When I woke up after catching a brief nap in the bedroom, the time had already long passed ten in the morning.
If this were back when I was still a salaryman, this would unconditionally mean I was late, but now that I was effectively unemployed, sleeping in had zero consequences.
“Haaaaaah〜”
Yawning lazily, I walked out to the living room and saw the back of Saori’s head as she washed dishes in the kitchen, and the small back of Yang Bibi’s head as she enthusiastically played a console game again today.
*As expected, she looks like nothing but a middle schooler.*
I already knew from hearing about it that her real age was twenty, but her appearance was exactly the age where she would love malatang and tteokbokki, so there was always a disconnect in my perception.
“You’re up? Teacher?”
“Yeah.”
Naturally returning Saori’s greeting, I silently watched Yang Bibi from behind as she played a 3D fighting game.
The game she was currently playing was one that had been adopted as an official event at EVO, which could be called the World Cup of fighting games, and had become a hot topic at launch for its 3D cel-shaded rendering that looked like watching an animation.
I liked fighting games, but I was terrible at them and was just a button-mashing scrub from the sidelines, so her god-like play simply evoked awe.
“I’m in ranked, so wait a sec.”
With her gaze fixed on the screen, Yang Bibi said that and then ruthlessly demolished the opponent she’d already pushed into a corner with overwhelming mechanical skill.
When the game ended, Yang Bibi pressed the home button and asked me.
“So, is it finished?”
There was no subject in her sentence, but I knew exactly what she was talking about, so I nodded confidently.
“Of course.”
I immediately turned on the computer sitting at one end of the living room.
And without hesitation, I clicked the executable icon on the desktop.
After waiting like that for a moment, the game’s title rose above the black screen.
*Project Ash*
Since I hadn’t decided on the game’s name yet, it was a tentative working title I’d attached for the time being.
“Well, the title isn’t important, so let’s gloss over it.”
Saying so, Yang Bibi sat in the chair, but instead of pressing New Game… she called out to Saori, who looked like she had just finished the dishes.
“Hey〜”
At that, Saori looked over with a puzzled expression.
“Why are you calling me all of a sudden?”
It seemed Saori was still using honorifics with Yang Bibi.
Since they’re the same age, it would be nice if they got close soon.
“Nah, if you’ve got time, come try this game for a bit.”
“What?”
I was startled by Yang Bibi’s completely unexpected suggestion.
“Why aren’t you playing it?”
At that, Yang Bibi clicked her tongue and wagged her index finger.
“A well-made game is supposed to be fun even for someone who knows absolutely nothing about it.”
And as luck would have it, we have someone right here who knows absolutely nothing about games, like a natural monument.
Yang Bibi said that while pointing at Saori.
“…….”
Listening to her, it certainly wasn’t wrong.
If it were truly a fun game, even a first-timer should find it enjoyable.
“Well, after she plays, I’m planning to play it properly myself, so don’t worry too much.”
Saying so, Yang Bibi patted my hip—she couldn’t reach my shoulder—and got up from the chair.
Saori took the empty seat instead.
“Saori, you know how to use a computer, right?”
As I stood beside her watching with a worried expression, Saori asked incredulously.
“Teacher, what do you take me for?”
“A computer illiterate?”
“I just wasn’t interested in games. I used computers fine when handling student council work.”
Saori said that and confidently grasped the mouse.
Watching her, I was relieved that I wouldn’t need to start teaching from “Okay, this is a click.”
“…I just press the New Game button, right?”
But upon hearing her low-level question, I immediately had a hunch.
This girl was hopelessly clumsy in any field she had no interest in.
***
As the game started, the animation I had prepared yesterday automatically played.
It was made using the game’s basic assets, and the prologue began by showing two people inside an old cabin.
[*Cough, cough… I told you not to come.*]
When the blonde elf Cynthia lying in bed said that, another elf who had come to see her—the protagonist of this game, Ash—slowly approached the bed and spoke.
[*Your illness is getting worse by the day. How could I stay away? There’s no one else in this forest to care for you but me.*]
The two were lovers.
One was a knight whose strength was counted among the greatest of elves, and the other was a frail elf afflicted with an incurable disease who could die at any moment.
Cynthia wished for Ash to find a better lover, but the stubborn Ash loved only her childhood friend Cynthia.
