There are usually specific aspects that otaku tend to be strangely picky about, and Claire was one of those.
It’s not that Claire is an otaku yet.
By my standards as someone who was once an otaku, just playing a game series or enjoying mainstream manga or anime doesn’t qualify you as one. An otaku has a bit of a gloomy side and must make waiting for that game or anime a part of their life’s joy.
If you can just pass by a certain point or forget about it when it goes on hiatus—without feeling like the sky is falling—then you can be called an ordinary person.
So among us, the only one who could be called an otaku is probably Mia.
… Of course, I could also be considered a full-fledged otaku for moving around just to reach a happy ending in the game.
However, even if she wouldn’t openly call herself an otaku yet, Claire definitely had the potential for it.
“By the power of light and justice! Magical Sylvia!”
“Eh, that’s not right, sis.”
At first, I tried to clear the game with determination, but watching me shout out my ultimate move in utter frustration because I couldn’t break through the physical challenge, Claire said sternly,
“A magical girl won’t stutter while chanting her spells! The catchphrases of magical girls are the franchise’s signature! If you don’t shout it right, the toys won’t sell!”
“… Isn’t that a bit too realistic?”
Boom!
While I was inadvertently trying to retort against Claire’s words, I ended up missing my flight target, leading to a disastrous explosion.
Even though the shooting game depicted people flying through the air, they just tossed it aside as ‘flight,’ it seems. Regardless, just because the graphics are of a magical girl, it doesn’t mean blood will burst out. It simply exploded in a flash, like a firework.
“By the way, there’s a serious issue with the game.”
“Huh? What do you mean by an issue?”
“The ultimate move doesn’t activate immediately; it has to listen to everything I say before launching, so it can’t actually stop the enemy’s bullets.”
Exactly.
The ultimate move goes out only after the game recognizes that I spoke into the mic, acknowledges the end of my sentence, and then processes it in the game.
So even if there’s an infinite use of ultimate moves, I need to shout several times in short to use them.
For reference, if my voice is heard from the side, it also gets recognized as part of my ultimate phrase, which means that if there’s continuous conversation happening, the moment it stops is considered one ‘phrase,’ thus making my ultimate move go out late!
I mean, no matter how limited the technology may be, aren’t they being way too lenient about the crucial parts?
Maybe this was intentionally designed that way. If it’s a deliberately lousy game, then it’s entirely possible.
“Well then, I can just create different spell names for each type.”
“……”
I was inadvertently impressed by Claire’s comment.
She had more ideas than I thought in this area.
I quietly passed the turn to Alice. I figured in the end, it’d probably come down to a duel between Mia and me.
By the way, it seemed like Alice had a similar thought, as she first tried to evade by just watching with her eyes.
However, her reflexes aimed at swordplay seemed different from those used for game controls.
“Magical Missile!”
“Wrong!”
Claire cheerfully declared.
“You need to transform before using your abilities!”
“Claire? If you keep talking from the side, the spells won’t go out because they’ll be seen as part of your technique!”
Boom.
“… Um, during the time you two keep chatting, my ultimate move hasn’t gone out either.”
At Alice’s comment, I averted my gaze.
[LOL]
[I don’t think we’re finishing this game today]
[Guess we just need to interrupt each other]
The viewers quickly grasped the essence of the game.
“So from now on, let’s refrain from talking from the side.”
Charlotte said as if she had been waiting to say that.
“Otherwise, the game won’t end correctly! We have to collect the mission money.”
We all stared at Charlotte, but she had an utterly unbothered expression on her face.
Truly a crown princess.
She delivered a statement that truly reflected someone who’s learned politics properly.
*
“Magical Missile!”
“Magical Beam!”
“Magical Whatever!”
And when it was Claire’s turn, who was most knowledgeable about the game, she made up some lines to reach as far as possible.
And I internally dismissed the theory of Claire being an otaku.
If I think back, having her interrupt earlier was merely a distraction.
This was her way of enjoying being the first to clear the game while the rest of us faced penalties.
Among us, she surely lived the life furthest removed from politics… Oh, right! When I rewound time, Claire had indeed become a crown princess. So perhaps she did learn a bit about politics after all.
Boom.
However, no matter how much it went on, I couldn’t dodge the endless bullets that were pouring in.
Ah! If I shouted in a short, frantic way, it might have been doable, but shouting like a magical girl while dodging wasn’t that easy.
“Well, that’s unfortunate.”
But Claire, who had managed to reach quite far, looked satisfied as she passed the stick to Mia.
[But come on, “Magical Whatever” is a bit much]
[A cowardly adult’s incantation]
[Just trying to win LOL]
“But it did have ‘Magical’ in it, right?”
I mean, just throwing in “Magical” doesn’t mean it’s a magical girl spell, does it?
Well, to be fair, the only one in the room dressed like a magical girl was Mia.
All eyes were on Mia as she took her seat.
She was the one among us who knew the most about magical girls.
Of course, I watched magical girl anime when I was younger. I didn’t watch them all thoroughly, though. I was a boy, and when I watched something considered to be girls’ anime by myself, I felt embarrassed. Perhaps due to pride, I avoided it and endured a feeling of regret.
So I couldn’t say I knew it well.
Then how would Mia, who watched magical girl shows streaming regularly on her smartphone, chant her spells?
Inhale—
Seeing us play the game ahead, Mia took a deep breath in preparation.
And then—
“Pipirupaparachange Q!”
… Huh?
That sounded like something that wasn’t human language at all.
The other four watching this froze slightly.
[?]
[??]
[Is this how magical girl chants are these days?]
Good question!
I too couldn’t quite recall.
Thinking back, it really did seem like something unexpected.
“Love Change!”
Or,
“Beat Q!”
Hmm, that’s right.
I realized that even in a series under the same franchise, depending on the era and the preferences of kids, it changed a lot.
When I was young, up to my early teen years, I watched a lot of anime and played outdoors without smartphones, while kids nowadays have smartphones— it seems the age at which they play with toys has dropped significantly.
Perhaps the same could be said for girls’ toys.
[Feeling nostalgic…]
[Is this… the true power of magic?]
[Magical girl Mimical Mia!]
The chatroom exploded into chaos.
And while we were left speechless, Mia marched straight to the boss as the first among us.
The bullets that would’ve made it impossible to advance if just played without strategy turned into a shooting game with the right dialogue flowing in a manageable level of difficulty.
On closer inspection, Claire had a similar style too.
“Oops.”
But even Mia couldn’t clear the game on her first try. The boss was slightly harder to beat. Plus, due to its size taking up about a third of the screen, the distance from where the bullets were generated was a little short.
“Phew.”
Though she lost, Mia’s face shone with excitement as she stepped aside.
[Is this… the power of childlike wonder?]
No, we’re the same age. At least our physical ages are the same.
Besides, in this country, we’re both just regular adults.
“Mia, did you have fun?”
“Yes!”
Watching Mia respond with a bright smile made me realize how unexpectedly deep the darkness in my heart ran.
No, if we’re talking about darkness, doesn’t Mia, who was plotting to kill me, need to have a darker heart?
Is it because she realized her childlike wonder a bit later?
What the heck…?
“……”
And all of our gazes turned towards Claire.
While the playing styles were similar, the gap between Mia, who purely enjoyed the game, and Claire, who merely wanted to clear it first, was pretty substantial.
“… I’m sorry.”
In the end, unable to withstand our stares, Claire turned her gaze away and responded.
Mia watched this spectacle with a question mark floating above her head.
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