NOVEL WEB Chapter 1
Chapter 1. Adel(1)
“DLC? What kind of belated news is this?”
Checking the update notification, I frowned.
“When all the users were leaving, they said nothing, and now they release additional content? Do they think users who left will come back because of this? Sigh, hopeless.”
Princess Produce, which once topped the concurrent user charts. PP for short. Now, the number of concurrent users has dwindled to about a thousand, and it's treading the path of a dead game.
No matter how good the game is, what's the use. A game with no new content, only accumulating bugs. User opinions? A terrible management that threw such things to the dogs.
Anyway, PP is a raising simulation game set in a medieval fantasy world with heroes and demon kings, where magic and swordsmanship run rampant.
It might seem complicated, but the core is simple.
‘You raise a daughter and see various endings.’
As for someone like me, I'm a veteran player who has seen all the endings in PP.
Recently, I've been clearing supposedly impossible stages, or, repeatedly using the save-load trick to find hidden endings.
“Since something new came out, I guess I’ll try it. It better not be boring.”
As I grumbled and launched the game, a newly changed login screen caught my eye.
“Huh? The characters have increased?”
Originally, I could only choose from ten characters, but seven new ones were added.
[Audra of Pride]
[Iris of Greed]
[Mago of Jealousy]
[Muriel of Lust]
……
My anticipation cooled in an instant.
“Seven Deadly Sins? What a tired cliché. Use your head, please. Good grief.”
I was a fool to expect anything from this game.
Of course, from a user's perspective, just increasing the characters is fine.
Because what I want is to connect with new characters.
However, this DLC had an unexpected feature.
“What? Raising three at the same time? Awesome!”
Until now, I could only raise one character at a time.
There are 100 jobs selectable per character.
Since there are 10 characters in total, the total number of endings reaches 1,000.
However, in this case, even with just one combination, it becomes 100 × 100 × 100, so theoretically, 1,000,000 endings can be seen.
The number of characters has increased, and combinations can also be varied, so the total number of endings must be much higher than that.
“This means the number of endings I can see must have increased immensely? How long will it take to see them all. Crazy.”
Even while cursing out loud, I couldn't stop smiling.
Because I'm a true veteran player addicted to this game.
Anticipation and excitement mingled as I wondered what combination would be good.
[Please choose your first daughter. The relationship with the father and status will change depending on the order of selection.]
There was no need to think twice about the first one.
“The first is Adel, of course!”
Adel is PP's representative character, who has never once lost the top spot in popularity polls since her release.
Even if new characters were released, they probably wouldn't easily surpass her stronghold.
More than anything, she was the first one who came to mind whenever I saw girls on the street.
I remember. Young Adel, swinging a wooden sword,
“I want to become a strong knight like Father!”
…the sight of her shouting that.
Even when she fell and cried, she never gave up until the end.
Adel was always a reliable and diligent daughter.
“One can’t ignore the experience she’s built up.”
As I chose Adel, her image soon filled the screen.
Being a beautiful girl is a given.
She's a character with charming blonde hair, wielding twin swords, so anyone would inevitably be drawn to her.
—————
-Name: Adel
-Job: Swordsman
-Traits: [Master of the Sword] [Diligent and Sincere] [Upright Heart]
-Background: She carves out her own path through innate swordsmanship and perseverance. A woman of iron who never wavers in any situation.
—————
As one can tell from the traits [Diligent and Sincere] and [Upright Heart], she is very sincere,
‘This inflexible personality is her charm.’
Users enjoyed giving Adel extreme commands.
For example, making her massacre nobles, or getting her a job at an entertainment establishment.
There were even people who said that such a sense of immorality was the true charm of PP.
[You have chosen Adel as your first daughter. Now please choose your second daughter.]
Oh. It's really possible to choose another daughter.
I decided to choose the second daughter from the characters newly added in this DLC.
I deliberately chose a character who seemed to have the worst compatibility with the first.
Because it wouldn't be realistic if the sisters got along too well.
“For the second, Iris of Greed, you’ll do.”
Iris is a character with short red hair and ruby-like eyes.
