“Ugh! S-Sorry! I'm sorry! Please stop hitting me!”

Behind the academy building, Ken Feinstein was being beaten up pitifully.
And the person kicking his stomach was none other than the protagonist of the game, Emily Epiris.
I stood there watching from the sidelines, as if I were some sort of observer.

[Ken Feinstein’s immersion is increasing.]

It seems like Ken’s personality surfaces more when he’s being bullied, fitting the character’s role.
Thanks to that, I didn’t have to feel the pain, which was a relief for me.

‘But seriously, what’s wrong with her?’

My head was full of questions.

“You can’t do anything right, can you?! Lose some weight, you pig!”

Emily stomped on Ken with all her might.
Three other girls, the usual bullies who picked on Ken, giggled nearby.

‘Yeah, those three I understand, but...’

The problem was Emily Epiris.
Just a few days ago, I saved her. She should remember that. Instead of gratitude, she was paying me back with bullying.
I couldn’t understand it at all.
From what I recall, she was supposed to be the righteous, justice-loving protagonist of the game...

“Hahaha, look at you, rolling around on the ground like that.”

...Really?

Emily was smiling, her face flushed, clearly enjoying herself.

“Ugh, I’m sorry. Please, stop…”

The more Ken groaned in pain, the wider Emily’s smile grew.
It was as if she was genuinely enjoying his suffering.
Just then, a system notification appeared before me.

[System: Emily Epiris’s sexual arousal is increasing.]

‘...What the hell is this?’

I immediately checked Emily’s status.

[Name: Emily Epiris]

Unique Skill: Selective Sealing

Unique Trait: Sadism

Owned Trait: Reality Denial LV 1

‘...Sadism? And reality denial?’

What is this?
I’ve seen Emily’s status countless times while playing the game.
But sadism?
I’ve never seen that trait in any of the playthroughs.

“Haha! Cry some more, you stupid pig!”
“Oink… I-I am a stupid pig!”
“Haha... ahaha…”

Emily, breathing heavily, seemed to delight in hearing Ken squeal like a pig.
She looked down at him, licking her lips, as if she were holding back some kind of pleasure.
It was as if she was about to give in to her urges, biting her finger to restrain herself.
What the hell is wrong with you?

Days passed, and Emily continued to be the ringleader of Ken’s bullying.
As if the heavens were against me, it rained almost every day recently, and whenever it did, I was summoned by Emily.

“You stink. Why don’t you go wash up? Do you know how bad you smell when you walk by?”
“I-I’m sorry, I won’t walk near you anymore.”
“That's not the point! Just go wash up!”

I was bathing regularly, though. It’s just my natural scent. What could I do about it?
Still, I didn’t mind the bullying.
What? You think I’m a masochist? No way.

[System: Due to the accumulation of physical damage, you have acquired the skill ‘Physical Resistance LV 1’.]

I even gained a new skill.

“You dumb pig!”
“You should consider it an honor to be stomped on by Emily!”
“Seriously, you’re just huge and useless!”
[Yeah! Stomp on this pig some more!]
“Eek...!”

From my observer’s perspective, I found myself cheering on Emily and her gang.
Though I didn’t enjoy the leftover pain from when Ken’s immersion ended, I was reaping unexpected benefits.
Physical resistance!
If I can level up this skill, it’ll surely help with my survival.

[System: Due to the accumulation of mental damage, you have acquired the skill ‘Mental Fortification LV 1’.]

Huh?

[System: As a result of ‘Mental Fortification LV 1’, Ken Feinstein’s immersion is weakening.]

Oh no...

“Ugh!”

“You stupid pig! Hurry up and lose weight already!”

The pain from Emily stomping on my head hit me full force.
Damn it! It felt like I was on autopilot, but now thanks to this new mental fortification skill, Ken’s personality retreated into the background.
Now I had to feel all the pain directly…

‘No, get it together. I have to survive!’

But I couldn’t give up. This was a rare chance to level up these skills.
If I tried leveling physical resistance in a regular battle, it would take more than just a few injuries.
This was the safest and most efficient way to grow these skills.
Hang in there! You’ve got this, Ken Feinstein!
I turned my gaze toward Emily and her group with renewed determination.
With resolve in my eyes, I shouted confidently.

“Come on! Hit me more! Insult me more! Step on me harder!”

For the sake of leveling up physical resistance and mental fortification!

“...”

“...”

Why were they looking at me with such horrified eyes?
Only Emily’s face flushed as she smiled at my declaration.

“Haah, haa… hehehe.”

She was breathing heavily. This was starting to get scary.

