There is Something Wrong with This Game

[Kyoto - Shirayama Residence]

Another morning at the Shirayama Residence.

Kazu's younger sister, 14 years old Shirayama Shizuku, started her day by being woken from her sleep by an alarm clock that had been set to go off at 7am. Full of sleepiness, she naturally tried to continue sleeping, but her efforts failed because after that she was awakened by an anime jellyfish hologram that suddenly appeared in her room.

This jellyfish hologram is the AI home assistant, Mevy who serves the Shirayama family.

This AI assistant is similar to Ruri's AI assistant, only difference is that Ruri does not install any personality module, while the Shirayama family does, even though it was one of the default modules which is quite cheap.

"Good morning, Shizu-chan-sama, it's time to wake up and shine." (Mevy)

"Ugh, 5 more years, please..." (Shizu)

"This can't be done! Shizu-chan-sama still has a virtual class schedule, routine health check schedule, and routine health maintenance schedule." (Mevy)

With a snap of the jellyfish's finger(?), the room instantly became bright.

This lighting does not come from sunlight, but only from the lights in the room. This was because Shizuku has a strange disease that makes her allergic to sunlight radiation, which can be clearly seen from her skin which has many allergic scars.

"Uuggh, Mevy you meanie... Okay, I'll wake up... soon."

Even though she felt reluctant, Shizuku couldn't help but force herself to get up from her comfortable bed.

She went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, but she felt something uncomfortable on her face. Sure enough, when she looked in the mirror, there was a pimple growing near her nose.

"This pimple seems can be popped..."

Shizuku couldn't help but sigh, and without much thought, she immediately squeezed her pimple.

Obviously this isn't the first time she's had pimple and every time it happens she doesn't hesitate to pop it when she can. Of course, when she squeezed the pimple, Shizuku felt pain. However, because this happens too often, she now enjoys the pain and considers popping pimples like a fun game to pass the time.

Feeling the slight pain that turned into a feeling of release on her face and the sticky pus on her finger, she felt very satisfied. But suddenly, there was a voice behind her that rebuked her act.

"Did you pop your pimple again, Shizu-chan-sama?" (Mevi)

"Uwaah!? Mevy, don't just appear behind me like that." (Shizu)

"I'm sorry Shizu-chan-sama, but this is important! Instead of squeezing the pimples, you should use ointment to remove them. Look at your face, it's a shame that your pretty face is damaged because of acne scars." (Mevi)

The jellyfish hologram scolded her actions and lectured her on what she should do.

This was Mevy's job as a household AI assistant which was programmed at the time of installation, and regularly updated from the central AI system to help with all kinds of household problems from the most trivial things.

"Eeh?! But the effect will take a long time. Besides, what's the use of a pretty face if I don't meet anyone?" (Shizu)

"Even so, it is important to take care of your face and appearance. How about I book a laser treatment schedule at the hospital to remove acne blemishes on your face?" (Mevy)

"No need, it would just be a waste of money. Pimples will definitely appear on my face again later, so forget it." (Shizu)

Shizuku did not hesitate to reject Mevy's suggestion.

She already felt bad for her family for spending so much money on her medical expenses. There was no need to waste more money in vain since in the end, acne was just a regular occurrence for her. 

As for her appearance, she doesn't really care, because she will probably remain single for the rest of her life.

It was unthinkable for her to start a romantic relationship with anyone with her sickly body. Not to mention, she doesn't want to spread and pass on her sickly genes to future generations.

"Okay then, but I will still make a note of the report for your parents to read later." (Mevy)

"I don't mind. Now go away, I want to go to bathroom." (Shizu)

"Then, please call me again when you need anything." (Mevy) 

With that said, the jellyfish hologram disappeared from the place.

After Shizuku finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, she went to the dining room to have breakfast with her family. But when she arrived at the dining room, she didn't see the figures of her two brothers, Kazu and Kenji.

Regarding this, she simply asked her father and mother.

"Are Kazu-nii and Kenji-nii going to have breakfast in their room again today?" (Shizu)

"It seems so. They said they would be busy preparing for their exams and would log into the virtual world to study. I originally wanted to send breakfast to their room, but they said that they had bought a nutrient solution compartment so they didn't need to eat for now." (Akiko)

"I see..." (Shizu)

Shizuku was silent after hearing her mother's answer.

