My Friend and I Reincarnated Into a Tragedy Dating Game-Chapter 98: Just a Tad Bit Crazy

Jess wasn't even slightly flustered when I declared that I wasn't actually her brother.

A bitter smile formed on my face.

"Unfortunately, yes. So why haven't you been running despite your brother being so insistent on it?"

Jess puffed up her cheeks.

"...From my perspective, you two are the same person. Even if you really were two different people, there wouldn't be that much of a difference. The two of you would probably get along really well."

Ah, yes, of course. That makes... so much sense. We have definitely been getting along so well. Definitely no arguing or disagreements or anything of that kind.

"You seem quite sure when you hardly know anything."

Jess let out a small laugh.

"...I don't know, but you don't feel just like him. Always trying so hard."

She buried her head into my neck and then muttered.

"While it may be impossible for me to help normally, at least I can do this."

I blinked a few times and thought about all of her strange past actions.

"So you did all of that despite knowing that I was a different person?"

Jess waited a second before speaking.

"...Well, it's still my brother's body. I was surprised when you first let me do what I wanted, and I decided to take what I could."

Wait wh-

This girl is... a little more messed up than I thought. My face twitched.

"You really like your brother that much? Isn't there something wrong with you?"

"Maybe just a little bit."

Jess peeked up ever so slightly, just enough for me to catch a glimpse of her narrowed eyes and strangely wide smile.

Fuck.

Jess hurriedly ducked down, as though realizing she had shown something she shouldn't have.

"...Ignore that."

I forced an answer through clenched teeth.

"...Alright."

It was best not to go against a person while they were on a tipping point unless you wanted them to release themselves, so I naturally didn't.

I don't remember this in the game. She definitely was not this crazy. At least... I don't recall her being this crazy. Jess was always lukewarm with the main character at best, so I just thought she was kind of a boring character.

Now that I think about it, she would always make me face away while hugging me. Did that mean she always had that kind of face while doing that sort of thing? No, no, that would make it a horror game.

This isn't a horror game. It's a tragedy.

I have to remember that. Yes, I should just... stop thinking about that.

It's fine.

But Bryson, did you know that your sister was this crazy? I never thought I would ever have to deal with this kind of yandere bullshit even after transmigrating into another world.

Er... I mean, ever.

Ok, well maybe a little bit. But at the very least since I have a bit of experience dealing with them. The first step is to avoid getting their attention altogether so you never have to deal with them in the first place.

But sometimes... things just don't go the way you plan. Especially since they themselves usually don't know they are crazy until they actually start showing it.

Upon failing the first step, the second step is to make sure you don't overly resist them, as that will only make the person in question more violent and desperate. In certain situations, making them forget you is a viable solution, ideally faking your death, but depending on the obsession, this may have the reverse effect.

Some would still search for you regardless, and every passing moment would only amplify it.

And Jess was definitely one of them.

The third step was to use their obsession against them and gain control over them. This would give me the agency, and depending on how it's handled, you could move on to the final step.

Make them kill themselves.

It's easier than you think.

Now, I would normally do that, but Nathan would probably give me a really painful death if I actually went through with it. I suppose Jess could still be useful, so it may be best to keep her around instead.

"Brother... you feel colder for some reason."

A smile formed on my face.

"Haha, I'm sure that's just your imagination, sister."

I could feel Jess tremble. Strangely enough, it was far easier for me to sleep despite the fact I was in direct contact with another person.

Before I knew it, my eyes closed.

...

Unfortunately, there was a person that disturbed my otherwise peaceful sleep. It was a familiar pink horned figure. The book, as I would say. He looked at me silently for a while before clearing his throat.

"I will ignore most of what happened. But regardless, were you able to find the sage up north?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Apparently he doesn't really consider himself a sage. That's kind of rude to just assume someone's title, you know?"

The pink figure was speechless for a brief moment before snapping back at me.

"If you didn't find him, then you can just say that!"

I rolled my eyes.

"I really did find him. Well, I guess more accurately he was the one that found me. He kinda just came to me while I was messing around with a puzzle he made."

The pink figure was visibly excited, despite having little features since he was made of some mist.

"So were you able to understand Divine Arts? Everyone thinks that it's a legend in current times, but I know that its true!"

