[TS] Surviving in a Yuri Visual Novel

The house that I returned to after what felt like three years was just the same.

Not to mention the faces and voices of my parents that I missed, even my friends, whom I had been close with before I was possessed by a game character, were the same.

Yeah.

They were the same.

Rather, it was I who had changed, and it was I who had transformed. The world hadn’t changed.

I had changed.

Every action of my family and friends felt good and yet awkward, and subtly keeping my distance was also me. It was only natural to feel strange around people when the path to school that I used to walk every day felt awkward too.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to school.”

I had been heavily influenced by that other world, so conversations and the unfamiliarity of it all were not few. It took me time to adapt.

Being human is truly insidious.

I missed them, but when I actually saw them, it felt awkward; I wanted to avoid them, but I didn’t want to. It was a strange contradiction.

Still, it was inevitable that even though they hadn’t seen me for less than a day, I was the one who hadn’t seen my friends for three years.

So it was only natural that I would feel out of place in the group.

It felt somewhat like this.

If I were to compare it to a fantasy setting, it felt like a human transferring into an academy that only Mazoku attended. I felt an inexplicable sense of distance, which made it even more evident. In that situation, a friend suddenly spoke to me.

“Are you sick?”

“…No, I’m not sick. Why?”

“Your complexion looks pale. Aren’t you feeling well?”

He was quite perceptive. I replied nonchalantly.

“Not really?”

“Look, your tone feels strangely distant. Did something happen? Is it because we went to the PC room without you yesterday?”

If a screeching emoticon that you would see in anime appeared before me, it would be right for the current moment. I blinked a few times with a flabbergasted expression.

“Raon isn’t a petty person, so there’s no way he’d sulk over that after just one day… Ugh!?”

“Wait, shut up. I wasn’t talking to you. Raon, is it true?”

When I didn’t say anything, he scratched his head with an awkward expression.

“Is it really true? Ah, I’m really sorry. I should apologize for that.”

One of my friends grinned cheekily and threw his arm around my shoulders. Startled, I stared at him and then looked away.

…What was this guy’s name again?

I thought hard. I genuinely couldn’t remember. The three years had jumble my memories, and although I finally recalled his name, the awkward silence that had formed during that time couldn’t be helped.

I caught sight of my friend swallowing nervously.

Right, Park Siwoo. His name was Park Siwoo.

He was probably someone with max-level sociability. Siwoo continued trying to change the stiff atmosphere.

“You don’t really like FPS games, nor do you like Overwatch. That’s why we didn’t take you.”

“…Come on, what’s with that? Just what are you doing? You do know I’m not sulking, right?”

Seeing my response a beat late, my friend clicked his tongue and exaggeratedly spoke.

“You’re sulking; you are! Our Raon is sulking? This hyung will treat you to a movie and a meal to celebrate the part-time job money I got, so cheer up.”

“Then let’s go eat beef. By the way, I like unlimited refills of beef, too.”

“Who are you? Have we met before? I said I would only treat Raon; I never said I’d treat you, a total stranger.”

Hearing that, another friend became annoyed.

“Why are you unfairly treating me? Don’t you think I’m pitiful? Since you’re treating anyway, you should treat me too.”

“Ah, get lost. You’re not pitiful at all. Stop whining; you have money, so buy your own.”

“Treat me.”

“Ha, seriously. If you want it, you pay for it, punk.”

“Treat me. If you don’t, I’ll collapse here like Danbi and follow you around whining until you give in.”

You know I’m someone who will go all out if I decide to, right? Looking at my confidently speaking friend, another friend looked at him with an expression of disgust.

“…What kind of nonsense is that… never mind. There’s no point in arguing; it’ll just hurt my mouth. Sigh, next time, you’re treating, punk. If you run away, you’re dead.”

Of course, I know. He said he’d buy a buffet later, and a smile involuntarily formed on my lips as I watched my friend.

This kind of peace was truly refreshing after a long time.

In that other world, even rest felt precious. It surely made me acutely aware of the difference between a peaceful world and one on the brink of an apocalyptic end.

“Hey, guys! Today, Kim Hajun is treating us to beef, so who wants to go eat!”

“…What? Hey, isn’t it noisy?!”

“Oh, what? Hajun is treating us to beef? Then I’ll go.”

“Beef? Then I would like sirloin, please.”

Since it was break time, I saw not only the kids in our class raising their hands but also those in the hallway, and it made my lips start to genuinely lift upward.

So I joined in naturally with the others.

“You definitely drew aggro. Is a guy really going to backtrack on his word?”

“…I’d rather go with a girl. But hey, Ryu Raon, you have to be on my side!”

“Good job, good job. Ryu Raon. Now you’re acting like Ryu Raon.”

When one of my friends started clapping, the others began to clap along, and I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the gradually deflating expression of a friend.

His expression was so real that I couldn’t hold back my laughter. Snorting softly, I noticed that my friend’s expression had turned serious.

“What high school student has the money to treat a group to beef? It would be troubling if you backstab us like this… huh? You bastard.”

