I Became A Collaborative Character In The Game

Chapter 21 – Encounter

There were two main routes from the Pioneer Village to Venus City.

One was by water, using the Anes River, which flowed through the entire western region, and the other was by land, using the conventional roads.

The land route was shorter in terms of pure distance, but unless you were riding a horse at breakneck speed, the river route was generally faster.

Of course, using the river route required paying a fare, but the group already had plenty of money from selling the Jogress byproducts.

And Lilia was wealthy to begin with.

Therefore, the group decided to head to Anus Village, which connected to both routes.

–CROW–

The journey to Anus Village was uneventful.

During the two-day trek, a few shady-looking adventurers glanced at the group, and the most significant incident was Lilia burning the bacon while trying to prepare dinner.

“[A terrible cook. Such a typical character setting.]”

“[We must consider the possibility that she is pretending to be a bad cook to make Master lower his guard.]”

“No way.”

After observing Lilia for the past few days, Luther concluded that she was genuinely naive.

And—

‘She’s doing it again.’

Lilia’s characteristically dreamy expression and affectionate gaze.

Since the fight in the Pioneer Village, Lilia had been staring at him blankly like this more often.

It was obvious she was attracted to him.

Luther’s thoughts on this were simple.

“[Master, you’re grinning from ear to ear.]”

“[You look like an idiot.]”

“Ahem.”

He wasn’t grinning like an idiot, as Integra said, but he couldn’t deny that he felt good.

After all, Lilia was beautiful.

“[I have a feeling you’re thinking something inappropriate…]”

“No, it’s just a thought about the harsh realities of life.”

If Max had looked at him like that, it would have led to a fight, but since Lilia was beautiful, it was a different story.

‘It’s a shame I couldn’t have a proper conversation about magic.’

There had been a few opportunities to talk about magic during their journey, but since Luther wasn’t a mage, he couldn’t have a meaningful conversation with Lilia about it.

Lilia also couldn’t just ask him about the drone’s structure or how to make it, so the conversations always drifted towards Lilia’s laboratory stories or other trivial matters.

‘Those were also fun, though.’

The way Lilia, who wasn’t very articulate, stammered as she told her stories was quite cute.

He didn’t mind the lack of substance in their conversations, as long as she was cute.

But he still felt a little regretful.

Although naive and a bit eccentric, Lilia was a genius enchanter, surpassing even the highly skilled.

It would be great if he could learn about enchantment magic from her.

‘Of course, it would be Integra learning, not me.’

“It seems we’re almost there. I’ve been here before, so I know a good inn.”

Max, who was walking ahead, pointed towards the distance and said.

A large city, surrounded by tall and sturdy stone walls that dwarfed the wooden barricades of the Pioneer Village, came into view.

“Phew… I’m glad we made it on time.”

As Lilia stretched and exhaled, Karen suddenly asked,

“Lilia, you said you were going to Venus City for an academic conference, right?”

“Yes, I left a month early in case I got lost. So I still have some time before the conference.”

Lilia said with a bashful smile, and Karen chuckled awkwardly.

Lilia had indeed gotten lost and even put her life in danger.

“Next time, please travel with someone else. Okay?”

“Y… yes…”

Lilia blushed and replied to Karen’s admonition, and Max smiled faintly.

Lilia looked older than Karen, but judging by their conversation and behavior, it was the other way around.

“[Anyway, let’s hurry.]”

“Okay.”

As Luther responded to Integra’s urging and started walking, the others also quickened their pace towards Anus Village.

–CROW–

As a place connected to all the villages in the western frontier, Anus Village was less of a village and more of a city.

With so many people and goods coming and going, everywhere he looked was like a marketplace.

“Since we’ve come this far, let’s stay somewhere nice. Somewhere with hot water for a bath.”

“Wow, really?”

As Lilia’s face lit up, Karen quickly nodded and continued,

“There’s a high-class inn further inside the village. The rooms are a bit expensive, but the facilities are excellent. Each room even has its own bathtub.”

“Wow!”

