OK then, whats on todays menu?

Ox hamburg steak, soup, and salad . Theres bread and rice too, but which do you want, huh?

Ah, Ill have rice, I guess .

Maybe because Shin had bothered her while she was cooking, Marino was now slightly cold towards him . He had offered to help, but was turned down sharply .

Still, she was continuing to cook for him, so she was probably not really angry .

Now they only had to wait for the steak to finish cooking, so Shin waited quietly .

Marinos cooking skills were still low, but Tsuki no Hokoras kitchen had cooking skill bonuses and also shortened cooking times . Because of that, even Marino could make sufficiently delicious food .

Here you go .

Marino came out of the kitchen, carrying a tray with the hamburg steak still sizzling on its iron plate . The rice and soup were steaming too .

After Marino had removed her apron and sat down, Shin took fork and knife in hand and set to eating .

Shin cut the steak, revealing its juicy insides and spreading its delicious aroma further in the room . It was a rather high degree of realism for a game . It could be said that the level of realism had increased even more after the start of the death game .

Its really great that they implemented the sense of taste too . It would be pretty sad if this just refilled the stomach bar .

Good food gives energy needed for tomorrow . Eating tasteless food items day after day would get ones spirits down soon .

Hm? Whats wrong, Marino? Is there sauce on my face or something?

Marino was contemplating Shins face as he happily ate his meal . Shin felt his nerves calm down thanks to the peacefulness of that atmosphere .

No, I was just thinking that you really look happy when you eatthats all .

Marinos expression also showed how Shin eating her handmade food made her happy .

Eating good stuff would make anyone look like that, no?

I wouldnt feel this happy if it was anyone else .

Marino directly conveyed her feelings to Shin .

For Shin, eating while she was looking so intently was a little awkward, but saying that would turn Marinos mood sour again, so he refrained .

It wasnt too much of an annoyance since Marino was the one looking, actually .

After a while, Marino started eating her part too . Shin asked for seconds of rice and soup, then after the meal they sat together on the sofa .

Youre finally back to the usual Shin .

Marino talked while leaning on Shins shoulder .

. did I look that horrible?

Shin felt the same as always, so his reply contained some surprise .

When you think too much or hit a dead endyour face gets gradually tenser and tenser . Your eyes get so sharp too . Thats how you were until just now .

Marino herself was concerned that mentioning this too much would have ended up burdening him .

Dont worry so much on your ownI end up getting down too just by looking at you .

You can say it anytime, you know? I cant notice it myself, well in fact I didnt, so

Choosing the right timing is not easya long time ago, I messed up while trying to do that .

Marino replied while wrapping her right arm around Shins left . Normally Shins attention would focus on the softness of her feminine parts, but this time he was more concerned about her looking down .

In real life, you mean?

Yeah . I was yelled at, like what the hell do you know about that!?

I see .

Marino rarely talked about real life, but evidently she felt like she could now .

OK, Ill take a slower pace with the dungeon crawling . That will help in the long run, and I wont worry you either .

Frustrated at his inability of saying something better to ease her mind, Shin tried to sound as cheerful as he could .

Even without physical fatigue, mental strain could cause failures at important times . Shin would hate to make Marino worry because of things that normally would never happen .

This could delay our return to the real world though, sorry .

Your safety is a lot more important than that, Shin .

Marino smiled faintly .

Hey, Marino, the dungeon clearing has reached a good point now, so can I go with you tomorrow?

Because of her relatively low stats, Marino worked in a church in the first hometown, Kalkia . The city also housed an orphanage, used to give shelter to very young players . Since Marino worked in the orphanage, Shin had helped modifying it, so now it was a structure different from the average .

Thats fine by me, but itll probably be boring, you know?

Thats OK . After all, I just want to look at you working .

Shin grinned and looked at Marino . His tone was a teasing one, but his expression was very serene .

Aah, if you make a face like that I cant even stay angry, can I?

Marino seemed unsure whether to get angry or to calm down because of Shins conflicting words and expression, especially because lately Shin always seemed down .

Hm? Did I make a weird face?

Aah, if you dont know then never mind . Rather than that, if youre coming too youre going to help me with the kids, ok? They love games too, so itll be easy for you, I bet .

Itll probably be OK with the boys, but the girls are all yours . Our philosophy towards playing games is totally different after all .

Shin knew out of experience that most female players, like Marino, preferred to focus on cooking skills, communicating with tamed monsters, and knitting, all skills he had barely touched .

