"So, what do you want to ask?" I looked at Damarius while enjoying the cookies made by Helios.

It tastes pretty good. I wonder how Alastor's cookies would taste like. I want to try it someday...

Damarius thought for a moment, choosing the first question. "You said that there are important characters."

I nodded. "Just like in novels. In games, there are protagonists, antagonists, and supporting characters. In this game, we take on the role of the main protagonist and get to choose our partners, known as "capture targets."

"Who are they?" He looked at me with eyes full of curiosity.

"Why do you ask? I thought you just wanted to know this family's future."

"Out of curiosity."

"Well... Like I said." I bend one finger every time I say a name. "The targets we can choose are you, Valius, your friends Raymond and Arkanio, Julianus, Alvanio-"

"Marquis Fabian?"

"Mhm, the one who was my partner at the party yesterday. Then there was Alastor- oh- he's the demon prince who opened a cafe-"

Damarius cut off my words. "You know he's the demon prince, yet still dare to take me and Valius there?"

I scratched my cheek. "He's not a bad person... Ah! By the way, the main character played by us, the players, is Edelyn."

Damarius looked at me with a frown. "That girl? Wait... With Valius?"

"Huh? Oh, yup. Valius and Edelyn's romance is one of the only routes that doesn't have a happy ending. Well, you see... this is because they are blood relatives, and such a relationship is considered taboo. That route is one of those routes that is hated and loved because of the interesting plot." I nodded, then looked at Damarius mischievously. "Meanwhile, your and Edelyn's route is the most wholesome."

"Me? With that girl?"

"What? You're so sweet, though. I don't know why you dislike her. In the game, you warmly welcome her, and your route is the most popular one, even though Edelyn only wants you to express your emotions. For your information, the story of a cheerful girl who melts a guy's heart with a cold- I mean, expressionless and indifferent face- is the story that people in my world like the most."

Damarius frowned disapprovingly. "I'm not cold. I smile sometimes. And I always express my emotions. What's more, there's no way I like a capricious and two-faced girl."

Capricious and two-faced..? Is that her character?

"Anyways... As I said, not all the information in the game is correct. And so far, the events in the game either didn't happen or were distorted. For example, Edelyn and her mother were supposed to make a commotion at Lavenia's debutante party. But at that time, Lavenia and Julianus were attacked until they became unconscious. There was also about Duke Alfaret, who was said to have never once worried about his children, even when Lavenia had a tragic end on several routes."

"Wait. What's wrong with Lania?"

"...What do you mean?"

"Why is Lania involved?"

"Huh?"

Damarius and I exchanged surprised looks.

"Oh- did I not mention that Lavenia is the main antagonist in this story?"

After I said that, the air around me felt tense.

...is this information that I shouldn't tell..?

"W-well, let's get back to the main point of our conversation. In the game storyline, there are good and bad endings. Cough... For your information, only Vasilius' route doesn't have a good ending. And the bad ending in this game isn't just for players only, but the targeted character will also get a bad ending."

"Tell me about those bad endings." Damarius looked at me seriously. For a moment, I thought I saw his eyes spark purple.

...is it because it's past bedtime?

I cleared my throat a little. "Uh... Let me try to remember. Sorry, but I didn't quite like your story, so I ended up repeating it a few times."

"Neither I do like to see me end up with that girl." Damarius' words made me sweat drop on the spot.

Wow... Way to insult yourself.

"Ok, so... If I'm not mistaken... in your story, there was a final event where Duke Alfaret died. The cause of his death was unknown. This event was triggered when players missed several events or didn't get... uh- high love points. At the time, Vasilius was too young to hold a debutante, a requirement to be appointed as an heir. As a result, this dukedom was temporarily taken over by your uncle. I don't know what his name was. Well... after that, that man threw you out of the family... Uhm..." I tried to remember while closing my eyes.

"Ah!" I exclaimed when I remembered it. This is a result of playing that game for more than a year by repeating it.

I can't help but be a fangirl, one of the capture targets is my type. Starting from appearance, personality, and voice...

"So, apparently, at the end of the route, you and Edelyn got kicked out of the dukedom at the same time. And that made you angry to the point of holding a grudge. Uh- then that anger gives you black magic. Then you... Summoned... Monsters..." My voice grew quieter when I realized that it wasn't black magic, but Damarius who removed the barrier of this kingdom.

