Episode 1: The Gamer Angel Speaks

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By the magic of the girl Raphi, who had suddenly appeared before them calling herself an angel, Yori's appearance had been transformed.

Yori
Hey, you! Why did you do this!? I've got a meetup starting right now, and to walk in there like this...

Yori
And also, you said you could grant my wish, but　a change of clothes was definitely not what I wished for!

Raphi
Don't worry, you'll see the full effects of it soon enough... Probably.

Yori
N-Not very confident, huh... Wait, gah! It's time for the meetup! Hey, could you return my clothes to normal.. Wait, what? She's gone! Ugh, where'd she go off to!?

Yori
Ooh... There's no time to go back and change... I guess I don't have any choice but to go like this.

Yori
By the way, Yuuki, it's a bit late to ask, but who else is coming to this meetup?

Yuuki
1. "A squirrel beastperson from the farm."
2. "I invited a collector."

Option 1.

Yori
Squirrel? Was there a girl like that at the farm? Eh, she's a shut-in? Are you sure she'll actually come?

Yori
... If they're a shut-in, though, then I might not have as much to be afraid of, right?

Option 2.

Yori
Collector... That has to mean the person from Twilight Caravan! Y-You're kidding, there's no way someone crazy like that is showing up!

Yori
W-We could just back out... But I'd be even more afraid of what would happen afterwards, if we did...

End of branches.

Yori
That means there's no choice but to go. Honestly, I'm a little afraid of what might happen, but it'd be rude to back out at the last minute.

Later.

Rin
Mmm, they're late. What's that Yuuki doing? Whatever, let's just order more cake.

Nanaka
Oh, my, Rin, how generous. Are you sure you have enough spending money for that?

Rin
He's paying for it, so it's fine. But you know, when I heard about this gamer meetup, I never thought that someone from Twilight Caravan would be showing up.

Nanaka
Heh heh, surprised? Would you like the great magical girl Nanaka's autograph?

Rin
I'm good on the autograph. Like, I don't need strange items associated with such an infamous guild.

Rin
And like, Twilight Caravan? Isn't that kind of a weird name?^[1]

Nanaka
Ooh, I don't believe it...!? To think that you would antagonize such an adorably strong magical girl!

Rin
Well, as long as we can have a nice relaxing time, I don't really care what guild you're from.

Rin
Thinking back, Yuuki said he'd be bringing one more person, too. What was their name again?

Nanaka
He said it was Yori, from the Diabolos guild. I heard that she's a younger demon girl who's a bit of a tsundere, so I've been super hype to meet her!

Nanaka
Plus, Yori seems to be a twin, too! Twin! Demon! Tsundere! So many tropes all bundled up into one! Ah! I can't take it!

Rin
... I thought that we might be able to become good friends, but things like that kind of give me pause.

Yuuki
1. "Sorry we're late."

Rin
Ah, you finally came. What were you doing?

Yori
Ah, um.... N-Nice to meet you. I'm Yori...

Rin
Huh? When I heard you were from Diabolos, I thought for sure that a demon would be coming...

Nanaka
... She's here...

Yori
Y-Yes?

Nanaka
An angel is here! Eh, wait, wait, this is precious, this is way too precious, isn't it?　Seeing a demon's smile in this divine form!? Ahhh! I can't, I can't!

Yori
U-Um... uh...

Rin
Hey, cut that out and calm down. She's only just gotten here, and you're making her want to leave already, don't you realize?

Nanaka
For real? That would be bad! Sorry, I got a little carried away. Let's start over -- I'm Nanaka from Twilight Caravan. And this squirrel girl is Rin from Elizabeth Park.

Nanaka
We heard you were having a game meetup, and we wanted to come. Let's talk lots today!

Yori
Y-Yes... Pleased to meet you.

Later.

Nanaka
Whoa! Yori, are you clearing nightmare mode!? To think that someone so cute could be such a serious gamer!

Yori
I-It's not that big a deal...

Rin
No, no, it's a really big deal, you know. I'm more of a casual when it comes to difficulty, so I'm pretty impressed with people with those kinds of skills.

Yori
(Ah, thank goodness, Rin and Nanaka are such good people. They know a lot about games, they hold interesting conversations, and they're treating me so kindly.)

Yori
(I was worried about what I'd do if the people were more intimidating, but I'm glad I made up my mind to come.)

Nanaka
Come to think of it, have you two already played that game? The one that came out recently, "The Abyss Hunter's Daughter 2"!

Rin
Yeah, I have, I have. It was really great. The last one was interesting but it was really difficult. But this one ended up being a lot easier to play.

Nanaka
I know, right! I'm especially a fan of the new character Veronica! Her small body handling such a clumsy sledge hammer! Ah, her very existence is godlike! What do you think, Yori?

Yori
W-Well, I...

Yori
(What do I do? I didn't really like it, but those two really seem fond of it...)

Yori
(I don't want to ruin the atmosphere by disagreeing, so I'll just say it was interesting.)

Yori
To be honest, I found it somewhat lacking. I liked the direction of the previous one.

Nanaka
... Hm?

Yori
(Eh? Wh-what? What did I just say!?)

Yori
For sure, the story is well done, and the new character is also really charming. The previous title had acquired a reputation for being excessively difficult, so they also made the game quite a bit easier.

Yori
(Wh-what do I do, it's like my mouth is speaking on its own! I-Is my body malfunctioning or something!?)

Yori
But, personally, I felt like the new work didn't offer enough of a challenge. It just didn't meet my expectations.

Yori
(No way, no way! Don't say these things now! All my thoughts are escaping from my mouth!)

Yori
I understand that it's good to make the work more accessible to a broader audience, but as a player who enjoyed the difficulty of the previous game, I felt a little like I had been abandoned.

