The game was called The Sky Dyed in Love. In hindsight, it has quite an indigestible title.
Released during the boom of romance games, known as “crying games,” this title drew on influences from famous works and featured a classic storyline, yet it was met with mediocre reviews from the public.
Rather, it felt like a niche work known only to a select few amidst a sea of similar titles.
However, it remains a strong memory for me.
The reason is that this game was the first romance game I ever played.
I played this game during my university days.
Having some free time, I randomly picked it up in a game shop.
I thought that with multiple endings, it would help me pass the time; it seemed playable on my PC, and I liked the illustrations.
With such reasons, I picked it up, played it, and was deeply impressed.
The expressive characters, charming voices, moving BGM, and well-crafted storylines that branched based on my choices.
While these are elements that are somewhat common in romance games, for a complete novice like me, everything felt fresh and enjoyable.
It certainly fulfilled my purpose of killing time; in fact, I became so absorbed that I forgot to eat and sleep, and naturally, I ended up pursuing all the heroines.
After graduating from university and starting a job, I became so busy that I hardly played games anymore… and The Sky Dyed in Love became just a fond memory. But who would have thought that this world was the one depicted in that game!
Suzuna Kanzaki and Wakana Amamiya are both main heroines of this game, meaning they are characters I could pursue.
In the game, Suzuna Kanzaki is a first-year high school student, while Wakana Amamiya is a third-year, so the setting would take place three years later.
The story follows the protagonist, who transfers to a new school in his second year, meeting the heroines and deepening their relationships… a very orthodox school story, with no fantasy elements like superpowers or strange phenomena.
Each heroine has their own set of issues, and the protagonist develops a romantic relationship while solving these problems.
The severity of the issues varies among the heroines; some confront their problems throughout the entire narrative, while others might merely have fleeting resolutions, engaging mostly in romantic interactions.
And Suzuna Kanzaki’s route was one of the former.
“…I couldn’t sleep at all.”
After realizing that this world was the one from the game I had played in my previous life, and having thought about the game continuously from yesterday to today, I found myself facing a sleepless morning.
The headache had faded, but I still felt groggy from lack of sleep. Thankfully, it was Saturday, so I didn’t have to suffer through school today.
—Knock, knock.
“Huh?”
As I sat on the bed, dazed, I suddenly heard a knock on the door.
My father generally doesn’t visit my room. My mother barges in without knocking.
That leaves only one person as the likely candidate.
“Ei-ji-san.”
“Suzuna!? …Chan.”
As expected, the one who knocked was Suzuna-chan.
“Mom said it’s time for breakfast.”
“Oh, okay. Got it. Thanks for coming all this way.”
“…No problem.”
Conversations over the door often sound overly emotionless.
After exchanging only the bare minimum of words, Suzuna-chan left.
I felt my heart racing for various reasons.
After all, she is one of the heroines, Suzuna Kanzaki—the one I had seen through the game and developed a romantic relationship with.
…No, it’s more accurate to say I was an observer watching the romance between the protagonist and Suzuna.
Because…
“I’m ‘Eiji Kanzaki,’ after all…”
Eiji Kanzaki is not the protagonist but one of the supporting characters.
He is the protagonist’s rival, in a way, but not entirely.
He appears in various scenes, but he has the most screen time in Suzuna’s route.
In a nutshell, the in-game Eiji Kanzaki is a “super obsessed, creepy brother.”
He idolizes Suzuna as an angel, has gross interactions, and sometimes jumps off the third floor of the school without a care, or appears riding on top of a bus—he’s a lively character filled with exaggerated comedic traits.
While the climax of Suzuna’s route reveals a serious side to him, he is still quite the comedic character.
“Am I really that guy…?”
I find myself speechless at the image of a comical, handsome guy, laughing maniacally and popping up unexpectedly.
In fact, just the thought of doing such bizarre things makes me feel like my face is on fire! The atmosphere he carries is clearly that of a gag manga!
Some of the physical gags seem impossible, such as jumping from the third floor—wouldn’t that be physically impossible…?
Honestly, I can’t help but feel a slight fear that I might actually be able to pull off such high-spec behavior if I tried… After all, I’d have grown physically more by the time I become a senior in high school.
“…No, those finer details don’t really matter.”
The finer details of the portrayal of “Eiji Kanzaki” in the game are not a significant issue.
After all, “Eiji Kanzaki” is a supporting character. In some routes, he doesn’t even appear at all. That’s the extent of his role.
So, what I should focus on is not those details, but…
“Whether I can accept that I’m a supporting character…”
If this world is truly the one depicted in the game, then as a supporting character, I have a duty to observe and ensure that things unfold as scripted.
The Sky Dyed in Love is a game where all routes lead to happy endings. The only bad ending occurs when the protagonist fails to win over a heroine; every other ending connects to a happy future.
I am, after all, a supporting character. Not the protagonist.
If I were to act on my own and inadvertently disrupt the protagonist, I could potentially steal away and ruin the happiness that was promised to someone.
“Whether to fully embrace being a gag character or not… In any case, it’s best to quietly observe.”
This world, once so impressive and engrossing to me, feels like a place I want to bring happiness to the heroines if it really is that world.
Yet even more than that, there’s a strong desire for those heroines, whom I once loved—embarrassingly so to say now—to find happiness.
(To avoid being an obstacle… I should be careful not to do anything unnecessary.)
I force my drowsy mind to think and arrive at that answer.
“This is the right thing… It has to be right.”
As I mutter this to myself, I can’t help but feel like I’m not entirely convinced at the very moment I’m trying to convince myself…
“…Ah, damn it.”
Combined with my lack of sleep, I felt a strange irritation rising within me.
Honestly, I could have arrived at this answer without agonizing over it all night.
It’s the right thing; and yet… I don’t know why I’m falling into doubt, which only heightens my frustration.
“…For now, I’ll eat. Then, I’ll sleep!”
Suzuna is waiting for me to hurry up through my mother. If I dawdle too long, not only will I get scolded, but I’ll also be a nuisance to Suzuna.
With that, I momentarily shut my thoughts and forcibly cut off my wandering mind.
