Matchmaking Cheat Sengoku: A Romantic Battle Royale of Reincarnated Otherworlders - The night when "As planned" was said three times in a row

The lingering echo of "as planned" still hung in the air above the stage. Tatsuki Takuma turned his name tag over and over in his palm, standing in the corner of the venue, chewing on that echo. 『Skill: None　Status: Ordinary Person』 No matter where he looked, the same text. Unchanging. Unchangeable. The memory of the self-introduction segment crept back into his mind. That was——truly terrible. The self-introduction that came through the PA system——the party microphone——had been: "Um, I work in stationery sales, and um, I don't really have hobbies, but ah, I'm confident in cellophane tape inventory management……" Cellophane tape. Stationery. Through the PA. In the Salon Lumière on the 36th floor of Hotel Grand Cresta, a venue with a capacity of 80 people, that line had echoed beautifully. The silence that followed was perfectly described by the phrase "absolute zero." Not a single person laughed. Not a single person reacted. The air simply froze, quietly. （Why did I say that? Why cellophane tape? There had to be something else. There had to be more.） But now, maybe that didn't matter anymore. Because—— Before that silence could fully thaw, the MC's announcement flowed through the venue. "Now, we will have remarks from the organizer." A spotlight hit the stage. Tatsuki Takuma reflexively looked up. There was Reina. He had no idea when she'd taken the stage. He just noticed she was there——same as last time, Tatsuki Takuma thought vaguely. Her lustrous silver hair caught the light and gleamed quietly, and her 168cm frame didn't waver a millimeter. Eyes the color of ice blue slowly swept across the venue. The entire audience straightened their spines. Tatsuki Takuma straightened his too, without thinking. Reina approached the podium and reached for the manuscript——that was the moment. Wind from the air conditioning duct swept the papers away. The white pages fluttered, following a slow, almost beautiful trajectory, and landed behind a vase placed beside the podium. Reina leaned forward to pick it up. Her elbow hit the microphone stand. The stand fell. It collided with the vase. The glass vase——without making a single sound——slowly, slowly rolled—— Hit the spotlight stand and shattered spectacularly. CRASH！！！！ Rose water spread across the entire stage. Three red roses drifted across the stage with the water. The venue fell silent. Every participant's gaze concentrated on the stage. Everyone held their breath, waiting to see "what happens next." Reina, holding the water-soaked manuscript in one hand, her expression completely unmoved, said: "As planned." Ddddddddddddd…… Countless question marks floated above the heads of everyone in the venue. Everyone's face screamed "no way." But no one could say it out loud. Because Reina's dignity was overwhelming. After a moment of silence, the participants began to look like they understood: "Oh, so it was a performance……" （No. Definitely not.） Only Tatsuki Takuma was certain of that. （This person is seriously clumsy.） And for some reason, he felt a strong sense of kinship. 　　　★ Reina's speech began. It was catastrophic. The top half of the manuscript was unreadable due to water damage, so it became completely improvised from the middle. She repeated the same sentence three times. On the fourth time, she noticed. She flipped the manuscript over. The back was blank. She flipped it back. She almost repeated it a fourth time before stopping just in time. All the participants in the venue had no idea what expression to wear. Only Tatsuki Takuma quietly cheered in his heart: "You can do it……" The speech somehow ended, and applause broke out. It was somewhat reserved applause, but when someone started clapping a bit harder, the rest was pulled along and grew louder. Reina bowed slightly on stage and stepped away from the podium. Her expression didn't move from beginning to end. Then the MC announced: "Now, we will begin the first round: 'Skill Presentation.' Each participant, please appeal to the opposite sex using your skills." Tatsuki Takuma looked at his name tag. 『Skill: None』（I don't have a turn.） Thinking that, he quietly reached for the tiramisu placed at the edge of the bar counter. 　　　★ The first round began. And disaster began. The first presenter was a stout man who appeared to be in his fifties. His name tag read "Absolute Swordsmanship Lv.MAX"——Absolute Swordsmanship was the highest-level sword technique in Valdira, a power that completely optimizes body movement. In modern Japan, it meant all physical control became superhuman in precision. He tried to appeal through wine service technique. He grabbed the bottle. "Absolute Swordsmanship Lv.MAX" demonstrated perfect grip strength. The bottle shattered in half. SPLASH！！！！ Wine sprayed in a mist, raining red across the surrounding tables. "Ah" was the only sound that echoed in the silence. （He completely destroyed it.） Tatsuki Takuma thought, taking a bite of tiramisu. Next, a man in his thirties in a well-fitting suit stood up. His name tag read "Spatial Leap Lv.MAX"——Spatial Leap allowed teleportation to any sighted location or memorized coordinate. Within a 500-meter radius, it apparently worked in modern Japan too. He tried to appeal by warping gracefully to the seat of a female participant he was interested in. He concentrated. He vanished. Shwip! Three seconds of silence. "……Huh?" Five seconds of silence. Ten seconds of silence. Thirty seconds later——he returned through the venue door, breathing hard. "I sincerely apologize, the coordinates were slightly……off……" "Where were you?" "……The third basement level kitchen……I was threatened with knives by the chefs while apologizing……" Apparently his coordinates had shifted due to nervousness. It took three minutes to get back. Tatsuki Takuma ate a second bite of tiramisu. Third was a woman with a dignified impression. Her name tag read "Sage Magic Lv.MAX." Sage Magic