Supporting Characters in the Game are Obsessed

What on earth made the situation turn out like this?

I lay on the bed, pondering deeply.

Of course, I couldn’t stop my gaze from wandering to the side.

It was almost an instinctual movement.

Where my gaze landed was on Catherine.

She was wearing an incredibly thin tank top and dolphin shorts, a sight that was quite impressive.

It was a very inappropriate act, but unless someone was pointing a machine gun at me, threatening me to look elsewhere,

it was a view I couldn’t help but see.

Catherine was casually organizing her belongings without a care in the world.

“This goes here…, let’s stack the dishes.”

Since the two physically separate spaces had merged into one, there were two sinks as well.

Honestly, I thought we could just use the separate sinks, but since she wanted to do it,

I didn’t feel the need to stop her.

…….

But wait.

Isn’t this a violation of city building regulations?

I asked Catherine about that.

Then she replied,

“I figured it out well enough.”

“How?”

“Well.”

“……”

The ‘well’ that Catherine said definitely felt tinged with a bit of violence and credits, but that was probably just my imagination.

—

20. Someone Who Doesn’t Want to Go Out (1)

In the end, I had no choice but to endure everything with a mindset of liberation, just like any other day.

It’ll work out somehow.

Half of me was ignoring reality, while the other half was acknowledging it as I watched Catherine’s figure.

Maybe I was displeased with my own state, but Eve walked up to Catherine.

“Are you a beast?”

“Huh?”

That question had no brakes.

“It’s registered that wearing appropriate clothing is a fundamental quality of ‘humans’. However, the human ‘Catherine’ does not meet that condition.”

“Well, so what? It’s my house.”

It’s half my house too…

Catherine stretched out her arms.

There was no sign of embarrassment in that action whatsoever.

But while she was conversing with Eve, her gaze subtly darted towards me.

I locked eyes with them and hurriedly closed my eyes as if I was meditating.

However, since the house was small, I couldn’t escape their gazes. I calmly counted prime numbers in my head to steady my heart.

Catherine continued speaking to Eve.

“Look, there’s only one person to see anyway. Plus, it’s comfortable for now.”

“……”

After a brief silence, Eve responded.

“I partially agree.”

Oh dear…

Seeing a super artificial intelligence persuaded by a mere emotion-driven human was quite a spectacle, and I gulped dryly.

If things went wrong, everyone might end up wearing light clothing, and I’d be at a loss as to where to look.

As I was about to summon the ‘Confucian gentleman’ inside me,

“Ugh, that’s not it.”

Andrea, who had been lounging on the sofa watching a hologram broadcast, chimed in.

She brushed back her red hair with one hand.

It felt strange to see a famous celebrity rolling around on a sofa too.

But in contrast to that behavior,

her face was fully made up and she was dressed in neat going-out attire.

If she had moved into the place where Bill used to live, it’d be like living next door.

I wondered why she dressed so nicely.

Andrea took a sip from a cola can resting on the table as she continued speaking.

“Dressing too lightly can have adverse effects; people should dress appropriately as a basic rule.”

“I also partially agree.”

“So you should wear something other than a maid outfit—”

Hmm.

What could they possibly be talking about?

I was listening but didn’t understand.

…….

Anyway, as long as the three of them got along, that was good.

Thank goodness for that.

I didn’t expect a fight, but it’d be a lie to say I didn’t worry at all.

Not wanting to disturb the peaceful atmosphere, I slowly moved towards the old computer.

I should play the game for now.

I turned the computer on and launched the game.

Now that I think about it…

Didn’t I close the game after we couldn’t distribute items after the last raid?

I better quickly distribute the items before any problems arise.

My character appeared on the other side of the monitor.

[ ImARealWizard (Warrior) ]

Since I had exited from an instance dungeon, the scenery of the village inevitably surrounded me.

And then.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): …Guild Master?]

[ Grepejamiohnya (Thief): He’s here!! Hang him up!]

[P77648 (Warrior): I want the items! I want the items! I want the items! I want the items! I want the items! I want the items!]

I debated whether or not to log out of the game.

Of course, I didn’t lack the conscience to actually log out.

I was just flustered because I hadn’t imagined my character was waiting for me like this.

Various expressions and chats flooded in with all kinds of insinuations.

Since PK was impossible inside the village, no violent incidents occurred, but every other form of malicious behavior took place.

I thought it felt similar to the occasional orc riots that happened in the lower-class area.

I calmly typed in the chat.

[ ImARealWizard (Warrior): Everyone, calm down! ]

What on earth is that precious item that makes people go crazy like this?