Ah... Shit! I knew I shouldn't trust those damn developers.

I glanced at Damarius, who was looking at me with a look that said, 'What kind of nonsense is that?'

He snorted disapprovingly. "That story doesn't make sense. Magic is obtained through knowledge and gradual learning, not because of strong emotions. Moreover, if such a miracle happened, it would be impossible to summon monsters in one try. Black magic is complicated magic and requires a lot of magical energy. "

"...Now that you say it, how can you learn to use magic that fast? In the story, you can use various elemental magic the day after learning magic." I looked at him curiously.

Damarius was silent and sighed in annoyance. "Based on your story, I now believe that the fabricated game's story is from the perspective of someone with unconventional ideas that could alter the plot's truth."

Eh, I won't deny that fact. I even curse the developers every chance I get.

...wait, does that mean the developer is god here? Or people who regress then transmigrate or something? Or is this world similar just because it's a coincidence?

Geez... There are too many guesses I can think of.

"I learned it myself, right before being adopted." His sudden confession made my brain stop working for a moment.

"Wait... That means the story about you only learning magic after being adopted is a fabrication...? Damn it, as I thought, those damned developers can't be trusted at all."

Damarius stiffened. "I guess... Not completely." He looked down so I couldn't see his expression.

"Uh... So which one is true?"

"My lies." He raised his head, which made me dumbfounded when I realized something had changed.

I didn't see it wrong!

"Your eymph-!" My mouth closed forcefully when he raised and clasped his hand in the air.

...this is humiliating.

I gripped his hand with both hands. Exerting my strength to make his hands open.

Yes, I chose to grip. It wouldn't be funny if I slapped his hand away and my mouth was also slapped away.

"Bah! That's so rude! Just so you know, I'm older than you, you dimwit!"

Damarius stiffened again, then laughed a little, making me look at him in surprise and a little stunned.

That time it was a smile, this time it was laughter. Looks like he's not that cold... Wait, that's not the point! He's laughing at me, right?

"You dimwit, are you laughing at me?"

He shook his head with a smile. "Even though the accent changed, It wasn't that noticeable. But hearing bad words out of Lania's mouth made me feel funny."

"Sigh... In my world, swearing is a common word. Only a few good children don't curse, and you can count them."

"And you're used to say it?"

With confidence and a firm nod, I said, "Of course. Feminine and elegant is not my style. My style is more tomboyish- or should I say uh-" I paused for a moment, choosing a word that could be understood. "Men's style...? Well, in my world even women wear T-shirts and pants, not troublesome dresses like this. Sigh... even at parties I only wear high heels a few times. This is very troublesome." I grumbled, not liking it.

"I know. Your posture is truly bad compared to Lania." He gave me a smirk.

...He's mocking me again?

I snorted. "Don't compare me to an elegant woman who studied posture since childhood when I studied sciences at that age."

He laughed slightly. "I see... Ah, can you take this off?" He swung his hand that I had been holding.

"A-ah! I didn't realize..." I removed my hand quickly and looked away.

"B-by the way, those eyes..." I glanced doubtfully at Damarius' eyes, which had changed from black to purple. "Why did you suddenly change it to purple?"

"Why? Is it weird?"

"No. I mean, it suits you. But why now? I thought I'd already told you not to waste magic energy."

"This is my real eyes' color."

I was stunned, searching for the lies in his eyes. But I couldn't find it. His face was deadly serious, as were his eyes.

"...Duke Alfaret adopted you because you look like him, right? From hair to eyes and face... Is that also a fabricated story?"

Damarius shook his head. "That's true. I was the one who lied. At that age, I had already learned some magic. Elements, disguise, mind reading, and several other things."

"Wait wait waittt! Are you sure you want to reveal this secret to me?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Why not? You already know my story, right?"

"That's different! It's like a national top secret!"

He gave me a small smile, making me stunned again.

...he should smile often.

"If you don't want to know, I won't tell you."

"Who said I don't want to know?! I'm... Just... making sure... Are you sure you want to tell me something important like this? I could leak this secret to someone."

"You will leak it?"

I blinked for a moment. "Of course not. Why would I leak it?"

"See? I have no problem with that. Besides, I'm just straightening out a made-up story that you know."

"Ah... Is that so? Then..." I moved my chair forward and went back to eat my cookies, listening to Damarius' story carefully. "Now, I'm all ears."