“Uh, Emily? I think I’m going to step out now.”
“Yeah, I’m not into beating up masochistic pigs.”
“Do whatever you want. I don’t care.”

The other girls made faces of disgust and quickly left.
Wait, no! Don’t leave me alone with her!
I suddenly understood how Lafne must have felt.

“You’re challenging me, aren’t you? Huh, pig Ken? …Haah, hehe, fine. I’ll break you nice and slow.”

“Eek!”

“Lose some weight, you pig!”

And so, my physical resistance and mental fortification skills both reached level 2.

“…Ken, is something wrong?”

After Emily’s royal ‘training’ session, I was at Lafne’s tower.
I wanted to have dinner and work on crafting something using the Albino Cyclops materials I had gathered.
But Lafne seemed to have noticed something was off.

“Huh? Oh, no, it’s nothing. Haha.”

I couldn’t let Lafne, who already had a fragile mental state, worry about me.
But even though I tried to brush it off, Lafne didn’t believe me and approached.

“Ah, hey! That tickles! Hahaha!”

“...”

Lafne started feeling around my body, gently touching me here and there.
Whoa... Lafne, wait! T-that’s…!

“Ken… there are a lot more bruises than before...”

Lafne looked at me with concern and confusion in her eyes.
Apparently, it was easy for her to figure it out.

“…How did you know?”

It’s not like she had pulled up my shirt, and Queen Emily was smart enough not to leave any visible marks on my face.
There was no way she could’ve known just by looking.
Lafne averted her gaze, sweating nervously.

“Well… it’s because... I know how it feels to hit someone.”

Ah, of course. She’s a specialist in this field.
Remembering the times she used to bully Ken, Lafne looked incredibly apologetic, like a puppy that had made a mistake.
She quickly shook her head and looked at me again.

“Ken! I know it’s strange coming from me, but… if something’s wrong, rely on me!”

Even though her eyes were dead and shadowed, her red eyes clearly showed her concern for me.
I was surprised by her sincerity.
Hearing that from my favorite character—it moved me.
Maybe because it was coming from Lafne, who had her own emotional struggles, it felt more meaningful.
But Lafne seemed to misinterpret my gaze.

“S-sorry, Ken. It’s so shameless for me to say something like that, right? Even if I told you to rely on someone like me... it’d just make things harder for you. I’m sorry.”

Just moments ago, she had shown such determination, but now she was shrinking away again.

“No, Lafne. I’m happy you said that. Thank you.”

Her expression brightened at my words, and she clasped my hands, her voice excited.

“T-then, Ken! If anything happens at the academy, if they bully you or anything…”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll rely on you, Lafne.”

I smiled as I responded.

“Right! If you ever go through something hard at the academy, feel free to stay here! I’ll take care of everything for you, so you won’t have to go back to that place ever again.”

Then her face stiffened.

“…Huh?”
“Hehe, yeah, if you’re having a hard time, just stay here with me. I’ll take care of everything. You don’t need to go back to the academy. I’ll make sure you’re happy and help you forget all the bad stuff...”

Her tone had shifted into something darker, making her tempting offer hard to refuse.
But I’d just gone through mental training with Queen Emily, so I calmly reached out and placed my hand in front of her face.

“…Huh?”

Then I flicked her forehead.

“...Ouch!”

Lafne clutched her forehead, her teary eyes looking up at me.

“If I stayed here, who would get rid of your curse?”

“…I-I just wanted to comfort you...”

That was 100% serious.

“Well, it’s still nice to know that you’d comfort me.”

“Huh?”

I wasn’t ready to turn down all her offers.
Suddenly, I had a great idea.
When you’re obsessed with a character like Lafne, you always have some dreams in mind.
Now, I was going to make one come true.

“This is heaven.”

I rested my head on a soft paradise, feeling my body’s exhaustion melt away.
The sensation of Lafne gently stroking my hair was the best.

“I-is this okay…?”
“I didn’t get to enjoy this the first time, since I was unconscious.”

I was lying on Lafne’s lap, her soft thighs beneath me.
The pain from Emily’s harsh words and violence melted away.
I felt my body and mind recovering.

“Mmm…”

I could almost fall asleep here, but I resisted, knowing that if I drifted off, I might never leave this tower again.
Still, the warmth of Lafne’s body and her scent was soothing.
Maybe just a little longer...

Then Lafne mumbled something as she continued to stroke my hair.

“Hehe… if Ken became obsessed with me, depending on me, then…”

Did I just overhear something ominous?
Sorry, Lafne, but your plan isn’t going to work.
Thanks to Queen Emily’s training, I now have a mental fortification skill.
There’s no way I’ll become dependent or obsessed with you.