Ch.55Enjoyed, So Caught Again as an NPC. (3)

Ray was furious about the current situation.

‘Suddenly approaching someone who doesn’t want to get involved, trying to force a conversation with Jack, and then belittling people when they don’t do what you want? I absolutely cannot forgive this!!’

She was someone who couldn’t stand injustice. It had been a long time since she’d been involved in trouble due to one of her skills being sealed, but what happened today was, in her view, morally wrong.

Of course, it wasn’t serious enough to kill the person, but since they had belittled something related to the game here, she would crush them with the game itself.

She immediately gripped the toy-like sword given to her here, glared at her opponent, and approached.

“Hmm. So you’re a swordswoman after all? Found a size that fits your hand perfectly?”

“Ha. You just have a thick club. You won’t be able to keep up with my speed with that thing.”

“Oh. Nice confidence! In that case, how about we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

“Yeah. Nothing too serious, just a drink wager. Whoever loses has to down a shot of the strongest liquor here. How about it?”

“Ha. Living in a gambling den and you’re even an alcoholic? Wouldn’t you enjoy losing anyway?”

“Nah, that’s not true. Okay, how about this? Regardless of who wins or loses, I’ll pay for the drinks. The strong stuff here is quite expensive, you know?”

Even with that offer, he was still saying he’d pay for drinks with his own money when he lost. Ray found this ridiculous and didn’t want to drag out the conversation any longer, so she simply nodded.

“Fine. Do as you please. I won’t lose anyway.”

“Okay! Ah~ I just love seeing pretty girls when they’re drunk.”

Ray frowned even more at the black-haired man who was chuckling as if he’d already won.

Not wanting to look at his face any longer, she glared at the announcer, who trembled slightly at her fierce gaze and immediately began the proceedings.

“Ahem!! If the sword directly touches the face or chest, it’s an immediate defeat! And if neither player lands a hit on the face or chest, after five minutes, the judgment will be based on how wet your body is or the color of the ink on you! Now! Both of you get ready, and… begin!!!”

As soon as the brief explanation ended and the signal to start was given, Ray kicked off the ground with all her might, activating her skill.

She intended to cover her opponent’s face with ink in her first attack.

“You shameless person who approached Jack when he didn’t want to get involved!! This ends now!!”

Hypocrisy. She had no idea that what she was saying applied to herself as well as her sword rushed forward rapidly.

*

Ray’s sword gleamed silver, and in an instant, it would strike her opponent’s face directly. That’s what Ragni thought as she watched, but she couldn’t believe her eyes.

-Splash! Splash! Splash!!

“Kyah?! Kyaaah!!”

The sound of swords clashing was too soft and squishy to be metal on metal, echoing around them.

And mixed with that sound was Ray’s feminine scream as she was gradually pushed back—a scene Ragni found difficult to understand.

“What on earth is that? Jack? Why is this happening?”

“Huh? What?”

“No, I mean, Ray’s sword is clearly faster, so why is she being pushed back?”

“Hmm. I wonder.”

Jack responded indifferently, as if he wasn’t particularly interested.

But to Ragni’s eyes, Ray’s sword was clearly thrusting forward much faster.

Yet strangely, Ray’s attacks weren’t reaching her opponent and were being blocked by his sword every time.

And it didn’t end with just blocking; the thick club making splashing sounds sprayed ink, dyeing various parts of Ray’s body pink.

But that wasn’t so strange. Ray’s sword was also spraying ink properly. The real issue was…

“So instead of hitting with the sword, they’re painting each other with the ink that comes out when they clash? And he’s even counterattacking. He’s just defending, blocking Ray’s sword strikes, reading her trajectory, and spraying ink?”

“No. If you can see it yourself, why are you asking me?”

“That’s not what I’m asking! I want to know how this is happening. The man’s sword is clearly moving slower than Ray’s, so why are all of Ray’s attacks being blocked? That’s what I’m asking.”

Jack sometimes shows this frustrating side. Anyone could see that Ray was swinging and thrusting her sword more frequently, but the man wasn’t even dodging her attacks, just precisely blocking them with his sword.

What’s more, he looked incredibly relaxed while doing it.

“Hmm. I expected a 7:3 ratio, but I was completely wrong. It’s 10:0.”

“…Don’t you care if we lose?”

“No. What difference does it make if we win or lose this? You two just got caught up in that guy’s provocation, that’s all.”

“…I appreciate your cold, sadistic side, but I wish you’d understand why we’re angry right now.”

While she usually enjoyed his harsh words and rough treatment, this situation was a bit different.

Above all, Ragni and Ray were angry because that man had treated Jack carelessly and disrespected them. If he wouldn’t take their side even in this kind of situation, it would be a bit hurtf—

“No. What does your score in a game arcade have to do with your worth? You are you. Ray and Ragni. You’re my companions, people Ira likes, and nothing would have changed even if we’d just lost money and left today, right?”

“…Sigh.”

Ragni’s face heated up slightly at his casual statement that their worth was much higher than anything they could gain in a place like this.

