Chapter 151: Virtual Love Interest × Legion Commander (9): The Full Recharge Bonus Is Free—You Just Have to Spend a Little Money First

“No, that’s not what I meant...”

Morris tried to explain.

But from the male Zerg’s perspective, what he had done was no different from playing with someone’s feelings.

Whether in reality or inside a game, as a player, he was born with the ability to toy with emotions.

Perhaps it was fortunate that he had confessed so early.

Yet it still hadn't been early enough.

The male Zerg clearly hadn't fully believed his explanation.

The two of them fell into an awkward silence.

In the end, it was Roy who broke the deadlock.

“No matter what, my rank really did increase. Even though I don't know exactly how you did it, I'll repay you... As long as it doesn't involve my family, doesn't break the law, or violate public morals, I'll do anything for you.”

At the very beginning, when they had laid down the ground rules, Roy's only condition had been that Morris wasn't allowed to bully him or his family.

Now, he had removed himself from that protection.

He could let Morris bully him instead.

The mere thought of offering himself up to be bullied by such a powerful high-ranking female Zerg made Roy shudder in fear.

Grinding his teeth, he added,

“But I'll never have feelings for you again!”

From now on, he'd only endure Morris's bullying with a cold expression.

『Affinity -3』

『Affinity +5』

『Affinity -1』

...

The male Zerg's Affinity fluctuated so unpredictably that Morris's heart nearly stopped every time it changed.

He didn't need the male Zerg to repay him.

But if Roy insisted...

“Can you forgive me for hiding the truth at the beginning... and give me another chance?”

Squatting in front of him, Morris asked sincerely.

Roy felt annoyed.

This female Zerg was always using this trick.

Putting himself in the lower position, making it seem as though Roy was the one in control.

But what could poor Roy actually do?

Even after leveling up, he was still only a D-rank male Zerg.

His pheromones held no attraction for Morris. His psychic power couldn't soothe Morris's Psychic Domain. And if it came to a fight, he'd simply be beaten helplessly. He couldn't even use his psychic power to protect himself.

Everything about him was under Morris's control.

If Morris really wished {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} him harm, he probably wouldn't even have time to contact the Male Zerg Association.

And yet...

This overwhelmingly powerful female Zerg was kneeling in front of him as though Roy's answer determined everything.

"...What exactly do you want from me?" Roy asked.

Morris had never really wanted anything.

If he absolutely had to name something...

“I want you to eat food without toxins. Real food. I want you to wear beautiful, comfortable clothes, live in a bright, spacious house, have people take care of your daily life. I want you to stop struggling just to survive. I don't want you scavenging through trash anymore... or picking thorn fruit.”

Roy pressed his lips together.

He didn't believe him.

Nobody simply wished someone else well for no reason.

『Affinity +3』

“You can just think of it as me having an excessive amount of compassion,” Morris sighed softly.

『Affinity -1』

Morris: “?!”

That deducted Affinity too?

Male Zergs really were impossible to understand!

Roy puffed up with indignation and stood.

“I like scavenging! Scavenging is my favorite thing! What's wrong with scavenging? I'm going to pick more thorn fruit too—and poison you with it!”

Seeing the male Zerg preparing to head back out to collect trash, Morris had no choice but to follow him.

Roy had only been acting out of spite at first.

Then he suddenly remembered that after leveling up, the range of his psychic power had expanded.

That meant he could locate even more—and better—junk.

Unable to resist, he decided to test it.

Roy spread his psychic power through the surrounding desert, searching beneath the sand for buried scraps.

Within the range of his perception, Morris shuffled back over, awkwardly holding a string of sand-covered jewels.

“How about this?” he asked.

Roy: “...”

His psychic power had very clearly watched Morris take them out of his spatial storage, bury them in the sand... and then dig them back up.

Roy ignored him.

A while later, Morris returned carrying an entire chest full of gold coins.

“How about this?”

Roy: “???”

This was a battlefield ruin!

Not some buried treasure vault!

Now he was starting to wonder if that energy core had been "found" exactly the same way.

Thinking back carefully...

Morris's expression at the time had seemed rather strange.

Roy had simply been too overwhelmed with excitement to notice.

Just what exactly was this female Zerg after?

『Affinity +5』

Roy truly couldn't understand him.

Morris quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Looks like he'd chosen correctly.

Gold really worked.

But...

Why hadn't the male Zerg kissed him this time?

It wasn't that Morris particularly wanted Roy to kiss him.

It was just...

When Roy had "found" the energy core before, he'd been so happy that he'd hugged Morris and kissed his left cheek.

This time the Affinity had gone up...

But the kiss was gone.

Morris concluded that the pile simply wasn't big enough.