This was already the third day that her two older brothers have locked themselves in their room to do a Virtual Dive. It was said that they were doing it to study and prepare for the upcoming exam, but for some reason, Shizuku felt something was odd.

'I understand that Kazu-nii has to study hard to prepare for his exams...'

'...But Kenji-nii is already very smart so he shouldn't need to go that far.'

There was a big difference between the 3rd year middle school exams and the 3rd year high school exams. The former was only for determining learning specialization while the latter was for determining future career learning specialization.

Kenji, who had to repeat a year due to force majeure, should have had sufficient preparation time to do the former and that shouldn't be too difficult.

Shizuku felt Kenji did the Virtual Dive not to study but for something else.

Maybe he did it just to play around?

She couldn't yet understand what was good about logging into the Virtual World. But because many people on the internet and her two brothers seemed so engrossed there, she also wanted to experience this.

Unfortunately, Shizuku can only dream of it but can't do it yet, because legally she is still underage to do a Virtual Dive.

“Is the nutrient solution they are referring to the one advertised on TV? I don't know how true those advertisements are that say it can replace eating and drinking." (Teruzaka)

"Well, it seems about right. Some of my old friends in the chat group have tested it and said it was good. One vial can really make you not hungry all day. However, it seems that the correct use is to inject it directly into the body, if you drink it directly it will taste bad and leave an unpleasant aftertaste." (Akiko)

"Oh? I think it's better to eat normally than to depend on those things." (Teruzaka)

"Of course it is, the advertisement is obviously only intended for people who "Dive" like Kazu-nii and Kenji-nii. That's not an advertisement for a refreshing drink." (Shizu)

The three people enjoyed breakfast while making small talk for a while.

It was then, the doorbell rang indicating that a guest had come to their house. Without further ado, Teruzaka immediately used a hand gesture to activate the projector in the room to put out a holo-screen, showing the figure of the guest caught on camera.

And the figure that appeared on the screen turned out to be a familiar face.

"Excuse me, anyone home?" (Rena)

"Oh, it's Rena-nee. I'll come and greet her." (Shizu)

"Remember you cannot expose yourself in the sun for too long." (Akiko)

"Okay mom, I know. Mevy! Can you invite her to the living room first?" (Shizu)

"Understood, then I will go right away!" (Mevy)

Knowing it was Rena, Shizuku immediately went towards the living room to greet her.

But of course Shizuku ordered Mevy to open the door and let Rena into their living room first, so that Shizuku herself wouldn't have to be exposed to sunlight.

And not long after, they met in the living room with Rena carrying three boxes of cakes.

"Shizu-cchi, I brought you a cake." (Rena)

"Good morning, Rena-nee. You seem to be in a very good mood today." (Shizu)

"Oh, you can tell? Yes, of course I'm in a good mood, because it turns out my good friend has recovered from her chronic illness. Now I can feel relieved and don't have to worry anymore." (Rena)

"...I see, that's very good news." (Shizu)

Regarding Rena's happy news, Shizuku couldn't help but have complicated feelings.

Shizuku did hear Rena talking to her about a “good friend” who had a chronic illness before, and Rena was very worried about that friend. This friend was the encouragement for Rena to aspire to become a doctor.

At first, Shizuku thought that this “good friend” was none other than herself, and Rena was considerate enough not to mention her name and leave the identity of this sick person unclear.

It was natural for Shizuku to think like that, because Rena was her neighbor and it seemed like there was no one around who looked like Rena's "good friend" who was sick, apart from herself. Thinking that she was so cared for by other people, that people were inspired to become doctors for her sake, made Shizuku feel flattered.

But after hearing Rena's words just now, she realized that she had a big misunderstanding. It was clear that the "good friend" that Rena had been referring to all this time was not about her all along.

'So all this time, I was just being too narcissistic...'

Shizuku was a little disappointed with this result, but she didn't dare show it in front of Rena.

So, who is this "good friend" that Rena cares about so much?