Because of that, he wasnt able to keep a conversation with them at times . Not even Shin was knowledgeable about all sorts of skills and items .

Well, youll have to talk to them first . OK, lets get to bed soon to be ready for tomorrow . Ill clean up here, so why dont you get a bath first, Shin?

I will, thanks . Oh, I got some cookies and madeleines from Catnips shop, should we bring them to the orphanage?

Oh, thats a good idea . The kids will be really happy .

Shin left the rest to Marino and went to the bath .

Dipping in the hot water-filled bathtub filled him with an inexplicable feeling of liberation .

The high level of realism can give a lot of trouble, but I really am thankful that they replicated this feeling too

It might be strange to say, but even if ones body was dirty or smelled the game gave no penalties, nor did bathing increase the avatars specs . Even so players, especially female ones, wanted to bathe regularly .

In real life, only particular hot springs gave considerable effects, but in this world bathing after a battle seemed to give an even greater feeling of relief .

Life itself feels cleaner after a bath was a very apt way of putting it .

Shin got out of the bath, gulped down a bottle of milk from the fridge, said goodnight to Marino, and proceeded to his bedroom .

He had to be more exhausted than he thought, as his consciousness slipped away as soon as he lied on the mattress .

Mwaht?

Some time later, Shin woke up and felt something strange on his right arm .

He looked at it and found Marino, wearing pajamas, snugly gripping his arm, sleeping peacefully .

Ah . . well . whatever .

The option of carrying her back to her room did not emerge in Shins half-asleep brain .

They were lovers since before the death game and now, at least according to the system, they were husband and wife . Was there anything wrong with sleeping in the same bed? It was easy to accept the situation .

Shin thought that he might as well go all the way, removed the right arm that Marino was grabbing and hugged her with both of his arms .

Relishing in the happiness blooming in his chest, Shin fell again into slumber .

The following morning, Shin woke up after feeling something tremble . Something was moving in his arms .

. hn?

Like the day before, he looked in the direction of the noise and found Marino, blushing fiercely . Shin had apparently woken up because of her attempts to slip out of his embrace .

Ah, ah, er

. . morning .

Words wouldnt come out of the embarrassed Marinos mouth, so Shin thought he should say good morning, for the moment .

G-Good morningshoso, why are you hugging me?

Shin smiled gently because of Marinos cute stuttering and replied .

You slipped under the covers yesterday, so I used you as pillow .

I-I-I guess I was half asleep and g-got the wrong room

Were husband and wife, at least according to the system, so isnt it fine?

Its embarrassing!! Aaah, I bet you looked at my dumb sleeping face too

Marino must have been really embarrassed, as she covered her face with her hands and squirmed after Shin freed her from his hug . Her bellybutton was in plain sight because of her wriggling .

Sleeping face? Havent we both seen each others a lot already?

Today was not OK! Not after the dream I hadI bet I looked so dumb

Shin only remembered seeing her smiling peacefully . Marino would probably not believe him, though .

I see, I see, a dreamwhat kind of dream was it?

Shin decided to press further .

I

I?

I CANT SAY IT!!!

Gwah!

After firmly planting an uppercut on the grinning Shins chin, Marino rushed out of the room .

Left alone, Shin reflected that he might have gone too far, while massaging his unhurt chin .

My deepest apologies . I teased too much .

You think that if you apologize like that Ill forgive you, right .

Shin lowered his head at the breakfast table, but Marinos reply was just jaded . Shin knew from experience that honestly apologizing was the quickest way to obtain Marinos forgiveness .

Marino, of course, had already seen through Shins attempt .

OK, OK . In exchange, youll have to work plenty today .

Yes, I shall work my hardest, maam!

Enough already! Eat your breakfast, come on!

Spurred by Marino, Shin rushed through his morning meal .

He would ask what to do at the orphanage on the way there . There was nothing in particular they had to bring with them .

Have a nice day .

Ill leave the rest to you .

After greeting Schnee, Shin and Marino teleported to Kalkia .

Walking through the crowd, Shin felt several pairs of eyes on him . His equipment was different, but evidently his face was recognized by many . He did not mind anymore, but when going into town this happened often .

Ah! Its big sis Marino!

They heard a boys voice when they arrived at the orphanage . Two boys came running towards them from the square next to the orphanage . Both wielded sponge blades, equipment that did not cause damage .

Both kids were around 150 cemels tall and looked like elementary or junior high school students .

Their faces still looked childish, probably because they hadnt edited their avatars . Setting avatars to automatic mode would make their appearances change according to ones age .