*Well, that’s the surface story, but it’s actually yuri.*
However, telling them that in advance would obviously ruin half the fun, so I decided to keep quiet.
Before long, their conversation was cut short when Cynthia suddenly coughed up blood.
As the white blanket was dyed red, Ash, who had frozen at the sight, knelt beside the bed and swore to her childhood friend and lover.
[*Cynthia, to save you, I will definitely obtain the Golden Fruit that is said to bloom at the peak of the World Tree.*]
Though Cynthia, not wanting her lover to fall into danger, tried to stop her, Ash left the cabin without looking back.
And to keep her oath, she looked up at the massive golden tree placed in the background behind the cabin.
Showing branches of the World Tree stretching beyond the distant heavens, piercing through the clouds to an extent where its true size was unimaginable, the screen faded to black.
The time taken up to this point was about five minutes.
Considering there was no voice acting, it wasn’t a short amount of content.
But I thought it was a necessary scene to show the overall context of the story, so I didn’t spare resources for this part.
Afterward, following a brief loading screen, the full game began.
The game’s basic exploration method was the same as the roguelike genre.
Instant dungeons and crossroads generated by random numbers on the spot.
The player first chose a starting position, then reached the boss on the final floor by repeatedly selecting branching paths that spread out densely like tree branches.
Along the way, they could discover battles with monsters, encounters with merchants, interesting events, and hidden treasures, but since choices could not be undone, they had to move carefully with each step.
Since it was her first time playing, Saori carefully read the tutorial I had set to pop up at the start, and finally began her first battle.
“Ah, cute.”
The enemy the player encountered on Dungeon Floor 1 was the “Squirrel,” the weakest monster in the lowest-level Forest Area.
Three squirrels that looked harmless no matter who saw them stood in a row, and before them stood an elf knight in splendid plate armor, sword at the ready in an attack stance.
For reference, there were three weapon types in total, but I had made it so the player started with a longsword as the default weapon.
Other weapon types were obtained at shops, events, or treasure tiles.
“Teacher, do I have to kill them?”
“Yeah.”
“Then it can’t be helped.”
When I answered affirmatively, Saori immediately played an attack card as if she had never pitied them.
As befitting the weakest monster in the game, the squirrels were fragile bodies that burst from a single hit.
After winning her first battle like that, she obtained rewards, and simultaneously an old map unfurled on the screen, revealing two branching paths.
One was a battle, and the other was a shop.
“Hmm, which one should I pick?”
Saori asked openly while worrying over the two choices, so I answered without hesitation.
“The shop is probably better. You can buy a new weapon or purchase cards to add to your deck.”
Since it was her first game she probably couldn’t gauge it well, but as her experience accumulated, she would learn when entering a shop was advantageous.
Anyway, when she chose the shop tile, a suspicious one-eyed old man covered head to toe in a black cloak welcomed us.
[*Welcome, stranger.*]
After the short line, the shop page automatically opened, and the list of items for sale was neatly arranged.
Cards that could be added to the deck, weapons, potions, and even magic scrolls that could only be used once.
Of course, since she couldn’t afford the expensive things with her current money, Saori finished shopping after purchasing cards to add to her deck.
“I think I’m getting the hang of it now.”
She had been clumsy at first, but after saying that, her play was truly unstoppable.
She continued through repeated battles and events, occasionally stopping at shops or claiming rarely appearing treasures to strengthen her character and deck.
After breaking through all nineteen floors like that, only the 20th floor with the final boss remained.
“Games aren’t as hard as I thought.”
Maybe she could clear it in one go?
Saori muttered with a confident expression right before fighting the tutorial boss, the “Rune Golem.”
But hearing those words, I thought,
*Ah, she’s gonna die.*
I didn’t know about other things, but it was an ironclad rule that after saying something like that, the character would definitely die.
Moreover, the current Rune Golem was officially set by the creator to “hard mode,” so there was no way she could clear it on her first attempt.
“Ah, no!”
And as expected, when Saori’s character died without shaving even half of the Rune Golem’s HP bar, Yang Bibi, who had been quietly watching from behind, opened her mouth for the first time.
“Fun.”
Huh? You’re smiling after seeing that?
“It’s got that satisfying challenge to it.”
Get up if you lost, Big Boobs.
Having said that, ignoring Saori who was getting up with a dejected expression, Yang Bibi immediately sat in the chair and hammered the New Game button on the title screen.