I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game

“I’ll head to your room, Benefactor.”

When asked where she wanted to go, Ichika abruptly sent that message.

‘As expected, she’ll probably ask me to keep petting her for the whole two days? She really is like a cat.’

Since I knew absolutely nothing about Ichika’s personal story, I decided to fully respect her wishes this time.

Before long, Ichika knocked on the door, wearing a thin camisole and short shorts.

“I’m here, Benefactor.”
“Welcome, Ichika.”

I smiled and opened the door for her.

“Let’s go to the room.”
“Sure.”

As expected, what Ichika wanted seemed to involve physical affection.

Ichika, seated across from me on the bed in her light attire, stared straight into my eyes before suddenly opening her mouth.

“Benefactor, you said anything I wanted, right?”
“Yeah, anything. Just tell me. What do you want?”
“Then, there’s something I really want to do with you.”

What could it be? Ichika looked at me with such sincere, sparkling eyes that I sat up straighter, ready to listen.

“Sticky, steamy, intimate se—mmph!” (LOL ha ha ha)

In that instant, I panicked and had no choice but to cover Ichika’s mouth.

Ichika furrowed her brows, her expression asking what on earth I was doing.

Looking around the situation objectively:

-My room’s bed.

-Her light clothing.

-Just the two of us.

-An unabashed Ichika.

Realizing the circumstances made chills run down my spine.

If I went along with those words here…

Well…
Of course, I’d want to. That sticky, steamy, intimate whatever…

I’m a strong, healthy young man who carried over memories from my past life into this world where gender roles are reversed.

Even while spending these two days with the party members one-on-one, I’d held back so much.

But still, this isn’t the time.

It’s not like I see the party members as mere flings.

Sure, if we keep growing closer with these good feelings, something like that might naturally happen someday. But still!

Sometimes, when I’m bored, I check out the community in this world.
And here, women are as much “sex parrots” as men were in my previous life.
I remembered being horrified and closing the tab when I saw women posting my pictures and unanimously shouting “Yass” in a chaotic frenzy.

With my mindset from my past life.
And a woman from this reversed world.

If one of us initiated things, it was clear that brakes would be nonexistent.

…We’d probably throw everything away and just do that all day, not caring if the world ended.

But what I want is a peaceful life where I can be with those I love in comfort.

Not to abandon everything in a crumbling world and act solely on primal instincts.

‘Ichika… what a terrifying girl!’

“That—that’s off-limits!”
“Hmph.”
“I mean, maybe later!”
“Tch.”

When I shouted with a flushed face, Ichika clicked her tongue in disappointment but didn’t insist.

“Then, I want to experience what the other party members did.”
“…Experience?”
“Yeah, the dates you had with them during the one-on-one trips. I want to try them too.”
“…Even if we rush through them, it would take at least a week, you know?”

When I looked at her with a puzzled expression…

“Don’t worry about that. Leave it to me.”

Ichika placed her hand over mine, interlocking her fingers, and smiled bashfully.

“Don’t resist my energy, Benefactor. Just accept it.”

Swoosh—

“I’ll invite you into the space of my dreams.”

.

.

.

And so, I was invited into Ichika’s dream.

A peaceful place bathed in warm sunlight, surrounded by lush greenery and verdant trees.

‘This is…’

It felt strangely familiar.
Ah, it’s the Jukai Forest.

I had previously seen Ichika manipulate a demon’s dream during the entrance ceremony for new students. But this was my first time actually stepping into a dream like this.

Curiously, the place was filled with many familiar items.

Even at first glance:
The gifts I’d given to Ichika.
Shin Se-hee’s ribbon-shaped voice modulator.
Lee Yoo-ri’s shield.
The alchemical wings of Reina, the homunculus made by Director Lina.

Our home building.
The Academy’s clock tower standing in one corner.

And over there—a blue crab. She must’ve really liked when we grilled and ate those together last time.

“So, this is Ichika’s treasure chest.”

I smiled as I looked at the random items scattered around. It made me happy to see Ichika, who once only had her shadow as a companion, looking so content now.

“Don’t stare at it too much. It’s embarrassing.”

When I turned around, Ichika, covered in bite marks all over her body, was looking at me.

