Chapter 1: I Was Reincarnated into a Dating Sim
"Scum! Make everyone suffer! Die a miserable death!"
Rowe, who had been staring blankly by the window, jumped at the shout and turned toward the source.
In the classroom, a girl was sobbing uncontrollably, while her classmates surrounded her, offering soft comfort.
Rowe felt a strange sense of relief.
For a moment, he'd thought his heart would burst out of his chest, fearing the anger was directed at him.
Apparently, her boyfriend had been cheating repeatedly, and the whole class was furious.
...But why was his heart pounding so hard?
What was he so scared of?
Rowe couldn't help but wonder.
"Look! Rowe-kun is looking over here~"
The girls murmured in surprise at the usually quiet boy's reaction.
As a transfer student, he spoke little and often stared out the window, but his handsome features always made him the center of attention.
The girl next to him finally found an excuse to strike up a conversation.
"Rowe-kun, can you give us your verdict?!"
"Ah..."
Beneath the intense stares, Rowe forced a helpless smile.
Not wanting his thoughts interrupted by trivial matters, he spoke impulsively.
"Yeah, right. The scum should just die."
The girl next to him blushed at his faint smile.
The other girls giggled contentedly to themselves.
"Rowe-kun looks so amazing when he smiles..."
"If I could date someone like Rowe-kun, even if he dumped me... I wouldn't mind."
The boys scoffed and clicked their tongues.
"Tch, women..."
The classroom noise grated on Rowe's nerves.
He shifted in his seat, resting his chin on his hand as he gazed out the window.
Retro Gothic buildings lined the street, and a massive airship drifted through the clouds, wrapped in a mysterious blue glow.
Gentlemen in top hats, canes, and old-fashioned long coats walked the streets below.
This was neither his original era nor any timeline that should exist.
Yet, the scenery felt eerily nostalgic and familiar to Rowe.
【Xenotype Containment Facility】
【Game Ver.2.0 Updating...】
【Loading data pack. Please wait...】
Yes, Rowe had just been reincarnated into this world.
Into the dating sim he'd played obsessively in his past life.
His blank stare had been from the shock of accepting this new reality.
While others got cheat powers upon reincarnating, he'd been thrown straight into class.
And to make it worse, subjects like Magical Process Engineering were like reading a foreign language...
'Xenotype Containment Facility' was a dark fantasy dating sim.
In a world where steam technology and magic coexisted, human society boasted unprecedented prosperity.
But now, as anomalies began to resurface, beneath the glittering prosperity, in the hidden corners of darkness...
Unknowable creatures stirred, and even worse—unspeakable ancient gods were stirring awake in the shadows.
The game's protagonist was, on the surface, a student at the prestigious St. Karen Royal Academy of Magical Science.
Behind the scenes, he walked in darkness as the director of a containment facility, researching mysterious powers and anomalous beings.
His facility was no ordinary institution; it specialized in containing supernatural entities that threatened humanity.
But since this was a "dating sim," the entities he contained were almost exclusively monster girls.
A girl with horns, a girl with wings on her back, a girl with white hair and red eyes, even a girl with tentacles...
The main goal of the game was to gather these "problem girls," uncover the truth of the fog-shrouded world alongside his companions, and ultimately save it.
That's why Rowe had been so shocked by the earlier shouts of "scum" and "die a miserable death."
Because...
Seducing them one by one, then discarding them when you got bored.
That was exactly what he'd done.
The game's system meant he only got rewards and unlocked the next chapter after fully "containing"—i.e., fully conquering—each heroine.
But Rowe had been just a player.
He'd loved the dark, macabre world so much that he'd forgotten it was a dating sim, playing it purely as an investigative RPG.
Girls? They were just a nuisance!
He was a mysterious investigator walking in darkness, a man who would save the world!
The game's heroines had been nothing more than tools to him, means to an end for rewards.
However, this playstyle came with a risk.
The game was highly open-ended, with character affection heavily influencing the story.
If you truly seduced them and then abandoned them, their affection would plummet.
Cross a certain line, and they might even turn on you with a knife.
That was unacceptable to Rowe.
So he'd devised a cheap playstyle.
Early-game combat power didn't matter. The game was focused on investigation, with barely any combat stages.
So he poured all the points he earned from rewards into his Charisma stat.
With Charisma maxed out, Rowe was a walking incubus!
Even if a heroine's affection dropped, all he had to do was invite her on a date, walk around town, and sweet-talk her a little—and her affection would instantly shoot back to max!
With this trick, he'd been on the verge of clearing the game.
But when he'd pulled an all-nighter and fallen asleep playing, he'd woken up inside the game world.
After school, the classroom was still noisy.
Across the window, a steam bus idled, its dull horn echoing.
