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Chapter 7 – Is There Nothing but Doom Flags Ahead?

“I sincerely apologize for failing to save Ryuujirou-sama! I offer my deepest apologies on behalf of the Kou family!”

It happened about two weeks after the earthquake.

A man in his fifties or sixties is breaking down in tears in front of me.
However, his apology was not directed at me, but at the entire Ootori main family.

(Honestly, it’s kind of pathetic.)

The younger man beside him, who settled for a thirty-degree bow instead of prostrating himself, looked far more dignified.

The man groveling on the floor is Ootori Kouichi, the head of the Kou branch of the Ootori clan, and the chairman of Ootori Academy.
I’d only ever seen an old man prostrate himself like this on TV.

Though, in this world, TVs do not exist yet.

Meanwhile, the one who merely bowed was his son, Ootori Kouryuu.
His name sounded somewhat Chinese, but in his family, the eldest son traditionally includes “Kou” in their name. 

On top of that, following the Ootori main family’s custom, a character from a sacred beast was also included, resulting in his name.

Genetically speaking, he’s just an ordinary Japanese person, and his name is not read as Feng Hong Long.
Still, he gives off a somewhat Chinese vibe—like someone who’d be good at making noodles.

Both of them belong to the Ootori family, meaning they are quite tall.
And frankly, seeing a big man like that prostrating only makes it look more pathetic.

On the other hand, Kouryuu, with his nearly 190 cm height, broad shoulders, and thick chest, looks like he was born to be tall.
His long limbs make him seem like a model at first glance.

His facial features are quite handsome, but his sharp gaze ruined the effect.
On top of that, he had an unkempt beard and messy hair, making him a rather unfortunate character.

(He looks like he just pulled an all-nighter.)

As I looked up at the towering man, nearly twice my height, he suddenly met my gaze.
It was an intense glare, but there was no real force behind it—his eyes seemed somewhat detached.

With such sharp eyes, just looking at someone could feel like a glare; It must be a huge disadvantage.

And just as I thought that, I realized that I knew this person. After all, he was a character in the game.

He is one of the tutors who came to the mansion. 

His character setting is that of a misunderstood genius medical researcher—a man who failed to become a leading authority on infectious diseases and bacteriology. 

On top of that, he was also a scientist.

Regardless of his appearance, his backstory was somewhat of an homage to a certain famous father of modern medicine from this era.

At this point in time, he is in his mid-to-late twenties. Since he is younger than in the game, his good looks stood out even more.

While I am analyzing all this, the groveling finally seemed to be coming to an end.

“Raise your head. If you did your best, all the more reason to do so.”

The one who spoke in a firm tone was my great-grandfather, Souichirou.
As the eldest member of the family and the grandfather of the deceased financial conglomerate leader, his words carried weight.

Then, my grandfather, Kiichirou, followed up with a question.

“So, what is Ryuujirou’s cause of death? His injuries were severe, but I’d say he held on quite well.”

Usually, my grandfather gives off a carefree and absent-minded impression, but right now, his eyes are sharp. He’s looking at them as if he suspects something.

Uncle Kouichi, who met his gaze, was momentarily at a loss for words.

So, Uncle Kouryuu, standing beside him, spoke up in his place.

“Some of his internal organs were damaged, but the actual cause of death was complications from pneumonia. His body had already weakened from the severe injuries, and once pneumonia set in, it happened quickly.”

“I see. That explains it. Well then, Father, I have military duties to attend to, so please go see Ryuujirou first. I’ll visit him tonight.”

“Let’s do that. The rest of you, except for Reiko, will come with me.”

With those words, the gathering is dismissed by unspoken agreement.

And somehow, I’m left standing there alone.

(Complications from pneumonia, huh? In the 21st century, that wouldn’t be so terrifying.)

“Penicillin doesn’t exist yet, does it…”

A medical manga flashes through my mind, and I end up saying it out loud without thinking.

But the moment I do, I realize that not only does the drug not exist, but the word itself doesn’t either. 

Reflexively, I scan my surroundings.

And then, about ten meters away, I lock eyes with someone.

