Thanks to all of you, the overall rating has exceeded 20,000 points. To celebrate the 400th episode, we’re sending you an extra chapter, approximately three times the usual length. Please be aware that, as before, this is unrelated to the main story.
“Fuh fuh fuh.”
“Rachel, what’s with that strange laugh again?”
“Hah, how rude to call it strange.”
Caro said to Rachel, who was laughing strangely.
“Actually…”
“Please wait a moment.”
“Huh? What?”
Caro stopped Rachel as she was about to say something with a mysterious air.
“Actually, before we begin, I have an apology to make to everyone.”
“Could it be that you’re going to tell them about what you and I did?”
“That’s not it! Th-that story… well, later… no, actually, the story 【I was reincarnated into an otome game world, but it seems I was a background male student with cheats.】 has reached 400 episodes. Here we go!”
When Caro pulled a string, a giant party popper suspended above burst open, and a banner reading “Thank you for reaching 400 episodes” unfurled.
“Wow, that’s amazing. I never thought it would last this long either. So, I don’t think this is something to apologize for?”
“That’s right. This in itself is something to celebrate, but apparently, the ‘Character Introduction’ that we did every 100 episodes or so won’t be happening.”
“Eh, then won’t we be like, ‘Who was this person again?'”
Rachel asked Caro.
“Actually, not a single main character has been added since the last character introduction.”
“Eh?”
Rachel was surprised to hear Caro’s words.
“The ones who have been added are Mr. Cibol, Ms. Natali, Mr. Kent, who are classmates at Marie’s Bakery No. 2, Erroni, Erroni’s grandmother, and the shop-attached fairy Pacorina who manages the shop… I think? Also, Samantha who runs a restaurant in the commercial district, and her shop-attached fairy Lookmii. Oh, and Duke Evarist, the eldest son of the Duke’s family.”
“Uwah, you just introduced them all verbally so easily.”
Caro gave a brief introduction of the new additions.
“So, Rachel, you had something you wanted to say, didn’t you?”
“Ah, that’s right. I almost forgot.”
“If I were to suffer any more terrible things, I wish you would forget it.”
“Caro, did you say something?”
“N-no, nothing.”
Caro muttered in a small voice, but it seemed Rachel had heard something.
“Oh? Um, where was I? Ah, right, thanks to you all, 【Gaku-Oto Cheats】 recently surpassed 20,000 total points! Clap, clap, clap, clap.”
“Rachel, you shortened the title pretty quickly.”
“Whoo, whoo, what are you talking about? A-anyway. Thank you for your continued support.”
“Thank you. On behalf of the author, I express our gratitude.”
Rachel and Caro bowed their heads.
“So, what are we going to do this time?”
Caro asked Rachel with a cool expression.
“That’s what I’m wondering. Actually, I have no plan for today.”
“That’s unusual for you, Rachel. You’re someone who enjoys these festivals to the fullest.”
“Well, I’ve been quite busy with event preparations lately. Because of that, I couldn’t even prepare a party popper.”
Rachel said with a disappointed tone.
“Hmm, I thought you might say that, so I prepared a party popper.”
“Dooaah!”
“Kya!”
Suddenly Hanako appeared, startling Rachel and Caro.
“Hmm, press this activation button.”
Saying that, she handed a box with yellow and black stripes to Rachel.
“I’m supposed to press this red button. But it says ‘danger’ under the button, is it okay?”
“Hmm, you won’t die, so it’s okay.”
Rachel pointed to the writing under the button and asked Hanako.
“Then it’s fine. Well then.”
“R-Rachel, I have a really bad feeling about this.”
“No way, it’s fine, it’s fine. *Click*.”
Caro tried to stop her, but Rachel pressed the red button without a second thought.
*Boom!*
The moment she pressed it, Rachel and Caro’s clothes burst off.
“Something is written on Rachel’s chest. Let’s see? ‘Overall Rating’?”
Caro read the text written on the swell of Rachel’s exposed chest.
“There’s something written on Caro’s chest too. ‘20,000 pt’?”
Rachel also read the text written on Caro’s chest.
“Hmm, and this is written on my chest.”
Saying that, Hanako took off her own clothes, revealing the words “Thank you” written on her chest.
“I see. When the three of us line up, it reads ‘Overall Rating: 20,000 points, Thank You’.”
“It’s not ‘I see.’ What are we going to do with the clothes we can no longer wear?”
“Hmm, I thought you might say that, so I prepared clothes.”
Hanako, who was now wearing clothes, handed paper bags to Rachel and Caro.
“Hey, aren’t these school uniforms?”
“Mine is also a school uniform.”
