Chapter 5: The Final Event is Here!

Finally... at last. The time had come. It was now the night before our second-year seniors graduated — the night before the graduation ceremony. Alone in my dormitory chambers, I balled my fingers into a fist.

I had finally, finally... reached this point. The end of Fortune Lover, the last event... the graduation ceremony at the Academy of Magic.

A year would have passed since the commoner protagonist, intermingling with her noble peers, enrolled and studied in the Academy of Magic. She would have furthered her studies, fallen in love with someone her age or a senior in the Student Council, and with the graduation of her second-year seniors, the game would end.

At the graduation ceremony, the protagonist and love interest character would finally gain a meaningful connection. There was, of course, the reverse harem route... in which she ends up with all the romanceable options.

Though I had safely overcome the Public Prosecution of Katarina Claes, I still had to be wary, not letting my guard down until the game ended. Honestly, though... I could hardly see myself being chased out or cut down by any of these people. After all, they were now my important, close friends. But even so. I had to keep my guard up right until the end.

I was armed with our greatest work — the toy snake that Grandpa Tom and I had designed and perfected, in my pocket. And if I were ever exiled from the kingdom, I would be ready. I had already prepared my farming overalls, my favorite hoe, books on agriculture, and various other tools. The intensity of my swordplay had been a topic of conversation as of late, too.

I had the perfected, ultimate projectile snake... and the technique to quickly launch it. With the guidance of Mary and her green thumb, the crops I grew no longer wilted, and instead thrived. And day after day, without fail, I toiled away at the fields, honing my skill with the hoe.

Since my memories of my previous life came back to me on that fateful day, eight years ago, I have worked hard. Now, it was finally time to put my skills to the test.

If you’re coming for me... then show me what you’ve got, Catastrophic Bad Ends! I, Katarina Claes, with her eight years of hard work, will be your opponent! I raised my balled fist to the air.

And so... I let my fighting spirit burn wild — only to be interrupted by a knock at the door. Anne soon entered the room.

“Young miss. I do recall you saying that you had wished to personally prepare the flower bouquet for Master Nicol... It is to be handed to him tomorrow, congratulating him on his graduation. Have you made the necessary preparations?” Anne said, eyeing me suspiciously as she did so. I, for my part, still had my fist raised in the air.

In this particular academy, there was a custom of giving a congratulatory gift to a graduating senior, usually one that has been helpful and offered guidance. Not too different from a custom in the school I attended in my previous life. I intended to personally hand Nicol his gift. After all, he had been very helpful, in more ways than one.

Traditionally, these celebratory gifts were often flower bouquets. There were occasionally gifts of bouquets with particularly valuable accessories in them, or in some cases items with actual money, but such gifts were usually only given if they shared a particularly special bond.

I’d thought to myself that all I’d have to do is arrange a simple bouquet of flowers. But then I’d realized: Nicol, the Alluring Count, was quite the popular individual. In fact, one of his fanclubs was probably the largest in the academy. He would probably receive countless bouquets.

In which case... he probably didn’t need any more. And anyway, receiving a flower bouquet like that meant that extra effort had to be taken to preserve the flowers... and bouquets didn’t serve much of a purpose other than being a decorative item. And so, I had prepared something... special.

With that in mind, I proudly showed Ann what I had prepared. At a first glance, the item in question appeared to be a beautifully-wrapped bouquet. But upon closer inspection, it was definitely different.

“Well? Ingenious, right?”

“...”

Ah, such a great idea! I really am quite the genius!

With this, the preparations for Nicol’s congratulatory gift are complete! The Catastrophic Bad End countermeasures are in place!

“...Um. Young miss... what exactly is...”

Tomorrow was the day! The final battle!

“...Excuse me... young miss? Are you listening?”

Once again, I rose my fist high, raising it triumphantly to the ceiling.

And so, I ended up staying up very late on the night before the final battle.

The graduation ceremony was much like the intake ceremony I experienced earlier in the year. The representative of the graduating students was Nicol himself. Originally, that role belonged to Sirius Dieke, but not much could be done about it now that he was no longer a student at the academy.

Regardless of gender, I found that many people in the crowd had turned red and were sighing in a bittersweet fashion at Nicol’s graduation address. They had all been thoroughly charmed by the Alluring Count. What truly terrifying charm indeed.

Jeord, meanwhile, was the representative for students yet to graduate from the academy. It would seem that he would become student council president next year. I observed a similar reaction amongst many of the female students as the prince gave his address. Their faces were red, and a cacophony of sighs could be heard. As expected of the handsome fairy-tale-esque prince.

With that, the student addresses peacefully concluded amongst the sighs of the crowd.

