episode_0055

Marine, in her past life, was named Han Seol-ah. After dying in an unfortunate accident in her original world and reincarnating, Seol-ah learned that this world was once a game—specifically, an adult game where 19+ scenes made up half of its content.

Conquering the Hero’s Party. The title was hazy in her memory now, as if from a distant past, but it must have been something like that.

Had the game become reality? Or was the world that had once been her reality turned into a game? Or perhaps she had simply become a fragment of data. These existential questions deeply influenced the formation of Marine’s personality as a girl.

Becoming one of the characters from the adult game she used to play couldn’t have left her identity unaffected.

A bright, cheerful, and slightly foolish, eccentric girl—when she played the role of Marine, she could forget her complicated worries.

Unlike the protagonists of typical possession novels or comics, Seol-ah had no particular affection for this game.

In her past life, cut short before she even reached adulthood, the adult game hidden by her brother on his computer—accessible without complicated programs like VPNs—had merely been a way to indulge in adult content.

For boys and girls in the throes of adolescence, brimming with curiosity, turning a blind eye to such stimulating adult games was no easy task.

The game involved corrupting the noble women of the Hero’s Party through various means, conquering and defiling them. The scene where Yuria—the only romantic partner among the party members—was NTR’d (stolen) from Riel Frost was particularly revolting, yet at the same time delivered a profound sense of betrayal and thrill.

After that, whenever no one was home, Seol-ah scoured walkthroughs to unlock and collect hidden H-scenes. The climax of the game, in her opinion, was the moment when the protagonist conquered Riel Frost, who had become a woman, and Ariana.

That wasn’t just her personal impression. The game developers had clearly poured extra effort into that scene, and as a result, players unanimously regarded Riel Frost’s submission scene as the game’s highlight.

Riel Frost harbored hatred for the player who took away her lover, comrades, and family. But after repeated defeats, violations, and humiliation, she eventually succumbed to the protagonist—a mere porter in the game—gradually accepting pleasure and resigning herself to becoming his breeding bitch.

Conquering the Hero’s Party (abbreviated as Hero’s Conquest) was a game built around this plot: Riel Frost, betrayed by her party, consumed by self-loathing and misogyny, submitting to the man who ruined her life, ultimately falling into the same depravity as the women she despised.

Seol-ah, too, had personally broken Riel Frost and molded her to her liking.

Of course, that was just within the game. When she realized she had been thrown into that world, she immediately captured the porter and handed him over to the knight order.

She believed that would set the world right.

Riel Frost would no longer be betrayed by her party, would never lose her lover, and would slay the Demon King—ushering in a peaceful, happy ending.

As someone who possessed cheat-like abilities, she could have intervened directly. But since she had focused solely on collecting H-scenes and barely knew the story, she thought it best not to meddle and risk altering events.

That decision allowed the interference of another player—a new porter.

—

“What the hell are you? How could you do something like this?!”

It wasn’t that she hadn’t considered the possibility of other reincarnators. She just never imagined one would be this insane—a bastard who, despite holding modern morals, sought to play the porter’s role in reality—and worse, had the ability to do so.

“Huh? That’s what I wanted to ask. You know about Hero’s Conquest, right? Now that I look at you, your face is a bit different.”

By this world’s standards, the porter was fairly handsome, but his features were distinct—somewhat unconventional. Of course, that was only relative here. Back in their homeland, South Korea, he would’ve been the ordinary one.

Unlike the Western features of this world’s people, he—and Marine, who had grown up with the same face as her past life—possessed distinctly East Asian characteristics.

“If you know about Hero’s Conquest, that means you’re Korean too, right?”

“So it is like that. You’re a reincarnator, just like me.”

“Reincarnation? Hmm, that’s not really the point. It’s been a while since I met another Korean. Nice to meet you.”

The porter, who had been stroking his chin, curled his lips into a smirk and extended his hand toward Marine. He was genuinely pleased to meet her.

Her flat figure wasn’t exactly his type, but she was the only person he could reminisce about home with. And since she also knew the original work, she might be the only one he could confide in about things he’d kept bottled up.

So what if she wasn’t particularly attractive as a woman? It wasn’t like she was the first—he already had multiple wives and a close female friend.

But whether she reciprocated his goodwill was another matter. Marine smacked his hand away.

“Don’t act friendly with me, you piece of trash.”

“Eh? Did I mishear? You said you played Hero’s Conquest too, right? So why are you acting like this?”

“That was just a game! How could you do something so disgusting in real life?!”

Faced with Marine’s intense hostility, the porter roughly scratched his dark hair.

“I thought we’d understand each other—guess not. Come to think of it, you were the one who took out the original porter, huh?”

“That’s right! I’m nothing like you! I didn’t torment real Ariana like you did!”

