Chapter 35: She’s Not a Fool, She’s a Paramecium.

Chapter 35: She's Not a Fool, She's a Paramecium.

Hokuto tapped the screen, triggering another dialogue sequence.

[Kiana, this young lady is seriously injured. She's been in the river too long—if we don't treat her soon, she might not survive. Can you help me bring her back to the shrine?]

[No problem! Leave the heavy lifting to me!]

Kiana agreed without a moment's hesitation.

Hokuto couldn't help but comment.

Well… you could call that bright and cheerful…

Or you could call it dumb.

Seele's message appeared on screen.

『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "Kiana… is she a fool?"

Hokuto replied instantly.

『Hokuto:』 "No, she's a paramecium."

『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "Parame…cium? I don't understand…"

『Hokuto:』 "Don't worry about it. Let's move on."

While Seele was being direct, someone else was being more… playful.

『pink fairy miss:』 "Mmm~ what an energetic, cheerful girl. What should I do? The more I watch, the more I want to meet her too~"

Hokuto nearly choked on air.

Yeah, Kiana would absolutely fall for Elysia's charm. No doubt about it.

Good thing they're not treating this like reality. If they knew…

Shaking off that thought, Hokuto refocused on the game.

Since this was just a side story, he wasn't fighting every enemy in sight.

Seele noticed.

『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "Big brother, why aren't you attacking the monsters? Are they too strong?"

『Hokuto:』 "Nope. No rewards."

『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "Oh… that's… very practical. I just wanted to see more of Bronya shining in battle…"

Hokuto smirked.

『Hokuto:』 "Oh? You want to see Bronya fight? Don't worry. Once I unlock the Exorcism Missions, I'll wipe out every single enemy in Yae Village."

Seele was stunned.

『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "W-Wipe out… all of them…?"

『Hokuto:』 "Yeah. Every last one."

Seeing how casually Hokuto said that, Seele decided to quietly watch as Bronya's sleek blue motorcycle sped through the shrine gates.

Then, she asked another question.

『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "Big brother, what are these gates called?"

『Hokuto:』 "They're called Torii. If you had read the mission description, you'd know we're heading to a shrine."

『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "Oh… Sorry, I wasn't paying attention…"

Hokuto didn't tease her further. Soon, they arrived at the shrine.

Before entering, he showed off a small detail—how Bronya's bike tilted naturally when she stopped, one foot touching the ground.

But no one in the chat seemed to care.

Hokuto sighed. Fine. You guys don't appreciate the little things.

He drove straight into the shrine.

As the next dialogue started, a new message finally appeared in green.

『your great inventor:』 "That was an impressive level of realism. The game developers even accounted for vehicle physics? Almost as if this Herrscher of Reason actually exists."

Hokuto immediately knew who had sent it.

He didn't even need to check.

Otto Apocalypse.

And of course, he kept talking.

『your great inventor:』 "So, what exactly does this shrine worship? A real deity? Or an empty belief? If it's the former, then what offerings would appease such a god? This girl named Yae… is quite suspicious."

Hokuto's hand froze.

Otto.

Otto.

Otto.

You… You need to stop.

You're way too into this.

This man was so dangerously close to figuring everything out just from context clues.

If he kept this up, he'd probably deduce the entire plot before they even finished the first chapter of Yae Sakura's story.

Hokuto coughed loudly.

『Hokuto:』 "Aha… ha… ha… Dude, it's just a game. No need to overthink it!"

Inside his mind, Hokuto was screaming.

Otto! Stop analyzing! If you weren't literally Otto Apocalypse, I'd think you were some kind of game developer!

He needed to change the subject.

Fast.

『Hokuto:』 "Let's focus on the story."

He tapped forward.

Kiana approached the unconscious girl.

[How is she?]

[Her condition is stable. She's warming up, so she's not in danger anymore.]

[So she's basically safe now!]

[Yes. Bringing her here quickly was a big help. Thank you, Kiana.]

[Hehe, no problem! I'm used to carrying heavy stuff like this!]

[By the way, I never introduced myself. My name is Yae Sakura. I'm a shrine maiden here.]

Silence.

Then, the chat exploded—

With nothing but ellipses.

[...]

[...]

[...]

One message finally broke the silence.

『celestial emissary:』 "I don't understand the writing decision here. The dialogue box already displayed her name—so why did they add an introduction scene?"

Hokuto smirked.

『Hokuto:』 "You're asking the wrong question. The real mystery is—why did Kiana follow a complete stranger without even asking her name?"

Seele's response was instant.

『my favorite sister Bronya:』 "So Kiana really is… a fool?"

End of Chapter 35