The Gal Game Heroines Who Were Supposed to Die Somehow Learned My Secret ～By the Way, Where Did My [Diary] Go?～ - Chapter 03: It Seems I Survived

Chapter 03: It Seems I Survived

When I first woke up, my entire body was wrapped in bandages, and the doctors strictly ordered me to rest. My worst injury was to my right hand—they told me the nerves were damaged, and I might never regain full mobility in it.

The car had struck my right arm directly. Considering that was the most damaged part, I felt oddly relieved—it could have been so much worse.

They also warned me there might be lasting issues with other parts of my body. But honestly, just being alive was more than enough. I’d already resigned myself to death, so anything beyond that felt like a blessing.

A week had passed since I first woke up, and my body was healing steadily. If my recovery continued at this pace, I’d probably be discharged for home recovery in another week.

But right now—

“Just a bit more, and I’ll finish peeling this apple, okay? Or is there something else you’d like to eat? Oh, wait—are you thirsty? Or do you need to go to the bathroom? If there’s anything you want, just let me know, alright?”

“No, I’m fine for now.”

“Too bad. Satoshi-kun, you’re my savior, so if there’s anything you want to do, just tell me, okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

The way she emphasized “anything” felt a bit excessive, but maybe I was just imagining it.

Satsuki Saionji was sitting right next to my hospital bed, peeling an apple.

Lately, Satsuki had been visiting my hospital room almost every day. And it wasn’t just her—all the heroines I’d saved had been dropping by to see me.

Today, it just happened to be Satsuki alone, but sometimes, all the heroines gathered together.

Having the heroines from the game I’d played come to visit me felt like proof that saving them had been worth it.

As for Yuto? He hadn’t shown up even once. Honestly, I’d rather he didn’t. His presence would just be a hassle.

That being said—

“Hm? Is something wrong?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Satsuki leaned in closer with a soft smile, and I couldn’t help but feel awkward. The atmosphere was suffocating, and I wanted to escape, but my body still wouldn’t move freely. All I could do was turn my head and look away.

That turned out to be a mistake.

“Why are you looking away…?”

“Eh?”

Her voice turned icy, sending a chill down my spine. When I glanced back at her, I saw her eyes—now void of light—locked onto me, unblinking. A single tear slid down her cheek.

After finishing the apple with perfect precision, she slowly placed the knife on the table.

“If I did something to upset you, Satoshi-kun, I’m really sorry. It’s my fault, so please don’t ignore me. Please don’t hate me. If Satoshi-sama doesn’t need me anymore, then I have no reason to live. So, if you could just tell me what I did wrong, I’ll━”

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry! It’s my fault. And it’s not just you, Saionji—it’s that I’m not used to being around girls, so I got nervous, that’s all.”

“That’s a lie. You called me ‘Saionji.’ You’re mad at me, aren’t you…?”

“N-No, I’m not lying! Satsuki is beautiful and cute, so it just made me even more nervous. See? Just calling you ‘Satsuki’ is enough to make my voice shake.”

As I desperately tried to explain myself, the light returned to Satsuki’s eyes.

“…I’m sorry. I panicked because I wouldn’t be able to live if Satoshi-sama hated me…”

“Glad that’s cleared up. Also, could you stop calling me ‘Sama’?”

“Oh, sorry! It just slipped out.”

“That’s cute, so I’ll let it slide. Ah…”

Without thinking, I blurted out my honest feelings. The moment I realized it, embarrassment hit me like a truck—I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

“Cute… Satoshi-sama called me cute. Ehehe…”

…So this is what they mean by a blessing in disguise.

Satsuki started squirming happily, pressing her hands to her cheeks. Well, as long as she’s happy, I guess the embarrassment was worth it.

But somehow, she went right back to adding “Sama” to my name again. Great.

“Oh no, it’s already this late! I have a shoot coming up, so I have to go. Sorry, Satoshi-sa… Satoshi-kun.”

“Ah, yeah. Thanks.”

I appreciated that she made time to visit me despite her busy schedule, but I wished she’d take better care of herself too.

Satsuki grabbed her coat off the hanger and tried to put it on, but she had it upside-down and struggled to find the right sleeves. After somehow managing to get it on, she grabbed her tote bag in a haphazard rush.

“See you tomorrow! I’ll come visit again!”

With that, she dashed out of the room. Moments later, I heard voices from the hallway: “No running inside the hospital!” “Sorry!”

Satsuki always had a bit of an airheaded side. I’d seen her make mistakes like this countless times in Love or Dead. Remembering those scenes made me smile a little and lifted my spirits.

“Well then…”

Once Satsuki left, the room fell completely silent.

Left alone, I thought about picking up a book to pass the time, but all I had here was the bag I’d been carrying when the accident happened. It contained some reference books, but I didn’t want to look at them now that exams were over. I wasn’t the kind of person who’d enjoy reading vocabulary lists for fun. And my phone? It had been completely destroyed in the crash.

“I really survived, huh…”

I’d lost count of how many times I’d asked myself that question. I’d thrown myself in front of that car fully prepared to die, so I hadn’t thought about what came next.

With a heavy sigh, I let myself fall back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

“I guess the reason I survived is probably the same logic that applies to Satsuki and the others.”

I’d been wondering why I survived, and finally, I had a theory.

At the moment of the bad ending:

“A car ran a red light and hit a high school student. BAD END.”

That text appeared, along with a CG of me lying on the ground, bleeding after being hit by the car.

But that was it.

It only showed that I had been in an accident. Nowhere did it explicitly state that I died.

