I Defeated the Guide Angel and I Became a Necromancer ~ I Feel Like I'm Playing a Different Game from Everyone Else, but I'm Doing Fine ~ - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: A Girl Named Mayumi Nanase

◆ Mayumi Nanase, a little backstory ◆

As the Nanase Corporation’s only daughter, I was born to be a natural winner in life. Ever since I was young, I could obtain anything in the world if I simply said, “I want this, or I want that”.
I had no lack of anything since I was blessed with good looks. My lovely blonde hair and well-proportioned face was akin to a doll’s. I wasn’t content with herself unless I was the best at everything. Academics, sports, I continued to stand out by taking the number one spot in every field. I made everyone realize that I was a shining star, that I was someone special. The envious gazes from others made me feel content. Until she came along.

Amane Rindo. I encountered her when I entered junior high.

Similar to me, Amane Rindo excelled in both penmanship and sportsmanship. Although her grades were always a step behind compared to mine, she garnered the most attention. Even though I was at the top.

She had short black hair in the style of a bob cut. Androgynous features decorated her attractive profile. Her slightly low-toned voice was soft and gentle. However, it was not only her voice that was gentle, but her heart as well. No matter who it was, she treated everyone equally and with consideration. It was almost as if… she was a prince. Jealousy… filled me to the brim.

“…That’s all. This is how the schedule for this year’s ski trip is going to look so don’t forget to prepare in advance…”

The junior high school we attended had a week long ski camp held for the 7th graders. Naturally, I was quite fond of skiing so I didn’t need to participate in this training camp… was what I’d thought but I realized this was my chance. An opportunity to show everyone that I could do everything better than Amane Rindo and that I was superior. Amane Rindo had told those around her that she was a beginner when it came to skiing. If I show them all how graceful and elegant my skills are, I’ll draw their attention towards me. With those thoughts in mind, I decided to participate.

◆　◆　◆

“Well then, get into your groups please. Those of you who already know how to ski, make sure to support the instructors in each group and help out your inexperienced peers, okay?”

I was in the same group as Amane Rindo and was the only student with experience skiing in the group so I was placed in a position where I had to give everyone else various tips. I really don’t want to though? However, the idea that I wouldn’t teach them because I couldn’t teach them got on my nerves as well so I taught them.

First was how to stop, how to fall when all else falls, how to slide, etcetera.

“…Wow! Thanks to Mayumi-sama’s help, I’m getting a lot better at skiing!”

“I-Is that so.”

As I was teaching, Amane Rindo had gotten the hang of skiing before I knew it. She was able to go through the course for beginners with stability and skied on the intermediate course with ease… This was the moment my competitive spirit flared up.

“Well, I can ski on an advanced course! Just watch me!”

“B-But Sensei said the advanced course was off-limits.”

“They said not to go over there, Mayumi-sama!”

“It’s dangerous!”

“Be quiet! I’ll show you all what I can do.”

I shouldn’t have gone through with it. This was the beginning of the biggest mistake I’ll ever make in my entire life.

“… O-Oh? The wind is kind of strong…”

As I progressed towards the advanced course, the wind gradually got stronger. Still, the weather was predicted to be fine when we went through preliminary checks earlier. We were told that the winds would be calm and that it would be a pleasant trip which is why this was merely a temporary contemplation. Thus, I began sliding down the advanced course.

I started off perfect, I cleanly traversed the jumps and just like that, I effortlessly skied down… and down… …when all of a sudden, my vision became blurred in pure white.

“… T-This is a bit of a problem. They won’t be able to see if I’ll ski properly from way up there…”

At the time, I had never imagined that the net that was used to block off the deviation in the course was removed because another skier had a tumbling accident with it. I skied into a completely different track and not to mention, I was now lost…

“… I-It’s so cold… Ah…!”

As I continuously skied downwards, the slope never seemed to end until my skis completely broke and I crashed. I’d failed to realize that the earlier jump had partially damaged my skis. On this snowy mountain… I had lost my means of transportation as well as a way to confirm my location.
And in the moment that I had recognized that… I was engulfed in dread. The pressure from the winds only grew stronger, the snowsquall turned into a blizzard, and I was alone against this mountain of snow.

“… S-Someone, anyone…!!! Ow…!?”

No matter how hard I shouted and cried out, my voice was drowned out under the intensity of the blizzard. Furthermore, my right leg had struck a big sharp stone buried in the snow during my tumble not long ago. I was unable to move anything below my right knee and couldn’t help but turn pale due to my current predicament.

“…Ah!! There you are, Mayumi-sama!!!”

Just then, a prince appeared for someone like me. They weren’t riding on a white horse or anything, but a prince clad in white from the snow, came looking for me.

“The wind suddenly picked up and I lost sight of you! I chased after you and the last thing I saw was you skiing down this way so I figured you were here… Ah, you can’t move your leg?”

