The World of Otome Game
is a Second Chance for Broken Swords
Story Starts
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Prologue Chapter 0 -
Waking Up in
an Otome Game
Sprawled across the embankment, I stretched a hand toward the glaring sun as if I could catch it in my palm.
Sigh. This was truly a peaceful life. However, it does have its fair share of bumps. Like the problem looming over me—the root cause of which was his step-mother.
Just one day of relaxation before I set forth, with everything prepared—no need for extra firearms, or the power armour my father and mother were willing to go into debt for.
I was called into my father's study. Balcus Fou Bartfort—a chiselled bearded man—had inherited a barony only because his own father owned too much land for a commoner.
While the sound of being part of the 'upper crust'—or in this case, the upper troposphere? Let's work on that later; idioms from my old life don't really translate into the language I'm speaking now. Anyway… where was I? I got distracted for a second.
The phrase 'upper crust' might give you images of opulence, privilege, and opportunities denied to commoners. But that's far from the truth, especially when you're almost at the bottom of the food chain as a member of a baron's house.
The problem with a barony is the expectations placed on nobles; it doesn't matter if you're a baron, viscount, or duke—demands do not scale with your economic standing, nor the resources within your domain. Pressure rises instead with their expectations of your status.
For example, my father had to take a suitable spouse for his appointed station, marrying a baroness named Zola. The terms of that marriage were harsh: the family had to send her a large sum of money regularly, and as a result, we constantly faced financial strain.
When you're at the bottom of the system, influence and resources are scarce, and those above you lord their power freely. Any slight can see your meagre assets seized.
This wasn't far from reality. A few years ago, a natural disaster struck the lands of Bartfort, and a considerable amount of resources had to be poured into reconstruction. To make matters worse, the harvest that year was far poorer than usual.
Father tried to cut the payments, but Zola refused and threatened to bring the case to the palace. He knew the royal court would side with her, punishing him with fines or even stripping his land. He had no choice but to give in, and the Bartfort family sold everything they could to meet her demands without crippling his barony.
Which leads neatly to my present plight. Another airship drifted across a sky of bright blue and soft white, the breeze teasing past me. And beneath that calm, my stepmother, Zola Fia Bartfort, unveiled her intent: to marry me off.
And who was this wonderful bride I was so lucky to be carted off to? I can't even recall her name—only that she was in her fifties, had already been married seven times, and that all her children were older than me. Big red flag, if you ask me.
I wasn't judging her looks, but really—trying to marry off your seventeen, soon-to-be eighteen-year-old son to someone three times his age? I had to step in—or instead, take control of things myself.
Ordinarily, a barony's second son—the third-born, with no heirship, no standing, no privilege—had no right to protest, least of all in a matriarchal society that, bewilderingly, still bowed to a king.
But I had a secret. My name is Leon Fou Bartfort, yet in another life, I was Shirou Emiya. And this reality bears a striking resemblance to a dating simulator—aimed at women—that Illya and I had been playing before I died.
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Wind rushed against me as I bent over the navigator, comparing its readings to the coordinates I'd scrawled in my journal on the day I first awoke in this reality.
When I woke up in a this reality and learned I lived in a barony of the Holfort Kingdom, the pieces began to make sense.
At the end of the Heaven's Feel ritual, too much was sacrificed: Medusa; the three women I had loved and lost; my hopes; and, most of all, my ideals—the inherited ideals that defined me, that anchored me ever since the fire, and that I could no longer hold onto.
In the end, all that remained was Illya and me. As a final gesture, she was meant to sacrifice herself to heal me from Emiya's arm consuming my soul, but I talked her down — I was simply tired. I would have gladly spent the rest of my life with the only connection I had left: Illya, Kiritsugu's true daughter.
Illya was never meant to live past the Holy Grail War, as she was supposed to be the vessel that collects all the souls of the defeated servants—later sacrificing herself to activate the Greater Grail.
I still don't know how we managed it. Step by step, we made it back to the Emiya estate, only to collapse on the porch—where Taiga found us.
Later, we learned that, due to the energies released by the Grail—and the disappearance of one of their prized Enforcers, likely Lancer's previous Master killed by Kirei — the Association began to take notice.
When we woke, Lord El-Melloi II was there, accompanied by a hooded girl whose face was mostly hidden — yet something about her felt uncannily familiar. They questioned us about the end of the war, and we told them everything; we had nothing left to lose or hide.
