Chapter : 12
I’ll Save You in the Bad Ending Route
Mistake
After the bad ending, the gamers restarted the game from the beginning—
only this time, they decided to攻略 (target) Damien and recruit him as a companion.
Once he switched sides, the Damien they’d feared as an enemy became a powerful ally.
Unlimited MP, overwhelming attack power, and on top of that, a wide range of strategies thanks to his dark-attribute magic.
After that, Damien was reevaluated and proudly rose to the rank of final S-tier character.
That’s how incredible a late-blooming character he is.
If I make Damien my ally now, I’ll be able to clear the Orion Exam easily.
“Especially since the Caliphrand region is full of dark monsters—if you攻略 it with Damien, it’s a total breeze.”
I’ve played over 2000 hours and tried recruiting Damien countless times.
From攻略 patterns to how to utilize his abilities, I’ve mastered everything.
So here’s my first strategy for him.
Damien really loves potions.
Especially if you gift him an S-rank rarity potion or higher—
his affection shoots up by 30 in one go, and he’ll partner with you.
Plus, here’s the key detail:
“Raotis’s Tear greatly helps when controlling dark magic.”
I was lucky—I didn’t have money to buy rare potions.
The fact that Raotis’s Tear helps control dark magic is something that only gets revealed a year later.
But since I already know, I can use it right away.
Damien will learn it a year early too, so his suffering will be lessened.
He’ll be grateful.
Damien, I’m your savior come early.
Come on—be my partner already!
I’ll accept all your dark magic!
“Okay, let’s go meet Damien now.”
I left the dorm with a light step.
Morning came. Bright sunlight, clear sky.
On such a beautiful day, I headed to the library.
Damien’s morning schedule is “reading at the garden behind the library.”
Back when I was攻略ing Damien hard, I took notes on everything—including his favorite locations.
In the middle of the garden stood an ancient tree.
Ever since a foul-tempered spirit settled in it, students avoided the place.
But Damien could communicate well with spirits,
so he always read there while others whispered about bad omens.
I searched earnestly around the garden for traces of him.
That’s when I spotted a book lying on the ground.
Like following breadcrumbs from Hansel and Gretel,
I walked toward a growing pile of dropped books.
Soon I found Damien sitting near the old tree, completely absorbed in reading.
I checked the Raotis potion was still in my bag, took a deep breath, and approached him.
“Hi.”
Damien startled upright from where he was leaning.
“H-huh…? Wh-what?! Y-you… Airan?”
“You remembered my name?”
He hugged his thick book to his chest, crouching like a frightened cat staring at me.
“Th-the others said they saw you coming here. Don’t misunderstand.”
But the look in his eyes was already the look you give a stalker.
And I even gave him herbs last time!
Then again, once I give the potion, it’ll all work out.
I calmly opened my mouth.
“So, uh, I have a favor. About the upcoming exam—if we—”
Before I could finish, Damien turned like he meant to bolt.
“W-w-wait! Stop!”
Panicking, I grabbed his wrist.
“Be my partner!”
“…What? P-partner? With me?”
He looked at me as though he’d just been swindled.
“Y-yeah! Just for the Orion Exam! I really wanted to partner with you, so I—”
I pulled out Raotis’s Tear.
“I brought this!”
Damien flinched at the sight of it.
Even just seeing the shimmering liquid, he recognized how rare it was.
Good—perfect opening!
“And with this potion, you’ll be able to—!”
“No.”
…Huh?
“H-hold on, just hear me out! With this, you can—!”
“I said no!
Why the heck are you giving me something so valuable?!
D-did my brother put you up to this?!
Are you mocking me?! Trying to humiliate me—?!”
I stood frozen, stunned.
What was this kid even talking about?
“I-I just wanted to get closer to you—”
But Damien yanked his arm away and shouted.
“Why would you suddenly want to be friends?!
After seeing me blow a professor across the room at training?!
Or do you think my d-dark magic is interesting too?!
Want a good look at the freak?!”
A gust of wind lifted his bangs—revealing a flash of red eyes trembling with fear and compulsion.
I frowned in confusion.
“No… Damien…”
I reached out to calm him,
but he slapped my hand away hard.
“If—If we take the exam together, y-you might die!!
I’m a monster!! Just leave me alone!!”
He practically screamed,
then sprinted away down the hill with terrifying speed.
I stood there blankly.
I screwed up.
I could feel it.
His affection score just plummeted to -50.
As the bell rang for evening time,
I stood numbly in the garden thinking:
What a nightmare of a攻略 character.
The next afternoon, in the Emerald Garden,
I watched butterflies drift by, then slumped forward onto my table.
“Airan, are you okay?”