It was finally time. To me, this was it — the final frontier. The Ending Event of Fortune Lover was finally under way.

It was time for the graduation party. With the ceremony over, many students attended a standing buffet party in the academy’s courtyard. In this graduation party, the protagonist and her love interest would sneak out of the venue quietly... and finally make clear their impassioned thoughts for each other, forming an everlasting connection.

I decided to closely observe Maria’s movements so that I could discern who she would sneak out of the venue with. With that goal in mind, I stuck even closer to her, closer than I normally would.

However, I couldn’t simply stay close to Maria and do nothing else — after all, this was a graduation party. I had to say a few congratulatory words to my seniors, at the very least. Of course, the senior I wanted to congratulate the most was Nicol, and I had to hand him his congratulatory bouquet.

Maria and I made our way over to where he stood. By the time we got there, Nicol was already holding quite a sizable number of bouquets. In fact, there was also a small stand set up next to him where many other bouquets now lay.

There were... a lot more than I expected. The sheer number of them was stunning. Many congratulations were apparently in order.

Maria was first to hand over her flowers. Although the bouquet that she had prepared was by no means expensive, it was charming and lovable — a fantastic bouquet very much reminiscent of Maria’s tastes.

Next, I stepped up, handing Nicol the special bouquet I had prepared. Taking a glance at what appeared to be flowers, Nicol smiled — that rare, wonderful smile of his. Upon taking a closer look at the bouquet, however, he suddenly froze mid-motion.

Noticing Nicol’s strange behavior, Alan, who had been standing next to him all this time, leaned over for a closer look. “Oi, what’s wrong... pfft! What!? WHAT IS THIS? GRASS!?” Alan exclaimed, and soon his loud voice drew the attention of Jeord and Keith.

I, however, responded to Alan tersely. “How rude! Grass? How could that be? They are vegetables, vegetables!”

“...Vegetables?” Alan repeated, seemingly shocked. He leaned over once more, presumably to give the bouquet a closer look.

Nicol, too, started inspecting the bouquet he held in his hands. Jeord and Keith remained standing some distance away, as if to observe the flow of events.

“I thought you might be troubled by all the bouquets you would get, so I wrapped up some vegetables from my field instead. With this, it won’t be just some decoration you throw away! You can eat them, too, and they’ll fill your stomach!”

Not a flower bouquet, no! I name this invention the veggie bouquet! At this time of the year my fields didn’t exactly have many leafy greens, so the center of the bouquet was mainly comprised of onions, chives, garlic and the like. Perhaps it was a little grass-like, but unlike grass, these crops could be eaten and indeed would fill one’s stomach! Truly good produce.

Oh, what a superb idea! At the very least, I felt that it was a great idea, and was full of praise for myself. However...

“...No matter how I look at it... it’s grass, isn’t it...? Veggies? Really...? Pu...” For some reason, Alan had lost it, and was currently laughing his head off.

What, exactly, is so funny? How rude of you, Alan.

Nicol, finally having snapped out of his frozen trance, managed to respond at last. “Thank you. I shall... treasure. This meal.”

Maria seemed to have high praise for the bouquet too. “It does look very delicious.”

Meanwhile, Jeord was once again staring at the ground, his shoulders shaking. Keith, on the other hand, gave me his usual, exasperated stare.

With this, the party had moved on to its final phases before I had even noticed it. Honestly, I was somewhat panicked and nervous at this point, because Maria had displayed no attempts to leave the venue whatsoever.

Even stranger was how there was now a performance going on — some sort of surprise event to commemorate the graduation of our seniors, I was told. But... a violin duet between Jeord and Alan? Eh? Do you two even care about sneaking out with Maria at all? What is this sudden merry performance all about?

However, it was amazing that the day would come where those two would perform happily together, and that they would get along. Hmm. Was there even a scene like that in the game?

Even more confusing was how the two of them had asked me prior to the ceremony what songs I liked to listen to. I didn’t understand what they were going on about, but... isn’t this the song that I just haphazardly selected? Why would I, of all people, who has nothing to do with the graduation ceremony at all, be asked to select the songs being played...?

Hmm... The more I thought about it, the more confused I got. There were too many differences with the original scenario of Fortune Lover. Maria was no exception, even saying “To be able to spend all of today by Lady Katarina’s side... I truly am happy.”

Well... I suppose it’s good that Maria is pleased. But... Maria! Don’t you have a romantic interest in mind?

Ho! Or perhaps... she’s gone for the reverse harem route, and has already formed connections with everyone else here!

I never personally cleared the reverse harem route, and so I don’t know anything about that particular ending. But if what Acchan said is true, I think Katarina does meet a Catastrophic Bad End in this one too...

