Chapter 4

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Chirp chirp―!

The sound of birds singing.

Lucy slowly opened her eyes.

Warm sunlight streamed through the window.

Morning had come.

“…”

The events of last night, defeating the bandits, flashed through her mind.

She had finally cleared the first stage.

So, what happens now?

She had thought that after clearing the first stage, she would wake up and return to reality.

But Lucy was still in the game.

Would she have to stay like this forever?

Creak-

“Lucy, it’s morning.”

The door opened, and her grandfather came in.

“Oh, you’re already up. Come and have breakfast.”

Lucy nodded and got up.

She decided to think about what to do later and focus on eating first; she was hungry.

The breakfast menu was warm vegetable soup, rye bread, and fresh milk.

Her grandfather spoke up.

“By the way, I found some good mushrooms in the forest yesterday. Should I make a mushroom dish for dinner tonight?”

Lucy nodded slightly.

It felt awkward interacting with her grandfather, but she tried not to show it.

After a while, Lucy finished her meal, did the dishes, and returned to her room.

She gazed at the clear sky outside the window, lost in thought.

What if she couldn’t return to reality and had to live here forever?

Honestly, it didn’t seem so bad.

The world of POD was vast.

According to the game company, POD’s world was so expansive and full of endless possibilities that even a lifetime of play wouldn’t be enough to experience it all.

To actually live in such a world—maybe this was a blessing in disguise.

Lucy nodded slowly.

Even if she couldn’t return to reality, she decided to think positively about it.

If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it, as the saying goes…

“Wah!”

Suddenly, someone jumped out in front of Lucy and shouted.

It seemed like they were trying to startle her.

And it worked—Lucy was quite startled.

Without thinking, she punched the person in the face.

Thud!

The person who got hit by Lucy staggered for a moment.

They seemed shocked, not expecting to get hit.

“…”

Lucy frowned as she looked at the person.

It was a boy who looked about ten years old.

Messy hair and tanned brown skin.

He looked like the type to cause trouble.

Blood was streaming from the boy’s nose.

The boy’s eyes were teary, but he seemed to be trying hard not to cry.

“…Sorry.”

Lucy apologized.

Honestly, she wasn’t that sorry. The boy had startled her first.

It was more of a courtesy apology.

More than that, Lucy had a good idea of who the boy was.

Judging by his appearance, it was clear.

Peter, the troublemaker of the village.

Peter, the baker’s son.

◈

“…”

Peter held his throbbing face and stared at Lucy.

He was feeling flustered.

Startling Lucy was something Peter usually enjoyed doing.

Normally, Lucy would scream, collapse to the ground, and burst into tears.

Then Peter would comfort her, saying it was just a joke, and Lucy would sulk for a while before laughing and forgiving him when Peter made a funny face.

But today was different.

Today, Lucy didn’t scream, collapse, or cry.

Instead, she punched Peter. Right in the face.

And it was a pretty hard punch.

For the first time in his life, Peter had been hit so hard that his nose bled. His nose stung, and he felt like crying.

But he held it in.

He didn’t want to cry in front of Lucy. He could cry in front of anyone else, but never in front of her.

“…Sorry.”

Lucy apologized.

Her voice didn’t sound very sincere.

Peter held back his tears and wiped the blood from his nose.

“I-It’s fine. Ah, I’ve been a bit tired lately… That’s why my nose started bleeding….”

“…”

Lucy climbed out through the window.

Then she walked right up to Peter.

Peter instinctively flinched but quickly straightened his shoulders.

Cowering in front of Lucy was also something he couldn’t allow.

Whether Peter liked it or not, Lucy just stared closely at his face, as if checking the spot she had hit.

After a moment, she nodded slowly, as if to say, ‘Yeah, this is fine.’

Lucy asked,

“…Why did you startle me?”

“Huh?”

Peter was taken aback.

Startling Lucy was just a prank he always pulled.

There was no reason behind it. Lucy had never asked for a reason before.

“Uh, just…”

“Just?”

“W-We always do this, don’t we!”

Peter raised his voice. His cheeks flushed red because Lucy’s face was so close.

“Don’t do it again.”

Lucy said.

“You could get hurt.”

“H-Hurt…?”

“Like just now.”

“Ha.”

Peter snorted.

“I was just caught off guard. Normally, I’d easily dodge your punch. And this nosebleed isn’t because of you. I’ve just been tired lately…”

“Lucy~ Peter~”

A voice called out from a distance.

