Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Chapter Seven

The NewsPaper Club was exactly what he’d seen in the game, but there was more to it as well. For one while Ms Matilda was over it she was also over two other clubs. That left her assistant Primwood Prose to oversee most of the day to day duties. Copper learned that Primwood was actually a pretty kind individual. Unlike most of the girls that went to academy she wasn’t here to find a husband. It also didn’t take long to determine that Primwood herself was more interested in girls than she was in boys.

Part of that came from her eyeing of Artemis. He’d seen the kind of stare she gave the faux bunny girl before. Those stares were the kind that was reserved for men and women that were undressing the person they were looking at. Most likely she’d already bent Artemis over in her head, and he was stopping there. He looked at Artemis who seemed to have chosen to ignore the stares. He was proud that she was doing that, and that she wasn’t resorting to seeing if she could paint the walls with Primwood’s insides.

Not that he believed that she would do that. In truth she seemed to show incredible restraint when it came to other people. The only one she was exceptionally direct with had been Delicate Emerald, and honestly he was fine with that. Delicate Emerald deserved being told off a little. Still, everything seemed like it was going well, and he waiting for Primwood to finish mentally molesting Artemis and to focus on the here and now. A few moments later she finally cleared her throat, “Sorry,” she said as she pushed her glasses back a little bit, “So, since you’re the newest member of the NewsPaper club I’d like for you to go around and interview the new class of students. I’ve got a list somewhere,” she stated as they walked toward Ms. Matilda’s office, “I also know that we’ve got a scholarship student. Find out what her plans are. Why she was gifted the scholarship, and how she plans on fitting in.”

This was the exact same project that he’d been given when he joined the NewsPaper club in the game. The difference was that he wasn’t the scholarship student. So he didn’t have to track her down. Which he took a moment to look around and see if she was here, but she wasn’t. Not seeing her he guessed that this really was something that most people usually missed in the game, and so it likely was the same here in this world as well.

“Sounds good,” he said as he looked at her, “I’ll do it between classes.”

She nodded, “That said, you don’t have to have Artemis with you, right?” she asked, her eyes drifting back over to his crewmate, “I mean, she could stay here, help me out with some stuff. I’m sure that we could find a few things to get done while you are out and about. Maybe I could borrow her services for a couple of hours, or days, or weeks. You know, whatever you felt comfortable lending her out for.”

He shook his head, “While I understand what you’re getting at, I must respectfully decline,” he replied, his answer direct, simple, and polite, “Besides, Artemis tends to prefer to be nearby me most of the time. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable, and if I’m being honest she can sometimes catch things faster than I can.”

Primwood nodded, “I understand,” she said, her two toned silver and midnight blue hair slightly waving, “Well, go ahead and get that story in for me. The sooner the better. We could really use a nice introduction piece for the year. Oh, and if you don’t mind I’d like to get your account of the labyrinth you defeated. The news of it has made a few rounds, and an adventure piece would be nice.”

He nodded, “Sure, I don’t mind going over what happened in the labyrinth,” he replied as he looked at her, “I mean everything just sort of fell together. Once that happened it was a matter of getting everything together and heading out.”

He saw her studying him, and he shrugged his shoulders, “Well, if you have about half an hour, I don’t mind telling you what happened. From there he began to tell her the version of the events that he told Silver Bell. He explained the labyrinth itself, how they found the cavern, and how it held the pirate ship in it. He watched as her eyes widened.

“Wait, you found the lost ship of One Eye Mash?” she asked, her voice raising in pitch, “You actually found his ship? How did you find the Inferno?! Oh dear goddesses, was it as beautiful as it’s been said it was?”

He saw her reaction, “Well, it’d been abandoned for ages down there,” he said, watching her reaction, “And the ship had suffered massive damage before entering the cavern. My guess was that One Eye Mash had hoped that the cavern would keep him and his treasure hidden while he figured out what it was that they needed to do. From that cavern they dug tunnels into the rest of the labyrinth itself. I guess that he was planning on letting the monsters act as a sort of guard for his treasure.”

She nodded, and he watched as she wrote every word down, “And did you find him, did you actually find One Eye Mash?”

He nodded, “I found several skeletons of pirates in the main captain’s cabin. They were gathered around a table, and at the head of it was a skeleton wearing an eye patch. My guess is that was him.”

She breathed out, “That’s amazing, you found one of the single greatest pirates of all time. He actually managed to steal from three different nations, and even managed to spark a war because of it,” she said as she studied him, “In addition, his treasure is said to be one of the greatest ever hidden. It’s no wonder you were able to fund your own way into the academy.”

It took him a moment to wrap his head around what she had just said. When he played the game in his previous life he hadn’t really paid attention to the lore about the pirate ship in the labyrinth. To him it was just something that the developers had thrown in. The entire thing reeked of stealing from an old 80’s movie, but the fact that there was actually some semi interesting lore made him wish that he’d paid a little more attention to it. Not that it mattered, One Eye Mash’s ship, the labyrinth, and everything left inside of it was gone. He’d watched the entire labyrinth collapse in on itself.

