13. Eating Alone Will Make You Sick
13. Eating Alone Will Make You Sick
"Let's get married"
It began with that,
"You won't have to worry about a thing"
continued into that,
"I'll make sure you live the rest of your life with nothing but Mai-crophone in your hands!"
and concluded with that.
"""""....?!!"""""
It went beyond bewilderment into sheer absurdity.
Everyone except Chrono stared at Ur, unable to close their mouths.
A sudden confession? Was this love at first sight or something like that?
"Stop joking around and just give me the reward."
"Ahh... so it's a no after all?"
"""""............."""""
As if that was ever the case.
Chrono's dry, flavorless reaction calmed the group down instead.
Soon enough, Mars, the woman of action, raised her hand first and asked toward Chrono.
"Hey, Chrono. So, what is it? Did you know about all of this?"
"Ahh... well, there was a bit of a rumor going around."
If you Full Combo a Master-level song, the staff comes out and gives you a gift or something along those lines.
Chrono, who couldn't bring himself to openly mention the original story's easter egg, moderately changed his words to gloss over it, and Ur also played along.
"I am Ur, the manager of the Muse Karaoke Korea Main Branch."
We are running a service where the manager personally visits to congratulate you upon clearing a Master-level song with a Full Combo!
Ur said this as if such a service had existed from the very beginning.
No, perhaps it really did, but that part was not particularly important.
"Then, this is the reward for clearing a Master-level Full Combo and ALL Perfect!"
Ur clapped her hands lightly twice.
Soon, the karaoke room door opened again and two staff members followed in.
"Then, slowly....."
Expert Song Clear Reward
Expert Song A-rank Clear Reward
Expert Song S-rank Clear Reward
Expert Song Full Combo Reward
Expert Song ALL Perfect Reward
"Starting from here──"
Master Song Clear Reward
Master Song A-rank Clear Reward
Master Song S-rank Clear Reward
Master Song Full Combo Reward
Master Song ALL Perfect Reward
"──right up to here."
He cleared almost all the highest-tier achievements obtainable through the karaoke event in a single go.
It was indeed a difficult task, but the compensation was not disappointing either.
Just looking at the boxes piled up before his eyes, the value was easily guessable.
There were no items immediately necessary for dungeon strategy, but it was full of cashable items, affection-point items needed for heroine strategy, and objects necessary for pursuing a pure-love playthrough.
...Though I actually possessed an NTR villain, anyway.
"Next, there will be the calculation regarding 'M Points.'"
M Points.
In truth, it represented Mu (μ) rather than just M, but since the capital letters were the same, it was that or whatever.
"The M Points mentioned here are points you can acquire every time you achieve an achievement at the main branch──"
"─Skip."
"........"
"Skip."
It's that thing everyone who knows, knows anyway.
I confidently requested a skip, and Ur subtly glared at me.
'So what.'
Ultimately, I was the one who cleared it, and right now, you're the one who's thirsty.
When I came out with a brazen 'whatever' attitude, Muse approached me, as if finding it rather interesting.
"6 A-rank achievements, 2 S-rank achievements, 2 SS-rank achievements. You have achieved a total of 10,000 points."
10,000 points.
It might be hard to grasp just how much you could buy with that, but to put it simply, it was like this.
It was enough wealth to corrupt a heroine like Merk, who was a total stranger, solely through a barrage of gifts.
It was a value sufficient to conquer about one heroine effortlessly, so it was a place you couldn't afford to ignore if you desired a pure love ending or a harem ending── however, I had no intention of getting entangled with pure love, harems, or heroines in the first place.
"So, which product do you wish for?"
"'Muse's Blessing,' please."
"............."
Purely performance.
It was something only a performance-obsessed nut who prioritized nothing but performance could do.
The very top of the catalogue. I chose 'Muse's Blessing,' the most expensive product among the items.
"Hmm... are you truly going to choose that?"
Ur asked, checking if I was serious.
I nodded my head and answered.
"Muse's Blessing, please."
"....If that is the case."
Please, follow me.
Ur turned her body and exited the room.
I also got up from my seat and was about to follow behind Ur...
"Hey... are you really going to go just like that?"
".....Ah!"
Come to think of it, I wasn't here alone!
Because I was doing it with the same feeling as playing the game like usual—grinding achievements and going to receive the prize—I had completely forgotten the fact that the girls were here.
"Well... I think it'll probably take some time? I think I'll have to duck out around now."
"Hey! What do you mean 'have to'! The blessing or whatever, just get it later!"
"...Should I just do that?"
It felt a bit awkward to suddenly leave when everyone was hanging out together to go receive a blessing.
Just as I was agonizing over what to do for a moment, Yuno, who had been quietly observing the situation, spoke toward Mars.
"Mars, don't be like that. The goddess said she'd give him a blessing. We shouldn't make him throw away this good opportunity because of us."
"No... throw away this and that, he can just receive it later anyway──"
"──Even though the relocation exam is next week?"
"....Grrrrrrr..."
The relocation exam.
