It has been a year since Raphne Bel Martinez was locked in the tower.

"Good morning to you all."

The morning sunlight streaming in through the window illuminated her.

The number of times she had talked to real people in that time period is...

0.

"The weather is nice today too… Right, Mari?"

And the number of times she had talked to living things.

0.

"Hehe, Susanna likes the rain, so is that not to her liking?"

She spoke to someone in front of her in a friendly manner.

And Raphne's eyes, as she spoke, were dead.

Her eyes, which had lost their light and life, stared blankly at the other ‘person’.

The other ‘person’ was a doll.

An inanimate doll that simply smiled at her greetings and questions.

However, she combed their hair as if they were precious.

"I asked for a new friend today, so let's welcome them warmly."

Raphne Bel Martinez was cursed.

She became like this a year ago.

It was because of a trait that suddenly appeared after her duel with Emily Epiris.

[Unique trait: Curse of Fear - Causes extreme stress and fear to living creatures within a 50m radius.]

The curse placed on her led to forced isolation.

At first, she was sent back to the Martinez family as she had been kicked out of the academy due to the curse.

She thought she would recuperate there and find a way to lift the curse, but...

The problem was that even her family could not handle the curse.

'To cause such trouble… It is a disgrace to the family. I have contacted the academy again, so go back.’

It was a dry message coming out of the mouth of the father she once respected.

She was abandoned.

At first, she was abandoned by the academy.

She accepted being kicked out.

Because it was a result of the curse.

However, on the day she was kicked out of her family home, she could not accept it.

'Why me?’

She stared blankly into space until she returned to the academy.

After that, she was ordered by the school board to stay in the old tower while ‘attending the academy.’

It was called special rooming, but it was actually confinement.

The door was locked tight, and the tower was so high that she couldn't jump out the window.

She was abandoned in the old tower.

Abandoned by the academy, her family, and the country.

At first, that fact was painful.

It was painful that everyone was turning their backs on her because of a curse.

Wasn't she being treated like a spreader of a deadly disease?

Her body didn't rot, she didn't smell bad, and she didn't spread the virus.

At first, she cried over her situation of being abandoned.

But later, she realized.

That wasn't what was painful.

"Wow… The friend who came today is a cool guy?"

Since being locked in the tower, she hadn't been able to make contact with anyone.

Because of the curse, anyone who came near the tower would complain of extreme stress and pain.

That's why food and daily necessities were delivered through a magic familiar.

It was a simple ball of magic in the shape of a bird.

Raphne smiled and accepted the doll of a boy that the familiar handed her.

Her once smiling eyes looked dead.

No one needed her.

No one wanted to help her.

No one wanted to find her.

She was isolated.

"Now, what should we name our new friend?"

Smiling, Raphne's dead eyes shed tears as she received the doll.

However, Raphne, trying to deny her sadness, was absorbed in playing with the dolls.

Although it was in her imagination, the dolls spoke to her in a friendly manner in her head.

[How about naming him Kyle?]

[No, Bill would suit him better!]

[I like the name Raphne chose.]

The new dolls also suggested names.

They were her only friends.

However, she must not leave this imaginative world.

She must never look back at reality.

Because there was only a lonely, desolate, and cold space there.

"Haha, ahaha"

She did not want to die.

She wanted to live.

But everyone around her isolated her as if they were urging her death.

A gloomy reality where she would end her own life if she lost her mind even for a moment.

A gloomy future.

When would this curse go away?

She always prayed, but nothing changed.

That's how she was trapped in the tower.

For a whole year.

"Huh?"

Then one day.

A change came.

It felt like a miracle of God was happening to her.

Creak...

The door that had been tightly shut for a year opened.

The door that had never opened before screamed and moved.

The door opened and a person appeared.

A fat man with a face distorted in pain, panting and sweating continuously.

Soon, the man collapsed, screaming like a pig.

"...A p-person… p-person!"

