Chapter 50

I started a staring contest with the seemingly docile pink slime, glaring at it.

What material is this slime’s body made of?

Of course, this thing’s true identity probably isn’t a real monster. No interface appeared.

The only weapon given to me to subjugate this unidentified slime is a single spoon.

Tap, I lightly touched the slime’s body with the spoon.

It gently twisted its body to avoid the sharp part of my spoon.

It’s more elastic than I thought.

Gripping the spoon a bit tighter, I struck down at the slime with the intent to bisect it, imbuing it with the essence of swordsmanship.

Squish!

“Oh.”

It sank in unexpectedly softly. The thing’s body seemed to quiver and let out a death cry. I, becoming a predator that sank its teeth into its prey’s body, violated the slime’s body with my spoon.

The slime’s pink flesh lifted onto my spoon. I swallowed hard and popped that flesh into my mouth.

“Wow…!”

I exclaimed, unable to even close my mouth.

The first taste was soft and creamy. The sweet fragrance of fruit seemed to burst like fireworks in my mouth.

The slime slowly melted on my tongue, spreading the flavor of strawberries. That taste was as fresh and crisp as biting into a well-ripened strawberry.

Chomp chomp chomp.

I kept moving my spoon, scooping up the flesh of the slime that had become a miserable sight.

Chris watched me battling with the slime with a smile.

“She really looks like someone eating pudding for the first time.”

Chris’s grinning gaze and Bae Merong’s, subtly shaking gaze were directed at me.

But I was busy taking in the slime’s flesh. My mind was entirely focused on savoring the sweetness hitting my head.

Sweet dessert, refreshing drink. It was a pleasure I had never felt before in my life.

So food can make people this happy.

I should eat sweet food occasionally.

Bae Merong, who was looking at me with a slightly worried gaze, spoke to Chris.

“Chris unnie, do people sometimes skip real meals if they feel full in virtual reality?”

“Hmm, we can’t say it doesn’t happen depending on the synchronization rate. It’s actually become a topic of concern in lifestyle virtual reality metaverses with high synchronization rates. But if you don’t eat meals in the first place, your real body sends signals that it lacks energy, so people don’t starve to death because of that. The capsule also has safety measures to cut off the connection according to vital signs forcibly.”

Chris took a sip of lemonade and continued.

“Even in the PC game era before capsules appeared, there were people who died after gaming for days and nights without sleeping, right? But PC and games weren’t stopped from being sold because they were dangerous. In the end, it’s a people problem, not a problem with advancing technology.”

“Hmm.”

Bae Merong nodded at Chris’s words.

Bae Merong seemed to still have something bothering her. She turned to me, who was still battling with the pudding, and asked.

“Rain, are you eating well in reality too?”

What’s the intent of suddenly turning the arrow of questions to me when she was conversing well with Chris unnie?

I stared at Bae Merong with my mouth full of pudding. Receiving my gaze, Bae Merong suddenly giggled.

Why is she laughing? I just looked at her.

I swallowed the remaining pudding in my mouth and said.

“I’m eating well.”

“What do you mainly eat?”

“Um, I’ve been eating pizza and chicken often lately.”

Bae Merong’s expression became slightly relieved.

Actually, I preferred pizza over chicken these days.

Chicken becomes dry and hard when it’s old, but pizza tastes similar to when it was just ordered if you microwave it properly. It means it’s good for eating over several days.

The cost-effectiveness is good, too. One or two slices fill my stomach. If I order a regular size, I can eat it for 3-4 days.

Chomp, as the last pudding disappeared into my mouth, Chris, who had been just looking at me, smiled brightly.

“Rain, did you enjoy eating?”

Nod nod.

Today’s cafe exploration was very satisfying. I nodded and expressed my satisfaction with a small smile.

“Is the time still okay? We have another place to visit today.”

“Yes.”

I had decided to accompany Chris as she wanted today.

The cafe was good, so I looked forward to the next place we would visit.

“Wah…”

I looked around the store while sweating profusely.

Fluttering dresses, Gothic Lolita concept outfits, gorgeous dresses, and even clothes close to underwear with just a few pieces of cloth can be seen.

“There are many pretty clothes, right? As soon as Bae Merong unnie saw this place, she thought of Rain!”

“This is also a customization workshop run by a user. The prices are a bit high, but you can try on clothes directly designed by users.”

I took a slight step back and shook my head.

Of course, I like collecting game customizations, but I’ve never tried on such fluttering clothes.

I liked the cool clothes that suited a Swordsman.

Like the desert admiral costume with a cool uniform, or the orc warrior costume with a cape.

But everything sold here are clothes for women.

Chris must have read my indifferent expression as she gave a slightly worried look.

