I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 13 Read online

  Prologue

  Fall, the time of year for warm food, good books, and sports. It’s a colorful, bustling season full of all kinds of things to do. And for Mitsuhashi High, that includes getting ready for the annual school festival.

  “Hey, problem child. Go see the disciplinary committee next and get their schedule for the day.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Even though I’d only just returned, I immediately left the student council room on President Momone’s orders. I’d been recruited to help her—really, the whole student council—prepare for the upcoming festival because I owed her a few favors. I’d thought we were even after I went to go take care of a sick Tokiwa in President Momone’s stead a while back, but she was quick to inform me that I owed her multiple favors. This would hopefully get me one step closer to being in the black.

  “But, jeez... Isn’t this a bit much?”

  “I know, right?”

  I complained to R, who was lazily somersaulting in the air, as I hauled butt down the hall. I would’ve loved to trade places.

  “Everyone sure does seem busy. Are preparations for school festivals always this chaotic?” R asked as she casually observed her surroundings.

  Students were milling about all up and down the hall, which was strewn with upturned desks and chairs, half-made signs with drying paint, and other miscellaneous materials leaning against the walls.

  “Well, this year’s festival is being held in conjunction with Juumonji High, Hibiki’s school, so the festival committee and disciplinary committee really have their hands full.”

  And by extension, the student council—which oversaw both committees—was especially busy. Granted, President Momone had said something about wanting to make this year’s festival more exciting, so she personally seemed pretty motivated. She seemed to be enjoying herself.

  “...”

  This would be my first school festival as a high schooler, but I had to admit there was a particular energy filling the campus. It was like everyone was really getting into the spirit of things. Was this the fruit of President Momone’s efforts?

  “Oops, President Momone will scold me if I dawdle.”

  I’d unwittingly stopped to take in the atmosphere myself, so I picked up the pace and scuttled off down the hall. Things were pretty crazy, but still fun... Or, at least, that’s what I thought at the time. I had no idea what kind of trouble was about to come down the pipe.

  Chapter 1: RRPG (Real Role-Playing Game)

  The school festival was almost upon us, and preparations were in full swing. At our school, each class would be hosting some kind of event or exhibition for the festival, and clubs were encouraged to contribute too. Which is why I was currently in the light literature club room after school with Tokiwa trying to think of something for us to do.

  What about a lounge? Somewhere for students to come take a load off during the festival?

  After reading the suggestion Tokiwa had typed out on her laptop, I rubbed my chin.

  “Isn’t the club room a little small for that? Plus, this place is like a heat sink. I’m not sure it’d make a very comfortable lounge.”

  Curse you, global warming...

  “Besides, is anyone even gonna come to the old school building during the festival?”

  I have absolute faith in your ability to attract people.

  “That doesn’t thrill me...”

  I could feel my shoulders slump as we continued to lazily wade through discussing what we’d do for the festival.

  “How about we just make a club zine or something like that? Though it’d end up being more like a feature on you, Tokiwa.”

  I submit all my writing for the New Writer’s Prize...

  “Eh, I guess that’s a no-go then.”

  We’d been talking for nearly an hour already and hadn’t come up with a single good idea. Festival applications for clubs had to be submitted to the festival committee, and the deadline for submitting them was the end of today. At this rate, we weren’t gonna have anything to submit in time... What could two club members even do by themselves? That was the real issue.

  “...”

  I was at a complete loss when Tokiwa leaned back in her folding chair and looked up at me. Because we mostly communicated via her typing on her laptop, I naturally stood behind her so I could read over her shoulder. When she leaned back like this, her head fell right on my abdomen between my chest and stomach... But today she suddenly reached up, wrapped her arms around my neck, and pulled me closer.

  “Wah!”

  My nose was just millimeters away from her cleavage, and I could feel my head overheating at the feminine scent tickling my nasal passages.

  “Since we can’t decide, shall we just spend the day of the festival lazing about in the club room together?” Tokiwa whispered in my ear.

  She had such a quiet voice that she needed to be this close to someone in order for them to hear her. That’s why we’d agreed on communicating through typing instead while in the club room, but she’d still break her promise every now and then and cling to me like this. I mean, I wanted her to stop because it was embarrassing, but when she did it, it was so hard to actually tell her to...

  Just then, there was a knock at the door.

  “Hey, I’m coming in... What are you two doing?”

  “Waaah!”

  President Momone stepped into the clubroom with a suspicious look on her face, and I immediately tore myself away from Tokiwa.

  “Don’t just come barging in!”

  “I knocked first.”

  “Yeah, before you barged in!”

  I tried to object, but I realized my argument was weak.

  “A-Ahem... So, anyway, did you need something, President Momone?”

  “Hmm. Well, you’ll do,” she said nonchalantly.

  She then produced what looked like a CD-ROM case, but the packaging was completely plain. She cracked it open and pulled out a disk, which looked totally normal, but...

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “Someone brought it to the shrine. Allegedly, it’s got a cursed game on it.”

