One weekend, out of nowhere, Charlotte started taking her daytime nap early.
It was just an ordinary afternoon, only a day had passed since coming back from the trip.
The sun hadn’t set yet; there was no need to prepare dinner or do any other chores during this perfect time.
“Let’s shift over a little bit.”
“Come on, we’re pretty much split evenly here.”
“Do you really think my body and Corbin’s are the same size? Just look at it; doesn’t it seem off?”
“Is that so?”
“Yep.”
As I shoved Corbin over a bit while we were both seated on the sofa, I was feeling the undeniable truth: Corbin was definitely taking up more space!
Since the sofa was one of those slightly smaller two-seaters and not a full-on couch, there wasn’t much I could do.
Of course, I couldn’t just let Corbin take the corner while I was gaming either.
Anyway, I had no choice but to keep nudging him over.
Though soon enough, my head would likely end up as a pillow on his shoulder or chest.
“It’s been a while since we gamed.”
“Wasn’t there no time?”
“That aside, it’s been ages since we’ve played together in this house.”
“We did game a couple of times.”
“We used to game every weekend back in the day.”
Well, I couldn’t really argue back since it was true.
We used to game a lot every weekend, but it had definitely dwindled since Charlotte was born.
“It feels a little awkward doing it after so long.”
“That happens every time we play anyway, so it’s not a problem, is it?”
“…What am I supposed to do about that?”
…Well, it wasn’t like we were going to be able to game anyway regardless of how familiar things felt, but still, being a bit accustomed would be nice.
“So what game are we playing? Something like dungeon crawling like before?”
“You’re just no good at that.”
“…A shooting game?”
“You couldn’t do that either.”
“…So why did you drag me here then?”
All of a sudden, Corbin suggested that we should play, but what game was he talking about?
I honestly had no clue, but it probably wouldn’t be anything too difficult, right?
Anyway, I waited while sitting on the sofa with Corbin, watching the monitor.
Whatever it was, Corbin was in charge of picking the game.
“Hmm…”
“How about this one?”
“What are you trying to do?”
While Corbin was sorting through games while handling the controller, he clicked on one.
So, he seemed to have decided on a game.
Of course, without any proper explanation and just randomly picking, I had no idea what it was about.
So I just waited for Corbin to explain.
“It’s… a game where you pick up trash?”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s literally just a game about picking up trash and making money.”
“Uh… that’s it?”
“Pretty much.”
…For a game, that was surprisingly underwhelming.
I thought Corbin would be diving into some flashy, bizarre game, but instead, it was just about picking up trash.
If that’s all there was to it, it really doesn’t sound like much fun at all.
“Just try it; you’ll get the hang of it. It’s meant for four players, but if it’s just the two of us, it’ll change in-game.”
“Then doesn’t that defeat the purpose?”
“But hey, there’s a feeling to it.”
“Uh-huh…”
Well, since Corbin was the one who usually played more often, I figured he knew best.
It seemed like it was just a low-key kind of game.
Anyway, the game booted up, and I grabbed the controller.
It was strange that Corbin wanted to play such an unexciting game, but since it had been a while since we had gamed together, I figured I’d go along with it.
“Whoa…”
“Pretty standard, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s very standard.”
What was on the screen was just an ordinary… inside of a building.
Was it an office?
It looked like a small office, barely the size of a shipping container.
That must be the lobby before the game starts.
“Have you played this much before?”
“I don’t really know it that well, but I have an idea of what the game is about.”
“Oh.”
“It’s just a no-frills kind of game. I think we’ll learn as we go anyway.”
“That so?”
Since Corbin said it was fine, I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal, and we settled into the game together.
*
-Grrr…
“…What’s that?”
“Right?”
After collecting various junk like scrap metal, papers, and weird toys into our four inventory slots, we were heading to the office, the game’s starting point, along with Corbin.
It was a corporate building, and for some reason, there were a lot of different types of junk, which was a little interesting but overall, nothing special.
“Today, we just need to grab 120 gold, so we don’t have to farm any extra.”
“Yeah. Once we get to the office and close the door, we’ll be done for today.”
The game’s mechanics weren’t very complicated.
Basically, you spawn at the office, then roam around a dilapidated building collecting what looks like expensive trash to bring back to the office.
