NOVEL NEXT Chapter 87
Anyway, this game is a JRPG. I haven’t played many JRPGs from the ’90s, so I don’t know what the atmosphere was like back then, but most JRPGs released in the 2020s are packed with content that would please otaku, kind of like those anime-style games.
There’s just that difference; no matter how realistic the graphics or how Hollywood movie-like the production is, if you dig into the content, you find a lot of handsome guys and beautiful girls, whether they’re the main heroine or hero.
Their personalities feel more like anime character personalities rather than movie character ones, and oddly enough, even though they’re clearly white characters, Japanese dubbing suits them better than English. Their movements just feel exaggerated in some way.
Well, maybe it’s just my prejudice from enjoying those kinds of games… but at least that’s how I feel.
In that sense, if you ask what position “Chronicles of Aetherna” holds in the JRPG scene, I could boldly declare, “It’s a game that’s hard to last in unless you’re an otaku.”
Having character designs based on 2D illustrations is a minor issue. The game itself might receive ratings like “generally positive” on review sites or ESD platforms, but the characters’ personalities and actions are blatantly reminiscent of Japanese anime, plus there’s a dating-sim-like system to pursue those characters.
There’s a significant storyline, but among the brief events that occur, there are quite a few that feel like they’re “blatantly aiming for it.”
You can’t skip the episode where you go to the beach in swimsuits in this type of story. An academy story that misses the episode where the heroine can wear waiter outfits similar to maid costumes loses its reason for existence, in my opinion.
However, aside from those subtly integrated episodes, there are even moments in this game where you’d think, ‘Isn’t this just a bit forced to be aiming for something?’
For example, there’s an episode set in a casino.
…Just hearing the word casino made me anticipate what kind of outfits the heroines would end up wearing, proving I’m a true otaku at heart.
sss
For now, I’ve extinguished the urgent flames, but there were still plenty of parts I needed to resolve.
Yeah, well, being tactical is good. Since this kind of atmosphere is almost nonexistent in this world, it might work. In my view, it’s a combat style that somewhat fits, making it appear as if I’m seeing the future.
If I’m a veteran who’s rolled around enough on the battlefield to hone this combat style, others would undoubtedly acknowledge it. My desired image is like that.
The problem is, then my previously cultivated mystique becomes precarious.
There are characters with multiple concepts at once, but if those concepts don’t harmonize well, they just turn into a hodgepodge character. So, I needed to be a bit more cautious in developing my character.
“Are you worried about something?”
Seeing my face deep in thought, Alice immediately read my mood.
“There’s no big worry.”
“Don’t say that.”
Even when I replied that nothing was wrong, Alice persisted with her questions.
“So, um….”
It seemed that Alice was hesitating to bring up something difficult, her eyes darting around.
“I’m like a big sister to you. If you have worries you can’t tell to anyone else, it’s okay to tell me, right?”
“…….”
For a moment, I was so astonished that I turned my head and stared at Alice. Her cheeks flushed slightly.
It seemed she was aware of how awkward her words sounded, but she still said them.
Of course, it was more frequent for Alice to feel inferior, and I was the one who bolstered her self-esteem.
“Ahem.”
But quickly covering her embarrassment, Alice cleared her throat.
We had stopped walking by then. There were no people around. It was probably because there were no people that Alice felt comfortable bringing it up.
“Look, I may have come first in age, but—”
“…….”
“The thing is, that birthday isn’t really a reliable source of information….”
“…….”
“Um, well, I was the one who stayed longer under Father, right? So, you became his child later….”
“…….”
“So, even if you’re calling me your little sister, that’s not so strange, is it?”
Why does that last statement have a question mark at the end if you’re so confident?
Well, whatever.
Whether to acknowledge it or not, I had no intention of fighting about it. To put it strictly, I can’t even consider myself someone who’s like Alice’s big sister; and if you dig deeper, it’s dubious whether I could even call myself a woman.
I’m physically a woman, and I’ve lived with this body for over ten years… If I count from the moment I was in the orphanage until now, it’s slightly over ten years, but if I include the moments I lived as a man, it easily surpasses ten.
However, the life I lived as a man was longer than the life I lived as a woman.
So, if you ask whether I can claim to be Alice’s ‘older brother’… that raises a really big question too. I mean, isn’t my age closer to that of an uncle?
“……If you want to think that way, you can think that way.”
“……Your reaction is so lukewarm that I can’t understand.”
Was Alice joking? But it seemed quite serious.
Since I left Claire to call me ‘sister’ openly, it seems Alice got a bit jealous. After all, we grew up in a sister-like relationship.
Could she not allow herself to call me ‘sister’ because of her pride?
“Well, fine. Whatever your reaction is, you said so, so I’ll consider you my little sister from now on.”
But still, that’s just absurd.
I don’t use the title ‘big brother’ for Lucas or Jayden either. Naturally, I have no plans to call Alice ‘sister’ either. Alice likely knows that very well.
We started walking again.
We passed through the empty courtyard and exited the academy’s main gate.
The weather was slowly transitioning to summer, based on the seasonal lore. Still, it was much better than the stifling summers in Korea. Apparently, weather-wise, summer rarely exceeds thirty degrees.
However, that doesn’t mean summer wouldn’t be hot. Temperature is temperature, and the sun shining down is the sun. If it weren’t hot, there’d be no reason to seek the sea in summer.
“Okay, why don’t you sit down and wait first?”
The place we arrived at was a café.
It was somewhere I often came after the last time I had a parfait. I maintained a blank expression, but it seemed to Alice that I was quite fond of this place.
And I genuinely was. It was rare to find a café with such delicious desserts but oddly few customers.
“Hmm~.”
Once I sat down silently as Alice suggested, she let out a pleased snicker.
“I thought you’d start wanting to eat soon.”
In reality, it wasn’t that I wanted to eat soon but rather that I almost always craved something sweet.
Well, I love sweet and delicious things. Ever since becoming this body, it seems I like sweet foods even more.
In any case, I felt a bit happy that I was recognized as her big sister, and Alice quickly headed to the counter without waiting for the waitress.
“…….”
And that cheerful manner made her look like a giddy child, making it very hard for me to associate her with the image of ‘sister.’
But if that’s what she wants, I’ll cooperate.
While I sat quietly watching her gleeful silhouette—
“Then, is it decided who the youngest is?”
I heard a voice.
“…….”
Turning to the sound of that mature woman’s voice, I found someone had sat down beside me.
The woman with long, silver hair tucked behind her ears possessed an oddly decadent aura. Though her skin was slightly dark, everything else, from her hair to her soft eyebrows, and even her long eyelashes were silver, giving off a very unique vibe.
There was a hint of interest in her gray eyes that looked as if she was indifferent to everything in the world.
Now occupying one of the empty seats and resting her chin on her hands, gazing at me, her name was Bella.
Her surname was Fanggriffon.
In the original work, she was the owner of the private sword that died before the main story began.
“Oh, Lucas wanted to do something and took a leave without permission. I took over what he was doing. Father didn’t seem too angry, so don’t worry too much.”
This character, who rambled on about things I hadn’t even asked, was indeed one I felt a bit awkward around.
Well, I guess at this point, I can’t really say anyone’s as unpredictable as Rena.