I watched her leave in silence.
Not because I didn't want to chase after her—but because I thought it would be pointless.
I couldn't possibly watch over her twenty-four hours a day.
And if I let my guard down even once, she might choose to end her life right at that moment.
If that's the case… then what was the point of trying in the first place?
"Whether I can or not isn't the issue," I muttered quietly.
"I don't even know what words I should say to her. The words I said earlier were the only ones I had to convince her. At the very least, I tried my best—everything I could."
I clenched my fist, crumpling the torn piece of paper in my hand, planning to throw it away once I found a trash can.
I stared at the system screen, my fist tightening.
Disgusting.
Absolutely disgusting—how it read me so casually.
You can also get them from a partner—a woman who loves you.>
I let out an irritated breath.
It wasn't like I'd never tried.
Those girls only got close because of money.
Because of status.
Because of my family name.
I once hid my identity.
And what happened?
She left me for a guy with a cheap BMW.
A cheap BMW.
I was sure—if I'd been driving my Bugatti Divo, she would've spread her legs on my bed without hesitation.
"SHUT UP!"
I yelled in frustration at the damn system.
Do you really think that girl would use you and only see your money?>
I frowned, realizing the vile intent behind its words.
"That's unethical," I said coldly.
"Taking advantage of a girl's mental state.
As a man with dignity, I won't do that."
I knew.
I'd always known.
And yet, for some reason, a small part of me still hoped for something like that.
I fell silent.
That was exactly how I'd come to think after reflecting alone for far too long. That was also why I isolated myself from the world and the people around me.
I let out a slow breath.
Humans really are transactional creatures.
A man marries beauty.
A woman marries stability.
Love exchanged for love—sounds romantic, but it's still a transaction.
"Hah…"
I gave a small nod, agreeing.
"Sorry," I said as I turned around.
"The bus will be here soon. I don't want to wait thirty minutes for the next one."
I started walking toward the bus stop.
I froze.
What… this system could hurt me physically?
"Are you insane?! I don't want to become a woman!"
The image alone sent chills down my spine.
I stared at the numbers
and decided to stop arguing.
Whether it was lying or not—I didn't care.
My life was genuinely on the line.
"System," I said quickly,
"show me Nora's location."
A screen appeared.
Two dots—me and Nora.
I started running without a second thought.
Not long after, Nora's silhouette appeared in the distance.
But at the same time, my instincts—honed through years of kendo training—picked up on something wrong.
Silence.
Too silent.
Too calm.
My eyes scanned the surroundings.
On top of a building—
a white wolf dashed, leapt, and dove straight toward Nora.
I pushed my legs to the limit.
In one motion, I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward me, wrapping her tightly in my arms.
At the same time, I lowered my body slightly.
My hand moved fast.
A sword hilt appeared in my grip, and in an instant, a blue katana-like blade extended from it.
Cold light sliced through the air.
With one clean slash, I swung upward.
Blood sprayed.
The wolf's body was split clean in two midair, crashing onto the asphalt with a heavy thud.
I was still holding Nora. Her breathing trembled against my chest.
She tried to glance toward the corpse, but I quickly blocked her view with my hand.
"Don't look."
Nora's expression shook—she'd clearly caught a glimpse of the wolf's body.
She turned her gaze to me and, holding her breath, asked in a trembling voice,
"Kurogane-san, you…"
I straightened up and helped Nora stand, scanning the area more cautiously.
Whether in a game or reality, wolves were pack hunters.
"As you can see, I'm a guardian agent. Stay close to me. This isn't over yet."
At my words, the calm she'd been trying to maintain shattered instantly.
She looked terrified, her body trembling.
I detected another wolf creeping out from behind a wall, watching me warily.
I immediately lowered my guard and moved closer to Nora.
My left hand gently held her cheek, and I gave her a warm smile to calm her.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you."
Nora's eyes widened at my words, and her trembling gradually subsided.
At that same moment, the wolf realized I was off guard.
With quick movements, it leapt onto the wall and lunged at me.
Unfortunately for it, I'd been watching from the start—pretending to lower my guard to lure it out.
"Got you."
I swung my katana upward. At the same time, I pulled Nora into my arms and jumped backward.
The wolf's head hit the ground, and fresh blood burst out, soaking the spot where we'd been standing just moments ago.
I could feel Nora trembling again after witnessing that scene.
This time, I couldn't block her view—I could only hold her tighter to calm her down.
The sight really was horrifying. I'd felt nauseous the first time I played the game too, because of how realistic everything was.
"Why… why are they here?" Nora murmured in fear.
I was confused as well.
These monsters were supposed to stay in the danger zones, where the government installed devices to attract any portals that might appear nearby.
City guard forces should also be patrolling regularly to eliminate them and keep them from leaving the red zones.
So this situation could only mean two things.
Either the device was broken,
or a powerful monster had appeared, driving weaker monsters out in droves and overwhelming the city guards.
Luckily, this area was sparsely populated.
It looked like an abandoned residential district, so there was no one else around.
"I don't know," I said quietly.
"But we need to get out of here as fast as possible."
I took Nora's hand and led her away from the area.