You’d do this for three days to reach your goal amount.
It really was an insignificant little game, I’d say.
Compared to the games Corbin and I had played together before, this was definitely easy.
“Ugh…”
Having so little to do felt somewhat boring.
Honestly, it sounded a bit negative, but it didn’t really feel particularly fun.
So far, it just seemed like… picking up trash and wandering around.
-Grrrr…
“But haven’t you heard some noise from earlier?”
“What kind of noise?”
“Something like a dog…? A tiger? I feel like I’m hearing something growling.”
There was indeed some sound coming from the speakers, but Corbin was just casually walking around like it was nothing.
As if it wasn’t a big deal at all.
“I’ve felt like I’ve been hearing it for a while.”
“It’s probably nothing.”
“Is that so?”
Corbin said that with a laugh, and I just shrugged it off as we continued back to the office.
Since Corbin had already played this, I figured it couldn’t be anything serious.
“Oh, look! The office door!”
“Right? There’s a light above the door too.”
“Once we drop this off and shut the door, it’s really done, right?”
“Exactly.”
-Grrrr…
“It feels way too easy; is this really how you play the game?”
“If it is.”
…Now we were less than 20 steps from the office.
The sound of the character’s footsteps was soon coming to an end.
As I walked, ignoring that uncomfortable feeling from how easy the game was… suddenly, a loud roar echoed.
-RRRROAR!!!
“?”
That animal growl I’d been hearing for a bit, but now it sounded louder and even made the game screen shake slightly.
“What the—”
Turning to ask Corbin what was happening, I didn’t even turn all the way before something caught my eye—no, something appeared on screen before I could properly turn around.
It was a monster, dripping with blood, with sharp fangs protruding out of its mouth that looked like they could pierce right through.
Or… a monster?
A creature that would be better described as a monster than just an animal.
“Corbin…? What the hell is that…”
-ROOOAAAAAR!!!
“GAH!?”
Out of nowhere, that monster charged straight at me.
And just like that… I was eaten?
“…Huh?”
“Haah…”
“…What just happened?”
I felt completely bewildered by the situation that had just unfolded.
I slowly turned my head away from the screen towards Corbin once more…”
“What in the world is going on here?”
I had to ask.
I was just way too flabbergasted.
“…Why did I just die all of a sudden?”
That monster raced towards me and then just tore me apart.
On Corbin’s screen was the corpse of my character.
Or rather…
“…Wasn’t it just supposed to be about picking up trash or something?”
“You have to avoid the monsters.”
“…….”
…It was clear he had intentionally left that part out.
He definitely had.
If not, there wouldn’t be any reason for him to be smiling this much, sitting right next to me.
Corbin was clearly laughing because of my short scream before I died and my shoulders shaking in shock at that moment.
He wouldn’t be this happy about some trivial matter otherwise; I was sure of it.
“Ugh… Why did it have to be a game like this?”
“Because it’s a fun game? It might get a little… scary, but the game itself is fun!”
“…The scary part is exactly what’s a problem, you know that right?”
Corbin already knew I hated scary things since the time we watched a horror movie at the DVD room.
Sure, I was a bit tipsy then, but he definitely knew I was scared long before that.
Choosing this game had 100% of Corbin’s intention behind it.
While I was looking forward to having some fun while Charlotte napped, I’d ended up with a terrifying… situation instead.
*
“AHHH!?”
“Lindera, how long are you going to lean your head on my shoulder while gaming?”
“What do you expect me to do? A giant lizard with a massive mouth suddenly charges at me!”
“But you just died.”
“That doesn’t matter! How am I supposed to handle that…!?”
“GAH?!”
“Lindera, you died again.”
“No, but just now… you saw it, right? It split the screen in two; it must’ve known!”
“Pretty pathetic.”
“…….”
“AHHH!!?”
“…You died again from the same monster.”
“Why on earth is it chasing me?! It was just walking behind me a moment ago!”
“It hears you; that’s why it’s chasing.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?!”
“You didn’t get bitten, did you?”
And so, I ended up screaming quite a lot thanks to Corbin.
I hadn’t screamed like this in a long while, but this day, I just couldn’t hold back.
It was scary… really, really scary.
Of course, after dying in the game, I blamed Corbin and snuggled into his embrace… and that kind of… calmed me down a bit.
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