An Extra’s Rise in an Eroge

"This takes me back to the old days," Alicia said, breaking the tranquil silence.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Do you remember how we used to sneak out of the manor to play around, making the servants run everywhere searching for us?" she continued with a soft chuckle, her voice tinged with nostalgia.

I nodded silently, though inwardly, I felt a pang of awkwardness. Of course, I don't remember anything.

While Alicia carried on, lost in her memories, I turned my attention inward and called out to Sol.

'Hey, Sol, do you remember our conversation last night about retrieving Arthur's memories?' I asked.

[Yes,] she responded instantly.

'I want them now. How do I get his memories back?'

[There are multiple ways,] Sol replied, her tone brisk as a list of options appeared before me.

Item: Memory Potion – Price: 50,000 EP – Can retrieve a part of memories.Skill: Self-Hypnosis – Price: 100,000 EP – Can hypnotize yourself to do anything.Skill: Memory Extraction – Price: 400,000 EP – Can extract anyone's memories.

And the list went on and on.

The sheer variety left me overwhelmed. 'What do you suggest, Sol?' I asked.

[I suggest upgrading me,] she replied without hesitation.

'And how would upgrading you help me?'

[With the upgrade, I can access your subconscious mind directly and retrieve the memories for you painlessly. Plus, you'll unlock new features.]

'What features?'

[You'll find out after the upgrade,] she teased.

'And how much is this upgrade?'

[Only a million points,] she said as though it was pocket change.

'Why don't you just rob me outright?' I groaned.

[Hey, every penny is worth the features. You won't regret it!] Sol said, her tone smug.

'Ha~ Features you're conveniently not disclosing,' I muttered.

[Have I ever suggested anything unfavorable for you?] she retorted, feigning innocence.

With a sigh, I relented. 'Fine. Here goes my hard-earned points.'

Continue your journey on empire

[Wise choice,] she replied, satisfied.

[The upgrade will take 24 hours, so I'll be offline during that time. But before I go, I'll retrieve those memories for you.]

'Wait, what do you mean? You could retrieve them without the upgrade?!' I shot back. But her voice disappeared, leaving me with silence and frustration.

Before I could dwell on it, a torrent of foreign memories surged into my mind. Faces, places, emotions—all of Arthur's life—flooded in. It was overwhelming, as though I'd lived two lives in parallel.

Though it felt like an eternity, the entire process lasted less than two minutes.

When I came back to myself, Alicia was still talking, recounting her memories with a warm smile.

But this time, something was different. As her words painted vivid pictures of the past, I could see them clearly in my mind. Moments I hadn't lived yet felt deeply familiar. The faint closeness I'd felt toward her earlier had bloomed into something far stronger—an intense, heartfelt love.

Arthur had loved Alicia deeply, though his shy nature had always held him back from expressing it. Now, with his memories flooding my mind, those emotions had become mine.

I turned to Alicia, watching her as she spoke. Her small, delicate face, her soft lips parting and closing as she animatedly shared her memories—it all felt so precious.

Before I knew it, I leaned in, silencing her words with a gentle kiss. Her chattering stopped abruptly as her eyes went wide, surprised by the unexpected intimacy.

But after a moment of hesitation, she began to reciprocate. Her lips pressed back against mine, warm and yielding.

Something about this kiss felt different—different for both of us.

For me, it wasn't like yesterday, driven by desire and curiosity. This kiss carried Arthur's feelings, tenderness and affection that felt new and yet utterly natural.

For Alicia, the change was just as striking. As she opened her eyes to steal a glance at me, her breath hitched. My gaze was no longer clouded with the same hunger as the night before. Instead, it was filled with affection, devotion—love.

She recognized this look immediately.

It was the same gaze Arthur had given her in the past, a look she thought she'd never see again.

I parted the kiss, sliding my fingers gently through her hair. "You look so beautiful, Al. I wish this moment could freeze in time."

"Al"—the nickname Arthur used to call Alicia so affectionately—rolled off my tongue naturally, bringing a faint smile to her lips.

Alicia blinked, her face tinged with confusion. "What's gotten into you? Why are you acting so strange all of a sudden?"

I smirked, leaning closer. "I think I fell in love with you again." My tone was teasing, but the sincerity behind it was unmistakable.

"Stop it," she said, her face flushing as she turned her head to the side.

Before the moment could deepen further, it was shattered by the all-too-familiar voice of Cedric, thundering across the garden.

"Hey! Sis! Arthur! The results are out!" Cedric hollered, sprinting toward us.

Alicia's head whipped toward him, her expression turning from serene to murderous in an instant. I, however, stayed calm, suppressing a chuckle at the sight of Cedric's excited but clueless face.

Sooner or later, he's going to meet his end at his sister's hands, I thought, recalling the countless times he'd interrupted Arthur and Alicia. This wasn't new; it had been a pattern since childhood. And, without fail, each of his interruptions would end with Cedric nursing wounds and bruises the next day.

Cedric skidded to a stop in front of us, panting heavily. "The results are out!"

I maintained my calm, but Alicia's glare could have pierced steel.

"I made it into the Scholar Department!" Cedric beamed, then added, "And Kaela got into the Combat Department!" His excitement was palpable.

"And you? What about your results?" he asked, his wide eyes brimming with anticipation.

"My aetherpad's still inside," I said casually, beckoning Alicia. "Let's head back in and check."

Cedric's excitement faltered slightly at my nonchalance, but I ignored it, turning toward the manor. Alicia followed, her irritation still etched into her face as she shot her brother a glare so fiery it could have turned him to ash.