“So, he was the reason for the war happening right now?” he asked, wondering if that was the case. If so then it meant that he had sparked a war that lasted centuries, “Because if so then that’s kind of insane. I would have figured that the three nations that went to war with one another would have banded against him. Instead they decided to fight one another. That sounds like madness to me.”

Primwood shrugged, “To be honest, the war that’s happening now might have stemmed from that, but that’s not the official cause,” she replied as she got up and lead him toward a collection of books in Ms. Matilda’s office. She pulled one down, opened it, and showed him the various maps of the world, “The actual problem is that the three nations currently at war all have various disputes on the borders of their respective nations. It’s happened because while the floating islands themselves do remain mostly anchored in place there are times they will slightly shift. This causes a small change in the border between nations at times.”

She smiled as she looked at him, her soft yellow skin showing the normal elastic of youth, “Basically, the war really comes down to about fifty yards of farmable land. I know that our current queen and king are attempting to find a diplomatic way of stopping the war, but the other nations aren’t so interested in it. They’re more interested in having the land, and maybe taking a little more.”

He shook his head, “So, all of this is over a little extra farm land?” he asked as he looked at the map, “I guess I can understand, but at the same time it makes so little sense. They want to ensure that their people have more food, and they want to grow more cash crops. Still, it seems so short sighted to me.”

Primwood smiled at him, “Well, as you know, the further south you go, the colder it gets,” she said as she looked at the map, “And that means that the United Equestrian Nation has quite a bit of land, but over a third of it can’t grow anything because it’s locked in a constant winter. The rest of it is divided up into areas that can grow for a short amount of time, and finally toward the edge of their border the area where they can grow most of the time.”

She then pointed toward the west, “The Queendom of Mutatio has farmable land, but it’s also heavily plagued with monsters. Most of their people have devoted themselves to fighting the hordes of monsters, and protecting themselves instead of growing food. Those that do farm are considered National Treasures, but they also carry all of the nation’s requirements for food on their backs.”

She then pointed toward their own nation, “Our Kingdom is different in that we have a very balanced nation. We have all four seasons, but at the same time our growing season is fairly long. Additionally while we have monsters, like everyone else, they’re not so many that we can’t deal with them. Ultimately, we have what both Mutatio and the United Equestrian Nation desire,” she said as she closed the book, “While One Eye Mash certainly kicked things off with his antics, in all truth the war would have happened eventually anyway. It was just that his actions gave them all a reason for it.”

He listened to it, and he realized that while the game itself had been an absolute dumpster fire, there was no getting around that the lore had some decent depth to it. Sure, it was a bit of a stretch to think that a single individual had potentially caused the war between three different nations, but then one of the World Wars back in his old world had started because of a flock of geese that had been seen on a radar.

In comparison it wasn’t so unlikely that it couldn’t be considered. It still didn’t change the fact that the game was horribly unbalanced, the start off equipment was mediocre at best, and it was aimed at girls that wanted to have a reverse harem. He breathed out, it didn’t matter. This was his life, and he was here now. All he had to do was exist. The nations could go to war with one another, or it could end tomorrow, but as long as he got t live the life he wanted that was fine.

“Thanks for the lesson,” he said before he felt Artemis move. He looked at her as she studied the maps for a moment.

“Tell me,” she said as she looked at the maps themselves, “What was it that One Eye Mash stole from the other nations that caused them to go to war?”

The question obviously caught Primwood off balance, and she shook her head, “I’m not sure,” she admitted after a moment, “I mean there’s a lot of theories. For one, the Queendom of Mutatio was rumored to have had a talisman that apparently would cause monsters to stay away from a location. If that’s to be believed then the talisman itself was connected to a series of temples that stretched across their nation, and it kept the monsters away from the inhabited floating islands.”

That news actually made Copper stop and think for a moment. Sure, the farmable land was about as good of a reason as any for someone to go to war. After all, history was full of reasons that were far dumber than that, but something that could actually keep monsters away from the floating islands would be invaluable. If that was in the treasure that he found from One Eye Mash then there was every reason to believe that this Queendom of Mutatio would do everything they could to get it back.

“I’m guessing that when each nation tried to chase after him that they ended up in another nation’s territory. That caused them to believe that each of them were invading into one another. Naturally that probably sparked it,” he said as he considered everything, “So, if that talisman is in the treasure I found…”

He didn’t finish the sentence before Primwood shook her head, “Don’t,” she said her voice firm, “Don’t ask or joke about it,” she said before she let out a slow breath, “There’s been nobles killed because they claimed that they had that talisman. It’s an incredibly rare, and incredibly powerful magical item. Finding it both the luckiest, and the unluckiest thing that could happen to a person. People would do anything to get it, and that’s not including what the Queendom of Mutatio would do for it.”

She studied him, “If you found it, then keep it hidden, and don’t breathe a word about it,” she said sternly, “I don’t want to lose the first real member of the NewPaper Club since I’ve joined.”

