Book 4: Chapter 51: Patch 9.0

Just as the sun sets and everybody begins to wind down, Fenrir realizes that there won’t be much purpose in staying immersed in the game for as long as he expected he would be. It’s not like they can effectively build in the dark without proper lighting, gathering materials would be dangerous in the dead of night, and he has no idea if fishing at night is a good idea or not.

“Saya, you’re in my head,” Fenrir thinks.

“The answer is nope!” Saya thinks back to him.

“At least let me ask it. It’s weird when you already know what I’m going to ask.”

“Fiiinneee.”

“Can you like… go into my memories or something and tell me if I ever read or watched anything about fishing at night?”

“What’s this, Onii-wan? Does the pro fishing wolf not know whether fishing at night is a good idea or not? Gasp!”

“You know, you could actually gasp instead of saying ‘gasp.’”

“Gasp! How dare you point that out! Annoyed frown!”

“Really?”

“Smug smirk.”

“It’s less smug when you have to actually say that you’re being smug.”

“Knowing-that-I’m-better-than-you sadistic grin.”

“I’m flicking you the next time I see you.”

“Hmph! Baka onii-wan.”

“I know. So, night fishing?”

“I’m not allowed to tell you that if you can’t remember it yourself, onii-wan. That’d be cheating and giving a player an advantage that they don’t deserve! Do you want to get a new assistant? Because that’s how you get a new assistant.”

“Really? Great. Tell me then.”

“Hmph! Hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph!” Each “hmph” of Saya’s gets progressively sassier. “It also gets you a ban!”

“Oh, maybe not then.”

“You only care about yourself! You’re the worst baka onii-wan ever!”

“I’m only the worst because you calling me onii-wan does more for me than I thought a nickname ever could.”

“You really are the worst, onii-wan.”

“I know.”

“H-hey,” Azalabulia says from behind Fenrir.

“Oh, hey. Uh… yeah, hey,” Fenrir replies. Helping her out with the lumber was easy earlier, but now that they’re done being ordered around by Tabitha and Rao, all he can think about is what happened before she immersed back into the game.

That was when they were kissing and he tried groping her.

Going by how she turns red right after opening her lips, she remembers it, too.

“Uh… so, sorry about earlier,” Fenrir tries apologizing.

“Wow, onii-wan, you sound so sincere!” Saya teases him. “Just admit that you totally liked groping her boobs and want to kiss her more. We know it’s true.”

“I don’t need your commentary,” Fenrir thinks back to her.

“Booorrrriiingggg.”

“Y-yeah, me t-too,” Azalabulia responds, twirling her hair with one of her fingers as she struggles to look at Fenrir.

“Oh my god would you two just kiss some more already,” Saya tells Fenrir.

“Stop trying to sabotage me. I have no idea how I’m supposed to act in this sort of situation. I’ve never had a girl leave in a panic before from kissing,” Fenrir replies to Saya.

“Just kiss already,” Serra says, standing next to the two.

Her sudden entrance causes them to both jump. Given her short height relative to each of them, it’s easy for Serra to sneak up and surprise them.

Both Fenrir and Azalabulia blush and look away like a couple of school girls.

“How are you still this virgin?” Serra asks Fenrir with a disappointed look on her face. “We just had sex a couple of hours ago.”

Azalabulia turns even more red now.

“It’s – I… I don’t know,” Fenrir says, and that’s all that he can manage to say for himself.

“Come here,” Serra says, tugging down on Fenrir’s arm.

Fenrir leans over.

Serra stands on the tips of her toes and plants a kiss on Fenrir’s lips.

While Fenrir is somehow surprised by the action of his girlfriend, Serra walks up to Azalabula and does the same thing. “Come here,” Serra says, tugging on the taller woman’s arm.

Azalabulia leans over.

Serra reaches up and plants a kiss right on Azalabulia’s lips.

“See? It’s not hard,” Serra says. “Kissing isn’t hard,” she corrects herself after looking at Fenrir’s crotch and smirking.

“In-in-i-indirect kiss,” Azalabulia stutters out.

“Hey, onii-wan, weren’t you guys basically making out earlier? What’s the deal with an indirect kiss?” Saya asks Fenrir.

Fenrir doesn’t understand it himself. While he might be acting somewhat like a virgin around Azalabulia, he’s not that much of a virgin around her.

Unfortunately for the annoyed Serra, neither of them are making any progress even if they’ve both kissed, Fenrir has groped her, and despite her trying to encourage them to make progress.

