I Reincarnated into the World of Otome Game with a Cheat Ability - Chapter 2
My Current Situation
And so, Kenta began his life as Kent.
Looking at my reflection, I remembered seeing a blue-haired male student who looked just like this somewhere in the background of a single scene in the game. He was almost certainly a background "mob" character whose name didn't even officially exist in the setting.
However, it seemed that alongside my own memories, the background settings for this game character had also been uploaded into my head. I tried to organize the memories of this character called "me." That said, these memories felt strictly text-based; no actual scenes or faces came to mind. It was likely just a piece of hidden lore or back-story the creators had written down.
My name is Kent, a second-year student at this school and in the same class as Josette. I live in a house located on the outskirts of the Royal Capital. Both of my parents are deceased, and I have no siblings. I make a living by working at the bakery across the street in between my studies. At least, that's my character setting.
My current living situation seems pretty rough. On the bright side, education here seems to be compulsory, with the state footing the entire bill. The classes are divided evenly, with commoners and nobles mixed together without discrimination. However, judging by the atmosphere in class today, the students are completely split into distinct commoner and noble factions. Additionally, one uniform is provided to each student by the state. The nobles and a few wealthy commoners seem to have their uniforms custom-tailored, as their designs and fabric quality are slightly different. Kent, of course, is wearing the government-issued one.
As a courtesy to the game's players, the letters and numbers used here are the same as those in Japan. The school runs on the exact same system, too: enrollment starts in the spring, followed by the four seasons—summer, autumn, and winter. When spring returns, you advance to the next grade. The highest grade is the third year, after which you graduate. Due to "adult circumstances," the specific ages of the characters aren't defined in the settings; it's strictly based on their school year. In the game, the story begins when the female protagonist enrolls, and the ending is reached after playing through one or two school years.
I decided to review what I needed to do next. Right now, it was after school. It looked like my routine was to head straight home, drop off my things, and go to the bakery across the street. So, Kent went home, put his school bag down, and headed over to the bakery.
"Hello there."
"Welcome back. You're early today."
Greeting me was Marie, the owner of the bakery. I'd guess she was in her late twenties. Her figure was Kent’s absolute ideal—a large chest, a slender waist, and a perfectly shapely backside. Her facial features were well-proportioned and beautiful, but unfortunately, she possessed a fierce artisan spirit and didn't put a single ounce of effort into her appearance or fashion. Originally, the shop was run by Marie's husband, but he passed away from an illness, leaving her to run the place with their daughter, Catherine.
"Welcome back, Onii-chan!"
"Yeah, I'm home."
Catherine was a pre-school-aged girl of about twelve. I figured it would be a few years before she started school. (Since there are no age settings for anyone attending school, including myself, I couldn't be entirely sure.) She had brown hair tied into braided pigtails on both sides.
"Alright, I'll be relying on you again today," Marie said, and Kent got to work.
I started kneading the dough by adding water, salt(?), and some kind of ingredient powder—probably something like wheat flour. Then, I rolled it flat and slid it into the oven to bake. Once baked, we lined up the finished products (which looked completely different from any bread Kenta knew) to be sold. Marie and I split these tasks between us, while Catherine handled the register.
Customers looking for dinner bread started pouring in one after another. This was the busiest time of the day. The tiny bakery was quickly flooded with people. Catherine was working as hard as she could at the counter, but she couldn't keep up with the rush. Kent immediately stepped in to help.
"Thanks, Onii-chan!"
The shop only sold one type of bread, making the math incredibly easy. Each loaf was 50G, so all I had to do was multiply that by the number of loaves. Since it was simple math, I could calculate the totals instantly and ring up the customers without delay.
"Wow, Onii-chan, since when were you so fast at math?" Catherine asked, looking up at me in surprise.
I wondered briefly how the original Kent used to handle it... but my hands were so full dealing with the crowd that the thought quickly slipped from my mind.
With our division of labor—Kent doing the rapid calculations and Catherine handling the money—we managed to clear the queue of customers unexpectedly fast.
"Good work today. Here is your pay and some bread for the road."
Marie handed over my daily wages. This was Kent's living allowance. Since I also got the leftover bread, I wouldn't have to spend any money on food if I could tolerate a bread-only diet, though surviving on nothing but bread for days on end sounded pretty bleak. For the record, what she handed me was a single large copper coin. In game terms, it was worth about 100G.
"Thank you, I'll be taking my leave now."
"See you tomorrow, Onii-chan!"
Sent off by Catherine, I left the bakery where I worked part-time and returned to my house right across the street. It was a single-story house with a yard, and I lived there completely alone. With my parents already out of the picture according to the settings, this house was supposedly the sole inheritance they had left behind.
"Man... there is absolutely nothing here."
While it structurally looked like a house, it was completely devoid of anything necessary for daily survival. The place consisted of nothing but empty shelves and a bare kitchen. It felt exactly like a player's starting base at the beginning of a survival game. Of course, there was no lighting or electricity, and as the sun began to set, the room plunged into darkness.
"Ah, wait a minute..."
As if a lightbulb finally went off, I remembered the tablet-like terminal. The moment I thought about it, the device materialized right in my hand.
"Oh?"
Kent gasped at its sudden appearance, but when he touched the screen, a backlit ordering display lit up.
Options like Categories, Favorites, and Search appeared on the screen, and right in the corner, it displayed my current funds: 100G.
"My current funds are 100G... Wait, that's literally just my wages from a moment ago, isn't it? Normally, you're supposed to start with at least some money in the early stages of a game. Starting completely from absolute zero is just cruel."
Since it had gotten pitch black, I decided to look for a light source first. Anything requiring an outlet or power grid was out of the question, so I checked out the battery-powered lanterns.
"Pfft... You've got to be kidding me..."
I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Even the absolute cheapest lantern cost way more than the 100G I currently had on me. Assuming a conversion rate of 1G = 1 yen, my current net worth was a grand total of 100 yen. Left with no choice, I used my 100G to buy an emergency aluminum thermal blanket just to secure a place to sleep. The moment I pressed the purchase button, my funds dropped to 0G, and an aluminum thermal sheet materialized in my hand.
Munching on the bread I received from the shop, I spent the night wrapped tightly in the aluminum blanket, waiting for dawn to break.
The next morning, I was back at the bakery for my shift before school. My total wages for both the morning and evening shifts would be paid out at the end of the day.
"Good morning, Onii-chan! Let's do our best today!" Catherine greeted me with a bright smile.
"Good morning, Catherine. Let's work hard today."
Marie had already started baking, and the first batch was almost ready.
"The bread is baked! I'll leave the rest to you."
Kent took the freshly baked bread from her and began lining it up on the shelves. Almost immediately, waiting customers started buying them up one after another. Just as the first batch of products was about to sell out, it was time for me to head to school.
"Alright, I'm heading off to school now!"
"Have a safe trip! See you this evening."
Sent off by Marie, Kent turned and made his way toward the school.
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