He looked at her, and he nodded, “Okay,” he replied, “I won’t bring it up again like that, but I might ask more questions about the magical theory behind it.”

She shrugged, “That’s different. Magical theory is magical theory. Understanding magic, and its uses is exactly what part of going to this academy is about. So ask away young grasshopper, but don’t be asking like you know where it is. Please, really just don’t. For one I don’t want to die either, and I would really rather not have to suffer any torture for whoever to only find out that my deepest darkest secrets have nothing to do with that thing.”

He nodded, and then he looked at the time, “Alright, well in the meantime I’ll focus on the interviews, and of course I’ll do so between classes. Which I need to go right now. I’m going to be running late for my first etiquette class.”

She shrugged, “That’s up to you if you want to go to it. Sure, it’s kinda important, I guess, to learn how to throw a good tea party, but I’d rather focus on the magic and labyrinth raiding. A lot more chances to earn some decent money, and of course to find the person you want to be with there,” she said with a smile, “I’ve always imagined that the person I meet that I want to marry will be in a labyrinth. We’ll be adventurers, and they’ll find me low on water, on magic, and on resources. They’ll stretch out their hand to me, and tell me that they’ve come to save me. From there it will become a wonderful experience for the both of us.”

She sighed, “I could care less about tea parties. Which, of course is going to make my mother so upset at me.”

He looked at her, “Primwood, I’ve got to admit, you’re not at all what I expected from the girls here,” he replied as he began to walk out, “I mean that as a compliment.”

She laughed, “Oh, trust me I know that you did. Most of the girls here are pretty high maintenance, and a good number of them have forgotten what it’s like to actually raid labyrinths, have adventures, and put down monsters. I don’t want to get like that, so if I’m not here then I’m in the labyrinths the school has for practice.”

He nodded, walked toward the school itself, and looked at the layout. It was just like the game, massive, designed to look like multiple mansions, and all of them seemed to be around one another. The mansions were each designed as disciplines, and of course there were another collection behind them. Those were the dorms. He walked toward the one that housed etiquette before he heard the sound of someone gasp.

“That’s Tiara, Diamond Tiara,” someone whispered, their voice sounding full of worry, “That’s Duke Filthy Bit’s daughter. I heard she was going to be here again this year, but does she know?”

He looked and saw the slight purple skinned girl. Her white and lavender colored hair was done in a bun. She carried herself with a sort of dignity and grace that was impressive to see. He knew her from the game as well. In the game she was the main antagonist. Her entire purpose was to attempt to win the heart of the Prince. Which from what he remembered of the game they were betrothed to begin with. That was one of the things he hadn’t really liked about the stupid dating sim.

The protagonist basically had to become something of a homewrecker and bust the two of them apart. Well, she did if she ended up dating the price.

“Get away from Prince Apollo!” came her commanding voice, but there was nothing cold about it. He’d imagined that it was cold before when he read through the dialogue, but it wasn’t. No, her voice was full of fury and passion, “He is my betrothed, and I demand that you separate yourself from him.”

“Diamond,” the response came from Prince Apollo Bean, “Like I told you in our letters, we’re not betrothed at school. To be honest, I’m not sure that I want to be betrothed at all. Besides, if I was to be completely honest, Satin here has become a wonderful friend of mine. Do you really want to ask me to end a friendship?”

There was an obvious hesitation from her, “No, but the way she’s giggling, the way you’re acting, that’s not friendship. That’s practically dating,” she said, her voice sounding more hurt than anything, “Please, my prince, I am supposed to be your betrothed. Is it wrong for me to want to spend time with you? Is it wrong for me to want to show you that I care?”

He breathed out, “I had hoped that this semester would be one where we could both enjoy ourselves,” he said, as he looked at her, “Please, Diamond, don’t press the issue. I don’t want to be forced to make you realize exactly where it is that you stand.”

He knew this. This was the pivotal point of the beginning of the academy. Depending on how it was being played this was where the protagonist would start to drive a wedge between the two of them, but it would be unintentionally. The thing was, that wasn’t the protagonist. He didn’t know who she was, but he’d never seen her before in his life.

“Weird,” he thought as he watched, “I wonder why it’s different?”

He watched as the three of them stood there, before Diamond Tiara finally stood up straight, “Please, Prince Apollo, see reason,.” she started before he shook his head and he began to talk before she could say anything else, “No, we will not discuss this any further, and if you press further I will be most annoyed.”

“Your Highness, please, don’t do anything rash for me,” Sutton said, and he looked at her. That was the beginning of the dialogue tree. She was sitting things up for the wedge, “I don’t want to interrupt your life that you have. I only really wanted to have a friendship with you. I completely respect your relationship with her.”

“Sutton, there is nothing to worry over, Diamond Tiara understands that I can have friends, and if she does not then perhaps we are simply not meant to be.”

That was it, the beginning of the wedge, but why wasn’t it with the protagonist? He shook his head, he couldn’t understand it, not at all, but it didn’t really matter right now. There was a class to get to.