“Shut up…! I can move it… Kyaaa!?”

“Don’t force yourself to move, you’ll only hurt yourself even more… It’ll be bad if we stay here any longer so grab on!”

“…”

What a disgrace. I felt like I was being patronized by the person I wanted to look down on the most, Amane Rindo. Still, it was better than… being stuck here. I was about to have this prince take me down all the way to the ground-level but when I looked around… I finally realized the situation we were in.

“I can’t tell which way’s which anymore but if I remember correctly, when I was looking from up top, there should be a small building over here. I’m not sure if we’re even moving in a straight line, but it should be this way…”

White. White. White. Tree. Tree. Tree. Tree… Where are we? Which way was down? I could no longer tell. The terrain had been altered from the accumulated snow. I couldn’t see the landscape and my sense of direction was getting disorientated. It was only then that I’d realize that a complete disaster had strucken us.

“Ah…! We found it! There has to be someone… here…”

In the midst of it all, we continued onwards in accordance with Amane Rindo’s memory and it really existed. A small building, or rather, it was so worn down that it wouldn’t be right to call it a building. It was a small wooden hut.

“… A net to block off the course…? This is the place they use to store spare equipment… isn’t it…”

It was a storehouse full of reserve equipment for the ski lodge. The door had been unlatched and was now missing. Snow had found a way in and the inside of the hut was dark due to the lack of electricity. Above all else, it was filthy. It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned or tidied up in ages and all the equipment was covered in snow, making it difficult to find your footing.

“Let’s wait here for help to arrive.”

“I hate it, it’s all dirty… ow…”

“We can’t go anywhere else with your foot like that. Let me see it. I play sports with lots of injuries so I at least know a bit of first aid.”

“…”

I hate this. Everything about this. I hated all of it, hated everything. I hated it so much I wanted to scream and run away. Even though I skied on the advanced course to show off my good qualities, here I am, exposing my unsightly self and in addition to that, having Amane Rindo, the bright prince who was more popular than me, administer first aid…? There’s no way I wouldn’t feel unbearably bitter about it.

However, the girl named Amane Rindo, paid no heed to my feelings… and began examining the condition of my right foot. It’s beyond vexing but I no longer have the strength to resist.

“… The spot you hit seems okay… but you twisted your ankle… With the way your ankle’s swelling, it might possibly be fractured… Come sit down here, I’ll find something you can use.”

“Y-You mean, something to use, from here…?”

“That’s right, oh here we go. It’s just some curing tape but… we can at least fixate your foot. If that area’s swollen, it’s usually more than just a simple sprain.”

“No.. way. It’s unsanitary. I don’t… Ouchh…!!!”

Disregarding my words, Amane Rindo coiled the tape around my ankle to stabilize it. It hurts. I feel miserable. It’s cold. It’s filthy here. I hate it all…

“…Did you think you’d actually become a prince or something if you helped me!? I don’t like you, not one bit!! I hate this and I hate you most of all!!! You stand out way more than I do and everyone always says “Amane-san this and Amane-san that!!!!” I’m better, I’m supposed to be above you!!!”

Ultimately, I exploded and spewed out everything I had normally thought. I insulted my benefactor, the one who helped me, with the worst things I could think of and laid all my emotions bare.

“…Because you’re too perfect, no one knows how to approach you. If we’re the stars, then you are the sun, Mayumi-sama. You’re absolute, the one and only. Ahh, I wish I could shine as bright as you, but I don’t even come close. That’s why everyone settles for me, someone they can still stand close to. I’m just everyone’s compromise for you.”

After all that, Amane Rindo responded in calm. In that moment, something that dwelled inside me completely broke, overflowed, and became uncontrollable.

“…AaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!!!!!!!!!”

I bawled like a child. The memory of Amane Rindo, embracing me, gently stroking my head in that moment remains vivid… even now, I’ll never forget it.

◆　◆　◆

Despite crying so much that I tired myself out and stopped, the blizzard did not cease. Time was ticking away and the sun had likely set already. The cold would only get much more severe, yet the two of us were merely bundled in ski wear. On top of that, after exercising… our sweat-drenched ski wear would only rob the heat away from us, causing our body temperature to gradually drop.

“Mayumi-sama.”

“Mayumi… just call me Mayumi.”

“Then, Mayumi-san. Are you cold? You should put this on. It might be dirty but it’s better than nothing.”

“… If you say so.”

“Amane, call me that too.”

“Do as you please… Amane-san…”

Amane-san searched the storehouse for any equipment that could be of use and brought them over. A tattered cloth, a folded net, a thin quilt covered in dust that was found hanging on some kind of machine. She gathered everything she could find, and cleaned them all off to the best of her ability.

“It won’t be enough for the two of us, so let’s do it this way.”

