Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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"Instructor Seong Sua... please don't worry about it. I'm fine."
"Haa... I'm sorry..."
Seong Sua crouched in the grass, letting out a deep sigh as if the ground might swallow her up.
This game had NPCs too. Seong Sua had been absolutely convinced that the little kid in front of her was one of them.
She never imagined Seong Suho could have turned into a child.
But as she kept her head down with a tearful expression, Seong Sua stole a glance at Seong Suho and thought.
'He's so cute...'
Having always loved kids, Seong Sua couldn't stop her eyes from drifting to Seong Suho's changed appearance.
The child-sized Seong Suho patted her shoulder with his small hand, trying to comfort her.
"Don't worry too much, Instructor Seong Sua. I'm actually having fun."
"...Huh?"
Seong Sua looked up at the young Seong Suho, not quite understanding.
"Yesterday was the same. Where else could we have an experience like this?"
Seong Suho said that and sat down beside her.
"I was embarrassed yesterday too, but I enjoyed it. Today I was a bit startled, but I find situations like this fun."
"Ah..."
"Actually, I'm worried that calling you out like this might have ruined your mood."
"Oh, no! Thinking about it... experiences like this aren't exactly common, right?"
Seong Sua smiled as she looked down at Seong Suho.
'Aah... I want to pat his head...'
Seong Sua was desperately holding back the desire welling up inside her.
Unaware of Seong Sua's feelings, the pint-sized Seong Suho stood up boldly and said.
"Anyway, since we've started the game, shall we get on with it?"
***
I headed to the village with Seong Sua to start the opening sequence.
But with my body shrunk down, the inconveniences were already starting to show.
I had to match her stride, which made me feel like I was scurrying along.
'Whoa, being this small is way more inconvenient than I thought.'
'...Let's try it like this for now.'
When I first dove into the VR gear and was messing around with the settings, I'd accidentally entered the wrong age and ended up as an upper elementary school kid.
Even so, I was satisfied with this body.
'Whoa... Whoa... Seong Sua's breasts are insane.'
I was totally satisfied just knowing I could rub my face against Seong Sua's chest.
Unlike the capsule, though, the headgear definitely felt like the senses were lacking a bit.
But compared to reality, it wasn't anything to complain about.
The grassy scent filling my nose, the damp wind brushing my arms.
Vast plains surrounded by green-covered hills.
It was gear that made you feel you'd gotten your money's worth just by logging in.
'Whoa, for 500 million... this seems worth it.'
I was still impressed before the game opening even started.
As I looked around in awe, I felt eyes on me.
Seong Sua was sneaking glances at me.
The moment our eyes met, she hurriedly looked straight ahead.
'...?'
I had no idea why, but it didn't feel like dissatisfaction or complaint.
We soon reached the village entrance, and the opening began.
A humanoid NPC with a raccoon face welcomed us and started rambling on with explanations.
The raccoon NPC appeared not as a realistic animal, but in a cute SD character style.
In short, it welcomed us as new villagers, said it'd give us a house, and told us to slowly enjoy life while paying off the loan.
'My god, the game starts with debt?'
'It's still debt...'
A lot of the NTL games I played had elements like that.
Stories where you start with debt due to some circumstances, pay it off slowly as the plot progresses.
And those games don't put much emphasis on actually repaying the debt.
The debt is just a frame for advancing the story.
This game was probably the same.
A slow-life game wouldn't survive if it made you spend ages just paying off debt.
After listening to the raccoon NPC, Seong Sua smiled brightly and took the lead.
"Alright, shall we go to the house?"
"Sure."
The house we arrived at was...
"...kinda small."
"That's how it starts at first. You can gradually expand the floor space."
It wasn't shabby, but the smallness was undeniable.
As Seong Sua entered first and I tried to follow...
Bam.
I was clearly going through the open door when a blue wall appeared, smacking me in the nose and sending me tumbling back.
"Ow!"
"Huh? Are you okay!?"
Seong Sua rushed out and helped me up.
Rubbing my nose in her arms, I thought.
Hnnngh, hnnngh. I wanna grab 'em! Knead 'em!
Seong Sua's breasts jiggled right in front of my eyes.
I knew grabbing them would get me booted, so I rubbed my nose with both hands instead.
In reality, that bump would have hurt a lot, but since it was a game, it was just a light tingle.
As I rubbed my nose, Seong Sua looked at me with pity and gently stroked my forehead.
Her hand on my forehead without hesitation threw me off a bit.
"Are you okay? Sorry. I'm the host, so I should've set the house visit permissions."
"Ah... it's fine."
"Hehe..."
"...?"
She giggled at my response.
