Herscherik (Reincarnated Prince Series) Prologue

1. Unexpected Downpour, Game and Traffic Accident

That day, Hayakawa Ryouko’s life ended.

She was a normal woman that can be found anywhere.

Her family was composed of five people, her parents and two little sisters. If anything, because she was the eldest daughter, her sense of responsibility is strong. However, she was a person with no particular outstanding talent and even her looks are normal.

The only difference she had to the general public was that she loved games, manga and novels since childhood and was not able to break away from that.

She frequented manga cafe instead of partic.i.p.ating in group dates. She was more absorbed in games rather than marriage hunting. Instead of fully enjoying the sea in summer, she gave priority to lining up in Comic Market and acquiring spoils of war — she was that kind of hardcore otaku that before she knew it, she was already over 30 years old.

“My boyfriend won’t come out of the screen.”

When asked about marriage, towards the eldest daughter who said that with a straight face, the parents said “Ah, this child is really hopeless,” as if realizing various meanings.

She stuck her tongue out at the relatives who seemed embarra.s.sed deep inside while adding, “’cause they’re two-dimensional,” to which she got a severe scolding from her mother later on. She winced at her mother’s fists but fortunately, the attacks stopped shortly thanks to her relatives setting up a marriage interview.

Such woman worked as an office staff at the headquarters of a certain company listed in the stock exchange. Because her income was a little higher than others of the same s.e.x and generation, she got a loan and purchased an apartment near her parent’s home during her late 20’s, in consideration of their old age.

She neither had intention to marry nor she had a lover. She aimed for early full payment but if by any chance she got married, living in the apartment is alright and selling it is fine, too. She looked forward to a quiet, carefree life alone while focusing on her parents and the life of old age.

She gave priority to her hobby even with her job as an office worker in a company. She trained a junior and before she knew it, the junior obtained a departmental position. While shedding tears as the junior she painstakingly raised became in-charged of another department, she trained another one again…she spent everyday productively. She had no doubt that this kind of life will continue until her retirement age.

However, this daily life that never changed for the better abruptly ended.

The day before her 35th birthday, although it was near winter rather than deep autumn, there was a sudden rain when she left the company after working overtime. It was cold and the visibility was bad, the striking rain was so noisy that it seemed as if the ground will be hollowed out.

“The forecast said it will be just a drizzle.”

Ryouko took out her favorite folding umbrella from the bag while sighing. There was a low chance of rain according to the morning weather forecast and even if it will rain, it would immediately stop. The forecast was totally wrong.

(I can eat dinner somewhere while taking shelter from the rain but there’s something I need to do today… Idiot rain.)

Ryouko sighed while getting fed up inwardly. For Ryouko, today did not only mean as the day before her 35th birthday. It is the long-awaited release date of the new otome game Ryouko has been waiting for for more than half a year.

Nevertheless, it’s regrettable that she had to work overtime. Usually, she doesn’t work overtime. She leaves her seat at fixed time, disregarding the imploring gazes of her co-workers. However, the boss entrusted a job that must be finished today no matter what. It was the sad fate of a working adult who cannot decline.

However, time will not turn back no matter how much she regrets. In order to obtain the game even a little earlier and increase her playtime, she opened the umbrella and jogged to her favorite game shop.

Her intended game shop was a favorite shop from high school days.
The reason why she still reserve and buy in a store even though it could be ordered online and sent to one’s home nowadays, was because she was acquainted to female clerk who kept with the latest productions and she could reserve products that couldn’t actually be reserved.

Even if it was somewhat embarra.s.sing for a woman past her 30’s to purchase, she did not have any regrets if she can pa.s.sionately talk about her fetish with the clerk.

“Oh! The signal changed!”

Her monologues increased after she began living alone. Saying retorts while watching television was a daily occurrence.

The traffic light with a long waiting time in front of her was the last barrier to her destination. Moreover, in this cold temperature and heavy rain, waiting for a long time was tough.

Besides, a folding umbrella is inadequate to defend against a heavy rain. Even her newly-bought boots, favorite coat and expensive branded bag were soaked wet due to the rain.

Ryouko broke into a run and began crossing the pedestrian lane. The bad visibility and her head filled with the game she will be playing after this, reduced her attentiveness remarkably.

The moment Ryouko stepped on the second white line of the crosswalk, a horn reverberated as if tearing up the sound of the rain.

When she turned her head towards the sound, pure white light followed by a dull crash changed into the sky and the ground like a slow-motion.

Finally, a thud-like sound echoed, the scenery disappeared from her vision and it became pitch-dark.

(Ah, I need to contact onee-san and tell her I won’t be able to go today…)

Though Ryouko was thinking about such thing, her consciousness stopped snappily as if a switch had been pushed.

Hayakawa Ryouko, who was living an ordinary life, met her quick demise in a traffic accident the day before she turned 35.