“Eh, ah, wait…!”

“This way, it’s a lot warmer.”

Amane-san draped a quilt and some other things over me and hugged me from behind, as if she was blanketing me. She also put her own ski jacket over me and said she wouldn’t want my ski wear to get dirty.

“… It’d be nice if help arrived.”

“Indeed…”

Because of what happened earlier, I felt so awkward that I couldn’t bring myself to start a conversation but… Amane-san would always try to bring up topics for us and it was long before I had started to open up about myself…

“…That’s why I told him! The Nanase Corporation is being too afraid of pursuing new business ventures! Goodness, father never listens to me!”

“…Lots of people are involved in the company so they’re being careful.”

“…Ojou-samas have this image of being able to play the violin attached to them and if I didn’t know how, it would ruin my image for everyone around me so I was practically forced to learn how to play the violin better even though I was never that good with the violin in the first place! Seriously, I can’t take it anymore!!!”

“…Ahahahah, that must be rough.”

I was talking with Amane-san so much that I forgot about the time as well as the pain in my foot.

“… I wonder why I couldn’t have gotten to know you sooner, Amane-san.”

“But we have this opportunity today because of that so let’s just look on the bright side and think ‘I’m glad we opened up to each other today.’”

“Yeah, you’re right… Hey? Can I call you Acchan?”
“Ah, you’re warming up to me pretty quick, aren’t you? I don’t mind though since I’ll be calling you, Mayumi, then.”

Unfortunately, we had failed to notice that the ceiling was giving way due to the the snow piling up from the blizzard.

“Sure, sounds good to me…? Hmm…? Just now, something just fell…”
“Mayumi!!! Get down!!!!!”

That was the last time Acchan and I spoke to each other. I didn’t remember what happened after that, not a single thing.

◆　◆　◆

“…Amane Rindo still hasn’t regained consciousness.”

I was the first to wake up. After that happened, a search party was sent as soon as the blizzard had stopped. They took a chance and thought that we might’ve taken shelter in the hut since it was close to where we were last seen. We were rescued from the collapsed hut and transported to the hospital.

“…She’ll be okay, right?”

“We don’t know but we’ve done all we can…”

Acchan fell unconscious when the wood from the crumbling ceiling hit her head. I woke up four days after the accident, but she still has yet to open her eyes. Even though I’ve come to visit her every day, she remains unconscious.

“I’ll come again…”

…It’s already been a month, however.

“Yes, please visit her again.”

The doctor escorted me out of Acchan’s hospital room. Her parents said,

“It’s an honor for us to have our daughter be useful and protect the daughter of the esteemed Nanase Corporation.”

I knew that wasn’t their true feelings. It’s obvious. They must’ve been thinking why their own daughter was in that condition and why I was the one who was saved. Without a doubt, they probably resented me from the bottom of their hearts. I wouldn’t even blame them if they wanted me dead.
“…”

There was a large empty hole in my heart. For the first time in my life, I thought I’d met someone who I could call a best friend but I lost it all in an instant and now there’s nothing. An emptiness that has fallen out from my heart.
Her parents must be feeling it, ten times, a hundred times, worse. What right did I have to be visiting her? It’s pure selfishness. I’m just being selfish, selfish, selfish. It’s my own selfishness…

“M-Mayumi-ojousama!!”

…Suddenly, the doctor from before yelled out my name in a loud voice. As I turned around in bewilderment, I could see that the doctor had a slight smile. Please.

“Amane-san has regained consciousness!!”

“I-I’m heading there right now, kyaa!?”

“Are you okay!?”

“I can walk on my own, this is nothing!!”

My hopes turned out to be true. Acchan… Acchan woke up. I started running and tripped, forgetting about my broken right foot but even so, I rushed to Acchan’s room and there she was… Acchan, her eyes were open… please, look at me…

“Ah… Mayumi…? It’s Mayumi… Thank goodness, you’re alive…”

She only called out my name and that was enough to overwhelm me with emotion… I almost burst into tears…

“…You. You forgot our faces but only remember Mayumi-ojousama’s…?”

“Amane, you really don’t remember your mother…?”

“I’m… sorry. Forgive me… but I really can’t… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…!”

In a single turn of events, we were shocked, then succumbed to despair.

“Amane-ojousama still seems to be in a state of confusion, so please remain calm for now…”

“… Ah, ahh. We’ll come back later.”

“Yes… okay…”

Acchan, doesn’t remember anyone… aside from me.

◆　◆　◆

“Acchan, did you quit the volleyball club?”

“Eh… ah… yeah… I wonder why I joined it in the first place. Umm, well now I think it’s… not really for me…”

“Is that so…? Oh right, your parents asked me to take care of you for a while, so you can come and stay with me starting today, Acchan.”

