Chapter 57

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 57

Chapter Title: Role-Playing (3)

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The meal... was insanely delicious.

There was that saying about how everything tastes better after a day of starvation, but even so...

"Wow..."

It felt just like grabbing a proper meal back on ordinary Earth.

The beef melted in your mouth the moment you put it in. The soy-marinated crab was perfectly soaked in its sauce, and the half-boiled egg pickled in that same crab sauce...

I had no idea where she'd gotten it from, but the steamed rice was piping hot, topped with neatly folded perilla leaf salad...

And the fish grilled to perfection, packed with roe that crunched so satisfyingly with every bite, and so on...

"This is so good, honey. But..."

"I'm... glad."

"...Aren't you... going to eat?"

"I already... ate."

"I see... It would've been nice to eat together."

"Really...?"

"...Of course. We're... married, after all..."

There was one problem, though. The wife had grilled all the meat for me, and now she was wiping up the blood trickling out from under our son's door.

'Did "I already ate" mean she had actual breakfast... or that she ate the son monster? No way to know...'

"That was delicious."

From the Bento Box monster in the Bellierd Library that took care of my meals...

To the convenience store in the safe zone, food deliveries I could order through the system...

And now this role-playing horror spread, with a table set by my "wife"...

'Where the hell do these monsters get Earth's ingredients from...?'

How were these monsters sourcing Earth's food so perfectly...?

'Some monsters study humans. Others have nearly mastered it. There's the Status Window translating human language... and some that are practically indistinguishable from humans...'

For a fleeting moment, it hit me—maybe, just maybe, some of the people around me back on Earth... weren't human at all.

'Anyway, time to clean up.'

It felt awkward just sitting on the sofa, so I gathered the empty dishes to wash them in the kitchen.

"Just leave it... I'll clean... it up."

I heard the wife monster's voice—she was trying to handle everything herself.

"No way. You made the meal; we should share the chores."

I said it without thinking, offering to help with the dishes...

"...Why?"

Just like that morning when I'd gently stroked her hair.

Her black eyes fixed on me, scanning me intensely...

'This is driving me nuts.'

For a split second, I thought about going full 1960s macho man, like the community advised...

"...Why?"

"...Huh?"

The wife monster dropped the blood-soaked rag with a thud and strode toward me.

"...Why are you being so nice, honey?"

I could sense something was deeply, terribly wrong.

I prayed the armor made from the Six-Legged Monster could withstand a monster attack...

"..."

She stopped right in front of me.

"Why are you... being so nice... to me?"

"...What do you mean?"

"You saw."

"Saw what...?"

"You saw... your wife... with another man."

She was asking why I was being nice to her after she'd cheated.

"..."

For the first time, her question stirred complicated feelings in me.

Why was I being nice...? Because...

'...Isn't this just the role-play?'

I was doing my best to play my part to escape this place... right?

'...No, if that's the role, shouldn't I be angry at my wife here?'

No.

If it really was role-play, to fully commit to my role... I should be expressing anger at my wife, shouldn't I?

"..."

I met her gaze silently.

She stared back with those chilling, goosebump-inducing eyes.

And in that moment, it dawned on me...

'She's the one in power here.'

Like the Bellierd Library monster with authority to "dispose" of patrons.

This wife monster seemed to have the power to "dispose" of role-holders in this role-playing world.

"Answer me... Why aren't you... angry?"

Right now, the son monster wasn't moving a muscle in his room.

Or more accurately, it wasn't even certain there was a son monster behind that door anymore.

If there wasn't... high chance the wife had "disposed" of him.

Which meant...

"...It's partly my fault too."

"...Huh?"

The one I needed to impress most here was the wife monster standing right in front of me.

'She definitely said "protagonist."'

Protagonist.

The lead actor in a play or movie.

The monster that kidnapped me here called me the "protagonist."

If I was the protagonist of this role-play, I couldn't ignore the roles closely tied to me.

"You love me, don't you?"

"..."

"Even knowing that, I refused you in bed. Like this morning."

"You... did."

"It's because I, your husband, couldn't satisfy you properly. How could I blame you alone...?"

"..."

"I'm sorry. For not being a better husband."

I poured every ounce of effort into those lines to keep this rational monster from turning hostile...

