Chapter 1 Part 2

“…What are you dragging out for?”

I frowned deeply, and a sigh came through the phone.

[Don’t take it too hard… If it’s tough, come over to my place. We’ll have some beer.]

Then, just like that, the call was abruptly ended.

“W-What was that?”

Feeling a bit puzzled but more intrigued by the mention of my favorite character’s narrative, I quickly launched the mobile game.

The screen rotated to landscape as the title filled my view.

[A Flower Blooming on the Battlefield]

…The title was cringeworthy even upon seeing it again.

This game, colloquially known as ‘BattleFlower,’ revolves around leading heroes to defeat the demon lords in its universe.

Naturally, my favorite character was one of the heroes featured in the game.

“Ah, so there’s an event for his birthday today!”

I felt proud of myself for preemptively spending money and tenaciously saving in-game currency for this occasion.

My heart pounded as I tapped on the event page.

“Oh my god…”

Black hair as dark as the night, with red eyes that seemed to capture the sunlight.

A gaze mixed with despair and agony, with scars across his cheeks.

A cold beauty looking up at the sky, biting his lip with his sword planted into the ground.

My favorite character filled the small screen.

Lian Serius.

“…This is crazy, absolutely crazy.”

Tears threatened to spill, but I forced my eyes to focus as I turned to the gacha system.

I have to get him, no matter what.

Though the catch was that I could only attempt to draw 50 times. With trembling anticipation, I opened the event page and aimed for the [Draw 10 times] button.

The odds of not getting my favorite after pressing this button five times are…?

…Let’s not think negatively.

Taking a deep breath, my shaking hand pressed the button.

Then, ten pillars of light burst forth on the screen, revealing the faces of the heroes I had drawn one by one.

“Sigh…”

A deep sigh escaped me involuntarily. I hadn’t felt this disheartened even during the call with my aunt.

Right, I hadn’t expected him to appear on the first try.

It’s okay, I still have 40 tries left.

As I enthusiastically continued to press the button, I eventually realized I had exhausted all my in-game currency without even seeing my favorite’s face.

…Damn this game!

“Argh!”

Screaming and collapsing onto the bed, I half-cried as I entered a gaming community forum.

I wanted to check if this damned game had manipulated the odds.

The moment I started reading the posts, I felt a chill run through my veins.

After scouring through the community’s posts, I called [Poopyhead] back.

“I’m heading over now. Have some cold beer ready.”

The distance to my friend’s house wasn’t far, so I just grabbed my phone and left.

Walking down the street in my workout clothes, looking half out of my soul, was somewhat amusing.

Most posts on the community were cursing the company that made the game.

[We’ve been clinging to this failed game out of love, but isn’t this going too far? I could write a better story with my feet. What, they think the world ending and killing off all the characters is fine? Are they hinting at shutting down the service soon?]

Yes, the divine illustration of Lian, looking up at the sky, tired and wounded, was depicting a hero watching the world’s end.

“My favorite character facing a death ending… Why have I been playing this game until now?”

On the game’s opening day. I had installed the game on a whim, following my friend, and couldn’t let go because I fell in love with a character in there.

And today was his birthday…

“Killing him off on his birthday, that’s just too much…”

So, that’s why ‘poopyhead’ told me not to take it too hard earlier?

Tears suddenly burst forth, and I wiped them with my sleeve while crossing the street. Then, I saw a man with short black hair and handsome features passing by on the opposite sidewalk.

…Lian?

The person I liked was inside a game. To be precise, he was not a person but a character.

I wished that character were real, and moreover, that he wouldn’t die.

“Excuse me… Hey!”

I called out, afraid I’d lose sight of him, but he seemed not to notice.

“Lian!”

At my call, he turned around with a surprised look and looked back at me.

Then, at that moment, I felt a strong impact accompanied by the screeching sound of tires.

My body hit the hard, rough asphalt road, and silence ensued. No sound could be heard.

Ah, no matter how much I like my favorite character, am I going to die with him?

Somehow, today’s luck seemed too bad. Starting with a call from my aunt in the morning.

And then Lian’s death…

Blood flowing from my head made it hard to open my eyes. Slowly closing and then reopening them, I saw a man resembling Lian running towards me.

“……!”

He seemed to be saying something to me…

But in the end, I couldn’t hold onto the fading thread of consciousness and closed my eyes.

That was the end of my neither long nor short life.

***

I’ve never been particularly greedy since I was young.

Even when playing with toys my parents bought me, if the kid next door showed any desire for them, I would just give them away.

Clothes, food, toys… There was nothing I desired so much that I couldn’t be content with what my parents provided me.

And then, Lian became the first thing I truly wanted.

“Wow… looks like I’m really dead.”

Left alone in a dark space, I looked around and let out a short sigh.

Why do I feel so at peace despite being dead? Ah, is it because I’m dead that I feel this way?

No need to go to work. No worries about family nagging.

As I aimlessly stared into the void, a strange screen appeared before me.