Her rebellious streak practically overflows from her appearance.
—————
-Name: Iris
-Job: Merchant
-Traits: [Hand of Midas] [Storm and Stress Period] [Schemes and Stratagems]
-Background: She doesn’t shy away from any means to achieve wealth and power. However, once she gives her heart, she never betrays.
—————
“A tsundere character? It’s cliché, but I guess it doesn’t matter.”
No matter who it is, if they fall into my hands, they're nothing more than a docile lamb.
It's a bit much for me to say this myself, but, ‘I am the supreme master of this game.’
But what's this?
When I selected Iris, she said with a sneer on the screen.
“Hmph. Choosing me. You’ll regret it.”
My heart pounded.
Because a unique presentation, unseen in previous characters, had appeared.
“Awesome! These bastards put quite some effort into releasing this DLC, didn’t they?”
Now, only the youngest was left.
I looked for a cute and timid character.
“Oh, there’s a perfect one.”
The shortest among not only the existing characters but also the newly released ones.
A small frame with silver twin-tail hair.
Her bangs covering her eyes are a characteristic feature.
Obviously zero communication skills.
—————
Name: Noemi
Job: Mage
Traits: [Ultimate Magical Power] [Lack of Communication Skills] [Future Foresight]
Background: She rarely speaks. Due to her lack of communication skills, the raising difficulty is high.
—————
“Pfft. Talk about chuunibyou vibes. Anyway, you’re the youngest.”
Just like with Iris, I expected a unique reaction, but she just looked at me silently, then faintly smiled at the end, and the screen changed in an instant.
[You have selected Adel as your first daughter, Iris as your second daughter, and Noemi as your third daughter. Would you like to proceed as is?]
“Okay. Start like this!”
Go for broke. There's no retreat in my dictionary.
Because if it's too difficult, I can just delete and start over.
But what's this now?
[You can skip the upbringing process for up to 5 years.]
“Crazy, skipping 5 years?”
Such a bold feature, skipping half the play period.
“Oh. At this rate, I could see the ending pretty quickly?”
Without hesitation, I raised the setting to the maximum.
Since the number of endings had increased to be almost limitless, it was to achieve an all-clear quickly.
[Setting upbringing target value to MAX.]
[※ Warning. Doing this can increase stats, but the daughters' affection levels will drop to the lowest. Do you really wish to proceed like this?]
Hoo, a pop-up window I've never seen before.
But affection levels? I can just raise them anew.
There's no trainer as skilled as me.
“What’s life? I have to try out new features to the fullest.”
I immediately pressed the YES button.
[Skipping 5 years of time.]
[Conducting etiquette training……Teaching the importance of money……Conversation attempt failed……Swordsmanship training……]
“What the. This isn’t a skip?”
Endlessly repeating text.
Who would have known that was the last moment of my life.
When I opened my eyes, it was an unfamiliar ceiling. Crazy.
***
“Master, how was today’s tea?”
“Excellent. It was a very satisfying black tea.”
“I’m glad. I shall serve you another cup.”
Soon, a teapot floating in mid-air moved on its own and poured black tea into the cup.
Trickle, trickle, trickle.It's surprising that not a single drop splashed to the side. However, I took a slow sip as if accustomed to it, and then, “You may leave now. I wish to be alone.’’
“Understood, Master. Please let me know if you need anything.”
The white-haired old gentleman bowed and left the room.
I looked out the window and thought.
‘Has it already been a month since I came here? Time flies.’
It's already been a month since I was possessed into the game world.
This place where dragons fly in the sky, elves and dwarves roam the streets, and magic is commonplace.
‘It took quite a long time to adapt. To think this is reality.’
At first, I doubted whether this place was really the world of PP.
To think that the village square, which was just a simple background in the game, would be this lively in reality.
Everyone laughing and chatting seemed so peaceful it was almost unfamiliar.
When I played the game, I only knew it as a setting of 'peace before the war,' but feeling it like this, with my own skin, was a new experience.
I stood in front of the mirror and reconfirmed my face.
A tall, handsome man looked back at me.