Yori
(I can't stop it at all... even though I don't want to be saying these things! Wait, could this be... the effect of that girl's spell!?)

Yori
(Stupid, stupid! Why would she do this to me!? I was just enjoying myself, too... Those two are gonna hate me now...)

Yori
U-Um... S-Sorry... I'll go home now...

Yuuki
1. Grab Yori's hand to stop her.

Yori
Wait, stop... Let go of my hand.

Nanaka
Perfect!

Yori
... Huh?

Nanaka
Amazing job, Yori! You didn't just go with the flow, and instead gave a review that held firm to your beliefs! I was moved!

Rin
Yeah, totally. I just have fun without thinking too deeply about these things, so I never formed any opinions like those. I'm pretty impressed.

Yori
U-Um... You're not mad?

Nanaka
What? Ah, did you think we would get mad because you didn't like the game we did? That's just an everyday occurence for an otaku!

Nanaka
But thank goodness. I was a little worried about whether you were really having fun here. I'm glad that we've been able to bring out your honest passion!

Rin
Yeah. The other girls at Elizabeth Park aren't really into games, so I'm really glad I could get to know some girls who I could really talk to about them.

Rin
So like, you should feel free to say whatever you want to say when you're here.

Nanaka
Yeah! After all, we're all besties here!

Yori
A-Are we really besties already...?

Yori
... If I can say anything I want, then I do want to mention that you came off a little too strong at first, Nanaka. It was only afterward that I understood that you were really a kind person.

Nanaka
Oof! Good point... I hear you... I guess Yori of the Diabolos guild isn't one to be trifled with...

Rin
I mean, she's right.

Yori
And Rin, I heard you're a bit of a shut-in, but there are still limits to what you can do. Games are fine, but it's unacceptable to cause trouble for your fellow guild members, isn't it?

Rin
Oof! To a layabout like me, logic is poison...

Yori
(Ahh, cut it out! I'm still talking without wanting to! Stop it!)

Later.

Yori
Ah... I somehow managed to get through all right. I really didn't know how it would turn out.

Yuuki
1. "But you had fun."

Yori
Yeah. I got to become friends with those two, and I got invited to an even bigger meetup for next time... I'm glad I showed some courage.

Yori
And, um... Since you're the one who invited me, um.... N-No, never mind!

Yori
(Ooh, why doesn't that magic work during important moments like this!?)

Yori
But, even if I managed to make it through today, I'd be scared to go on talking without meaning to like this. We should quickly find that self-proclaimed angel and get her to turn me back. Which means we first need to find out where that girl is...

Yuuki
1. "Shall we go look?"

Yori
No, that game of hide-and-seek seems unwinnable. I'm already tired, too, so let's just head home quickly...

Raphi
S-Spinach Curry!? People eat stuff like that...? I don't even put vegetables in my curry normally, so eating this together would just be way too terrifying...

Akari
Ah, are you too young for food like this?

Raphi
N-No, I can eat it!

Yori
There you are!

Akari
Ah, big sis. What a coincidence... Wait, what are those clothes!? You look super adorable!

Raphi
Ah, Yori! How was it, how was it? Did you have fun at your meetup?

Yori
W-well, you know... Wait, that's beside the point! What have you been doing!?

Raphi
Well, I was getting worried about whether you were doing well, so I called out and started talking to someone I thought was you.

Raphi
But it turns out that you two were actually twins, Akari and Yori. That really surprised me.

Raphi
More importantly, how was the meetup? From the look of it, my magic was just perfect, wasn't it?

Yori
From the look of what!? I had a really hard time because of you!

Raphi
Oh, really...? That's strange... Did you not want to be able to speak your feelings honestly?

Yori
... I mean, sure, but... Whatever strange thing you did really caused me some problems!

Akari
Hey, sis, can you tell me about that outfit first? And also, do you know this girl?

Yori
... Akari, is that really what you're wondering about? Well, the truth is...

Later.

Akari
Mm-hmm, so that's what happened. Raphi, you're amazing! Hey, hey, use that magic on me, too! That outfit is so cute, and it sounded like she was having fun!

Yori
Did you listen to anything I said!? It's become nothing but a bother! Raphi, you need to stop thoughtlessly casting magic...

Raphi
Leave it to me! Angelic Arrow!

Yori
Listen to what I'm saying!

Akari
Ah... Wow, so cute! I've never worn anything like this! But aside from the clothes, nothing really feels different. Did it fail?

Raphi
T-There's no way it could fail. I'm an exemplary angel, after all!

Raphi
The effects just take a little while to appear. Right? Yori, isn't that so?

Yori
You're not listening to me at all...

Akari
Hmm, but thinking about it, I think I'm already the talkative type, so it wouldn't be a very big change anyway. Hey, do you have any even more amazing magic?

Raphi
W-Well, since you're asking, I can cast some super-duper incredible magic! I can do it -- do you want to see? I'll just give you a big, big, big helping of magic...

Yori
W-Wait, stop!

Raphi
Witness my true power! Super Angelic Arrow!

Yori & Akari
Kyaaaa!

Yori (as Akari)
Huh... Wait, nothing happened...? Akari, are you o... kay?

Akari (as Yori)
Ooh... I-I'm okay, sis... huh? Wait... Sis, don't you look different?

Yori (as Akari)
I could ask the same of you... Wait, that's not it. Why am I standing in front of myself?

Akari (as Yori)
R-Right? Something feels strange, doesn't it? It's like you've become me...

Yori (as Akari)
Hey, Akari, you don't think...

Akari (as Yori)
This has to mean...

Yori & Akari
We switched bodies!?

Confronted with a completely unexpected situation, Yori and Akari shrieked, looking upon each other's faces.