Rachel and Caro, who had nothing to wear, readily put on the school uniforms handed to them by Hanako.
“Hmm, today I will grant one of Rachel’s wishes as a special favor. Despite various restrictions, I prepared this with all my might. You have three hours, so I hope you enjoy yourselves.”
“W-what do you mean? Kya! So bright!”
“I’ve had a similar experience before, f-fading into the light!”
Enveloped in a bright light, Rachel and Caro disappeared.
“It was blinding. But, wait, is this really…!”
“R-Rachel, are you alright? Um, where are we? Those buildings have strange shapes… And what are those box-like things moving along that unnaturally long bridge built above the ground?”
Rachel and Caro stood in a plaza paved with tiles. Before them stood a strange, large building with a triangular object resting on top of four giant pillars. A little further away was what Caro had pointed out, something like a long bridge, on which box-shaped vehicles were moving in a line.
“That’s a new transportation system. It’s a vehicle that can carry many people. And this building is Bic… I can almost remember the name, but it’s on the tip of my tongue.”
Rachel answered, sounding excited.
“And people in unusual clothes are entering that building.”
“Yes, that’s right. This atmosphere, it’s unmistakable. Caro, let’s go.”
“R-Rachel, where are you rushing off to so quickly?”
Rachel seemed to recall something upon seeing the clothes of the people walking in a certain direction. She grabbed Caro’s hand and began to move along with the flow of the crowd.
“Th-There are so many people! It looks like tens of thousands, doesn’t it?”
“It’s just as I thought. Caro, we’ll line up at the end. Judging by this, I think there are about 30,000 people in this line.”
“Th-Thirty thousand?”
Caro was surprised by the sheer number of people.
“And more people are still coming.”
“Of course. Eventually, about 150,000 people are expected to come to this place.”
“Huh? That’s more than the population of my hometown! Where are all these people coming from?”
Caro was even more shocked by the number Rachel had told her.
“This is like the place I used to live. And this feeling, the flow of people. It’s definitely the day of THAT event. People come here by bus, train, or the new transportation system Caro was curious about earlier. Look, that building is the new transportation station.”
“Wh-Wow, so many people are getting off.”
A train had just arrived at the station, and a large number of people were disembarking. Caro could only stare in amazement at the sight.
“The world you lived in, Rachel, sounds amazing.”
“Hmm, it’s a sight I’m used to, so I don’t really see it as amazing, but where I lived was the countryside, so there weren’t many things like this. Ah, the line is moving. Caro.”
“Yes.”
Caro, looking around at everything that caught her eye, was so fascinated by the novelty that she didn’t notice the line had moved. She hurried to catch up with Rachel.
“Rachel, Rachel! Something is flying in the sky!”
“That’s an airplane. It looks like a passenger plane, a vehicle that carries people.”
“There are even flying vehicles! I’m astonished.”
“Well, I’d be more surprised by a world where magic exists.”
“I see. Also, most of the people waiting are operating smartphones.”
While waiting in line, with nothing else to do, Caro happened to look up at the sky and spotted the airplane. When she asked Rachel about it, she was surprised to learn it carried people. Then, as she calmed down, she noticed many other people in line operating smartphones.
“That’s right. Smartphones… I don’t have mine!”
“We were whisked away right after changing, so I just have the emergency money in my pocket in case something happened.”
Caro showed Rachel a small coin purse.
“I don’t have anything in my pockets. If Hanako was going to bring us to this place, she should have told me. I couldn’t prepare anything.”
Rachel regretted not being able to prepare.
“Speaking of which, Hanako-chan said the time limit was three hours, right?”
“She might have. But I don’t know the time without my phone. How many minutes have passed since then?”
“I don’t know the exact time, but it’s probably been about 30 minutes?”
The two recalled the time limit Hanako had mentioned before they were sent here.
“Excuse me, do you know what time it is?”
“Uh? Um, it’s 11:30.”
“Thank you.”
Rachel asked a man wearing a backpack in front of her in line for the time.
“If we assume 30 minutes have passed, we can stay until 2 PM. Ah, time is such a waste. I wish the line would move faster.”
“Rachel, shaking your body won’t make time pass any faster. Let’s quietly wait for the line to move.”
Caro soothed Rachel, who was getting impatient.
“We finally made it inside.”
“Indeed. The time is now… let’s see. It’s noon. We have two hours left, so it’s important to be efficient.”
As soon as they entered the venue, Rachel checked the time on a clock hanging on the wall. Then, muttering to herself, she pulled Caro along.
“Rachel, Rachel!”
“What is it, Caro?”
Suddenly, Caro stopped Rachel.