Lilia’s face flushed at the thought.

And Luther felt the same way.

“[Master?]”

“Well, it sounds nice.”

He hadn’t had a proper bath since waking up in the world of Dragon Hunter.

Even in the Pioneer Village, the best he could do was pour well water over himself.

But a hot bath…

With a bathtub, no less.

He wasn’t as excited as Lilia, but he was definitely looking forward to it.

“You’re okay with that too, Luther… sir, right?”

Karen, having already seen Luther’s expectant expression, still asked to confirm, and Luther immediately nodded.

“Yes, let’s go.”

His original plan was to visit the Adventurers’ Guild to claim the bounty and register as an adventurer, but the bath took priority.

“Do you like baths too, Luther… sir?”

Lilia asked with her characteristically affectionate eyes, and Luther nodded again.

“I do. A bath is like cleansing the soul.”

“Oh… cleansing the soul. What a wonderful expression.”

Well, he had seen it in a manga.

In any case, a bath was definitely an important matter.

“I’ll lead the way. I’ve been here before.”

Unlike the unfamiliar frontier, Karen was familiar with the roads from here on.

As she confidently took the lead, Lilia followed her like a baby bird following its mother, and Luther walked beside Lilia, paying close attention.

And—

“Well… I like baths too.”

Max muttered to himself and quickened his pace.

And about two hours later,

“Haaa…”

Inside the bathroom attached to their room in the high-class inn.

Luther, submerged in the wooden bathtub filled with hot water, let out a sound of deep contentment.

“This feels so good…”

His eyes closed involuntarily.

It felt like the hot water was seeping into his very being.

“[Master, is it that good?]”

“It’s that good. More than good.”

Although wiping himself with a hot, wet towel felt good, it couldn’t compare to soaking in a bathtub.

“Phew… I feel alive again.”

Luther wiped his face with handfuls of water, leaned his head back, and emptied his mind.

A true state of relaxation.

But his relaxation couldn’t last.

“[Master.]”

“What?”

“[Could you open your eyes for a moment? Okay?]”

“Why are you… Gah!”

Luther opened his eyes absentmindedly and then flailed in surprise in the bathtub.

Integra was sitting in front of him, not in her miniature form, but life-sized.

“You…?”

“[Why are you so surprised? It’s just augmented reality using the HUD, so I can change my size freely. And haven’t you seen my life-sized form before?]”

Since it was augmented reality using the HUD, not a hologram—in other words, only visible to him—she could adjust her size as she pleased.

But Luther, still flustered, said,

“Not that!”

It wasn’t just that Integra was life-sized.

He was surprised because Integra was sitting there wearing only a towel.

“[What’s wrong? You’re in the bath.]”

“[Ah, so because you’re in the bath, you should be completely naked?]”

Integra smiled mischievously and lightly tugged at the edge of the towel draped over her chest.

Luther’s gaze naturally followed her finger, and Integra, as if waiting for this, narrowed her eyes and said,

“[Master, you pervert.]”

“Damn it.”

He knew it.

She was just teasing him.

“[But Master.]”

“What?”

As Luther replied curtly, Integra smiled again and said in a suggestive voice,

“[I was just wondering why you’re covering yourself.]”

She glanced at Luther’s lower body, which he was covering with his hands, and smiled again.

“[It’s not like we haven’t seen each other before.]”

Luther’s naked body.

It was true.

He had been naked from the moment he woke up in the world of Dragon Hunter.

“No, but!”

“[But?]”

“Never mind.”

He should just stop talking.

Continuing the conversation would only lead to him falling into Integra’s trap.

As Luther closed his mouth, Integra giggled and said in a gentle voice,

“[Are you suddenly shy?]”

“[How cute.]”

“Oh, really.”

If she were real, he would have snatched her towel and chased her away.

But she was just an image projected through augmented reality.

Luther sighed and abruptly stood up.

“[Kyaa!]”

“You said you’ve seen it every day.”

Luther deliberately walked through Integra as if she weren’t there and looked at himself in the mirror above the sink.

