“…My head hurts.”

I clutched my head, suffering from a terrible headache.

What was I doing?

I drank the alcohol Amelia made, and then…

“I can’t remember…”

[Ah, Reader-nim. You’re awake?]

I heard the Author’s voice.

It sounded playful like she was holding back laughter.

I wondered why that was, but realized the reason from her words.

[Oh my, what on earth did a man and woman do alone at night in that state…?]

“What?”

The moment I looked around, puzzled by what she meant, I saw a black-haired man.

That familiar appearance I could recognize without being told who it was.

…Why are you here?

Without thinking, a scary thought occurred to me, and I checked my body, noticing the bikini with an indecent amount of exposure.

Huh? What?

My face turned pale instantly, and I felt my head go blank for a different reason than before.

No way, it can’t be… Right…?

[A man and woman alone on a trip, in this exposed state…! Hehe, did you have fun last night?]

“No!!!!”

I let out an unintentional scream at the terrible imagination and was startled.

If I scream like this, Siwoo will…!

“Yawn… Did you sleep well, Arte? Why are you yelling…”

“Tell me honestly! Quickly!”

“Geez… What?”

“Last night! I, I didn’t do anything strange while drunk, right?!”

“Last night?”

Siwoo, with his eyes half-open, looked at me and our surroundings, trying to assess the situation.

My flustered appearance, the two of us in the same room. And our half-naked attire.

“…Ah, sorry.”

“What?!”

I felt like losing my mind at Siwoo’s sudden apology.

Don’t tell me, don’t tell me.

Really? Seriously? We did it?

The Author’s snickering voice echoed in my ears.

Just as I was about to let out a silent scream, wondering what on earth I had done last night, Siwoo spoke.

“Looks like I fell asleep because I was a bit tired last night. I should’ve slept in my own room. Sorry about that.”

“…Fell asleep?”

“Yeah. You were pretty drunk, so I was helping you, but I must have unintentionally dozed off.”

I mulled over Siwoo’s words.

He fell asleep?

“…Nothing happened?”

[Agh, he went and said it. How boring.]

I heard the Author click her tongue and complain softly.

…Nothing happened!

“Gee, you startled me…”

“What is it, Arte? Were you thinking something weird?”

“Ah, n-no!”

Siwoo’s meaningful smile was annoying.

He seemed to have noticed what I was thinking and tried teasing me.

“Don’t make fun of me!”

“Okay, okay.”

He smoothly brushes it off.

… He’s changed a lot.

The Siwoo from when we first met wouldn’t have even considered joking around like this.

He seemed to have become a bit bolder after going through this and that.

Should I consider this growth too?

No, that can’t be.

No matter how much of a growth-type protagonist he is, I’m certain this isn’t growth.

Amelia must have had a lot of bad influence on Siwoo.

Rather than calling her a heroine, should I call her ink?

The speed at which she tainted people was reminiscent of ink.

Dorothy also seems to be getting tainted by Amelia.

“Sigh. I see. What about the others?”

“Who knows. They were drinking when I left.”

“Just the two of them?”

“Well, yeah. The three of us were drinking, but I left, so… It was hard to leave, too. I told them I’d be right back using you as an excuse.”

“Right back? Isn’t it already morning?”

“…Ah.”

I clearly remembered Amelia’s appearance before I lost consciousness.

She was encouraging others to drink and livening up the mood with her high tension.

I thought she was the type to get excited when drunk, and I remembered it clearly because she kept offering me drinks.

…But you left Amelia alone with Dorothy in that state?

And you said you’d be right back but fell asleep?

“We’re in trouble…”

“Let’s go check on them. Ugh, my head…”

Clutching my throbbing head from the hangover, I decided to look for Dorothy and Amelia.

Where was it again? We definitely had the party on the sandy beach.

“Here, take this.”

“Huh? Why clothes…”

“You left your clothes and pareo there. At least cover up a bit. It’s morning, and it’ll be cold by the sea.”

“…Thanks.”

I accepted the clothes Siwoo handed me.
I had clothes in my unpacked luggage in the room, so I could’ve just worn my own, but he was thinking of me.

