hei, and now [Yamazaki Hikaru] who got into a car accident—the protagonists of P Corporation's games are becoming more and more miserable one after another.
Having no friends since childhood, and on top of that, being subjected to bullying.
All of this inevitably stirred up some unpleasant memories for Hirozawa Furukawa.
Yamazaki's situation and experiences reminded him of himself when he was a child.
He was small, and because he wasn't good at sports, he was often teased by his peers.
Fortunately, after he started working, he managed to make some good friends through gaming.
If it weren't for games, Furukawa found it hard to imagine how he would have faced such a life.
Hirozawa Furukawa sighed and gripped the controller, continuing to play.
The most pitiful thing was—
Getting into a car accident was one thing, but for Yamazaki to encounter another disaster like hitting an iceberg while on a cruise ship?
Is such a thing even possible in reality?
To suffer two major disasters in a row, this male protagonist was really too miserable.
The screen was pitch black.
Below was a bottomless abyss.
In the seawater, the light became bizarre and kaleidoscopic.
Surrounded by an oppressive darkness.
A fresh and cute young girl appeared on the screen.
Like a beam of light, she suddenly illuminated the entire world.
In the game, because the contrast between what came before and this moment was so intense, it couldn't help but make Hirozawa Furukawa, sitting in front of the TV, feel that sense of beauty.
And warmth.
The girl had an incredibly delicate face.
Snow-white, soft, tender cheeks, clear pupils, and an adorable, dainty little nose...
The face of a beautiful girl, as if shining with brilliance.
If I'm not mistaken, this must be the heroine, Suzune.
Hirozawa Furukawa thought to himself.
Huh?
Looking closely, Kogahara Tsubakiaki's style for heroines really is strange, isn't it?
From Yuki Rei in Onmyoji, to Asakura Reimu later on, and now to Suzune, their figures are getting flatter one after another.
"Ah—"
I was so moved that I could barely breathe.
The sense of relief and joy I felt from the moment I first saw her gripped me instantly.
My reaction surprised her.
"Aren't you afraid of how I look?"
She asked.
It was then, when she asked that question, that I noticed what made this girl different.
First, what caught my eye was the huge fish tail behind her.
And coupled with the gills on both sides of her face, it made me shiver.
A mermaid?
But to me, whether she was a ghost, a mermaid, or something else, she was like a Buddha in hell, bringing me hope.
"You—who are you? Why are you here—?"
As soon as I spoke, I realized something was wrong.
Even though I was in the ocean, I could speak just like normal, and the sounds around me had become much clearer.
As soon as I spoke, I realized something was wrong.
Even though I was underwater, I could speak as normally as ever, and the sounds around me had become incredibly sharp.
"How are you feeling?"
"I..." I looked down at my hands, where webbed connections seemed to be forming between my fingers.
"Am I dead? Or am I somewhere else?"
I couldn't grasp my current surroundings at all.
Without thinking, I called out to her just as she was turning to leave. I hadn't even considered what I would do after stopping her, but she turned back around.
"What is it?"
I was drawn in by her deep, clear eyes, as if the very depths of my soul were being cleansed and healed—my mind went completely blank as I desperately searched for a topic to keep her there.
"...It's not really appropriate to ask a girl for something like this, but right now, you're the only one I can turn to..."
Pride and dignity no longer mattered. I continued with the words that had just spilled out.
"Could you... shake my hand?"
Suzune tilted her head in surprise, then gave a charming smile, as if she found it highly amusing. It was a smile that dazzled me.
"What a strange person. You're the first to say something like that to me."
Suzune reached out her slender, snow-white hand.
I carefully overlapped my palm with hers, as if touching something fragile.
Human warmth.
Soft, delicate fingers.
Suzune held out her slender, snow-white hand.
I overlapped my palm with hers, as carefully as if I were touching something fragile.
Human warmth.
Soft, delicate fingers.
I could feel them so clearly.
Her tangible existence in my palm. Tears of joy welled up in my eyes. Come to think of it, that was when I was truly saved from my own cruel fate.
"Mm... what an incredible person you are." Suzune slowly curled her fingers, interlocking them with mine. "You really are interesting. But please, remember: don't stay here for too long."
"Otherwise, you won't be able to go back."
"Huh?"
Go back? What did she mean?
Playing up to this point, Furukawa Hirozawa began to waver.
A strong sense of unease struck him.
Damn it...
This feeling, it was like going back to when I played Onmyoji 2.
Even though Suzune was wonderful, there was something strange about her.
The contrast only added to the sense of suspense in the game.
It goes without saying, this must be the work of that scriptwriter called [Gen Urobuchi], right?
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