I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game - Chapter 386

Knock, knock, knock—

On a night when the order was decided.
I heard someone knocking on my door.

Jeez.
It was as if a curious cat was knocking in the middle of the night, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

Creak—

"I told you we’d talk tomorrow. Why did you come here like this?"

The first person chosen by lottery was Ichika.

"......Yuha."

When I opened the door, Ichika, who usually had an indifferent expression, had eyes filled with worry.

"Don't think of anything bad."
"......Something bad?"

I looked at Ichika with a puzzled expression.

"......The things you said while you were in a trance. If you tell me to forget them, I can. I can erase them in my dreams."

Jeez.
Since I mentioned talking about something personal and intimate, somehow, it seemed like her thoughts had drifted in that direction again.

"The video you all prepared for me this time—I was really grateful."
"......Yeah."
"How should I explain this...? Hmm, it's probably different from what you expected."
"Different?"

Ichika stared into my eyes.

I hesitated for a moment, debating whether I should open up to Ichika here.

Shin Se-hee had said this confession should be a special moment for everyone.
It shouldn’t just be about clearing up misunderstandings, but a time to affirm our trust and affection for one another.

But was it really right to explain everything in such a hurried manner in my room like this?

"Savior?"

Ichika tilted her head slightly to the side.

'No, for Ichika, the place doesn't matter.'

Having made up my mind, I took her hand.

"Ichika."
"Yeah."
"Rather than talking while standing here, should we talk in my dream?"

"You mean, you and me? Are you saying we should sleep together? And I can even slip into you?"
"......"

Well, technically, she wasn’t wrong, but Ichika always had a way of choosing words that made responding difficult.

I let out a small chuckle and nodded.

"Yeah, let’s sleep together. In the same bed."

What’s with her? She’s the one who said it first, yet now her face is turning red.

I grabbed her hesitant hand and led her to my bed.

.

.

.

The next morning.
When Ichika woke up to the sunlight leaking through the window, Jin Yuha was already gone.

'Morning training…'

Still half-asleep, Ichika recalled the dream she had the night before.

.

.

.

In the space Jin Yuha had invited her into—his unconscious mind—Ichika was able to see everything.

The secrets he had hidden, the truth, his past.
No, in this case, should she call it his past life?
It didn’t really matter either way.

"......Easter egg."

In his past life, Savior had been sitting in a cramped, barely three-square-meter room, engrossed in some mobile game.

And the world inside that game—was shockingly identical to this one.

Through the tiny screen over his shoulder, Ichika saw Lee Yoori, Shin Se-hee, Kang Do-hee…
As well as other party members and people from the academy.

Except for one person—herself.

"......I'm not there?"

That’s right.

In the game world Jin Yuha had played in his past life, she was nowhere to be found.

She felt… sad.

"Was I an unimportant character?"

A pang of disappointment hit her.

But then—
A familiar place appeared on the screen.

[ Jukai Forest ]

And there, lying on the ground, was a girl who looked exactly like her.

When Jin Yuha’s past self lightly tapped on the girl with his finger, a message popped up.

[ 'Suspicious Girl' - She doesn’t seem to have been dead for long. ]

After that, he kept encountering the same scene.

"Is this not the way? Hmm..."

"Then let’s try Route C this time."

"No, what if I do this here?"

He kept trying everything he could to save that "Suspicious Girl."

He tried giving her artifacts that increased vitality, casting healing magic,
changing his party lineup,
starting over from the beginning and making different choices,
even scouring game forums all night for information.

Every time he attempted something and failed, he struck a line through his notes and jotted down a new one.

Endless efforts.

The moon rose outside the window, and the morning sun came up again, but he never stopped.
It was almost obsessive.

And finally, on the fifth morning—

"Damn it… She has to be an Easter egg. Is she really impossible to save? Even after asking on forums, no one has an answer..."

Savior pressed his tired eyes and tilted his head.

-Ugh, my leave ends today. I really wanted to save her before it was over… The only thing left is to roll more gacha and collect all the items…

Then, checking his bank balance on his phone, he pouted.

-Sigh, being broke is a crime… I’ll try again when I make a lot of money in the future…

Thus, his attempt to save the mysterious girl ended in failure.

Watching it all, Ichika felt her chest tighten.

"Savior."

Suddenly, warmth enveloped her from behind.
Even without looking back, she knew who it was.

This was Savior’s memory.
Only one other person besides herself could be here.

"No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't save you… Such a trash game, right?"

Jin Yuha’s voice was nonchalant, but there was a tremor in it.
As if he was afraid of how she would react.

Ichika smiled softly and gently stroked the arms wrapped around her.

"Savior, thank you."
"…Huh? For what?"
"You saved me."
"But I failed."
"Savior, I’m here because of you. If not for you, I would have died in Jukai Forest, just like in that game."

That’s right.
Even if past-life Savior failed, the current Savior had succeeded.
And as a result, she was alive, standing beside Jin Yuha in this world.

The fact that this world was actually a game?
That Savior was actually a transmigrator?
None of it mattered to her.

All that mattered was that his past self had desperately wanted to save her,
Had put in so much effort,
And that now, in this world, he had succeeded.

Her heart melted.

Then, Jin Yuha asked awkwardly,

"But… I looked different in my past life. Were you disappointed?"
"Not at all."

Ichika shook her head.

Honestly, his past-life appearance was not as striking as his current one.

Now, he looked like a carefully sculpted masterpiece, so perfect that touching him felt intimidating.

But in his past life, he had a warm, boyish charm.

'…Still handsome. Hmm, maybe cute is the better word?'

Maybe love had blinded her.

Even if he had always looked like that, she was certain she would have fallen for him.

And strangely, she felt no disconnect.
As if she had always known him like this.

Ah.

"Your eyes."
"…My eyes?"
"Yeah, they’re the same. And your expressions, your way of speaking."

Yes.
Even if his face had changed, he was still Jin Yuha.
Someone who always gave his best.

The same person she had fallen for.

Suddenly,
Ichika felt her heart tighten.

"Savior, I’m so happy."

She smiled radiantly.

And Jin Yuha, watching her,

Held her even tighter.

That day, Ichika spent all her time exploring his memories, learning everything about him.

And then she woke up.

"…Savior."

She stared blankly at the empty space beside her.

Just then—

Ding—♬

"…?"

A message arrived.
It was from Lim Ga-eul.

[...]

Seeing the flood of messages, Ichika firmly replied:

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
【Ichika】 - Savior will tell you himself. Don't ask me.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

For once, she wanted to keep this memory to herself.

‘A story for just Savior and me.’

Snuggling into his scent, she closed her eyes—
And drifted back into last night's dream.