But his fat appearance didn't matter to Raphne at all.

She eventually thought that she was crazy and seeing hallucinations.

She thought that she had created such hallucinations out of extreme loneliness.

But no matter how much she thought about it, the sight that was way too ugly for her imagination actually seemed real.

The fat man looked at her and said in a squeezing voice.

"R-rather than that… c-can I have some water..."

Raphne came to her senses at his small cry.

"W-w-water?! Oh, got it! I'll get it quickly!"

It was a conversation with a person that had finally come true after a year.

Raphne cried out in overwhelming emotion as she looked for water.

When Raphne arrived with a bottle of water, he had already lost consciousness.

"Oh, no… Don't die! Don't die!!"

Raphne turned pale when she saw Ken lose consciousness and quickly placed him on her lap.

Feeling moved by the feeling of human touch, Raphne carefully brought the bottle of water to his mouth.

Water flowed in.

Ken, who had fainted but instinctively drank the water due to extreme thirst, soon regained his composure.

'Thank goodness!’

Raphne felt relieved at the sight of him seemingly overcoming the crisis.

If he had died here, she would no longer have been able to recover.

'R-real… A real person?'

Raphne carefully placed her hand on his head.

She felt this was unbelievable.

She lightly ran her hand through his hair, feeling a realistic texture.

It was so realistic.

She stroked his cheek.

The soft texture felt good.

He had a manly smell likely from sweat, but Raphne didn't mind at all.

Rather, she felt happy because it had been so long since she had smelled a person.

'But… Why Ken Feinstein?'

Raphne knew his face.

No, no matter how much suffering she had endured, she would never forget him.

He was none other than the boy she had bullied a year ago.

"Hmm..."

I felt moisture in my mouth.

I opened my eyes.

Then, two huge mountain ranges appeared in my field of vision.

The chest.

"Ah?!"

I sat up in surprise.

When I came to my senses and looked at where I was lying, there was Raphne Bel Martinez sitting.

Is that where I was lying?

Her legs were neatly gathered.

The soft paradise that existed there.

It was a thigh.

Oh my, if I stare too much, I'll become a pervert.

I can’t look at the one who provided me with a precious bed like that!

'Wow.’

I felt it even in the illustration.

The real Raphne was really beautiful.

Originally, she would have been dignified and proud, like a lion, but strangely, she was hesitating now.

She swallowed her words as soon as she spoke, and her weary eyes looked at me cautiously.

Should I at least say hello?

"I… First of all, thank you for helping me, Miss Raphne."

"Uh, uh?"

Since it was clear that she was the one who saved my life, I gave her the natural thanks.

But she looked strangely surprised.

"I, I… You remember, me?"

"Yes? Of course I do. You're Miss Raphne Bel Martinez."

"Uh, yeah."

That was a strange question.

She and I were supposed to be familiar with each other in the first place.

She looked surprised at my answer, but soon smiled happily.

Then her eyes became moist and tears welled up.

"Yeah! That's right, it's me! It's me, Raphne!"

"Uh, uh?! Why, why are you crying?!"

She wiped her tears away with both arms.

She was crying, but somehow she looked happy.

"T, uh, uh… Even though I did that to you, uh, you said thank you."

Oh, now that I think about it, that's right.

The reason she and Ken were familiar with each other in the first place was because she constantly harassed Ken.

But my attitude a little while ago must have felt strange.

The sudden formality must have been awkward.

But it wasn't something to cry about, right?

Maybe she had some kind of guilt.

As expected, her beautiful appearance matched her kind heart.

There must have been some reason for her tormenting Ken.

There must have been…

"Uh, but why is Raphne-san here?"

"Ugh, that, that..."

She slowly began to explain in response to the obvious question.

My impression after hearing her story was.

Well…

It was shocking.

Then I understood her reactions so far.

The sudden curse, and the reality of being abandoned in the tower, alone day after day, and a person who suddenly appeared a year later.

