Otherworld TRPG Game Master chapter 31

31 – S1.5. Emergency Committee for Escape

Simulation Control Room. I complained while I was controlling magic.

The magic was stiff as if it had rusted.

If it were a hinge, I’d pray for the blessing of WD-40, but nothing like a lubricant for magic exists in this world… no, actually there’s one next to me.

“Sir togician, please help me. This magic isn’t working well.”

“Eh? Where?”

The violet togician, who had been watching the adventure of Illain and Pero, came trotting over. I explained as I ran my hand over the core magic circle driving the narration, which among the many emerged issues, was the most urgent.

“It’s the narration. The second prince could read minds directly… but with the first princess, the point of view keeps jumping to NPCs. When I’m briefly immersed in an NPC, it functions properly.”

“Aha… That’s because Her Highness the First Princess’s realm is higher than yours.”

The purple-robed Tower Master had kindly translated ‘you’re a noob’ for me. Was it some sort of metamorphosis, or whatever it’s called—a nuance that seemed akin to awakening—that I couldn’t achieve because I hadn’t experienced it myself? Indeed.

If that’s the case, it explained why not only the narration but the entire simulation was glitching. It felt like the CPU usage was fluctuating between 80% and 90%, blushing bright red.

No wonder maintaining it felt so burdensome; apparently, I had to pour more power into casting illusion magic on the first princess.

“Um, uh-hum… Ehehehe, shall I help?”

As I squatted down, fiddling with the magic circle, the twin tails of the Tower Master dangled in front of my face. I sneaked a sniff and caught a fresh and pleasant scent like some kind of flower aroma.

It’s truly a joy that she adopted hygienic and clean living habits… but occasionally, I missed the natural scent of the Tower Master. Ah, those days when she bathed only once a week.

Brushing the tickling twin tails away from my nose, I also casually declined her assistance.

“…Why?!”

“Because, Tower Master, you tend to focus on offensive power. Were you planning to shatter the First Princess’s psyche a bit to make it easier to ensnare her in illusion magic?”

“That was… That was…! I intended to, yes! But the mind, a bit of damage is still okay!”

The Tower Master made a statement that sounded very much like a dark wizard.

No wonder the seniors’ and juniors’ research was always disrupted. Perhaps within her tiny heart, there was an uncontrollable impulse for destruction. The martial arts proverb that warns to beware of children, women, and the elderly seems to apply in fantasy as well.

“Seriously! If a human’s mind breaks a little, would it become strange? If sadness could kill, we’d all be dead. And besides… you shattered the second prince’s psyche ruthlessly too!”

That was an unavoidable accident.

What could I do when the story unfolded that way? Moreover, rumors occasionally reached my ears that lately, the second prince is extremely active. Somehow, he managed to root out a criminal guild that had been in hiding in the underworld and took them under his wing.

Although it might be an exaggeration, could my session have had quite an… influence on the second prince?

Pondering this made me feel a bit proud. After all, he had taken something from me, some kind of strength to continue living. It was also amusing in a way, the idea of moving people in a desired direction…

That moment, I felt a weight on my shoulder and neck.

I turned a deaf ear to the persistent complaints that I, who had troubled the hearts of many including the second prince, might be the one lacking humanity.

Annoyed, the Tower Master ended up straddling my squatting form. I could feel her warm body heat around my neck. Wearing a skirt and doing this might be questionable, I thought.

I forcefully contained my mind’s desire to race ahead unchecked—with thoughts like, I should have worn thinner clothes or wondering what state the back of my head was in.

Concerned the mood might turn strange again, I switched to humor.

“Ugh, you’re heavy.”

“I am not heavy?!”

The Tower Master patted my head with both hands. It didn’t hurt. Although rare, these days I felt her frequent skinship and playful antics.

Wait a minute.

If casting illusion magic was difficult against masters of a higher caliber, then that time… when I showed the Tower Master the image of Earth. Certainly, except for the initial phase, the narration hadn’t taken hold properly.

The Master of the Magic Tower, being far superior to me, could show what he wanted and hide what he wished during the session. This led to a terrifying hypothesis forming in my mind. It was about that time, in the department store.

The scene where the Master of the Magic Tower was fascinatingly looking at some rather provocative underwear.

What if… he showed that to me intentionally?

What if… the Master of the Magic Tower was a genius of seduction?

“What are you thinking about that makes your expression like that?”

“No, nothing…”

“Even if I can’t create simulations like you do, I know how to manipulate them.”

The Master of the Magic Tower raised his hand. With that simple gesture, he instantly wrested control of the magic I had painstakingly woven. My theory about the Master of the Magic Tower being a seduction genius became more concrete. If he could take control like this…

I built a mental barrier to resist as much as possible, but the narrative, now out of my control, searched through my mind like a storm.

It wasn’t a scene of serious mind control. The Master of the Magic Tower read through my thoughts, avoiding the areas I had black-boxed. So, after all, this was just an extension of his playful nature.

The narration, having completed its search, outputted its results.

Output: ‘So, was the Master of the Magic Tower showing you the s*xy panties in the department store on purpose?’

Boom.

It almost felt like I could hear such a sound. The Master of the Magic Tower’s face turned red in an instant. Various panties appeared around him, swirling in the air.

Startled, the Master of the Magic Tower flapped his hands to dispel the illusion of panties, but they didn’t seem to vanish. After a moment of panic, he seemed to make a rational decision. It was easier and more straightforward to eliminate the only witness than to dispel his own illusion.

The Master of the Magic Tower pointed his finger at the top of my head.

Even if I tried to escape, I was in a compromised position, already under his mount position! His soft thighs were holding me down, leaving me no chance to dodge the attack!

I shouted out in a hurry before the Master of the Magic Tower’s death beam could be fired.