Whos this person?

Your boyfriend??

His name is Shin, he will help me today .

Marino introduced Shin to the boys, ignoring the boyfriend suspicion .

Shin had already visited the orphanage several times, but had not met the two boys before .

I know you can see it with Analyze, but Ill introduce you just in case . The boy with black hair is Ryohei, the one with brown hair is Teppei .

Nice to meet you

Nice to meetcha!

Ryohei greeted Shin a bit timidly, while Teppei sounded more energetic .

According to Marino, sometimes they hunt low level monsters in the forest, accompanied by an advanced player . Because of their natural vigor, they are a bit infamous as the orphanages troublesome duo .

Wheres Emil?

Inside! Luca is crying again, you know .

Marino asked about the player that managed the orphanage and said she would go greet them as she went inside the orphanage .

Hey, hey, mister! Have you ever been to the frontlines of conquered areas? Big sis Emil says its dangerous and wont let us go!

If you want to go, you have to raise your levels some more . Or youre going to die even if you get grazed by a punch, kids .

Teppei, you cant go . Youd run off and get killed right away .

After Shins answer, Ryohei added a snarky comment, while shrugging his shoulders .

Whaaat!?

If you cant beat me even once, you have no chance!

Apparently Ryohei was higher than Teppei in the orphanages hierarchy .

As the kids forgot about him and started play fighting, Shin looked around, thinking about what he could do .

Hm?

He then found a small shadow at the edge of his line of sight . Looking towards it . Shin noticed the face of a very young girl subtly peeking from behind a tree .

The moment her eyes met Shins, the little girl quickly retreated behind the tree . But, poor thing, she couldnt hide her animal ears and the Type Cat-like tail . Both seemed to be monitoring Shins presence .

Shin held his chin with one hand, acting deep in thought . And slowly moved closer to the tree . He would stop when the girl peeked, then move again when she hid .

(Shes not afraid of me, is she . )

The girl should have noticed Shins approach, but did not try to run away . He thought that she was wary of him because they had never met before, but that did not seem to be the case .

Her slightly spacing out expression kept poking out and hiding again . Soon enough, Shin reached the tree behind which the girl was hiding .

Good morning .

. good morning .

Shin tried a greeting, which was returned by a whisper . It wasnt clear if the girl really wanted to hide or not, as only her face came out of the shade when she looked at Shin .

She was leaning forward, so her shoulder-length hair hung in the air .

Er, I think this is the first time we meet . My name is Shin, I came to help Marino . What about you?

. Luca .

Luca, I see . Well, nice to meet you .

Um .

Luca nodded slightly and stepped out of the shade . Her height was about 110 cemels . Her animal ears, the same color as her hair, sometimes flicked and moved .

Because of the games systems, the avatars height was based on real life height . Shin thought that she was a bit too small, as in a bit too young, to play a game like that .

Ah! Luca! Teach was looking for you!

Shin looked back and found Teppei and Ryohei, along with Marino and another person, a woman wearing sister-like clothing .

After hearing Teppeis voice, Luca flinched and hid behind Shin . Her hands, gripping her sleeves, were trembling .

Teppei, youre too loud . Youll scare Luca away .

Ah, Im s-sorry .

Teppei apologized right away: he had no intention of scaring Luca .

So you were here, Luca . I was looking for you .

. . Im sorry .

Luca replied while looking at Marino, who had caught up to them .

Come on, lets go back to the orphanage first . Ryohei, Teppei, you two especially!! You havent prepared to leave with Garozzo, right!? Quit standing around and go get ready!! Move it, brats!

Yes maam!!

After getting yelled at, the boys sprinted back to the orphanage, as ordered by Emil, the orphanages supervisor . A very beautiful woman, she had waist-length light blue hair and emerald-like eyes .

Her nun-like attire made her look like a devout believer at first glance . Her personality and speech, however, were quite far apart from the common idea of a nun .

Emils speech was coarse and she was rather quick with her hands . On the other hand she was very reliable and caring towards the people around her .

Looking at her taking care of the orphanage kids, Shin thought she looked more like a tough mother than a nun .

He never said it to Emil herself, of course; it would only make Emils basic equipment, a nail bat, cry for blood . It was not a weapon feared not for the damage it caused, but for its horrifying look .

Marino, you and Luca take care of the usual work .

OK, leave it to me .

Luca, you better do what Marino says, got it?

Ok, got it .

The work was handling requests given by NPCs . It was a precious source of income for the orphanage, since many of its players could not go out in the field and hunt monsters .

