Prologue: Online, the Era of Great Regret
≫Rusian: Please marry me!
≫Nekohime: Wh- What, meow?
The blonde man, shouldering a huge sword, got on his knee and held out his hand to the girl with cat ears.
This scene in smooth 3D graphics, was illustrious, sacred, gracefully and beautiful like a painting— or at least I believed it to be at that time.
“I said. I really said it…”
Looking at my own character displayed on the screen, I tightly squeezed my trembling hands.
The game called Legendary Age, in short LA.
A massively multiplayer online role play game for the computer— Countless people connected to a virtual world and played a role playing game together, a MMORPG. LA launched around one year ago, but the not too shabby action nature and the cute graphics pulled in various players, making it a medium-sized MMORPG.
This game had been the first step in the online game genre for me and unlike offline games, who only had NPCs, an online game with all kind of living people had a genuine fun, making me get addicted to it. I kept playing it every since the game launched, even being sparing with my sleeping hours.
This LA released a large-scale update exactly one year after it’s launch.
It’s special feature was the implementation of the “Marriage System”.
It made it possible to propose to players of the other gender and if accepted, a marriage ceremony was held. Thereafter the players were treated as a married couple, gained status boni when they were together and could pinpoint each other’s locations. It gave all kind of privileges.
≫Nekohime: Marry… me, you mean, meow?
≫Rusian: Yes, please, Nekohime!
It was the first day of that implementation.
I had always been interested in my comrade, who was the most beautiful and cute member of the gild I belonged to. Moreover she had great equipment sense with good stats. On top of that, she was skilled and above all, she ended her sentences with “Meow”. Nekohime was the idol of the gild in name and reality and my ideal woman, so I asked her hand in marriage.
Right after the maintenance on the day of the update, I proposed to Nekohime, who just happened to login at the same time, right on the spot. I was faster than anyone, so I had no rivals here. It was an unequalled perfect timing.
≫Nekohime: Wh- Why me, meow? You’re not joking, meow? You really, really mean it, meow?
≫Rusian: I’m serious! I love you!
“Please, Please God…!”
If she were to give me an OK, we would be a happy married couple.
Playing the game while monopolizing the love of Nekohime, the angel loved by everyone— Ahh, it would be just like a dream.
She might decline. Of course I had such a worry.
But I was confident that I was closer to her than anyone and my feelings for her were so strong that I couldn’t suppress them.
Even if she were to decline, I wouldn’t show any aloofness to her. I made such a resolve. I confessed, prepared for it.
Therefore—
≫Nekohime: Aw, sorry. I’m a guy in real life.
“……….Huh?”
The moment these words were displayed, I gaped dumbfounded in front of the monitor.
A… A guy?
My angel Nekohime was a guy?
Eh, what the?
You kidding me?
Ah, right, it was a joke.
Hahaha, Nekohime was such a mischievous girl.
≫Rusian: P- Please stop with the joke, Nekohime.
≫Nekohime: Nah, I’m serious.
I typed my sentence with shaking hands, whereas Nekohime sent back unexpected cold words.
≫Nekohime: Sorry, but I’m really a guy. Or rather, an old man. I just wanted to play the other gender for fun, but I never thought someone would propose to me for real. Sorry, dude.
≫Rusian: Wh- What are you…
I somehow wanted to deny it, but her chat was just so unusual for her, so I couldn’t say anything more.
≫Nekohime: Seriously, I’m sorry. Forgive me.
≫Rusian: Y- You’re really a guy?
≫Nekohime: Yep, a real guy.
≫Rusian: Moreover, an old man?
≫Nekohime: Yep, yep, a real old man.
“N- no way…”
I dropped my shoulders in despair.
That cute Nekohime, the girl you could even call my first love was a guy— on old man. How was something so absurd possible?
No, it was impossible.
There was no way it could be possible. Never.
I see, Nekohime didn’t want to marry me, so for turning me down, she told a lie as not to hurt me. She was a kind girl, so that was possible—
≫Nekohime: Actually, no real girl would spout “Meow”. Get a clue.
“U- Uw- Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaah”
I raised a scream of despair and hit my keyboard.
≫Rusian: kwsdrfgyfjk-p
“That bastard, damnit! Damn impostor! Deceiving me!”
As a reaction to my buttons being hit all over, LA shut down compulsory. Not noticing that, I hit my keyboard over and over again while spilling real tears.
“Damn, damn! I’ll never ever again!”
BAM, the moment I strongly hit the keyboard, a couple of dislocated keys flew through the air.
“trust a girl in an online-gameeeee!”
That happened around two years ago.
Even just remembering it ran a shiver down my spine. It was such a dreadful memory.
≫Rusian: —That’s what happened.
≫Ako: I see. Trying to be a girl in a game, there really are some weird people around.
≫Rusian: I was so naïve back then…
After a long while, I had finished talking.
Now the girl in front of me— No, more precisely, the female character in front of me should properly understand my intentions.
≫Rusian: That’s how it is.
≫Ako: Yes! I ask you, please marry me!
≫Rusian: Were you even listening to me!?
≫Ako: I deliberately asked because I heard it!
≫Rusian: You don’t get the meaning of deliberately!
≫Ako: Marrying me will obviously be fun!
≫Rusian: I don’t know where that confidence comes from, but I said no!
≫Ako: Then when will you marry me? — You’ll now, right!
≫Rusian: Not! Listen to me!
This is generally a story about me and the “wife”.