With that single phrase, Mars grabbed her head and agonized for several seconds.
"....Go."
Mars said.
"But on the other hand, if you end up dropping out like a fucking weakling during the relocation, you know you'll die by my hand for real?"
"Not 'like a weakling,' but 'as a weakling' is more correct..."
"Ah, shut up and just get lost!"
"Euughk."
Mars smacked my back with her hand.
Seeing that it felt more like a push than a hit, she seemed to have made up her mind.
"Then... I'll head off first?"
"Ah, I said figure it out yourself whether you go or not?"
"..........."
Mars was strangely irritable.
No, not just Mars, but the moods of the other girls also seemed a bit dissatisfied.
'Come to think of it....'
Even if it was a death metal genre song, finishing a Master level without a single mistake had tremendous aftermath.
I wasn't saying this out of narcissism; it was really the case.
The heroines each had their own tastes, so when you brought them to the karaoke to work on affection, you typically chose a song fitting their preferences and did your affection-building. But when it reached Master level, it sort of transcended the realm of likes and dislikes.
There could be bonuses based on taste, but there were no penalties like the one the Protagonist caused.
In short, he had raised the affection and mood to the max, but if the person in question ran away—no, that just wasn't right.
'I have no intention of forming a good relationship, though.'
But still, if they developed negative feelings, that was a problem in its own right.
I opened the boxes the staff had moved over and roughly took out accessories fitting the heroines and handed them over.
"This is...."
For Minerva, skull-shaped earrings.
"Wow! A limited edition figurine!"
For Merk, a figurine.
"This... is it really okay for me to accept?"
For Yuno, a headband.
"I'm... fine either way...."
If I didn't give you something here, while giving to everyone else, I'd look like nothing but a tail-chasing son of a bitch to the girls.
I deliberately placed a gift in the Protagonist's hands as well.
Since he was the Protagonist, there was no particularly suitable accessory, but instead, I picked one with good liquidity.
'Now all that's left is....'
Just Mars alone.
"Hmmmm......"
"....? What are you looking at?"
I agonized for a moment over whether I should give this or not.
No matter how 'suitable' this item was, it was in front of people's eyes, so she might get a bit embarrassed.
Even within the game, she showed an incredibly intense reaction while her affection rose dramatically, becoming popular as a gap-moe character...
...Well, surely she wouldn't kill me.
I made up my mind lightly and placed the gift on top of Mars's hand.
"This is... a rabbit."
A rabbit.
A white, fluffy-looking cute rabbit-shaped plushie at that.
Considering Mars's usual personality and actions, it was a girly item that sharply contrasted with her tomboyish nature and would never suit her.
"You, are you messing with me right now?"
Mars glared, asking toward me.
Her voice was coldly subdued.
The surrounding kids panicked and approached to somehow stop her──but having already clashed multiple times, Yuno and I glanced at each other and broke into a smirk.
"You are messing with me. You definitely are messing with me."
On the surface, Mars's tone was murderous.
However, contrary to that tone──she was holding the rabbit plushie tightly and preciously with both hands.
'That means you liked it that much.'
Seeing the positive reaction, I took out one more plushie and placed it on her hands.
"....A little rat too?"
This time, a small grey mouse plushie.
Toward Mars, who had completely frozen stiff clutching the plushies in both hands, I said,
"If you really hate it, tell the staff outside and sell it. They'll probably exchange it for money."
"What? Why would I sell this!"
"Glad you like it."
"....It's not like I particularly like it."
It's just.
I'll keep it in the dorm and look at it.
...I'll keep it as proof that you little punk messed with me.
'Kyaa... just look at that voice.'
Once upon a time, on a community board, a post like this had come up.
Mars memes being uploaded, saying isn't this the textbook tsundere?
One of them was precisely this meme.
'To clutch plushies in both hands and say something like that, truly....'
In particular, that a muscular girl a whole head taller than me could do such a thing was cute, and funny, and pitiable, anyway──there was a reason Mars occupied one seat among the Twelve Main Heroines.
"Then, I'll head off first?"
Seizing the moment when public sentiment had quieted down somewhat, I exited the room.
Soon after, when I opened the door to the president's room attached next to the staff room in the deepest part of the karaoke and entered,
"I have been waiting."
"......?"
Ur was sitting on a chair wearing only underwear.
She approached me with the click-clack of her high heels, embraced me, and whispered.
"By any chance, do you have experience?"
"............."
By experience.
Probably, contextually, it meant 'that experience.'
Looking at Ur blatantly pressing her breasts against me, I calmed my mind.
'....Why?'
Clearly, when I finished achievements in-game, I saw one CG and then immediately moved on to the reward──
"──Ah...!"
There was a CG.
Only one, but it definitely existed.
I kept forgetting because I skipped it every time, but a CG definitely existed.
And since that CG was certainly... since NTR Academy was 19-Gold──
"Oh my, you've already become hard?"
"....Hiccup!"
──The method of the blessing was also carried out through pure-love sex, the polar opposite of NTR Academy.
....Actually, maybe this is a good thing?