3. The Gyaru Who's Kind to Otaku (1)

".....???"

Deep in the night. Probably right around the point where the NTR flag event was supposed to unfold. The man who should, by all rights, have been busy rescuing the main heroine and kneading her breasts into dough at this very hour had abruptly been eliminated from the exam.

Even a collapse of the original story should have had some limits... or so I'd have liked to say. 'That monster was built to kill him from the very start.' I'd wondered what made the thing so strong, so I'd torn open the source code to check — and sure enough, its specs were lethal enough that anyone but Geum Taeyang would have dropped dead on the spot. It looked like an ordinary bear, but its magic defense and physical defense were tuned to absolutely absurd levels.

Of course, Geum Taeyang's overwhelming power used to skewer through all of that like it meant nothing — but come to think of it, the current Geum Taeyang was a eunuch with both balls ripped off, no Aura, no Magic, nothing.

"Aha."

And in that state, he'd fired off his one-trick power flex like always? Getting torn apart in return wasn't strange in the slightest.

'But if it goes like this, what happens to the entrance exam event?' The main heroine, and the gyaru girl glued to Geum Taeyang's side. Both of them should have been getting eliminated too, yet no OUT call ever came. Don't tell me the two of them actually took the bear down together?

"Oh."

The main heroine was out too. All that remained now was the blonde gyaru. If I remembered right, her innate ability was something along the lines of curses. She'd probably left the main heroine behind as bait and bolted. I hadn't actually gone to the scene, so this was pure ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠speculation — even I couldn't say how accurate it was.

"For now... hmm..."

Geum Taeyang, main heroine, whatever — sleep came first. I headed back down to the river, lightly electrofished a respectable haul, stacked up some branches, burned them to smoke the catch, and drifted off. Not that I slept without a mop handle in one hand, crackling with current. Proficiency, as they say, grows the more you use it. Besides, this doubled as a kind of charging, and I had zero doubt it would pay off big the moment things got dicey.

Meanwhile, deep in the forest.

"Geum Taeyang, that absolute lunatic... he is the WORST, so goddamn annoying!"

The textbook blonde gyaru. Kang Ari shoved through the underbrush, fuming at full blast.

'He could've just ignored it and walked on by!' A menacing monster appearing out of nowhere. One look made it clear the thing wasn't even after them; they could have simply passed it by. But that fool, so abundantly full in his lower half, had to go and stir up trouble yet again. Sure, pulling reckless stunts like that was just Taeyang being Taeyang, and she'd followed him precisely because his ability could back it all up, but—

"One hit and he's instantly OUT?!"

His ability itself ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was undeniably monstrous. A lightning strike fired straight into the bear in a single instant — an attack so fierce it made her dizzy just watching it. Yet when the counterattack came, he couldn't defend at all: one hit, and OUT. He drew the aggro, all right, and then the situation went completely to hell. So in the end, she'd had no choice but to slap a curse on the bear to slow it down and run for her life.

Then right after that — Lee Daeun, was it? The girl who'd been there got eliminated too, but hey, not her problem.

"Seriously..... shiiiit.....!"

Her chest heaved. Anger, irritation, the urge to just chuck it all and walk away. This wasn't why she'd come here. Geum Taeyang, that son of a bitch. Just wait until this is over — I'll feed him an erectile dysfunction curse before he can even—

Kang Ari marched blindly onward, fuming the whole way.

"Sniff, sniff.... huh...?"

Then, suddenly, a scent brushed past her nose. Perfectly grilled fish. Her stomach let out a rumble that echoed through the trees.

"Ngh...."

Come to think of it, she hadn't eaten a single thing since the entrance exam began. In the moment, with everything so urgent, food hadn't even registered as a thought — but this was steadily becoming a dangerous situation. Well, it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what it was; alive or dead, she had to get closer. Worst case, she could always seduce her way into at least scoring a meal. That was the calculation, anyway. Ari quietly drifted toward the smell.

—tap... tap-tap......

"Bzzzzzzz...."

"....Seriously?"

A man sleeping beside a campfire near the river. The mop handle in his hand crackled and spat sparks, while fish smoked away over the nearby ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flames. Here I am, lost in the forest, starving, about to explode with rage — and this guy's over here running a full-blown campsite retreat.

"............"

Taeyang earlier, and that girl too — once a certain amount of damage piled up, they'd simply vanished. So why not just pounce, take him out on the spot, and eat the fish? But then what about tomorrow? There was no guarantee this whole thing ended in a single day, and since it was the entrance exam, lasting longer was almost certainly pure profit. In that case....

"Um.... hey? You asleep?"

"........."

She crept closer, careful and slow. No sign of waking — he was out cold. And the entire time, current kept snapping along the mop handle in his grip. Was he running his ability even in his sleep? Just how much power was bottled up in this guy?

'But why does he look so oddly familiar..... oh!' That E-Rank. The loser whose Aura, Magic, and ability were all garbage. Now that things had gotten real, the fact that this loser was surviving better than anyone was laughable — but for her, it actually worked out beautifully.