"You look like a kid, but you talk so maturely. It's kinda funny."
"Haha..."
Seong Sua looked just like a kind daycare teacher caring for a child.
She helped me up and dusted off my butt.
'...She's totally treating me like a kid.'
'Yeah... It's like backing away and accidentally catching the mouse.'
The real reason I'd picked this game was from seeing Seong Sua's playtime on the VR gear she'd given me without resetting it.
She didn't have her phone, so I couldn't log into her account, but I could view basic profiles.
I'd chosen this one with the longest playtime from the list.
Seong Sua set visit permissions for everywhere and led me into the house.
The roughly 300-square-foot house was completely empty.
Looking at the barren space, Seong Sua gave a hollow laugh.
"Yep, nothing here as expected."
"Let's start with what the raccoon mentioned earlier."
The game's tutorial was about crafting furniture for the house yourself.
Using the basic provided tools, you'd chop trees and break rocks for materials, then DIY at the workbench.
I tried chopping a nearby tree first.
I swung the axe—almost as big as me—sidearm at the trunk.
It wasn't heavy, but the sense of depth had me grunting as I chopped.
Even light taps turned the tree into logs after a few hits, leaving just the stump.
"Oh... Just tapping it like this fells it."
"Haa... seriously..."
"...Huh? Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing! Let's chop a few more."
Seong Sua looked embarrassed as she headed to a tree nearby.
She carefully swung the axe with light taps, and the tree turned to logs.
After gathering materials, we learned to craft furniture at the workbench in front of the house.
Once the materials were ready, it basically assembled itself, so it wasn't hard.
We placed the finished bed, table, and chairs inside.
Once the furniture was done...
"Whoa!? It's night already?"
I looked up at the sky in surprise.
The sun that had been shining had vanished, replaced by the moon, turning it to night.
Seong Sua kindly explained.
"This game reflects real-world time and seasons. If it's raining or snowing outside, the environment changes here too."
"Whoa..."
Earlier, the tutorial had forced daytime, but now that we were proceeding properly, time was syncing up.
Also, sleeping in-game let you rest just like in reality.
Back when the game was super popular, people slept in their in-game houses instead of reality, she said.
"Yeah, for city dwellers, it'd be great for a mood change sometimes."
This place felt more like vast nature on open plains than a rustic village vibe.
Living here seemed like it could bring mental peace.
"Exactly. I used to sleep like that before. The fresh feeling was nice."
"...This thing is amazing. Really..."
As I admired the crescent moon, Seong Sua smiled and said.
"The next part unlocks after sleeping and waking in your own house for the first time."
"Ah... Then I'll log out and..."
"Nah, no need."
"Huh? Wait, what?"
Seong Sua suddenly pulled me onto the bed.
With our size difference, I couldn't resist and just got dragged along.
Panicking, I said to her.
"I-Instructor Seong Sua?"
"You can actually sleep here for real, but there's just a choice prompt to lie down briefly and 'wake up rested' after."
"But there's only one bed here..."
It was a single-player start game, after all.
The bed we'd made in the tutorial was naturally for one. Even if we'd made two, there was no space...
Seong Sua easily laid me on the bed, lay down beside me, and smiled.
"We just have to lie here for a bit. Turn our backs and it'll be fine."
"Ah... okay then..."
I awkwardly turned my back to her.
Maybe because of my kid form, Seong Sua's guard was completely down.
As I lay there facing away, I heard her shifting behind me.
'...Now that I'm lying down like this, I'm getting sleepy. Maybe from running around all day.'
Listening to the comms, my eyes slowly drifted shut at some point.
..
..
'Huh? What?'
I opened my eyes at Armonia's voice, only for blinding sunlight to flash across my vision.
It wasn't just the light—something was binding my whole body, making it hard to move.
Even in my daze, one memory surfaced.
'Ah, I meant to just close my eyes for a sec, but I actually fell asleep...'
'...What? You mean I've been asleep since then? Shit, I'm screwed!'
Once I snapped to and looked around, I could finally grasp the situation.
The thing binding me was Seong Sua.
She seemed to be asleep too, eyes closed.
The feel of her breast against my cheek didn't exactly calm my panic.
...Though it helped a little.
Unable to figure out what was going on, I glanced around and asked Armonia.
'...What the hell is this?'
'First... let's sneak out. Who knows what she'll think if she catches me...'
Seong Sua must have dozed off accidentally too.
Even if it was force majeure, if she woke first, my image could tank hard.
She was the one hugging me, but I was the one who had to worry about image.
As I started wriggling out stealthily, Armonia commed in.
'Yeah? Hold on... gotta slip out without getting caught...'
'...Why?'
Armonia replied in her flat voice.