Serra sighs and says, “I’m doing it then. Aza, join our harem and let us do lewd things to your body.”

If Azalabulia wasn’t embarrassed before, she definitely is now as her eyes spin from flusterment.

“Hey… I think you’re overwhelming her,” Fenrir says to Serra.

“Be a good dog and hug her,” Serra orders Fenrir.

Fenrir isn’t sure whether it’s because the memory of being dominated by her is still fresh in his mind, or if it’s because he just has no idea what to do himself, but he follows Serra’s order and places his arms around Azalabulia.

Then her body goes limp in his arms.

“A-Aza?” Fenrir asks, looking at her face.

She’s no longer with them, for only the avatar known as Azalabulia is left while the real person behind it is off doing who knows what in reality.

“Virgins are so difficult,” Serra says.

“Hey… we were both virgins just months ago,” Fenrir says.

“I was only physically a virgin. I’ve been mentally tainted since before you were born.”

“But you’re younger than me.”

“I’m reincarnated.”

“So… re: legal loli?”

“I don’t get it.”

“Never mind. Anyways, this is the second time she’s done this now. Am… am I doing something wrong? I seriously don’t even remember how I acted around you and Cass before we started dating.”

Serra sighs and says, “Just be yourself. You act so tense around her whenever she gets flirty.”

“Well, yeah. I already have you, Cass, and Nell. It’s awkward flirting with somebody when I already have three girlfriends.”

“It’s only awkward if you make it awkward. Be yourself. Me and Cass Cass, and Nell Nell, fell in love with you because you were always just being yourself and not treating us differently. You just made us feel special without even trying. Do that to Aza.”

“But how?”

“Stop trying to. That’s how. You make people feel special without trying, but you’re really bad at it when you are trying.”

“Are you telling me that I’m not smooth when I try to be smooth?”

Serra looks away.

“W-wait, seriously?” Fenrir asks.

“Sometimes you are, but it’s usually trying too hard. Just be yourself around Aza and us,” Serra explains.

“Just be myself? Is that seriously all I’m supposed to do?”

“Yeah. It’s not that hard. Right?”

Azalabulia slowly nods her head.

“Wait… are you back?” Fenrir asks Azalabulia who’s still held in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder.

“Ye-yeah, sorry,” Azalabulia mumbles. “I – I had to mentally prepare myself, and then my neighbors knocked and told me to stop screaming, and – and, b-but I totally wasn’t screaming at myself or anything!”

Fenrir immediately feels embarrassed knowing that Azalabulia has been back, and he doesn’t know for how long, but he forces himself to remember what Serra just got done telling him. Even Azalabulia agreed with it.

“Alright. Aza, I’m sorry if I’ve made anything weird or tried taking things too fast or anything like that. I’ll… be honest. I like you, but I forgot how to act around a girl I like but aren’t dating. So… I think that if you uh, officially join the relationship, then it’d be easier,” Fenrir says, still having no idea whether or not he’s saying the right thing or not.

“Good dog,” Serra says, patting Fenrir on the back.

“Is – is it really… i-is it really alright?” Azalabulia asks. “Y-y-you’ll accept me? I won’t get – get in the way or anything?”

“Yeah, it’s alright, we’ll all accept you, and you’re not going to get in the way,” Fenrir confirms.

Azalabulia looks down at Serra and sees her about-to-be girlfriend nodding alongside Fenrir’s confirmation.

“Does – does this mean I’m not single anymore?” Azalabulia asks.

“Welcome to my harem,” Serra says.

“You have to wear a sweater at least once to officially be recognized as a member of Serra’s harem,” Fenrir says.

“But that’s your fetish.”

“Are you saying you don’t like seeing Cass and Nell in sweaters, and don’t want to see Aza in one?”

“Hmm. You’re right. Sweaters look nice on girls, and they’re comfy to wear.”

“I – I don’t have any sweaters, but I’ll get one!” Azalabulia says.

Fenrir remembers something important. It’s important enough that he can’t believe he’s forgotten it until after officially bringing Azalabulia into their relationship, and it’s one of the reasons why he was so hesitant on bringing Azalabulia into it in the first place.

They still have no idea where she lives or what she looks like in real life. They know nothing about her in real life aside from her age and job, and for all they know, those might not even be legitimate.

They don’t even know her real name yet!

But… feeling her boobs against his chest as they hug feels really nice, so he’ll worry about that later.