How to Enjoy Hardcore Mode

I couldn't even continue speaking. I seriously started doubting whether the reality I was seeing was real at all. After rubbing my eyes several times, I finally accepted that this was, in fact, happening.

No matter how many times I looked at it, I couldn't believe it. Even after accepting it as reality, the trait made me want to deny everything. A trait that lets you gain women's favor? Was this supposed to be a good thing?

"The trait is... no, what the hell is this?"

Of all the things that could come out of a random gacha, it had to be something as ridiculous as Yuri. And the effect was so absurd that it was only natural for me to be dumbfounded.

After all, yuri means exactly what I think it does. Lesbian. Women dating each other. If the skill name matches the yuri I'm familiar with, then yeah, that's probably it. The trait name and its effect were clearly designed with that exact intention in mind.

I covered my face with one hand, looking utterly exhausted.

"Who the hell developed this game? If you like it that much, fine, but don't shove your personal tastes into the game. If I'd picked a male character, were you planning to call it 'Gender Swap' or something?"

Developer-nim, no matter how much you love it, please don't mix your fetishes into the game.

"Fuck. Who the hell would enjoy something like this in a game?"

I spat out the curse aloud, then sighed and ran a hand through my hair. What was so great about gaining favor from women I'd never met before? No, it's not that it's bad, but in this world—in a place where you have to fight—it's completely useless, isn't it? Though in a dating sim game like this, how often would fighting even come up?

Still, there are skills and enemies constantly attacking. Wouldn't it make more sense to get combat-specialized traits instead of something like this? Or maybe the idea is that if the opponent is a woman, I can win her over with favor and force her to stop fighting?

In short, this trait is utterly useless unless the opponent is the same sex. Moreover, my current body doesn't even need it.

I made a bewildered face.

"So you're telling me to seduce women with this body?"

Not as a man, but as a woman. With this body that I still haven't gotten used to and that feels like it's going to kill me, I have to seduce women?

For a moment I was at a loss for words. My eyebrows twitched in shock before I let out a sigh mixed with resignation and irritation.

"...You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Of all the traits that could appear, why this one? At the very least, they should let me turn it on and off. That would be basic courtesy.

But no matter how many times I tapped the trait with my finger, there was no ON/OFF function in sight. It looked like it couldn't be toggled at all. So this was a passive trait that activated automatically all the time.

A trait that helps turn a stranger's favor toward me into love. It was so ridiculous I felt like I was going to faint.

Of course, it was partly my fault for choosing a female character in a game like this, but the game that gave me this kind of trait was also at fault.

"It's not that I hate same-sex romance... Wait, do I? No, I don't dislike it, but doing it myself is a bit..."

Muttering incomprehensible words with a confused expression, I eventually lowered my head. At the very least, I'd hoped for a trait that would help with survival. Instead, this was a trait that turned survival itself into hardcore mode.

This was the kind of trait I desperately needed back on Earth.

"If I'd been a man, I might have welcomed it."

If I'd been Ryu Laon instead of Charlotte Cyclamen, I probably would have been thrilled. The fact that this trait appeared while I was a woman might actually be some kind of joke. And on top of that, favor turning into love, love eventually becoming obsession, and that leading all the way to confinement—this genre wasn't academy romance fantasy at all. It was straight-up a 19+ confinement tragedy. It was practically horror.

I glanced toward the bathroom where I could hear water running—Leticia must still be washing—and my shoulders trembled.

"This really is turning into a yuri visual novel game."

This was the first time the tiny bonus note about appearance correction felt so bitterly resentful.

"No matter what, same-sex romance is still a bit much, isn't it?"

I could understand if someone's preference was bisexual, homosexual, or heterosexual, but I didn't have the confidence to watch it unfold right in front of me. I thought I heard someone's voice shouting that yuri was the best and supreme, but I ignored it. Must have been my imagination.

More than that, the thought that Leticia might be obsessively fixated on me sent chills across my entire body. My face turned deathly pale as my mind spun out all sorts of wild scenarios. I remembered that people who end up on the receiving end of that kind of obsession usually don't meet good fates.

"I might have tastes when it comes to eating, but I don't have any for being eaten."

Even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in this situation, I was still spouting nonsense. Suddenly, I remembered a web novel with a similar plot. It was a completed yuri novel where the protagonist eventually gets confined by the yandere female lead who pathologically adores her, and that's how the story ends.

"That was an ending I couldn't even bring myself to say out loud..."

My voice trailed off and I closed my mouth. Saying it out loud would only make my own situation feel more pathetic. There was even a total annihilation ending, I think. Eh, but that and this couldn't possibly be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the same. Leticia is different. At least she wouldn't charge at me saying, "If I can't have you, I'll kill you."

"...Right?"

But there was one thing I could say with absolute certainty. If my identity was discovered, it would be completely fucked in more ways than one. I already knew that much from the quest's atrocities that tried to confine me without even giving me a chance to explain. Though hiding my identity from the woman who loves me does sound ridiculous in itself.

"I have to hide it if I want to survive."

Living confined and loved by someone who likes you might not be so bad, but no matter what anyone said, I wasn't a person of this world. I couldn't become one with it. The same went for the other world. I had family, friends, and twenty years of life as Ryu Laon that I'd carefully built up. I couldn't reveal the truth and stay here forever. The one who'd spent the most time with me wasn't Damian Radius or Charlotte Cyclamen—it was Ryu Laon.

"And my parents would be worried sick if I disappeared without a word."

So I was going back. No objections accepted.

I clicked my tongue after checking the Yuri (S) trait that had somehow been naturally added to the list. Hiding my trembling hands and pretending to be fine, I clicked on the other traits to examine them in detail.

Not bad. Beginner's Benefit was a definite jackpot that needed no explanation, and the Blood Brand, despite its name, was a decent trait even with its risks. I'd thought the Blood Brand was some kind of curse. Well, it said curse and blessing, so I guess it is a curse. I didn't remember it, but it seemed like a seal placed on her after Charlotte had lost control of her power and gone berserk in the past.

"Blood drinking is basically a given anyway."

Even if I refused and said I didn't want to, now that I'd become Charlotte Cyclamen, blood consumption was mandatory.

"...It does feel repulsive on a human level, though."

But I had to do it to survive. Thinking of the vampires I'd met on the battlefield, I frowned and shook my head.

"If it's for survival, there's nothing I can't do."

If I ended up making a contract with Leticia, I'd have to tell her about the blood-drinking part too. Thankfully, it didn't have to be human blood—animal blood would work just fine.

"Now that I've checked the traits, all that's left are the skills and the cash shop."

Personally, I was more curious about what was in the cash shop than the skills. After all, the cash shop always had a lot of fun stuff. It was the kind of thing every gamer would be curious about. Since I was the type who prioritized coordination over equipment, the cash shop felt like divine providence. My only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sanctuary of the heart, you could say.

"Still, skills come first."

Life before peace of mind. I closed the status window and immediately opened the skill window—only to make one critical mistake.

"Feel the power of the vampire known as the Emperor of the Night!"

There hadn't been any warning that using a skill would automatically make the voice line come out of my mouth. Yeah. Everything was fine until my eyes met Leticia's as she stepped out of the shower, steam still rising from her body at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠perfect timing.

"......That kind of preference? Well, the demon race does have quite a few eccentrics, so I can understand."

That hurt even more. I'd rather she just cursed me out.