“Why? Don’t you like the clothes here?”

“Ah, no! I like them!”

I hastily denied.

Chris brought me here thinking of me as someone  who likes customizations, and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

I looked around at various outfits with narrowed eyes. Most are fluttering skirt types, but there were some clothes I could wear without aversion.

“Right? Right? It’s good? Rain, do you want to try this on first? Kyaa…! You’ll really look like a doll!”

“Ah…”

Before I could choose clothes, Chris took out a white dress outfit and started holding it up to my body.

A ‘Try On’ button and interface appeared in front of my eyes. It seemed to be a system where you can try on clothes before buying.

“Come on, come on, Rain! Try it on! Huff, huff! Is there something like a fitting room? Rain, should unnie help you change?”

Chris looks around left and right while puffing air from her nose. Bae Merong, who was looking at her with a horrified expression, scolded her.

“Unnie… it’s a game. You just press the button, and it automatically changes, right? What on earth are you expecting?”

“Ah, th-that’s right.”

Chris licked her lips. I closed my eyes tightly and pressed the try on button.

Swoosh.

A fluttering white dress was put on my body. Soon I could see Chris and Bae Merong’s pupils dilate.

“Oh… Oof…!”

“Oh my, oh my, oh my.”

They suddenly covered their mouths and made strange noises.

“Is, is it strange?”

Shake shake. They both shook their heads simultaneously.

Chris, who soon approached my side, lowered her head to look at me directly and her eyes sparkled.

“Rain, why do you always wear only manly clothes? Unnie will buy you all the clothes here! Even if it’s just in front of unnie, let’s wear one every day in rotation!”

“Eek.”

She’s going to buy all this? For me to wear?

I distanced myself a bit from Chris and shook my head.

“Bu-bu-buying just one is fine.”

I looked around at the surrounding clothes in bewilderment. Soon, I found an outfit that looked okay, and I hurriedly pointed at it.

“Th-that one! Please buy me that one! That one is fine!”

Where my finger was pointing, there was a white one-piece outfit with a hood.

It looked like something I could wear among all the fluttering things in this store.

I hurriedly approached and pressed the try on button, and soon, that outfit was put on my body.

“Ah… Aah!”

“Kuhuk!”

It’s just a one-piece outfit similar to pajamas, but why do the unnies’ reactions seem more intense?

Chris approached me with an expression like she was about to pass out and carefully stretched out her hand.

She was touching something attached to the hood of the outfit I was wearing.

“Ca-cat pajamas! E-e-ears are attached!”

“Kyaa…! There’s a tail too, unnie!”

Bae Merong, who had approached behind me at some point, was fiddling with the tail attached to the back of the outfit with an ecstatic expression.

“A-ah…”

I didn’t know these were attached!

“Ah, today was so good!”

“It seems like it’s not bad to play in the city occasionally.”

In the end, I ended up receiving the dress, Gothic Lolita dress, and cat pajamas that Chris bought me.

She stuffed the clothes into my inventory, with the condition that I wear these clothes when playing with her.

“You’re grateful to unnie, right? This is Unnie’s request for today. You’ll do it, right?”

“Ye-yes.”

Chris smiled brightly. Her smile made me feel good, too.

It wasn’t a bad deal if I could repay my debt of gratitude to her like this.

“We’re going to run Aspero Fortress buses starting tomorrow. Is the time okay for Rain, too?”

Nod nod.

This is the biggest reason why I need to maintain a relationship with Chris. Since I can’t run buses alone, I need to borrow her strength.

We promised to meet tomorrow in front of the fountain in the square where we first met and parted ways.

I waved my hand until they disappeared from sight.

* * *

Drip.

As I raised my body from the capsule, I suddenly plugged my nose as a nosebleed flowed out.

I was going to rest after meeting with Chris because my condition wasn’t good, to begin with, but my body immediately sent an abnormal signal.

I didn’t particularly overexert myself today, why is this happening? Somehow my body’s recovery feels slower these days.

“Should I go to the hospital?”

I muttered quietly to myself.

Hospital.

I did rely on it for a long time when I first returned to modern times. But after being discharged, I didn’t go near a hospital.

Until just a few months ago, I had the mindset that I didn’t care what happened to my body, but these days I’ve started to find joy in life.

Anyway, ‘Rain’ in the Astria continent exists only if ‘Lee Seulbi’ in reality is alive, so it’s not good if this useless body here gets completely ruined.

But at this point when bus fees are expensive, making money is the priority.

If I’m asked to undergo tests at the hospital, I’ll lose quite a lot of time. To make matters worse, if I end up being hospitalized, I won’t be able to make money at all.

I sighed lightly.

“Haah.”

I should run buses for a while, and visit the hospital once when I’m less busy.