Assessing the Situation

What the hell… 



“So I… transmigrated. What’s more in an ‘Otome Game’!?”



Amy had just woken up in the canopy bed in her room. She covered her face with her hands as the memories from her previous life rushed through her mind.



She’d finally gotten her first smart phone when she’d entered high school. Excited, she’d downloaded one game after another… the previous ‘Amy’ started by playing stacking games, and then she moved on to farming games.

　

Her friend recommended her a romance simulation game which became one of the games she played regularly.



Her friend had made her download it to get the game’s points for adding friends. So Amy just played to support her; she would log in during special events, participate in gacha, and send points to the aforementioned friend. She didn’t really play the actual game that much so she didn’t remember the title or the story. 



However, the game’s abundant use of illustrations stood out in her mind. All the pictures had been drawn beautifully to draw attention. 



Particularly the illustration of a tall man with dirty blonde hair, and silver eyes. He had been shown with a beautiful, slightly melancholy smile… she remembered his faintly smiling face that had shown up on the opening screen. It had stood out to her even then, among the several other handsome men drawn there. The face on the screen was that of a grown up but it was no question that it was the same as the picture she had seen earlier. 



What the hell… (for the second time)



Speaking of transmigrating into an otome game, there were certain tropes that always happened in such scenarios. 



Her mom had been obsessed with web novels and had countless novels in the ‘transmigration’ genre saved on her bookshelf. They would often read them together. 



For example, it was very common to be transmigrated into the body of the heroine or the rival character. Though the majority of them ended up becoming the rival or, in other words, ‘villainess’ of the story.  



If they followed the original storyline, what awaited them in the future was usually some sort of punishment as a retribution for bullying the heroine. These punishments included exile, dispersing of the family or, in extreme cases, execution. The characters would work hard to avoid such endings. 



The ‘Villainess’ trope was so popular it had been established as its own genre. 



She would be fine with being a mob character like Friend A, but being a main character with lines was a big ‘NO’. She wasn’t good with speaking up in public… her personality from her previous life agreed wholeheartedly in her mind.  



Even though her way of speaking had changed, it seemed like the current her was still as introverted as her from her previous world.



There was still a slight difference though. Amy was a bit better; for example she had been learning to dance since a young age. However, her past self was so introverted she would even object to dancing.



Anyways, she had gone through the starting tutorial of the game, but the actual story was unplayed. She had no idea what happened in the story after she had chosen the hair colour and customised her heroine. 



She didn’t even know what the mob characters looked like, or whether or not there was a rival character in the story.



“Don’t tell me my role is… i-it can’t be, right…?”



With a sinking feeling of unease, she sat up slowly and picked up the hand mirror on her bedside table to study her features.

　

She tried to be as objective as possible.



Her straight black hair fell down to her waist. She had large almond shaped eyes; the colour of her pupils was golden.



Even as a child, her lips were plump, and a dark pink colour. Her skin was fair and smooth like porcelain with a slight colour on her cheeks. 



She had a well-proportioned face. However she wouldn’t say she had a cute face. Rather, her features fell more on the ‘beautiful’ side, even at her current age of 10 years.



She didn’t hate her face. She actually liked the black hair she had inherited from her father, and the golden eyes she got from her mother. However… even if she supposed it was due to the character designer working hard on the side characters, her face couldn’t be that of a mob character. Her features were too striking.

　

She suddenly remembered her father’s words before she had fainted.



A ‘fiancee candidate for the Third Prince’… this role can’t be that of a heroine or a mob character, it must be the villainess. It can’t be anything else.



What the hell… (for the third time)



She swayed on the bed as her vision went dark. She wasn’t someone to become lightheaded so easily like this, but Amy was on the verge of fainting once again.



Ah, no way.

　

In the novels she had read before, these so-called ‘villainesses’ would usually end up getting engaged to some big shot guy who they don’t even like. However, eventually the floozie heroine would show up and steal the guy after leaving the villainess falsely charged with some sort of crime. Or, the engagement would be broken off over a small matter that would be blown out of proportion, and the villainess’s family would end up breaking off and falling on hard times. 

　

Such a future was nothing but the worst. 



Contrary to the usual marriages in society, her parents had married out of love and were on good terms with each other. The Northland family’s estates, and the work of her father, everything was going well.  



Her older brother was a bit too spirited but he treated his younger sister well, and the two siblings grew up as good friends. He was currently away for school but he would always come back home during vacations and… she suddenly thought of something. 



It was also common practice for ‘Otome Games’ to have the brother as a capture target for the heroine.  



She tried to think; did the opening have someone who looked like her brother…? There had been 5 people who had shown up on the screen. Feeling a slight headache come on, Amy desperately tried to recall the beautifully illustrated opening still from the game. 



A person who looked like a prince, with a slightly sombre look about him (probably her fiance).



A confident looking aristocrat who seemed to have been raised well (maybe the son of a Duke or a Marquess).



A person in a magician’s robes (definitely a wizard).



A handsome man dressed in armour (has to be a knight). 