“There’s something I want to ask. Rachel, where are you rushing off to so quickly? And it seems like some kind of event is happening, but there are pictures of girls posted everywhere. Does that have something to do with it too?”
“Ah, I haven’t explained it to Caro yet, have I? Yes, this is the venue for a large-scale doujinshi sale event, “Comic Get’s.” Look, it’s written there too, isn’t it?”
“You’re right. Just as Rachel said, if I look closely, “Comic Get’s” is written everywhere. So, what is a doujinshi sale event?”
“I have to explain from there, huh? I think you’ll understand better if you see it directly rather than me explaining. That genre should be in the area ahead.”
Deciding it would be better to show rather than explain, Rachel took Caro’s hand and headed for their destination, weaving through the crowd.
“New releases! Please take a look if you’re interested!”
“May I see it?”
“Yes, please.”
Rachel stopped in front of a booth arranged like an island in the center of the hall. There, she took a sample book from the saleswoman.
“Caro, read this.”
“Y-yes. I’ll read it then.”
After saying so and quickly flipping through the contents, Rachel handed Caro the book with a cover featuring pictures of Gordon and Marc.
“Huh? Ah. N-no way…”
Caro’s face gradually turned red as she looked at the contents of the book.
“How is it? It’s a BL book with Marc as the seme and Gordon as the uke!”
“Um, this is for sale, right? How much is it?”
“It’s 500 yen.”
While blushing, Caro asked the saleswoman for the price.
“Will this be enough?”
“That’s a well-made coin. I’m sorry, but we can’t do a barter.”
“Is that so… What a shame.”
Caro took out one large silver coin from the money she carried as a backup and attempted to negotiate. However, the saleswoman gave an apologetic look and refused the transaction. Incidentally, the large silver coin Caro offered was pure silver, and its silver value alone was worth over 500 yen.
“I just realized, aren’t you cosplaying as a minor character from “Tale of School in Another World”? You’re a minor character in the game, but your costume is so well-made, I’m surprised. And the one with you isn’t Protagonist Rachel?”
“Eh, really? That’s super bad.”
“Wow. I’ve never seen such a perfect cosplay before.”
Hearing their voices, people from other circles on the same island began to gather around Caro and Rachel.
“How did you sew this?”
“It looks like clothes made by a professional.”
“Hey, can I take a picture?”
“Photography is prohibited outside of the cosplay area.”
“Ah, that’s right. *Teehee*.”
Incidentally, the genre of this island was “Tale of School in Another World.” Naturally, many people liked it, and a crowd gathered to see Caro and Rachel’s perfect cosplay.
“Hey, don’t bunch up like that. You’re blocking the path! You should return to your own booths.”
“Crap, the staff are here. Everyone scatter!”
Being warned by a woman with a staff armband, the people who had gathered like a swarm of spiders returned to their own booths.
“I’m so sorry. Since I caused trouble, I’ll give you this book.”
“Really? Thank you.”
Caro accepted the doujinshi volume from the saleswoman as compensation for the trouble.
“Rachel, you’re outside now, does that mean we’re done? We still have plenty of time.”
“There’s no way we’re done. This is our next destination: the Cosplay Plaza.”
“Cosplay Plaza?”
After quickly browsing the islands of genres Rachel was interested in, they arrived at the outdoor Cosplay Plaza. It was filled with people of various genders cosplaying and crowds gathered to photograph them.
“It’s a place where you can embody characters from works you’re passionate about and express yourself.”
“Does “works” refer to books like this?”
Caro held up the BL book she was holding and asked Rachel.
“Hmm, you’re not wrong, but this is secondary creation, so it’s a bit different.”
“Secondary creation, huh? I don’t quite understand, but does that mean there’s an original, primary creation?”
“Correct! By the way, the original for what Caro is holding now is a game. But you probably don’t understand, right? I’ll explain later when we go to the corporate booths.”
“Understood.”
Rachel decided to postpone explaining to Caro.
“Excuse me, your cosplay is wonderful. May I take one picture?”
“We’re not actually cosplaying, but okay. So, what kind of pose should we do?”
“Alright, first, can you make a ‘nyan’ pose?”
“Got it. Alright Caro, let’s do it. Bend your fingers like this. Yes, that’s good. Now look at the camera and smile.”
“L-like this?”
Guided by Rachel, Caro struck a pose.
“Thank you. May I have one more?”
“May I take one too?”
“Me too?”
Rachel and Caro were recognized as people who were okay with being photographed, and before they knew it, men with cameras had gathered. Then, a photoshoot began for the two of them as they struck poses according to requests.
“Hey, you! That’s too much of a low angle!”
“S-sorry.”