Or valuable enough.

After placing the chest of gold beside Roy, he went back to "collecting trash."

Soon afterward, he returned one trip after another.

Safes.

Property deeds.

Terminals.

Crowns.

Antique decorations.

Gemstone brooches.

Plush toys...

Roy stared speechlessly at the stuffed animal that looked like something meant for a male Zerg hatchling.

"...Does this really amuse you?”

Looking at the enormous pile himself, even Morris felt a little embarrassed.

It did seem...

Slightly incompatible with the atmosphere of a battlefield.

But he thought the male Zerg might like these things.

“Isn't this the fun of scavenging?” Morris replied.

The real joy of scavenging...

Was bringing back things the male Zerg liked.

Perhaps next time he should bury everything first...

Then let Roy dig them up himself.

Morris lightly smacked his forehead, annoyed with himself for not thinking everything through.

Roy was speechless.

He scavenged because he needed to survive.

Who buried things themselves just so they could dig them back up?

Picking up the plush toy from atop the treasure chest, Roy asked with a complicated expression,

“Why do you have so many strange things in your storage? Where did this stuffed animal come from? And the gemstone brooch?”

They all looked like gifts prepared specifically for a male Zerg.

Since he'd already confessed everything, Morris saw no reason to hide it anymore.

“I bought them from the in-game shop.”

He answered honestly.

“What else do you want? I can buy it for you right now.”

"...?”

Roy tilted his head in confusion.

A game?

A shop?

The... game player he'd mentioned before?

He hadn't believed it then.

At most, he'd believed one part out of ten.

But Morris's completely matter-of-fact attitude...

Combined with all these impossible items...

Made Roy begin to doubt himself.

“What else can you buy?” Roy asked, clutching the stuffed toy tightly.

“Anything.”

Morris answered.

“Whatever you want. Even a house. Or a floating island. They're on sale right now too. Want one? What do you think?”

Roy's brain stopped working.

The female Zerg said it so confidently, as though he could simply conjure an entire mansion—or even a floating island—out of thin air.

And the way he asked...

It sounded no different from offering someone a piece of fruit.

Ridiculously enough...

Roy almost believed him.

Looking around at the battlefield littered with sand and wreckage, he forced himself to suppress the urge to test it immediately.

“Not here. Let's go home first.”

Morris agreed.

This really wasn't the right place.

Glancing at the darkening sky, he suggested,

“It's getting dark. The road's hard to walk. Want me to carry you back? Or piggyback you?”

He'd left the aircraft parked outside Roy's house.

Although he could always buy another one instantly...

That wasn't his preferred solution.

Roy wasn't unfamiliar with walking at night.

But after glancing at the female Zerg beside him...

He accepted.

Between being carried and getting a piggyback ride...

He chose to be carried.

At least it would be faster.

Once again, he found himself in Morris's arms.

But this time...

His feelings were different.

Before, he'd only wanted to save transportation costs.

Now, leaning against the female Zerg's warm chest, his mind was strangely blank.

His emotions were a tangled mess.

Perhaps it was simply the illusion of safety created by that embrace beneath the night sky.

But...

He found himself thinking...

That maybe...

This female Zerg wouldn't bully him too much.

The plush toy was still clutched in his arms, sandwiched between their bodies and pressed against Morris's chest.

The night breeze was chilly.

Yet Morris carefully shielded Roy's head and face from the wind.

『Affinity +2』

Morris lowered his head to look at the male Zerg.

Then held him even tighter.

As though he wanted to gather him completely into his heart.

The distance between the two places wasn't far.

Before darkness had fully fallen, Morris had already brought Roy home.

He gently set the male Zerg down.

Then he took out every single thing they'd "picked up" today from his spatial storage and arranged them neatly throughout Roy's house.

Turning back, he asked,

“So... do you want the villa, or the floating island?”

“Or both?”

"..."

Now that the moment had actually arrived...

Roy suddenly didn't know what to say.

“Both are way too conspicuous. People will notice. There'll be no way to explain it afterward.”

Roy himself might barely be able to accept it.

But what about everyone else?

If the authorities started investigating...

Both he and Morris could end up in serious trouble.

“We can turn on Stealth Mode,” Morris replied.

Technology had advanced to the point where hiding something from the outside world was incredibly easy.

And inside a game...

It was even easier.

Roy was ashamed to admit...

He was tempted.

“I want the floating island. I've never even seen one before... Wait! Is it expensive?”

“Not at all.”

“It's very cheap.”

“You could practically say it's free.”

Morris looked at the cumulative recharge reward that unlocked after spending 5,000.

A full recharge milestone reward...

Was, of course, free.

You just had to spend a little money first.