A handsome man with black hair and purple eyes.

The face of Luther Lightseeker, one of the playable characters in Star Savior.

‘Strange.’

It wasn’t that he found it strange to have become Luther.

What was strange was the lack of違和感, the sense of discomfort.

This face wasn’t his, it was Luther’s.

In other words, it was the face of another person.

But he didn’t feel any sense of discomfort looking at it in the mirror.

It was as if he had always been Luther Lightseeker.

“[Master, what are you thinking about?]”

Integra, her previous scream apparently just an act, asked again in a gentle voice.

Luther, instead of answering, started shaving with a knife.

Even though he was a homunculus, his hair and beard grew, and his physiological functions were no different from a human’s.

‘I should probably tell her.’

Putting down the knife, Luther glanced at Integra.

She was leaning back in the bathtub, eyes closed, as if enjoying the hot water, but it was just a visual image.

Integra was with him at this very moment.

They were literally one.

‘So I should tell her.’

About himself, and about this world destined for destruction.

Keeping it a secret from Integra was impossible.

It was better to be upfront and ask for her help.

‘Yes, because it’s Integra.’

She was a mischievous and teasing maid—no, support AI—but also his most reliable ally.

She was also someone who would never betray him.

‘Alright, let’s talk tonight.’

Having made up his mind, Luther got back into the bathtub, and Integra, instead of teasing him further, deactivated the augmented reality.

And that night,

Luther, lying in bed in the darkness, said,

“Integra.”

“[Yes, Master.]”

“I have something important to tell you.”

“[Important?]”

“Yes, something very important. Something I can only tell… you.”

The moment Luther finished speaking,

A faint light gathered before him, taking the form of Integra.

Integra, sitting astride Luther’s chest, looked down at him and asked,

“[What is it?]”

Her face was slightly flushed.

She seemed to have a hint of anticipation in her expression.

Did she like the part about “something I can only tell you”?

“So…”

Where should he begin?

He had thought he should tell Integra, and he had believed that she would eventually trust him, but now that he was about to say, “I woke up in a game!”, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“[Master?]”

“Um… so…”

How should he start?

As Luther struggled to find the right words, he suddenly flinched and froze.

A strange sensation tickled his nose.

“Integra?”

The moment Luther asked,

Integra suddenly closed her eyes, and then exclaimed in surprise,

“[Gas is spreading throughout the second floor!]”

“[It seems to be a sleep-inducing gas.]”

“[I will begin detoxification.]”

As Integra spoke quickly and moved her hands, Luther felt the strange sensation in his nose disappear.

“Sleep gas?”

Luther muttered, sat up in bed, and saw white smoke rising from under the wall and spreading across the floor.

“[Fortunately, the gas itself doesn’t seem to be toxic.]”

That was a relief, but he couldn’t relax yet.

Luther looked around and spoke in a low voice,

“Integra, check for life signs.”

“[Understood.]”

“[There is an additional person in the next room who wasn’t there before the gas was released.]”

“[Since there are no other significant changes, it seems they are targeting the person in the next room.]”

“What about Karen and Max?”

“[They are asleep, but otherwise fine.]”

It seemed they weren’t involved in this situation.

“[Displaying life signs on the HUD.]”

The moment Integra spoke, white silhouettes appeared on the wall.

It seemed to be a view of the next room. A large figure was approaching a woman lying in bed.

“[Judging by the fact that they are holding what appears to be a rope, not a knife, their goal seems to be kidnapping, not assassination.]”

“[It seems kidnapping is a common occurrence on this planet.]”

“[And it’s a woman again.]”

Integra’s voice seemed more annoyed by the fact that it was a woman than by the kidnapping itself, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

“Integra, equip the Nanosuit.”

As if she had expected it, Integra sighed and activated the Nanosuit at Luther’s quiet command.

“[I will hear the important story you can only tell me later.]”

“Okay.”

Feeling a sense of inexplicable guilt, Luther clenched his fist and punched the inn’s wall.

—–CROW—–