Reincarnated as the Final Boss of an Eroge, but I Just Want a Peaceful Life After the Game Ends - Chapter 05: Protagonist Privilege

Chapter 05: Protagonist Privilege

[TLN: Changed “Protagonist Buff” to “Protagonist Privilege”.]

Violation of Eternia was a popular dark eroge series that spanned four games.

And I was the final boss of the last title in that series, Violation of Eternia IV: The Founding of Ars Kingdom—

Sidol Meltrix.

Apparently, I had a previous life. I became self-aware around the age of two, and that’s when I realized I carried the memories of a man named Tasuku Takamura.

That was also when I learned the full story of Sidol Meltrix’s life.

Across the entire series, the main character was Hero Ars.

In the first game, the final boss was the witch Ivelia.

At the end of that game, she faced Saintess Hanna in a duel. The battle was heavily stacked against her, with both Ars and Hanna fighting on the same side.

In the final quick-time event, Ivelia took a fatal hit and died instantly.

But now, I don’t want to let Ivelia die.

That’s why I gave her [Last Leaf] as a birthday gift the other day.

She was really happy about it, and that made me happy too—but still… that brooch is destined to disappear.

What should I do when it’s gone?

I don’t have a replacement for it at the moment.

The only other rare item I own is the [Ring of Power (Mana Ring)], which I gave to Fina Eternia, the second princess of the Kingdom of Eternia, last year.

The [Ring of Power] is a mysterious item that can’t be identified unless you have [Appraisal★] or a comparable unique skill with ★-grade capabilities.

I’ve never seen Fina actually wear it, so I’m guessing she’s storing it somewhere safely.

So a few days had passed since Ivelia’s birthday.

As usual, I spent my time at the academy with Fina and Ivelia, the three of us sticking together.

Thanks to her strong command of magic and her cold expression toward anyone outside her close circle, Ivelia had earned herself a dramatic nickname among our classmates—“The Frozen Witch.”

On her head, she now wore a golden brooch shaped like a delicate leaf.

It was a beautiful piece that brought out her charm even more.

Fina and I couldn’t help but tell her how well it suited her.

It matched Ivelia’s graceful elegance perfectly.

Lately, though, she’d been getting dragged into interactions with Saintess Hanna and Hero Ars more and more.

For some reason, despite her doing nothing wrong, rumors had started spreading that everything was Ivelia’s fault.

And the way the gossip spread was… strange.

It felt too fast, too one-sided, as if no one even cared to hear Ivelia’s side of the story.

It was all so unnatural and unsettling.

Because of these rumors, Ivelia had started becoming isolated.

And honestly, I wasn’t much better off myself.

Liliana, my personal maid, had such a low affection level that she didn’t even bother doing her duties anymore.

My mom’s affection level wasn’t great either, so no one from home escorted or guarded me anymore.

That’s why I had to eat lunch at the school cafeteria, not with food from home—paid for with money I earned through adventuring.

So today, when lunchtime came around, I turned to Ivelia and called out to her.

“You’re going to eat, right? Want to join me in the cafeteria today?”

“Sidol… Sure. I’m alone too, so let’s eat together.”

The princess—Fina—was having a private meal prepared by her attendants, as expected of royalty.

Ivelia, on the other hand, had a handmade lunch from her father. And honestly? His cooking was so good, you’d never believe it was made by a duke. I was kind of jealous.

As I left the classroom with Ivelia, two figures suddenly came into view: red-haired Ars, and the golden-haired Saintess Hanna, her long hair fluttering behind her.

“Kya─!”

Hanna suddenly slammed into me like some third-rate scam artist trying to stage a fake accident.

She bounced off and landed flat on her backside with a loud thud.

“What the hell was that for!?”

Before I could process anything, Ars stepped between us, his face twisted in fury as he yelled.

What is even going on?

His shout drew the attention of nearby students, and a crowd started to form.

───

Name: Ars

Gender: Male Age: 12

Class: Hero Level: 7

HP: 960 MP: 380

VIT: 48 STR: 43

DEX: 14 AGI: 21

INT: 19 MND: 25

Skills: Magic (Fire: 1, Water: 1)

Virility★, Protagonist Privilege★, Non-Elemental Magic: 1

Immortality*, hero correction*, nonattribute magic: 1

Swordsmanship: 2, Shield Technique: 2, Spear Technique: 2

Staff Technique: 2,  Axe Technique: 2, Martial Arts: 1

───

The crowd around us was growing louder and more restless.

Curious, I used [Appraisal★] to peek at Ars.

Both [Virility★] and [Protagonist Buff★] were unique skills.

His class being “Hero” made perfect sense in the world of this eroge.

In the game, the protagonist Ars never spoke a single line.

Back when I, Tasuku Takamura, played Violation of Eternia, he only had a minimal self-awareness expressed through selectable choices.

But here, in this world, he was a fully thinking and feeling individual, acting on his own will.

“You bumped into her and didn’t even apologize! You nobles think you’re above everyone else!? Isn’t this academy supposed to treat everyone equally!?”

“…My bad.”

Ars shouted so loudly it gave me a headache.

I just quietly lowered my head and apologized. Noble or not, this was such a pain.

But that only made him angrier. He lashed out with even more hostility.

“Oh, so you think saying sorry is enough!? Do you have any idea who Hanna is!? She’s a saint! Or what, are you looking down on us because we’re commoners? Is that it!?”

“Didn’t you literally just say social status doesn’t matter?”

“Hah!? So now you’re twisting words just ’cause you’re some high-and-mighty noble!? What if Hanna got hurt, huh!? You gonna take responsibility!? You better take responsibility!!”

