Bang, Pop-Pop! (End)

The moment we formed the party, notification windows bloomed into the empty air.

I'd been the one to send the invite, so of course I'd ended up party leader. The party system itself wasn't all that different from any other online game. What bothered me most was the experience split. If that was really how it worked...

Ahem. Analyzing these windows can wait. I should focus on what I actually came here to do.

"W-woooow... What is this... What... What even—!"

Han Sora, who had accepted my request half in doubt, let out something close to a scream. Just as I'd expected — she could see my stats. Her face twisted into pure shock, as if she'd glimpsed something that should never have been visible, and she started muttering to herself.

"Th-this number, what... 17? There's a conversion to BrSaOn values next to it too? Warrior, Mage, Rogue? Why does he have three classes? In Brave Saga Online—"

Watching her stare into empty air and ramble, anyone who didn't know the situation would have sworn she'd completely lost her mind. BrSaOn — shorthand for Brave Saga Online, I guessed?

"Th-this is... If this is real...! Even a level 10—no, no, even a level 50 couldn't touch these stats! What is this, total balance break?! Admin, get out here!"

The way she suddenly revved up and started fuming, she really did look unhinged.

No — watching her is going to make ME lose my mind. How does someone with a face that pretty pull off that many wild expressions and reactions? And while spouting nonsense that doesn't match her looks at all.

"Calm yourself."

"Calm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠down? How am I supposed to calm down?! As if it wasn't bad enough that they actually went and implemented 'lol I literally imagine destroying Earth kekeke' for real in this trash game, why the hell did they have to drop a broken bug character like this onto the planet?! This is their idea of balancing? How is anyone supposed to put up with this?! Where's a truck — someone send a truck to HQ! A truck!"

This woman... Behind that face, she's a serious gamer. No — a hardcore game otaku.

Never thought I'd feel gamer solidarity with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a beauty like her. A gorgeous woman hopping around in a rage over game balance issues — that has to be one of the rarest sights on earth.

Still...

"Even so, calm yourself. This place may be safe, but noise is not. Raise your voice too loud and zombies or monsters may come pouring in. That would be dangerous."

"Ehk? Mmph!"

Han Sora, who had been going on at full ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠volume, froze as if someone had hit pause and clamped both hands over her mouth. The words "monsters" and "zombies" seemed to snap her back to reality.

Alright then... Time to give this girl a reason she has to stay here.

"As you can see, my system is rather different from everyone else's. Starting with having three classes, and running all the way through experience gain, skills, and stats. In other words — I have no idea how strong the people who received the Brave Saga Online system actually are, or how that system even works. Meaning..."

"Y-you want to see my stats... is that what you're saying?"

I nodded. She'd finished the thought for me.

I fixed the beautiful shut-in in front of me with a quiet, wordless pressure.

"O-okay. Fine... I-I'll show you... everything of mine... Mister."

Why phrase it like that?

The way she said it with her face going a little pink made me feel like some creep threatening her to lift her clothes. If I actually demanded something like that, I'd be in deep trouble. With Orderly Good!

A moment later, she called up her status window in front of me. Being in a party made it easy, just as expected.

For the first time, I was looking at someone else's stats with my own eyes.

I didn't understand half of it, but the fact that she was level 1 at least proved one hypothesis — every survivor who'd been granted stats had started out unbelievably weak.

That said, the Brave Saga Online status window was pure malice. Height, weight, and three sizes?

I'd roughly eyeballed it already, but yeah — those are some serious— ahem ahem ahem!

"Th-thaaat... I've been, like I said, just holed up in the apartment the whole time, so... ehehe..."

Han Sora scratched at her hair with an awkward little laugh, offering the most pathetic excuse imaginable. Somehow she still managed to look pitiful.

This is the power of a pretty face. Even a shabby, pathetic excuse hits completely differently coming from a beauty like her versus some average guy. There's a wall there you just can't cross.

Which was why I decided to hand her a second, airtight reason she had no choice but to stay.

"I don't understand any of this."

"Uh... what?"

"I truly don't. I received an entirely different system, and the reason was that I never played Brave Saga Online. Likewise, I know nothing of its lore, its story, or any tips for playing it. So if it's possible... I would like you to teach me."

Guys with girlfriends always say the same thing.

If there's something you can both get invested in — some shared interest — the relationship deepens in no time.

I'm pretty sure other factors are usually at work too, but Minsu got a girlfriend and even got NTR'd, so his advice has to be solid.