Uncle Kouryuu.

It looks like he was just about to leave the room, but now he’s turned to face me, his gaze fixed on me.
Otherwise, there’s no way our eyes would have met from that distance.

After all, with nearly twice my height difference, it shouldn’t even be possible.

For now, let’s put on a sweet, innocent smile—the kind only a young girl can give.

(A beautiful young girl’s smile. Consider yourself lucky, old man, so hurry up and leave.)

Perhaps my gaze and silent wish reached him, because Uncle Kouryuu didn’t smile back or greet me—he simply walked away without a word.

Penicillin got its name from the scientific name of blue mold. But if I remember correctly, it wasn’t an exact match.
If that’s the case, a Japanese person might not even associate the word with blue mold at all… or at least, I hope so.

The problem is, Uncle Kouryuu is a researcher in bacteriology. It wouldn’t be strange if he knew the scientific name for blue mold.

However, since he never came to question me afterward, I let out a sigh of relief, realizing my worries were unfounded.

But around that time, something began to change for me.

I don’t know the reason, but I started having the same recurring nightmares.

Maybe because I’m a rekijo, I dream of the Tokyo air raids.
Sometimes, I see American forces landing on the Japanese mainland. 

And the worst one—the one that truly unsettles me—is a dream where I freeze to death in some prison, cursing something as I die.

Sometimes the nightmares come as a set of three, other times just one. They don’t happen every night, but often enough.

And each time I have one of these nightmares, I feel my current body and my past-life self syncing together—merging into one. 

The feeling grows stronger every time.

And then, one day, I suddenly understood. These nightmares were foreshadowing my future.

Three possible fates. Three different destructions.
Or maybe even a future where all three combined into one ultimate downfall.

“W-Wait a second! You mean it’s not just the in-game bad endings?!”

“Is something the matter, Reiko-ojou-sama?”

“U-Um, no, it’s nothing at all!”

I had accidentally shouted out loud, but that was only because one of these three visions of ruin was something I had never expected.

(Why are American forces landing on the Shonan coastline? Is this an omen of World War II in this world? Or is it a prophetic dream? No, no, wait—maybe it’s just my rekijo brain playing tricks on me, showing me a delusional scenario based on my past-life knowledge… But if that were the case, why would I keep having the exact same nightmare over and over?)

I try my best to think things through without speaking out loud.
My body is that of a little girl, and that also means my thoughts have a habit of slipping straight out of my mouth.

Actually, sometimes they already did. I really need to be careful. 

At this rate, I might end up being labeled a lunatic.

(But if that really is a prophetic dream, doesn’t that mean my forced destruction event just became way harder to avoid? Even if I somehow escape the villainess doom flag, that won’t mean anything if Japan itself is doomed!)

Realizing that, I start thinking even harder.
With a child’s brain, thinking too much makes it feel like I might get a fever—though that’s probably a misquote of the actual term.

Even so, I can’t stop myself from thinking.

(But what exactly is wrong? What’s different from the Japan of my past life? No, the answer is obvious. The Ootori clan—this factor didn’t exist in my previous life’s Japan. They must have done something…)

Or rather, I could say they’ve already done something.
There’s a fairly large oil field in the northern part of Karafuto. The mere presence of that could drastically change the timing and course of the war.

On the flip side, it could also serve as a factor for Japan to develop even more than it did in my past life. 

In fact, just by existing, the Ootori conglomerate has likely boosted Japan’s economic and national power—perhaps even beyond what it was in my past life.

(But what do I do? I can’t just sit around focusing on winning over the love interests! This is not easy mode! Wasn’t I supposed to just avoid the villainess’s bad ending?!)

For the sake of my own sanity, I scream inside my head, but honestly, I want to scream it out loud.

But I need to act.

The future of Japan is likely a forced event—something I can’t change.
But I can’t just focus on avoiding my own bad ending. 

At the very least, I have to find a way to prevent the downfall of the Ootori clan.

Otherwise, I’ll be guaranteed to hit a forced bad ending.

“…I think I finally understand the true meaning of an impossible game.”