"..."

The wife monster stared at me silently... then turned abruptly and walked back to the kitchen.

'Phew... Thought I was done for.'

Relief washed over me after navigating my first real crisis here—my legs went weak.

'No way this horror is cleared by killing the wife... right?'

My head was spinning a bit.

Seeing her silently start the dishes, I figured gathering info took priority right now.

"The son? Is he asleep?"

I asked casually, like a normal family man, reaching for his door...

"He's not here."

"Huh?"

"Tonight... he's sleeping... at a friend's... house."

That confirmed it—the wife monster had definitely disposed of the son.

"I see..."

That explained the fear in the son monster's eyes when I came out of the bathroom this morning...

I basically told the cheating wife it was partly my fault too, so we're both at blame, something like that...

(Photo)

The wife monster is just normally doing dishes now after hearing my response...

The issue is... she said the son monster is sleeping at a friend's house tonight...

Whether he actually comes back tomorrow is something to watch for.

My gut says the wife disposed of him.

Saw blood under the door, but pretended not to notice.

Like the Moderator said, someone else might enter this horror...

'Let's see... Which old post should I reply to?'

I pondered where to leave the info...

'This one's perfect.'

I decided on an announcement post no one would check.

'Entry code here is RY, so how to phrase it...'

The Moderator used indirect strategies to share entry methods without alerting monsters.

For example, back when the "Roommate Won't Die on Floor 1" horror entry was FE:

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Entry method for that horror dungeon: Get an F in sex ed.

Oh yeah, forgot to brush my "teeth" before bed.

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Splitting codes into separate hints so monsters wouldn't catch on.

I wanted to do the same...

'But how to indirect-ify RY?'

Nothing came to mind when I tried...

'Just post it; she'll delete it anyway.'

No one but the Moderator would see it anyway.

--

I posted the comment and went to help the wife with dishes—

'No. This still feels wrong.'

No matter how I thought about it, it was a bad idea.

'Yeah, let's do it right—'

Laziness struck, and I realized I'd done something I absolutely shouldn't. I went to delete the comment—

--

"...Huh?"

Not even 10 seconds after posting... someone saw it already...?

"..."

It hit me how stupidly careless I'd been.

And now, something huge had gone wrong.

So...

'...A monster got the entry code... what now?'

Damage done, I rushed to the community ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to confess my mistake honestly.

--

Got lazy and straight-up posted the code, but a monster caught the entry code for Role-Playing horror.

Truly sorry.

Monster knows the code now, so be careful.

"..."

My guilt vanished instantly.

No, I did mess up... but screw it, pretend I didn't...

'...Was I always this kind of guy...?'

A strange sense of disconnect washed over me for a moment.

I wasn't the type to impulsively do unplanned, risky stuff just because I felt lazy...

'Later for that.'

I pushed the minor issue aside for now.

Priority: countermeasures for a new monster entering here.

'Monster vs. monster showdown?'

If a new monster entered this role-playing horror...

Like how the Bellierd Library monster hunted others.

I wondered if it'd fight the locals. Got me curious.

'This could be... fun?!'

I was dying to see monster-on-monster action—

"Ah, sorry. Meant to help with dishes but got lost in thought, honey."

"It's... fine."

"Really sorry... Feels like empty words now, even worse. Tomorrow I'll do them, so don't wash the plates after eating."

"No... Instead... tonight don't wash... and sleep."

"?"

"Wait... just a bit... I'll wash quick... and come."

"...Honey... what? ...Wash? ...Why?"

Today~ I'm doing overtime at the office!

Huh? Why overtime at a company that doesn't give me work?

Wife's washing up at home!

Had to use overtime as excuse to escape?!

(Photo)

But since I'm here for overtime, gotta work, right?

Starting NTR-rejecting pure love knight episode 2!

Expect lots, love you bye~

Overtime start!

...

"Yawn... So tired."

Current time: 3 AM.

She must be asleep by now, I figured.

No good spot to crash at the office, so I headed home for the bed...

'Ugh... not the bed. Couch in living room it—'

Creak...

"...!"

The son's door, firmly shut before, swung open...

"..."

Scrape... scrape...

A monster I'd never seen before crawled out from there.