  That apparently got Tokiwa’s attention.

  “...!”

  “So, I want to install this on your laptop. Neither my grandfather nor I have a computer, and the vice president is using the one in the student council room right now for festival prep,” explained President Momone as she turned to Tokiwa, whose sleepy eyes were uncharacteristically sparkling.

  I said Tokiwa had to whisper into someone’s ear for them to be able to hear her, but President Momone was an exception. The two of them were childhood friends and had known each other forever.

  “That makes sense,” I interjected. “But isn’t that kinda dangerous?”

  “It might be, but I can’t turn down an exorcism request.”

  “You don’t say...”

  I sighed in exasperation, but I could understand the position she was in.

  “So, if you will, Midori...” President Momone said, handing the disk over to Tokiwa.

  Holy crap, they really were gonna do it right here and now.

  “Okay, but you have to stop as soon as it gets too dangerous,” I warned President Momone.

  She laughed in response.

  “What’s this? You’re worried about me?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  “Haha, how cute,” she laughed, slapping me on the shoulder. “If something happens to me, I’ll be counting on you to save me. That’s your specialty, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, but... Wouldn’t it be better for me to just go and get your
grandfather?”

  President Momone’s grandfather, the Demonslayer of Kibi Shrine, was practically a living legend. He was an expert with this kind of stuff. I figured he’d be way more useful than me, but...

  “Unfortunately, my grandfather won’t be any help in this case. He’s terrible with technology. We don’t even let him use the microwave at home. He’d break it in five seconds flat.”

  Go figure.

  “I guess a computer would be out of the question, then...”

  “That’s right. So if I end up in a bind, I’ll waive all the favors you owe me in exchange for your assistance.”

  I would rather she just not put herself in a situation where that might happen, but it was pretty clear she wasn’t about to yield. The One-Eyed Student Council President had nerves of steel, so she was unfazed by things like this.

  “...”

  “Thanks, Midori. Is it ready now?”

  Her eyes still sparkling, Tokiwa silently—at least to my ears—hurried President Momone to launch the game.

  “All right, I’m counting on you if something happens,” she said to me before walking over to Tokiwa and her laptop. “Start it up, Midori.”

  “...”

  And with a click of the mouse...

  Vwoom!

  An intense flash of light poured out from the screen with a strange sound.

  “What?!”

  “...?!”

  The next thing I knew, President Momone and Tokiwa had vanished like they’d been swallowed by the light.

  “H-Huh...?”

  I was dumbfounded by this sudden and bizarre turn of events. I was frozen for a good ten seconds or so before rushing over. I touched the chair where Tokiwa had just been sitting in disbelief. She was gone, but her warmth still lingered. There was no sign of President Momone, either.

  “...”

  My eyes were naturally drawn to the computer screen. A single window was open, which read in pixelated letters, “Dragon Install: The Legend of the Demonic Dragon King.” Judging by the design of the logo, it seemed to be some kind of fantasy RPG. I guess this was the aforementioned cursed game. President Momone and Tokiwa had disappeared the second they launched it, which had to mean...

  “She said if something happened... But right off the bat, huh?” With a sigh, I turned and left the room. “Looks like you’ll be wiping the favor ledger clean today, Prez.”

  ▽

  I managed to snag Satsuki, Iris, and Rosalind before they left school, and I returned to the light literature club room with the three of them.

  “You mean to say the girl with the eyepatch and the well-endowed girl got sucked into the game?” Rosalind asked with an exasperated sigh.

  For the record, she meant President Momone and Tokiwa. I needn’t say why she referred to Tokiwa as “well-endowed.”

  “So this time it’s a game world, is it? What will they think of next?” Satsuki said with a sigh too.

  Honestly, I’d had the same thought, but it seemed there were still a surprising number of worlds we hadn’t been to yet. The possibilities were endless. Which wasn’t a good thing, mind you.

  “Going into a game world sounds awesome! Video games on Earth are always so interesting, but it’s like something is missing without the full-immersion experience,” cooed Iris.

  She was the only one who was all smiles right now. Indeed, the rich girl from space had taken quite a liking to our silly little Earthling games recently. But I wasn’t exactly complaining. It was kinda nice to have someone cheerful and excited about things. It made me feel a little more lighthearted too.

  “All right, let’s hurry up and get President Momone and Tokiwa out of there.”

  “According to the Magic of Omniscience, entering the game will transform us into characters within the game world.”

  Dragon Install was exactly the fantasy RPG it appeared to be, meaning monsters, magic, and all.

  “Okay. Let’s get to it.”

  Worried about President Momone and Tokiwa, I took the lead and reached out for the laptop. My hand slipped right through the screen like it wasn’t even there. Apparently, this was how to enter the game.

  “Wait, Rekka. We should all hold hands and go together. It’d be terrible if we were separated.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.”

  I was nearly on the verge of jumping the gun, but I turned around and offered my other hand to the girls. While I didn’t have anyone particular in mind, it seemed they all did.