Rachel noticed a man trying to take pictures from under skirts and warned him. The man hastily put away his camera and left the scene.
“As always, there are some people with no manners.”
“Rachel, how long are we supposed to stay like this? A lot of time has passed, are you okay?”
“Oh no! I got so caught up in the experience, it’s been a while, I forgot about the time!”
Rachel had been so engrossed in the cosplay photo session, which she hadn’t done in a while, that she had completely forgotten about time.
“I’m sorry. We have an appointment later, so we’ll have to end it here.”
Rachel bowed her head in front of the men who were taking pictures. Caro also bowed her head along with Rachel. Then, without saying thank you, the men dispersed to their respective places to look for other subjects to photograph.
“It ended rather anticlimactically, didn’t it?”
“It’s always like this. Don’t worry about it. Wow, there’s only 30 minutes left. Let’s hurry to the corporate booths.”
“Rachel, it says not to run inside the venue.”
Ignoring Caro’s warning, Rachel pulled Caro’s hand and started running. In the end, they were caught by a staff member and both were cautioned.
“We’ve wasted time in an unexpected way.”
“It’s because you ignored the warning sign, Rachel.”
“Yes, yes. It was all my fault.”
“R-Rachel, the stairs ahead are moving!”
Caro pointed to the long staircase in front of them, surprised.
“Ah, this is an escalator. It’s a convenient machine that will carry you up if you stand on it.”
“Is-is that so?”
“Be careful not to miss your footing when you get on.”
Caro got on the escalator with Rachel.
“Wow, we’re going up so high.”
“Look, Caro, the people below are like trash, aren’t they?”
“Huh?”
As they rode the escalator up to about the third floor of the building, Rachel suddenly said, looking down at the people below. Caro was baffled, not understanding the meaning of her words.
“We’ve arrived. Caro, be careful where you step when you get off the escalator.”
“Yes. Okay. I’ve safely gotten off.”
“Good job, good job.”
“Hmph, I’m not a child.”
Caro said displeasedly as Rachel patted her head.
“We’ve arrived. This is the corporate booth area. Companies dealing in games, anime, etc. are selling merchandise and announcing new releases.”
“I don’t understand most of what you’re saying, Rachel, but there are even more people here than where we were before. It must be a popular place. And there are cute girls displayed on the big monitors. Oh, that one isn’t wearing any clothes!”
Once inside the corporate booth, the crowd was so dense that it was difficult to move. Caro stopped in front of the booth of a company that produced eroge. A passionate scene between the protagonist and another character was being displayed on a demo monitor, and Caro was watching it intently.
“Caro, we don’t have time, so let’s hurry.”
“Eh, yes, yes!”
Rachel pulled Caro’s hand and pushed her way through the crowd, moving deeper into the booth.
“This is it.”
“This is…”
The place Rachel headed for was the booth of a company that mainly handles otome games.
“That’s right, this is the booth of the company that made ‘Tale of school in another world’.”
“There are various things being sold with pictures of Lord Gordon, Cedric, and Marc.”
“It’s a shame I don’t have any money, but it’s free to look.”
This company hadn’t had many hit titles, and ‘Tale of school in another world’ was their first hit in a long time. As a result, the merchandise mainly consisted of items from that work, with very little merchandise from other titles.
“Rachel, Rachel, I think this is from the same work, but the people drawn are different.”
“Huh? ‘Tale of school in another world 2’? A s-sequel is coming out?”
Caro asked Rachel, looking at something displayed on a monitor placed next to them. The uniforms were the same, but they depicted completely different male characters, and the title displayed was “Tale of school in another world 2”. Seeing this, Rachel glued herself to the monitor and began to watch it intently.
“Several years have passed since ‘Tale of school in another world’. A new batch of freshmen has now entered the Royal Academy.”
A view of the entire academy was displayed, and narration flowed from the speakers along with grand music.
“Wow, I’m getting so excited.”
“So this is what our school looks like from above.”
Rachel seemed intrigued by the continuation of the demo video. Meanwhile, Caro was looking at the school from an aerial view, which was not normally visible, with great interest.
“Wow! I’m late, I’m late!”
The scene switched to a girl running with a piece of bread in her mouth. Her uniform was the same design as the one Rachel and Caro were wearing.
“Kya!”
“Whoa, careful.”
The girl almost bumped into a male student walking in front of her but was caught by him at the last moment.
“Are you okay? Oh, the bread you’re holding is an unusual shape.”
This male student was handsome, just like the love interests in the previous game. He showed his sparkling white teeth and showed interest in the bread she was holding.
“This? Actually, this bread is made by my family.”
