Conquering Heroines: Starting From A World Of Zombies

Ryuji genuinely didn't understand what was happening.

He remembered quite clearly—in the official King of Fighters storyline, Andy and Mai were definitely into each other. In fact, when he had returned Mai to her world previously, he had done so with the belief that she and Andy would eventually reunite.

After all, if two people truly loved each other, then physical matters wouldn't matter so much.

Seriously, if Andy had cared about those things, how could he have allowed Mai to fight in that outfit?

But now, all of a sudden, Andy had gotten married? And obviously, not to Mai?

"That bastard! That bastard! That bastard!!"

Mai's sobbing turned into anger, and her anger turned into more tears. She slammed her fists against the table over and over, the wood groaning under the force—cracks splintering across its surface.

Ryuji winced. That was going to cost him.

Money might still be functional in this world, but everything was absurdly expensive. And that table had been kind of... nice. This crack is visible to the naked eye, and it is bound to cause the boss here to extort money from him.

He cleared his throat, his curiosity burning like wildfire. He wanted to ask what exactly had happened, but considering the awkward relationship between them, it didn't feel appropriate.

That hesitation made Mai lift her head, her tear-filled eyes full of resentment and grievance.

She knew, logically, that Ryuji wasn't to blame. It had been her own choice. But people aren't always rational.

"It's all your fault!"

Wiping her tears, she shouted like a child who'd just dropped their candy.

"It's because of you that I was separated from Andy!"

At that moment, Ryuji almost blurted out: "Hey! I didn't do anything wrong! You're being completely unreasonable! If I hadn't helped, you'd be zombie by now!"

But at this moment—

A deep instinct in his mind slapped his brain's command center in exactly 0.36 milliseconds. One hand seized the "I didn't do anything wrong" thought, while the other stomped on the "you're being irrational" thought. Then, it presented a placard to his inner control panel, reading:

"I'm sorry. I should've been more careful back then. I'm sorry... but I didn't have a better option."

And it added in very specific instructions:

"Say this with gentle eyes—0.5% helplessness, 0.5% regret, 0.5% innocent grievance… and 8.5% sincere sympathy."

Ryuji took a deep breath and his eyes became gentle.

"I'm sorry. I should've been more careful back then. I'm sorry... but I didn't have a better option at that time."

His tone was calm, steady—imbued with regret, helplessness, and a dash of wounded dignity. And, most importantly, real compassion.

Mai was stunned for a moment.

Deep down, she knew it wasn't his fault. That was exactly what made it hurt more. Seeing him take the blame upon himself shattered what little stability she had left.

If Ryuji had been smug about it—if he had acted like he got something out of it—she could've beat him senseless and told herself this was all part of his plot.

If he had coldly clarified that everything had been a simple transaction, she could've convinced herself that fate was just cruel.

But no.

He was apologizing. He said it was his fault...

Which meant she could blame him. She could shift all the burden onto him. After all, all the conditions were set by him. No matter the method or conditions of going back, she could think that Ryuji had a change of heart and admitted his mistakes!

Then she could hate him with peace of mind, because it was all his fault.

She knew Ryuji understood this. She knew he was fully aware that by showing remorse, he'd give her that outlet—and he did it anyway.

Like a wild tigress, Mai lunged, slamming Ryuji onto the bed and straddling him. Her hands wrapped tightly around his neck as she stared down at him with reddened, teary eyes.

"Then can I assume that you did it on purpose? You lied to me about the method of returning, and you came here on purpose to get my body. You also deliberately let Andy see it!"

He looked up at Mai, whose eyes were still brimming with tears. Yet he didn't resist. Trusting his instincts, he simply reached out and gently caressed her cheek, letting his fingers brush against the falling drops.

"Yes," he whispered.

He didn't have to admit to anything. He wasn't actually responsible. But if it gave Mai a reason to live—if hating him would help her endure the pain—he was fine with being the villain.

Because Ryuji really did like Mai's character. From what he could tell, her bond with Andy had always been strong. Maybe this whole "marriage" thing wasn't even real. There had to be more to that story.

So, giving Mai something—someone—to blame… that was better than letting her shatter completely.

It wasn't like she could actually do anything to him anyway.

Mai didn't speak. Her tears came faster now, dripping onto Ryuji's face.

She was breaking.

She had been forcibly thrown into a world filled with corpses and despair. Forced into a hopeless situation. Forced into intimacy with a man she barely knew. Then Andy saw it. Then Andy left. Then Andy married someone else without waiting for her to explain anything.