Usually, no matter how much she tried to get his attention, he wouldn’t care, so why could he say such things so easily? She really thought he had a talent for manipulating them.

And as she was having this conversation with him, the announcer started shouting.

“The match is decided!! Green Stone player wins by decision!!!”

“Kuuuh!!!”

The sight of Ray, her entire body except her face soaked in pink ink, sitting down in frustration with tears welling up in her eyes, was extremely provocative.

*

“I’m next.”

After Ray, looking like a pink ink-soaked mouse, followed an employee to change her clothes, Ragni stood in front of the gun shooting game.

“Hmm? What’s this? The atmosphere feels different from before?”

“You don’t need to worry about it. Nothing will change anyway.”

The man who had deliberately lost in the sword game approached and questioned Ragni’s changed demeanor, but she responded coldly and immediately picked up the gun.

“Ah, that’s true. By the way, I made a bet with that swordswoman earlier about winning or losing. Would you like to make the same bet?”

After hearing what he had bet with Ray, Ragni thought about it. Honestly, she didn’t need to accept this either.

But Ray must have accepted this bet thinking she would win. In that case…

“Fine. I’ll take that bet too.”

For Jack, this match wasn’t that important. He already considered them precious and just didn’t want to get involved with this man.

It was certainly they who had fallen for the provocation, and in a way, this was causing trouble for Jack.

But that was one thing, and winning or losing was another matter.

Even if she lost, she wouldn’t lose anything here, and it wouldn’t make sense for her to back down from a match that Ray had confidently accepted.

‘Besides, no matter how calm I’ve become, it’s hard to forgive those words that disrespected Jack.’

“Then, I’ll go first.”

“Oh. Please do.”

Thanks to regaining her composure from the earlier conversation, Ragni quickly understood the current situation.

‘Both Ray and I had more than seven drinks, so we were a bit emotional.’

Jack had also drunk quite a bit, but he seemed more composed than them, so he must be strong with alcohol. Thinking this, Ragni picked up the gun and started shooting. With a more relaxed mind and a clear head, she easily made it to the fourth boss.

‘Hmm. When I played earlier with Ray, we were chatting and using two guns, moving too much? Just lightly swinging my arm reloads, so my stamina isn’t depleting that much.’

The announcer had said that the fifth boss was the highest record. But Ragni was confident that with her current pace and composure, she could definitely play this game all day. She was certain of it.

As she steadily made her way to the fifth boss, she was confident that clearing this would surpass even that man’s highest record. She glanced over to see his face still smiling.

Ha. Let’s see how long you can maintain that composure…

“Hueeeng! Poing!! Jaaack!! I’m sooorryyy!! I lost!! Poing!!”

“Pfft?!!”

Startled by the sudden voice, Ragni’s gaze involuntarily turned. And at that sight, she couldn’t help but spit in surprise, failing to block the boss’s attack and getting a game over.

*

I thought Ragni might win, even if Ray couldn’t.

Honestly, I wasn’t that interested in the outcome itself, and even if both of them lost, I figured I’d just comfort them on the way back and go to sleep. That’s what I was thinking, but…

“…What exactly did you feed our girl?”

“Huh? We just agreed that whoever lost would down a shot of the highest proof alcohol in this gambling den.”

“Poing!! I’m sorry! Jack!! Don’t hate me!!”

“Just how strong was it…”

“About 75 proof, I think?”

75 proof? What? That’s not like latitude or longitude, right? Alcohol content of 75 proof?!

But the man seemed a bit confused by the situation too as he answered my question.

Apparently, this outfit and way of speaking weren’t part of the bet. Seriously. Ray? Are you going to snap out of it?

“Haha. But don’t you feel like you’ve gained something? Such a pretty girl in a bunny girl outfit, I think it’s quite a nice sight?”

“…Who dressed her like this?”

“Hiiing! I’m sooorryyy!! Jack!! I’ll serve you all night, so please don’t hate me!!”

What kind of service are you talking about? When did I ever say I hated you? Why are you doing this and making people misunderstand?

Ray appeared wearing rabbit ears on her head and dressed in the garter belt bunny outfit that the employees were wearing, and started clinging to me.

Her face was completely tearful, but whether due to the alcohol or not, she was completely flushed and looked extremely erotic.

This is driving me crazy, really. I sighed and opened my mouth.

“Let’s move somewhere else for now. She might really cause trouble at this rate.”

“No, shouldn’t we wait for the other woman too?”

“…Ragni doesn’t need to change clothes, so we can pick her up on the way.”

She also lost and went to drink the highest proof alcohol, but if she gets drunk too, it would be better to grab her and take her away before she causes any trouble.

I can’t believe I’m in a situation where I’m dragging around drunk women. The world really is unpredictable.

“Now, Ray, pull yourself together. If you don’t want to die of embarrassment tomorrow, please…”

“Nyaa~… Take the defeated cat with you too, meow.”

…As I was trying to support Ray, who was clinging to me, by putting my arm around her shoulder, the blue-haired princess appeared, transformed into a blue cat.

Who the hell is dressing up our girls when they’re drunk?