“Hoho. That’s interesting. Perhaps your family runs a bakery?”
“Yes! It’s a small shop called Marie’s Bakery in the suburbs.”
She held the bread she had been holding in her right hand. Then she explained that her family ran a bakery.
“Huh?”
Rachel and Caro were surprised by the dialogue they heard. Although the tone of voice was a bit mature, if they listened closely, they recognized the voices they knew.
“My name is Catherine. I will be attending this academy starting today. Please take care of me, senpai!”
The woman introduced herself as Catherine. Although she looked completely different from the Catherine that Rachel and Caro knew, she answered the male student with a smile before the screen switched.
“The protagonist of this new title, Catherine, is not just an ordinary girl whose family runs a bakery, but she was entrusted with a grave mission.”
Along with the narration, the video transitioned from open ground into a forest.
“Haven’t the appearances of monsters been increasing recently?”
“That may be so. However, we must exterminate them for the sake of our country.”
“That’s right. Everyone! Let’s attack all at once!”
“Ooooh!!”
There, knights in white armor were engaged in battle with monsters. Leading those knights was the protagonist Catherine. The video provided no explanation as to why the protagonist was fighting monsters.
“♪～”
Then the screen switched, and a song, presumably the opening, began to play.
“Is this voice…”
“It sounds like Josette’s voice.”
Just like the previous title, it seems the voice actress for Josette is in charge of the opening song. The video displayed game scenes, character introductions, and more, one after another. Rachel thought these were likely development screens and that the final product would feature different visuals.
“Romance? Or monster subjugation? What kind of school life will the protagonist Catherine lead in the future? Tale of school in another world 2, in active production!”
The narration concluded thus, and the short demo video ended.
“So Catherine is the protagonist next. I’m really looking forward to what kind of work it will be.”
Rachel was still immersed in the afterglow of watching the demo video.
“Rachel, you’re really looking forward to it, aren’t you?”
“Of course. It’s a sequel to my favorite game.”
Caro, seeing Rachel’s excited expression, looked at her with a gentle, watchful gaze and said.
(Rachel, I understand you’re looking forward to it, but you probably won’t be able to experience that work.)
Thanks to Hanako, Rachel was temporarily in the world she was in before, but since she originally lived in a different world, Caro thought it would be impossible to obtain the finished game. She also realized that the time she could stay here was running out.
“This is a very high-quality cosplay costume. You must really like this work. We’re currently distributing a trial version of Tale of school in another world 2, so please take it if you’d like.”
Rachel and Caro were approached by a young female staff member in a Royal Academy uniform at the booth. She then offered a trial version disc to Rachel.
“Thank you.”
As Rachel reached out to receive the trial version disc, she and Caro were suddenly enveloped in a bright light.
“Wait! It’s too cruel to run out of time here! Just a little more, even just a little more, at least the trial version!”
Rachel’s scream reached no one.
“A dream?”
When Rachel came to, she was in her own bed in her own room. Caro was asleep next to her, still in her school uniform.
“I feel like I had a very nostalgic and enjoyable dream… but I can’t remember it.”
“What’s wrong, Rachel? Hmm! I feel like I had a good sleep. Huh? Why was I sleeping here in my uniform?”
Rachel and Caro felt as if their memories were covered by a thick cloud.
“Huh? What is this beautiful book?”
Caro noticed she was holding a thin book in her hand.
“Caro! Where did you get this book?”
“I don’t know. Why was I holding this book?”
“Let’s just… take a look inside.”
Rachel took the book that the puzzled Caro was holding, and they began to flip through it together.
“M-Lord Gordon has Marc’s thick and large… Huh? They’re kissing, two men? W-What is this book?!”
“This is definitely a BL book. Where did you even get it?”
Beside Caro, who was blushing at the content, Rachel, with an excited demeanor, panted.
“I can only say I was holding it when I realized…”
“Oh, something is written in the colophon. Let’s see?”
On the last page, the name of the circle that wrote this book was listed, and Rachel noticed something written below it.
“Thank you all for achieving 20,000 total evaluation points. We look forward to your continued support of ‘I was reincarnated into, Tale of school in another world, Otome game’.”
Rachel read the written text aloud.
“Now that you mention it, we were in the middle of working on an extra chapter.”
“Oh no. I forgot. Huh? Is it already over?”
“Rachel, the word count has three times the normal amount without me noticing.”
Caro said in surprise as she checked the word count.
“Well then everyone, I’ll see you in the next extra chapter. Farewell, farewell, farewell.”
Rachel and Caro waved goodbye while facing forward, concluding the extra chapter.
Due to changes in the writing environment, some formatting has been changed from this issue onwards.