Everything she had planned for her life—her dreams, her love, her ideals—all of it, shattered.

She had grown up training to revive the Shiranui style. She'd devoted herself to becoming a strong woman, a worthy wife. And her chosen husband, the man she had always cherished—Andy—was now gone. To someone else.

Why?

All because she had been dragged into this messed-up, disgusting world and ended up sleeping with someone else—this damn man—Ryuji!

All because of this man, lying beneath her now. And Andy had seen it happen.

All the frustration, the heartbreak, the humiliation—it exploded.

She raised her fists and began to slam them down.

"Liar! Liar!! LIAR!!!"

Ryuji didn't move.

He watched her fists crash into the mattress beside him, breaking the bed frame piece by piece. He said nothing—just gently wiped the tears from her face, over and over again, letting her vent everything onto the wood and fabric instead of herself.

Seeing him so unresisting, so calm, made Mai even more unstable. Because this attitude—this silence—meant that he wasn't lying.

That he did not deceive her, it was just an unexpected disaster that happened to her!

But he insisted on lying to her, saying that it was his, Ryuji's, fault!

So yes—he was a liar. A coward. A bastard.

"You liar..." she whispered, still sobbing.

Eventually, Mai stopped hitting him. But the tears didn't stop. They kept falling silently, dripping his face.

"Just live… okay?" Ryuji said softly.

He had made his decision. He would send Mai back.

Yes, the [Return] function was still available. It hadn't disappeared.

But before he could activate it, Mai grabbed his wrist and slapped his hand away.

"Take your hand off me."

Her eyes were cold and lifeless.

"You're trying to send me back, aren't you, Ryuji? I don't need you to play the nice guy. Not anymore!!"

Without another word, she bolted out the room. Her casual clothes flapped behind her as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop, vanishing into the street below.

She didn't know how to face Ryuji anymore.

She didn't even know how to face herself.

Because the truth was… she couldn't hate him.

Even though he was a pervert who had ruined her life in a single night, he had also saved her life. He had never actually done anything wrong. And deep down, she knew that.

And how could she truly hate someone who had saved her?

If anything—this whole mess had started because she hadn't trusted him.

If she had simply listened to him, she would never have ended up in that compromising position. Andy wouldn't have seen what he did. She wouldn't have lost everything.

And in truth, Ryuji hadn't even taken advantage of her. If he had really intended to do anything indecent, he would've acted far earlier.

No, all signs pointed to one thing—he had truly had no other choice at that time.

"Maybe that's why I ended up leaving my world again…"

Standing in the middle of the bustling street, Mai stared blankly at the people walking by, the looming rainclouds overhead turning the sky a darker shade of gray.

She wanted to cry.

She wanted to run—far from everything.

Away from Andy.

Away from the world that had shattered her.

But fate had thrown her into another place, even crueler than the last. And the one person who'd helped her... was Ryuji.

At the time, she hadn't cared what happened. Whether he saved her or left her to die, it had made no difference. She just... wanted it all to end.

She had been so numb, so broken, that even if he had forced himself on her, she wouldn't have resisted.

Because she had believed nothing mattered anymore.

If Andy hadn't come up again in conversation, she might have chosen to die.

"What am I supposed to do now...?"

She curled up on the curb, hugging her knees as the first drops of rain began to fall.

Her thoughts drifted again—to the moment Ryuji had saved her, and the words he had shouted as he fought for her.

"Don't touch my woman!!"

That sentence burned in her mind like fire.

"Who's your woman?! You damn homewrecker!!"

She didn't know how she felt anymore.

But one thing was certain.

She hated Ryuji.

She hated him with all her heart.

Because he was a bastard!

And a liar!

Irresponsible bastard!!

Why couldn't he have been more competent? Why did it have to come to that? Wouldn't it have been so much better if he had found a way to send her back without doing that?

Or hell—why couldn't he have just been a little more perverted? If he had insisted on using her mouth or something like that, Andy wouldn't have seen anything, right?

It's all his fault! Now I don't even know what to do!

Would it kill him to be just a bit more lecherous?!

Mai, burning with rage, began cursing Ryuji in her mind—wishing upon him every form of impotence and premature ejaculation. Because In her opinion, that was the cruelest curse you could lay on a man like him—a shameless pervert through and through.

And yet, just as she was cursing him with all her might—

"So," came Ryuji's voice, suddenly from behind her,

"If you don't have anywhere to go for now... how about tagging along with me to save the world?"