I scratched the side of my head awkwardly. Would it be too much to break it to him?

"Um... From his words, apparently this Divine Arts doesn't actually exist. And apparently, Dark Arts isn't a real thing either."

The pink figure froze in place. A second later, he threw a tantrum, swinging his limbs about.

"Just say that you never met him! Why are you wasting both of our time?"

I couldn't help but laugh.

"If you don't want to believe me, you don't have to. It's not like I really gain anything out of it anyway."

The pink figure suddenly quieted down, rubbing his chin in thought for a little while.

"Tell me what you heard from him."

I puffed up my cheeks and held out my hands helplessly.

"Don't wanna."

The pink figure angrily shook his fist at me.

"What? Just tell me! I was the person that even told you about him in the first place!"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, did anyone ever teach you to ask nicely if you want something?"

The pink figure bit his lip, still on the verge of exploding out in anger, but forcefully reigned it in.

"Please... tell me..."

With a smile, I laughed.

"That's more like it. What a good boy you are."

The pink figure glared at me.

"...Could you just tell me?"

Feeling he wasn't going to play into this anymore, I relented.

"Fine, fine. He called it 'Desire Manifestation'. Apparently, there was never a difference between what people called Dark Arts and Divine Arts. But rather, it was how they used it. He would also lose his memories after using that ability, but somehow or another, using it also extends your life. Like, reversing aging and all that."

The pink figure gawked.

"What? But... I've been practicing for thousands of years, and I've never gotten close to how I saw him use it."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"He said that Desire Manifestation will become stronger depending on how clear your intentions are while using it. Or, I guess desires. But along with that, they also have to align with what your actual desires are. And what you think you desire isn't necessarily what you actually desire."

The pink figure fell into thought for a long while. After a moment, he muttered.

"So that's what enlightenment is?"

I blinked a few times.

"Guess so."

He closed his eyes and sucked in a cold breath.

"Does... does that mean... Hey, sorry to make you suddenly do this, but leave me alone for a little while."

Why is he acting like I wanted to be with him in the first place?

Without another word, the dream suddenly ended. It seemed that the book wanted to think over things.

...

Upon waking up, I found Jess was acting like she always had. It almost made me think that everything from that night was actually a dream.

Almost.

Because I can't even remember the last time I had a real one of those. Besides, the book visited when I should've been dreaming. In fact, it was almost just like every single other school day that I'd had.

Though, the only tiny difference was-

"Hi, good person!"

Gray was still calling me that the moment he saw me. A bitter smile formed on my face as I saw his enthusiastic expression.

"I have a name, you know? It's Bryson."

Gray tilted his head to the side and put a finger on his chin.

"But I didn't say anything wrong?"

I let out a small sigh.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess so. Sure."

Before I knew it, I was once again on the carriage heading off to school. Jess was as silent as she had been, though it took on a different meaning for me right now. I simply kept my eyes closed and meditated using this time.

Once I found myself in the classroom, Raisa turned around in her seat to look at me before class started.

"Hey, why were you out for two days?"

I rested my head against my fist and rolled my eyes.

"How did you even know about that."

Raisa cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Um... I was just trying to visit you for a little bit and found out."

She tilted her head to the side and scratched her cheek. Then, she whispered under her breath.

"Are you the one that's wanted?"

I blinked a few times. It would probably be best if she didn't know about that.

"What? Just because I bought a mask that kinda looks like the posters, you think I'm the same person?"

Raisa let out a small gasp.

"E-Eh? No, no, nothing like that."

I sighed and lazily put one hand on the desk.

"Anybody could wear a mask. Besides, do you really think I'd have the time to find someone with a matching mask to go along with me? I just wanted to explore the place a little without guards protecting me all the time. I get it's technically dangerous... but still."

Raisa awkwardly laughed.

"Ah, of course! Sorry about that."

Thankfully it seemed she believed my lie. And with what I just said, she should be a little more willing to break the rules that are ingrained into the head of nobles. It wouldn't do much now, but time is a powerful thing.

Sam suddenly stood up when Nathan entered the room.

"Are you ready for the challenge? It's coming soon!"

Nathan shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"I'm ready for it right now. But what about you?"

Sam was slightly flustered but recovered quickly.

"What? Of course I am! Let's do it right now then!"