CHAPTER 4 — "A HERO… OR PUBLIC PROPERTY?!"
Dawn had barely broken when Ray opened his eyes, feeling something soft, warm, and extremely dangerous smothering his face.It took him five full seconds to realize it was Amelia's chest — and that she was still asleep, hugging him like a human-sized plush toy.
" A-Amelia…" Ray whispered, trying to escape without dying in the process.
"Five more minutes…" she mumbled, squeezing him tighter.
Crack.
Something in Ray's spine complained in a language not spoken in this world.
"She's killing me… again…" he groaned.
The door burst open.
"What on earth is this commo—!?" Claire shouted, storming inside with her bow in hand. "Why are you sleeping like THAT?!"
"This isn't what it looks like, I swear," Ray said, his voice muffled against Amelia's chest.
"Oh? Then what is it?" Claire asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow.
Amelia slowly blinked awake, looked at Ray… then at Claire.
"Oh," she said simply.
"'Oh'? That's ALL you have to say?" Claire snapped.
"We can share him if you want. I don't mind," Amelia replied with a teasing smile.
"W-WHAT?! I-I don't need to 'share' anything!"
From the back of the room, Lyria sighed as she adjusted her grimory.
"Good morning. I see the chaos started early today."
Ellie, sitting beside her and swinging her legs, added cheerfully:
"Ray, you looked really happy while you were sleeping!"
Ray raised his hands.
"I'm being framed! I am a victim of uncontrollable circumstances!"
The three girls stared at him like he had just told the biggest lie in history.
•••
A "SIMPLE" MISSION
Despite the morning disaster, the group headed to the guild for their first joint assignment.
The receptionist — a mature woman with glasses, who looked like she hadn't slept in days — greeted them with a tired expression.
"Ah, you must be the party of…" She checked her paper."'Ray and His Army of Problems.'"
"That is not our name," Ray protested, blushing.
"In this world, sweetie, the people decide the names," she replied without even looking up.
The mission was simple:
Gather healing herbs in the Celeste Forest.
But in a world where only 10% of the population is male… nothing is simple.
The moment Ray stepped onto the street, several women stopped what they were doing.
"Hey, new guy, how old are you?""Are you an adventurer?""I'll pay you double if you join my team!""Ray, you're really cute! Are you single?"
Amelia and Claire immediately stepped forward, radiating danger.
"Back off," Amelia said with a freezing smile.
"He's with us," Claire added, tightening the bowstring.
The crowd of women backed up… slightly.
Lyria gently touched Ray's shoulder.
"You should get used to this. In this world, a young, handsome, and alive man… is a rarity."
"You emphasized 'alive,'" Ray noted nervously.
"I've seen women fight over an attractive corpse," Lyria said without irony.
Ray swallowed hard.
•••
THE "CELESTE" FOREST… AND AMELIA'S FIST
The Celeste Forest turned out to be beautiful — trees glowing with bluish light and small creatures darting through the grass.
"This place is gorgeous," Ellie said, gathering sparkling flowers."Ray, look at this butterfly!"
Ray approached… and was immediately tackled to the ground by Amelia.
"W-What are you—?!"
A giant butterfly slammed its jaws into the spot where he had just been standing.
"Why does everything try to kill me here?" Ray gasped from the ground.
"Not everything," Amelia said, drawing her sword."Only about ninety percent."
After a brief but chaotic fight (featuring Ellie running in circles, Claire shouting contradictory orders, and Lyria muttering "this is absurd" while casting spells), they managed to gather the herbs.
And also accidentally defeated a boss monster they were not supposed to engage with.
Ray carried the unconscious beast over his shoulder.
"Can someone explain WHY we're taking it with us?"
"Because if we leave it here, someone will blame you," Lyria replied calmly.
"And why would it be my fault?!"
The girls all stared at him.
"Ray…" Claire sighed. "You're a man. In this world, when something goes wrong…"
"…they blame you for existing," Amelia finished.
Ray sighed deeply.
"I want a refund on my reincarnation…"
•••
BACK AT THE GUILD
When they returned, the receptionist froze upon seeing the monster.
"Just… gather herbs," she repeated slowly."NOT capture a beast lord!"
Ray raised a timid hand.
"I can expl—"
"TRIPLE compensation!" the receptionist shouted before he could finish."I don't need explanations! As long as monsters die far away from me, I don't care!"
Amelia laughed.
Claire smiled proudly.
Ellie happily waved her arms.
Lyria wrote notes in her grimory.
Ray, however, could only wonder what kind of disaster awaited him next.
Because in this world…
Being a man was a blessing.And also a death sentence.
And Ray was learning that very quickly.