“Wow, that was a fruitful negotiation.”
Opening the front door and carelessly tossing my slippers aside, I returned to my room with a satisfied expression and collapsed onto my bed.
Now that there’s no need to sneak out to the bathroom during class, I could finally set aside one worry.
Gomtaengi seemed to be realizing a new fact it didn’t know before, resting its fluffy arm on its chin and muttering.
“A quota, huh? I didn’t know something like that existed.”
“Is that all? It seems there’s also a device that lets you return without dying.”
“That’s so annoying… Wait, only the higher-ups were using those things? Damn…”
Memories of unfair experiences during its monster life began to resurface, causing Gomtaengi to shift the arm that was resting on its chin toward its head and struggle to find words.
I was curious about how many times it had experienced death, but I didn’t ask.
I was too sleepy to care how many times Gomtaengi had died.
Despite the satisfactory negotiation, my lack of sleep from waking up once during the night needed to be made up at school.
“Hey, did you play games all night?”
“…Go away.”
It was Seonhyuk, who dared to poke someone lying down during break time.
Once one came over and started bothering me, the other two sneaked over to my spot and began talking.
“Why are you poking someone who’s sleeping?”
“Because it’s fun.”
“Such a pain.”
Taehyun, Seonhyuk, and Dongha took turns chiming in near my desk.
It seemed this break was not a good time for napping.
“Get lost, you assholes…”
Even as I said that, I propped myself up with sleepy eyes.
Rubbing my index finger across my blurry sight to clear it a little, I folded the blanket I was using as a pillow and placed it on my lap.
Once the blanket that had been occupying most of the desk was gone, Dongha’s bag of hardtack took its place.
Why hardtack of all snacks?
“What’s with the hardtack…?”
“It’s just that I found it tasty. Want some?”
Dongha was actively moving the bag of hardtack, so he must have brought it.
Having memories of the military, I felt it was a waste to buy something I could eat for free.
Thinking of those hardtacks from the military that had expired and sat untouched in a box, which I tore open all at once, still gives me chills.
“Once you get to the military, you’ll be able to eat as much as you want. Why buy it?”
That didn’t mean I wouldn’t eat it, so I stuck my fingers into the bag and grabbed a piece of hardtack with my thumb and index finger, popping it into my mouth and chewing.
The texture of the hardtack lingered somewhere between gritty sand and a snack.
The moisture in my mouth disappeared instantly, leaving it as dry as a parched desert.
“It’s good.”
“Not that it’s bad or anything.”
If I had to be honest, it felt like a waste of money.
But I didn’t feel the need to voice that, instead wetting my mouth with saliva and grabbing another piece.
After all, it wasn’t polite to keep talking about something I was getting for free.
While I was chewing the hardtack, my mouth involuntarily opened.
“Haah, mm.”
“What the hell did you do last night?”
After I let out a long yawn, it seemed Seonhyuk was genuinely curious, so this time he asked instead of Dongha.
I transformed into a magical girl and had a meaningful negotiation in a redevelopment area.
In the future, the monster appearance rate in Incheon should decrease.
…But I couldn’t say that to these guys, so I thought of a suitable excuse.
“Meo-re.”
“Don’t lie, you didn’t log in at home.”
When I tried to cover it by saying I played a game without a hitch, Seonhyuk surprisingly knew I hadn’t logged in.
Right, I had added him as a friend.
Realizing my casual excuse wouldn’t work, I began to brainstorm for another plausible explanation.
What other excuse could I come up with?
Maybe it was because I had woken up, but nothing came to mind.
“Ah, right.”
“Using a second account.”
I blurted out an excuse, implying I hadn’t lied, mentioning my second account.
It wasn’t exactly about gaming, but I had been collecting something at a high enough level recently.
In a way, that could fall under the category of indulging in gaming, right?
“Wow, you garbage piece of shit.”
This excuse seemed relatively believable, as Seonhyuk turned icy and sneered at me.
It’s a common story among gamers.
Those high-ranking users who seek comfort down in the lower districts might release their stress through massive slaughters.
Of course, there are often suspensions because of that, but the account made under Shiyeon’s name is fine.
I didn’t create it without consent, but it’s not like Shiyeon would be playing Meo-re anyway!
I probably wouldn’t get caught, hopefully….
