"Your Majesty... I regret to inform you, but your son is missing from his chambers." The guard bowed stiffly, voice shaky as a spoke.
He hesitated before adding,
"And, uh... he was last seen entering a brothel."
"Ehh?"
________________________________
After that incident, in which he had peeked on Claris. Both families had been in somewhat dire straits, their relationship had strained to the point of no return and it was all because of the system that wouldn't tell him it was a new game plus!
Maybe it wasn't, and he ought to have figured it out beforehand. But blaming someone else for your mistakes was always better.
"This is so bad," Stephen muttered, head in a pillow. "Not only is my reputation around the castle ruined, now I don't even know when or if I'm going to see Claris again."
"You have three hundred and sixty four more days till you die permanently!" The system said, glee overflowing.
"Can you not?" Stephen flipped, his head now resting on the bed. A new game plus wasn't the end of the world, he could definitely find a way to fix this, the main issue now was his reputation.
In the game, while you couldn't pursue all fifteen girls in one save, there didn't mean your dialogue choices and actions didn't matter, there was a reputation meter that stood just above the player.
"System pull up my stats."
[Host: Stephen Eldoria]
[Age: 16]
[Level: 20]
[Class: Knight]
[Rank: Prince]
[Current Love interest: Claris Grandbelm]
[Reputation Meter: Peeping Tom]
[Strength: 100/99999]
[Speed: 200/99999]
[Toughness: 400/99999]
[Magic: 1000/99999]
[Health: 1000/99999]
[Stamina: 7000/99999]
[Intelligence: 200/9999]
[Luck: 5/9999]
[Charisma: 0/9999]
[Skills: None]
"A bad reputation means most of my requests would get denied, not that they wouldn't have anyway since I have no charisma."
"How did you go about this in the game then?"
"I didn't," Stephen sighed. "That's why this is so hard, in the original. I connected with her right there, at least in a way. Then our next meeting was..."
Stephen shot up, hands on his knees.
"Have you remembered something?"
Stephen didn't speak, his hand merely remained clutched around his jaw. In the main game, every single love interest had an issue, be it family or love life, and in true bs hero fashion. Stephen swooped them out of said problem.
That was the core of the game, the core of the story.
The politics played a huge role too, but that wasn't for another two years.
Marrying Claris Grandbelm was the core quest of the game, guiding her through the world, and helping her become her own person as the princess of Eldoria.
If he could just hit those same story beats, did he even need the dialogue? He already knew her inside and out. And unless that too had changed... he should've been able to do it.
Yes. He could do it.
Stephen rose, barging out the room and past the two guards that stood by his door. They rushed after him, outstretched arms as they called his name.
But he didn't listen, he continued barreling down the stairs, toward the Kings chambers, which comprised of a large living room and an equally large throne room he spent most of his time in.
Stephen pushed open one of the double doors, slower than he'd charged at it, and shut it just as carefully behind him.
Most of this was uncharted territory. In the game, he'd barely ever spoken to his father one-on-one, not until when he got married.
Still, he knew what kind of man the king was. And if he played it right, using his endgame knowledge, he might just clear the hurdle of leaving the palace.
"Father," he said, kneeling with one knee down, head bowed low.
Sixteen years of living in this world had taught him how much effort had actually gone into it. The world wasn't so different from Earth in its basics. But with time, he'd come to appreciate its depth. The culture, especially. The way royalty walked, talked, even ate. Things like this actually made him believe the developers cared.
Then he'd remember he could literally look outside the palace from a wall in his room.
"Stephen," the king said. His voice was as deep as Stephen remembered—sharp enough to slice silence, heavy enough to make someone piss themselves. "You are confined to your quarters until we resolve your belligerent behavior."
Then came the question:
"So, why have you left your room?"
"I have a favor to ask, Father... no, my King."
"A favor? In your condition?" The king waved a hand. "Dismissed. I don't want to hear it."
Stephen had already tried explaining it was all a misunderstanding. But, in true game fashion, no one had listened. He was stuck on the Peeping Tom route, and nothing could break the flag.
"I beg of you. Just lend an ear to my words."
"Guards!"
"Please! Allow your son a chance to make things right!"
