Side: Amy (1)

I’m Amy, the heroine of this world.

I used to live a dirt-poor life in the slums, but my memories suddenly came flooding back when I hit my head on a carriage. That was when I realized the truth: this world was the setting of my favorite otome game, Magical Fantasy: Love's Heart-Pounding School Life, and I was its protagonist.

In my previous life, I had only just started high school. I was hit by a car that blew through a red light; I hit my head and died right then and there.

To be honest, my first life wasn't exactly great. Once, I talked back to the "queen bee" of the class, and every single girl started bullying me after that. Even the boys would say the nastiest things to my face, calling me a "fat pig" or a "gorilla."

Naturally, I had zero friends. Not that it was my fault!

Because of that, I spent every spare moment playing that otome game. Unlike the monkeys in my class, the men in the game actually looked at me. God must have prepared this second life as a heroine as a reward for everything I suffered.

And what a reward it was.

My favorite was Lord Karl, but as long as I picked the Reverse Harem Route, all the handsome guys would fall for me. Karl’s route was the main focus of the Reverse Harem path, and since I’d memorized every single dialogue choice, there was no way I’d mess it up. I couldn’t afford the microtransactions back then, but I made up for it by spending an insane amount of time mastering the game.

Besides, once I cleared the route, I’d become the Saint of Benevolence, blessed by the Light Spirit. I’d be surrounded by hot guys, wearing gorgeous dresses in a castle, living in total luxury—a real princess life.

Once I started living with that goal in mind, everything fell right into place.

I discovered I was actually the daughter of Baron Braies and was promptly taken in by his family. On top of that, I found out I had the Divine Protection of [Healing].

Hehe, I’m a noble lady and a Saint-in-training. I can’t stop smiling.

The schoolwork was laughably easy, too. Back when I was living in the slums, there was this boy at the school I was forced to attend who everyone called a "genius," but he was nothing special. I could have done just as well as him if I’d actually tried. I just chose not to.

I mean, why bother studying when it was that easy? Plus, even though the heroine was "smart" in the game’s lore, she never skipped grades or anything. If I changed the scenario too much, I might lose my path to the Reverse Harem ending.

Really, I’m the true genius for noticing that.

Eventually, I enrolled in the Royal Academy, the primary setting of the game. In the original story, the villainess Anastasia was ranked first and I was second. I intentionally made some careless mistakes on the entrance exam to stay in character, but for some reason, I ended up in third place.

What was that about?

It was that guy, Allen! How dare he get in my way? I was pretty ticked off until I remembered who he was. He was that "genius boy" from my old school. A total mob character like him shouldn't have even been here. What was going on?

Intrigued, I sat next to him during the entrance ceremony to feel him out. At this point in the game, the heroine was only supposed to be pining for Karl from afar, so I figured a little chat wouldn't hurt.

"Hellooo. I'm Amy von Braises. You're the scholarship student, Allen-san, right? It's so nice to meet youuu."

"Nice to meet you, Lady Amy. I'm Allen—just a commoner. It’s a pleasure."

When I looked up at him through my lashes and used my sweetest voice, he got flustered immediately. He tried to act calm, but it was so obvious he’d fallen for me.

"Allen-san, you graduated early at eleven with perfect scores in every subject, didn't you? I was a commoner back then too, attending the same school. I remember everyone talking about youuu."

His face turned beet red and he started stammering.

What a pushover.

It seemed there wasn't a man alive who could resist my "heroine face" and "heroine voice." Still, he looked like a total gloomy loner—not my type at all. I decided I’d just use him whenever he seemed convenient. After that, I stopped talking to him. It was a waste of time, anyway. He had so little presence I could barely tell if he was even in the classroom.

Things progressed smoothly after that. I cleared the events and raised enough flags for the Reverse Harem Route. It was almost hilarious how easily the capture targets became charmed by me, practically falling over themselves to serve me.

The feeling was incredible. The five highest-ranking boys in the school were all at my beck and call. There was some harassment from the other girls, but I didn't care. Seeing those pathetic losers acting so miserably didn't even make me angry.

The real highlight, though, was watching the villainess. Seeing Anastasia’s pathetic face as she desperately tried to win back Karl’s heart was pure ecstasy. She had been such a nuisance in the game, so seeing her humiliation in real life was incredibly cathartic.

Serves her right.

She was born with everything—beauty, a great figure, brains, divine protection, and magic. She was a wealthy duke's daughter, promised to be the future queen since she was a child. Seeing someone who lived such a charmed life fall from grace was the best.

And the best part? Her future was already set in stone. Her engagement would be broken in the most humiliating way possible, she’d be gang-raped, sold off, and eventually killed by her beloved former fiancé and the woman who replaced her. Isn't that just hilarious? I can’t wait to see the look on her face when it happens. Just thinking about it gives me chills.

However, a few things didn't go according to plan.

First, there was the final exam. The villainess was supposed to lose to me, but instead, she lost to that gloomy genius boy. Well, both she and I missed out on perfect scores just like in the game, so since we didn't stray too far from the scenario, I figured it was fine.

The second thing was that the world seemed to be set to "Extra Mode." Extra Mode was a high-difficulty setting added to the game later; you couldn't use a Scroll of Appraisal, which made things much harder. In exchange, you could unlock extra CG stills. It was a mode for hardcore experts like me.

Since I never spent money on the game anyway, I never used the Scroll of Appraisal, so it didn't hinder my progress. I had already memorized every dialogue choice, every dungeon trap, and every enemy weakness.

Oh, and then there was the fact that the "gloomy guy" was the adventurer guide the villainess brought along for the ruins exploration. Apparently, he helped her write her entire report. He’s actually surprisingly useful.

Wait, I just had a brilliant idea.

Once the villainess is pathetically exiled, maybe I’ll keep her as our personal slave. To be used by me, the heroine—honestly, that’s a pretty good deal for a gloomy loner like her, don't you think?

Hehe, I really am something. The future Saint of Benevolence is just too merciful.