Ugh, what is it going to be!? Is it really a reverse harem, Maria? Or are you going to choose someone from now!?

Panic, panic, panic... I couldn’t restrain myself. I couldn’t wait any longer.

“Hey... Maria. Do you have anyone you like?” A straightforward question here was the way to go.

At my sudden question, Maria seemed extremely surprised, her face soon turning bright red. “I... really admire you, Lady Katarina...” Maria said, in the most innocent fashion possible.

“...Um, Maria. While I am very glad that you think so highly of me... I don’t mean that. I am referring to... you know. Someone who has caught your fancy, a man who you want to date, right? That’s what I meant.” I made sure to be painstakingly clear with my question this time.

“...Caught my fancy... a man... who I would like to date...” Maria mumbled the words under her breath, as if giving them deep thought. I stood by her faithfully, holding my breath as I watched over her.

Quickly, now! Tell me, Maria! Which of these potential love interests is it?

“...I don’t think there is anyone like that, Lady Katarina.”

“...Ha...?” Maria’s answer caught me off-guard, and a somewhat pathetic sound arose from the depths of my throat. Eh? What? Did she just say that... there isn’t anyone like that?

Maria, however, continued concisely and confidently in spite of my confusion. “There are no men who have... caught my fancy, Lady Katarina. But... someone did. She is someone I deeply admire. Someone whom I would like to be with forever — you, Lady Katarina.” With that, Maria grasped both my hands in hers. “So... please, Lady Katarina. Let me continue being with you... from here on out.”

Those are words that I’ve heard somewhere before... hmm. Ah, right. Those are the protagonist’s final words to the successfully romanced love interest character. “Let me continue being with you... from here on out.”

But then... why me? I don’t get it. I don’t understand. Panic!

Suddenly, another hand approached ours. “Lady Maria... it simply won’t do, leaving us out like that. I, too, would like to remain with Lady Katarina forever.”

Saying so, I found my hands taken into Mary’s and away from Maria’s. Mary was smiling elegantly.

“M-Me too! Me too, Lady Katarina! I want to be with you... forever!” Sophia said, visibly excited, as she stood next to Mary.

“Well... then. I, as well. As much as I would be permitted to.” Nicol chimed in too, with his usually stoic expression.

Before I knew it, Alan, who had apparently finished his duet at some point, showed up as well. “Th-Then! Me too, yeah?”

“Ah, everyone. What are you saying? Katarina is my fiancée, after all.” Saying so, Jeord snatched my hands out of Mary’s... only for them to be intercepted by yet another pair of mysterious hands in the process.

“Prince Jeord. I believe we have discussed this countless times prior, but my adoptive sister is hardly cut out for the role of Queen. Please, do cancel the engagement. I will take all responsibility for the needs and wants of my adoptive sister,” Keith said, now holding my hands in his.

With that, my surroundings were suddenly enveloped in a cacophony of voices.

“Ah, Keith. How many times have I said it, hmm? I have no intentions of cancelling the engagement. Katarina will become my queen.”

“But I must protest, Prince Jeord. It is unthinkable that you would have my important adoptive sister all to yourself. I will see to it that the engagement is cancelled.”

“It is as he says, Prince Jeord. Having Lady Katarina all to yourself? Unthinkable! We will ensure that the engagement is called off. To that end, I, Mary Hunt, shall lend you my strength, Master Keith.”

“Yes... that’s right,” Sophia piped up. “I wouldn’t want Prince Jeord... to have Lady Katarina all to himself. Please let me help too, Lady Mary... Oh, you should help too, Big Brother.”

“If that is what you desire.”

“Eh? Then I’ll help too!” Alan jumped in.

“I will be of assistance as well! Please, do allow me to assist!” Maria spoke up passionately as well.

“Ah... how terrible, to gang up on me like that. You lot... I will never hand Katarina over.”

Before I knew it, my hands, which had been in Keith’s grasp moments ago, were free. But then... here it was again. This feeling of being excluded from the conversation. I no longer understood what everyone was talking about. It was a little lonely, yes, but their discussion was lively, and everyone looked like they were having fun.

It seemed like everyone was getting along... but this was not love. If it were indeed a reverse harem, things would feel a little different. Come to think of it, the atmosphere changed somewhat the moment Mary and Sophia joined us. While it did feel like I was being slightly excluded from the festivities... it didn’t seem like I was anywhere near a Catastrophic Bad End.

Still confused by recent events, I racked my brain, thinking as hard as I could. Hmm... This... This situation. If I had to put it into words... an ending where everyone became friends? The “Friends Ending”?