"Easy peasy."

She was strong. At the very least, far stronger than that loser. So she'd dump every bothersome chore on him and kick back and sip honey while he did the work. The moment she thought it, the fish started looking entirely like hers already. Without a shred of hesitation, Ari snatched up a smoked fish, ate it, then settled right down beside Doha and lay down.

"Mmm.... I'm the smartest ever.... ♬"

The next morning, I doubted my own two eyes.

"What in the world is this situation...."

The fish I'd smoked last night was gone without a trace. Fine. Sure. I could let that much slide.

"Mmmnyaahm..... ♪"

'....Why are YOU here?' That's her, isn't it. The girl always glued to Geum Taeyang's side. Why was she, of all people, sleeping right next to me when I woke up? Still clutching the branch I'd skewered the fish with, no less. No — I could roughly piece together what happened. She'd wandered in from somewhere, eaten her fill, and crashed beside me. But common sense said this was complete and utter nonsense.

"Hey. Up you get."

"Mmmh.... noisy.... five more minutes..... 'kay?"

With the hand that wasn't gripping the mop handle, I poked her firmly until she stirred. She rubbed her eyes blearily — and the instant our gazes met, the gyaru's eyes slowly widened, then settled into a so-what-do-you-want yawn as she looked me over.

"You're the E-Rank loser, right? What's your name?"

"Yu Doha... why?"

"Got it, loser. I'll graciously protect you, so you'd better be grateful."

".....???"

A story development I had never once seen in the original. My brain was failing to keep pace with reality.

"Haa? You don't get it? Guess your brain's the worst too. Listen up. I'm B-Rank. You're E-Rank. Still not following?"

"....Hmm."

Objectively speaking, this was prime tell-her-to-cut-the-bullshit territory. But think about it. 'Through the eyes of a grizzled veteran—' A development never seen before? A brand-new event? This deserved to be savored properly, dissected down to every last system log.

"Wait right here."

".......?"

I headed straight for the river and, just like the night before, electrofished a fresh catch. Bashed the heads, gutted them, skewered them on branches, and set them roasting.

"Hee. Not bad for a pathetic loser. Well. Doubt you could catch a single monster, though."

"That part I'll be delegating to you."

"Planning to work me to the bone? Well... fine, whatever. It's not like a loser could ever handle it himself anyway ♬"

The gyaru took a big, unapologetic bite out of the fish. An event CG I had never once seen in-game. Just watching it put a proud dad smile on my face.

"....What's with that look? It's the worst, it gives me the creeps."

She whipped her head away with a huff, wary. Even that looked simply adorable to me.

'After all, the entire in-game catalog consisted of—' mostly her looking disgusted, or making me spectate her NTR session right next to Geum Taeyang, or slapping an erectile dysfunction curse on me while she squealed about her "defeated-female climax" or whatever. There had never been a chance to run a cozy slice-of-life event like this with the gyaru at Geum Taeyang's right hand, and even if there had been, I doubted the devs had ever bothered to build one. Call it one of the unexpected jackpot perks of this world becoming reality.

"Well, at least you catch on fast. Done already? Then massage my shoulders. That's your reward for being a loser, right?"

"Aye aye, ma'am."

I moved around behind the gyaru. The mop handle posed a brief dilemma — the moment I let go, everything stored inside it would discharge. After a moment's thought, I tucked it into my waistband.

"Wow. Even a pathetic loser treats that thing like a weapon and hauls it around everywhere, huh?"

"You're not wrong~"

"....That constant needling of yours? The worst. Pisses me off."

"Sorry, sorry."

I leisurely kneaded Ari's shoulders. Surprisingly firm — packed tight with muscle. Come to think of it, she hauled two enormous chest cushions around up front all day; it would've been stranger if nothing ached.

"Loser. You. What was your name again."

"Yu Doha."

"Huh. A loser with an actual name."

"I was born to parents too, you know?"

"An E-Rank with parents?"

"Every single word out of your mouth is brutal, you know that?"

I squeezed down hard with my grip as I worked the muscle.

"Hhaa.... yes, like that. Should've just done this from the start. That feels amazing right now.... ♬"

"........."

Blame the F-Rank Aura; sorrow was all I could muster. I really, really needed to start working out once I got back. Basic fitness mattered no matter what you did. And on that note—

"I'm seriously starting a workout routine...."

"Heheh. A loser who works out is still a loser."

"It's better than nothing."

"Mmmhnnn....."

'Not bad for a loser.... ♬' Deep down, Kang Ari was pleased. Sure, he was nowhere near Taeyang's level — closer to a weak, flimsy piece of garbage, honestly. But even with those pathetic abilities, he was finding a way to survive, and knowing exactly where his limits sat, he still pushed forward anyway. At best a pathetic E-Rank, a loser through and through — and yet she couldn't help the way her heart leaned toward him.

'He hasn't even put the weapon down, even right now.' Pathetic. A loser. But not trash.

"Doha. You should count yourself lucky."

"???"