Turning their heads, they saw a chubby boy walking toward them, waving his hand.

It was Sam.

“Sam, why are you so late!”

Peter shouted, and Sam scratched his head, laughing.

“Sorry. My dad made me run an errand… By the way, Peter, your nose is bleeding.”

“It’s… just because I’ve been tired lately. Anyway, did you bring it?”

“Yeah.”

Sam pulled something out of the bag slung over his shoulder. It was a crude-looking metal device and a net.

“This is it. It’s a bird trap I made. If an animal touches this device, the net will shoot up.”

“That’s amazing!”

Peter’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the trap.

“What can we catch with this?”

At Peter’s question, Sam shrugged.

“Hmm… I think catching big animals might be hard. The net isn’t that big. Maybe rabbits or squirrels?”

“What about a raccoon?”

“A raccoon might be possible too.”

“Let’s set it up right away!”

“Yeah!”

Peter and Sam both turned to look at Lucy.

“Lucy, you’re coming too… right?”

Sam asked cautiously.

Normally, this wouldn’t even be a question.

Lucy loved animals and would usually jump at the chance to go catch them.

But the Lucy that Sam saw yesterday was different.

Yesterday, Lucy didn’t seem excited at all when she saw the fawn and even asked Sam to leave her alone.

Plus, she didn’t seem interested in the trap Sam had brought.

“Of course Lucy’s coming too.”

Peter said, grabbing Lucy’s arm.

Lucy quietly looked down at her arm, now held by Peter.

“…A-Aren’t you coming?”

Peter quickly let go of Lucy’s arm and stepped back.

He was scared Lucy might punch him again.

But thankfully, that didn’t happen.

Lucy said to Peter and Sam,

“I’ll come with you.”

Deep in the lush forest.

The sounds of life echoed from all around.

The chirping of birds, the rustling of squirrels climbing trees, and the soft swaying of leaves in the wind blended together peacefully.

“Just a little further.”

Peter pointed ahead as he spoke.

“There’s a small stream up ahead. Animals often come there to drink.”

Sure enough, after walking a bit further, a small stream appeared.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, sparkling on the water’s surface, and the surrounding trees cast soft shadows.

It was like a cozy little sanctuary created by nature.

Sam pulled the trap out of his bag.

“Where should we set it up?”

“How about over there? Animals will probably pass by there when they come to drink.”

Peter pointed to a flat rock nearby.

“Yeah. Let’s set it up there.”

Sam and Peter began setting up the trap in front of the rock. Lucy watched quietly from the side.

The trap was a complex-looking metal device, designed so that when an animal triggered it, the net would shoot up and cover them.

“We need to put out bait to lure the animals.”

Sam pulled out the bait he had prepared. It was dried fruit with a sweet scent. He placed it near the trap.

“Done.”

Once the trap was set, Sam and Peter looked proud.

“Now we just have to wait for an animal to get caught.”

They hid a short distance from the trap and waited.

Before long, something approached the trap.

It was a rabbit.

A chubby brown rabbit was cautiously making its way toward the trap.

The rabbit sniffed the air and touched the trap’s mechanism.

Whoosh!

The mechanism activated, and the net shot up.

The rabbit, startled, tried to run but was already caught in the net.

“We got it!”

Peter shouted. Sam also smiled, clearly pleased.

“Our plan worked!”

Peter and Sam ran toward the net. Lucy followed behind.

“Lucy, look! We caught it!”

Peter said excitedly. The rabbit was struggling, hopping around inside the net.

Lucy asked Peter and Sam,

“What are you going to do with the rabbit?”

Peter and Sam paused and looked at each other.

“W-We’ll raise it, right?”

At Peter’s words, Sam nodded.

“We have a rabbit hutch at home. We can keep it there.”

“…”

Lucy looked at the rabbit with a slightly disappointed expression.

A plump, well-fed rabbit.

So they weren’t planning to eat it…

I shouldn’t have come.

Sam opened the net and took out the rabbit. The rabbit, still frightened, stayed still in Sam’s arms.

Sam smiled and petted the rabbit.

“It’s so cute. What should we name it?”

“The name is…”

Peter was about to speak when—

Twang!

A sharp sound rang out, and an arrow came flying.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Imagine living your fun childhood days with your childhood friends, and one day, one of them changed…

Heh.