The “Friends Ending”... commonly known as the normal end. The protagonist does not end up forming a lasting romantic connection with a potential love interest, and the game ends with everyone simply being good friends. For a game about romance, to get an ending in which the protagonist falls in love with no one was a Bad Ending in some ways.

I didn’t know why Maria said those specific words usually reserved for a love interest... and there were many differences with the friendship ending that I had seen in my previous life. Even so... the happy look on all their faces — it did seem like the “Friends Ending” that I experienced before.

Personally speaking... I’d thought that all the potential love interests would be smitten with Maria. After all, Maria was gentle and lovable. Even the heart of a rival character such as myself would involuntarily skip a beat upon seeing that face of hers — her embarrassed, shy look, with her crimson-tinted cheeks.

And then there was Keith and Jeord, who would often pull me away from Maria whenever we had gotten too close. I had assumed that they were already charmed by her, and were simply jealous of the time we spent together...

This was why I thought that Maria had already formed a connection with someone — if not everyone. And yet... here we are, at the “Friends Ending” instead.

Rival characters didn’t have any ill fates befall them upon the resolution of this particular ending. After all, the game concluded with everyone as friends — nothing more. In other words... I, Katarina Claes, would not have to face a Catastrophic Bad End. I could feel the tension fade from my shoulders — it was as if all the strength in my body had evaporated.

Now fully relaxed, I looked at my friends, who were still merrily having their lively conversation. Before long, we were told that the party had officially ended — and that was that.

And so it came to be that the graduation party, as well as the events of Fortune Lover, came to an uneventful end.

It was an unexpected ending — one that I had not imagined at all. To me, however... it was the best ending I could ask for.

With the graduation party finally over, we made our way to the Student Council Chambers to hold a farewell party for Nicol. While it seemed excessive to have one party after the next, this little gathering was nothing more than partaking in tea and snacks casually while having some light conversation.

We also invited the previous student council president, Raphael, to the farewell party — albeit stealthily, so that the students on campus would not find out. While Raphael was somewhat withdrawn and reserved at first, everyone welcomed him warmly. Being his juniors, we all readied a flower bouquet for him too, which he graciously accepted. He did, however, freeze up a little upon receiving my specially-crafted veggies bouquet, much like Nicol did. Stunned by the sight of my wonderful invention, no doubt.

The student council was together for the first time in what seemed like a long time. I had a lot of fun spending time with everyone.

“Please, Lady Katarina,” Raphael said with a smile as he offered me a cup of tea.

“Thank you very much.” After gratefully accepting the cup, I eagerly raised it to my lips. While it has been quite a while since I’d had the chance to enjoy one of Raphael’s brews, its taste remained unchanged — gentle as ever.

From what I was told, Raphael had been practicing tea-brewing for a long time, apparently always preparing a cup for his tired mother when she returned home from work. He had a calm and peaceful expression on his face as he recounted this to me.

“Lady Katarina... please do try some, if you would like...” Maria said, offering me some snacks.

“Wow! Today’s snacks are exceptionally delicious! I’ve never seen snacks quite like these before, Maria. Are these homemade too?”

It was much like a soft, fluffy sponge cake drizzled with a generous helping of syrup. Just looking at it was enough to make me start drooling. I had never seen a snack like this before amongst Maria’s creations.

“Yes. A new concept, Lady Katarina. Mother and I thought of it together.”

“Oh! With your mother, you say?”

“Yes. I was happily telling her about how you enjoyed my snacks, Lady Katarina, when she asked if you would be bored by having the same kind over and over again... so we thought of a new recipe together.”

“Really? Ah, but I’ll never tire of your homemade snacks, Maria! Never! But yes, I am very happy indeed! Thank you very much for thinking of me. Do pass my thanks along to your mother for me.”

“Yes. I will make sure to do so,” Maria replied, smiling happily.

Having tried one, I quickly came to the conclusion that Maria’s new snack was even more delicious than it looked. I could hardly stop my hands from moving.

“Katarina... if you eat so much all of a sudden, won’t you have yet another stomachache?”

“Exactly, Big Sister. You also had quite a lot to eat... more than most others, I would say, at the graduation party. Do limit yourself...”

So came the swift warnings from Jeord and Keith, as I continued stuffing my face full of snacks. Ugh... they’re both staring straight at me... Just like how Mother does... I suppose they would be similarly annoyed if I got a stomachache from overeating...

Jeord’s deliberate warnings were delivered with a smiling face, while Keith simply looked... worried, continuously reminding me to eat less. I suppose I have no choice. I’ll save some for later. I slowed my snacking speed down — just by a tiny bit.

