Ganersam Volume 1

I made my way back to the inn after that. The inn isn’t located far from the bar and the gun shop, plus this town is pretty small anyway, so it’s not easy to get lost here.

It was already dark outside, and the streets were empty. When I arrived at the inn, Matthew wasn’t there, but instead, a different pink-haired girl was on the counter, sleeping.

Deciding not to bother her sleep, I made my way back to our penthouse. The girls were still outside, so I decided to just go and rest in my room.

“So we have an ex-angel that loves guns, has a high defense... An ex-soldier who betrayed her faction and sided with us. She has low stats, but is a fast learner... And an ex-bounty hunter, who is also skilled in fighting and had a vast network of information. She could plan ahead, but often overlooked things and is forced to improvise if things went wrong... actually I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s more thrilled when things do go wrong.”

Thinking about it, it’s not a perfect line-up, but it’s really not the worst.

It’s rather decent actually. As long as I can use them to their potential, we’ll somehow get through. I’m the protagonist, so I’m sure I will have a part of that sweet plot armor pie.

I think...?

Am I actually? What happens if I’m not the protagonist?

Will we be fine?

While thinking to myself, I heard a knock on the door.

“We’re back, and we brought dinner.”

Said the voice outside my room. I stood up and opened the door.

“Welcome back. What’s in it?

Emma showed me the plastic bag she carried.

“Chicken soup. Let’s eat together.”

As if like a little happy family, I and the three girls ate dinner together. They told me how their day went, like kids telling their parents how school went.

This town is small, and it’s in the middle of the desert. You can’t see much here. And since it’s the city of the bounty hunters, most of the shops were related to that profession, like weapons shops, intel stores, or bars and taverns, or at least that’s what I heard from the girls.

Don’t ask me what an intel store looks like, though. I assume they don’t sell computers.

I also heard about how bounty hunters were like family in this world.

The ‘close and never betray each other’ kind of family, not the ‘betray and murder everyone’ type. The bounty hunters here were especially friendly with them, especially since they were with Amel.

As long as we’re close to the bounty hunters, we were safe here. Although I would prefer against staying here for too long. It is very hot outside the inn, luckily the inn has air conditioning inside.

Other than listening to the girls’ stories, not much happened at the dinner table.

No major discussion, no ‘when are you getting married?’ questions, and no dinner fights.

It’s rather peaceful, and I genuinely enjoyed it. After that, I made my way back to my room...

“What are you doing?”

I asked Emma who was following me.

“I just want to have some small talk. You know, spend time together, get closer to each other.”

“In a sexual or nonsexual way?”

“I think it’s a bit too quick for the sexual one.”

“I see.”

I’m surprised she didn’t give me a weird reaction after hearing what I said. Most girls would definitely distance themselves if they hear that kind of joke.

Emma excused herself into my room and lay on the bed. She hugged a pillow and faced me.

She looked really cute.

What is she planning, I wonder?

I’ve slept in the same room with her before, but that’s because we can’t afford a room.

...

A memory passed my mind. Isn’t she the one who asked to be in the same room with me, despite being offered a different room?

And the way she is offering to enter my room now...

“Just making sure, you’re not drunk, right?”

“No. You’re the one who headed to a bar, not me.”

She’s right. There’s no alcohol on the table, either, plus she looks sober when she returned.

“Why my room, though? Is it some private matter?”

Technically, only me and Riko knew she was an angel.

Nia and Amel may have caught wind of it when Riko mentioned it back in the mansion, but I doubt they took it seriously.

Even if they took it seriously, it didn’t look like a big thing for them, as if they had already expected it.

So I’m unsure if Emma’s angel status could be considered private or not.

“I guess? I don’t know...”

She said with a little pout. Am I just being dense at this point?

No, no, no. It’s far too quick for that kind of development to happen.

“Anyway, I haven’t properly said it, but thank you for rescuing me. I was genuinely happy when I saw you enter that room.”

“You should thank Amel too, she’s the one that played a major role in the rescue.”

“I’ve already thanked her back when we were strolling around. But it feels different seeing you there though.”

“Oh, you’ve fallen for me?”

“Not yet.”

You don’t have to shot back that quick. It hurts, you know?

“Actually... maybe a bit?”

“So, which one is it? Have you fallen or have you not fallen?”

“What if I both fallen and not fallen at the same time?”

“How is that even possible?”

Emma shrugged her shoulders. The room fell into silence.

“So... that’s it?”

“That really isn’t a good way to reply to someone’s genuine gratitude... besides, people wanting to spend quality time with you doesn’t always mean they’ll say something important.”

“Yeah, you’re right... my bad.”

I said as I lay on the bed beside her. Maybe I really should’ve played more dating sims.

It’s the same with Riko back at the bar. He didn’t say anything that needed to be talked about in private, heck a bar is the least private place you could choose. I guess he just wanted to bond with a fellow Amnesia Clansmen.

Either that or he wanted to talk where there’s no Amel.

I guess I really am dense.

“But still... a girl wanting to spend time with me-”

“-Isn’t something you’ll get in your previous life, is it?”

