◆ Rusian: Please marry me!

◆ Nekohime: F-Funya?

Kneeling down, the blonde man with a gigantic sword on his back extended his hand towards a girl with cat ears on her head.

The scene, displayed in sleek 3D graphics, was solemn, holy, and sacred; possessing beauty that could belong on a piece of art—or so I thought back then.

“I told her, I really told her…”

Looking at my own chat shown on the screen, I tightly gripped my trembling hands.

There exists a game called Legendary Age, shortform, LA.

A PC-exclusive massively multiplayer online role-playing game—one among many MMORPGs where many connect to a single virtual world and engage in a role-playing game at the same time. It had only been a year since LA released, but its decent action elements and cute graphics gathered quite a number of players, making it a medium player in the MMORPG scene.

Having started my online game experience with this game, I was totally hooked onto the unique enjoyment brought about by the actual, living people around unlike in offline games which have only NPCs. To the extent that I continued playing ever since it was released and even developed the idea that sleep was a waste of time.

And a major update came to that LA as it celebrated its one year anniversary.

The key new feature was the “Marriage System”.

Propose to a player character of another sex and you can carry out a marriage ceremony if it’s accepted. Apparently, the couple will be treated as husband and wife after marriage, granting various bonuses, such as bonus stats when together and the ability to know each other’s locations.

◆ Nekohime: Marry… you mean, with me, nya?

◆ Rusian: Yes, please, Nekohime-san!

On the first day it was implemented.

She was the prettiest and cutest in the guild I belonged to, and paid attention to her comrades too. Not to mention her good fashion sense and intelligence. In addition, she had skill as a player and above all that, her unfaltering addition of “nya ☆” at the end of her sentences truly made her the ideal woman; I proposed to that idol of the guild, in both name and reality, Nekohime-san.

Immediately after the maintenance on the day of the update, I proposed to Nekohime-san, there and then, upon logging in at the same time by coincidence. Before anyone else; no rivals were here. The perfect timing that would never come again.

◆ Nekohime: Nya, nwhy me? It’s not a joke, is it, nya? You are really, really asking me, nya?

◆ Rusian: I’m serious! I love you!

“Please, please…!”

Nekohime-san and I would live happily ever after as a married couple if she gave the OK.

I could play the game, monopolizing the love from the angel loved by everyone, Nekohime-san—aah, what a dream it would be.

I might be rejected. Of course, I wasn’t entirely confident.

But I believed Nekohime-san was closer to me than anyone else and I thought of her so much I couldn’t hold myself back any longer.

I would hold no grudge against her even if I was rejected. I was that determined. I confessed, fully prepared for the consequences.

So—

◆ Nekohime: Ah, sorry. I’m a guy in RL.

“……Huh?”

My mouth hung open before my monitor the moment those words were displayed.

Guy… a guy?

My angel, Nekohime-san?

Eh, what’s that supposed to mean?

Some kind of joke?

Ah, that’s it, it’s a joke.

Hahaha, you’re such an imp, Nekohime-san.

◆ Rusian: S-Stop that, Nekohime-san, that’s a terrible joke.

◆ Nekohime: No, seriously.

The reply that greeted me as I typed mine with trembling hands was filled with words so cold that they couldn’t have been from Nekohime-san.

◆ Nekohime: Sorry, but seriously, I’m a guy. Like, an old guy. I started playing as a girl on a little whim, and made it real obvious, but I never thought I would get a serious proposal. Sorry about that.

◆ Rusian: W-What are you saying…

I tried to deny it, but no words came to mind as the words in the chat from Nekohime-san were too unlike her.

◆ Nekohime: No, really, I’m sorry, honestly.

◆ Rusian: Y-You’re really a guy?

◆ Nekohime: Yup, really a guy in RL.

◆ Rusian: And an old guy at that?

◆ Nekohime: Yup, yup, an old guy in RL.

“N-No way…”

My shoulders fell as I fell into utter despair.

That Nekohime-san who was practically my first crush was actually a guy—and an old one—how could such a ridiculous thing be possible?

No, it couldn’t be true.

It couldn’t possibly be true. Definitely.

That’s it, Nekohime-san didn’t want to marry me, so she’s lying to reject me without hurting me. That’s possible for the kind girl that she—

◆ Nekohime: Or rather, isn’t it real obvious that an actual girl would never say something like “nya ☆”?

“W-Wa-Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

I screamed out in despair and I slammed against the keyboard.

◆ Rusian: kuawsedrftgyfujiko-p

“That bastard, damn it, shit! You fake! How dare you betray me!”

Perhaps reacting to my random and senseless keypresses, LA ended forcibly. Without even noticing that, my tears seriously flowed as I slammed the keyboard again and again.

“Damnit, damnit! I’m never, never!

Several keys separated and fluttered into the air the instant I strongly struck the keyboard with a clunk.

“Never going to believe a girl in an online game ever agaaaaain!”

 
That was roughly two years ago.

My spine still freezes up now whenever I think about it, that’s how horrifying a memory it is.

◆ Rusian: —And that’s what happened.

◆ Ako: Really? I see. There really are some terrible people around, how could anyone think of becoming a girl in a game?

◆ Rusian: I was such a newbie back then…

I concluded, after recounting my long tale.

I think that should have gotten my point across to the girl before my eyes—no, to be accurate, the girl character before my character’s eyes.

◆ Rusian: And that’s how it is.

◆ Ako: Okay! By all means! Please marry me!

◆ Rusian: Were you actually listening to my story!?

◆ Ako: How can I help but ask after listening to all of it!

◆ Rusian: How did it lead to that!

◆ Ako: it’s utterly more obviously clear that you will have more fun after marrying me!

◆ Rusian: I don’t know where you’re getting your confidence, but anyway, I said no!

◆ Ako: So when should we marry? —Now, of course!

◆ Rusian: Don’t you now me! Listen!

This is mostly how that was, a story about “mai waifu” and me.