Which means the way to get close to the rare specimen standing in front of me — shut-in, game otaku, and a beauty on top of it — is to dive into whatever she talks about with the most passion.

And that is games. Specifically, Brave Saga Online. Judging by the way she talks, she's poured real love into that game.

What? Another path? Just intimidate her right here into physical relations and manufacture some sexual attachment that way — wouldn't that be faster?

Wow. Truly a magnificent argument. The only problem is that something inside my body refuses to accept it — otherwise I'd give it serious consideration!

Should I try talking this over with Orderly Good? What happens if I try to act on a filthy thought like that?

Orderly Good would instantly burst out with—

'YOU BASTAAAAARD!!!!!'

—and start losing its mind. It's already losing its mind right now, as a matter of fact.

Honestly... the fact that it hasn't chewed me out for openly staring at Han Sora's chest and feeling quietly pleased about it is something I'm goddamn grateful for.

A beauty's chest like that deserves to be looked at properly, with your eyes full of it. That's just manners, right? Right, Orderly Good?

...Well then.

How will Han Sora answer my proposal?

Jeong Hoon had no idea.

Han Sora was a shut-in, a total nerd, and a game otaku — all of that was true.

Using Brave Saga Online as a pretext to keep her in this house was a perfectly decent plan.

But... Jeong Hoon had no idea at all.

That she was a shut-in with poor social instincts was certain. What he completely failed to grasp was that she was also the kind of person who made optimal decisions for her own survival.

Th-this man... Even a shut-in NEET like me... might actually be able to live safely in this world. No — w-wait... It might even be safer than holing up at home!

Even before she'd seen his status window, Han Sora had been struck by the calm, genuine look on Jeong Hoon's face.

And once she'd taken in those numbers, she was certain.

This was a man who could protect someone in a world like this — and still survive with his head held high.

The decisive reason Han Sora had become a shut-in was people who approached her based on her looks alone.

From high school, when her features had first started to shine, every kind of human garbage had put on every kind of act trying to win her attention, until she was thoroughly sick of it.

Somehow she'd graduated and gotten into university — and then something far worse happened. A male classmate had snuck into her dorm room and stolen her underwear.

Even more appalling was that she got the stolen underwear back. Of course, she never put them on again — she threw them straight in the trash.

That incident shattered every last scrap of trust she had in society. In the summer of her third year, drowning in frustration, she filed for a leave of absence.

She left the dorm and poured everything out to her parents. The moment they understood what their precious daughter had been through, they supported her without hesitation.

Finding a place of her own was easy. From then on, the shut-in tendencies that had always lived inside her only grew stronger.

Through PC games, mobile games, even console games — talking to people in those worlds — Han Sora came to a realization.

In that world, at least, she was safe from physical threats.

There were still creeps who hit on her, but none of them dared show up at her door. The apartment she lived in was full of wealthy residents. In other words, the security was excellent. Every time she remembered how well-off her parents were, she felt a fresh ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wave of gratitude.

Of course, everything changed after the emergency disaster text on March 17th. From that point on, money couldn't buy her way out of a life-or-death crisis.

Seized by fear, she chose to hole up even tighter, never setting foot outside — but the end of the world was not a safe era for people like that.

And so, in the depths of despair... she witnessed a miracle.

A blunt, unflappable man with absurd power had saved her life.

This man... No matter what happens from now on... he'll protect me. I'm sure of it! I must never, ever choose an option that takes me away from him! That would be a straight shot to a bad ending! Absolutely!

The desperate wish to stay far from danger.

That was the force that moved Han Sora.

So she decided to read Jeong Hoon's intentions perfectly — and answer them exactly as he hoped.

The only problem was...

"W-woooow! You don't know Brave Saga?! Since you don't know, allow me to explain! Brave Saga Online, or BrSaOn for short, is a PC and mobile game developed by MovieSoft, the famous German computer and console game studio, and over ten years it's racked up nearly a billion accounts — it's a god-tier game among god-tier games! It. Is. Completely. Amazing. Sure, it got hammered over server issues and some class balance problems, but the story, the leveling structure, and the pure game feel are so good that it's been sitting at number one in ratings and revenue on both PC and mobile like it owns the place. Although before this whole disaster, the admin was a disgusting Cleric-sexual who made Clerics tank-DPS-heal everything in this completely broken meta that everyone roasted them for—"

...that her extremely nerdy tendency to rev up at full throttle had not gone anywhere.

I let Han Sora's absolute train wreck of an explanation go in one ear and out the other.

And once again, I realized something deep inside.

I had gone and saved a girl whose only intact feature was her face.