“I love you, Yuna! You are my favorite in the whole world!”

“That won’t work a second time!”

Zap. The death beam flew towards me.

I was hit by the Master of the Magic Tower’s death beam until his embarrassment subsided.

As I endured the lukewarm death beam, I pondered deeply. With the Second Prince, I could occasionally read his intentions, which made it easier to develop the plot. But it was different with the First Princess. It wasn’t clear.

That was how it should be, though. What Game Master (GM) in the world can perfectly read the thoughts of their players? The normal flow is to scatter breadcrumbs, infer from the reactions, and piece together the story like a puzzle.

So, my immediate goals were as follows:

One, get the First Princess deeply immersed to strengthen the illusion magic. In doing so, discern her core preferences.

Two, once I’ve understood the First Princess’s core preferences, prepare a customized ending scene that suits them.

Three, and ultimately… ####.

“……?”

It felt like building a tower of cards and losing grip right before completion.

As if pointing at the moon, I was only fixated on the tip of my finger.

I pondered for a while, but eventually gave up when nothing came to mind.

The escape of a thousand miles had just passed the part where the first princess fed a slimy, squishy mucus to an innocent boy. This was a sharp stiletto I had planted. No, a versatile, multifunctional tool, to be more precise.

Ambiguity is good in bait—it allows for multiple interpretations.

“If you’re asking if it’s drinkable… even filtered, it usually causes an upset stomach. I’ve heard it sometimes leads to hallucinations or a feeling of warmth.”

From a Game Master’s perspective, the explanation would go as follows:

=＞ This mucus may cause stomach trouble, hallucinations, or even aphrodisiac effects—or it may not.

The “may or may not” part is crucial. I could see dozens of possible futures. If the first princess were to pursue a tender Oedipal route with Phero, the side effects of the mucus could manifest as a slight aphrodisiac.

If there’s a need for more tension, I might induce hallucinations, or if the princess seems devoid of a desire for thrills, then mild indigestion will suffice to conclude the matter. Otherwise, in the worst-case scenario I’ve envisioned—it will have to serve as a goal to drive the plot.

The first princess harbored both affection and suspicion towards Phero. If the narrative was read correctly, she intended to abandon him in a truly perilous situation. That was her plan.

Abandoning Phero would complicate the storyline.

This is the problem with scenarios that feature key NPCs as main characters.

What if the second prince did not harbor love for Centra and considered it audacious for a lowly resistance scamp to seek companionship! What then? All plans, “Beer and Songs” or whatever else, would fall apart. I’d probably keep deploying the noblewoman with a suspicious predilection for blondes.

So, on to Plan B…

If the first princess suspects the innocent boy, we switch genres from a romantic, Oedipal story to uncovering an imposter. The mucus will be my ally.

In this timeline, eggs of a mutant strain are squirming within the mucus.

Due to swallowing the mucus, Phero will hatch mutant larvae inside him. The larvae will consume the boy’s brain… and the aftermath will vary depending on the situation. The thought alone made me chuckle.

“What are you thinking about?”

Just then, the master of the magic tower embraced me suddenly. A bit startled, I accepted nonetheless.

The magister’s expression was transparent: about 75% embarrassment and 25% concern. I couldn’t understand why he was so bashful yet tossing his body around so freely. Perhaps he thought I liked physical contact. I do, but…

His concern… was it for fear I might overextend myself? There’s no need to worry. TRPGs are… a hobby. Just a pastime. There’s no reason to be concerned. So, I replied.

“Nothing.”

My head felt a little dizzy, though.

A colossal mutant crisis had been introduced.

The first princess did not abandon Phero.

She served him salad.

I anticipated suspicion that it might be laced with poison, but there was none.

I introduced the blindfolded young man, Lealo.

It was a device to stir up suspicion.

I quietly let out the fishing line. The first princess would make a choice…

————-

The purple tower master, Yuna Yurensto Violetiris, had grasped his ideal type from the beginning. That time, that day. All the tower masters gathered in a small village for a single boy── and not a single tower master could find out the boy’s name that day.

From then on, the purple tower master, Yuna, had been watching him closely.

He was drawn to a strange hobby called TRPG for two reasons. It was fortunate in both ways. Thanks to that, he chose the purple tower, and he could delay the progress of 『that thing』.

After that, it was a day of surveillance and observation.

He had the talent of a great mage. If he had been a red tower, he could have burned half of the continent with magic. If he had been a blue tower, he could have sunk half of the continent into the sea.

He had such a great talent, so he must have been chosen by 『that thing』.

He gradually lost his mind. It started small. He became a bit shameless. Then, he lost interest in others, and empathy. He forgot his past, and his parents who gave birth to him. He blindly devoted himself to one goal.

One day, he brought something interesting. It was a world. In the first star world he experienced, Yuna could hear the truth buried in his heart, before he was completely dyed by 『that thing』.

It was a thrilling dream. To go on a quest for a story. So she made a promise with her fingers. On the railing of the moon village where the moon was clearly visible.

From then on, he became more like a madman. He made various excuses and deceived himself, but if he thought about it, they were all lies.

He was the master of the simulation world. Whether the second prince avoided the event or not, he could push him like he did with Centra. But he didn’t. He played along until the second prince’s heart was enough to wither.

He gave and took away sweet honey-like affection.

He didn’t care about the prince’s status, or the fact that the great mage and the sword saint were clashing behind him. He was busy seducing the second prince. While lying to himself.

That’s what happens to those who are swallowed by 『that thing』. They live only for fun and interest, like lunatics.

Seeing the session of the first princess flow, the purple tower master sensed that the time had come. He would soon be completely swallowed up… and that moment was the last chance for Yuna.

Eventually, there comes a time when you have to face yourself.

Yuna wished that he, who had lost his name, could look back at himself.