A forest that looks peaceful on the surface.
But as a place prone to erosion, otherworldly creatures lurk all around.
Scrunch.
Rin slices the Forest Frog with her sword, Totsuka no Tsuru, held in her hand.
[Forest Frog Vanquished]
[+ 10 points]
The massive green frog emits a screech and falls after being cut by the dark blue magic-infused Japanese sword.
The Hunter Watch displays the kill log.
“Did you see that, Kim Deok-Sung? I’ve already defeated 10 otherworldly beings. What do you think, I’m pretty useful, right?”
Thud.
With the sword stuck in the frog’s corpse, Rin proudly places her hand on her chest and shouts like a conquering hero.
“Yeah, yeah. Good job.”
I throw out a perfunctory compliment.
As Rin said, she has done all the work of defeating otherworldly beings so far.
I haven’t done anything.
And I don’t really need to step up in the future either.
This is a group project.
If I can ride along without doing anything, then that’s the way to go.
The nightmarish memories of group projects from my college days come flooding back.
Members who had funerals every other day, those who claimed to be sick but never submitted a doctor’s note, the one who just left greetings in the group chat and ghosted everyone, and the one who blatantly skipped on presentation day…
Terrible memories of free-riding are surfacing.
From now on, I will live for myself.
“Th-thank you. For the compliment…”
I hear Rin’s voice in my ear.
I lift my head.
There’s Rin, blushing and fidgeting with her fingers in embarrassment.
She’s usually obnoxiously confident, so why is she acting like this all of a sudden?
“I just said you did well. Why are you thanking me?”
I just complimented her to get work out of her, yet she’s assigning exaggerated meaning to it.
I have no idea why she’s acting this way.
“W-well… But still… Ah, never mind. Nothing.”
Rin shakes her head vigorously, her pink face still flushed.
Her dark blue ponytail sways along with her movements.
“How bland.”
“Kim Deok-Sung. This time, I’ll take the lead again. You can relax since I’ll protect you. Just leave it to me.”
“Okay.”
There’s no reason to refuse when she’s offering to be the meat shield.
I look up at the sky.
I can see dark clouds gathering.
It’s about to rain soon.
I activate the holographic map of the Hunter Watch.
The school’s rule states that the combat mode of the astral weapon should not be used unless encountering high-level otherworldly creatures.
Violating this rule results in point deductions.
All this unnecessary backstory was created as a setup for the impending downpour scene.
So, I need to find a place to take cover once it starts to rain.
I needed to find a place.
“There’s a cave nearby.”
The holographic map from the Hunter Watch displayed the cave’s terrain.
My bag contained a homemade lunch box made by Olivia, hot packs, blankets, solid fuel, a lighter, a fishing mat, spare clothes, and a rain poncho—supplies I prepped before Imgan School.
This should be enough to brace against heavy rain.
I turned my gaze forward.
I spotted Shinozaki Rin, her navy ponytail swaying, wearing a white gym uniform that showcased her figure, and a shamefully revealing blue bloomers.
Her gracefully curvy hips and her white, toned thighs were on full display.
“Hey, Rin.”
“You called? Kim Deok-Sung.”
“Why are you wearing bloomers? Isn’t our academy gym uniform supposed to be spats?”
Spats and bloomers.
Both are equally embarrassing, but in terms of exposure, bloomers take the cake.
Right now, I really didn’t know where to look.
“Th-that’s…”
Rin stopped in her tracks.
She turned her back to me.
With a solemn expression, Rin stood poised.
Every time this happens, I feel a strange unease in my chest.
“Using Shinozaki-ryu’s secret technique, the art of seduction, to…to entice you! So, what do you think, Kim Deok-Sung? How’s my bloomers look? Isn’t it…sexy?”
Winking at me, Rin blew me a kiss.
I slapped my forehead.
What? Sexy?
I knew things were going too quiet lately, and now this again.
Thank goodness no one else was around.
“Sexy? What kind of nonsense is that? Did the Association President order you to do this again?”
I pressed my temples while asking Rin.
It’s not like she would do this just for fun.
It’s definitely that sneaky Ichiro’s malicious orders.
Rin’s face turned beet red at my words.
“…Y-yeah…”
That’s the answer.
She nodded slightly, stammering in a quiet voice.
“I’ll make sure to…no matter what, I’ll make you my man…through any means necessary.”
By any means necessary?
What a joke.
I don’t understand why that old man is so fixated on me.
Since things have come to this, I might as well push the protagonist Yuji, just like in Volume 2, to “save” Ichiro.
That way, this damned act of seduction or whatever it is will finally end.
If not, I’ll be the one ending up in the ER first.
“Is there any other command?”
I questioned Rin.
“…None.”
Rin shook her head.
She looked oddly dejected.
I couldn’t figure out why she was so moody since yesterday.
But now we’re teamed up in a group of six instead of the usual pair, and since she and I have become partners…
“Really? Didn’t they order you to cripple Kurosawa or something? If there’s anything, just tell me. Don’t be afraid of the Association President. I’ll definitely sort things out with him after this Imgan School is over.”
I needed to confirm if the story was following the original plot.
After all, Rin was supposed to be the sweet heroine character from light novels, brought to life.
With a little bit of encouragement, she’d spill the truth in no time.
Even if she lied, her face would give it away, so it wouldn’t matter.
This world is that soft-hearted.
“Sort it out…?”
Rin’s eyes trembled.
“Yeah. Sort it out. Honestly, you don’t like it either. Living bound by your family or all this seductive nonsense.”
“Life and all that, or some beauty tactic or whatever.”
Rin shook her head vigorously at my words.
Her navy ponytail flailed about.
“Ah, it’s not that I particularly dislike it. But the kind of command you mentioned… didn’t exist. The only order I received was about the beauty tactic. I can swear on my name.”