“Wait a minute. I surrender, I surrender.”

Pretending to choke him playfully by wrapping my arms around his neck, he laughed, and just as I tapped him jokingly in the moment, a different scene appeared before my eyes.

The longed-for scenery and voices. What I saw reflected was the figure of someone I thought I would never see again.

My pupils trembled slightly.

– Ah?! Damian. You bastard, you ate the wine I was supposed to enjoy after the battle, once again eating it all alone without a word!

– What wine? I was too busy dealing with the Archdemon today, there was no time to be drinking stuff like that.

– …You didn’t drink it? Then who did?

– Oh, I’m sorry. Leo. Leticia and I drank it together.

– For someone who can’t drink, Leo did pretty well. Damian, since there’s some left, let’s eat together.

– Don’t you have any conscience?! That was expensive wine gifted from the neighboring kingdom’s king… Hey, hey, Leticia, don’t finish it all!

It was a feast of memories that I would no longer see. Seeing my friend confused by me deliberately closing my eyes tight to block out my sight made me not care about such things right now.

‘Get a grip.’

I wouldn’t be able to go back. I know it will only make me miss them more if I keep holding on.

“Raon?”

“I’m okay. I think I really wasn’t feeling well today, like you said.”

“Is today ‘that day’?”

“Shut your mouth for real.”

With that, the conversation came to an end.

Thus, after attending classes until school ended, I happily parted with my friends and headed home.

Originally, it would be a lonely hotel with no one to welcome me, but now my mom was there. And my dad was there too. As I opened the front door and stepped inside, my mom greeted me with a smile.

“Did you have a good time?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Go wash up and get ready for a meal. Dad got home early, so it’ll be the three of us eating together.”

This is what you call simple happiness. It was happiness I couldn’t experience in the life without a family. I was grateful again for the time that hadn’t passed in reality.

Surprisingly, time in the game didn’t affect reality.

Fortunately.

When I realized that not even half a day had passed in reality during the three years, I felt a bit hollow but also really relieved.

If three years had passed in reality as well, I might have struggled with that feeling of disconnect and entertained some dark thoughts. It might have been a situation where I couldn’t guarantee the safety of my body in reality. Above all, I didn’t want to be lying in a hospital in a vegetative state.

Back when I was in the game world, I vaguely thought it would be nice to just return. I sat at the dining table and, in the middle of eating the dinner my mom had prepared, said with a serious expression.

“Mom.”

“Yes?”

“I joined a hero party yesterday and saved the world.”

“Stop talking nonsense and eat your rice. You should reduce your gaming time. You’re in your third year, and you need to prepare for the college entrance exam.”

As expected, my mom’s reply was what I had anticipated.

What about Dad?

“You had a fun dream. Did you defeat the Demon King?”

“…I didn’t completely defeat him; I just drove him away.”

“More details. It might be a prophetic dream. Soon, there might be something we can expect from our son.”

My dad smiled kindly, wearing a warm expression. He was still my dad. He was probably the only one who would half-jokingly, half-seriously take my naive words as a third-year high school student.

I smiled.

“This is why I like Dad.”

“Are you sucking up? Did you run out of pocket money?”

Shaking my head at Dad’s question, I silently resumed eating my meal.

In between, I heard my mom say that it had only been a short while since I received my allowance, so not to give me any, and I smiled inwardly.

The one known as Damien Redius, the one who was referred to as the Sky Demon, who dyed the sky red, no longer exists.

…I, Ryu Raon, have returned fully intact.

To the world where I originally belonged.

* * *

Time quickly passed.

Within the prison of endlessly flowing time, there were moments where I longed for Leticia and the hero party while reminiscing about the past, but now it was just whatever.

Sometimes their figures would appear in my dreams, but as time passed, I could accept it with indifference.

Not in reality, but as a fleeting moment in a dream that wasn’t a game, I graduated high school and was living my life as a freshman college student while diligently working part-time.

Of course, there was a time last year when I wavered, but I shook it off.

A friend told me that the sequel to the game I loved had come out and that the reviews were good, urging me to try it out, but I stubbornly refused.

I didn’t want to get possessed again, so I hadn’t touched it at all.

Not until I graduated from college, I thought I could endure the curiosity and kept my distance from computers and didn’t buy one… but eventually, I was tempted by my friend and bought it.

“I honestly can’t resist the sequel.”

I admitted it.

How could I not buy this?

The previous installment was an apocalyptic end, and now the sequel was a romantic comedy game. Leticia’s little sister was the main character attending the academy. Moreover, Leticia became a teacher and was teaching students. None of it made sense.

One of the reasons I was eager to know was how Leticia’s little sister had grown up, but above all, I was extremely curious about Leticia’s mature, feminine beauty.

“I can’t stand it; I can’t stand it. Oh, surely they wouldn’t have me get possessed again this time.”

Foolishly, without realizing I was setting my own flag, I clicked to start the game, and I would regret that decision repeatedly from that day forward.

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