  “Me! I’m going to be the one to hold Rekka’s hand!”

  “Are you kidding?! It should be me!”

  “I was the one who suggested it!”

  And so they began bickering about who would take my hand.

  “Please just pick someone already...” I moaned.

  “You stay out of this!” they all shouted back at me.

  Eventually, they decided to settle things with rock, paper, scissors. The three of them stared each other down intently as they clenched their fists tightly. It was almost like they were getting ready for a duel and not a game... It certainly wasn’t any testament to the cooperation and teamwork we’d need to be able to get through what was to come.

  “Rock, paper, scissors, shoot! Shoot! Shoot!”

  “Okay, this is clearly going nowhere. How about we go in the order of who beats me?” I suggested, starting to worry we’d never leave at this rate.

  We were somehow able to decide the order that way, but nevertheless, it was a shaky start to our digital journey.

  Entering the game was simple enough. After sticking my arm halfway through the screen, the rest of my body was sucked right in. By the time I even realized what had happened, I was already surrounded by different scenery.

  “Are we in the woods?”

  We’d been transported from the club room to somewhere outdoors... Er, we were just inside a game, so did that mean we were really still indoors? Whatever.

  “We do seem to be in a forest, but the trees and soil here appear to be a bit strange...”

  “Yeah, now that you mention it, they do look a little pixel-y.”

  Computer graphics were so cutting-edge these days that honest-to-god pixel art games were hard to come by. I think the last time I played one was all the way back in elementary school. But anyway...

  “All right, shall we look for President Momone and Tokiwa?” I asked, trying to urge my three companions toward our goal.

  “Yeah, let’s hurry.”

  “Hey, do you think monsters will show up around here? Like slimes and stuff?”

  “Hmph, I’ll take on any creature that dares to get in my way.”

  And so we began our journey, steadily making our way through the pixelated forest.

  “Hey, uh... Doesn’t it seem a little too easy to move around here?”

  “Even though we’re in the forest? Yeah...”

  That wasn’t a bad thing, mind you, but it made both me and Satsuki rub our chins. I remember walking around the woods collecting firewood for the barbeque being exhausting. This, however, felt like a breeze in contrast.

  “I guess it’s because the ground is perfectly flat.”

  Moreover, there wasn’t underbrush all over the place. And even though it wasn’t well maintained, there was still a clear path for us to follow.

  “This kind of thing sure makes it feel more game-like,” observed Iris.

  “How so?” I asked.

  “Well, you know how you always walk at the same speed in a video game, no matter the terrain? There’s also always a road or something, so it’s not like you really need to know where you’re going.”

  “Huh, yeah... I guess you’re right.”

  It was pretty easy to tell where you were and weren’t supposed to go in old video games. An obstacle meant you should turn back, and a path or road meant you should follow it. So in that sense, this setup was indeed pretty game-like.

  “Hmm, speaking of games...”

  We’d been walking for a
while now. When exploring in an RPG, the one event you were guaranteed to trigger was...

  Wibble!

  Yup, it was a monster encounter. And the monster we happened to encounter was a round, translucent blob. In other words, a slime.

  “Whoa!”

  Compared to the forest around us, the slime appeared to be a lot more developed. Er, I said “developed,” but it really just looked like some kind of protoplasmic jelly.

  “Ugh... It’s gross compared to the ones in video games,” Iris whined, wrinkling her nose.

  I didn’t have the heart to remind her we were in a video game. She held her arms up and backed away, making it clear she wasn’t going to touch the slime or go anywhere near it.

  “How pathetic. I’ll clean this up myself,” declared Rosalind, stepping forward to attack it in Iris’s place.

  Slimes were the standard low-level small fry mobs that littered the beginner maps of any RPG you could possibly name. Defeating one should be a breeze for a powerful vampire like Rosalind, but...

  Whap!

  “What...?”

  The result of Rosalind’s attack left her dumbfounded. She’d thrown a furious punch... or so she thought. All it did was jiggle the slime a little, making a sound comically reminiscent of a baby slapping its own bottom.

  “What’s going on?”

  In the midst of Rosalind’s confusion, the slime made its move. It extended a gelatinous feeler and tangled it around her legs. She immediately began screaming.

  “Waaah! M-My clothes are melting!”

  “R-R-Rosalind!”

  Just like she’d said, the knee-high socks she was wearing were gradually melting away, revealing her bare legs. I mean, she wore short socks in the warmer months, so it wasn’t like I hadn’t seen them before... But the whole melting-clothes situation had a strangely erotic undertone that made me feel a little weird about looking. A-Anyway...

  “Huh?! I can’t use my magic!” shouted Satsuki.

  “What is this?! I can’t do anything either!” shouted Iris.

  It seemed the two of them were having troubles of their own. What was going on here? Perhaps it made sense that Satsuki couldn’t use her magic in a game world, but how was it that Iris and Rosalind’s straight-up punches and kicks had suddenly gotten weaker?