Chapter 1

"Rika! We have a problem," Rika's assistant, Hinata, stumbled into her office with a bundle of papers ready to fall out of her arms and her glasses tipping to one side.

Rika rushed out of her chair, over to her before she could run into her desk. "Breathe, Hinata, and then tell me what's wrong."

Hinata took a few deep breaths. "One of our suppliers is pulling out of the deal. Without it, we won't be able to make our product. I tried calling a few others to make a deal, but the timeline is too tight. What do we do?! This product was already launched online, and it's due for release in two weeks—"

"Breathe." Rika took a few deep breaths to get her to mimic her until it worked. "Which supplier pulled out?"

"The one for the sensor. Without it, it isn't much of a health watch."

Rika shook her head. What in the world is going on? She thought. "How can they pull out now? I thought production had already started?"

"We have a couple of hundred watches made with their sensor, but they cut off supply for the rest."

"They can't do that. We have a deal. I'm going to call them."

"I already have. They said there's a shortage of a rare mineral used in production, and they're forced to prioritize a long-term client, so they can't fulfill the rest of the order."

"But... Ugh." Rika's shoulders slouched. This can't be happening. I wonder which big company paid extra for our share of the supply. She rubbed her temples, eyes closed. Think, Rika, think. How can we find a new supplier in such a short time? Even if we did, there's no way to have enough ready in time. "We'll have to go with a partial launch while I switch suppliers."

"But I've called the ones on our list and no one has extra right now. It seems like there's a shortage." Hinata held up the list.

A dark shadow crossed over Rika's face. "We're going to have to pay more and secure a longer contract than I'd like, but there is someone who might have the supply. I took them off the list after what happened last time, but it can't be helped if we need them." Rika sat back down at her desk and pulled a binder out of her top drawer. She flicked through until she found the company. KairoTech Sensors Ltd.

I really don't want to deal with them again, but it's better than letting this completely fall apart. Let's hope they don't up the prices even more than last time.

"I'll work on getting supplies from KairoTech while you work on switching to a partial launch."

Hinata's eyes widened. "But they're the reason we switched suppliers in the first place."

"We didn't want their price gouging, but if no one on that list has any supply for us, we have to go back to them."

Hinata nodded, frowning. "Don't let them push you around. I'd rather cancel the product launch than end up on a raw deal that will put this company in the hole."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but who knows if our department will still exist if we botch this? I know our limits, so they'll have to stay within it to make a deal. Let's hope the company can come out with some sort of profit." Rika sighed and stared at the phone number.

"Good luck, Miss." Hinata pumped her free hand in a fist.

"Thanks. I'm going to need it."

Once Hinata headed back to her desk, Rika called KairoTech. "Hello, this is Rika Kacho from MiraiKen Technologies. I'd like to talk to Mr. Kairo about a new deal. He's not in? Oh, someone else is dealing with the contracts?" Rika took a deep breath. "Yes, if they're available, I'd like to talk to them now." I need this deal as soon as possible.

Rika went over the numbers repeatedly, making sure everything would work out before agreeing to a new deal and signing a contract.

This is going to make things a bit tight when everything is taken into consideration, but we can make it work.

Even after she agreed, she read over everything again. Although at this rate, we would've been better off if we stayed with them, even with the crap they pulled on us. It's a worse deal than the original one.

Rika sighed and rested her head on her desk. The clock beside her head made her shoot back up. It's that late?! I'll barely have any time to look for a new otome to play before heading to bed. Who am I kidding? I'll pass out while playing.

Knock, knock. Hinata opened her door. "It's getting late, so I'm heading home."

"Me too. Do you want a ride?" Rika asked as she gathered her things.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course; it's not that far from where I live, and we can even talk about how the partial launch setup is going."

Hinata's cheek twitched. "Yes, of course. Thank you."

Rika pulled her blazer back on, grabbed her coat and purse, and turned back to Hinata. "Ready to go?"

"Yup."

By the time Rika dropped Hinata off at her place and made it home, it was almost time for bed.

No, I must at least find my next game to obsess over.

Instead of scrounging for food in her fridge, Rika grabbed her handheld console and lay down in bed as she scrolled through the online store.

Played it, played it. I'm burning through this list. Oh! I've never seen this one before. Rose Court? The image showed a woman in a fancy dress with red hair in the front, with four men in different uniforms and a shadowy figure in the back. Behind all of them stood a castle.

No reviews. Rika quickly looked through her phone to see if there was a walkthrough or more information.

Nothing? Maybe I've found a hidden gem. If only I had time to make a guide for others this time. Oh well; time to fly blind.

She downloaded the otome game Rose Court and dove right in.

As always, she renamed the player character to Rika to immerse herself even more.

The intro played, swooping in with the main character, and then each of the love interests. Prince Alric holding a white rose. Sir Wolfe of the royal guards with a blue rose. Duke Dryden with a red rose. Ferran the mage with a yellow rose. And lastly, a silhouette with a black rose and a question mark.

The game started. 'As you're lying in bed after work, a flash of light blinds you.'

A flash of light lit up the sky through the window of her bedroom.

What was that? Rika set her handheld system down on her bed and looked out the window. I know I saw something.

Unable to fight her curiosity, she made her way upstairs to the fenced in rooftop of her mid-rise apartment building with a small garden and clothing lines across one side.

Now, where did the light come from?

She glanced down at the street with a few cars humming along, but didn't spot anything out of the ordinary, so she looked up at the dark, starry sky.

A bright light from directly above her was getting closer.

Is that a meteorite? Wait, is it coming straight at me? No way... Oh, crap.

A beam of light landed on Rika, consuming her, and she lost consciousness.