“Hey, your neck…”
“Here, anything precious to me just stays.”

Ichika avoided my gaze, speaking in a small, embarrassed voice.

So, even those marks on her neck were precious enough to keep?

I chuckled softly.

“You’re the first person to come here.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I wanted to show it to you first. To tell you that I’m happy in Utopia. Sometimes, Benefactor, you look at me with pity.”
“Ah.”

That was because I knew she suffered from an unrelenting curse of lust.
Always battling desire and impulse, relying on light physical contact just to keep her sanity intact—it couldn’t have been easy.

“See? You don’t have to worry anymore, right?”
“No, there’s still so much space left. I need to fill it up more.”

At that, Ichika’s face turned red.

“T-th-that’s fine! I get it! Let’s go now. We don’t have much time!”

Ichika, uncharacteristically flustered, stammered as she spoke.

“Got it. What should I do?”
“Here, if you give permission, I can access the experiences. By slowing time to one-fifth, I’ll be able to go through the memories of all the other party members within the span of this two-day trip.”
“Then we start with Soup, I guess.”
“Yeah.”

As she extended her hand, the dungeon I had explored with Lee Yoo-ri materialized before us.

.

.

.

For the next two days, Ichika entered the roles of the other party members and experienced everything through their perspectives.

She became Lee Yoo-ri, awkwardly swinging a shield around.
She became Kang Do-hee, reliving the emotional turmoil tied to a forgotten mentor.
She became Shin Se-hee, enjoying a simple, ordinary date.
She became Lim G-aeul, baking bread.
She became Sophia, basking in cheers on a runway.

“Yeah. I’m satisfied. Everyone was happy.”

Returning to reality, Ichika smiled brightly and nodded in contentment.

But for my part, I felt a strange pang of guilt. It was as if I had handed over each party member’s precious memories to Ichika without their permission.

Sensing my discomfort, Ichika abruptly spoke.

“You don’t have to worry, Benefactor.”
“…Huh?”
“Everyone agreed to it.”
“Agreed…?”
“Yes. There are eight of us, but only one of you. Honestly, time with you is always too short.”

I couldn’t refute that and nodded slightly.

No matter how much time I devoted to the party members, with only one body to go around, dissatisfaction was inevitable.

It meant they all had to wait their turn patiently until their chance came around.

“So, we decided to share each other’s experiences. This way, we can all feel as if we’ve had enough time and affection with you.”

Oh, I see.
So, whenever I go on a date with one of them, that experience is shared with the others.

My expression stiffened.

“Wait. Doesn’t that mean you won’t have your own memories?”
“I’m the first to experience everyone else’s memories. I’m fine with that. I’ll get Alice’s and the Master’s memories from them separately later.”

What Ichika was saying was that all the memories she experienced today were for the sake of the other party members.

No.
This isn’t right.

What Ichika was essentially saying was that she was willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of everyone else.

Even if she didn’t articulate it well, I had come to know that Ichika was a deeply considerate person who cared for the other party members more than anyone else.

The dream space, where my gifts were scattered alongside items from the other members, made that abundantly clear.

“Ichika.”

I looked at her intently and spoke in a serious tone.

“Yes? What’s wrong, Benefactor?”
“Let’s add one more thing to your treasures.”

Then I pulled her into a hug.

“T-this, could it be… sticky, steamy, intim—”
“It’s not that.”

I lightly scolded her, then firmly…

…bit into the side of her neck, just hard enough to cause a slight sting.

I sucked gently with my lips.

“A-ah—ahhh!”

Ichika let out a strange moan, her body trembling.

After what felt both like a long and short moment, I released her.
A transparent thread connected our lips to her neck.

Her neck was flushed red.
Before long, a kiss mark would undoubtedly form there.

“Ichika.”
“…”
“Caring for everyone else is fine, but I want you to desire memories that are just yours, shared only with me. To me, you’re not someone who comes after the other party members. You’re equally precious.”
“…”

Ichika shyly touched the spot on her neck and nodded.

“Memories… just mine…”

Swoosh—

Ding—♪

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[Skill Acquired: Shadow of Greed (貪)]

-Summon a shadow that replicates 30% of a companion’s power. (Limit: 1 shadow)

-The number of shadows that can be replicated increases with skill mastery.