“Ueh..? Okay… It’s a bit unpleasant being around those people… but being with Mayumi… calms me down.. eheheh…”

“Indeed! I feel relaxed around you too, Acchan. Oh, I know, you’re going to Rokumeikan Academy for high school too, right? After you settle down in that private school for a while, you could move to the dorms and little by little, you’ll be able to look after yourself again”

“Right… got it…”

…On that day, I killed the prince known as Amane Rindo. This was the one and only mistake in my life that couldn’t be undone.

“Hey…”

“What’s wrong?”

“… Will you be my best friend, forever?”

“…! Of course! You bet I will! I promise!”

“Eheh, then let’s always be friends…?”

“Sure thing!”

Amane Rindo’s personality completely shifted. She was now gloomy, shy, and introverted. Her memories regarding her parents had not returned and in the end, they told her that she was not the daughter that they knew. They abandoned her and forced her on me, saying that the responsibility falls on me since it was entirely my fault. As soon as we paid her parents in compensation and took custody of Amane Rindo…they disappeared. According to our informant, they were spending their time abroad, living in luxury.
Amane Rindo no longer had anyone in her life but me. I have to get my act together. If I, Mayumi Nanase can’t support her, she won’t… The Nanase Corporation is currently in a difficult spot and if it stays that way, I won’t be able to support Acchan. Things have to change.

“… I will always be there to support you.”

“Hmm…? Is something… wrong…?”

“Not at all! I just wanted to hear myself say that!”

From that day onwards, I quit being the selfish daughter and began to seriously confront the role of management in the Nanase Corporation. In addition, I started to approach everything with more earnestness than ever before. I sought out help from others whenever it was necessary and borrowed wisdom from those who knew far more about business than I did. Then…as we entered high school, the Nanase Corporation grew beyond mere revitalization and rose to the top…

◆ A certain day, soon after that… ◆

…Once this project settles down, I should make some time to relax with Acchan.

“Excuse me, Ojou-sama, these documents are…ah”

“… What is this?”

“P-Pardon me!!”

“I’m asking you what this is all about.”

Just as I was thinking of taking a break, more work came up… was what I’d thought but there was information about a game or something mixed in. Its tagline said “The adventure full of freedom in the world of Meltis, all for you.” Freedom, huh… If I could actually get my hands on that, It is something that I did wish for.

“I-It’s releasing next week, a game called Meltis Online…”

“The fact that this is here means that you watched the PV for it, right? Try to think of me as a regular co-worker and explain to me in an interesting manner.”

“… This is simply amazing and what’s so incredible about it is, that’s right, it’s open world! You can go anywhere you set your sights on and play around with anything you want. You get to explore an enormous and vast different world! Up until now, the feedback to your five senses has been difficult to perfect in online games but you can get the full body experience and freely enjoy another world in this game! If you want to, you can travel, fight, or just walk around and try out all the food. It’s an entirely customizable experience with a myriad of choices that allows you to have your own personal adventure!!!!”

Instead of simply having the role of introducing new products, I feel like this guy should join this company as someone in a position to make presentations. Oh right, there was a better spot for this guy, the game development department.

“You, do you have any desire to transfer to the game development department?”

“Eh!?!? Can I really!?”

“Then, I’ll allow it… You seem better suited for that kind of stuff.”

“Thank you very much!!!!!!!!!”

“You’re so noisy…”

Anyways, Meltis Online, huh… Should I try it out with Acchan? I wonder how you play…eh!? You have to wait half a year just for the right to play? You’re kidding me!? I’ll have to wait half a year in order to have an adventure with Acchan!? No, no way! If I use my influence, I should be able to skip over that half-year wait… but how am I going to get a dive machine to Acchan? Eh? If I just said, here’s a present~ and handed over something that cost hundreds of thousands of yen, she’d definitely be taken aback…

“Hey, before all that, let me ask you something and if you come up with a good idea, I’ll go through with the offer I gave earlier.”

“O-Okay!”

“… Is there a way I can give a VR dive machine to a friend of mine? It can’t be a present from me, she would never accept something like that. I’ll use any and every method necessary.”

“… Maybe, you can make it, like, a prize from a raffle or something.”

“There’s no way something so cliche… wait… hm… I see… Alright, transfer approved.”

“Thank you!!!!!”

That’s right, Acchan really loved gothic lolita stuff and even subscribed to a magazine from GOSICK & LOLITA. I’ll ask the designers over there to create a bunch of designs that Acchan would be into, have her enter the raffle and be like, “I won the top prize…!!” or so I hope that’s how it’ll turn out. This would take around 2 months so I’ll play first and get used to the game, then Acchan will join me later… Isn’t this just perfect!? It’s flawless! This is it! This is definitely the play!

Let’s do it! I’ll work as hard as I can today, for Acchan’s sake and for my free time!