Switching to a Reverse Harem, but the Male Lead Changed the Genre

There had been no death from overwork, no reincarnation-by-truck — just a sudden, unexplained possession. If she really strained to find some semblance of logic in it, the only possible cause was the comment she'd left on the social media account of the author of How to Marry the Hero of the Century, the romance fantasy she'd devoured religiously, venting her disappointment about an ending that fell short of everything she'd hoped for.

She knew the words could wound the author. Even so, blaming days of consecutive overtime and her wrecked condition, she'd rationalized it as an expression of her love for the work — and hadn't stopped there, freely editorializing about how if the story had unfolded this way or that way, it never would have dragged on so long in the first place.

Fortunately or unfortunately, she came to her senses less than a minute after hitting the post button. Mortified, she dove back in to delete the comment — only to find the author's brief reply already sitting beneath her words.

For some reason, a chill had run down her spine at those words. Probably just her imagination.

"What is this even supposed to mean? Did my comment really hurt you that much?"

She'd meant to leave an apology — I was far too rude — but by the time she looked again, the author's reply had already been deleted. She hastily erased her own comment, and by the time she'd smoothed over the prickling unease and lain down to sleep, she had no way of knowing that what she'd done that day would lead to this. And when she opened her eyes, she was greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling and a crowd of strangely dressed people peering down at her with worry written all over their faces.

"Natalie! Are you back with us?"

"My lady! Are you all right? You fainted so suddenly — I've been worried sick!"

Strangely enough, she didn't panic. The moment she came to, the memories of Natalie Pereira had come flooding into her head, and by the time she'd blinked a few times in apparent disbelief, she had already pieced together exactly what her situation was.

Her adaptation was swift. She didn't slap her own cheek crying this must be a dream, nor did she waste time idling about on the assumption that she'd wake up from it soon enough.

Once she'd reassured the worried crowd and sent them out, the first thing she did was organize her rapidly fading memories of the original story while they were still recoverable. She sorted out the events she might be able to bend, catalogued the likely consequences of each, and — perhaps thanks to a career spent analyzing data and forecasting outcomes — whittling down the list of high-impact turning points proved surprisingly easy.

But what am I going to do about work? If I'm marked absent with no contact, does that count as automatic resignation? One more month and I hit ten years of tenure — my severance pay tier goes up. I can't just be sitting around here.

She had no memory of dying, so she spun her hope circuit at full RPM, telling herself she could always go back.

The goal: return as fast as humanly possible.

The only thing that could conceivably have caused the possession was that post on the romance fantasy author's social media. So she forced herself to believe that if she crafted a happy ending everyone could be satisfied with, she'd be returned to her original life. Soothing her rising anxiety, she studied how to handle each obstacle in a way befitting Natalie — and whenever the inevitable, unshakable dread closed in, she comforted herself with the fact that she hadn't been dropped into a villainess, nor into some extra powerless to touch the plot.

These days, possessing an extra or a villainess is the meta for romance fantasy isekai. Being the actual female lead? That's a premium spawn point.

Gifted, beautiful, and with a spotless reputation to boot, Natalie could steer any development, any cliché, safely in her favor.

There was just one problem: the timing of her possession.

Of all moments, she'd arrived immediately after the collapse of Natalie's father's business, leaving her precious little time to prepare a countermeasure. Natalie did have a talent for magic — she'd graduated the Academy with top marks and been snapped up by the Magic Tower as a junior researcher — but her salary was nowhere near enough to cover her father's debts.

Soon enough, the rumors will be everywhere: a childless count with no heir to inherit the title, his business failing, one foot in the grave.

Because her father had been careless enough to guarantee the principal in the investment contract, his creditors — desperate to claw back at least their capital — hounded him without mercy, until even Natalie's father collapsed under the pressure. And the counts and lords below him, as if they'd only been waiting for that moment, threw themselves into a cutthroat competition to marry their way into a title.

Not that the problem was unsolvable. Wait just a little while, and the male lead, McLane Lindhardt — unable to bear the sight of Natalie being sold off into a marriage she never wanted — would forgive an enormous swath of the debt and propose a contract marriage.

That's how it was supposed to go. If only it had, there wouldn't have been a single problem.

"Why on earth is this man so fast? Where did they say the interview was again?"

Natalie quickened her pace, chasing after the man who had already vanished into the building.

By the time she'd asked her way around and finally found the interview site, the interview was already over. Spotting the frail, almost sickly young man just stepping out of the room into the corridor, Natalie let out a breath of relief and approached him.

"Long time no see, Tommy McAvoy. To think we'd run into each other here."

"Huh? Natalie Pereira? What are you doing here… Don't tell me — are you here for the combat mage interview too?"

But before Natalie could answer, Tommy shook his head at his own absurd question and answered himself, waving the very idea away.

"No, of course not. They said I was the only applicant. And you got scouted by the Magic Tower before you'd even graduated — you're a researcher there now. I've heard you're rising fast there too, one of their great hopes. Someone like you would never come to a combat position interview like this. So what brings you here? Oh! You're acquainted with Sir McLane Lindhardt, aren't you? Are you here to see Sir Lindhardt?"

"No, you've got it right the first time. I'm here for the interview."

"Right, the interview — no, wait, what? The interview? What about the Magic Tower? Don't tell me you quit?"

Natalie stared for a moment at Tommy's face — mouth hanging open in utter disbelief — then let out a small laugh.

"No, I haven't quit yet. But seeing you just now, it occurred to me that if I ever do, I'd better start by finding my replacement."

"Wh-what? Wh-what on earth is that supposed to mean?"

Watching Tommy blink rapidly, struggling to process what he'd just heard, Natalie lowered her lashes in a look of regret and asked, "Come to think of it, you're in no position to stay away from the capital for long, are you? I heard Lady Mariel's illness hasn't shown any improvement. You need to stay by your mother's side."

"…Honestly, that's exactly what I've been agonizing over. I'm the only one who can look after her, and the medicine bills never stop coming, every single month. What I've managed to save up is nearly gone now. I don't have the skill to get into the Magic Tower like you did. I have to earn money somehow, and as it happens, I'm the only mage who applied here — so they say they'll treat me very generously."

Looking at Tommy's slumped shoulders and tear-streaked face, Natalie raised her voice with theatrical flair.

"Oh, come now — your skills? Your graduation scores were top-tier too, remember? More than good enough to work at the Tower. I'll recommend you as my replacement with my strongest endorsement, throw in every insider tip I have, and hand over the work with a thorough handover — what is there to worry about? The research funding just came in nice and fat, so the pay will be far better than traipsing off on an expedition after these people."

"You — you don't mean — d-don't tell me, you want to put me in the Magic Tower…"

"Yes, and I think I need to have a serious talk with you about that. But as you can see, it seems I have to pop into that room for a bit. Could you wait here a moment?"

"O-of course! Quickly — no, wait, no! Take all the time you need, finish whatever you have to do. I'll be waiting at the teahouse just ahead until you come out!"

With a smile and a nod toward Tommy's oddly flushed, excited face, Natalie walked slowly toward the interview room. Through the slightly parted door, the sound of men arguing heatedly leaked out into the corridor.

"That man is the only mage who applied to our combat unit, Captain. We don't have alternatives."

"Take that wobbling noodle of a man with us and he'll desert before we ever reach the Erosion Zone."

"I've asked around everywhere, and decent mages are just hard to find. You know how it is, Captain — the number of mages has dropped so much lately that anyone with real skill is already snapped up by the Tower. If it comes to it, I'll carry him on my back if I have to, soothe him and coax him every step of the way. Whatever it takes."