Up to this point, things felt a little different from how they went in the game.

But actually… now that I thought about it, it was sort of similar.

In the game, the whole mess started because the fat version of Sidol pushed Hanna aside.

She fell, and then Sidol tried to approach her, only for Ars to jump in and “rescue” her.

But what was happening here? This was clearly a setup. A fake accident.

And the way Ars was twisting things—it was ridiculous.

Was this really the same guy from the game?

Well, in the game, Sidol was overweight and only level 3, with nearly base stats.

But the me standing here now? I was lean and level 30.

If I actually fought Ars right now, there’s no way I’d lose.

But I really didn’t want to blow this up any further.

“Hey! What’s going on here!?”

Several academy teachers rushed over, surrounding me.

“That noble shoved us aside and started shouting at us! He said stuff like, ‘How dare a commoner go against a noble!’… and then she ended up like this…”

As he said that, Ars glanced over at Hanna.

What a dirty liar.

And Hanna? She smirked as if it was all going exactly as planned.

Unbelievable. These two were seriously the worst.

Then suddenly, a sharp voice rang out through the hallway.

“That’s not true!”

It was Ivelia.

But despite her speaking up, the surrounding students all looked toward Ars with sympathy and support.

Her words faded into silence, weak and ignored.

“I understand. Sidol Meltrix, come with me. We’ll speak with Ars and Hanna separately later.”

The teacher walked right past Ivelia without acknowledging her protest, completely ignoring her.

───

Name: Ars

 ︙

Skills: Magic (Fire: 1, Water: 1)

Virility★, Protagonist Privilege★, Non-Elemental Magic: 1

Swordsmanship: 2, Shield Technique: 2, Spear Technique: 2,

Staff Technique: 2, Axe Technique: 2, Martial Arts: 1

───

So that’s the effect of [Protagonist Privilege★], huh?

It’s a skill that makes everyone instinctively believe Ars is always in the right.

Even if he says something completely unreasonable, people still trust him without question.

He probably has real talent too, sure, but that skill is doing a lot of heavy lifting.

Still, just a moment ago—Ivelia wasn’t affected by it at all, was she?

If [Protagonist Privilege★] also helps steer events toward the “proper flow” of the story, then maybe… maybe that’s what’s starting to happen.

Is this how Ivelia ends up becoming the first game’s final boss all over again?

I don’t want Ivelia to die.

And I definitely want to avoid a future where Fina ends up in one of those horrible violation endings.

There are still plenty of others I don’t want to see hurt either.

The people in this world I’m living in… they’re not just characters anymore.

For example, I could kill Ars right now if I really wanted to.

But if I did, there’s no doubt I’d be punished for it—probably killed myself.

If that’s the case, then I need to be patient and wait for the right moment to purge him.

I still don’t fully know what kind of person this real-life Ars actually is.

But if today showed me anything, it’s that he’s a complete lunatic.

I have to keep the damage these psychos cause to a minimum.

In the game, almost every H-scene involving NPCs started with some kind of assault.

Once the player-controlled hero Ars obtained [Appraisal★] and [Art of Intimacy★], he could easily use those skills to manipulate women into submission and pleasure.

These two skills—[Appraisal★] and [Art of Intimacy★]—were key to turning the game into a pure eroge.

And they were both obtainable early on.

That’s why I made sure to get them right away.

With these skills in my hands, at the very least, I can try to reduce the number of people who end up as victims.

From now on, I needed to stay ahead and collect all the important skills and items before anyone else could.

That was the only way I could protect the people I wanted to save.

With that resolve in my heart, I let the teachers drag me off to the interrogation room.

I was made to wait there for a while.

Apparently, they had already listened to Ars and Hanna’s side of the story.

If that was the case, then nothing I said would matter. His skill had probably already influenced their judgment.

“Our academy prides itself on offering equal education to all, regardless of status, as long as they are talented. Even if you are the heir to the Meltrix duchy, you should know that we will not tolerate anyone who tarnishes that ideal. Therefore, the Royal First Academy hereby expels you, effective immediately. There will be no room for appeal. That is all.”

…They never intended to hear me out from the beginning.

My belongings were thrown at me by one of the teachers.

When I returned home, I was immediately summoned by my father.

As I entered his office, my mother was already there, seated beside him.

I wasn’t offered a seat.

Instead, I stood and listened as my father spoke.

“Sidol. Nobility comes with responsibilities. Ignoring them is unacceptable. Therefore, the Meltrix family will officially disinherit you. Thorl will become the new heir. As for you—you will be assigned as the acting lord of the Bahamul Barony. You leave tomorrow. The necessary documents will be handed to you before your departure. That is all.”

Even here, no one listened to what I had to say.

My mother didn’t even glance at me.

She used to be so overly doting, practically a helicopter parent… but now, she was completely cold, as if I were a stranger.

───

Name: Sheena Meltrix Eternia

 ︙

Affection: 0

───

Curious, I used [Appraisal★]—and sure enough, her affection was at zero.

Was I… not even her real son?

That hit hard.

Even with my memories from my past life, most of my precious moments as Sidol Meltrix were spent with my father, my mother, my younger brother Thorl, and my sister Gina.

Every one of those memories meant something to me. I didn’t want to let go of any of them.

And yet… this pain in my chest proved that this was real. It wasn’t just a game or a bad dream.

It hurt.

I wanted to fight back somehow.

But maybe there was no escaping the power of the scenario’s correction force.

Even if a part of me felt hopeless, there were still people I needed to save. So—

“I understand.”

With just those words, I left the office.

Even now, I still wanted to save my mother too.

But for now, I had no choice but to go along with the flow.