Gem of Ahlia.
It was the name of my favorite game.
A masterpiece of an otome game.
People were drawn to its complex action and romance mechanics, its vast explorable map, and its numerous main and side quests that felt endless.
I can still remember how loudly I laughed when I completed the game for the first time. I was having so much fun. I felt like a hero, even though it was just a pixelated game.
And maybe because I loved the game so much...
...I ended up reincarnated into its world after I passed away on Earth.
"Theo, are you sure you have everything prepared?"
When I was tying my shoes, my mother in this life asked me again. It was already the fifth time she had asked me that same question.
"Don't worry, I have everything inside my bag," I replied, shaking the bag a little to show her how heavy it had become.
"I see. That's good then. Good luck at the Graduation Ceremony~!"
I nodded and exited the house.
When I looked up, I was greeted by a sight no one from Earth would believe. A metal, floating city, suspended by four massive chains.
The city was called the City of Sky by this world's inhabitants. The first floating city in the world.
That was where the Academy was located — the place where the main plot of the game first developed. And today was the day my seniors, the third-year students, graduated.
"I'll just participate normally, then go home like usual," I muttered, smiling at the sky.
My new name is Theo Roost.
I was born a noble's child. But then my father was accused of poisoning the king of the Tarram Kingdom's breakfast and was executed. The king then turned his anger on the Roost family, which ended with my mother fleeing the country and starting a new life with me in this city, the Dungeon City.
Just like in the game, some people in this world are born with innate magic. Some possess the power to wield flames, while others can teleport, fly, or even shrink their size at will.
As luck would have it, I was one of those blessed children. I was born with a magic that could tweak the effect of gravity on a target. For convenience, I simply called it Levitation.
Reincarnated, and blessed with cool magic. Who wouldn't be happy? Who wouldn't rejoice over that fate?
I was happy.
Before I found a fatal flaw in this world.
Ahlia, the protagonist of this world, was never born. Dungeon City was supposed to be her birthplace. I knew her father's and mother's names, even their house location. After all, I had played the game. Yet, I couldn't find her. In her place, another girl was born instead — one without Magic. The complete opposite of Ahlia, who had the most special Magic ever seen: Gem Resonance. A magic to communicate with and unleash the true power of elemental gems — gems that dropped from slaying monsters in a Dungeon, which was the main focus of the current era.
In the military, there were modified gunpowder guns, with the gunpowder replaced by elemental gems — Gemguns.
In civilian life, cars started using elemental gems as fuel. And more, and more.
However, as they say, nothing good comes without a consequence. The Dungeons would later reveal themselves as higher beings beyond human comprehension. They were almost like gods. And they immediately started to slay humans the moment they awakened.
Ahlia could stop them through negotiation, or by developing a weapon from studying elemental gems that was powerful enough to kill a Dungeon. All with her magic. And without it, neither option was available.
In short, Ahlia was a very important figure.
But she was non-existent in this world.
...
I was despaired at first.
I began trying to find a way to replace Ahlia's existence and prevent the world from being destroyed by the Dungeons in the future. I had analyzed every plot, every detail, every conversation of the game's characters that I could still remember. Unfortunately, I found nothing.
The Dungeons revealed themselves abruptly in the latter part of the game. No character could have expected them to be sentient all this time. They struck like a literal natural disaster. Overwhelming, cruel, and sudden.
I had questioned myself for years since I'd realized Ahlia's absence. Why had I even been reincarnated in this world if the world would end in the near future? What was the point of my existence?
No one except myself could know how depressed I was at that time. Fortunately, though, I had my mother. She clearly didn't believe what I said, but she told me that if the world would actually end, then I wouldn't face it alone. Everyone would face it with me.
Which made me realize the answer to all my questions was simple.
If nothing could be done to prevent it, then why bother?
So I stopped thinking about it after that.
I enjoyed my life as much as I could. I even enrolled in the Academy because I was curious how everything would turn out without Ahlia.
Maybe some things would become better? Or become worse?
And then I saw the answer.
I was watching the ceremony from the sidelines like any other student at that time.
The professors were congratulating our graduating seniors at the podium, calling and praising the names of our seniors one after another with their proud, profound voices.
Everything was normal, until a man with short blue hair suddenly raised his arm to attract everyone's attention.
The ceremony was paused. They couldn't just ignore him, because he was the Crown Prince of the Fazaar Empire, the future emperor of the strongest country in the world.
The Academy was not weak, but they still had to give him some face and at least hear what he wanted to say.
However, what he said at that moment was something I never expected to hear.
"Tizmilly Fallburn!"
With a shrill voice, he called his fiancée who was standing among her own followers.
"Today, I, Agraviel Fin Fazaar, state! Today, at this very moment, I announce the cancellation of our engagement!"
With a disgusted expression on his face, he pointed his finger toward the beauty in a black-red dress.
"I've grown tired of your vile behavior!"
He then started to list every 'sin' Tizmilly had committed until now. He said it all like a detective who had finally cornered a suspect.
My focus, though, was drawn to the unknown short pink-haired girl who was standing beside him while he was speaking to the crowd. The implication was crystal clear.
The details were slightly different from what I once saw in the game, but the result was the same.
Tizmilly lost her identity as the fiancée of the Empire's Crown Prince, and her family also abandoned her, erasing her name from their family lineage.
Her fall came so unexpectedly that I was shocked the entire time the event unfolded. When I came back to reality, Tizmilly had already lost everything except the dress she was wearing at that moment, since the Academy wouldn't allow them to go that far.
Her empty eyes when she saw her family, friends, and followers leave her reminded me of myself in my past life.
I knew the truth. Tizmilly never did everything they accused her of. It was all her followers' initiatives. She never ordered them.
I remember that I was irritated at that time.
At the Crown Prince, at Tizmilly's family, and at those who had used Tizmilly's name to bully others but fled the moment they realized the ship was sinking.
Even at the world.
I mean, what do you mean the protagonist of this world is non-existent? Without the Hero, wasn't the world doomed?
Out of spite, I approached her.
An idea formed by my past self's failure and my current self's identity appeared in my head.
In front of her, who was staring at the empty hall with her lifeless eyes, I bowed and extended my palm.
"My lady, instead of mourning that useless man, how about we open a restaurant together?"