But that happy and precious person was the guy she had been tormenting.

"Uh, so. Ugh, I thought you'd. Run away if you saw me. Ugh, that's why I was scared."

She continued to cry as she explained that part.

She must have been overwhelmed with emotions, whether it was relief or fear.

Anyway, there was no such backstory in the game visible for the player.

So that's why I didn't see Raphne after arc 1 ended.

Huh?

But that's strange.

If her curse causes a negative reaction to living beings within a 50m radius.

Why am I okay?

Is it because I possessed Ken?

As if to answer that, a status window that had been catching my eye since earlier.

[Ken Feinstein's immersion is interrupted by Raphne Bel Martinez's special effect.]

Could this also be related to her curse?

By the way, what would happen if Ken's immersion increased without this special effect?

Hmm...

While I was thinking that, Raphne spoke up.

"Oh, right! Did you eat breakfast? There's a lot of delicious food here… Do you want to eat together?"

She cautiously suggested, like an elementary school student making friends for the first time.

And when Ken or I heard that, my body naturally reacted with an enthusiastic nod.

"Then should I cook you something?"

"Uh, yeah!”

“What do you like? Just say it! I can do anything!"

Raphne smiled brightly as if she was happy.

She got up from her seat in a hurry and headed somewhere.

It was probably a place she stored food.

'She's cute.'

She was originally my type of girl in my original world.

She was a character with a strong and fiery personality like her red hair, but I also found that charming.

However, her current timid and girlish appearance was another unexpected charm.

"Just give me the same as you are having."

I told Raphne, who was hurriedly preparing something.

Then I looked around.

The room was too large to live in alone.

The entire room was made of bricks, and inside the room were a desk, a bed, and a closet.

And there was a small space where Raphne had just headed.

That place was probably a kitchen.

And there were various dolls scattered around.

'A year in a place like this.'

As well as being in a state of isolation from the world.

Before I possessed Ken, I was similar to her, as a hikikomori. (NEET/Doesn’t leave the house)

I was a terrible person who would stay in my room, never go out, and play games all the time.

However, I was able to live because of the Internet.

I was able to live because I could somehow communicate with someone.

If not the Internet, then TV, or if not that, then I could meet someone indirectly through games.

Whether it was a virtual character or someone else.

However, in this old, cold space with no means of communication, enduring the pain of abandonment and living alone for a year.

It must have been a pain I couldn't even imagine.

A little later, the breakfast Raphne had prepared began.

"So that teacher called the punk over and..."

"Yeah, yeah!"

While eating breakfast together, I continued to talk about this and that to fill the loneliness she must have felt.

Raphne smiled happily and responded to my insignificant, nonsensical story.

She just kept nodding, but her face was clearly moved.

After all, tears kept welling up in her eyes.

She seemed to have been saved in a situation she had never expected.

That's why I talked even harder.

I wanted to comfort her a little.

"Hey, anyway, the breakfast Raphne made for me was really delicious. Thank you."

After breakfast, I said that while patting my full stomach.

It wasn't an empty remark, it was really delicious.

Maybe it was because of the intense exercise, but my body was craving calories.

And Raphne had prepared a huge amount of food for the long-awaited guest.

It was truly a feast.

"Yeah. If K-Ken is happy, I'm happy too. Oh, I can continue to prepare good food for you in the future!"

"Oh really? Then can I ask you to do it?"

"Yes!"

She seemed happy with my answer.

Of course.

She would want me to continue coming here for breakfast.

And my answer was enough to mean that I would continue coming here in the future.

That was enough.

Her punishment was over.

Her isolation from the world ended today.

Now she wouldn't have to suffer anymore.

I just had to keep coming.

I was happy with her cheerful smile.

"Okay, then I'm full so I'll go now."

"...Uh, uh?"

At least that’s what I thought.

"You're going?"

It was my mistake to think so simply.

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