“Just one, huh?”
“That’s right.”
Damn it.
The original story twisted again in a weird way.
I really need a smoke.
At this rate, I might become a smoker.
“I don’t want to keep getting tangled up with her.”
I haven’t even gotten a proper apology yet.
Getting hooked into the Shinozaki family as a son-in-law is absolutely unacceptable.
Change my last name to Shinozaki? Under that shady uncle?
There’s no way I can do that.
“Indeed, the universal cheat code of light novels is the answer.”
The root cause of all this is Shinozaki Ichiro.
Once this exploration is over, I should flatter the protagonist to get him through Imgan School and then aim to rescue Ichiro.
I need to cut off the horrendous fate connected with Rin through this rescue.
Just as I was thinking that,
Tap, tap.
I felt cold droplets hitting my cheek.
“What’s that? Dew?”
At that moment when Rin was making pure sounds with her head,
Tap, tap. Pouring down.
What started as dew quickly evolved into a torrential downpour, drenching both me and Rin.
“Ugh.”
“Damn it.”
In seconds, we were soaked from the pouring rain.
“Hey, Rin…”
It was the expected situation.
No need to panic.
I look up.
Now if I take Rin to the cave from here…
“Why are you calling me?”
My thoughts were interrupted as I saw her drenched.
Her vividly red face was clear even in the heavy rain.
The rain-soaked white t-shirt clung to her body, unnaturally highlighting her large chest and the dangerously designed black lace underwear caught my eye.
“Hey, what are you…”
Don’t suddenly up the ante like this.
This is a PG-rated light novel, right? Why is this happening all of a sudden?
“Oh, this?”
Rin lightly smiled amidst the downpour.
She confidently approached me, crossed her arms, and said:
“This is a special competition underwear I bought just for you. What do you think? How does it feel to see a woman’s secret weapon?”
What the heck am I supposed to respond with?
My mind goes blank.
“You know what it means for a woman to show competition underwear to a man, right, Kim Deok-Sung?”
“…Uh, no, I don’t.”
I have some suspicions, but I don’t really want to voice them.
Slowly, she uncrossed her arms.
“If you don’t know, let me tell you now, that, uh, that means…”
Whoosh.
In the midst of the downpour, in athletic wear that revealed her underwear, Shinozaki Rin stood there.
This feels ominous.
An ominous feeling of a different dimension struck me down my spine.
Blush.
Rin’s face turned red.
Pointing at me with her finger, she shouted.
“If you want, it means you can take my, my virginity! I declare it right here! Kim Deok-Sung! Let’s make a, a child together! You can hug me as much as you like. Just be, be gentle…”
Wow.
You are a bad girl.
Whoosh.
The torrential rain fiercely hit my entire body.
“Hey, Rin.”
Her gaze shifted to me as she wrapped her arms around her large chest, which was visible through the translucent shirt.
Her navy eyes trembled.
My eyes tremble with disbelief.
I look at Rin and say, “Are you really crazy?”
I’m not impotent.
It’s not that I lack desires.
It’s just that Rin is annoying and unlikable; she’s pretty though.
You can tell by how she casually starts fights over breast size that her body is glamorous.
But just like no one would eat poop no matter how hungry they are, there are lines to desires.
If you pick up anything and eat it, you’re asking for trouble.
And Rin conveniently fits the role of ‘anything’ for me.
“If I fall for the temptation, they’ll probably make me responsible.”
Right now, Rin is like a poisoned chalice.
I absolutely refuse to become the live-in son-in-law of the Shinozaki family.
It’s not just her.
I have no intention of engaging in relationships I can’t be responsible for.
Plus, to defeat the final boss, I need the protagonist, heroine, and all allies— none can be missing.
So, to see a happy ending, I must maintain a good relationship with them.
Thus, even if such a situation arises, I should avoid it as much as possible.
“Th-that’s…”
Drip, drip.
Rin’s body, caught in the rain, trembles.
She wraps her wet arms around her forearms.
Her semi-transparent, drenched chest shakes.
Her shoulders droop.
“…I mean it.”
Rin’s trembling voice cuts through the noise of the torrential rain.
The heavy downpour soaks her completely.
I sigh.
“I think I said it before, but I don’t need you, and I won’t take your seductive ploy or whatever it is anymore.”
I say this while suppressing my boiling anger.
At my words, Rin suddenly lifts her head.
With a serious expression, she replies, “Are you perhaps the infamous, i-impo…tent one? That would be a problem. If the Shinozaki heir is impotent… or maybe just dull…? It’s suspicious you’re not touching a feast laid out in front of you.”
“I’m not impotent, could you just shut up?”
Why is this world testing me like this?
Annoyance rises within me.
Who’s trying to make someone a eunuch here?
What kind of mind is she using to say such things?
In reality, I am barely holding on with superhuman self-control right now.
“…Okay, I get it.”
Rin lowers her head again.
Flash! Boom!
Thunder and lightning strike as fierce winds blow.
“Sigh.”
I let out a sigh.
In the original story, the downpour only stops tonight.
If we stay like this, the chances of both of us catching a cold are high.
Rin actually catches a cold in the original story.
It’s absurd for a superhuman to get sick, but this is a light novel world.
It’s a world where such setting breaks are perfectly fine for a lucky pervert scene involving wiping down the heroine’s feverish body after she gets soaked in the rain.
That’s the common sense of a light novel.
“Follow me.”
But I have no intention of proceeding according to the original story.
If Rin catches a cold, I’m the one who suffers.
I can’t afford to stray from my strength, especially in preparation for the Hundred Demon Night event.
Rin’s face turns red.
“W-where are we going? Are you finally thinking of hugging me, Kim Deok-Sung? Since it’s my first time, please be gentle and don’t hurt me…”
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