“No… everything I worked for is gone… I guess I need another partner…”
I was so upset I could cry.
Prea, sitting beside me picking raisins out of cookies, asked:
“Your gift plan failed?
You said you were gonna use Raotis’s Tear to recruit him.”
How do I answer without sounding pathetic?
“Yeah… turns out he didn’t like it.”
Strange…
In the game, he loved rare potions—instant affection boost, instant partnership…
Is the game world actually… different?
But isn’t this supposed to be the game world?
Are the character profiles I know… worthless?
Ugh. I just embarrassed myself.
While I sulked, Prea stuffed a cookie shaped like a little animal into my mouth.
“Don’t worry—plans fall apart all the time.”
“Yeah… I guess so…”
Her smile was as sweet as the cookie melting in my mouth.
The stress eased a little, but the idea of finding another partner filled me with dread.
All the useful characters went home!
It’s winter break remedial season!
Everyone still here besides Prea and Aron is a walking problem child!!
Then Aron dropped a comment that tasted like pure bitterness.
“Too bad for you. You pulled every trick you could to take that potion from me.”
My anger flared.
“What about trying a different plan?”
Aron tossed the suggestion like bait—
but there was expectation in his expression.
“Huh? A different plan?”
“No, forget it.”
He reverted to his usual blank face, munching his coffee cookie.
“Hmm. Are you sure you didn’t misunderstand what he really likes?”
I shot to my feet.
“No?? I DIDN’T misunderstand!
He likes rare potions, okay?!
The rarer the better!”
Do you know how long I played that game?!
I know what I’m doing!!
You like coffee and coffee cookies—that’s why I brought them!
And you eat them, don’t you?!
Prea loves sweets!
Do you know how hard I studied to攻略 you two?!
I kept NOTES!!
But of course, I couldn’t say that out loud.
Then Prea asked, suspicious eyes narrowing:
“Really? Then why’d he refuse the gift?”
“I—I dunno… maybe we just weren’t close enough yet.”
“You weren’t close?!”
Prea stared in disbelief.
“Then how’d you even know he liked that?
Did you just take a present to someone you barely know?”
She looked at me like she couldn’t comprehend it.
“Knowing someone’s favorite item when you barely know them—that comes off stalker-ish, you know.”
Their words stabbed straight through my chest.
“Why were you in such a rush? Just to find a partner fast?”
“Yeah… I guess so. I panicked.”
“Then of course he refused.
Even I wouldn’t want to partner with someone who tried to buy me with a gift.”
Her words pierced like arrows.
Looking back… she was right.
I went to where Damien was and confronted him out of nowhere.
I totally acted like a stalker.
I treated this like a game system, not real life…
In dating sims you:
- Find their favorite gift
- Find their favorite place
- Approach and give it to them
But thinking about it as reality,
yeah… it would feel creepy.
This is what I get for gaming too much?!
My social skills fell off a cliff!
This world wasn’t a game—it was real.
I’d gotten cocky just because I played 2000 hours.
But then… how do I攻略 Damien now?
His攻略 difficulty comes from low self-esteem.
Other than Raotis’s Tear, there’s no reliable way to raise his affection.
Every other character can be攻略ed with gifts and dialogue choices—basic stuff.
But Damien?
One day he likes the gift—
the next day, “D-don’t be nice to me!!” and affection drops.
One day he appreciates comfort—
the next, “Don’t mock me!!” and storms off.
He’s a character specifically designed to drive players insane.
If Raotis’s Tear doesn’t work, even I can’t攻略 him.
But I NEED Damien.
Thinking about it made my head throb.
“So what do I do? I need to clear up the stalker misunderstanding…”
Panic rose as my plan dissolved.
“Hm…”
Sweet Prea, having picked every raisin out of her cookie for me, thought while chewing.
“You should explain yourself.
You didn’t do it for nothing, right? Also…”
She popped another cookie into my mouth.
“Think about why he likes rare potions.
How did you learn that?
And why do you really want to get close to him?
Is it truly just ‘for the exam?’”
I crunched the almond cookie and thought.
Why does he like rare potions?
Because Damien’s a dark mage, and on the new moon he—
And then—click—the answer snapped into place.
I sprang up with a bright grin, raising my teacup.
“Got it, Prea! I’ll clear this up!”
“Great! Tell me how it goes later.”
Prea smiled and handed the spare raisins to Aron.
Aron liked raisins, but maybe eating them by hand wasn’t cool enough—
so he slid them right back to Prea.
Before bed, I opened my notebook in the dorm
and整理ed Damien’s character settings.
“The reason Damien likes potions…”
My quill scratched across the page.
『Because in exchange for wielding dark magic,
he suffers horrible pain on the night of the new moon.』