Still, considering the amount of blood in that scene, the ominous “BAD END” text, and how many heroines were outright killed in the individual routes, it felt strange to think anyone could survive that.

“Then again, I wonder how those twisted creators feel about the fact that we’re all alive.”

Not just the original creator, but the entire development team likely crafted that final scene with the intention of a complete annihilation ending. Knowing we all survived must be driving them nuts. Honestly, I felt like flipping them off right now.

“Maybe… no, that’s impossible.”

What crossed my mind was the possibility that the so-called “bad ending” was actually a survival route.

What if, even without my intervention, both I and the heroines would’ve survived anyway?

By deliberately avoiding explicitly stating that I had died, perhaps the creators left room for players of Love or Dead to consider the possibility of survival.

It’s tempting to think that among the cruel production team, there was at least one kind soul. But I can confidently say that’s not the case.

If I hadn’t pushed Satsuki out of the way and saved the heroines, all of them would’ve been hit by that car. Maybe someone might have survived, but it’s unlikely all of them would’ve made it out alive.

The fact that I survived at all is nothing short of a miracle.

“Well, I wouldn’t call it a complete victory…”

I rubbed my right arm, but as always, there was no sensation. It was there, but I couldn’t feel anything. The arm I once used so naturally had now become little more than a lifeless accessory.

At least I hadn’t lost it entirely. That was the one small comfort in this misfortune. Even if it no longer worked, I’d always be grateful to it for saving my life.

My gaze fell on the neatly peeled apple shaped like a rabbit.

“Satsuki peeled this for me, didn’t she?”

I propped myself up with my left hand. Moments like these made me realize just how much I relied on my right hand. Even sitting up was a struggle now. Using a toothpick, I speared the apple and brought it to my mouth. It was delicious.

Every day, Satsuki and the other heroines would visit me, bringing small gifts and treats. Honestly, it made me really happy. Like I said before, hearing words of gratitude from the girls I saved was an irreplaceable feeling.

But━

“While it’s nice being called a lifesaver, it feels… a little too heavy sometimes.”

Satsuki calling me “Satoshi-sama” was way too weird. Because of it, the nurses had started giving me odd looks, so I tried to get her to stop—but it hasn’t been easy.

Admittedly, things have gotten a bit better than before…

The problem is, whenever I reject them or they think I might dislike them, the heroines completely lose it. Satsuki would cry, but some of the others went as far as blaming themselves or even harming themselves. It became hard to tell who the real patient was.

So, in the end, I let them take care of me however they wanted. If I didn’t, I was afraid they’d spiral into darkness, and my mental state would crumble along with theirs. As long as I smiled and thanked them for what they did, they seemed happy. If that was all it took, it was easier to just go along with it.

I think I know why they’re so devoted to taking care of me now.

They’re probably trying to erase their guilt by doing things for me.

Stories often focus on the perspective of someone who saves another person’s life, but have you ever thought about it from the opposite side?

Imagine seeing the person who saved your life lying injured, suffering because of their sacrifice. How would you feel deep down? Wouldn’t you think, “It’s my fault…”?

When I considered it from that angle, their behavior made sense. That’s why I decided to let them do whatever they wanted until I recovered. It wasn’t like it was harming me, after all.

“Still, it feels a bit… excessive, doesn’t it?”

The heroines were eager to fulfill any request I made, no matter what it was. Once, as a joke, I asked for help going to the bathroom, and it turned into a hellish experience. That was the moment I decided to never give thoughtless commands again.

The fleeting thought crossed my mind that, if I were to ask for their bodies, they might even agree. But I quickly smacked that part of myself down in my head.

Despite being the one who saved them, I somehow ended up feeling more mentally drained as time went on.

“It’s not like I wanted this kind of situation… At this rate, I’m less of a savior and more of a god.”

I let out yet another sigh, one of many.

I was already satisfied knowing I’d survived and that the girls I risked my life to save were grateful. All I really wanted now was for the heroines to live happy lives.

Preferably with a good guy—not Yuto—and to build a happy family.

“Well, I just have to endure this until I’m discharged. There’s not much else to do, so maybe I’ll read some reference books.”

Someone—who, I didn’t know—had neatly returned my scattered reference materials to my bag after the accident. I rummaged around and pulled out a math workbook I hadn’t finished.

“It’s not here…”

While searching, I’d also been looking for something else, but it was nowhere to be found. The diary I’d been using since I entered high school wasn’t in my bag.

I’d written in it every single day, so the idea of breaking the streak now felt frustrating and unsettling.

But there was another reason I was concerned about the diary.

“Could someone have picked it up and taken it with them that day…?”

What really worried me was the contents of that diary. It was basically a dumping ground for all my thoughts, and a lot of it was seriously embarrassing. The later entries were filled with my fear of death and my burning desire for revenge against the creator. If anyone read it, they might think I was completely out of my mind. That would be beyond humiliating.

But I quickly shook off those thoughts. It didn’t make sense. After all, my bag had been neatly organized after the accident. For the diary alone to be missing felt unlikely.

Maybe it had fallen into a drainage ditch or something. The most plausible explanation was that I’d left it at home. The day before the accident, I’d been so consumed by fear and rage that my memory was a blur. I probably did something careless without realizing it.

And honestly, I’m the only person in this world who could even make sense of that diary. If someone did find it, there was no reason to worry. If it turned up at the police station, I’d just have to collect it with a red face and be done with it.

Yeah, that’s how I’ll think about it for now.

━━━

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