The last person was a boy a few years younger than the others, and he was wearing a costume that looked to be from a foreign kingdom. He might have the role of a foreign prince or something (his clothes looked like an Arab sheikh. She did hear that the Crown Prince’s fiancee was from a kingdom down south, so maybe he was related to her in some way).



“Ah, thank god, my brother isn’t…?”



… Wait. He was. 



A hidden character that only appeared in the game events her friend religiously participated in.

　

He wasn’t in the opening, but she was sure he appeared on the event gacha screen. The mischievous older brother. She had heard about that hidden character from her friend. He had droopy eyes with a scar on one of them, and a slightly playboyish, adventure-loving personality… 



“Aaaah, it could be him. He’s always visiting dungeons or chasing dangerous magical beasts. He could turn into this character in the future!”



Amy let out a scream even though she was talking to herself. She nervously brought a hand to her mouth as she thought. 



Her brother loved mingling with people, and had a wide range of friends including both male and female. He was currently 16 years, too young for a fiancee, but he must have a number of lovers by now.  



… it seemed like her brother was also one of the capture targets. She gnashed on her handkerchief in worry as the flags for her being the ‘villainess’ became more and more apparent.



Although she was overwhelmed by the memories of her past life, she had already lived in this world for ten years, and had become accustomed to her life here. When she thought that this world was a game she didn’t feel any grief or resignation, rather her mind and body just froze in shock. She soon realised tears were spilling from her eyes.



“Amy, are you awake? How are you feeling?”



“M-mom…”



Her mother entered the room with a worried expression on her face after lightly knocking on the door. When she saw her beloved daughter’s tear-filled face she quickly rushed over and sat down on the bed. She leaned over and hugged her mother tightly.



This person too, and this warmth, all of these were just a game. She was starting to believe that everything that happened in her past must be made-up too, and a lie. An indescribable emptiness filled her chest at this thought. 



“No, it can’t be…”



“Hey, come now, miss crybaby. Do you still feel bad? Does your head hurt?”



“N-no, that’s not it. I just remembered a game… ah, um, that is…”



She didn’t know how to explain the concept of otome games which didn’t exist in this world. 



Even though she was only ten years old she had begun her education, as a young lady, several years ago. If this was a normal day she would have known not to speak about something that doesn’t exist But right now her head was all muddled due to the onslaught of memories from her previous life, and she couldn’t think rationally.



The words had just slipped out of her mouth. She realised her mistake as soon as she said it, and tried to think of excuses to explain what she meant. However, before she could say anything else, her mother gently patted her back as she spoke up.



“Ah, I see, you’ve also regained your memories.”



“……. Eh?”



Shocked, she glanced up at her mother. Her mother’s golden eyes, the same colour as Amy’s, were sparkling with a mischievous smile. 



“I’m sure you’re surprised. To think that our whole family transmigrated into another world.”



“What!?



“We’re still the same as before so don’t worry, okay?”



“M-mom…….?”



Amy’s mom was grinning widely. She looked more like she wanted to cook red rice* to commemorate her family gaining their memories, rather than settle her daughter’s confusion. Amy suddenly wondered if red rice also existed in this world. 



(TN: red rice is cooked on auspicious occasions as a celebration)



No, but this was it. Her ‘mom’ was such a person after all. She was a bit laid back. She could be stubborn at some times but was mostly carefree and always did things at her own pace,



The memories from her previous life flowed freely into her head and, along with the memories from this world, intertwined into a marble pattern in her mind.

　

Just then, her mind finally comprehended the words her mother had spoken earlier.



“Wait… the ‘whole family transmigrated into another world’… you mean, everyone? Huh, wait, how did I overlook this earlier!?”



“Ah, wait, so, dad also transmigrated?”



“That’s right, your dad too. He still likes tinkering with machines, just as he used to.”



Her father from her previous life used to be a mechanical engineer.

　

Her father right now was an eccentric, who was quite passionate about developing magical tools… oh, she suddenly realised the similarities.  



“W-what about brother?”



“Harold? The moment he regained his memories he said ‘I’ll hunt for real this time!’ and rushed off. That child is really…”



Her mother looked in the distance muttering something that sounded like ‘I don’t think that meat can be cooked well’. All this time, she twisted her hands while muttering, as if putting meat on barbeque skewers.

　

Her brother from her past life was a big fan of hunting and action games. He used to love playing these games with dual wielding swords as his weapon of choice. As for her brother from this world, he suddenly became very enthusiastic about learning swordsmanship and fighting magical beasts a certain time ago… yeah, there’s no doubt. 



He was doing quite well at school, and always got good grades. But the motive behind that was definitely because he wanted to enter the world of monster hunting. You could bet on that. 



“So mom too, and me too… everyone together…” 



“Hehehe, we’re a united family.”



She would have thought this would be a problem, but instead it was greatly reassuring. Her mother pulled her into a hug and gently stroked her face in reassurance. The warmth of that hand was the same as before.



She could be together with her family once again… if it was like this then she didn’t mind being transmigrated.



Amy’s heart finally calmed down as she thought that.