Nと言う名の男、Bと言う名の女 (N to Iu Na no Otoko, B to Iu Na no Onna) - Review
A parallel universe short story of sorts that is a spin off of 酷罪を受けるべき者. Nと言う名の男、Bと言う名の女 essentially shares some of the same characters from Kokuzai; however, unlike Kokuzai, this work is a short freeware otome and is advertised as such in even its description. While the game is technically standalone and can be read without reading Kokuzai, it does in fact reveal the main villain as both stories are the same in that respect. For that reason, I strongly suggest reading Kokuzai prior. It is far more fleshed out where it conveys the villain better IMO
In Nと言う名の男、Bと言う名の女, the protagonist is Teami, the overbearing soldier who Ayuri befriends in Kokuzai. On the contrary to Teami's depiction in Kokuzai, she is presented as a normal school girl who lives with her grandfather - she is far more subdued personality-wise in contrast. Teami does not explicitly show her original insecurities in the story besides being a subject to bullying and exploitation, which seems to be a standard theme in the circle's work. For those who enjoyed Teami's personality and backstory in Kokuzai, Nと言う名の男、Bと言う名の女 may feel way too jarring for what it attempts to do for her characterization. It almost feels like the short story was more or less the author's rough draft for another work but somehow decided with working on existing characters as a "what if" scenario because of her love for age gap relationships.
Although I was not fond of the difference in Teami's characterization in this work compared to Kokuzai and I had somewhat of a lukewarm reaction to the story's conflict ultimately, Ayuri is still an absolute joy. Her personality and motives remain generally consistent as in Kokuzai but far more lighthearted.
^best girl
Notable moments is when Ayuri first meets with Teami and eventually confides with her at the story's conclusion. Personally felt this work did not leave as much of an impression on me as Kokuzai did but it was overall quite solid for what it intended to be. Teami's struggles to overcome her abuser and eventually coming to terms to her feelings felt organic where the conclusion was quite satisfying despite my frustrations.