“Yeah, it feels weird, especially since it’s just the two of us. I knew you had a shield, but looking at you now you looked like a cute little girl.”

“Lolicon.”

“You don’t lookthatlittle. Don’t take what I said out of context.”

She let out a chuckle.

“Can I... pat your head?”

“Sure.”

I wasn’t expecting that answer to be honest.

She brought her head closer to me, her hair smells great.

“You’re not the only one who didn’t have friends, you know? Back in heaven, I also don’t have any friends.”

“Hey, I have friends too, I’m just not close to anyone in particular.”

“I know I know, I do background studies, remember? But unlike you, I actually have no friends, just acquaintances. Sending people off is a solo job... no, actually, you’re not even allowed to interfere with other angels’ work. You’re only allowed to chat during breaks, and I like playing games and reading light novels, so I hardly spend any time with the others.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to be like that. Aren’t you the talkative type?”

“For some people, there really isn’t a firm line on whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert. You could be introverted in public spaces, yet extroverted when you’re in a group of close friends. You could be a silent type that interacts with people just fine, or you could be loud yet have trouble building serious relationships. Psychology is complex.”

“You feel like a real human talking like that.”

“I am a real human. I may used to be an angel, but now I’m in the body of a normal girl, although I don’t feel any difference at all.”

“Does that mean you can make children?”

“I think so. My children will probably inherit my holy blood properties as well, although not fully.”

“Does that mean your child will have a shield every time they need to?”

“That depends. My shield is a result of my holy blood, but its duration is dependent on my energy. My energy level is pretty low, that’s why I can’t use it for long durations.”

“Wait, is that why you only tank the first hit we get?”

“Yes. My energy runs out on the first strike. That’s why we’ve been running around after I ran out of energy.”

I thought it was because there’s a cooldown to the shield. If someone that had a large energy pool like me were to use it, does that mean we could literally build a wall?

“How long do you need for it to recharge?”

“Around two hours.”

Damn, that means we’re lucky we don’t need the shield back-to-back. I need to plan my future strategies around that weakness.

“I wonder if your low stats will get in the way, in case you ever marry someone.”

“From what I know, the way stats are decided in this world is similar to on Earth. While parent genes matter as a base stat, RNG is the main decider.”

“So my entire life is a gacha huh?”

I wonder if I should consider myself lucky or not.

“Well, it’s not exactly RNG. I just picked a term I think you could understand. As someone who played a lot of gachas, you understand that very well, don’t you?”

“Of course. Opening a loot box in hopes of a rare item just to get trash, it hurts.”

Paying real-world money for a chance of getting a digital item is a hole a lot of people have fallen into. Sometimes, it’s just cosmetics that don’t affect the game, but at other times, it’s an item that is powerful enough to make the game easier.

It’s like gambling, but worse. The second you stop playing the game, the second the item becomes worthless.

But who am I to speak? I used to be stuck in the same hole.

“If this world had a gacha, I wonder what I would get.”

“You’ll get me.”

“Isn’t it technically you’re the one who got me? I happen to be the person that invited you to go on an adventure.”

“But I did background research prior hand, so I knew to an extent what I’m getting myself into. You, on the other hand, knew nothing about me.”

“To be fair, I kind of thought of you as some kind of real angel before you showed your real personality.”

“Hey...”

Emma said while poking me.

I wonder if we are actually lucky to receive each other? I’m sure if someone out there knows about this, they’ll be really envious.

“Actually, since you can’t be far from me, what happens if you get married to someone else? Doesn’t that mean you’re stuck in the same city with me?”

“I think you could ask for that to be removed, but I don’t think you will.”

“I’m not that terrible. If you really fall for someone else, then I’ll just wish you happiness.”

She then rolled herself onto me. She puts her face near mine, and with a soft smile she whispered,

“What if I don’t fall for someone else?”

“Don’t send me mixed codes like that. Besides, it’s too early for such a development.”

“Well, we did sleep together before.”

“That’s because we didn’t have money.”

“Yeah, We even slept with Nia back then. Good times, right?”

“Of course not. I slept on the floor.”

“You still have a tarp though.”

“That’s worse compared to a mattress. Thinking about it, why isn’t Nia the one who slept on the floor? She’s the newest member.”

“You’ll force a girl to do that? Wait, actually you would do that. I’m more surprised you gave your spot to her.”

“I was joking. Like, actually joking. I’m not that terrible.”

Emma stared sharply at me, judging on whether I’m actually joking or not. Having a girl stare so sharply at me while being so close made me a bit nervous.

“Wait... I really am joking. There’s no way I would actually let Nia... Nia...”

I suddenly remembered something.

“Talking about Nia, where was she when you followed me here?”

“Aren’t the other two still on the dinner table talking about pizza crust when...”

She let out a smallah as she realized what I’m talking about.

Also, we ate chicken soup, so how did it get to pizza?

I honestly can’t remember.

We went to the door, and as expected, the two girls were sitting in front of the door, with Amel holding a small orange speaker-like device.

Sigh...