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“Mom.”
“What?”
“If the leaves of that tree outside the window all fall, I wonder if my life will end as well.”
“The one shortening your own life is you, with your reckless behavior. The tree in the hospital garden has nothing to do with it, so you better apologize to it later. And while you’re at it, you’ve definitely shortened your mother’s life as well. So, apologize to me.”
“……S-sorry.”

A few days after falling off the jungle gym, I was hospitalized here. That day, after it happened, Hime-chan found some mothers near the park and guided them to me. Even though they screamed when they saw me lying there with blood streaming from my head, they still acted like proper adults, calling an ambulance and taking care of me, or so I’ve heard.

Well, I was unconscious, so I don’t actually remember any of it.

Since there’s nothing to do while hospitalized, I may as well sort out the current situation.

This world is actually from the otome game, “Sakura Oath —Our Tale Spun with You—”.

Although otome games nowadays explore various genres like suspense, horror, and mystery, this game deliberately went all in on the classic school life plot.
With its simple setting, it successfully attracted casual gamers, including beginners, and sold reasonably well.

While I was alive, I also learned the basics of otome games from this game, and from there, I started branching out and exploring other genres.
Needless to say, I’ve conquered all of the endings.

The goal of this game is to win over all the love interests during the three years of high school, and on graduation day, get a confession beneath the sakura tree by the character with the highest affection.
Right, an otome game is all about leading the guys on and conquering them.

The most important one is the protagonist, this person here: “Matsuri-chan, I’ve come to visit youu~” as she pushes open the heavy door before entering. My childhood friend, Ichinose Maki, with the nickname, Hime-chan, at six years old.

Although her real name is Maki, when we first met, my mom said, “Oh my, it’s written like “true princess” but pronounced Maki-chan? How cute!”¹ as she was talking to her mom, and ever since then I’ve been the only one calling her “Hime-chan”.

Thanks to that, I didn’t realize even slightly that she was the protagonist.
Well, I’m the one who started calling her that though.

As soon as Hime-chan was led into the room by her mother, she said, “Matsuri-chan! Does it hurt anywhere? How are you feeling~?”.

It’s nice that she visits every day, but being asked about your body’s condition every time is a bit troubling.
“Well then, Matsuri-chan, your mother and I will be talking outside, okay? Maki, don’t push Matsuri-chan too hard, alright?”
As our moms were leaving, Hime-chan, being reminded by her mother, said, “It’ll be fine~!” while jumping onto the bed.

It’s always this pattern.
Two people, sitting on the same bed, and talking.

Sometimes, the two would pull the bed sheets over their heads, and have secret talks with each other while giggling together.

However, today, I wanted to share with Hime-chan bits of the game content I’ve recalled up until now.

This world is the world of an otome game, you are this game world’s protagonist, and in ten years, you’ll be leading guys on and conquering them— what am I even saying? That’s way too outrageous, and if the 6-year-old Hime-chan then asks, “What does ‘leading guys on’ mean?”, that would be a bit… yeah.
It’d feel like I was teaching a kid something inappropriate. So I have to be careful.

As Hime-chan stared intently at my face, I placed my hands on her shoulders and began explaining as simply as I could.

“—Hime-chan, I’ve realized, you see. Hime-chan is a truly special girl, there’s no one else like you in this world. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this world is made for you. You’re one of a kind, the very center of this world.”

Please, don’t just stare back at me with such a strange look.

Hime-chan’s gaze hesitantly shifts to my bandage wrapped head.
There’s nothing wrong with my head anymore. I’m fine now.

I try to give her a gentle smile to convey that.

“Ummm… if I were that special girl, then what does that make you, Matsuri-chan?”
“Eh? Me?”

Ah, what a sweet girl.
She’s even thinking about me.
How many six-year-olds are capable of being this considerate toward someone else?
Honestly, she deserves a Nobel Peace Prize or something.

“You see, in this world, I’m Hime-chan’s support— err, the one who helps you.”
“Hmmm… then that means, you’re like a prince, always protecting me?”

I guess you could say that… but it doesn’t feel quite right.
For one thing, I’m not a prince. If anything, I’d rather be a princess.
But trying to explain all that to a six-year-old feels like a bit too much work.

“Yup! That’s right!”
I decided to go along with it for now.
“I see! Matsuri-chan is going to become my prince! Yayy! It’s a promise, okay!”

After she said that, her face lit up with a smile as radiant as a delicate flower in full bloom.
Amazing, she already has that heroine aura, no, this girl’s just adorable to begin with.

“Yeah, but you know, this is a secret of the world. So I want you to keep it a secret from everyone, okay?”

I’m sure she already senses the special feeling somehow that this world, this game world, all revolves around her. But that’s not something she should go around telling everyone.
That’s why, it’s enough if just the two of us know. That way, it’ll be easier to work together from here on out, and we can build a stronger bond of trust.

“…Okay, I understand, I won’t tell papa, mama, or even big brother. …Ehehe, Matsuri-chan has become my prince.”
Somehow, she might be misinterpreting things a little, but… well, it’s fine.
She’ll surely understand eventually.

I, Nagase Matsuri, am the childhood friend of the heroine, Ichinose Maki, and within the game, I’m the dependable one who gives her advice at key moments.
In that case, the thing “I” should aim for, is only one main thing.

I’m going to make sure this girl ends up with the most promising love interest in the whole game!

There are still ten years until the game officially begins. That’s plenty of time to get things done.
Suddenly struck with an idea, I turned to Hime-chan and waved my hand back and forth in front of my face, swish-swish.

There it is, a status screen. Just as you’d expect from a game world.
I’d been half-skeptical, but this confirms it.

Once you fully accept it, everything will make sense.
Displayed in front of me were Ichinose Maki’s current stats: Intelligence, Endurance, Luck, Agility, Strength, Mental, HP.
The level cap should be 500, so it’s no surprise that at age six, all the values were somewhere between 1 and 10.
She really is a newborn character, it’s kind of heartwarming.

I want to raise those numbers as much as I can before the game starts.
And to do that, as her support, I need to level up as well and guide her.

“Ah, Mom!”
“Matsuri, visiting hours are almost over. We’re going back, okay?”
“Mom! I want to do extracurriculars! Lots of them!”
“…Huh?”

First of all, special education² for me, or rather, for “me”, Nagase Matsuri.

1. Fire: Some clarification here, her name in Japanese is 真姫, or Maki. The first character, 真 means like true, real, etc. whereas the second character, 姫 (Hime), is princess. So that’s why “true princess”.
2. The term basically means education for gifted/smart children

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