Silence overcame the room.
The king exhaled through his nose, disgust or reluctance, Stephen couldn't tell and waved again.
"Carry on with your... request."
"As a prince, I know I'm forbidden to leave the palace gates. But I beg you Father, allow me this one exception. There's something I must do beyond these walls."
God, talking this formally grated on him.
"Such a meaningless request," the king said, shaking his head. "You defied your confinement just to say this? Your actions lack conviction. Your temperament lacks the poise of a royal. Sometimes, I truly wonder if you're even my son."
Then, the final command:
"Guards. Return him to his quarters at once!"
And that was the end of that, the door shut behind him as he was ushered back into his room once again. Not entirely unforeseen, but still a setback to an option he didn't want to take.
"So that didn't work," the system muttered. "What now?"
Stephen stared out the window.
"If I die... what happens? In the game, you start with enough HP to survive any fall. And even when you do manage to glitch the game and die, you just respawn in your bedroom."
"Are you asking if you'll get the same reset?" the system replied with a shake of his head, but since he didn't have a head to shake. He had to put his gestures into words. "No. You won't be given that leeway."
"Damn. Thought I cracked the code." Stephen said, eyes still fixed on the moonlit drop. "In the game, there are only three ways to trigger a game over screen."
"One: lose a heroine. Two: fail the kingdom's political war."
"And the last..." he stood, "Is getting disowned by the palace. If I stop being the son of Eldoria... do I die?"
The system went quiet, like it was flipping through a cosmic rulebook. Eventually:
"No. Since this file treats your life as the real world, the only true failure is losing a heroine. If that happens... you'll be removed from the world. Permanently."
A moment passed.
"So what does that mean for you?" The system asked.
Stephen exhaled, walking toward the window.
"It means... I'll have to leave behind my princely life of staring at small chests and massive butts." He slid the window open, staring into the stars.
"Leaving for the city? Isn't this two years too soon?" the system inquired. "You only need to do that in pursuit of Maquia, the second heroine."
"And I can't get to Maquia without conquering Claris first." His foot touched the window ledge. Then he stopped. Turned back and then dashed to his drawers.
"What now?" the system asked. "What are you looking for?"
"My holy grail."
"Wait..." The system said, its voice laced with shock. "THE Holy Grail? The artifact sword you're supposed to gain after the Political Battle? Did you manage to glitch it this early into the game?!"
"Hm?"
"Oh my goddess. You know... I actually thought you were dumb. I still think you're dumb, but wow. I believed you were stupid. Sometimes I wonder what the goddess saw in you."
The system's voice rose with admiration. "But now I see it. You played this game so much you know every glitch, every route. You truly are the unemployed man for the job!"
"Once again, an unnecessary jab at my person," Stephen said, returning to the window. "Also, what are you even talking about?"
"The Holy Grail, the sentient sword that'll unite the land!"
"Yeah, that appears later in the story."
"...Then what did you just grab from the drawer?"
Stephen opened his hand, reverently.
A pair of white, lace-trimmed panties.
"My holy grail," he said solemnly. "Grapha's panties. I nabbed 'em when she was out. One of the greatest decisions I've ever made."
"Oh."
"And as it is sacred to me, it is my only regret. Damn this game for not letting me pursue her!"
"...Alright. Good night, Stephen. If you don't hear from me again, just know I've submitted a request to the goddess for a user change—"
Not letting him finish, Stephen slammed his leg on the window sill. Jumping through the night and down the ten floor castle, falling through the darkness, hand pointing at the stretch of city lights visible from where he was.
"It might not be ideal, but that is our next stop!" He shouted. "The city, more so specifically, the Love Supreme brothel on Seventeenth ave by Puri's restaurant."
"You're a lost cause."
"No, I'm the world's best dating sim trash gamer! And there isn't a game I haven't beaten, no matter how broken, or cursed!" He grinned mid-air. "You can nerf me to hell new game plus, but I promise you this, I WILL FINI—"
Stephen landed face-first with a heavy thud.
Dirt packed into his mouth. His speech turned to muffled grumbling as he writhed in the grass.
[Health: 800/1000]
And as the sun began to rise...
The journey to the City of Harksvell begins.