I didn’t want to reject his goodwill.

“… It’s warm.”

The clothes Siwoo gave me didn’t fit at all.

His shoulders were much bigger, and his sleeves were too long because he was taller than me.

…How annoying.

It reminded me that I had entered Arte Iris’ body.

…I felt human warmth that I couldn’t sense from other beings.

“Arte, let’s go. They shouldn’t be, but we need to wake them up if they’re sleeping there.”

“Ah, okay. I’ll be right there.”

Tightly gripping the loose top, I hurriedly left the room with Siwoo.

***

[I should scold you firmly, Reader-nim. Saying something like that to the protagonist of all people is a big deal. I already let it slide once before.]

She laughed softly, complaining that she forgave me once because Arte seemed mentally unstable, but she did it again.

[Well, this is fun in its own way, so I’ll forgive you. As long as it’s entertaining, that’s all that matters. Shall I change up the final boss candidates a bit?]

She muttered while watching Siwoo put his arm around Arte as they walked back together on the path he had taken alone the previous night.

[This world is really interesting. It surprises me how unpredictable it can be, even with my power. But that makes it more fun.]

‘Life with you, Reader, is more enjoyable than I expected.’

She was a bit taken aback whenever she tried to scale things up as usual, only for problems to arise.

Resolving unexpected incidents is delightful, so it should be fine, right?

‘The reactions of other beings are better than I anticipated, to the point where I want to continue this fun, creative life with you indefinitely, Reader.’

[Ah, it’s a shame that nothing lasts forever.]

‘But someday, I’ll have to part ways with you too, Reader.’

Your mental state doesn’t seem very good, so it’ll probably last one to two years at most.

She recalls you complaining before about how academy novels always stop being mainly about the academy after about a year.

‘It really does, huh.’

Among those watching with interest, there is someone who can manipulate time, but she doesn’t want to borrow the hands of others.

‘This is a story of you and me, Reader.’

[I’m looking forward to how it will end!]

She watched the Reader and Protagonist hurriedly trying to wake up the two people lying on the sandy beach.

As she thought, she wasn’t wrong.

Completed stories definitely have their charm, but there’s a unique flavor to something incomplete progressing toward completion.

Those who scoffed when she said she’d show it in real-time are now watching, full of anticipation.

She laughed at their disgruntled complaints about what she’d do with that kind of development, that they could do better than her, yet they’re still watching in the end.

The impatient ones said they’d try it themselves and are looking for their desired locations.

‘Well, they can do as they please. I’m too busy enjoying my time with you to care what others are doing, Reader.’

[What will happen today, Reader? Please entertain us again today.]

‘You seem to think I’m a web novel author.’

She figured it wouldn’t be much of an issue even if the Reader thought that.

Don’t they say a work is another world?

In that case, there should be no problem displaying a world as a work.

‘It was quite difficult to put you into this world, but you have always brought me enjoyment so far, Reader. So if I continue to trust and wait for you, you’ll create an interesting story.’

The pure girl smiled brightly.

As if looking forward to what’s to come.

***

“I’m disappointed.”

“I said I’m sorry…”

“Unforgivable…ugh.”

“…Okay, that’s enough. Dorothy, there’s hangover medicine in the luggage over there, so take some first.”

“Th-thank you…”

With corpse-like steps, Dorothy went to find the hangover medicine.

Even so, her gaze towards Siwoo was fierce, as if saying she’d deal with him later.

“She’s still mad, huh…”

“Of course she is. Wow, just how many bottles did you drink.”

“…Ugh, I think we finished almost all of it.”

“Ah, Amelia.”

Clutching her head, Amelia staggered over.

The always lively Amelia was tottering today as if she had poured all her energy into last night.

…She looks like a homeless person.

“You drank all that? Are you in your right mind?”

“I’m not. That’s why I drank it all. Ugh, my head…”

I handed soup to Amelia, who was suffering from a hangover, and she gulped it down instantly.

…Are you sure you’re hungover? That’s really fast.

Author’s Notes

Ruminas-nim, have a good evening.

Translator’s Corner

Have a good week, Author-nim.

Boom, get one-upped.

-Ruminas