In the end, the event was explained away as a terrorist act where the terrorist cell accidentally blew up their dirty bomb within their hidden base in Mount Enzou. Not many details were given as these were mostly done through hypnosis, and people just accepted it and moved on. The Greater grail system was later on dismantled, and much to Illya's delight, the Einzbern family was implicated and brought to trial by the clocktower.
We never really knew what came of it since Lord El Melloi II—who asked to be called Waver—didn't stay past the dismantling of the Grail.
Our sickness was explained away—through hypnosis—as an aggressive, terminal cancer.
I felt bad for not telling the truth to Taiga, but we were about to die, and burdening her with knowledge about the moonlit world would only give her trouble.
Typically, Taiga was a lazy mooch—an endearing lazy mooch, but a lazy mooch nonetheless. Yet in those last few months, she made our lives as comfortable as possible, stepping up and taking responsibility for everything.
She set up two comfortable beds for us, side by side. They made it easier to sit up, lie down, and adjust ourselves, keeping us as comfortable as possible.
She was there to help us with breakfast and dinner, with bathroom issues, and with everything else we needed. She did hire a caregiver, since she still had work, but every free moment she devoted to us.
After the first week, she bought each of us a laptop, realising we had little else to occupy our time. She even introduced us to some video games to help pass the hours.
With my dwindling strength, I couldn't play games that needed quick reflexes, so I stuck to turn-based RPGs. I liked the characters, even if I'd long since given up on being a hero. And it amused me to see different versions of Excalibur pop up—though I hated that the game didn't treat it as the greatest of swords. That was just my bias talking.
Much to my consternation, Illya gravitated toward anything with magical girls, especially if it was yuri. She leaned into visual novels—even managing to hypnotise Taiga into thinking she was an adult so that Taiga would buy the ones with erotic scenes. In truth, she was an adult; her body had simply stopped ageing thanks to the Einzberns.
This was where Taiga and Illya bonded—through their shared love of visual novels. Taiga, in particular, adored otome games, and she was obsessed with chasing the reverse harem ending.
Which led me here—into the very otome game I'd been playing just before I died.
Taiga had bought the game in a frenzy of excitement, raving about its gorgeous art by a popular artist and its famous voice actors—both of whom she adored.
She even sold it to Illya, pointing out that the game also catered to yuri fans. After clearing the reverse harem ending, you could pursue the previously jilted main female characters instead.
Additionally, players could partner with guardian spirits, customising their appearance and adding them to the party. The problem was that on their first playthrough, neither Taiga nor Illya could get far—it wasn't just a dating sim but also a notoriously difficult turn-based strategy game.
The developers had only made games targeting men in the past, so this one was—unsurprisingly—missing the mark a little for their new, predominantly female audience.
The game's setting was a whimsical fantasy world of swordplay and magic. People lived on floating islands, travelled by airship, and knights fought in power armour. For all its royalty, knights, and castles, it was surprisingly advanced.
Additionally, the game was filled with random elements that made it even more challenging, and the forums claimed it was impossible to beat without purchasing microtransactions.
So that's what we did. We wanted to 100% the reverse harem route as a surprise for Taiga—a token of appreciation. She'd quit the game in frustration, and we tried to cheer her up. Typically, she could have just downloaded someone else's save file, but this game had a mechanic where the love interests spoke the name you'd entered.
In the end, we cleared everything—every scene, every route, right up to the reverse harem ending, with each love interest speaking Taiga's name. All thanks to a detailed walkthrough and the most overpowered microtransaction bundle.
We still hit a few bad endings when RNG struck us hard, but we pushed through. Illya was already chattering about how we'd tackle the yuri route next as I drifted into sleep.
The next thing I knew, I had woken in the five-year-old body of Leon Fou Bartfort—thirteen years ago. While everything was fresh, I meticulously jot down everything I can recall about the game, in case its events play out in this reality.
I don't even know what year it is in the game's timeline. I wasn't going to play the hero; I'd already lived multiple lifetimes of 'heroism.' After seeing through Archer's memories, I understood well enough why he tried to create a paradox to end his cursed existence.
I keep jotting things down, just in case. After all, I have a loving father and mother here, and I won't let anything happen to them.
And now, that's where I'm headed. Through my reinforced eyes, I catch sight of the floating island ahead.
Stealing myself for what I know will come, I projected Archer's trusty bow.
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END