Marino had already done them many times, so it was unlikely that she needed help .

Luca also firmly nodded to Emils words .

Guess I should go over there?

Shin looked towards the square where Teppei and Ryohei were play fighting before . A group of boys with sponge blades were waiting .

Yeah, youve got our spunky brats to take care of . They have energy to spare after all . Letem go wild enough to make them stop thinking of sneaking outside . Ill be the coach .

Shin visited the orphanage irregularly, so Emil decided what task to give him each time . Naturally, most of the time it was taking care of the kids .

The only rule was for Shin to not go hunting or to use skills to gather items or Geyl .

-If you have to go hunting for the sake of the orphanage, take a rest instead .

-Rather than that, make sure the kids can go back to the real world as soon as possible .

That was the opinion of Emil and all other orphanage collaborators .

They had accepted that Shin would sometimes give them a hand, for a change of pace .

OK, today your opponent is me . Dont hold anything back!

It was not the first mock battle for Shin and the boys: they charged at him without hesitation .

Ryohei and Teppei, who were supposed to prepare to leave, mingled among the other boys at first, but Shin quickly flicked them back towards Emil, who grabbed them by the neck and took them away .

Well, thats about it .

About 2 hours after the battle between Shin and the spunky army started, the little valiant warriors clearly showed signs of exhaustion, some lying down on the ground .

This exhaustion had no visible gauge, like HP or MP . Players with high HP or VIT would not get tired as easily, so it was said to be a hidden stat .

Exhaustion caused several demerits; attack power and movement speed decreased, while received damage increased . It could be healed via recovery magic, so it wasnt a big problem, but the only user present at the moment -Emil- did not do anything, so the square looked like a battlefield of fallen soldiers .

Crap, youre too strong!

Adults cant fight seriously againstkids!

The unperturbed Shin was met with praise and complaints from the kids, but they were all too tired to complete their sentences .

Got it, brats? Out there its packed with dangerous monsters that would send even battle maniacs like him flying . Dont you ever dare go out on your own!!

Got it!

Wed die for sure

The kids answers were really exhausted too, to the point that one would wonder how much they had really understood of what Emil said .

OK then, Shin, your next job is . hm?

Is something wrong?

Emil stopped halfway through her sentence and looked towards the door leading to the garden; Luca was peeking from behind it . Next to her, Marino was laughing, a bit awkwardly .

She did that this morning toois Luca always like that?

Nope, not really? Shes always scared shitless of people she sees for the first time, especially guys like you . She came here only a while ago though, so theres still plenty we dont know about her .

Emil then added Never seen her like that and motioned at Marino and Luca to come closer .

See, Luca, lets go?

Thanks to Emils gesture and Marinos encouragement, Luca finally came out of her hiding spot behind the door . While walking, though, she skillfully hid behind Marino and stared at Shin at the same time .

Er, we meet again .

Um .

Shin spoke to Luca, a bit awkwardly, and for some reason she stopped hiding behind Marino and grabbed Shins trousers .

Aher, what is this?

Hmm, seems she took a liking to you . Pretty rare .

Shin was even more confused because of Lucas behavior, while Emil commented with a grin .

Whats the matter with Shin, Luca?

. looks like my brother .

Is that so .

Marinos answer to Lucas words was somewhat dry .

Shin wondered why, when he received a voice chat message from Emil .

(Lucas brother is already dead . )

Luca, originally, was only logged in because her brother needed a certain number of players to create a guild .

Learning that she was only 5 years old, Shin understood the circumstances . Even elementary school students played VR games now, but he couldnt imagine that a girl of pre-school age would want to play a game where PKs existed .

In the small time until she logged out, however, the world had changed .

Her brother and his comrades had departed, leaving Luca in a field for beginners, to never come back, as Emil explained .

(How old was her brother, by the way?)

(He had just entered junior high, it seems)

(I dont know if I should be happy or not . )

You look like my junior high school brother -having similar height or facial features would be one thing, but if their mentalities were similar it would be pretty shocking for Shin .

We might as well have Shin take care of Luca today .

Thats a nice idea . Here!

Emil apparently came up with the idea on the spot, but Marino caught on immediately and put Shin and Lucas hands together .

Lucas hands were soft and very small, even more so when compared to Shins .

Rather than holding hands, it looked like Shins hands were wrapped around Lucas . Shin realized again how young she was .

OK! Today you can count on me!

. ok .

Lucas hands gripped Shins tightly .

Shin, Marino, and Emil smiled at her reaction .