Everything felt too real, confirming this wasn't a dream.
Staring at the boy's face reflected in the glass, Rowe let out a bitter laugh.
Checking the game interface, he saw that all the heroines he'd once contained—they'd all left his team.
This was not good news.
Now that the game was reality, they were living, breathing people.
Remembering his past actions, Rowe felt a growing sense of guilt.
The game's protagonist had been, to be honest, a bit of a scumbag.
So... were they going to come at him with knives?
Was he going to end up like Makoto?
Rowe stared at his reflection.
The boy in the white shirt rested his chin on his hand, twirling a fountain pen on the desk with slender fingers.
His pensive expression, with a hint of depth, made him look like a melancholic artist.
With his handsome features and indescribably mysterious aura, he'd captured the girls' hearts from the moment he'd set foot in the class.
In the original game, the protagonist "Facility Director" had no concrete appearance, designed for player immersion.
But the real Rowe fit the role perfectly.
Returning to his earlier fear—
Getting attacked with a knife was terrifying, but fortunately, all the stats he'd allocated in the game had carried over.
His Charisma was still maxed out.
If he'd been able to conquer them with maxed Charisma before, he could do it again.
He just needed a fresh start.
Rowe refocused, pushing his anxiety aside.
A confident, self-assured smile tugged at his lips.
Watching this, the girl beside him, who'd been stealing glances, blushed even deeper.
After school, as Rowe prepared to leave the classroom, a voice called from outside the door.
"Rowe-kun! Your girlfriend's here!"
Huh? Girlfriend?
I don't have a girlfriend... Rowe frowned, peering outside.
"Ooh~"
"Where? Where?"
The classmates who hadn't left yet turned around, buzzing with curiosity.
And then, every eye in the room went wide.
"Um... excuse me."
"Is my brother here...?"
Standing in the doorway was a shy, beautiful girl.
Vivid blue eyes, pale golden hair.
Just then, the soft afternoon sun broke through, gilding her hair and making her skin look as translucent as glass.
Her delicate features made her look like a spirit fallen to earth, not quite human.
"You are..."
Rowe stared at the girl, his memories momentarily foggy.
"...Helena?"
When she spotted Rowe, her large blue eyes lit up with joy.
"Brother! I finally found you!"
Her plain white dress fluttering, she rushed toward him, excitement clear in her movements.
Rowe stared at her, dredging up his memories.
Helena. The first "anomaly" he'd contained, a girl he'd picked up from the slums.
Back when he'd played the game, he'd paid so little attention to them that he'd completely forgotten she was one of the heroines.
But as he held the now fully grown girl in his arms, Rowe suddenly realized a crucial fact.
When he'd found Helena, she'd been only thirteen.
Now, she was a young woman, fully matured.
It seemed this wasn't the same timeline he'd played in.
At least several years had passed...
【Helena】
【Affection: 100】
【Description: A girl who adores you from the bottom of her heart】
Helena appeared human, but in truth, she was a "Xenotype"—an existence extremely dangerous to humans.
In the game, Helena had always been gentle and quiet, a background character.
At first, Rowe had worried that in his absence, they'd changed, becoming uncontrollable and dangerous.
But seeing her Affection still at max, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Helena... Ah, I know you missed me, but you're squeezing a little tight..."
Helena clung to him, trembling as if afraid he'd disappear again.
"Brother..."
Helena pulled back slightly, self-conscious under the stares of the entire classroom.
"Let's go home quickly, brother..."
"Yeah, okay."
Rowe gently stroked her soft hair.
"There's a lot I want to ask you."
What year was it? What had happened while he was gone?
And where was everyone else now?
"Rowe-kun, who's this cute girl...?"
The girls stared at Helena, curiosity piqued.
Rowe took her hand, smiling as he explained.
"She's my sister. We haven't seen each other in years."
"Oh, your sister—"
Learning the beautiful girl was Rowe's sister, many of the girls relaxed.
They began chatting with Helena, who grew even more shy.
She squeezed Rowe's wrist tightly, keeping her head down and not saying a word.
Just then, a boy walked through the door.
"Rowe! The teacher's looking for you! Get to the staff room after school!"
"Huh?"
Rowe felt her grip on his hand tighten even more.
Helena seemed overwhelmed by the unfamiliar crowd.
Watching her, surrounded by girls and looking small and scared, Rowe was reminded of New Year's, when he'd been cornered by relatives and bombarded with questions.
He smiled, stepping in to rescue her.
"Maybe tomorrow."
Bidding farewell to the disappointed girls, Rowe took Helena's hand and left the classroom, laughing.
But in a place Rowe didn't notice...
Helena dropped her shy, timid demeanor in an instant.
She slowly turned her head, glancing back at the girls.
Her eyes were cold, and twisted.