was the pinnacle of knowledge-based magic in Valdira, a skill that allowed manipulation of an object's temperature through willpower. She could change the temperature of anything she touched at will. She tried to delight all participants by bringing every table's tiramisu to the perfect temperature. Including the tiramisu that Tatsuki Takuma had just forked—— The magic dispersed. All 30 desserts at every table froze solid at once. Crunch crunch crunch crunch…… "Eh" "Eh" In the silent venue, Tatsuki Takuma tapped the now-solid tiramisu with his fork. Tap, tap. It made a stone-like sound. （It'll break normally, at least.） He applied a little more force with the fork, and a small piece broke off. He put it in his mouth. Crunch. ——It tasted perfectly normal. All the people with skills turned to look at Tatsuki Takuma at once. A person with no skills was simply eating tiramisu normally, while everyone with skills had failed. A scene no one had anticipated quietly took shape in Salon Lumière. Tatsuki Takuma noticed the gazes and froze slightly. （Did I do something weird?）　　　★ Reina moved. She began circulating through the venue. She walked quietly toward the table covered in wine from the earlier disaster. "Today's wine shower performance. As planned." Ddddddddddddd…… The surrounding participants accepted it: "I see……" Their faces all said "no way……" but their mouths didn't say it. Reina's overwhelming composure invalidated everyone's objections. Next, to the table of the investor who'd returned from the kitchen three minutes later. "A performance demonstrating the diversity of movement routes. As planned." The investor nodded: "Y-yes……" Finally, to the table with the frozen tiramisu. "The provision of frozen dessert is part of today's concept. As planned." At that exact moment, Tatsuki Takuma was tapping the frozen tiramisu with his fork. （Three "as planned"s in a row.） Tatsuki Takuma counted in his heart while casually observing Reina. She was calm. Her expression didn't move. Her tone of voice was consistent. Everyone thought "no way" but couldn't object, such was her overwhelming presence. But—— Tatsuki Takuma noticed something. Every time Reina said "as planned," her left index finger tapped her own thigh for just 0.2 seconds. Regularly. Once each time. Tap. Tap. Tap. （Wait……） Tatsuki Takuma shifted his gaze slightly and checked again. The moment "as planned" was deployed at the next table——tap. No mistake. （This person……） No skills. No memories from a past life. Just observation skills alone had revealed this tiny fact. That composed organizer was——using the words "as planned" as a shield, desperately trying to maintain her composure. That imagination quietly spread through Tatsuki Takuma. （This person is just like me. Nothing's going right for them either.） For some reason, something in Tatsuki Takuma loosened at that moment. The jittery tension that had continued since the cellophane tape incident suddenly thinned. The only person in the venue with "Skill: None" was, without realizing it, the most natural. 　　　★ The chaos of the first round finally subsided. Participants scattered around the bar counter area, and the venue's atmosphere gradually relaxed. The wine stains remained as they were, and emergency replacement desserts were lined up. Somewhere, someone was breaking the frozen tiramisu with a spoon. Tatsuki Takuma sat down on a sofa by the window, placing the plate with the remains of the frozen tiramisu on his lap. Tokyo Tower glowed red outside the window. （Why am I even here……） A legitimate question surfaced, belatedly. No skills. No past-life memories. A matchmaking party, skill presentation, social warfare among reincarnates——none of it had anything to do with him. Why had Yanagibashi called him here? What did "it's definitely your type" mean? There was no answer anywhere. A figure approached in his peripheral vision. It was Reina. Tatsuki Takuma straightened his spine slightly. Reina stopped in front of the sofa, still facing the window——toward Tokyo Tower's red light——and said: "You have no skill." It was a confirming tone. Tatsuki Takuma answered, "Y-yes." "No memories from a past life either." "……I don't." "Yet you're here." Tatsuki Takuma thought for a moment, then answered, "A friend called me……so I came." It was a response he couldn't quite explain. Reina's gaze remained on Tokyo Tower. Her profile was still unreadable. After a pause, a quiet voice fell. "You alone are a real human." Tatsuki Takuma had no idea what those words meant. （A real human……? Everyone else isn't human……? But reincarnates are human too. Even if their forms are different……） He was about to ask when a roar echoed from the bar counter direction. BOOM！！！！ He turned to see a new skill malfunction. Someone had apparently failed to adjust "Spatial Leap," and three bar stools had vanished together. Reina's feet were already moving. "As planned." With those words, her back receded into the distance. Tatsuki Takuma was left behind. In his left hand, a fork with frozen tiramisu. Outside the window, Tokyo Tower. Reina's back had already disappeared into the crowd at the bar counter. （A real human……） He turned the fragment of words over in his hand. It made no sense. But in the moment Reina said those words——her gaze, which had been on Tokyo Tower, had definitely shifted toward Tatsuki Takuma for just one second. Just one second. But there was something there. Not calculation or observation——something that seeped through, something like loneliness, yet perhaps not loneliness at all. Tatsuki Takuma realized that the simple feeling of wanting to stay here a little longer had naturally settled in his chest. He didn't know why. He couldn't explain it. He just felt it. The last fragment of frozen tiramisu made a small crunch sound on the fork's tip.

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Episode 2

Name: Matchmaking Cheat Sengoku: A Romantic Battle Royale of Reincarnated Otherworlders
Author: Novelia

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