“Lady Katarina... I purchased a new series of novels recently. It turned out to be a most enjoyable story... if you would like, we could read it together next time,” Sophia said.

She described the new romance novel she had read. It was a story very much relevant to my tastes, and I decided to borrow it from Sophia right away. Yes... yes. I’ll be looking forward to reading this, oh I will. With that, the conversation shifted to that of novels and the like.

“Katarina. I fear I shall not see you for quite some time. I leave my sister in your care,” Nicol said with his usual stoic expression.

“Ah, no, think nothing of it. I’m sure we’ll all continue to get along,” I replied with my best smile... and there it was! Nicol’s alluring smile momentarily flitted across his features once more.

...Yes. Nicol’s alluring charm is fearsome indeed... even for someone like me, who’s known him across the years and built up some resistance to it. My cheeks were already red in spite of myself.

I wouldn’t be able to see Nicol often after he left — at least, not for the next year. It would be a little lonely for me, but I suspected it would be much worse for Sophia, who loved her brother very much.

“Big Brother, do visit often! We have to ensure that you do not fall behind, given that you will be left out of the competition for a year!” Sophia pleaded, apparently hoping that Nicol would visit the academy when able. I didn’t quite understand what the second half of her statement meant, however. In any case, Sophia really did love her older brother.

“Ah, Lady Katarina. Have you already decided what crops to plant next year?”

I was still staring at Sophia, her face full of love and smiles for her dear older brother, when Mary made that inquiry. Hmm... Mary does have a point. It’ll soon be spring. What should I plant this year, indeed... new vegetables of some sort, perhaps? Hmm. It was worth looking forward to.

“I would be glad to assist you this year too, Lady Katarina,” Mary said. With the assistance of Mary and her green thumb, I felt like I had the farming capabilities of a thousand men.

“...Fields, huh... that’s good and all, but. That thing you put on when you do fieldwork... can’t you do something about it? No matter how I look at it, it just makes you look like an old commoner woman,” Alan said.

I had answered this complaint of his many times before. Honestly, I really did like my overalls... they were easy to move in, and were perfectly suitable for agriculture. But when he phrased it like that! I supposed I should make some changes.

“...I understand. I shall make some... alterations.” It was true — the overalls and headscarves that I had been wearing thus far were somewhat plain. And the colors were subdued and boring. Perhaps it was inevitable that wearing them caused me to look like an old woman. Well then, I suppose I could at least include some patterned fabrics in my headscarves in the future!

With my stomach now considerably full, I stepped away from the table, heading instead to a nearby windowsill. Perhaps standing would help with my digestion. Everyone was having fun talking about one thing or another, seemingly content. I couldn’t help but think of the events of the past eight years upon witnessing this scene.

Eight years ago, on the day that I turned eight... the memories of my past life came flooding back to me. It was then that I knew that this was the world of Fortune Lover, and that I had somehow been reincarnated as a villainess rival character who had nothing but Bad Endings in her future. When I’d noticed all that... I thought to myself, How unfortunate for you, Katarina Claes.

However... upon actually living through the experience, I discovered that things were totally different from how they were in the game I played. Jeord, who didn’t care in the slightest about Katarina, was now so close to me. Keith, who originally spent most of his life avoiding his adoptive older sister, was now always with me, and always looking out for me. Even those who the original Katarina was never destined to meet — Mary, Alan, Sophia, Nicol, and Raphael... they were now all my important, dear friends.

In fact, even Maria, the protagonist of the game, who was supposedly Katarina’s arch-rival and the one responsible for many of her Bad Ends... was now an important, close friend of mine.

“Lady Katarina, are you all right...?” Maria asked, seemingly worried at the sight of me absentmindedly rubbing my belly as I stood next to the window.

“I’m fine, Maria. Thanks for asking.”

Back then, I often said to myself... How awful! To be reincarnated as Katarina Claes, the villainess! I really have nothing going for me! However, in the end, not a single one of those Catastrophic Bad Ends ever came to pass. Instead, I now found myself surrounded by many friends who cared for me, looked out for me, and at times offered me their assistance. I had truly made some wonderful friends.

While I didn’t have much in the way of magical capabilities, nor was I good at my studies, my friends never once left my side. They were always there, offering me their support, even when it was painful or difficult.

Now, I felt like I could say it proudly, and as loudly as I could. To be able to cross paths with so many wonderful people... I, Katarina Claes, was truly blessed.

The sun’s warm rays caressed my cheeks, shining through the window... as if heralding the imminent arrival of spring. With this, a new season would sweep across the lands — a new season... beyond the plot and scenarios of Fortune Lover.

The End