The Painless Player

“…I love you.”

At the final branching point of the virtual reality dating sim Raison d’être, I died by taking the attack meant for the male lead, leaving a confession as my last words. I completely shattered the male lead’s mental state, then started a new game. But suddenly, I was given a strange terminal illness in the story settings, and the romance targets began to form wild misconceptions about me.

“It’s all my fault that you ended up like this. How could I possibly…”

“Who stabs their own heart like that? Not taking care of yourself is going too far!”

“Don’t die, Anastasia. Please…”

Apparently, my acting skills were remarkable. Before I knew it, I had become a noble hero, willingly sacrificing myself for the peace of humanity despite my illness.

Well, if it’s come to this, might as well enjoy it. After all, games are all about role-playing, right?

But then—

“If only I could, I’d rather lock you away at the top of the Magic Tower.”

“The past, and even your death… I remember it all.”

There’s a faint madness in their tone. They speak calmly, but their eyes have lost focus.

…It seems like they remember the previous 99 playthroughs.

“I’m… I’m fine…”

In the game, I couldn’t feel pain, so of course, I was fine. But when I muttered softly, Illya responded with a strained face, as if suppressing a lot of emotions.

“…You’re not fine at all.”

“Well, I—”

“Not fine at all, Asha.”

Yes. I stayed quiet after that.