The excitement was boiling hot.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): How dare you behave so recklessly under the name of the Warrior Craftsman Union!]

[P77648 (Warrior): Items, items, items, items, items, items!]

[ Grepejamiohnya (Thief): I’m already tracking the bounty posted on the bulletin board, so just give up. ]

One good thing was that

I had a solution to the entire situation.

[ ImARealWizard (Warrior): Please gather all the party members! I’m about to distribute the drop items!]

The solution was quick.

[P77648 (Warrior): Give it!]

[ Grepejamiohnya (Thief): Some weird person put a bounty, so I’ll try to delete the post. Give me some items… ]

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Haha, I knew I could count on you, Guild Master.]

To think it could be so contradictory…

But of course, I was in the wrong.

I kept my mouth shut and distributed the items.

Since many of the party members from that day weren’t currently logged in, it took a considerable amount of time to distribute all the drop items.

After that, most of the people left to check the abilities of their items,

and in the end, the only ones left in the village square were my character and Zhenbu 2.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): I thought you ran off with the real drop items.]

[ ImARealWizard (Warrior): I think I said I had to take care of something urgent and would distribute them later… ]

[P2034871140 (Warrior): …Many people speculated, but the most common opinion was, who would believe what a warrior says… ]

[ ImARealWizard (Warrior): … ]

It was a true statement.

Considering that most players of this game were from the underworld, the situation could have gotten even more serious.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): At least the items didn’t get released to the market, and the Guild Master hasn’t logged in since then, so that’s a mitigating factor.]

Anyway.

I decided to ask the curious question first.

[ ImARealWizard (Warrior): Um… I find it rather awkward to ask, but couldn’t you just create a new party and raid again? ]

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Well, here’s the thing… ]

His response was as follows.

For some reason, he didn’t know why, but even when he tried to create a new party to enter the raid dungeon, he couldn’t.

It was as if the game operators were blocking entry.

I turned my attention to his chat.

I looked towards Eve, who was conversing with Catherine and Andrea.

……

I turned back to the monitor.

[ ImARealWizard (Warrior): That’s quite strange… ; ]

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Right?]

I didn’t know the reason why it was blocked, but I had an idea of who might have done it.

Because of this incident, several hackers attempted to hack the server,

and there were a few people asking for my character’s name and information on the bulletin board.

I wasn’t sure why such capable individuals were devoting time and effort to enjoy a boring classic game.

I was playing out of nostalgia, at least half of it.

[ ImARealWizard (Warrior): Anyway, I’m glad it ended safely. Let’s try the same raid dungeon again sometime.]

[P2034871140 (Warrior): I don’t think it’ll work again, right? We’ve tried several times.]

[ ImARealWizard (Warrior): …I just want to see if it’s possible or not.]

Maybe I could just go with them, right?

I couldn’t bring myself to type that.

A brief goodbye later,

the Zhenbu 2 character disappeared.

“……Phew.”

I had just launched the game to do some hunting.

After distributing the drop items to the party members, time had already flown by.

Looks like hunting is off the table…

Just then, a soft sensation came from behind me.

“?”

I tried naturally to turn around to figure out what the sensation was,

but the weight of it made my body lean forward first.

“Is this the game you mentioned last time?”

It was Catherine.

“Yup.”

“Wow, what a real vintage machine. Where did you even get this?”

“We found it at an antique shop.”

“…Hmm.”

Catherine’s gaze moved to Eve’s computer next to mine.

An uncomfortable silence followed.

I couldn’t gather my thoughts due to the sensation on my back, and an annoyed-looking Catherine continued to examine the computer.

Eventually, Andrea and Eve, whom I had been talking to, were also watching us.

When Catherine broke the silence with a question.

“Which antique shop?”

“Um, it’s the one in Vanta Market; it’s the biggest one, so it’s easy to find—”

“Ah, I don’t know that; could you take me there?”

Huh?

Me?

Why?

Before I could even respond with a three-step reasoning,

Catherine’s golden eyes met mine.

“…….”

Looking into her eyes made it hard to refuse.

No, I should refuse this time.

I’ve been going out too much lately.

I just wanted to rest at home.

But before I could express my refusal, Andrea approached us.

“Oh, is that fun? Then let’s go shopping for mine together.”

No way…

I absolutely do not want to go—

Then Eve spoke up.

“Human ‘Catherine’s’ opinion is taken into account; I find the necessity for this entity to purchase new clothing.”

Ah.

Three different pairs of eyes were staring at me.

In the end,

despite my own will,

we decided to go out together.

I feel like I’m about to have a hole drilled in my head.

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