After I used the second account as an excuse, Seonhyuk returned to talking about games, amazed.
“Wow, but how are you a Red Star? Did you only play games in elementary school?”
“You’re lack of effort, you casual.”
It seemed he remembered the game where he had been thoroughly humiliated at the PC cafe a few days ago, as he got annoyed with the term “casual” and started bringing up stories from a completely different game.
“Oh, I can’t play Vigilante at all.”
“What? I can’t hear your story about some 10% market share game at the PC cafe?”
Seonhyuk mocked him, cupping his hand like a funnel by his right ear, grinning.
In this country… no, the world’s benchmark for gaming skill is Meo-re.
Despite only being popular amongst teenagers, and having a 10% market share in PC cafes, no matter how well one plays….
People would regard the skills of a game that has a market share of about 40% and is played across a wide age range, from teenagers to those in their 30s, far more highly.
“Ah, this is really annoying.”
“If you’re bitter, you know what to do?”
“Ah, are we going for a second round today?”
In the increasingly charged atmosphere, Dongha stirred up the idea of a second round.
Thinking I might have another chance to eat free food at the PC cafe today when it suddenly hit me.
“Who’s the Red Star in Meo-re? Ahem.”
A strange voice came casually from behind me.
I turned my head at the thick voice mixed with a cough sounding like it was clearing phlegm, and a male student radiating a faint smell of cigarette smoke approached me.
He seemed interested in my rank and asked if I was going to the PC cafe.
Although he was a stranger who had suddenly interrupted the conversation, it somehow continued.
“Mary is Red Star 1.”
The guy in school uniform who spoke had a name tag that read Yoon Jiho.
Every break, he would go outside to smoke, and during class, he would just lounge at his seat.
It was strange that he suddenly took an interest, but I guess games are a topic well-received among male students.
Jiho didn’t just focus on gaming rank; he even asked about our plans after school.
“Oh, are you guys going to the PC cafe today?”
As he asked a question that included all of us, Seonhyuk, who seemed to have finished conversing with the others already, directed the question at me.
“Uh, I don’t know… We are going, but is Mary coming too?”
“Wait, what’s the date today?”
The oddity of needing to remember whether the date was odd or even every day struck me.
I redirected Seonhyuk’s question about going to the PC cafe back to him with a question about today’s date.
“23rd.”
“Oh, that works then.”
After hearing that today was the 23rd, I finally replied that it would be okay.
Today, the one in charge of fighting monsters will be Shiyeon.
Even if a monster shows up, I wouldn’t need to run outside while gaming at the PC cafe.
Although our conversation was only through messages, it had been agreed with Shiyeon that from now on, we would deal with monsters quickly and without pain.
Although it was just a short reply of “I got it,” I still received an answer, so I felt no worries.
To be honest, Shiyeon’s magical power isn’t really that much weaker than mine yet, she’s still a bit clumsy.
Unless we’re dealing with a super-sized monster large enough to devour a decent building, it should be over in an instant.
“What’s your main character?”
“I’m good at everything.”
After school ended, I answered Jiho’s question with indifference.
He seemed to be someone who just hung out with a group that puffed smoke, so I figured it would only be a bit annoying if I ignored him, so I decided to play a few games.
Honestly, it’s hard to have a good impression of someone who already smokes since middle school.
“There are five of us. Are we doing a five-person queue?”
“I’m not very good, is that okay?”
“Eh, it’s fine! The Red Star will carry us~”
“If I throw the game, I’m quitting.”
Following the flow of consciousness, the five of us formed a team for a five-person queue.
The results were 5 wins out of 6 games.
That one loss was because Seonhyuk, due to his persistent stalking, kept dying until he slammed the keyboard, which caused his computer to shut down.
Fortunately, it wasn’t broken, and it came back up quickly.
By the time we returned home, it was almost eight o’clock.
As I took off my sneakers at the entrance and stuffed them into the low shoe cabinet, I immediately undid my clothes and draped them over the coat hanger.
As I took each step toward my room, Shiyeon’s door swung open abruptly.
Of course, there was no reason for her to be looking for me, but I paused my steps momentarily as I directed my gaze toward the suddenly opened door.
Just as I was about to walk back to my room—
“…I want to go to a study academy.”
“Uh?”
Shiyeon’s unexpected words reached my ears.