‘I still can’t believe it. That I would become this game’s protagonist, Frank.’
Frank.Full name, Frank Pendragon.
The daughters' father and a former hero.
But this isn't the real problem.
‘Is this really a raising game?’
The daughters I'm supposed to be raising aren't home.Adel left to take the knight exam,
Iris ran away from home, saying she'd earn money.
Noemi left only a letter and has been missing for a month.
A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
‘I need to diligently raise my daughters starting now.’
Soon, the demon tribe's invasion will begin.
If a new Demon King is enthroned, my life will also be in danger.
This is why the difficulty spikes sharply after the mid-game.
Moreover, this place is the northernmost region of the kingdom, bordering the demon territory.
If war breaks out, this place will be the first to disappear without a trace.
However, there's nothing I can do right now.
Because Frank's abilities were sealed by a curse from defeating the Demon King.
Now, I'm a powerless body that can't even easily defeat Villager A.
‘There’s no hell difficulty like this hell difficulty. Are they telling me to clear this or not?’
But what was heavier than that was the tightness in my chest I felt whenever I thought of my daughters.
If I got to meet Adel in person, I wanted to treat her well.
I was curious about what kind of girls Iris and Noemi were.
But now, not a single one is in sight.
Only now did I realize.
That I was more serious about this game than anyone else.
That I considered the daughters not as mere characters, but as real daughters.
That I wanted to be a proper father to my daughters.
‘This isn’t a game anymore. I must raise my daughters with affection.’
However, the daughters are no longer here.
Endless sighs.
The problem didn't end there.
Because the inside of the house was also a mess.
The servants often avoided me with awkward gazes.
‘Did I do something wrong? In the game, they were people who always chatted with bright smiles.’
In reality, they were so cold it felt chilling.
If I just died like this, would 'Game Over' appear and allow me to return to my original world?
Of course, it's a joke.Because I'm a cowardly basement-dwelling loser with no courage to die.
‘I wish someone would come back soon.’
What kind of daughter-raising simulation game is this.
It's a survival game in an apocalyptic world.
It's always troublesome when the genre changes.
***
At that moment, while Frank was lost in thought.
In the kitchen, the maids' chatter was in full swing.
“Master, isn’t he a bit strange these days?”
“That’s right. He used to wake up at the crack of dawn, but nowadays he barely comes out even when the sun is up.”
“Did you see him greeting with a smile? Seriously creepy!”
“Ugh. Just imagining it is agonizing. Why is he suddenly acting like that?”
“Could it be that? You know how they say people become nice when they’re about to die?”
The cook chuckled at the maids' words and chimed in.
“Right before death? It’s more likely because he’s lonely.”
“Because he’s lonely?”
“That’s right. He often asks about the young ladies’ well-being during meals these days, doesn’t he? He must miss the three of them.”
“Indeed. Since all three left home, the shock must have been great. They always lived together, and then all left at once. Sigh.”
“Poor Master. If he had treated his daughters well usually, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“It’s all his own doing.”
At that moment, Elliot the butler appeared from somewhere.
The kitchen became quiet as a mouse.
Elliot began to lecture in his characteristic deep voice.
“The Master has always been like that. Speaking ill of him behind his back without knowing him well is by no means a commendable attitude for a servant of this house.”
“S-Sorry, Head Butler.”
In the heavy atmosphere, the servants cautiously exited the kitchen, watching his expression.
“Uh, I have some work to do, so I’ll be excused first.”
“Ah. Me too! Let’s go together!”
Elliot, left alone, was lost in thought.
‘The Master seems very tired these days. One of the young ladies should return soon.’
Did his prayers get through?
A few days later, the good news arrived that the eldest daughter, Adel, had passed the knight exam at the top of her class.
Along with the news that she was returning home with soldiers.
‘Adel! You’re finally coming back.’
I looked out the window and laughed like a man possessed.
In my mind, the image of her proudly swinging a sword at me since her childhood surfaced.
‘You are more than a biological daughter to me. I look forward to seeing how you’ve grown.’
The day I would meet her again was not far off.
My fists clenched involuntarily.