Her desperate justification—distinguishing herself from the porter—betrayed the lingering guilt over what she had done in the game.

“Speaking of that… when was that?”

“What are you talking about?”

Marine blinked in confusion.

“When exactly did you capture the porter?”

“…Probably ten years ago.”

“And when was he executed?”

“Eight years ago. What does that matter?”

Click. The porter snapped his fingers, as if a realization had clicked into place.

“Just as I thought! That’s it, huh? That’s what happened.”

“Enough with your cryptic talk. The one you need to face now isn’t Marine—it’s me.”

Ariana cut in, unable to stand their private exchange. Her mind was already in turmoil, leaving no room for further confusion.

But the porter grinned and raised a hand.

“Hear me out first. This is important.”

Sweat trickled between Ariana’s clenched fists. The stories she’d heard from the Demon King Nyad before losing her memories… Marine and the porter’s alien behaviors and incomprehensible conversations… and now, what they had just exchanged.

Something was connecting. But there still weren’t enough clues to fully grasp it. Another world. Reincarnation. A game. None of it made sense to Ariana.

That was why listening now was crucial. She gritted her teeth and waited for the porter’s explanation.

Satisfied with her reaction, the porter continued.

“Marine, was it? The original porter you captured was executed eight years ago. And, oddly enough, that’s also when I was transferred to this world.”

He called it coincidence, but his eyes and tone radiated absolute certainty—this was inevitable.

“I couldn’t make sense of it. I hadn’t even died or gotten hurt in my original world.”

It had happened in an instant. One moment, he was passing through his doorway after work—then the world changed.

“Likely, the porter of this world died at that exact time. But then I was suddenly dumped into this world. And given nothing but a bullshit ability to ‘subjugate conquered women.’”

At first, it had been rough. His good looks made things slightly easier, but even then, commoner girls were all he could manage. Noblewomen? They were conceited, high-maintenance—hardly worth the effort. Frankly, his ability was useless.

It took him ages to realize he was inside the game—a fantasy crafted to fulfill desires unreachable in reality.

Since it was designed as an adult game, every Hero’s Party member had exploitable weaknesses. The most notable was Malika—who had loved Riel Frost but never confessed before being rejected.

Unlike Marine, the porter understood all the game’s mechanics and story beats. So conquering the Hero’s Party was child’s play.

“I did it to survive. And honestly? You all needed me. Worked out great—I got several gorgeous wives out of it. So no complaints. Well… almost.”

There was just one thing he wanted to know: Why him? Why had he been pulled into this world?

Now, he had the answer.

“Marine. It’s because you got rid of the original porter. I was summoned to take his place. With this kind of ability.”

“…Wha—?”

Under the weight of everyone’s stares, Marine’s voice trembled violently.

“You mean… because of me… Ariana suffered like that…?”

Had she not intervened, another porter would’ve done the same. The outcome might not have changed. But—

“Stop it, Marine. Don’t waste time listening to this bastard. At the end of the day, he’s the one who did it. What you did for me won’t change.”

“Oh? Are you sure?” the porter cut in. “This girl here is a player, just like me. That means she did exactly what I did in the game.”

“You’re lying”—

Ariana had meant to snap back, but Nyad’s voice suddenly echoed in her mind: “This world repeats.”

Countless iterations of the same time, the same events, had already unfolded. The details might differ slightly, but the outcome remained largely the same.

Even if she couldn’t fully grasp what game they referred to… If past repetitions of this world were connected to it—

“A-Ariana…?”

A deep sense of betrayal flickered across Ariana’s face as she turned to Marine—piercing her heart like an arrow.

“Is it true? Is everything he said real?”

“No! That was just—a virtual reality! Because it was a game, so—”

“A game?”

Her low mutter carried seething fury.

She still didn’t fully understand. But one thing was clear: Marine had just admitted it. Virtual world or not, she had… toyed with Ariana.

“A game? You’re calling everything I endured… just some game to you?!”

CRACK! She stomped the ground—but nothing happened.

Sealed magic was a blessing. Otherwise, lethal spells would have flown.

But that fury—that killing intent—reached Marine all the same.

“Ariana, listen—when I say game, it’s…”

Her words died mid-sentence. How could she possibly explain computer games to someone of this world?

As her friend—or former friend—Ariana granted her one last chance to speak. But Marine could offer no defense.

This was truly the end.

Watching the chilling tension between them, the porter chuckled and whispered to Yuria beside him.

“Yuria, let’s head back for now.”

“You’re really something else…”

The best strategy now was to step back and let them tear themselves apart.

With Marine—their strongest nuisance—removing herself from the equation, everything afterward would be effortless.

Leaving the fractured party behind, the Hero and the porter walked away.